The Joneses Movie Review

Demi Moore and David Duchovny star as a seemingly perfect couple who, along with their euqally perfect teenagers - Amber Heard and Ben Hollingsworth - move into an upscale gated community. The only problem is they're not a family - they are employees of a stealth marketing organisation and they know how to make everyone want what they've got.

The idea is that they move into an affluent neighbourhood with the purpose of enticing their status-conscious neighbours to desire all their cool stuff. From cocktails in juice boxes to flash frozen sushi to high tech golf clubs and high priced jewels.  

The Joneses follows the lices of a seemingly perfect American family in their affluent suburban paradise. Luxury cars, an enormous house, all the latest electronics. Life seems too good to be true as their fellow rich neighbours look on in envy.

For the first half of the movie, its very entertaining. Steve (David Duchovny) golfs and Kate (Demi Moore) goes to the salon. Subtly selling all the while. Kids, Jen (Amber Heard) and Mick (Ben Hollingsworth) quickly become popular at their new high school, showing off their gadgets. The Joneses throw lots of parties in their meticulous manse. Its their luxurious lifestyle that's doing the selling. 

While this may seem to be an ideal situation (no living expenses, free everything, a big salary, etc.) it is quickly revealed that the perfect on-the-surface family unit is wrought with nemerous problems.

Steve (father) is in reality more or less the nice guy who is having difficulty coming to grasp with both his role in the "family unit" as well as how to sell. Kate (Mother) has been in the pesudo-family business for years andf is free of attachment to people or things but has no authentic relationshops to hold onto in life. Meanwhile Jenn (daughter) is trying to sleep woth any man she can find including Steve. Despite these familial issues, neighbours buy into what the Joneses are selling and quickly begin to acquire things and rack up debt in an attempt to capture the "happiness" the Joneses have. 

As time goes by, Steve blossoms as a great salesman. However he begins to struggle with the idea that he may be doing more harm than good to his neighbours/friends by encouraging them to spend and spend.

The Joneses is not a bad movie by any means. Many reviewers seem to think that the movie cops out in the ending. I thought it was all tied up too neatly. But the message of redeem yourself before its too late, I thought that was a really good morale.

Young Adult Movie Review

Young Adult starred Charlize Theron as Mavis Gray who is a ghost writer of teen literature who returned to her hometown to supposedly relive her glory days and to attempt to win back her high school flame Buddy (Patrick Wilson) who is happily married with a newborn child.  

When she learned that her high school sweetheart had a new baby,  she packed her bags and left her Minneapolis apartment and drove back to her hometown in Mercury. She is fully dillusional that her old boyfriend isn't happy in his marriage and with a child.

By chance, she meets Matt (Patton Oswalt) a former high school classmate who she didn't know well at the time, who tries in vain to deter her after she reveals her interntions to him.

Mavis is twisted and delusional. The only real friend she has is her pet dog. But she doesn't even care about the cute little dog. I think she just likes the status of being called a dog owner. 

Unfortunately for Mavis, its really easy to dislike her. Charlize Theron really played her character well. She reduses to grow up, even though she is is nearly 40. She is only concerned about her makeup, clothes and her hair which she keeps picking on. She spends her nights getting hammered and her days writing bad teenage romance novels and geting over her hangover.

I honestly think Theron's character is overally annoying and with very little laughs, it doesn't make the movie to be the stand out film it was intended to be. Matt and Mavis really hit it off especially since Matt didn't really get over the scars from high school as well.

It takes little for Mavis to think Buddy is still interesed in her. After meeting for a drink he invited her to a perfomance by his wife's rock band. Mavis continued to misread Buddy's words and actions and believed that he is still madly in love with her.

I have to say I wasn't quite impressed with the movie. It is kinda of an an indie drama character piece. It is filled with darkly funny moments which really makes you want to just scream. I guess the moral of this movie is to examine our own relationships. Why do we have regrets? Why do we have intense feelings of loss? And why do we always hark back to our high school years?

The Help Movie Review

Emma Stone plays Skeeter, an aspiring journalist who returns home from college to find her family's lomg time help Constantine disappeared.

