Starring: Eric Bana, Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill
Genre: Comedy
Rating: B-
Eric Bana's Performance: A+

As soon as I saw that Eric Bana was in this movie, I knew I was going to see it. And oh man, he's freaking hilarious!

But first, everyone else. Adam Sandler plays George Simmons, a successful comedian who has just found out he's dying. Trying to cheer himself up, he goes to a comedy club and after a disastrous set, is impressed by struggling comedian Ira. So George hires Ira as his assistant (keep him organized, write some jokes) and these two begin to form a friendship. George at first keeps his disease (a form of leukemia) hidden from everyone but Ira tells him that he's got to tell other people eventually. So George starts tellings others and the most important person he tells is the one that got away, a former fiancee whom he cheated on. By telling her he's dying, it gives them an opportunity to let each other know that they still love each other and that Laura, in an attempt to find someone opposite of George, ends up marrying a cheating scumbag anyway (Eric Bana).

But then George, who has been taking experimental drugs, discovers that he has gotten better and he decides to go after Laura. And then we see how much almost dying has affected George.

Ok. So Funny People definitely had some funny parts. But the whole friendship thing between George and Ira gets overshadowed in the last half by George and Laura. Ira is still around, trying to do the right thing, but that kind of blows up in his face. However this movie for me has always been about Eric and omg his character is such a spaz! Eric's character, Clark has been married to Laura for a while now and he's a businessman who is dealing with companies in China. Laura confesses to George that Clark has cheated on her. So you're all ready to hate him when he finally appears in the movie (in the last 45 minutes I'd say he shows up - and then proceeds to steal the movie for the next 25 minutes). *sigh* Eric Bana is really funny.

In the end though, the movie as a whole is kind of uneven. The first half is good, then when George detours with Laura, the whole vibe of the movie is kind of lost. But it's not horrible. I still had some good laughs and if you're a fan of Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen or Eric Bana, go see this movie.

Movie description from yahoo movies:

When high-powered book editor Margaret faces deportation to her native Canada, the quick-thinking exec declares that she's actually engaged to her unsuspecting put-upon assistant Andrew, who she's tormented for years. He agrees to participate in the charade, but with a few conditions of his own. The unlikely couple heads to Alaska to meet his quirky family and the always-in-control city girl finds herself in one comedic fish-out-of-water situation after another. With an impromptu wedding in the works and an immigration official on their tails, Margaret and Andrew reluctantly vow to stick to the plan despite the precarious consequences.

So today's movie review is more like a discussion between myself and Isabel. We both got a chance to see this movie and we're both in awe of Ryan Reynolds in all his shirtless glory. LOL

Isabel: So… what did you think of the movie? I thought it was cute and funny. When I saw commercials, I knew I'd netflix it. But what made me go and watch in theater was my MIL describing a shirtless Ryan Reynolds. LOL.

Ames: OMG shirtless Ryan Reynolds totally made this movie for me.

But yeah, he also appears shirtless a few times. And with the towel on....oh my!!

I was going to wait to rent this too because romcoms lately have been really disappointing - but this was really smart and cute.

Isabel: What was your favorite besides the shirtless part?? Oh and by the way, Sandra Bullock looks like she had a nice little body going on. Damn. lol. I'm jealous.

Anyways... other than the shirt part, my favorite scene was probably when she's dancing in the woods with grandma and singing that rap song. ha ha.

Ames: LMAO that part was hilarious! I think had tears coming out of my eyes at that part.

I liked any little scene with Ramone. He's on my show the Office so it was good to see him doing something else that was freaking hilarious. Ramone!!

I got a little thrill in my heart when Ryan goes to New York to get Sandra and he's like 'imagine my surprise when I find myself wifeless' and i was look, here's a man who knows what he wants. I like when he got a bit forceful there.

And every scene where he made her do something for herself, how he kept her on her toes in his natural environment. I liked that.

I also like that the comedy derives from a fish out of water situation - not let's make the lady do something totally embarassing and demeaning (shopaholic, he's just not that into you). Like I said, this was a smart movie.

Isabel: Ramone was funny! I liked how he just kept popping up. lol. waiter, shop keeper, stripper and minister. Ha ha. Funny.

Oh yeah when he said he found himself wifeless... sigh. I'll be your wife Ryan! ha ha. I like in the beginning when he said the latte was like Christmas in a cup. Lmao. Also how everyone in the office would im each other to warn everyone she was coming. Sounds like something we would do at work .

