Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Week 13: The Lincoln Lawyer

Sorry about the late post guys.  Man, we need to get our act together.  Anyway, we saw The Lincoln Lawyer for week 13.  This movie was chalk full of well known actors; Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas and John Leguizamo.  And some other faces you would recognize.  All were good.  And of course the two main actors, Matthew and Ryan, were not hard to look at.

This was your classic crime, drama with all the suspense.  Matthew McConaughey's characters plays this bad-ass lawyer who can handle all the tough clients.  He plays that character well with his easy confidence.  Ryan Phillippe plays a client who appears innocent at first but then you find out he's not what he seems.  Is it me or does he always play characters like that?  I can't remember him ever playing a nice guy. 

Anyhow, the story was interesting and it kept me entertained the whole time.  I'm sure the detail of the book would be even better.  But since I'm not really into these kinds of books the movie worked just fine.  I wasn't sure what I thought at first about everything having this 70's "feel" but I think it worked in the end. 

To Sum it up: Good acting, good story and good views.     

Week 13: The Lincoln Lawyer

This review seems super late since our weeks sort of blended together before this week. This week we saw "The Lincoln Lawyer". This movie is about a lawyer, Matthew McConaughey, who basically runs his law practice from a Lincoln Towncar. Marrisa Tomei, is his ex-wife and ends up working on a similar trial. The defendent, played by Ryan Phillippe, is charged with killing a prostitute. His money and name run the show, and in a strange twist his lawyer is trying to find a way to defend him "creatively". Anymore information may give too much away, and I highly recommend this movie, so I don't want to give anything away.

I am a Matthew McConaughey junkie....I must admit he is my eye candy. I love movies with him in it, and although his southern twang sometimes seems on the arrogant side, I find myself melting into my seat. I don't go GAGA over many actors, but I must give Matt the two thumbs up. Anyway, in this movie he did not disappoint me. I liked his character, and the self struggle he protrayed.

Marrisa Tomei has never been one of my favorites, but I really liked her in this movie. Her character was "real". I believed her 100%.

I don't remember any movies with Ryan Phillippe, so, as a first I can remember, I was pretty impressed. Typical "jock" mentality, with bad boy attitude. He did fit the role well

This movie was one I would recommend. I was not "guessing" as much as "Red Riding Hood", but did keep me wondering how it would end.

Good movie, go see it, great for a date night as the action and twist will keep your man's attention while Matthew keeps yours!! See you next week.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Week 12: Red Riding Hood

As Deb said, we saw Red Riding Hood this week.  It's sort of funny that we ended up picking this one because it's a new take on an old classic just like last week's Beastly.  But the difference was this was a good take.

To be honest, I wasn't sure I would like this.  I thought it could be a little hokey but maybe not so bad.  Turns out, not so bad.  Amanda Seyfried was good.  I thought she would annoy me more for some reason but she didn't.  The two male characters both trying to get the girl were played by two actors I hadn't seen before, Shiloh Fernandez and Max Irons.  I like it when you get unknown people sometimes.  That way you don't expect them to be a certain way. 

The movie itself kept you on your toes.  You were always waiting for something to jump out and scare you.  And the whole time you were trying to figure out who the werewolf was.  The story would keep pointing you in different directions making you think it was one person then change to the next.  I wasn't really trying to figure out who it was but I don't think I would have guessed even if I had been. 

Like Deb, I'm not sure what it was exactly that made me like this show so well but I did.  It wasn't spectacular but it was entertaining.

To Sum it up: Suspenseful, unique and ever-changing.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Giveaway Winner

Did everyone have fun guessing the giveaway? 

Most people were on the right track.  The book/movie is...

Water for Elephants

Have you seen the trailer yet?  I think it looks really good.  Check it out.

Water for Elephants Trailer

And the winner of a copy of the book and two tickets from Fandango is...

Krista and Zach

Yay!  I hope you enjoy both.

Send me an email at rtjenki@sbcglobal.net and I'll get you your goodies.

Thanks everyone for playing!
 