Skeeter sets about writing a secret book with the local black maids about what its like working for their bitchy white employers, from raising their chirldren who then grew up to despise them, to being forced to use separate bathrooms. The point of Skeeter's book is to make people see that people are just people no matter the color of the skin. 

Its obvious from the start that Skeeter is different to all her friends. While her friends are getting married and having babies - she can't seem to find a guy that appreciates her intelligence. No one in her cycle seem to realise that they need to take a stand against racism. Instead, they stick fast to their beliefs and support ridiculous initiatives like adding on a separate bathroom to one's house sot aht the maids don't use the same facilities as the families.

Of course the the task is not easy and it took some persuasion to get the maids onboard.

There is such deep history in the black/white relationship and this story beautifully shows the complex spectrum. 

This movie isn't just about racism and civil rights. It's about the employer employer relationship too. The movie is strong and real and touched something inside me. But mostly, the movie was about kind and good role models.

I cried, I laughed. I highly recommend this to everybody. My favourite movie of all time! 

The part about the pie is hilarious! I think the cutest was when the baby girl said "You is kind. You is smart. You is important"

Seven Pounds Movie Review

In Seven Pounds, Will Smith plays a tormented soul named Ben Thomas and his body is the gift that keeps on giving even from beyond the grave. 

The movie is structured like a mystery, in which the motives of Ben is murky and a little weird at first and then emerge with each new plot. Within the first 20 minutes of the movie, it becomes clear that Ben is auditioning candidates but for what? It appears he wants to make sure these candidates are nice people. This is definately a film of patience. .

Ben, a suicidal IRS agent who raises pet jellyfish and seems to enjoy harassing when not stalking his assigned clients. 

Ben did develop a soft spot against his better judgment for the very beautiful Rosario Dawson playing the girl with the heart conditioned - Emily. Seeing as at any moment her heart could stop from the slightest exertion, I would have expected the director of the movie to have some caution. You know, so it makes sense. She falls head down when she takes her dog out for a walk but later at a scene where she and Will have a real heated sex, nothing happens to her weak heart? I guess sense is not as valued as it once was. 

After sleeping with Rosario, Will returns to his mother and fills his bath with ice and cold water and drops a jellyfish to not only kill himself but make it as absolutely painful as possible. We were treated to a full half a minute of spasmodic agony as his life leaks away from the jellyfish sting. Rosario gets his hear, Woody his eyes. One problem I see is the method of his death - what the toxins in jellyfish stings do to the body.

Seven Pounds is about the noble act of suicide. It teaches us that if we are so depressed that we cannt go on, why not give our body parts to random people who might need them? This way we die knowing that large chunks of our body will be torn free of our rotting cadavers and pushed into the chest and heads of the needy. 

Does one get to choose who gets your organs after death? Maybe with a Will?

I love Will Smith - but in this movie, I found Will's performance too be a little well awkward. Ben seem to squint and stammers for reasons that are unclear. Is his mind failing due to loss of blood? 

I saw this movie tonight and I think its one of those movies either you get it or you don't.

Inception Movie Review

I saw "Inception" this weekend with John at the cinema - finally! I have been so looking forward to watch this movie after I saw the review a couple of weeks ago. Stars Leonardo DiCaprio, OK I'm not a huge Leo fan but I really can't deny that he is really ridiculously good looking. We all loved Titanic, The Beach, Shutter Island - he is a GOOD actor.

Inception also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, Lukas Haas, and Pete Postlethwaite.

You are probably skeptical about heading to the theater since seeing the movie previews of Leonardo DiCaprio paired up with “Juno” star Ellen Page, but the chemistry does match and their roles flow together nicely in the movie.

If you’re a vivid dreamer and if you’re into dream interpretation, this movie is for you! 

The core conceit of the movie is simple: Inception is about this group of ‘dream worker’ people who get offered a challenge to break inside of a powerful man’s mind and install a thought into his head to change the future. The group of people make a dream plan that the group is in compliance with, they all go to sleep at the same time, and show up in the same dream together and take on the challenge and obstacles as a team. In this challenge given, the group sets out to travel through 3 layers of this joint dream with their victim by their side, who is also simultaneously sedated/dreaming in the same room with them in reality. Leo plays Dom Cobb, the best of the best who leads the team - but he is haunted by the memory of his dead wife...

