Reviews

The film White Oleander is a series of contrasts. On the one hand, it is heavy. It made me feel, for lack of a better analogy, very "weighed down" while watching it. It isn't an all-out misery-fest by any stretch of the imagination, but I would have to say that the story is a string of unfortunate events, each one following hard after the other.

On the other hand, the plot leaves something to be desired. Many characters struck me as caricatures. They were like card-board cutouts of real people. On the surface they appear as perfect copies of the real thing, but from another angle they are seen as flat and one-dimensional. Parts of the story seemed hurried over- I felt like there was so much more depth to the places and people that Astrid experienced along the way than what we were able to see. We can see the mark that these places and people leave on her, but we aren't always able to get a good sense of the time it took to make those marks. Endless conversations were left out, along with other seemingly insignificant moments that it took to shape Astrid's history. Granted, Astrid's past is meant to be somewhat of a mystery, but that is no excuse for the movie being so utterly light on detail.

This movie follows the story of Astrid Magnussen, whose life is turned upside down when her mother, Ingrid Magnussen commits murder. Ingrid kills her own on-and-off again boyfriend, Barry Kolker. Whether we are supposed to find this crime justified or not is up for dispute, but the lack of remorse that Ingrid has about it is pretty unsettling. In fact, Ingrid seems to display little remorse about anything that she does. She claims that all of her actions are out of love for her daughter, generally ignoring the negative impact that her selfishness ends up having on Astrid's life.

Astrid- and to a certain extent, her mother- is one of the few characters in the movie that seems fully dimensional and believable. She is quiet, pensive, and eager to please. She's like a plant just coming into maturity, but one that is struggling to blossom in contrary conditions. It seems that every time she begins to root herself, she is suddenly uprooted and must accustom herself to strange soil. Through it all, her mother constantly cautions her to "remember who you are." But if she has never known, how can she remember?

Alison Lohman's performance as Astrid is moving. She plays the curious, conflicted teenager authentically. I think though, that as many have said before me, Michelle Pfiefer steals the show. She slips into the role of the territorial, eccentric Ingrid with almost disturbing ease. You look at her and actually believe she is a cold-hearted killer, perhaps a sociopath, but at the same time you can't help but wonder if the heart of a mother still beats in that chest. That is for me to know, and you to find out.

Everyone else in the movie gives performances of only passing quality, forgettable really, although Renee Zelwegger does distinguish herself to a certain degree even if her character came across as very overplayed. I guess therein lies part of the problem with the movie. You have two individuals nearly shining in their roles, with everyone else appearing as just a faint glimmer. The second part of the problem lies in the fact that the story just doesn't quite sell itself. This is supposed to seem REAL, and somehow, it falls short. We do get a glance at the shoddy quality of some foster homes and youth homes in America, the reality of older children being shuffled about and rejected, but that's where the realism ends for me.

Despite the low rating that I am awarding this film, it's definitely one I'd recommend. The subject matter makes it a thought-provoking piece that begs introspection. Another bonus is that the soundtrack is quite nice. This is actually a film with awesome potential that pretty much flopped in the pacing and presentation.

The premise of the movie is a simple one and basically summarizes the whole movie, "A wayward daughter invites her dying mother and the rest of her estranged family to her apartment for Thanksgiving dinner."

The movie starts us off on that Thanksgiving morning. First, we are introduced to April, and her boyfriend Bobby who are living together in a shanty apartment in New York, and then to April's mother, father, and brothers and sisters in another location, who are preparing to make the trip to visit her. We aren't provided with any back story, except what we gather about the past from conversations that April's mother has with the rest of the family during their voyage.

Honestly, I was finding myself slightly bored during the beginning of the movie. The film, although over an hour, manages to span over just one day, lending it a slow feel. The cinematography was somewhat unimpressive. The soundtrack is sparse, with most scenes not having any music at all, and the music that is present is humming just outside the viewer's awareness most of the time rather than being the main focus in any one scene.

I found myself easily able to make prejudgments about each of the main characters based on their limited dialogues and their reactions to things going on around them. I stereotyped Beth as the movie's prim and proper "good younger daughter". She gave unsolicited advice with surprising frequency, and always seemed to try to distinguish herself as being the opposite of the "wild child" elder sister that she obviously secretly envied, if not admired. Timmy played an easygoing middle-child, cleverly juggling his role of responsibility as the one only other "man of the house" with the conflicting role of unimportance being in the middle tends to lend to a person. Bobby was the soft-hearted but firm father. You could almost feel his tension when you looked at him, empathize with his struggles to hold his family together, knowing that he would someday have to do it all alone.

Finally, we come to April's mother, Joy. Whether Joy is an ironic name for her or not, I will leave for you viewers to decide. She comes across as jaded and sarcastic, with a sly sense of humor and a stubborn streak. Most of all though, she seems tired, the toll from her illness clear on her; the toll from her strained relationship with April, clearer still.

Then of course, there's April herself. She's fierce, independent, and loyal. It isn't hard to see why she could've gotten into trouble in the past, but it also isn't difficult to see how she probably got out of it.

This movie definitely has its funny moments, mostly stemming from the encounters with the characters that Apirl meets as she struggles to pull together her Thanksgiving dinner. Her family also has some adventures during their trip, starting (almost) with picking up April's partially senile grandmother from the nursing home.

Despite its simplicity- or maybe because of it- this film will tug at your heartstrings in a way that you don't expect. At least, it certainly did mine, partially because I could personally identify with having a strained relationship with my own mother, even if it was just for a time. I found myself close to tears during some moments, which is rare.

I think the message of the movie is, that love has power, that family is still family even when some of you don't fit in, some of you don't like each other too much, and some of you try too hard to be perfect, ultimately failing. Most fail, however, when they don't try at all. It all sounds trite and very cliché, but this film somehow delivers itself in a way that makes the message both memorable and believable. The cast had to carry so much and each member carried his/her share with significant grace.

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody- hopefully this movie will help you to remember what the season is supposed to be about.

The movie Apt Pupil begins with a slow, but definitely solid start. Our protagonist, Todd Bowen, is an honor student at his high school. His history teacher is teaching "holocaust week" and Todd becomes intrigued and heads off to the library after class for more information.

On his bus ride home, he spots a man who looks familiar- a little too familiar. Todd recognizes him to be Kurt Dussander, a Nazi who is being hunted for various crimes he committed during the second world war.

After collecting a lot of evidence proving that the man he spotted was indeed Kurt Dussander, Todd decides to confront him. He gives Dussander (who is living under the alias Arthur Denker) an ultimatum; tell me all about your involvement in the holocaust, or I turn you and all the evidence over to the police. Dussander agrees to share his stories with Todd, and thus was the beginning of a confederacy that was to lead both parties involved down a path of darkness.

Ian McKellan gives an amazing performance as the sarcastic and witty Kurt Dussander. In my opinion, McKellan definitely carried the movie. He was totally convincing as the seventy-five year-old former Nazi, so much so that it was almost hard to imagine him as the same man who would later play as the vivacious villain Magneto of the X-men series, or the kindhearted and powerful wizard Gandalf of the Lord of the of the Rings.

