At the Movies: Mission Impossible- Ghost Protocol

     Fun, fun, fun!!  That's what the latest installment of the Ethan Hunt series has in store for you.  Now, I'm not a Mission Impossible expert.  To my knowledge, I had only seen the first one before going to see the new one two nights ago.  I'm also not really a Tom Cruise fan (I type as I think about the number of his DVDs that I have).  You don't really have to be one though to enjoy this Christmas blockbuster.  As I may have said before, something about Christmas-time gets me in movie-going mode.  Actually, anytime gets me in movie-going mode.  You also don't have to bone up on your Mission Impossible trivia to have fun with this flick.
     There was much hype before the movie about Tom Cruise doing his own stunts, specifically the one involving that really, really tall building.  I thought I probably wouldn't enjoy that scene since it's been featured heavily in almost all of the previews and commercials.  Surprisingly, I did!  It kept me on the edge of my seat.  It made me laugh.  It made me nervous.  It was everything I wanted it to be.  A lot of the stunts in this are done well.  There's lots of fight scenes and things like that.  A lot (okay, most) of the scenes are a little over-the-top, but that's part of what makes it fun.  That's part of what makes movies so enjoyable.  Many times you just want to escape to a place where insane, fun things can happen.
     Simon Pegg obviously plays a large part in the comedic relief of the picture, but the other actors and actresses get their jokes in as well.  Jeremy Renner (who pretty much steals the show, in my opinion) got some laughs out of me, but not in an obvious way.  I also enjoyed Paula Patton, who isn't just there as a love interest for one of the other male leads.  That girl kicks some serious butt.  And, of course, there's Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt.  What can I say about him that hasn't been said?  He's Tom Cruise, and he's playing a character that he's played three times before.  He doesn't seem to take himself too seriously, and he's still a romantic at the heart of it all.
     Go see this movie if you want to lose yourself in a bunch of action and crazy spy work.  It's worth your Christmas dollar in my opinion.  Don't take it too seriously, because it doesn't take itself too seriously.  It is what it is.

At the Movies: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

     Guy Ritchie knows cool.  Okay, I know I'm not the most qualified person to talk about Guy Ritchie.  The Sherlock Holmes movies are the only movies I've seen of his.  Don't judge.  Anyway...Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law re-team to take down Professor Moriarty.  Once again the plot is slightly confusing, but that's not important, is it?
     The action/fight scenes in this movie are pretty close to perfect.  There are just enough in the movie to where they're not overwhelming, and they keep the story from lagging.  Just when you're thinking I'm about to get bored, you're suddenly sitting on the edge of your seat, wondering if the good guys are going to make it or not.  If you've seen the first Guy Ritchie Sherlock, you are acquainted with the style he uses in which Sherlock plans out his means of attack in slow motion, then does them in real time.  It's just so flippin' cool.  I don't know the technical terms for any of these things, but the scene where the gang is running through the forest, away from the bullets and missiles, is the best in the movie.  The way Ritchie depicts it is awesome.
     The music is another aspect of this movie that adds to its greatness.  It starts with the trailer.  The music coincides perfectly with the typewriter-ish spelling of Sherlock Holmes.  Throughout the movie, the different music sets the pace perfectly, and it meshes with the people in the scene.  When Noomi Rapace and her band of gypsies are on screen, the music keeps with that whimsical theme.  When you're hoping the good guys will make it through intact, the music keeps your heart racing.
     The chemistry that Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law have is rare from what I have seen.  You really believe that they are Sherlock and Watson, men who have spent a great deal of time together and know each other as well as they know themselves.  They seem to really enjoy the work they are doing, and that comes through the screen.  Plus, Robert Downey Jr. is pretty much can't miss these days, and Jude Law as Watson is one of my favorite roles of his. 
     Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is one of those movies that just makes me feel like it's Christmas-time.  It's the perfect blockbuster for the holidays if you are craving a fun, intense flick.  Hope you enjoy!