Week 12 "Red Riding Hood"

Our 11th and 12th week are kind of blending as we saw an early show this week. This week we saw "Red Riding Hood" starring many known actors : Amanda Seyfried, Billy Burker, Gary Oldham, and Virginia Madsen, and a couple new ones to me Shiloh Fernandez and Max Irons. What can I say? I love Love Triangles, star crossed lovers, ya know, all the stuff Shakespeare is made of. Well, never thought this was going to be one I liked, but I was pleasantly surprised.

This movie took place in "olden times", maybe Renaissance times, with a an "american" feel. The story loosely follows the little red riding hood idea, but I have to say that it isn't your typical children's story. Twists, turns, and suspense adding up to a good story line, easy to watch, great development of characters, and of course, relationships. I am not really sure why I enjoyed this movie so much, but it really intrigued me.

The movie follows a young girl who lives in a village, she is betrothed to one man, but in love with another. The village is "cursed" by a werewolf and she finds her self in the middle of the mess, questioning her own family, friends and lovers. AHH all the stuff that keeps me entranced.

It was nice to see Amanda Seyfried in a role that wasn't similar to her other roles I have seen, and Billy Burke, again surrounded by werewolves (Twilight fans!) I liked the chemistry of Amanda and Shiloh. But most importantly, I didn't figure out the ending! I did try, but was questioning my guesses to the end....I love that!

Again, this movie wasn't oscar worthy, the acting was probably mediocre really to all those acting gurus, but for some reason it was just right for me.

Overall I would recommend this movie to those who like suspense, twists and love triangles. I liked it!

See you next week.

Week 11: Beastly

This week we say "Beastly". Basically it was a modern day, teenager based "Beauty and The Beast" I didn't realize we were seeing a movie with the same main actor from last week, Alex Pettyfer. It also starred teenage actor Vanessa Hudgens.

The movie itself reminded me of a T.V. Disney Movie. I felt like it was pretty disconnected and "gappy" as far as jumping from scenerio to scenerio. Kind of like there was a place for commericals, but none inserted.

As far as the acting, I do think Alex is a pretty good "new" teenage heart throb, and Vanessa Hudgens is a good teen actor as well. They did good in their parts. Mary-Kate Olsen was too off and freaky for me. I also like the parts played by Neil Patrick Harris and Lisa Gay Hamilton. I sort of wished their characters were more prominent. I like Neil Patrick Harris' sense of humor, although I wasn't too convinced of the blindness.

All in all this is a good movie for those pre-teen and teenagers. The movie was very age appropriate for my 13 year old daughter and I liked the message it was sending, as the whole "Beauty and the Beast" moral goes.

Don't forget we are drawing for our winners for a book and 2 movie tickets, there is still time to vote!

See you next week

Monday, March 14, 2011

Week 11: Beastly

This week we saw the movie Beastly.  I had no idea going into this movie that it was basically a modern day version of Beauty and the Beast.  I didn't realize it until Deb said something about it after the movie.  I really need to become more observant. 

To start out with this movie had Alex Pettyfer.  He was the hot teen alien in last week's movie, I Am Number Four.  Strange since I had never heard of him before and now I'm seeing movies back to back with him in it.  I guess that's what happens when you go to movies every week.  He was okay in this movie.  Maybe a little awkward.  I definitely liked him better last week.  But in his defense I liked last week's movie better anyway.

As I said, this was a modern day twist to the old Beauty and the Beast story.  Since I didn't realize that until the end it made the movie seem random, with way to many holes in the story.  Kyle, played by Alex Pettyfer, is this rich, good looking kid who believes only the outside makes someone beautiful.  This crazy witch-like girl played by Mary-Kate Olsen makes him ugly and says he has to find true love within a year or he'll stay that way.  Vanessa Hudgens plays the girl he falls in love with...yadda yadda.  You know the rest of the story. (Honestly, how didn't I know this was Beauty and the Beast?)  This movie played like a book remake in the sense that you felt like you were missing pieces of the story.  And if you didn't know it was a Disney remake you probably were.

I really like good edgy remakes of old classics.  Like Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.  One of my favorites.  But this one fell way short for me.  There wasn't much of it that worked.

To Sum it up: Weird, disjointed and just not there.  

Last Clue

Here's the last clue to the giveaway before we announce the winner. 