Brad Renfro gave a less thrilling performance as Todd Bowen, the highly intelligent protagonist with a shade for the sadistic. Renfro was too many sullen stares, bored smirks and petulant exclamations, and too little harsh resolve, but at moments he did shine. And perhaps his moody performance was somewhat appropriate to the character, a teenage boy entangled in something from which he could not escape.

I cannot accurately draw a comparison between the book and the movie, having only seen the movie, but I can say that from what I've heard and read, the book and movie should be judged on their own merits. The movie isn't so much as an adaptation as much as almost a reinterpretation or retelling of the original story, and has a drastically different ending from the book.

All in all I can say that I enjoyed the film- it didn't absolutely blow me away or have me eager to watch it a second time- but it was worth the paltry sum that I paid for it and maybe more.

High School Musical 2, like its predecessor, is set in the season of its release- namely, summer (last time it was winter). The movie begins with drama teacher Miss Darbus droning on in the classroom. The kids began to chant "summer" as the clock slowly counted down to 3 PM. Then they threw their papers in the air around a slightly uncomfortable Troy Bolton, and began singing what I consider the worst song of the film- "What Time Is It?" Which should have been called "What Time Is It? I Think This Song Is Lasting Forever." Upon the initial viewing, this movie seemed kind of...oh, how do you say? Rushed. There were about 10 songs (including remixes) versus the 9 in the first movie, but the way they were presented made them feel a little smooshed together. For example, there are 3 full-length songs within the first twenty minutes. As a person who hadn't been watching Disney Channel incessantly before the film's premiere to familiarize myself with the songs, I felt that they were coming at me so fast (sometimes) that I couldn't fully enjoy them.

So I watched the movie again, the very next day.

That's when I realized, that many of the songs were not as memorable as they had been in the first movie. I wasn't singing "You Are the Music in Me" the way I had been singing "What I've Been Looking For". Most are excellent in the movie, but many don't seem quite as catchy or stick with you quite as well when you're away from the TV. In that way, the producers struck out. "What Time Is It?" wasn't enjoyed by me any more the second time around than it was the first.

I've heard the opinion more than once that HSM 2 was a better movie than the original. The excuse is that the characters "matured" in this film and it is about growing up. I am inclined to disagreement with that angle. What I liked about the first movie is that everything was fresh. Troy and Gabriella were just starting to get to know each other and to recognize their love for singing, and the awkward moments and building chemistry were absolutely adorable to watch. Their "friends" misunderstood so much, that they tried to change them.

A film about them maturing and growing up would have been great- if that film had genuinely existed. HSM has never been loved for a strong plot, so it's no surprise that although there's now a new focus on college and the future, it's more than a little misrepresented. In the end, a lot of weight was put on living in the moment. True, we should remember to keep our friends close even though the future might cause us to go our separate ways, but I felt that the movie didn't communicate this message in a realistic context.

When it came to the characters growing, it was clear that some people didn't learn anything- namely Troy's "best friend" Chad. Though even Sharpay showed some unexpected goodness in the movie, Chad was more-or-less the same self-righteous jerk that he was in the first movie. Back then, he spearheaded the effort to change Troy by distracting him from singing. Now, in the name of keeping Troy from changing into someone else, he gives him the cold shoulder and offers no understanding at all. Chad might have been wise to realize that although he was saving for a car, Troy was aiming to get a college scholarship. His motives might have been noble and Troy a bit misguided, but his attitude was nothing less than aggravating. What's new, though? Ryan was one of the characters that went throughout the most growth in the movie. The "dumb slave" persona that he had in the first movie was really amusing, but it was also good to see him coming into his own in High School Musical 2 as a more developed and rounded character.

Even though there were definitely cheesy moments in the film- namely, all the talk about "changes" and "saving the summer" sounding kind of like a little kid's book- there were definitely redemptive moments too. The similarities between it and the first movie aren't really too hard to miss, but I found myself liking them rather than feeling like I was seeing the same film all over again. Gabriella has another (kind of) solo, Troy has to make a hard decision- only this time he makes it with no guarantee of being able to compromise. Sharpay is her usual self again remixing one of the songs to fit her own liking. Only this time, she is even more funny than before. Her songs were among my favorites.

Though in the end, when Zac Effron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens came together to sing, the magic really happened. No matter how cheesy the line I just heard was, I loved those moments.

There's also something new this time around. Troy has a solo- coincidentally one of the best songs of the movie- and Lucas Grabeel and Corbin Bleu come together to sing "I Don't Dance", a song where swing dancing, hip-hop, and baseball come together to make something great and original. Freshest moment(s) of the film, definitely.

So in the end, we have an interesting paradox. In some ways, High School Musical 2 doesn't have the magic of the first. Yet at the same time, I can watch it again, and again, and again.

*sigh* 7/10 stars.

The one word that comes to mind when I think of this movie is- beautiful.

The movie begins in a dimly lit room, where an elderly woman begins to recount the story of the life of a man with scissors for hands by the bedside of her young granddaughter. His creator died before he was able to finish him, leaving the man alone in his large estate.

From there on out, the entire movie plays out like a kind of modernized fairytale- and the environment has everything to do with it. The town in which the story is set is utterly suburban and utterly isolated, as if were the only neighborhood on the planet. Every house is a different color and shape, but there is a kind of treeless sameness between them that pulls them all together, making them seem unoriginal and conformative. The same could be said of the cars, and how they all file out each morning in a bizarrely choreographed fashion to take the men that we hardly see to work.

Yes, the film is mostly about the women of the town, all different, but who all share the common ailment of gossip. Peg (played by Diane Wiest), one of the film's main stars is a bit of an outsider. She is tidy, hard-working and sweet.

After a particularly unsuccessful day of work as the local Avon saleswoman, she decides to try her luck at the oft-unvisited mansion at the end of the street. It is an almost exaggerated contrast to the sunny and ordered neighborhood right beside it. It is dark and towering, and the clouds hang over it so intensely that it almost looks to be in a different world. And that is probably what it represents.

It is here, that she finds the shy and awkward Edward Scissorhands. Being the sympathetic person that she is, she invites him into her home. Thus begins his adventure into maturity, acceptance, rejection and love.

We have to pause for a moment to make a note of the brilliance of Tim Burton. He created a character that looked like he's walked straight out of a horror movie, and is yet perhaps one of the most gentle and endearing characters you will ever come across. Edward's appearance is no mistake at all. Tim manages, to, without saying it overtly, challenge us not to judge on outward appearances and behaviors.

Edward basically desires two things. For one, he wants to have regular hands, so that he can be "complete" and normal like everyone else. The various ways in which he is treated display colorfully a myriad of stereotypes and opinions. More than one person tries to refer him to "someone who can help him" and others see his unusual hands as something that makes him special.

The second thing he desires is to be acknowledged by the girl that he is in love with- Peg's teenage daughter, Kim. It is through this that he gains more and more human emotions, such as heartache, jealousy, and anger.

Johnny Depp shines once more in this role. Yes, that's right- this is the same Johnny who bravely battles the undead in Pirates of the Caribbean as Pirate Jack Sparrow. His performance as Ed is flawless and displays his absolute attentiveness to detail. From the quirky and quick way that he walks to his everyday pursed lips, to the heart-wrenchingly pained look in his face when he is misjudged, it's all made to try and clue us in to how Edward is feeling inside.