Guy Movies Girls Can Like Too: Man on Fire

     If you don't care for action movies, one look at the cover will have you walking right past Man on Fire on the shelf at a movie rental store (if you even still rent movies the old-fashioned way).  It features Denzel Washington looking all Denzel-y walking away from something that is seriously ablaze.  You may think who wants to watch another movie for guys where all they do is blow stuff up.  You have, sadly, missed the point because standing behind Denzel's protective stance is a young, adorable Dakota Fanning.  Are you intrigued yet?  If not, you will be when you realize Denzel is Dakota's bodyguard, and her nickname for him is "Creasy Bear". 
     Denzel is hired by Pita's (Dakota Fanning) parents, Radha Mitchell and Marc Anthony, to protect her.  He has become very skeptical and cynical about life and love, meaning no one can get past his tough exterior to what will hopefully be a gooey, warm and fuzzy center.  Adorable little Pita has to try, though, because Creasy is basically the only friend she has.  Sheltered from many things and practically ignored by her parents (especially Dad) Pita and Creasy are together all of the time.  He is her driver, but soon he becomes more.  He teaches her how to become a better swimmer, winning races, and before you know it, Creasy's heart is starting to shine through the tough exterior.
     Things can't go on this way forever.  Through some extremely sad and shady circumstances Creasy is on the hunt for the missing, presumed-to-be-dead Pita.  He takes no prisoners, and he does not care how far he has to go to save Pita.  The questions are can she be saved, and will she be saved?  Well, you'll just have to trust me and check it out for yourself.  Creasy does make the ultimate sacrifice for the little girl that he has grown to love. 
     If you are not crying at the end of this movie, you might want to make sure you still have a pulse.  Man on Fire is a man's movie, no doubt about that.  It's violent and gory and hard, but girls will love it too.  It is Denzel Washington, you know.  Who doesn't love Denzel?  And who doesn't love to see a man who has been hardened by his tough life yet still able to love someone under his care?  This is definitely a must see for any movie fan.   

At the Movies: New Year's Eve

     This past weekend, I took in Garry Marshall's latest fun flick meshing several love stories, New Year's Eve.  Now, if you've seen Valentine's Day, you've pretty much seen this one.  New Year's Eve tended to bring on the waterworks with me, though, which is a plus in my book.  This movie has as many big names as Valentine's Day, but it also had a couple of surprising cameos.  You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure most of the couple pairings, but there are a couple that may surprise you.
     Yes, Zac Efron is in this movie.  If you read my other posts, you know I'm a big Zac Efron fan.  His storyline with Michelle Pfeiffer was probably my favorite, and their age gap was not the one that was the most bothersome to me, especially considering their tale isn't exactly a love story.  Let me just say without spoiling it for those of you who haven't seen it, another couple's age gap is about 17 years.  The other confusing couple just has a 7 year age gap, but they just didn't go together in my opinion. 
     Robert de Niro's story almost sent me into the ugly cry as did Sarah Jessica Parker's and Abigail Breslin's.  Most of it is pretty by-the-book.  Yes, Lea Michele will be singing, and Zac Efron will be dancing.  Yes, Katherine Heigl will be stuffing her face at some point and Sofia Vergara will be captivating as a sexy woman you can hardly understand.  It's not exactly Oscar material, folks.  If you're looking for fun and looking to laugh, New Year's Eve is a good bet.

Movies That Scare Me to Death: Paranormal Activity

     You've probably heard of this one, but I still think it deserves to be talked about.  The Blair Witch Project wasn't very frightening to me except for about ten minutes out of the whole thing, but Paranormal Activity makes my pulse race no matter how many times I watch it.  It's another one of those that I can't even attempt to watch with the lights off.  Shot in home movie style and featuring unknown actors, this movie made it seem like this could happen to anyone, even your next door neighbors.
     Who among us hasn't scared ourselves by imagining that every noise in our house is caused by something like an intruder or a ghost only to realize it's the faucet dripping or the house settling?  This isn't the case for poor Katie and Micah.  They set up a camera to see if they can find any video evidence of the supernatural thing Katie believes is bothering them.  Of course Micah thinks it's all funny, something he can defeat once he faces it head on.  Katie, however, has dealt with this before, and she becomes scared to death of it.  From Ouija boards to swinging chandaliers, footprints left in powder to shadows on the wall, Paranormal Activity keeps the frights coming.
     Director  Oren Peli knows how to give just enough scares without making the viewer numb to each new terror that comes along.  As you watch the clock on the camera speed up and then slow down you know you better pay close attention...or close your eyes depending on how easily scared you may be.  If you want to be truly scared and haven't seen Paranormal Activity yet, I definitely recommend it.  After viewing, you may want to set up a camera in your bedroom as well...just to make sure your loved ones aren't watching you sleep.

