(500) Days of Summer

Funny. Sweet. Quirky. Dan and I both really enjoyed this film. I like what it says about love and what's real. The ending is satisfying. The characters are wonderful, even the bit parts. The boss, the sister, and the friends are probably the best things about this movie, actually. The lead girl, I think, is a phony, but that's exactly what she should be. I never knew that kid from "Third Rock from the Sun" would be in something good (I really thought that show was lame), but he's fabulous in this movie. And the cards with the cat made me laugh.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (film)

Well, the movies are always a let down, as they should be, really. You can't expect them to pull off the books. But I think, of the movies, this one was the least of a let down for me. I actually really like Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, and I found him swell in this one. My biggest complaint is Harry's lack of training with Snape, since (in a Darth Vader-esque fashion) Snape is the central character of the series. But you can't shove the whole book into a movie, I know. My other complaint is the complete lack of chemistry in the romances. I'd say Harry and Ginny have negative chemistry, and Ron and Hermione have almost non-existent chemistry. This is also the case in the books though. I will say that I thought there was excellent chemistry between Harry and Hermione in the scene in which he comforted her when she was depressed and jealous over Ron. I guess few people agree, but I'd have liked to have seen Harry hook up with Luna. Slughorn was amusing, though not at all what I pictured. Not fat enough, for one thing. Also, his dubbed memory wasn't as funny as the one in the book---(You'll go wrong, boy, mark my words). All in all, I enjoyed this fim and thought it the best of the Potter films so far.

Up!

One of the headlines I saw for this movie read "Pixar does it again". If it weren't for the first twenty minutes of this movie, I'd say that headline sums it up pretty well. I like Pixar. I think they make terrific movies and most of this movie was as good as anything Pixar had ever done, but the first twenty minutes are downright spectacular. The opening sequence for this film is so good! We're talking "It's a Wonderful Life" good. I was absolutely enchanted. The rest of the movie was a ton of fun with some bits that choked me up because they referred back to the first twenty minutes. I would absolutely recommend that any and everybody rush out and see this movie right away.

I thought I'd add The Onion's review of Star Trek just to go along with Angie's.


Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

Star Trek: Beginnings

WARNING: SPOILERS
So I guess this really was a pretty good flick. I think I probably should have liked it more than I did. I think my biggest problem is just not being able to get over this problem I have with all of the spin-offs paling in comparison to my first love when it comes to Star Trek: the original series. I had a hard time with said original series kinda being obliterated in this movie. Perhaps if I'd known what I was getting into, I would have liked it better too. I thought I was going to get the "beginnings" for the Star Trek I adore. I didn't realize this movie was a springboard for a whole new Star Trek with an altered reality created so that these characters can be reused some more. I'll grant you, they're good characters; it makes sense that someone wants to squeeze everything out of them. It rubbed me wrong though. I will say, I thought the actors did a very good job of creating younger versions of the beloved characters. I really liked the portrayal of my favorite character, Leonard McCoy. I did have difficulty buying the romance between Spock and Uhura. If they could really be in love in another reality, it seems strange that in the reality with which we have thus far been familiar, we didn't ever even see a spark. I can't say it wasn't a pretty decent flick, but I can't say I wasn't disappointed.

Taken: Past Participle

Really a fantastic word. Of course, it allows us to create sentences such as, "My dear Wolfgang, have you taken it into your head to devour the neighbors' kittens again?" (Sorry, when writing sentences for the illustration of points of grammar, I still haven't gotten over writing them for the entertainment of seventh graders, who were generally quite fond of Wolfgang and his many foibles.) Also, "taken" can create a truly visceral feel when used properly. For example, as a movie title on a poster with Liam Neeson and a gun, Taken becomes a powerful word. I give the past participle, taken, two thumbs way up.

Taken

I'm not much of an action movie kind of a girl in a general sense, though I certainly have a soft spot in my heart for Big Trouble in Little China (who doesn't?). Car chases and buildings blowing up are not generally what I'm looking for in a movie. This was a good action movie. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Not too much time spent blowing up stuff and car chasing (just enough). Good story. Good acting. And, hey, isn't that movie poster excellent?