Winona Rider did a great job as well in playing the part of Kim. At first she seems frightened of Edward, then annoyed at him, and later, sympathetic.

The supporting actors and actresses all do well in their respective roles, especially Kathy Baker as the neighborhood "maninizer". Whether you loved her or hated her character (I simply thought she was plain whack) I think you will probably have to acknowledge that she played the role to perfection.

It's sad that so many films seem to include a stereotypical Christian who sees evil in everything, but, alas, I even begrudgingly admit that Olan Jones was a good Esmeralda.

Even with a great setting, and a great cast, the movie would be incomplete without an excellent soundtrack- which is exactly what it possesses. The music has an eerie, wispy tone to it, and it fits beautifully with the surreal feel of the movie.

So what can we say in the end about Edward Scissorhands? I think it is a movie for the kind of people who like films that have an unconventional way of getting their point across. (Think, "The Butterfly Effect"). Outwardly, it's just a story with a guy who has hands for scissors in a really bizarre-seeming setting. If you stop there, you might not enjoy it at all. Yet if you look deeper, you see that it is really a poetic love story. It's also not about Edward's scissor hands- it is about people who are different, and who feel incomplete. It is about people who feel that they are misunderstood because they don't quite know how to speak up, and the judgments that we often incorrectly make about them. Yet it portrays all of this in a concealed, and sometimes actually funny way.

Unfortunately, as poet K. Bradford Brown said, "The problem: We see us by our thoughts, intentions, and ideas; They see us by our actions." So true.

Equally true: This is a really good movie.

Haunted Mansion was a movie that I didn't have much of a solidified opinion of. I more or less expected it to be one of those "seasonal flops"- forever locked in the category of holiday films that were obviously created to make money- not laughs.

I guess I could say that I was pleasantly surprised. Eddie Murphy, as usual, was hilarious. There's nothing negative to be said about his performance at all. Aree Davis and Marc John Jeffries are competent in playing the role of the Evars children. Marsha Thompson, who gave me the impression that she could handle much bigger roles with relative ease, fit in well.

The plot follows the story of career-driven realtor Jim Evars, who is quite willing to sacrifice family time to seal the next deal. When wife Sara Evars receives a call from a cool and reserved butler who says that his master desires to sell his expensive mansion, Jim puts their vacation on hold in favor of a supposed "quick" visit to talk business with the man. The family ends up staying overnight due to unexpected rain and flooding, and it becomes apparent that selling the house was not what Master Gracey had in mind.

I enjoyed the movie more than I expected. Of course, its originality can be questioned, but that doesn't go without saying that the movie presented a kind of old story in a fresh and fun way.

A peeve of mine was how daughter Megan Evars seemed to be adventurous to the point of caricature, but otherwise, Aree Davis was enjoyable enough to watch.

Of course, this movie isn't "awesome." Would I mind watching it again? Probably not.

I'll have to admit that although I had always wanted to see the movie, my expectations for it were pretty low. At best, I expected a mediocre film with below average acting and over-emphasized computer effects. At worst, the movie would be a blatant and tasteless attempt by Walden Media to ride on the fame generated by its popular film, the Chronicles of Narnia.

A comparison between the two movies was inevitable. I am here to say that there is no need for this comparison, because Bridge to Terabithia can stand on its own.

During the first forty or so minutes of the movie, I can recall being mildly charmed, amused, and nostalgic, but nothing more. The children were too "old" to play pretend and so I only felt myself being mildly involved in their goings on.

But after a while, I wasn't mildly involved anymore. I was in there.

The storyline is pretty simple. The star of our tale is Jess Aarons, who lives in the country with his parents and four sisters (two older and two younger). His father (Terminator 2's Robert Patrick) is a mechanic, who also grows vegetables in their greenhouse and raises some pigs. The family is obviously struggling to make ends meet. In the meantime, Jess, the only boy in the house, feels ignored by his parents- especially his father, who doesn't seem to take him seriously as an artist. In the meantime, Jess doesn't realize he is also ignoring his younger sister Maybelle, who idolizes him.

Jess ends up befriending his new neighbor, Leslie Burke. Their worlds are completely opposite. She's the only-child of higher middle-class, artistically inclined and nonreligious parents. The one thing that they do have in common is that they are both outcasts of sorts at their school. That, and of course, Terabithia.

One of the things that makes this story great, is the fact that although it focuses on their adventures in the imaginary world of Terabithia, it doesn't totally detract our attention from their lives as they are. It completely bypasses all stereotypical Disney humor and drama and has a firm setting in reality. We may not get along perfectly with out siblings, but we don't call them "birdbrain" every day at the kitchen table. Revenge on the school bully doesn't always have to mean tripping them in one way or another and landing them in a pile of the "mystery" casserole served at lunch. The students at school don't actually all look like they've been attended to by a professional stylist. More often than not, the barriers separating parent and child are vague, unspoken, unrealized. But very real.

Perhaps this is a side effect of the story not actually being written by the average Disney writer. The story was a book written by a lady who didn't feel the need to either sugarcoat it or paint it black.

Credit must also be paid to the cinematographers and director who helped make this film's unique environment a reality. The camera angles were magnificent. As for the 3D- it looks very purposely surreal, probably to emphasize the fact that Terabithia is imaginary. Yet it still blends well enough to be impressively beautiful. Perfect.

Then there are the two stars who helped to meld it all together. Josh Hutcherson was 50% of the reason why I thought that the movie would fail. He seemed too stiff. As the film went on, I saw that this initial stiffness was a part of the character- communicating the coldness of a boy who felt isolated and under-appreciated, and didn't really appreciate himself.

Hardly anyone could've been more suited for the role of Leslie than AnnaSophia Robb. Everything about her- gestures, pose, energy, smile, and even her voice- made her such a perfect Leslie. She lit up every scene that she was in.

We can't go on without mentioning Bailee Madison, who played the role of Jess's younger sister, Maybelle. Bailee's performance was extremely natural and realistic. I doubt that this is the last we will see of her.

The movie doesn't really blow you away. It's a lot more subtle than that. What it does do is make you feel something- and will definitely leave a lasting impression. In this movie, the magic doesn't come from a boy's wand or a little girl's wardrobe. With this, your imagination is the key.

So close your eyes, and leave your mind wide open.

...a little girl asked.

And I wish that I had an answer.

The title (Grave of the Fireflies) probably sounds more fitted to a horror movie. Perhaps it is, but a different kind of horror- it depicts the horrors of World War II.

It follows the story of Seta and Setsuko, two Japanese army children whose father is at war, and whose mother dies of burn injuries following an air raid on their city. They then go to live with their aunt on their father's side, who treats them as second-class members of her household because unlike her daughter and husband, they do not work.

As a result of their aunt's demeaning attitude, a naive Seta decides to leave with his very young sister Setsuko and find some other place to live.

The movie is unlike any movie of its type that I have ever seen- more or less because of the attitude of Seta. He always possessed a bright and happy disposition in the midst of hardship and tried to allow his sister to live as normal a childhood as possible. The movie focuses on the innocent, joyful moments that the two had together, including playing and bathing together and their oft hobby of going out to catch fireflies during the summer nights. We never feel unaware that a war is going on or the struggles the two are facing, but at the same time the special relationship between Seta and Setsuko is more highly emphasized than many of the tragedies going on around them.

