HOLIDAY MOVIE REVIEWS

With Natsuko away for the past few weeks I have had nothing but time on my hands. Natsuko and I usually do everything together, so I've been a little lost without her.

When I dropped her off at the airport I realized that I could either stay in bed until she returned (a bit like Brian Wilson did) or I could watch a lot of movies. I chose to watch a lot of movies. Here's a short review for each of the movies I watched.

FANTASTIC MR. FOX - There's a reason I'm writing about this one first. My nephew and I went to see it together and I think it's the best thing I watched over the holidays. I don't want to say anything about it, because that would spoil it for you. I'm really looking forward to getting this on dvd and watching it again.

ADVENTURELAND - I thought I was renting a dum/fun comedy when I brought this home. It does have some funny moments, but it's more of a drama than a comedy. I really enjoyed this movie. This film did a great job of capturing the reality and excitement you feel right before you start college/university. Thanks to Adventureland, I now have the Lou Reed song "Satellite of Love" stuck in my head.

G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA - This movie was horrible. I knew it was going to be, but I had to see it to be sure. It's official now. This movie sucks. I could do an entire post about how bad this movie was, but I'd rather tell you about some of the other better films I saw.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE - I really like these films. The cast is great and it's fun to see them all slowly growing up. This movie however was the most boring in the series so far. Hopefully the next two films are better, and the series has a strong finish.

THE HANGOVER - This was lots of fun. It's not laugh out loud funny, but it's very entertaining.

THE FOX AND THE CHILD (LE RENARD ET L'ENFANT) - Ok I realy wanted to like this one. I saw it on the shelf of the rental store and thought it was worth a chance. The cinematography is beautiful and the message the film delivers was very good. Overall the movie was so-so. Unfortunately I couldn't see past the fact that it's full of real live animals. I'm scared to think how many foxes were tortured to make this film. Five minutes into watching this movie, I thought of the CBC fifth estate documentary "Cruel Camera". There was definitely some cruelty to animals happening on the set of this film. I don't recommend THE FOX AND THE CHILD to anyone that loves animals.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - The cast was great and everything comes together in the end of this film really well. In typical Tarantino style the movie is incredibly violent and gorey... but it's also A LOT of FUN ! Now that I know how all the tense moments of this film play out, I'd like to watch it again with my eyes open.

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER - Natsuko saw this one on the plane and she liked it so much that she suggested I rent it while she's away. I'd heard mixed things about this movie, so I wasn't sure if I'd like it or not. After seeing Joseph Gordon-Levitt in G.I. JOE THE RISE OF COBRA, my expectations for (500) DAYS OF SUMMER were extremely low. Well I can honestly say that I loved this movie and it's the kind of romantic comedy you can watch again and again (that sounds horribly cheezy, but it's true). If you've ever been in love with someone that you know is wrong for you, then you'll definitely enjoy (500) DAYS OF SUMMER.

EXTRACT - This is the latest film from Mike Judge. It wasn't great. But, it was a pretty good rental. All kinds of entertaining things happen in this film. It kept me interested. But I wasn't sure what the point of it all was in the end.

PAPER HEART - I have no idea what this movie was about. There were a few good moments, but overall it was a mess. Charlyne Yi is a weirdo. I really wanted to like her in this, but I just couldn't. I didn't believe for a second that Michael Cera would have any interest in her at all. She's on a quest to find out what love is, but she's never been in love herself, and she doesn't seem to think she's capable of loving ? Boo @#$%ing hoo.

GRAN TORINO - Wow. Clint Eastwood is amazing in this. He's such a talented actor/director. I missed seeing this one last year when it came out. I remember thinking this looked typical when I saw the trailer for it. It wasn't at all. It's really well done and very powerful.

SEVEN POUNDS - Ten minutes into this movie, you think you know what's going on... and you probably do... but there's a lot of details you won't have figured out until the end. This was a very good rental. It even left me a bit teary eyed at the end.

EASTBOUND AND DOWN (SEASON ONE)- Danny McBride is pure genius in this tv series. The first season is 6 episodes long. I can't wait to see the next season. I watched this on Christmas day with my Dad and we couldn't stop laughing. I just hope there's a happy ending to the train wreck that is Kenny Powers life.

IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA (SEASONS ONE AND TWO) - I'd heard a lot of good things about this show, and they're all true. It's a lot like Seinfeld in that it revolves around a group of characters that don't care about anything except themselves, yet for some reason they do everything together. The first two seasons equals 17 episodes. I'm looking foward to seeing the next season of this show.

AVATAR - I waited an hour in line to buy tickets for this movie. Then I waited another 2 hours in line to get a good seat. My expectations were high, and I was pretty sure this movie could be a big disappointment. So what did I think ? UN@#$%ING BELIEVABLE !!! I LOVED IT ! The IMAX 3D screen was incredible. It's a long film, but I didn't notice the time. The story is definitely one you've seen or heard before in other films, but it's never been told this well. I highly recommend you check this out, and when you do, make sure you watch it on an IMAX screen.

your pal,
Beadle