Up In The Air

This was my second favorite movie this year. George Clooney is wonderful. The supporting cast is great. You really feel for these people even though you have never met them before in your life. Over the past few years I have spent my fair share of time waiting in airports and the director really got the feel of that waste of time. You really believed that he truly felt that he was doing a service to these people that he had to fire. He found out about their pasts and he would help them see their future. It was just wonderful and I hope it wins some awards this year. Of course, anytime you can spend a few hours with George Clooney are never wasted.

The Princess and the Frog

I took my almost three-year-old granddaughter, Juliana, to see this movie on Thursday. We had a really good time. It wasn't her first movie but it was her first movie viewing experience with me. She enjoyed the movie and I really liked the movie too. It was a good flick and I would recommend it to any person with small to medium aged children. There looked to be some good movies coming out in the next few months too.

Invictus

My daughter Kate and I went to see 'Invictus' yesterday. It was great. I really enjoyed this film and it made me feel so good that when I left the theater I vowed to turn over a new leaf and be kinder to my fellow man. That lasted until we got into the car and tried fighting all the crazed Christmas shoppers out on the streets of Denver. Invictus is Clint Eastwood's retelling of a small part of Nelson Mandella's first days as President of South Africa and his plan to unite his country. Everyone should see this movie. It is terrific. I have always been a big fan of Clint Eastwood when he is directing a movie. He is an incredible director and writer. I have loved Morgan Freeman ever since "Glory" and have followed his career. I only hope that the movie, Eastwood, and Freeman all receive Academy nods in the spring. I recommend anything with Morgan Freeman in the film, including "Bruce Almighty" when he plays God, "The Shawshank Redemption", "Glory", "The Bucket List" where he holds his own with Jack Nicholson (which you have to admit is a very daunting task in itself) and "Driving Miss Daisy".

2012

I finally went to see '2012' this morning. This is the kind of movie that looks good on the big screen and not at home on your small television. It was really exciting and it had a good message, if we can't be good to each other than humanity is doomed. I don't understand this big glut of end-of-the-world movies that have been coming out lately. It we don't all die in some disaster we may be scared to death by Hollywood. It justs goes to show you that my favorite comedian Wanda Sykes says, "somethings gonna happen". Everyone from the Capital to Hollywood is going to scare us into buying more things and preparing for the end of the world. Anyway, back to the movie. It was exciting and kind of scary. My daughter, who has a Pembroke Welsh Corgi will be happy to learn that the Queen of England and her Corgi's survive. This movie is fun to watch on a slow Sunday morning when you really should be out buying Christmas presents but just don't want to face the crowds. I enjoyed it. I also recommend the original "The Day the Earth Stood Still" if you want to keep with the destruction of the world theme.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

We had to go opening weekend for "New Moon". I think I was more excited than my daughter who by the way got me started reading the novels by Stephanie Meyer. I don't know if I liked "New Moon" better than "Twilight" or not. With the first film, everything was brand new and exciting and when you have any movie after the original it takes a little away from the first film. It was the same with "The Lord of the Rings" movies. At least I didn't have my husband sitting next to me throughout the movie saying "that wasn't in the book" like he did with LOTR. I loved the werewolves, they were incredible. They weren't all gross like the wolves in other movies, although Martha Stewart said on her show this morning that they looked a little "mangy". I don't think I spelled that correctly but who cares. Of course, she had a private screening and I had to sit in an auditorium full of tween aged girls. Everyone just gasp the first time you see Jacob without his shirt on. Worth the price of admission right there. All the pack looked great. I am not loving Bella right now because she treated Jacob so bad but I know that had to be done.
If you like werewolves I would recommend "An American Werewolf in London" and the "Underworld" movies.

The Blind Side

"The Blind Side" starring Sandra Bullock is a wonderful movie. She plays a very headstrong southern mother who helps a homeless boy overcome some terrible odds. This is a true story and just makes you feel good after watching the movie. I love football movies so this was right up my alley. My 17 year old daughter even liked it and she hates football. I have now become a Baltimore Ravens fan. Sorry Broncos. If you enjoy sports movies I would also recommend "Breaking Away", "Invincible", and "Seabiscuit". True, Seabiscuit is about a race horse but what an athlete.

A Christmas Carol

I went to see "A Christmas Carol" in 3D with my Aunt. She hadn't seen a 3D movie since the '50s and we both really enjoyed the movie. Got us in the mood for Christmas. Jim Carrey does a great job as Ebenezzer Scrooge and many other characters in the movie. I found myself trying to figure out who was playing each character in the movie and that was very distracting. Gary Oldman (who I just adore) plays Bob Cratchet and the character looked just like Oldman. Then I found myself trying to figure out who the other characters were. I think it would have been a better movie if the actors had just lent their voices to the parts they played and not to the drawings of the characters. That said it is still a good movie. I would also recommend the live action "A Christmas Carol" starring George C. Scott.

Cirque Du Freak

We saw Cirque today and it was pretty good. I don't even know if I spelled that correctly or not. It was kind of predictable but the ending left it open for another movie, which I wouldn't mind seeing. John C. Reilly does a great job as the vampire with a really cool deadly spider. Of course the main characters are best buddies in high school, one is the bad apple and the other is the straight arrow good kid. The bad apple studies Vampires and the good kid studies spiders. So of course the good kid ends up as the vampire because he tries to save his friend from the spider bite. There are some really interesting freaks in the circus and a cute romance develops between the good kid and the monkey girl. There is a great fight at the end between the good vampires and the bad vampires.