The animation of the movie is smooth and life-like. Of course, the coloring and shading of modern anime works exceeds that of this movie, but I can still watch this and be nearly as impressed with it as with either of those.

The fact that it is animated detracts nothing from the feel and flow of the movie. In fact, in many ways it adds to it- at least for me. Those cute moments are made even cuter than they could've been without this; the flashbacks to memories are made even more hauntingly sad.

Either way, this is a movie that cut me like few that I have ever seen in my life. Some movies have made me sad, but only three have brought me to tears. After the movie, I was eating a Popsicle- of all things- and suddenly everything hit me all at once and I bursts into tears.

It was less of an emotional roller-coaster the second time around, but not less of a movie. It's definitely a must-see in both the tragedy and anime genres.

American Idol is probably one of the great history-making TV shows of the 21st century. In a few decades we'll probably still be talking about it, and our kids will probably either agree that it was magical or wonder just what we were so insane over.

For some people, the show is just entertaining. Obviously, the first few episodes every year are little more than a joke, as judges singer Paula Abdul, entertainment industry rich-guy Simon Cowell, and producer Randy Jackson wade through thousands of people who think that they can sing but are simply incapable of carrying a tune. From each of the cities they carry away only a handful- numbers like 8, 19, 24 and so on are small numbers when compared to a number like- 100,000. Yet even if they come away with a bit more than .1% of that from all the cities combined- and they usually do- the contestants are cut by the judges yet again, leaving only 24- twelve guys and twelve girls.

That is when America gets to decide who gets to stay and who gets to go, by texting in their votes or bombarding the lines of their favorite contestant(s) with calls.

Singer and songwriter Cheryl Crow, in an interview in Ladies Home Journal stated that the show is nothing but commercialization of music. I feel that it is exactly the opposite. I think it is a show that gives ordinary people a chance to live their dreams- and reminds us that stars are still ordinary people.

Of course, a lot of people miss that. They scream hysterically for the "Idols" just the way they would for someone else who they didn't realize was an "ordinary" person just a few months ago. But that in itself gives the show a bit of its magic for me. It sounds horrifically cheesy, but I feel as though I am going on a journey with these people and its always fun to see where they get to go next.

Sure, I sit down and loudly criticize the contestants when I feel that they have missed it. When it comes to critique, if that wasn't already obvious, I can be a bit of a Simon myself- though you wouldn't think so if you knew me. Yet, like Simon I know that what they're doing is something that I probably couldn't do. Although, I DO think that I'm a little better at singing than Simon is. At least I have that.

I only have a warning for anyone who wants to start watching American Idol. You may start talking to the TV. You may become distracted by the singing when you're trying to study. You may scoot towards the edge of the couch, even if you've never been on the edge of the couch before.

And, worst of all, you might start to think that you can sing- even if you really can't. (Ever notice how there are more contestants every year?) Anyway...what else can be said about the show? There have been singing shows before this, and there have been singing shows after this. The ones after tried to boast that they were better than American Idol.

If that's the case, why are people still afraid to show their TV shows on "idol night"? Why did more people watch American Idol than the Grammys, or than even watched the presidential address? Whether it is famously or infamously, Idol will be remembered. People will still argue about which seasons were the best, and who should've gone home when.

I don't know if I'm going to watch next year. But I'm going to guess that the buzz is going to be hard to ignore- like always.

I was sifting through the $5 crate of DVDs at Wal-Mart- something that I try to do every time that I visit the entertainment section of the store- seeing if there was anything there that might catch my attention. There was the usual array of old Ashley Judd movies and obscure suspense titles.

Then I saw it- Benny and Joon. I quickly scanned the back for the synopsis, figured it might be an OK watch, and tossed it into my basket.

I'll admit that one of the main reasons that I got the movie was because of Johnny Depp. He is one of the most versatile among the top actors now, rivaled only by Christian Bale. I had always been curious about his older pre-POTC works, so I saw the movie as a great opportunity to check him out.

He was anything but disappointing in this film. It's hard to believe that the same man playing the quiet, eclectically talented and unbelievably cute young comedian outcast Sam is as equally convincing as the drunken, drawling, and flamboyant pirate Jack Sparrow. Yet, it seems that with Johnny just about anything is possible.

Of course, we can take nothing away from the other actors and actresses of the film, who played all of their roles terrifically. Mary Stuart Masterson gives an unbelievably believable performance as Juniper (Joon) Pearl. Ruggedly handsome Aidan Quinn is great as the almost-burnt-out, but patient and caring older brother. Julianne Moore and Oliver Platt both played their supporting roles well.

What can I say? This movie seems to transcend all clichés with incredible ease. From my movie viewing experience, the leading lady of any romance is either a lovestruck teenage girl or a working class mid-twenties/thirties woman who has been burned too many times and is trying to hide it. The leading man is someone who the director hopes will be perceived as a gorgeous hunk by every female watching the movie, and he either hides his love behind a cold, sarcastic exterior or is a classy, confident flirt.

The characters are a big part of turning those stereotypes on their head. Joon Pearl is extremely artistic and intelligent, with a sometimes sharp tongue and an eye for detail, but is forced to depend on her older brother because of her mental illness. Sam, who is also smart and talented in his own peculiar way, was never acknowledged in this by his parents or the cousin that he lived with, and was hampered by his struggle in learning to read and write. Benjamin Pearl (Benny), a car mechanic fitting the resident romance movie "gorgeous hunk" stereotype, struggles with the decision of either abandoning Joon to a group home as both his friends and psychiatrist have advised or continuing to sacrifice his freedom and the chance for a romance of his own for her.

The story doesn't seem like one that would make good romantic comedy, and yet the characters fit in perfectly to make it one. The movie is such a paradox, as it almost seems to make fun of and exaggerate the character's particular weaknesses and quirks, yet was still so sensitive, heart-warming and believable. It is also a breath of fresh air from the one-sided view of love that romance movies and romance novels seem to propagating. They nearly always ignore the true, sacrificial love like the kind that Benny shows towards Joon, in being completely patient and undemanding towards her at all times. Joon and Sam are also this way in that they care deeply for each other, despite the fact that each of them has their own unique disabilities.

The romantic moments of the movie are not disgustingly fairy-tale like. There is no long flowery dialogue and exaggerated music. Sam and Joon, although more than likely in their early or mid twenties, are completely ignorant when it comes to romance and are almost child-like in their interactions with each other. It was impossible for me not to grin.

Undoubtedly, this is one of those movies that will probably be perceived in one of three ways; as a completely silly, utterly unrealistic piece of garbage; as a rare artistic gem; as a movie whose only impact was confusion.

My verdict is "rare artistic gem", even though it took a little bit for that to sink in. For, despite the gigantic grin on my face at the end of the movie, I was hovering between considering it silly fluff and just feeling plain confused.

One thing of note about the movie though, is that it does deal with everything in a short amount of screen time. Today, the movie would probably be longer and try to delve a little deeper into Joon's unique psyche. Maybe it would have explained how Sam ended up living with his cousin anyway. In the end, though, the fact that the movie was still such an enjoyable ride makes me wonder if we even really need to know.

