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WHAT A SURPRISE!!! This movie taught me that it's definitely best to go into a movie expecting it to suck. Low expectations always get exceeded!

Having said that, I am sure I would've liked it anyway. For one, hottie Sam Worthington was fantastic! Plus it was the perfect mixture of interesting and different + romance + adventure + emotion. I just plain loved it and left with a big smile on my face!!!!

And Zoe Saldana is having quite the year, what with this movie and Star Trek...2 of my favorites of 2009!

One of my friends said Avatar is Dances With Wolves in space. Yeah, I almost choked on that. It's a fantastic movie--different from anything--and a complete experience. It was definitely the shortest 3 hour movie I've ever seen---and I was even sad when it ended!

Plus it's making movie history so you won't want to miss it!

This isn't really a movie review--more like a commercial. There's just too much to explain so you just have to go see it!

Gentlemen Broncos

Thank you Alyssa, for nudging me to get going again. :) And thank you for the following review!!!!

(Alyssa) When my sister told me she had preview tickets for Gentlemen Broncos, I was very excited to see it. I enjoyed Napoleon Dynamite and was very curious about what the same writer and director would do with this movie. Especially when I heard that it would be about sci-fi writers and sci-fi conventions.

The story goes like this: Benjamin Purvis attends a writing conference where he submits his story to a contest. The result—two other conference participants buy rights to his story to make it into a film. And Purvis’s hero, writer Ronald Chevalier, reads Benjamin’s work and creates his own (plagiarized) version of the story, which becomes a fabulous bestseller.

There’s a lot to like about this movie. Michael Angarano and Jemaine Clement turn in excellent performances as Purvis and Chevalier respectively. Chevalier’s dialogue in particular is very funny. As were the scenes revolving around the convention and bookstore appearances. This part of the story was exceptional.

Yet Gentlemen Broncos wasn’t a complete success. The person who has seen Napoleon Dynamite won’t be surprised to hear that there is a quirky cast of characters here as well. However, this group is not exactly endearing. The amateur director who makes Purvis’s work into a movie is particularly grating; the role seems designed to play into stereotypes rather than against them.

There is also a surprising (and unnecessary) reliance on bodily fluid humor, which is both excessive and not humorous. This detracted from a movie that otherwise could have made me laugh the whole way through. So the pattern was something like . . . laugh, laugh, ugh, gross, laugh, ick, laugh, that’s just not even funny. This made the movie seem more jarring than in probably was.

Still, there’s that great bookstore scene . . . and the stags . . . and the ending . . .

Why it wasn’t a four: Jemaine Clement, Michael Angarano, merchandising pillows, and very wide ric-rac. Plus, I would see it again.

Why it wasn’t an eight: Way, way too much vomit (and other stuff).

My rating: six. *Thinks about Clement.* Actually, let’s go for six and a half. *Thinks about the pillows and ric-rac* OK, six and three-quarters.

All About Steve

When it comes to this movie, the poster says it all....And thanks to Bradley Cooper, I was excited for this movie. And of course, he didn't disappoint. :)

But overall, it was completely average. I like Sandy--but I didn't think it was a shining moment for her. She's past roles like this. Thomas Hayden Church was great....

It had some funny moments but overall it was about a 5. I would recommend going to see Star Trek again at the dollar theater instead of this one. :) Or go to it for a few good laughs, but nothing else very memorable.

The Time Traveler's Wife

This is my favorite movie of the summer!!! I was most looking forward to it than any other--actually for over 2 years!! And so I was worried that I wouldn't love it--especially when I started hearing the reviews were bad.

But this movie was MAGIC!!! How often do we get to see a movie that we have the highest of expectations for--and then it overdelivers???? This was that movie for me!!

I LOVE Eric Bana.....it's not fair that men get hotter as they get older!

And I LOVE Rachel McAdams....she is probably my most favorite actress right now....

When I read the book, it felt it was extremely moving! But I can't say it was my favorite book ever because it was WAY too devastating!!! Seriously I just wanted it to be different!!

And that leads me to the reason that I loved the movie so much: It FIXED all the problems of the book!!!!!! It didn't necessarily change the ending, it just made it less devastating and more happy--it ended on a happy and positive note!

My favorite scenes were the ones where Henry would travel in and out of Clare's life, and other people wouldn't necessarily know. The book did this too but I'd forgotten some of the most clever and interesting parts. So good and so perfect!!
I MUST go see it again immediately!!!! I have no idea if people who haven't read the book would love it this much. But I loved it so much--I am giving it a 10!!!

Public Enemies

I think one of the main reasons I didn't really care for this movie is Johnny Depp. For me, he is like Christian Bale--neither of them would ever make my top 10. And I realize I am one of few females who feels this way.

And oh my gosh I just remembered, while searching for photos, that Christian Bale was also in this movie! hahahahaha That's how memorable he was!

Alas, I really didn't care for 101 ways to shoot 'em up! I loved the scenes w/Marion Cotillard & Johnny (although she is definitely still on my 'wait and see' list). I wanted much much more of the fabulous and romantic life of a bank robber!!! And I wanted much much much much MUCH less of all the shooting scenes.

If they would've followed my idea even just a little, this would've been one of the better "date" movies of the year b/c it would've satisfied both men and women. Too bad, so sad. I'd give this movie a 6.

Up

I often say I don't really like kids movies--which is silly b/c I pretty much love them all when I actually watch one. Up was sooooo cute! And I actually teared up several times--just a sweet story!

The coolest thing about this show is how the kids loved it (I went w/Zane & Zoey), but how there seemed to be at least as much matierial for adults! I thought it was super clever & enjoyable!

Away We Go

Yay I finally have the chance to catch up on all these movies that I've been wanting to blog about!

Awhile ago (probably close to 2 months?), I saw Away We Go w/Hill & my Mama. I didn't really want to see this but, well I see all kinds of movies so I thought why not?

I didn't really like it at all. I thought it was too overdone--like trying too hard to make the next Juno. But you can't purposely create magic like that--it just seems to happen by chance.

It just wasn't really good or funny. Well there were a few funny moments--like Allison Janney. She's always hilarious!And I also loved the part where they give Maggie Gyllenhaal a stroller and push her kid around in it! So awesome!

But really this movie was a disappointment--don't waste your time!