Are you totally confused!? Hopefully it will make more sense when you see it!

It’s one of those movies you have to follow all the way through, and you CANNOT take a bathroom break for the whole 2 hours because you’ll be so lost! The movie does not feel long though. Make sure you see it at the cinema too!

The film moves through these worlds gracefully, with several unforgettable action scenes. These moments will have you scratching your head and catching your breath. To me its not so much of an action movie but it definately delivers more than enough adrenaline to keep you glued to the screen.

I have to watch this movie again...

AAMI What About Me Commercials

I am just loving the What About Me commercials from AAMI.. Classic

hehe -  what about me? "i'm sorry, did u say, wassabi?"

Why I HATE Sarah Sidle from CSI

We are just re-watching the previous seasons of CSI Las Vegas and everytime Sarah the bloody c*cksucker opens her mouth, I can't help myself but bitch. Theres just something about Sarah Sidle that rubs me the wrong way! She think she's ultra superior and that her opinions are gospel. URGHHHHHH... Anyway here are some of the reasons why I JUST CAN'T STAND HER..

• She's an emotional basket case and she thinks that the entire world revolves around her. 
• Pretty much every word that comes out from her bloody annoying mouth is dripping with angst.
• She's got problems with authority and overall she's just a snot who treats everyone like dirt.
• And for god sake, she's no where near beautiful. In the series, they try to potray her as a desirable woman - but for crying out loud! She's a spoiled, competitive tyrant who just whines when she doens't get her way!
• She's a teacher's pet...oh just pissing me off even more thinking about it.
• She thinks she knows it all but really she knows very little.

I can't believe Grissom is now married to her. What on earth does he see in her? She is ONE BIG boring workholic. And now she's back..URGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! To all the anti-sarah fans out there..GET YOUR BARF BAGS READY!

Clash Of The Titans Movie Review

In “Clash of the Titans,” the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world.

The movie starts off with baby Perseus (Sam Worthington) being found by a fisherman after he and his mother Danae were thrown into the sea. Danae died, but Perseus survived. The fisherman raised Perseus with his wife. When Perseus is grown, Hades attacked his family while at the same time the kingdom of Argos is declaring war on the gods. Perseus was the only one who survived the attacked leaving his entire family under the ocean. Perseus is told by Hades that Zeus (Liam Neeson) is his father. Up on Olympus, Zeus is apparently finding out for himself that he has a demigod son which makes no sense because Zeus is the creator of Men, he would HAVE to be aware that he has a son.

With nothing left to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus and unleash hell on earth. Perseus tries to help people of Argos, whose inhabitants offended gods and provoked their anger. Meanwhile, Zeus decides to let his brother Hades go free and do what he wants. Hades declares that he will release the Kraken on them in ten days. They will only be spared by letting Andromeda be sacrificed to the Kraken.

Perseus sets off on a perilous journey deep into forbidden worlds, leading a daring band of warriors, including Draco (Mads Mikkelsen), an experienced soldier who encourages the defiant Perseus to make use of his god-given abilities. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, they will only survive if Perseus can accept his power as a god, defy his fate and create his own destiny.

The journey Perseus and his group have in the film is very engaging – they encounter many strange creatures, the story doesn't have many plot holes and the execution is very pleasing to the eye. Although I hated how the Djinns looked and I think Medusa was incredibly fake, the giant scorpions, Stygian Witches and especially the Kraken were  fantastic. I actually wish I went to see the movie in theater – the special effects in few scenes were really great. At least they seemed great to me and I was impressed.

Perseus then saves Andromeda and then leaves her on a beach to go to some worthless rock in the ocean. Perseus does not fall in love with Andromeda. It wasn't a shock since Andromeda did basically nothing useful except for give bread to children and dangle a hundred feet over the ocean.

Perseus then meets Zeus who suddenly seems pleased with his son though Mankind still hates the gods. He then brings Io back to life so she and Perseus can be together forever.

As for the character of Perseus, he is likeable and believable. I didn't mind Sam Worthington in this movie, but as with “Avatar” any other guy could have played the role and I would not notice the difference. He was just ok. 