Confessions of a 26-Year-Old: I Love High School Musical

     Okay, so if you're doing the math, I wasn't even in high school when the first High School Musical premiered.  That doesn't mean I can't enjoy it, does it?  Also, I'm sure a lot of my love for the three movies have something to do with the adorableness of Zac Efron.  What's wrong with that?  Anyway, for those of you who don't know, there are three High School Musical movies, the third of which came out on the big screen. 
     I love these movies because they show high school in a fun, positive way.  The first one especially shows that you can be friends with anyone, even someone who isn't in your clique.  Zac Efron as Troy and Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella show the "jocks" and "nerds" can be friends and even fall in love!  And they can do it all while singing and dancing enthusiastically down the halls of high school.  While their friends try to keep them apart in the beginning, they eventuallly see that what Troy and Gabriella are trying to accomplish is a good thing, and everybody lives happily ever after.  The second and third movies are more of the same while including such teen issues as summer jobs and what comes after high school.
     Many people compared this High School Musical craze (see Wal-Mart school supplies if you don't believe me) to Grease.  All I have to say about that is that the only thing these movies have in common is that they're both musicals.  Grease was a 1978 movie that was not made for kids while High School Musical took place almost twenty years later on the Disney channel.  If you haven't realized that the Disney channel doesn't exactly portray things as they happen in the real world, then you've got big problems.  Who doesn't enjoy breaking from reality every now and again to watch such flicks as 16 Wishes and Geek Charming (other recent Disney favorites of mine)? 
     I know that I should probably be enjoying those crazy Lifetime movies or Hallmark holiday feel-good movies, and I do.  However, sometimes you've just got to go back to high school.  I actually enjoyed high school, unlike most other people.  Why wouldn't I want to remember it fondly?  Of course, my high school experience didn't include quite as much singing and dancing, but a girl can dream.

Oldies but Goodies: Waterloo Bridge

     It really bugs me when people claim to be movie buffs but then have no idea about movies that were around before they were born.  Sometimes people are so egocentric that they think the world just came into existence the second they came on the scene.  Anyway, that's for another day.  If you're in the mood for a beautifully romantic, yet heartbreaking film I've got just the one for you.  It's called Waterloo Bridge. 
     Starring Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O'Hara for those of you who don't know) as Myra and the handsome Robert Taylor as Roy, this movie tells the story of a beautiful ballerina and a World War 1 soldier who is a charming gentleman.  It's made in 1940, and it's in black and white.  If you're one of those snobs who thinks good movies only came around when color became popular, you're going to miss out on a gem.  After falling in love after a very short amount of time, Roy has to go off to war.  Myra is thrown out of the ballet after breaking curfew, life only gets worse when she believes Roy has been killed.  Feeling like she has nothing to live for, she turns to a life of prostitution.  Then she discovers (Surprise!  Surprise!) that Roy is alive and still in love with her.  They become engaged, but Myra doesn't know what to do because she can't live with him finding out what she'd been up to while he was away.
     Before World War 2 begins, Roy returns to Waterloo Bridge to think over what has happened in his life.  What?  You thought I would tell you how it ends.  You're very mistaken.  However, it's definitely worth viewing if you can find it anywhere.  If you ever feel like being sad or sitting in front of the TV while eating ice cream and crying, this is definitely a good choice for you. 

Books I Love That Become Movies I Love: Feast of Love

     Feast of Love by Charles Baxter isn't the type of book I usually read.  I'm usually not that deep, to be honest.  I like light, happy, fun books that I can easily gobble up.  However, I have a thing for reading books that I know are going to become movies, so once I found out this was going to be a feature film (with Morgan freaking Freeman!), I had to pick up a copy.
     Feast of Love is one of those books that has several seemingly unrelated plots that are actually all connected with one another.  The main character is a man named Bradley who is a hopeless romantic.  Unfortunately, he is so oblivious that he ends up divorced twice and trying to commit suicide.  He never gives up on believing in true love, and he is rewarded in the end.  My personal favorite plot is the one involving Chloe (pronounced Kloay) and Oscar.  They are two kids in their early twenties who fall madly in love and are trying to just get by.  They love completely and totally no matter what comes their way.  While picturing their future lives, Oscar says of himself, "I'm a big man, and nothin' scares me, and I can pay all the bills because we got plenty of money, and, uh, I'm fearless."  In reality, they are barely making ends meet, but love is all they need.  Harry is kind of watching over it all, administering sage advice and love to those in need of it.
     In the movie, Bradley is played by the adorably oblivious Greg Kinnear who has many misadventures in love.  Chloe is played by the charming Alexa Davalos, and Oscar is played by Toby Hemingway (who I am obsessed with from The Covenant).  Harry is played by the always epic Morgan Freeman (Of course.  Who else could possibly play the care-taker of all of these relationships?).  There are many happy endings in the movie, but there are also setbacks, like Freeman and his wife dealing with the loss of their son to a drug overdose.  Supporting characters are played by Selma Blair, Radha Mitchell, and Billy Burke, and they each give wonderful performances.  This movie does show us many love stories, but watch out because you'll be crying at the end.  You probably won't see it coming.  That is, unless you've read the book.  This movie has many quotable lines (at least in our household), and doesn't lose its effect upon multiple viewings.