What else did I like… Oh I liked how they didn't try to have the ex step in between Sandra and Ryan. Like when she comes into his room to talk with him.

Ames: Oh yeah! I was just waiting for that cliche to happen. LOL

I loved Gammy - she was just too cute!

And Christmas in a cup - that was just brilliant.

Ryan Reynolds humor is the kind of humor I like - it's sharp.

Isabel: Oh and how they kept throwing the baby maker far away from them. Too funny.

Gammy was funny and cute. I thought for sure the wedding dress would be altered to something contemporary. I liked they kept it the same.

Yeah I just watched him in Just Friends and that movie is funny too. I didn't care for him in waiting.

Was there anything in the movie you didn't like?

Ames: The puppy was cute too! And when the eagle grabbed the puppy? LOL And the baby-maker was its own damn character. Like when Gammy comes into the room at one point and said, “Let’s give the baby-maker a rest tonight.” haha

Ok what I didn’t like- I felt like we didn't see enough of a relationship develop between Ryan and Sandra's characters. It's like she fell in love with him and everyone attached to him - not just him alone. Do you know what I mean? What about you?

Isabel: Oh yeah. I was like… no they are not going to hurt that puppy!!!!

Yeah it was kind of fast they fell in love. I mean... I know there is love at first sight. But how do you go from hating your boss and then loving them just like that. I could understand... caring about that person, liking them. But...i don't know.

Sandra's character.... yeah... now that you mention it, it is like she fell in love with his family. Also... I expected a little more with the ex girlfriend. Not with her trying to come between them. But more of a… i don't know... It's like they threw her in there.

Ames: She was kind of random, the ex-girlfriend.

But yeah, that was the only thing that didn't work for me - just how fast it came together.

Isabel: Yeah I think they could have done without the ex girlfriend. Anything else we forgot to mention?

Ames: I don't think so.

Isabel: so what grade would you give this movie?

Ames: B- you?

Isabel: A B. The shirtless scene. :)

I've read and enjoyed Dan Brown's the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. I went to see the Da Vinci code in theaters and thought it was just all right. Personally, Angels and Demons is the better book and also the better movie.

The movie version of AandD picks up after the events of the Da Vinci (it's the other way around with the books). Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is on the Vatican's shit short list and they are refusing him access to the Vatican Archives so he can complete his research required for the book he's working on about the Illuminati - a secret society that went underground hundred of years ago due to the Roman Catholic Church.

But the Vatican needs Robert Langdon to solve a mystery. The Pope has just died and the four favored cardinals that could possibly replace him have been kidnapped and a body has turned up with the Illuminati name branded into his skin.

When Robert shows up at the Vatican, he joins Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer) in her search for a stolen canister of anti-matter that the Illuminati are threatening the Vatican with. Vittoria and one of her colleagues (who is dead) figured out a way to collect anti-matter from the collision between atoms. This is interesting stuff in the books, which is glossed over in the movie.

And that's how I feel about the movie. All the action from the books is there, but not a lot of the detail. And unless you've read the book, you may miss out on a few things. But the movie does do a good job of capturing the book and I enjoyed watching it. I wanted to see all the art work that was mentioned in the book with my own eyes (yes, I do have the special edition of the book, with the pictures LOL). And the history of all that art work isn't really explored. Again, just glossed over. After watching the movie, I really want to go back and read the book.

All in all, I say go see it if you've read the book or if you enjoyed the Da Vinci Code movie and you want more of the same, but better. B-

Starring: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos, Tomas Aranas
Rating: R, for violence and language
Grade: B-

Four Jewish brothers living in Nazi occupied Poland escape into the forest where they join up with Russian resistance fighters in battling the Nazis. Throughout the war they built a village inside the forest and saved the lives of more than 1200 other Jews. Based on a true story.

I've been wanting to watch this movie since before the movie came out in the theaters and I finally found the time to watch this movie and I thought that it was a pretty decent movie. This movie is pretty lengthy but overall, I still rather enjoyed the movie.

This movie is about four Jewish brothers living in a time when it was not cool to be Jewish in Poland. It wasn't cool because the Nazi's were killing every Jew and every Jew sympathizer. The movie starts with a bunch of Nazi's on a killing spree and Tuvia's parents were caught in the crossfire. Tuvia and his brothers flee to the forest and start a little Jewish camp that turns into a community and the way that these guys take on fighting the facking Nazi's was pretty intense.