The only character I really liked was Io, played by lovely Gemma Arterton, who is one of the very few truly beautiful young actresses nowadays. She is so sweet and likeable, that during the fight scenes I was hoping her character will survive.

My verdict is 8/10

The Human Centipede Movie Review

Two beautiful young Americans Lindsay (Ashley C. Williams) and Jenny (Ashlynn Yennie) were having a European vacation, driving though the countryside when their tire suddenly blows out, leaving them both stranded in the middle of nowhere. With no cell phone service and bad weather fast approaching, the girls decide to try their luck on foot through the woods (like WHY??). They eventually stumbled across a modern house inhabited by a crazy pyscho surgeon, Dr. Heiter (Dieter Laser). 

Dr. Heither is a retired surgoen who specialised in the separation of conjoined twins. He has recently begun experimenting with a radical new form of surgery in his basement operating room. And when Lindsay and Jenny show up on his doorstep, Dr. Heiter begins prepping for surgery.
 

After the loss of his precious “3 Dog,” Heiter’s mental state begins to deteriorate further and he decides to begin work on his greatest creation, a twisted creation that transforms separate individuals into one cohesive unit, one writhing mass sharing both form and function, The Human Centipede.

I certainly can’t complain about the acting, it was all well above average, especially from the insanely talented actor Dieter Laser; his character was flat out scary. The human centipede actors, made up of newcomers Akihiro Kitamura, Ashlynn Yennie and Ashley C. Williams, should also be congratulated on their brave performances as well. I mean it’s one thing to act under pressure, it’s another entirely to act while semi-nude, on your knees and attached to a co-star’s posterior! The very thought would make most people cringe but to do it for hours on end for a horror film, well that’s just plain ballsy. 

OK, so what is this "Human Centipede" and why has it caused so many viewers to gag? Well, before I thoroughly explain, as the famous saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a picture...

Still don't get it? Well, the human centipede connects the three people by (and once again I'm being totally serious here) stitching together their mouths and anuses and the main idea is that their digestive track will be connected meaning that when one of them shits, it will go into the next person's mouth. This is one of those rare torture films that isn't even actually torture in the sense that most viewers consider it. There is not really much in terms of "blood" (You see more brown fluids than you do red) when you compare it to other gore-fests.
 

The main one being of course, it's disgusting-ness (If that's even a word). Watching the three poor unfortunate souls stuck together mouth-to-anus is rather sickening and disgusting. There's one scene in particular where one of the girls is trying to vomit but her mouth is stitched up, and her vomit spills from the cracks of her stitches. 

But really what was the point of this film? It just feels like the director's masturbation material, rather than an actual horror film. Anyway, however, I still can't really decide whether The Human Centipede is TRULY bad or not. 

There's a thin line between being gory to actually make your film scary and being disgusting just for the sake of being disgusting. Well, that pretty much sums up my thoughts of The Human Centipede directed by Tom Six. If you have the stomach for it, a barf bag, a grasp of the concept of dark humor, or a sick fetish with watching people's anuses no matter what they're stitched onto, then there is probably something in here worth your time. For everyone else, it's just exploitative, shameless, disgusting, and...did I mention "disgusting" for the bajillionth time?

Obsessed movie review

Derek is happily married to his wife, Sharon, with a son, Kyle. However, when a new temp, Lisa begins to flirt with him. Lisa becomes obsessed and begins to manipulate Derek and Sharon's relationship, eventually becoming violent. Lisa fakes a suicide in Derek's hotel room while he is on a business trip. Meanwhile, Detective Reese interrogates Lisa, who lies about her relationship with Derek. While Derek and Sharon are out, Lisa goes to their home and convinces the babysitter to let her in, eventually escaping with Kyle while the babysitter is distracted. Derek goes to the car, intending to pursue Lisa, and finds Kyle in the backseat with lipstick from Lisa on his forehead. They set up a home alarm system, but at this point nothing is going to stop Lisa from getting what she wants.

Ali Larter is the "temp", Lisa, who seems almost other-worldly efficient. Right away she decides she will get Derek for herself, even though he assures her that he is happily married, he loves his wife, there is no chance that he and Lisa will ever be anything more than two people working in the same office.