Ice Princess was, in the barest of terms, a feel good family- perhaps with a more mother-daughter slant- movie.

Actress Michelle Trachtenburg, perhaps better-known for her role in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Inspector Gadget", put on an excellent performance. She portrays the clumsiness, shyness, and insecurities of her character, Casey Carlyle, with incredible believability. The effort that she put into learning to skate for the movie really shows as well. Her movements were graceful and solid.

Hayden Panitierre's performance was a solid one, as usual. She continues even today to display a talent beyond her years. Whilst many of the actors and actresses paying high schoolers in cinemas are actually in their early (or late) twenties, Hayden Panitierre was only around 14 years old during this movie. Yet she manages to fit in seamlessly with the more experienced Michelle and the respective actresses playing their mothers, Kim Cattrall and Joan Cusack.

Panitierre's main weakness in the film is her skating. Her movements simply weren't very fluid and graceful, and when they were, they were always on the more simplistic moves. In fact, most of her skating was incredibly simplistic.

The plot of the movie is quite simple. It follows the story of Casey Carlyle, a physics wiz kid who has to choose between going to Harvard or following her desire to skate. Her mother, a college English professor, holds a demeaning attitude towards skating, considering it neither a real sport nor a valid career option.

On the flip side of the coin, there is Gen Harwood- the most popular girl in the school, and the daughter of former big-time skater Tina Harwood (Kim Cattrall). Her mother relentlessly pushes her towards skating, even though Gen has no real passion for it.

The girls' paths crossed. Of course, the result is pretty easy to guess.

The main faults of this movie are its goofs. Gen Harwood, even though she is slightly out of shape and not very passionate about skating, should after years of practice under her strict mother, have been at least a little better than Casey Carlyle. Even from the time the movie started, Hayden Panitierre was clearly a worst skater than Michelle Trachtenburg- so much worst, that it acted as a glitch in the storyline.

Another goof would be the short time that it took Casey to become a truly accomplished skater. Even with "natural talent" and years beforehand of skating on her pond in the winter- as well as biking everywhere she went as an excuse for her good physical condition- it did not make sense. A friend of Gen's told her, "It took me 2 years to land my double." Guess how long it took Casey? Nonetheless, the movie seems to get away with it in a sense. The soundtrack is beautiful, and Michelle Trachtenburg was wonderful to watch.

In a way though, the movie seems a little insulting to real life skaters, who truly put years of effort into their sport. Yet even when the movie is insulting those skaters through Casey's under-earned brilliance, it points out the hardships of skating through the problems that Gen and her friends face. Gen's grade's suffered, and the father of one of her friends had to work two jobs to pay for his daughter's skating expenses. All of the girls were on a strict diet.

Although Tina Harwood helps the movie by her many lines talking about the difficulties and hardships of skating, and even though we know Casey did train, so little of the training was shown. Emphasis on training, to me, is a must for a truly superb sports movie.

Along with Tina, another character who seemed to bring the movie a little more down to earth was Nikki, a.k.a "the Jumping Shrimp" played by Kirsten Olsen. She was the youngest, but the most brilliant of the skaters, in reality and in the movie- more than likely because Kirsten is an actual figure skater.

In summary, the film has its good and bad points. As noted before, though, the movie doesn't focus a lot on the training and doesn't seem to be about keeping things real or accurate in that sense. It focuses more on Casey's relationship with her mother and her following her dream, and the fears and insecurities surrounding that. Those are the times when the film is truly brilliant, and gives it an almost magical feeling despite its flaws.

If you are a fan of ice skating you will either love this or hate this movie. I cheated and decided to take the middle ground. In a way, you could call this a guilty pleasure for me. I enjoyed it and could see myself watching it again, but I feel that it failed on many levels.

7/10.

That's what this movie had me thinking at the end of it. This, even with the ending credits actually being one of this movie's best parts. It featured the cast of the movie lipsynching and dancing to the song "Hey Mickey." Bring it On could be a real pain in some points. The combined crudeness and general long length it seemed to take for the movie to reach its climax made it a bit difficult to watch.

The movie finally gets a move on it, when Torrance, shortly after becoming squad captain, discovers that the former Torros captain had been stealing the cheerleading routines of a squad from another school- the Clovers. Torrance then, overcome with guilt and shame, takes it upon herself to create a fresh routine for the team before the finals that are only a few weeks away. Torrance attributes much of her problems to "the curse." The Curse was the hilarious myth that Torrance picked up at cheer camp, that claimed that dropping the "spirit stick" caused bad fortune to follow you for the rest of your life.

The movie definitely has its quite humorous moments. The more shallow characters are clearly parodies- in fact, most of the film is indeed a parody. The movie in some ways teaches a lesson by mocking those who are proud of themselves for cheating to win.

My favorite characters were as follows- Torrance Shipman, (Kirsten Dunst) president of the Torros squad; Missy Pantone (Eliza Dushku), Torrance's closest friend and "ally" on the squad; Cliff Pantone (Jesse Bradford), Missy's electric-guitar-playing, constantly-CD-player-wearing, cheerleader-hating brother and Torrance's romantic fixation throughout the greater part of the film. I think, they in many ways save the movie by bringing it a little more down to earth.

The acting in the movie was as good as was to be desired considered the circumstances. In fact, I didn't think that it was that bad.

As for the cheer routines? Colorful, brilliant, and all around excellent for lack of more creative wording.

Despite that, if I had one word to summarize my opinion on the movie it would be; subpar. Though, perhaps we ought to cut it some slack. After all, it WAS a "teenage" movie. How many of those are actually really good? Did I waste 2 hours of my life? Maybe. But I'm definitely not screaming in agony.

Yet, I found myself laughing. Perhaps it can be attributed to a possible chemical imbalance at the time or not enough sleep, but I enjoyed it.

I suppose the reason why was that I immediately began to recognize it as a parody. It isn't meant to be realistic or serious.

Amanda Pierce's beginning dialogue is what immediately caught my attention. She was always attracted to the wrong guys, who, when caught in the middle of cheating, would say "This isn't what it looks like".

As a result of one too many heartbreaks, she tried to envelope herself in her work, which was restoring old paintings. That's a profession you don't see very often in the movies, but it was fitting for Amanda.

What can I say? I feel a little guilty, but the movie was "cute" for lack of a better word. Monica Potters and Freddie Prinze Jr. had good on-screen chemistry.

Though again, I repeat- the movie isn't realistic, serious, or deep. So if you're not in the mood for fluff? You'll probably want to avoid it.

The trailers for The Prestige carefully concealed it as a light-hearted film about a magician- nothing more, nothing less.

I did not expect the dark, deep, and involving film that played out after I popped in my DVD.

The opening lines, narrated by Michael Caine who plays the patron magician "Cutter", are a big key to understanding the movie. Cutter explains that there are three important parts to a magic trick- the pledge, the turn, and the prestige. Throughout the movie you will see how this law applies, as the "secrets" to some of the tricks are revealed.