This movie starts off with a bang and though I ended up really enjoying the movie at the end, there were times in the movie where it dragged. While they're building up their little Jewish community in the forest was one of those times. It wasn't as action packed as I was expecting with the directors opting to tell the story of war instead of actually showing it and I think that had they showed more of the fighting, I probably would have enjoyed this movie so much more than I did.

Of all the brothers, Zus Bielski was my favorite. The hot tempered, quick to kill a fool brother was the bomb. The way that he killed his way through Poland rocked my socks. I wish that Tuvia would have killed more people but hey, whatever..he was the good brother. He led his little community of Jews with a kindness and a fierce loyalty that was respectable and I was kind of soft on him but I was hot for Zus....what that says about me, I have no idea but hey, it is what it is. Billy Elliott's character was pretty cool as well. He was the peacemaker brother and he gets married in this movie to a one of the girls that I really liked for him.

This movie dragged a bit but not enough to completely take away my enjoyment of the movie. It was a good movie and I'm glad that I watched it. I recommend it. You should watch it.

Starring: Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway & Bryan Greenberg (woot!)

Movie Description from Yahoo movies:  Liv and Emma are best friends who since childhood have planned every detail of their respective weddings. At the top of their bridal "must have" list: a ceremony at New York's ultimate bridal destination, the Plaza Hotel. Now, at age 26, they're both about to get married; they're about to realize their dreams; and they're about to live happily ever after. Or maybe not. When a clerical error causes a clash in wedding dates--they're now to be married on the same date!--Liv, Emma and their lifelong friendship are put to the ultimate test. Liv, a successful lawyer who is used to getting what she wants, including the perfect job and the perfect man, won't settle for anything less than the perfect wedding she has dreamed of for years. Emma, a schoolteacher who has always been good at taking care of others, but not so much in looking after herself, discovers her inner Bridezilla and comes out swinging when her own dream wedding is imperiled. Now, the two best friends who'd do anything for each other find themselves in a no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners struggle that threatens to erupt into all-out war.

Grade: B-/C+

I teeter on the edge of what to grade this movie.  I had quite a few laughs and it was a funny movie, but I can see why this movie didn't get great reviews.  All that aside, I had a good time watching this movie and it was pure escapism.  And it was better than I thought.

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake, etc.
Rating: R, for strong sexual content, language, some violence and drug use.
Grade: B-

There was a time when Lazarus played the blues; a time he got Bojo's Juke Joint shakin' back in the day. Now he lives them. Bitter and broken from a cheating wife and a shattered marriage, Lazarus' soul is lost in spent dreams and betrayal's contempt--until Rae. Half naked and beaten unconscious, Rae is left for dead on the side of the road when Lazarus discovers her. The God-fearing, middle-aged black man quickly learns that the young white woman he's nursing back to health is none other than the town tramp from the small Tennessee town where they live. Worse, she has a peculiar anxiety disorder. He realizes when the fever hits, Rae's affliction has more to do with love lost than any found. Abused as a child and abandoned by her mother, Rae is used by just about every man in the phone book. She tethers her only hope to Ronnie, but escape to a better life is short-lived when Ronnie ships off for boot camp. Desperation kicks in, as a drug-induced Rae reverts to surviving the only way she knows how, by giving any man what he wants to get what she needs--until Lazarus. Refusing to know her in the biblical sense, Lazarus decides to cure Rae of her wicked ways--and vent some unresolved male vengeance of his own. He chains her to his radiator, justifying his unorthodox methods with quoted scripture. Preacher R.L. intervenes, but it is Lazarus and Rae who redeem themselves. Unleashing Rae emotionally, Lazarus unchains his heart, finding love again in Angela. By saving Rae, he frees himself.

This movie was straight up crazy.

Christina Ricci's character was this white trash chick who had just a whole grip of problems, a drug problem, a drinking problem, a sleeping with too many guys problem and she's got this boyfriend who was just shipped off to Iraq but loves her and wants her to stay true to him, only she doesn't. One night, she gets really drunk and high and she finds herself in a whole lot of trouble. She was punched and then left for dead in the middle of a dusty road and then Lazarus picks her up and chains her up and saves her and in turn frees himself from his past.

This movie was pretty good. It was crazy but it was pretty good. It was interesting to see what the heck was going on and to see Lazarus not give up on Rae and helped her see her potential. When we first meet Rae, I did not like her at all, the way she cheated on her man (I totally forgot what the heck Justin's name was in this movie) and to see how she got to be the way that she is, made me like her and at the end when she changed her ways, it made me admire her all the more.