One note. We saw previews of "The Wolfman" which is coming out soon. It looks awesome, the wolfman looks just like Lon Chaney, Jr. looked in the original movie of the same name. Can't wait.

Fame (2009)

I broke down and went to see "Fame" with my daughter on Saturday. It was a pretty good movie. If you are a fan of the original movie or television series you will be disappointed with this rendition. The original movie had more of a plot and we got to see more of the families of the students attending the Performing Arts school. The new movie feels like it was made by the folks at VH1 or MTV. It was a bunch of music videos run to fill the two hours. It will cash in with the "High School Musical" crowd however. It was fun and the music was really good. If you want a movie with more substance see the original. If you want more like this movie, watch "Flashdance." If I had to give it stars I would give it two out of four. A pleasant movie that didn't make you think too much.

The Old Lady Recommends: Original "Fame" movie, "Showboat", any Andy Hardy movies.

Love Happens

My daughter, my Aunt and I went to see "Love Happens" on Friday night. It stars Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart. I enjoyed this movie and laughed a lot. I also cried a lot (those of you who know me won't be surprised by that statement). Could it have been better written or directed or could the stars have done a better job acting, sure. But I go to the movies to be entertained and this movie was entertaining. Eckhart is good looking. Aniston is cute, but I thought she was channeling Rachel from "Friends" a good part of the movie. But I love "Friends" so that didn't bother me much. The movie was funny and touching and you got so see some great shots of Seattle (much better than "Sleepless in Seattle" or "Grey's Anatomy"). The shot from atop the space needle is breath-taking and makes me want to go visit Seattle. It has a good supporting cast and the guy that plays the grieving dad in the movie did a terrific job. The scene at Home Depot is so surprising and touching that it made me want to go buy some power tools. I would recommend this film to all of those women out there who just want a good laugh or cry. I would not recommend this as a date movie or a movie to take your entire family too. Kids under 12 won't understand what is going on and husband's will be bored. It is just a fun movie to go to with your girlfriends on a girl's night out.

The Old Lady Recommends: "Love Happens", "When Harry Met Sally" and "Sleepless in Seattle"

Slumdog Millionaire

I finally watched "Slumdog Millionaire" and it was a great movie. I don't know that it deserved best picture at last year's Academy Awards but it was a very good movie. One thing it did do is stir a desire to watch other movies from "Bollywood". I have bee a fan of foreign movies before this but to say that out loud to other people makes one sound like a snob (which is what I am really).
Slumdog isn't for children under 12. I think a child needs to have a sense of how other children live in other parts of the world but I think this has enough violence in it to really scare a younger child. Being aware and being fearful should be kept far apart in a childs world.
I would like my daughter to see this movie, she is 16 and should be able to handle it. If I have to sit through "The Ugly Truth" then she can sit through "Slumdog".

An Old Lady Recommends:

Babette's Feast, Amelie, and A Beautiful Life.

Gamer

Let's see, another Gerard Butler movie. Do you sense a trend here? Yes I like Gerard Butler. I didn't like this movie. It was a cross between "The Running Man", "Tron", and "Death Race". Good guy is set up and becomes a pawn in an evil genius' plan to rule the world. The guy from "Dexter" is the evil genius and he does a great job. He really gives you the feeling that he takes his roles seriously. I think his name is Michael C. Hall? He was on "Six Feet Under" also. There is a cast of who's who in this movie. Kyra Sedgwick is okay but you don't ever get a feel for her character. The movie just couldn't make up its mind, violence and sex in every scene or a movie with a message. The message was, don't turn your life over to others, live it yourself. Yada, yada. I was very disappointed in this movie but anytime you can sit in the dark and watch Gerard Butler is a good thing.

The old lady recommends: "The Running Man" and "Death Race" the 2008 version.

The Ugly Truth

I enjoyed "The Ugly Truth" with Gerard Butler (very handsome) and Katherine Heigl (very pretty). It is one of those movies that could have been a lot better if they had gotten rid of the constant sex talk. The scene with the vibrating panties was funny but we have seen that before in "When Harry Met Sally". Mr. Butler is very easy on the eyes and funny. His face tells a great story, from heartbreak all the way to pure joy. Ms. Heigl is pretty and annoying. It is hard to believe that she would have a hard time finding a man with her looks. She has a list of what she wants in a man. She is looking for a man that will make her feel more like a woman instead of the machine that she has turned herself into. Of course, they fall in love and she has to dump her "perfect" man. It is an okay movie, my 16-year-old daughter really liked it. We have had to watch it twice now. It is R-rated and I debated as to whether to take her to this movie but I wanted her to see how men can be jerks. Unfortunately, the movie proved that women can be just as bad or worse than the guys. This movie could have been much better and made its point just as well without all of the bad language and all the sex talk. It went for the easy laugh and that is unfortunate. If you want to see Gerard Butler at his best, watch "Dear Frankie" or "P.S. I Love You". Both of those movies are at your local library and well worth the time.