The second part of the beginning of the movie follows. We see Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) trapped in a water-filled glass tank below stage, struggling to get out. Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) goes underneath the stage and discovers him there. The movie then skips ahead to a trial, in which Alfred Borden is being charged for the murder of Robert Angier- he evidently drowned to death in the tank. Alfred Borden is found guilty of murder and sentenced to die.

A rich lord sends a messenger stating that he will take care of Borden's young daughter in exchange for the secret to Borden's greatest trick. The messenger is also sent to give Borden Angier's diary.

That, is how our story really begins. We see through the point of view of Robert Angier as Borden reads through the diary.

Robert Angier and Alfred Borden worked together underneath Cutter, until a tragic accident caused them to go their separate ways. Some time after they separated, Alfred Borden released an amazing trick. Angier, consumed with jealousy, did everything inside his power to find the secret to the trick. In fact, he began to doubt that it was a trick at all, but rather "true magic. He was in constant competition with Borden, always trying to outdo him as a magician.

Hugh Jackman does an excellent job in portraying Angier's passions, delusions, and melancholy. He completely blew me away with its vibrant showing of his true talent in this movie. After seeing the X-men films, I was almost certain that he was trapped as Wolverine, but when you watch this movie you will think absolutely nothing of Wolverine and absolutely everything of Robert Angier.

Christian Bale, as always, was also excellent. I have not seen an actor so diverse, so adept at playing a variety of completely different roles in as long since perhaps Johnny Depp. Yet Christian Bale even outshines Johnny in that department. You will be reminded as little of him as Batman as you will of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. He truly put on the character and he put him on with brilliance.

The entire movie is a mystery up to the very end. We do not know if perhaps the rivalry did get out of control and Borden murdered Angier, or if Borden's magic is real and not just another clever illusion. What I can tell you, however, is that the conclusion will shock you, and you will be talking about, and thinking about the movie for long after the credits roll.

To call Happy Feet "cute" would be an understatement. To fully describe it, you'd need a litany of adjectives, such as "extroidinarily", "exceedingly", "intensely", and "tremendously" set in front of the word "cute" in order for your description to be complete.

If you have read the synopsis, you probably already know the story. It follows the life of "Mumble" (Elijah Wood), the penguin youngling of parents "Norma Jean" (Nicole Kidman) and "Memphis" (Hugh Jackman), who, because of certain circumstances, was born with the ability to dance instead of the ability to sing. When he attempts to sing, he creates a sound similar to that of a shrill, rusty horn- only about 10 times worst. It will make you laugh and wince all at once.

The voice acting in the movie was colorful and diverse, with a variety of different accents to help express each character. Robin Williams was amazing as the narrator. Most of the songs sung in the movie are probably very familiar to most people, and they were done in the most fun, "cute" way possible.

After an hour of giggling, though, I fell silent as the movie took a turn for the serious. It started to deal with such political issues as man's misuse of the environment, religious tolerance, and social acceptance. To be honest, I was a little taken back. I didn't expect such a heavy hit from what I thought was nothing but a cute little kid's film.

I felt that at some points, the movie lost a little of it's flow and started trying too hard to make it's moral points. I felt that the ending was a bit rushed.

All in all though, it was an incredible, original movie and I don't think that I will forget it soon.

Oh, and it doesn't hurt that the animation is absolutely magnificent either.

That will remain a (partial) mystery. Why this movie was not as good as the first, however, will not be.

The movie was just a little too "goofy" for my tastes, in that typical Disney fashion. It failed to balance comedic silliness with seriousness as well as its predecessor.

Secondly, for the first time, I started to truly dislike Will's overly virtuous character and his often ill-timed showings of bravado. Whether the fault lies primarily with Orlando Bloom or his character is unknown, but I felt that Bloom's performances were a little too wooden this time around. In addition, Will's oft-brash behavior seems to lack consequences. When you see his run-ins with the villain of this movie, a squid-like version of Davey Jones, you will understand my sentiments.

In general, Davey Jones was a "suitable" villain for the second film, being neither perfect nor absolutely terrible. I feel that Barbossa from the original movie was more balanced and fun. He was a "bad" guy who wasn't exactly bad, thus providing ample excuse for his lack of cruelty. Davey Jones, on the other hand, is heartless- in the full literal sense if you get what I mean- and because of this, the writers are forced to give him some out of character moments to prevent him from killing Will. He's also paired with the typical idiotic crew, perfect for holding back the otherwise unstoppable villain enough to allow the heroes juuussst the wiggle room they need to escape all the disastrous situations they seem to get into. The writers also saved Davey Jones from total character-suicide by making him have a curse (which was never explained) that prevents him from getting on land, or even within 10 feet of the shallows. This means he is forced to depend on the aforementioned stupid crew, rather than be stupid himself.

The plot of this movie was at least as good as the original, with even more twists, and the much-welcomed reappearance of a two very specific characters from the first film. The major problem with judging the plot, however, is that we don't even get to see how it all ends! This movie follows a trend set by the first two Lord of the Rings, ending exactly where the first film is going to start off with no warning whatsoever. I found this a little disappointing- especially since I embarrassingly didn't know about the third one for some reason when I was watching the second. Still, it wasn't enough of a pain in the butt for me to detract any points from the film's rating.

If you feel like I haven't said very many good things about the movie, well, keep reading- that's coming. Then right after that, a few more bad things, then my conclusion.

The good news is this; that wonderfully piratey theme song that gave the first Pirates a lot of its appeal is back in full force. The stunts and choreography in the film are still as amazing and tasteful as in the first- if you detract the few goofy ones close to the beginning of the film. Jack Sparrow is as witty, endearing, and as drunk as ever. Elizabeth, still gorgeous and kick-ass without being annoyingly pro-girl-power, is taking an even bigger role in this movie than in the first one. I for one do not mind.

In fact, one of my favorite scenes in the movie was Elizabeth and Jack's discussion about "curiosity". I think Johnny Depp and Keira Knightly stole the entire show and left Orlando Bloom standing in the dust.

Good news aside, I am now free to address the one scene in this movie that left me grinning in a combination of embarrassment, annoyance, and amusement.

I was proud of Pirates of the Caribbean for introducing its own unique flavor, spirit, or whatever it is you choose to call it into theaters and DVD shelves everywhere. This is why I wondered exactly why they chose- like Superman Returns, V for Vendetta, the One, and other films that I cannot at this moment recall- to incorporate Matrix-like effects into their movie. In just the film where I thought that I was safe from incredibly slow-moving flying bullets, they sneak one in.

Sure, it was well timed, and it was just one bullet. There were no slow kicks or time-defying dodging of sword thrusts and/or punches in the film. Still, it was just a little over the top, and worthy of detracting a tiny fraction of a point.

Well, despite all, I still loved the film, I still recommend the film, and I still desperately want to see the last? installment.

I sat down to watch this movie on television, when I finally decided that sitting down to finish predictable, sub par action films and Lifetime "mystery" stories, but passing up the more excellent films just wasn't acceptable.

So, despite "having else planned" I stayed in the family room and watched the movie.

For once, I didn't even feel the slightest pang of regret.

The movie was as good as I expected. Samuel L. Jackson was the perfect choice to play Doyle Gipson. Jackson has always managed to have a somewhat comedic quality, a satirical one, for none of his antics or even the events that befall him should be funny, and yet, they are.