Songs I Love: "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls

     To quote Haley from One Tree Hill, "I believe in true love.  I believe in love at first sight.  I believe love conquers all..."  I love romance.  I love the hope that you get when you believe that the romantic, passionate, soulmate love is out there.  So, of course, a lot of the music I love leans toward the mushy, lovey-dovey, and fabulous.  It should come as no surprise, then, that my favorite song of all-time is "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls.
     I'm sure you know about this song.  If you don't, you may be living under a rock, or you may just be one of those young people who believe the world was no in existence until they were born.  "Iris" is in the movie City of Angels starring Meg Ryan and Nicolas Cage.  (Do you think I have a Nicolas Cage thing?  Hmm.  I'm not sure.)  Nicolas Cage plays an angel who falls for Meg Ryan's doctor.  He give up being an angel to be with Meg Ryan only to...well, I won't give away the ending for you.  Let's just say it's definitely a tear jerker, which I love!  Towards the end of the movie, Cage is talking to his friend about his relationship with Ryan, and he says, "I would rather have had one breath of her hair, one kiss from her mouth, one touch of her hand, than an eternity without it.  One."  Swoon!  Anyway, The Goo Goo Dolls' song fits this movie perfectly.  The lyrics are romantic, the music is beautiful, and it's just perfect.

Movies That Scare Me to Death: The Strangers

     I love scary movies!  I enjoy being scared, and I consider myself somewhat of a scary movie expert.  Repeated viewings of a movie usually lead to fewer scares or even moments of hilarity at the ridiculousness of it all.  However, there are a few out there that always make my heart pound.  I have to watch them with the lights on, and I can't watch certain parts because I know I won't be able to sleep if I do.  The Strangers is one of these movies.  I usually think of the classics as being better than what's been put out in the last several years, but The Strangers is a recent release that scares me to death.
     Released in 2008 and starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, I remember seeing this movie for the first time in the theaters.  My sister and I were two of three people that came to see it in the middle of the day.  That evening we were going home to our parents' house who live out in the country.  This made viewing even more unsettling as we thought something like this could really happen to us. 
     Tyler and Speedman play Kristen and James, a couple who don't really know where they're heading in life because of an event I won't reveal to you.  They go to his parents' country home (Maybe?  I'm not really sure where they are exactly.) after a wedding and arrive early in the morning.  This is when things start to get frightening.  A girl comes to their door asking where Tamara is.  Her face is mostly hidden because the outside light is broken (Or is it?).  James goes into town to get more cigarettes for Kristen, and while he is gone Kristen begins to slowly be terrorized.  James returns to find Kristen completely freaking out, and of course he doesn't believe that anything bad is happening.  Why is that always the case?  Anyway, I really don't want to give too much away, but three people (two girls and a man) are slowly causing serious problems for James and Kristen.
     One thing that helps with the scares is the music.  Playing on an old record player are some unsettling songs, including "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard.  I dare you to not get scared any time you hear that song after watching The Strangers.  It is also scary realizing that James and Kristen seem to be out in the middle of nowhere, but they also seem to be relatively close to civilization.  I've seen this movie several times, and I still can't figure out how the menacing trio got into the house.  Is the sliding glass door open or closed?  What are these evil people thinking?  Why didn't Kristen and James just barricade themselves somewhere with the gun and stay there?  What is Dennis from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia doing here?  Why did Kristen say "no" to James, and why is James pigging out on Blue Bell vanilla ice cream?