And, as we witness, every time she makes unwelcome and inappropriate advances he rebuffs them, but his fatal mistake is not (1) telling his wife about them and (2) doing something at work right away to quell this. So, the advances get more aggressive and stranger, and Derek becomes more perplexed about what to do.

In the big business workplace if a "temp" acts strangely at all, you get rid of them quickly and easily. That's the advantage of hiring a "temp", you have no obligation if they don't work out. The story presented here requires that very strange behavior be overlooked the next day, in the hopes "it will all go away." Well it doesn't all simply go away, and there we have the movie. 

I didn't get her motive or history on why she might possibly be obsessed with this man. Idris Elba who plays the husband, Derek, is completely whipped. Now granted I know they were trying to make him into a nice husband, but did they go far or what? This man sent flowers to his wife every week, isn't allowed to go to a basketball game with a friend, is not allowed to have female assistants, pretty much hide in the corner at the company Christmas party so his wife won't jump on him at home. Beyonce Knowles, who plays his wife, Sharon, I had no sympathy for her character what-so-ever. This woman has major jealousy issues and we never know why, she mentions that he once was a player up till he met her, but it's never indicated that he ever cheated on her, so why in the heck is she so incredibly jealous? Also when she finds out that Lisa attempted suicide in Derek's bed, she won't even hear his side of the story, not only that, the house he paid for, she throws him out for THREE MONTHS! God, I want know what happens to him if he doesn't do the dishes, does he have to sleep in the back yard? 

This woman, ladies and gentlemen, is a COLLEGE STUDENT. I have trouble relating to a man who would suffer so much ridiculous punishment at the hands of an insecure and violently suspicious woman, and still beg on his hands and knees for her to take him back.

Unlike a lot of these erotic thrillers, the male character never gives in to temptation. Derek is only guilty of not disclosing Lisa's harassing behavior, because the first several times things happen, he thinks it's over and doesn't need to make an issue out of it. He is a successful, intelligent, good-looking man who loves his wife, but has his life turned upside down because he holds a few things back.

Whilst the plot is certainly unoriginal, it still entertains...and I don't know about anyone else, but I watch movies to be entertained - regardless of whether they are original or not. I did like the fact that in Obsessed, they didn't need sex scenes to make Lisa obsessed with Derek.

There are a lot of negative reviews of this movie, and I have to ask: why the hell did you watch it? It is EXACTLY what it seemed it would be based on the previews. A girl becomes sexually obsessed with her boss and stalks his family. Nothing more to it.

I've seen a few people comment on the race factor -- hmm, I didn't think race played a huge factor at all. If you think so, I think you need to reexamine why you're so sensitive to the idea of a black man being in the lead role and being stalked by a white woman rather than a white man. Would you have the same negative reaction? Probably not. Get over it.

I had fun watching this film.

I Love You Phillip Morris movie review

“I Love You Phillip Morris” is a gay romantic comedy apparently based on a true story (!!!) and a book by Steve McVicker. This movie is written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa who also wrote the bad ass movie “Bad Santa”. These writers obviously are not afraid to take a chance of offending people.

Jim Carrey plays Steven Russell, whom we first see as a child lying on his back staring at clouds with his friends. We later discover that he sees quite different things in the shapes than most children do, but his parents call him in and tell him, in a scene that’s both painful and funny, that he’s adopted.

He resolves that he will not let this faze him, but will go all out for society’s approval, so he resolves to be the best person he can be, at least in society’s eyes. He gets a job as a policeman, becomes a church organist, marries Debbie (Leslie Mann), has two children and then searches though police records to find his real mother.

After a disappointing meeting with her, he gets involved in a car crash. He resolves that life is too short for denying who you are, and decides to come out as a gay man. He leaves his wife and children and moves to Florida with a flamboyant boyfriend Jimmy. The two of them like living the high-end gay life, but soon found out that all that shopping and accessorizing comes at a cost. “Being gay is really expensive” Steven says, and deciding that the ends justified the means, starts pulling off personal injury scams and living off fake ID cards.

Well, those activities put him in prison, where he meets the man who is to become the new love of his life, the Phillip Morris of the title, played by Ewan Macgregor. Steven has already figured out his way around the prison system and has also spent a lot of time in the prison library studying law, so he’s able to be a teacher to the soft-spoken and sensitive Phillip.