I absolutely loved the plot, as it was the perfect mixture of parody, exaggerated circumstances and real-life drama. It made me laugh, it made me feel worried sympathy, and it also managed to keep me on the edge of my seat- and didn't attempt to achieve the last by direct physical conflict between the characters.

Whoever said that Ben Afleck was a bad actor, obviously hasn't seen him in this movie. He too played his role perfectly, and a few of his scenes were especially impressive.

A quick note that I would like to add in this review. If you have seen, and liked "Falling Down" with Michael Douglas, Barbara Hershey, and Robert Duvall, then you would definitely enjoy this movie as well. The crazy, sometimes incredulous sequence of events in Changing Lanes reminded me a lot of Falling Down.

I really didn't know what to expect when I tuned into Bridget Jone's Diary on ABC Family.

Though when I saw the very first scene, which features Bridget lip-synching hilariously to a depressing love song whilst watching an equally depressing movie on her television, I figured that it couldn't be that bad.

I was right.

Of course, for this to be a really good review, I would have to address the things I learned about the movie after watching it. I learned that some see in it a totally adorable woman they can relate to, and others see sexist trash.

To say that Bridget isn't a terribly desperate single gal would be a total understatement. As a result, I must warn those of you females who feel that the portrayal of any such female- who, I MUST remind you still actually exist- is a jab at your independent womanhood, to stay out of this one.

Although the plot in this movie can sometimes be a little predictable, Bridget is not. You never really know what is going to come out of the woman's mouth at any time- and neither does she, which adds to the entertainment.

Additionally, the story is not entirely about Bridget Jones. A decidedly tongue-in-cheek side story involving her dysfunctional parents is present as well.

I loved the performance of the actors in this movie. First of all, Renee Zellweger, of course, and second of all Hugh Grant, as he seemed perfect for the charming-yet-decidedly-perverse Daniel Cleaver.

I certainly think that this movie is worth giving a chance to.

Spiderman 2's predecessor set the scale for all of the other modern superhero movies to be made after it- at least for me.

I think that the magic of the Spiderman series is that it is not a "superhero" movie as much as it is a "human" movie. A lot of the time in the first movie was spent developing Peter Parker's character as a person and his everyday life.

That theme continues in Spiderman 2, with even more force. Peter begins to question whether or not saving the world is worth sacrificing the things that are important to him in his life. His job, his school, his friends, and most importantly, the long-time love of his life, Mary Jane Watson.

Spiderman 2 stands out as a superhero movie that behaves more like a drama than an action movie- which is typical of a lot of second-rate superhero movies. It isn't all about the villains and the flashy battles scenes- though those remain.

So in a way, the movie provides double-gratification. I get to enjoy all the unrealistic, fantasy elements of a superhero film without having to sacrifice a great plot- and even a carefully threaded in moral. There's something for everyone in Spiderman 2.

As with the first movie, the acting remains excellent. Tobey Mcguire and Kirsten Dunst are still excellent as Spiderman and Mary Jane. James Franco's performance is actually stronger than it is in the original, with his behavior in a certain scene (which I cannot mention to avoid spoilers) particularly impressive.

Even after seeing it a second time, Spider-man 2 is still my favorite movie.

I was completely hoodwinked.

I was tricked into believing that this movie was,

A) Funny B) A good modern telling of Little Red Riding Hood C) Funny

The more I watched, however, the more I began to realize how terribly I had been fooled, and it started the moment that Red opened her mouth to sing.

In fact, the more I paid attention to her, the more I noticed how bad her computer graphics were compared to that of everyone else. Except those trees- which are not beings but objects, making it even worst. Both for Red and the trees.

There comes a time in all filmmakers' lives when they must decide whether or not their movie is a musical.

There comes another time when they must decide whether or not it is meant purely to entertain, or whether or not their story carries a deeper meaning.

With Hoodwinked, it felt like they had just shrugged and said, "What the hey?" and threw it all together.

Musicals do not have 3 ill-timed songs inside them. Red comes across as a brat, and her quest to "see the world" was overshadowed by her childish sarcasm. So much for teaching us anything about the importance of family ties and honesty. I think that was what they were going for.

As for the comedy aspect, as aforementioned, I hardly laughed. Twitchy was nothing more than an unabashed rip-off of Foamy the Squirrel's over-medicated friend (who even bears the same name). Only, he lacked the violence.

Oh, and I wanted the goat to die. Really. And that usually isn't me.

The only three things that this movie had going for it were an excellent soundtrack- and I am NOT talking about the character singing- and the presence of Mr. Flippers and the Wolf. Granny would have been great, but she catered too much to her granddaughter's whiny wishes.

The film was entirely disappointing.

On December 10th (a day before I am writing this review) I had to watch this movie for the second time- just to make sure that it was still the best movie that I have seen all year.

It is.

By watching this the second time, it simply drove in the fact that this movie was as ingeniously put together as I originally thought.

Please, if you have never watched the film, do not be put off by its peculiar, seemingly mediocre beginning. I almost was, and I nearly missed a masterpiece.

I was expecting- as many of you reading this probably are, or were- something totally and utterly different. The trailers gave the impression that this would be yet another thoughtless slasher horror flick. Ashton Kutcher's presence in the movie did not help. I had never previously watched any of his movies, and you would hope that "Dude, Where's my Car?" was at least as good as "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure", but I have my doubts.

In this, however, Ashton Kutcher displayed for us his ability to both act in a serious role, and act in a serious role with excellence.

More importantly, this was not at all the bloody teen horror film that I expected, but an intricately sewn together thriller that was based (although loosely) on the theory after which it was named- The Butterfly Effect. This theory states that small events can have catastrophic effects- such as the flapping wings of a butterfly acting as the prerequisite to a hurricane.

Of course, you probably know the synopsis. After losing the woman that he loves, a man learns how to go back in time (no, I will not tell you how) and attempts to change the past, but each time he tries to change it, he ends up changing too much.

Apart from being deliciously entertaining, The Butterfly Effect helped to drive in something that I had always known, but never wanted to believe. As cheesy as it may sound, The Butterfly Effect has made me realize how important it is to be grateful for life exactly as it is. I will quote from the movie, "There is no perfect. You can't change what people are without changing what they were." And, "You can't play God." This movie does not fit into just one genre. It is a science fiction, a fantasy film, a romance, and a drama, all rolled into one. Some may think this makes it disjointed, but I believe that it gives the film a depth that so many others lack. At times it made me laugh, other times it made me cover my face with horror, but for the most part it always had me at the edge of my seat.

I also cried when it ended- which despite me being a sappy female happens very seldomly with movies. Yes, it was just that moving.

Of course, I have my own opinions about what Evan should have done (the part of me that was in support of him changing things at all) but I will leave them to myself. What he should have done is not as important as what he does do. As a popular band once said, it is about the journey, not the end or the start.

Now, if you do not get the movie the first time, try watching it a second time. Doing that helped me, too, even though I got most of it on the first try, and it has helped other viewers as well.

