Category Archives: Movies

Crazy Heart with Jeff Bridges

Last week Sweetie and I went to see Crazy Heart. A movie about a down and out country western singer, Bad Blake, played by Jeff Bridges, who is playing the bowling alleys and bars of the southwest trying to earn a living. Its a hard grind and he isn’t doing it very well. That’s a nice way of saying that he has turned into a sad old man. Then he meets a very sweet reporter, Jean Craddock, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Anyway, you can guess the rest, or maybe you can’t.

It’s a romance and its a also a drama. It is about it’s never too late to start over and its also about sometimes you don’t get a do over.

I loved this movie. I give it 3.5 stars out of 4.

Check out the official movie web site. Lots of good info there.

Here is a trailer.

Tooth Fairy with Dwayne Johnson

Last week the family went to see Tooth Fairy with Dwayne Johnson, aka “The Rock.”

SuperPizzaBoy liked it, I thought it was OK but not great. Sorry.

It’s about this once up and coming hockey player who is slaving away in the minor leagues as a goon. He specializes in blindsiding opponents and knocking their teeth out. He meets a nice girl with a young daughter and a pre-teen son, and well you know, he does what he has to do to get the girl.

The web site is here. Its nothing special. Are studios cutting back on their web sites? There used to be lots of stuff, now they seem to be cutting way back.

I give this movie 1.5 stars out of 4. Go see the Spy Next Door instead. This one is not very good. Sorry.

The Spy Next Door

A week or so ago the family went to the movies. We went to see The Spy Next Door with Jackie Chan.

It’s a kids movie about the guy next door (Jackie Chan) baby sitting the kids while Mom is gone. Of course the kids hate the guy next door who they think is a dork who sells pens. Little do they know he is a trained deadly spy. Who of course has to use these deadly kids as they come under attack from some bad guys.

The kids are won over and well, you know the rest.

SuperPizzaBoy laughed non-stop belly laughs through the whole movie so I give it four belly laughs out of four. For us older folks its a two stars out of four so sitting through it is too painful. As with the other Jackie Chan moves, the outtakes during the credits is something to look forward to.

And as always, check out the web site. Lots of fun stuff including games.

Avatar the Movie

Sweetie and I saw Avatar the other day. I don’t really know what to say about it except that the Writer, Director, and co-Producer James Cameron has gone from King of the World to King of the Universe. How does one guy do so much.

It is a science fiction action adventure romance flick. It is well over two hours long but doesn’t seem like it. The movie is flawless in my opinion and will probably change the way movies are made in the future. We saw the 3D version and I strongly recommend it. The 3D effects in previous movies were intrusive in a “Wow, look what we can do with 3D!” gimmicky riff. In this movie, its just part of the movie.

As far as taking the kids. There were lots of kids watching the movie but we didn’t take our 11 year old and I think it would be much too intense for him. You know your kids best and use discretion.

Check out the official movie web site. The movie web sites these days have tons and tons of stuff to look at and do and all sorts of information.

I give this movie four stars out of four. You have to see it. I’m not sure that its the next Star Wars but it is a darn good movie.


Official Avatar Movie

It’s Complicated – the Movie

Last week Sweetie went off to watch “it’s Complicated” with Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, and Alec Baldwin. Ms. Streep and Mr. Baldwin play a couple who have been divorced for ten years who … It’s complicated and I don’t want to spoil any of it for you.

Lets just say that Meryl Streep steals the show. She is smart and sexy and does a great job in this movie. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin also do a great job but they are just the supporting cast to the star.

There are some moral predicaments in the movie. They don’t flinch from them. Sometimes the antics of the grownups has consequences on those they love. Consequences that last years.

I loved this movie. It was the perfect date night romantic comedy. I give it four stars out of four.

Check out the web site. Lots of good stuff there!

“Splinterheads” the Geocaching Movie

Splinterheads is a new movie coming, maybe. It might be the fifth best movie ever made. I’m pretty sure of that even though I’ve never seen it. (Chinatown, Cars, Down With Love, and Dr. Zhivago hold down the 1 through 4 spots, forever.)

I am not even sure this movie will even make it to Tulsa.
I don’t care, its going to be great, trust me.
You know how I know?
Because it involves Geocaching.
Here is a Teaser.