Steven manages to arrange things so they can share a cell together, which seems an ideal situation and lasts until he pulls one too many strings. He is sent to another facility, from which he manages to get released quickly. He pretends to be a lawyer to get Phillip released too. And they set up a home, with Steven as the breadwinner.

To do this he establishes a new identity to bluff his way into another top level job as a Chief Financial Officer. Inevitably he is going to end up in prison again.

Arrested for a string of felonies, with a specialty in fraud, his real expertise turned out to be his uncanny ability to escape from jail. Using whatever unlikely materials were at hand—a Magic Marker, a pay phone, a walkie-talkie, a pair of stolen bright red women's stretch pants—along with an innate talent for analytical thinking and boundless quantities of sheer nerve, Russell again and again arranged his own "early releases" from jail. Unfortunately, for Russell, staying out of jail is another matter entirely.

Over the years, it became increasingly clear that Russell's talent for escape is matched only by his knack for getting arrested. One thing always seems to trump Steven Russell's careful planning, cool head, and instinct for self-preservation—love. Russell cannot resist the urge to try and spring the great love of his life—Phillip Morris.

Jim Carrey has always been an actor who knows how to use his physicality to good effect. Here his coming out is attended not only by one of the most explicit gay sex scenes in a mainstream movie for a long time, but also by an entire change in posture and body language. He is flamboyant, and happy to be so.

These are two men in love, and it has to be said that neither actor is shy about playing that part of the story fearlessly. For that reason “I love you Phillip Morris” is not for the homophobic or those unsure of their own sexuality. If you approach it openly, “I love you Philip Morris” is funny, tender, and dark by turns.

New Moon movie review

Bella Swan (Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson)  graduated from high school and are as happy as any lovely dovey couple could be, at least until Bella attends a birthday party at the Cullen home and nicks herself. The sight of blood leads the Cullens to a startling realisation: They're a vampire (duh?) which is easy to forget when you've only been a vampire since the First World War. 

Edward saves Bella from becoming minced meat and New Moon lumbers on. It is only now, at this moment, that Edward realises their relationship is doomed. He dumps Bella in the middle of the forest and like a true gentleman, he skips town with his family. How does Bella handle all this? The only way she knows how: By being a borderline-psychotic unlikable little shit. She locks herself in her room for months, sends daily e-mails to the Cullens (none of which they receive, let alone answer) and starts suffering from night terrors. Common for most girls going through breakups, right? Things seem bleak for Bella and it almost seems like she's about to off herself in a final act of mercy (for the audience, mind you). 

Enters Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), Bella's childhood pal. After learning she has an appetite for thrills during a bafflingly unnecessary sequence in which she rides with some stranger on the back of a motorcycle, Bella buys a pair of worn-down motorbikes and asks Jacob to repair them for her. A budding-romance montage ensues as we watch these two grow closer, and why wouldn't Bella want Jacob? He's got all sorts of positive qualities that Edward lacked, such as well...a pulse.

Things seem to be going fine for the new couple until -- uh-oh! -- Jacob reveals his Dark Secret: He's a werewolf! This turns out to be something of a put-off for Bella -- after all, it's not like she's dated movie monsters before! So what if Jacob turns all violent and moody every 28 days? That's just one more thing he and Bella would have in common (hey!, am I right or am I right?). To make matters worse, Edward still finds his way into the film despite his not actually physically being there. Whenever Bella is about to do something idiotic -- in other words, every five seconds -- Edward appears as her spirit guide. Hmm..

My opinion of the end was different. I loved the ending. The relationship between Bella and Jacob was portrayed so amazingly. Kristen and Taylor really did a fantastic job. And I'm definitely going to have to say Taylor gets my applause. He can really act I loved everything about him and OMG his body "oh dear lord"! 

Anyway, here’s to the next Twilight saga – The Eclipse.!

Horsemen movie review

The Horsemen is a dark, suspenseful movie about detective Aiden Breslin (Dennis Quaid) who becomes involved in a bizarre serial killer case. Aiden is the typical detective who is so involved with his work that he's lost touch with his two sons, while also grieving over the death of his late wife. As he slowly realizes he needs to put more effort into keeping his family together, he's hit with a case that only forces him deeper into his work.