The actor who's playing the main character is Robert Pattinson.  I won't tell you if he's a vampire or vet.  But I will tell you that the female character is played by the actress who was in one of my favorite movies, Walk the Line.

Too easy right?  Keep guessing! 

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Another Clue

Here's another clue to the giveaway. 

One of the main character's names is Jacob. 

Keep guessing.  Only a few more days until we announce the winner.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Giveaway Clue

We've had some good guesses so far.  Here's a little clue. 

The plot involves a love story. 

Keep guessing!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

You Guess the Giveaway

It's giveaway time again!  And this one is right up my alley.  It involves two of my favorite things; books and movies. 

For this giveaway, the lucky winner will receive a copy of a certain book and two movie tickets through Fandango.  Cool.  At least I would think it's cool if I could enter.  What book will you get you ask?  Well, that's the fun part.  You have to guess. 

Here are the details. 

There is a book that has been made into a movie and that movie is coming out in the near future.  The idea is that you can read the book then go see the movie.  To enter this giveaway you have to guess which book/movie it is.  All you have to do is post a comment with your guess and your name goes in the pot to win whether you get the answer right or not.  And if you guess correctly your name gets entered twice.  Easy peasy.  We'll announce the winner and the book/movie sometime after our next review.  

I'll give you clues over the next few days so keep guessing.  But no clue today.  Let's see what you come up with.  I can already think of three books/movies off the top of my head.  Have fun!

*Disclaimer*  The book is my copy of the book so it is very gently used.  It's only been opened three times.  Once by me, my sister and my mom.  It's in very good condition.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Week 10: I am number four

This week we say I am number four. It was a sci-fi flick, which usually aren't a first pick for me, but my mom was in town and wanted to see it, so hey! why not? I was surpisingly impressed. I was even more excited when at the end of the movie I found out it has a sequel , and there were books! I love to read as much as I like movies so...YEAH!!

The whole premise of the movie was pretty cool. A group of 9 "aliens" (for lack of a better word) find themselves living on earth, and they are being hunted by a group of bad "aliens". The group of 9 need to find eachother to strengthen their powers....but 3 are already dead. SO...I didn't make that sound exciting, or thrilling or anything, but the set-up for the whole story line is cool.

The main actor, Alex Pettyfer, is new to me. I liked him. I also liked two of the female roles Teresa Palmer, who is number six, and Dianna Agron. They looked a lot a like, but Teresa Palmer plays the bad ass, and Dianna Agron the love interest.

I am really excited to see where this series goes, and will be getting the books so I don't have to wait.

Overall I would recommend this movie, I think it may get better as it goes," which often isn't the case. Be prepared for a few scares, a little bit of shoot "em up, and some out there moments.

See you next week! Stay tuned for our next giveaway

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Week 10: I Am Number Four

This week we went and saw I Am Number Four.  I really wasn't sure what to expect with this movie.  I hadn't heard a whole lot about it and didn't really know what it was about.  I knew it was a little sci fiish but that's about it.  I have to tell you I was surprised how much I liked this movie. 

I'm not usually into sci fi movies but this one was really entertaining.  There were a couple elements in this movie that really sucked me in.  The first was the high school love story.  What is it about teenagers falling in love that is so appealing?  The next was the fact that it's set up to be a sequel.  I love good sequels.  But I didn't realize it was a sequel going in to it.  Or the fact that it is a book too.  (Wow.  Maybe I should research a movie a little before I see it.)  Throughout the whole movie I was thinking, "How are they going to wrap this story up?".  Well, turns out they didn't.

The story is about these "beings" from another planet who are in hiding from these bad guy aliens trying to kill them.  There were nine of them and three had been killed so far.  Number four finds number six and realize they are stronger together.  So the goal is to find the rest.  I can't wait to see the other four and what they are like.  It sort of reminds me of the X-Men movies where they introduce new people with new powers. 

I didn't really recognize any of the actors.  The main guy was Alex Pettyfer.  He was a really good and cute teenage alien.  The main girl is Dianna Agron which I guess is on Glee.  She was good too.  All the other actors were pretty fitting for the characters.  Overall a really good movie.

To Sum it up:  Good story, a lot of jump in your seat action and leaves you wanting more.