It is about more than geocaching. Here is the trailer.

The secret is out now. The reason I love geocaching has nothing to do with being outside and using gadgets that get satellite signals to find stuff. Its all about the women taking their clothes off in their lust to find caches. Its all ruined now. I’ll have to take up scrap booking or something like that. Do they still have lessons on that.

Check out the web site. Who knows what the distribution plans are?

“My One and Only” with Renee Zellweger and Kevin Bacon

Sweetie and I were childless last night so we sneaked out to see girlfriend Renee Zellweger’s latest movie,  “My One and Only.” It also has Kevin Bacon playing her no account philandering, band leader husband.
I didn’t know anything about the movie so I was expecting a romantic comedy. I like those, in moderation, especially good ones but this was different. I am not sure how to classify the movie. Its kind of like a cross between a road movie, romantic comedy, coming of age, and biography. Basically Zellweger plays the part of Anne Devreaux who dumps her husband, played by Kevin Bacon and sets off across America with her two teenage sons in search of a new husband.
She gets humiliated, arrested, and dumped a bunch of times but always keeps her chin up.
I loved it. Its a great movie. Of course, my girlfriend Renee could play the lead role in Lassie Come Home and I would love it. I give this a big four stars out of four.
It is a great date movie.
As I always recommend check out the web site. Lots of great stuff there.

Julie and Julia – the Movie

Sweetie and I went to see Julie and Julia. What can I say its a great movie. Its about food, love, blogging,  perserverence, and loving life. The only way they could make it any better is if they could have thrown in the Dallas Cowboys and a geocache.

Meryl Streep steals the show in her portrayal of Julia Child. She is full of life, very animated and not ready to take no for an answer from anybody. I think that Meryl Streep could win an Oscar for this performance. If I had an extra one laying around the house I’d mail it to her. Stanley Tucci plays the perfect, patient, understanding, supportive husband. Amy Adams does a great job as the frustrated young wife and blogger who seeks to do all of Child’s recipes in the course of a year. Chris Messina is the supportive, but sometimes, not so patient husband.

The story is beautifully done and it is wonderful how the two stories parallel each other years apart.

This movie gets four stars out of four. Even absent football and geocaching.

Grab your spouse and go see this movie.

Adam – Review

Sweetie and I saw a screening of the movie “Adam” earlier this week. Adam is a story about a young electronics engineer, Adam, played very well by Hugh Dancy, and his difficult romance with his new neighbor, Beth (Rose Byrne). Adam, it turns out has a form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome which makes relationships, especially romantic relationships, very difficult for him. The story of Adam is very interesting especially to Sweetie and I who are parents of a child with Asperger’s Syndrome.

The movie is more than a story about Asperger’s Syndrome though. I found Beth to be the far more interesting character. Beth inhabits a space between two men. Adam, who cannot tell a lie, and her father, Marty Buchwald (played very well by Peter Gallagher) who cannot tell anything but lies. The tension between the two extremes is what makes the movie interesting. Ms. Byrne does a great job.

Amy Irving plays an interesting role as Beth’s mother, Rebecca Buchwald. She regards her husband with very clear eyes, and loves him anyway.

The movie has a few awkward moments, like when they have to educate the audience about what Asperger’s Syndrome is, (it comes across like a political commercial, “Gee Bessie, I can’t believe that Senator Jones is going to take our guns away from us!”) but overall the movie is done very well and sensitively. The movie doesn’t go for the big Hollywood ending, but it does end on a high note.

I give this movie 3 stars out of 4. I could see it again.

For someone else’s take on the movie, check out That’s Baloney. She and her husband Doc were there with us watching the movie.

District 9 – the Movie

Last week Sweetie and I went to the movies. She wanted to see a romantic comedy, I’m usually game but I wanted to something with some fighting and killing so we went to see District 9, a new science fiction movie.

Sweetie summed it up nicely, “An alien movie where you cheer for the aliens.” I don’t want to give much away, lets just say this is one great move. I loved this, Sweetie hated it. I don’t recommend it for mommy bloggers or their children. Their husbands on the other hand, go for it, kids should stay home.

3.5 stars out of 4.

As always, I recommend the web site. All sorts of goodies there.