Lastly, I must address the way this film is constantly compared to Donnie Darko and Memento- both of which I have seen before. The Butterfly Effect is not nearly as confusing as either of those, and the plot is radically different. Memento is played backwards for one, and Donnie Darko is sometimes more allegorical than it is literal and much darker a film than either one. They have almost nothing to do with each other in my opinion, apart from the fact that I liked all three, and that they do not follow the chronological patterns of your average movie.

There ends the similarity.

Oh, and by the way? The movie really is very violent, and its R rating quite deserved. The violence, however, is not the focus of the film, so please do not allow this to deter you from watching the movie.

What can I say about this movie? To say the least, it was beautifully crafted.

Brandon Routh- who, as Shaq pointed out at the film's premiere in less flowery language- sometimes appears to be Christopher Reeve reborn. Not in appearance and voice alone, but also in his representation of Clark Kent. Of course, this should not be too surprising seeing as he has admitted to studying Reeve's performances in the earlier Superman films.

Nonetheless, Brandon Routh is excellent in his own right. He "is" Superman as wholly and perfectly as Smallville's Tom Welling (who is, ironically 2 years older).

The other characters of the cast were as equally well -chosen. I had perhaps biased doubts about Kate Bosworth's portrayal of Lois Lane, but she does extremely well with the part. I had even more doubts about Kevin Spacey...I mean, come on, Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor? To my delight, however, he did more than just shave his head to prepare for the challenging role.

Over an hour of the two and a half the film provided was spent with Superman "returning." Note, that I already have a slightly biased dislike of Superman. You can probably guess what that dislike concerns.

However, I found myself enjoying Superman's excessive showing off.

The movie in general is probably one of the most aesthetically pleasing superhero movies that I have ever seen. I usually hate to focus too much on good graphics, but the 3D scenes are done amazingly well most of the time. Superman's red underwear is lacking most of its usual luster and utterly underwearish shape, much to my relief. In fact, thanks to the perfect length of his cape and good use of the camera, we avoid even seeing it most of the time.

All this, combined with that classical Superman theme song, makes our hearts cry, "It's Superman!" with a surprising joy.

The problem is, despite the perfection found in the cast and direction, the plot is sadly lacking. Lex Luthor's plan is foolish, rash, and surprisingly cheap coming from someone of his caliber. Last I saw of the old Batman and Superman adventures TV show on Cartoon Network those years ago, Lex Luthor was a man devoted to subtle mechanics. He would do things, like destroy land by draining oil from the wrong areas, sell weapons to the enemies of metropolis. Mass destruction was never his goal, although people were inadvertently hurt by his methods. He had huge factories, all covered with lead so that Superman could not see inside, and worked tactfully with the enemies of Superman to bring about his demise.

The one villain who could have saved this movie- Metallo, a.k.a. "The Man With the Kryptonite Heart" was left out much to my disappointment.

Instead of either adding a more powerful villain or making Lex Luthor the intelligent- however insane- businessman that he is, they surrounded him with idiots and gave him a faux plan.

In this way, they insulted the intelligence of the audience. They perhaps thought that an involved, complicated plot was the wrong way to bring Superman back, and the movie was probably also geared to young children (despite it's PG-13 rating, which was not understandable to me as the movie was quite mild) who were just being introduced to the Man of Steel.

Despite these major flaws, though, now that they have gotten over "bringing Superman back" the seeds have been planted for an excellent sequel. Sequels usually make me wary and I do not want them, but ironically, with this movie of all things, I hope for one with absolute anticipation and excitement.

Memoirs of a Geisha is a difficult movie to review, because it consists of a variety of different elements. I must note also that I have never read the book before (though I would've liked to) so cannot compare and contrast between the film and the book in my review.

One thing that I can say that I certifiably loved about the movie, was that they made it 2 hours and 30 minutes, thus allowing accurate time for all the events involved.

Another thing that I enjoyed about the movie was the historical experience that it was. We got a chance to see Japan- though mostly from the geisha standpoint- before WWII. The scenery was very beautiful.

The cast acted excellently, and they are really the best thing about the movie, and one of the reasons why I have given it this high a rating. Ziyi Zhang proves to be excellent- as usual.

The main part of the plot, to be frank, is very weak. It is very difficult for me to believe that a girl, (the star, played by Ziyi Zhang) could fall in love with a man that she had only met on one occasion, and just because of his kindness to her on that one occasion dedicate her entire life to trying to be with him. Yes, geisha generally did not receive much kindness, but...you catch my drifting.

Nevertheless, despite that weak main point, all of the details concerning the betrayals and controversies surrounding it prove to make a superb story. We are left to be sometimes sad, sometimes surprised, sometimes happy and other times confused, but all along we eagerly wait to see what will happen next.

The one thing that bothers me more than that weak point in the plot, is the seeming glorification of the geisha lifestyle. In the movie, a main character calls geisha artists- which is not entirely untrue. Geisha were more dancers, musicians, and hostesses than they were prostitutes, but that morally questionable part of what they do still remained. We must also remember, that many of the girls who became geisha did not do so by will, but were sold by their poor- or greedy- parents. We must ask ourselves, no matter how much propriety or "beauty" may surround it, how healthy is it for a nation to encourage women to sell themselves for sex? Another thing that bothered me in the movie (which may have been done properly in the book) was the passage of time, especially after the war. We fail to get a real sense of time passing throughout the movie after Chiyo/Saiyuri grows up to adolescence/adulthood- or, more specifically, when Ziyi Zhang replaces Suzuka Ohgo in playing the part. They never make any effort to make her look any older, even though the other characters seem to be aging. The narration gives us pretty good hints, but those "years and years" never seem to show up properly on screen, and therefore it steals a chance for the audience to fully sympathize or empathize with Saiyuri's struggling.

Apart from those, I did not notice any flaws in the movie. The movie was done tastefully, without many scenes of sex or violence. This is important in giving the audience a sense of the discretion that the geisha operated with. They did not have sex often or simply on a whim, they went through many circles and procedures, gaining popularity. Finally, they were bid upon, and then went only to the highest bidder, after which the cycle began again.

The movie is forced to get a 7/10 because of its flaws, but it was an enjoyable movie, well-directed and narrated, and one that I would not have minded seeing again.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was an interesting film, and one that stands out for its uniqueness in my memory.

The movie sometimes plays more like a really long music video than a traditional western, and the soundtrack- which includes "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"- is wonderful. The movie sometimes takes intermissions to display long passages of time through a series of photographs- all accompanied by the music, of course.

The movie is undoubtedly a comedy with only a few serious moments. We follow the trail of the kindly, talkative "Butch Cassidy" (Paul Newman) and his polar opposite, the dark, quiet, "Sundance Kid" (Robert Redford), and The Sundance Kid's girlfriend, Etta Place (Katherine Ross), who, in typical western lass style fits in perfectly with the two men.

Our stars are the outlaws, and as is natural in this kind of film, we find ourself rooting for the "bad guys" and hoping that the mean, mean government people (why can't they understand it's not a crime, just another way of life?) don't catch up to them.

The movie is a lot of fun, and leaves little to be desired, although it fails when it comes to matching the depth and seriousness of other westerns when it comes to the plot, and may bore some viewers.

Oh, and of course, it is missing the famous "draw." Considering Sundance's god-like abilities with the pistol, though, that may have just been for the best.

8/10 stars.