It seems that a group of people have taken inspiration from the biblical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and they are committing thematically appropriate murders. Can the killers be caught before their murderous plans are completed? Who are the four horsemen? If Aiden does what it takes to solve the mystery, will the remaining shreds of his family life crumble in the meantime?
 

Aiden's son Alex, played by Lou Taylor Pucci takes on the role of raising his younger brother Sean (Liam James) in his father's absence. Alex is perhaps affected the most by the loss of their mother due to his witnessing of her death. Alex repeatedly tries to do things with his father to keep the family together, only to be let down every time due to a case.

The performance of Dennis Quaid defines the tone of the proceedings. In Horsemen he brings a weary quality to his role. Here is a man who is tired, broken, hurting, and cynical. Every time he has to choose between his job and his family, the decision is a painful one. Despite this, he makes the exact same decision every single time. There are cases that need to be solved, there are people who are in danger, and somebody has to do something about it. Aiden lights up a cigarette, tosses on his overcoat and shuffles off once more into the cold, murderous world. It's good stuff, and Aiden is thoroughly convincing every step of the way. He carries the film through a handful of rather ludicrous moments, keeping everything very grounded at all times.

I wasn't a big fan of the way the natural muted tones contrasted with the more conventional horror-flick greens and reds, but the image is reasonably clear and crisp. 

There are plenty of elements that I just don't like about this movie. My biggest problem is the "message" of the movie. The mastermind behind the plans is murdering others due to a personal problem that many of us have faced. I agree that it is not an easy thing to deal with. But you know what? If you decide you need to gut ipeople just to express your pain, I have no sympathy for you. Various factors of life may make things more or less difficult, but ultimately each person is responsible for his or her own actions. The film does what it can to jerk tears from the audience during the final moments, but I felt nothing for the guilty party. At the conclusion, the killer gives someone a speech full of guilt-inducing lines like, "If only you had done this, none of this would have happened." I dunno. Maybe if you had been able to keep your murderous impulses in check despite your hurt feelings, none of this would have happened, mate. Idiots!

Finally, I should note that Zhang Ziyi gives a surprisingly terrible performance as one of the four horsemen (since she is captured early in the film and subjected to prison interrogations throughout the proceedings). Really all looks but really no talent. 

Get busy living or get busy dying - what I learned from Shawshank Redemption

One writer on IMDB.com says, "Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency” and made the comment that the best movies “touch the soul”.

If you have never seen Shawshank Redemption, then you are definitely missing out.  John and I just spent our afternoon watching this movie over lunch. It seems that I have watched it too many times but this award winning movie never fail to move me. 

Shawshank Redemption achieves greatness, indeed perfection. Not because of special effects, action or violence, it achieves greatness because it touches the soul with a straightforward “cinematic” experience filled with brilliant dialogue, excellent performances and a message of hope in the midst of darkness times. It’s a message that echoes deeply and grows more intense with each subsequent viewing of the film.

It is hard to fathom that a "prison" movie could be a source of tremendous hope, light and inspiration. Yet, to call Shawshank Redemption a prison movie is to minimize its greatness. It is a brilliant film, a study of humanity in all its wonder AND it happens to take place within the confines of a prison. 

The story is about a prominent young banker, Andy Dufresen (played by Tim Robbins), who is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his beautiful wife and lover, which he says he did not commit. He is sent to Shawshank Prison. Shortly after his arrival, Andy asks Red (played by Morgan Freeman), a man with the uncanny ability to acquire things from the outside world, to obtain a rock hammer so that Andy can carry on his hobby of rock carving. Over time, Andy and Red develop a close friendship. When the rock hammer arrives, Red musess that Andy might use it to dig his way out of Shawshank Prison. 

Andy offers his financial knowledge of tax and financial law to others and wins the protection of the guards and eventually frees himself from “The Sisters” attempted rape abuse. Eventually even the sadist warden comes to trust after Andy. In exchange for a comprehensive prison library, he ends up running massive money laundering for the warden.

