Thursday's Three Line Reviews

So, the computer had a little cold. Off to the computer doctor it went. For two whole weeks. Was not happy about that. I don't like to be without my computer and updating my status on FB is annoying as it is with a Blackberry. I wasn't even going to try and blog from it.

I'll look at the silver lining though. My family and I took a really nice road trip. And I watched movies. Lots of them.

So, without further delay, I give you Thursday's Three Line Reviews. Lots of them.

NOBODY DIES IN LILY DALE-
A documentary about a small town in upstate New York which has the largest population of Spiritualist, Mediums, Psychics, etc. Very interesting as you watch different tourist seek answers from the other side. This little town of Lily Dale is now at the top of my must visit list.

LORDS OF DOGTOWN-
Based on the true story of the original die-hard extreme skateboard culture. Great camera angles and shots, great acting, great 70's vibe. Emile Hirsch is fantastic but it is this movie, not The Dark Knight, that really makes you see what a versatile actor Heath Ledger was.

HOME ALONE-
That classic holiday movie that everyone loved back in the day. It still cracks me up. It was great to rediscover this timeless classic with my kids who adored every scene.

LITTLE DARLINGS-
A late 70's/early 80's movie about a bunch of girls at summer camp who wager a bet over who is going to lose their virginity first. At first I thought it was campy and silly, but by the end of the movie I really liked it. Kristy McNichol and Tatum O'Neal are the stars, but it was great to see Matt Dillon before his S.E. Hinton days and Miranda from Sex and The City fame as a little girl.

CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN-
This movie has so much going for it: scenery, epic, period piece, and great story. Unfortunately, Nicholas Cage's horrible Italian accent made it so bad that I was rooting for anyone and everyone to just kill him when they had the chance. Christian Bale, as always, is pretty amazing in this movie going from a free spirit in love to a man hardened and destroyed by war.

THE HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE-
This is a Paris Hilton movie that wasn't that great. However...it really wasn't that bad either. If there is absolutely nothing else on and you can't fall asleep and you've searched all there is to search on the web, then by all means go ahead and watch this because you might actually laugh at the sophomoric, gross, idiotic humor.

OBSERVE AND REPORT-
I like Seth Rogan and I love Anna Faris but this movie failed, failed, FAILED!!! Quite possibly the worse movie I saw this year. It tries to be a black comedy and the laughs just are not there and Ray Liotta needs to fire his agent ASAP after this mess and guest starring on Hannah Montana last week.

THE ROAD-
Quite possibly one of the most disturbing, haunting, emotional draining, best movies I have ever seen in a long, long time....maybe ever. This gray, bleak post-apocalyptic movie where all plant and animal life had died off over the years and people have turned cannibalistic was just absolutely horrifying and yet, this is not a horror movie. Viggo Mortensen was amazing as a man fighting to keep his son alive with hope even when his own hope and health is failing and he shows the lengths a parent will go to protect their child, which kept me thinking about this movie for days.

JENNIFER'S BODY-
Campy little horror/thriller with Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried as best friends, one a sexpot and the other a geek. Megan Fox becomes possessed and horny teen age boys begin to get killed off. Nothing great, but was entertaining.

NEWSIES-
Christian Bale in a musical about newspaper boys going on strike in the early 1900's.
Christain Bale + musical = One Happy Movie Junkie. Corny and Disneyfied, but I love it!

MY ONE AND ONLY-
A coming of age/road trip story based on the life of George Hamilton's mother, played by Renee Zellweger. Lots of different actors from television are in this movie. It was cute, but forgettable.

WALK ON THE MOON-
Another Viggo Mortensen movie from which my husband will now forever call him "Blouse Man". Diane Lane is a frustrated housewife vacationing in Upstate New York during the summer of love and has an affair with the "Blouse Man". I really liked this one, but mainly because I really like the era, Diane Lane, Viggo (of course!), and Anna Paquin who played Diane's young teen daughter who was discovering that becoming a woman is much more complicated and doesn't end when you get married.

WHIP IT-
Drew Barrymore directs and co-stars in this movie about a pageant girl who is pressured by her mother and finds an escape by secretly joining a roller derby team. Learned a lot about roller derby rules and actually want to see one live. Ellen Page, Juliette Lewis, and the rest of the cast looks like they had a blast filming this movie.

THE STRANGERS-
At first, this movie is frightening but then quickly began to bore me. Liv Tyler plays a young woman who is trapped with her boyfriend in a secluded summer home and tormented by three quiet strangers wearing masks. After awhile, I found myself wondering when the killers were just gonna do the job already.

APPALOOSA-
And yet, another Viggo Mortensen movie. Also starring Ed Harris, this movie is a quiet, simple western that I found very enjoyable. The only thing that annoyed me was Renee Zellweger who's character was predictable and she looked like her collar was on too tight.

NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS-
A holiday movie based on a Chicago/Puerto Rican family where the father has a secret, the mother wants a divorce, one son just came back from Iraq, the daughter is a struggling actress, and the other son's Jewish Wife is out of place. Sounds like a real Christmas to me. I enjoyed this one and it is filled with great actors and actresses like Alfred Molina, Elizabeth Pena, John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Freddie Rodriquez, and more.

EXTRACT-
I love Jason Bateman and I love Mila Kunis, so I really wanted to love this movie. It tries so hard to be witty and quirky, but I actually had to watch it in segments just to get through it and I very rarely do that. You know a movie is not that great when Gene Simmons is the best part of the movie.

FRIENDLY FIRE-
A 1978 movie that I remember seeing on t.v. years ago. Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty play the parents of a Vietnam soldier who was killed during the war and they are trying to find out just how he was killed only to be met with silence. Carol Burnett is brilliant in this as she reminds us that she's just not one of the funniest ladies there ever was, but could also hold her own when it came to drama.

WITHOUT A PADDLE-
I expected a low-grade, vulgar humor type comedy with this movie and was pleasantly surprised that it was a genuinely witty, charming movie. Three childhood friends are reunited as adults when their fourth buddy dies and decide to fulfill their dreams of going into the wilderness to find a lost treasure. It was The Goonies grown up and downsized, but it was still cute and Burt Reynolds steals the show.

REMEMBER THE DAZE-
It's the last day of school and Seniors want to party and get high and freshmen want to explore the high school world and get high. I liked this movie the first time around when it was called DAZED AND CONFUSED. It tries so hard to be as cool as Dazed and Confused, even having the word DAZE in the title, but it fails because D and C is just about one of the coolest stoner movies ever made.


Out of all the above movies, I have to say if you can rent one...and you have the head for it, pick THE ROAD. I have never seen anything like this movie and I don't know if I ever will. This story stayed with me for days. I had to sleep with the light on that night. It made me think of how we take so much for granted. It made me hug my kids tighter and promise them a trip to Disney World soon.

Like I said, if you do decide to rent THE ROAD, make sure you have the head for it. It is haunting. Gut wrenching. Bleak. Gritty. Gray. Heavy. But a fantastic movie nonetheless.