But all goes awry when Shawshanks newest prisoner, a young punk named Tommy comes forward with shocking information. Andy, who’s spent twenty years in Shawshank prison, might be innocent after all.

It’s also mesmerizingly like criminal Botox: over 20 years no-one seems to age, except Andy who wears glasses...

Moving, brilliant, inspirational, hopeful and empowering are all the words I can think to describe The Shawshank Redemption. It teaches, challenges, inspires and evokes a wide array of emotions and thoughts that serve to remind us that in the darkest moments of our lives, there is always a light that shines within.

I am going to share with you some of life's lessons I have learned from this movie. 

Shawshank Redemption Lesson #1: Hope Never Dies 
In an emotional climactic part of this movie, Red is feeling hopeless and thinking he may never get out of prison and thinking that if he ever does, he won't know how to live outside of the prison walls that he has lived in for many decades. Andy responds... "There are places in this world that aren't made out of stone... there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That’s yours…."
 

Shawshank Redemption Lesson #2: You can do anything with just a little persistence
I've actually heard this lot from other people before. But what they don't tell you is that, in many situations, a tiny rock hammer is also required. Persistence, a major theme in many Hollywood movies, shows up in Shawshank Redemption also. When Andy takes over as the prison librarian, he wants to expand the library. He goes to the warden and asks his permission to write to the state asking for funds. Although the warden says that they won't give him any money, he allows him to write anyway. Andy writes a letter a week for many years, and finally they sent him some money and some books. Not satisfied and feelings almost written off, he decides to write 2 letters a week and eventually has $500 a year donated to the prison library system (This was around the 1950s, so $500 went a lot further then). Everyone told him it couldn't be done be he didn't care. He was rejected well over 100 times, but he still persisted and that persistence paid off.

Shawshank Redemption Lesson #3: "Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying" my favourite..
"You either get busy living or get busy dying." If you are not doing the things in your life that make you happy that allow you to truly live, then you are simply working on dying. “If you aren't living life then you are truly dying inside. Do what makes you happy. Spend time with family and friends. Enjoy what you have while you have it, because someday it may be gone.

There are probably many more of life's lessons that can be extracted from this movie, but I think that these are the top few. I hope that this will encourage you to watch the movie again, or if you did end up reading this without having seen it, to go and watch it and enjoy one of the best movies of all time.

"When In Rome" review

“When In Rome” is freaking hilarious! I watched this movie last night with John while I was, well..a little tipsy (thanks for the great night Lyn! – I still can’t believe we drove around singing Bad Romance..too funny!! ). 

This movie has the smirky sense of someone at a party who’s had a bit too much to drink and who laughs too hard at his/her own jokes, killing even the ones that are clever. 

It doesn't make sense that Kristen Bel (Beth) should have trouble finding a date with a decent guy.. She, or any character she plays, should have eligible bachelors beating down her door. In this movie, creakily contrived romantic comedy, she does. All started with her trip to Rome for her sister Joan’s wedding.

Beth- drunk and unhappy – steals five coins from a Fountain of love and drags back to New York with her the spell-induced affections of the four annoying males who tossed those coins into the fountain in the first place. 

Those annoying males comes in the form of a street magician, a painter, a wanna-be model and a sausage entrepreneur.  None of these dudes is really smitten with Beth at all. Instead, all four are under some kind of magic spell resulting from the fact that Beth removed coins they threw into a fountain in Rome -- a wishing fountain said to bring love to those who toss a bit of change into it, but also said to curse anyone who steals a coin by making the coin's owner fall madly in love with the thief.

 

Of course at the same time, Beth is also pursued by Nick, a charming sportswriter she met at the wedding, and for whom she's also starting to develop a few warm, squishy feelings of her own. After she learns about the curse, she comes to believe that Nick, like the others, is merely bewitched and that he doesn't actually like her. 

Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t exactly care about Beth’s career ambitions—why she’s good at what she does or why she likes doing it. Suffice it to say, as she does more than once, that she’s looking for a man she can love more than her job. Until then, she’s married to it, and not only occasionally miserable about that life choice. 

Anyway, I thought it was a cute movie, even though I predicted that one of the coins(poker chip) wasn’t Nick’s. It was light-hearted and fun.