Samuel L. Jackson did a great job with his character in this movie. He was believable and likeable. I liked seeing him deal with his own problems at the same time he was trying to help Rae with hers. I enjoyed seeing them helping each other and if you can get past all of the vulgar love scenes and just vulgarness in the movie, you'll enjoy the storyline.

From the Yahoo Movie Page:

It's been nearly a year since volatile detective Ben Carson was suspended from the NYPD for fatally shooting another undercover officer, an accident that not only cost him his job, but fueled the alcoholism and anger that has alienated his wife and kids and left him crashing on his sister's couch in Queens. Desperate to pull his life together, Carson takes a job as a night watchman at the burned-out ruins of the Mayflower department store, which was destroyed by a massive fire that devoured numerous innocent lives. As Carson patrols the eerie, charred remains of the store, he begins to notice something sinister about the ornate mirrors that adorn the Mayflower walls. Reflected in the gigantic shimmering glass are horrific images that stun Carson. Beyond projecting gruesome images of the past, the mirrors appear to be manipulating reality as well. When Carson sees his own reflection being tortured, he suffers the physical effects of his fractured visions. His sympathetic but skeptical sister Angela dismisses these bizarre nightmares as a consequence of his stress and guilt over the accidental shooting, but Carson's estranged wife Amy, a no-nonsense NYPD medical examiner, is less forgiving. Her husband's increasingly erratic behavior frightens her, pushing his family farther away--and, she fears, it's putting their children in danger. As Carson investigates the mysterious disappearance of a Mayflower security guard and its possible connection to his ghastly visions, he realizes that a malevolent, otherworldly force is using reflections as a gateway to terrorize him and his family. Carson must somehow uncover the truth behind the mirrors--and convince Amy to help him battle the greatest evil he has ever faced.

My friend felt like going to see a movie on Tuesday night and this is what she wanted to see. I don't like going to see "scary" movies in the theater because...just because! LOL I don't want to scream or something in the theater and make an ass of myself. :P
Fortunately for me, this movie wasn't that scary. At the beginning, I was freaked out by the music and the scary things that pop up on screen, but then I got over it. There were still some freaky things going on, but I'm a big girl. I could deal.

So Carson is a retired cop living with his sister. He's just been hired as a nightwatchmen at this old burnt out store that used to be a hospital. One thing he notices right away are the mirrors. The building was in flames, but the mirrors were intact. And they were super clean. So he starts to notice strange things going on in the mirrors and he's not sure if it's real or if it's just him being crazy.

This movie was gory, which I don't mind. It was interesting and I'll definitely watch it again. The ending wasn't what I was expecting and it's actually kinda cool. I'm giving Mirrors a B-. But I think you can wait for the DVD to come out.

So I went to see You Don't Mess with the Zohan on Saturday. And I'm still laughing today, Wednesday.

I am an Adam Sandler fan. Happy Gilmore, the Water Boy, the Longest Yard, whatever. I love it.

Zohan is sick of the war. He's the top military operative for Israel and he's sick of fighting and death. So in a battle against his bitter enemy, the Phantom, Zohan fakes his own death and runs off to America, where he hopes to fulfill his dream of becoming a hair dresser. In America, he creates a new identity for himself (his new name is too funny and his haircut is from the 80s) and goes about becoming a hairdresser. But a man from whom he once stole a prize goat recognizes him and screws up Zohan's plan for a peaceful life in America.

That's basically the gist of it. LOL There's also a bit of a small community getting overtaken by a dodgy businessman and more stuff with the Phantom.

Now this movie isn't for everyone. There's sex with old ladies and basically everyone gets poked fun at. So yeah, if you're an Adam Sandler fan, I definitely recommend it.

The hummus love in this movie is hilarious, and what I keep laughing about. :P

Dead Silence is a chilling tale which focuses on widower Jamie Ashen who returns to his hometown of Raven’s Fair to unearth clues about the mysterious and brutal murder of his wife . He has a ventriloquist doll with him that was left on his front door before he found his wife dead.

As the film continues, Jamie starts to unravel a deep secret about the town's old ventriloquist performer named Mary Shaw, who's ghost story is used to scare children.

Mary Shaw, was a ventriloquist who went mad. She was accused of murdering a young boy named Michael Ashen and was hunted down by the vengeful townspeople who cut out her tongue and killed her.

As the story continues, the grieving widower finally uncovers the shocking truth behind the curse that has plagued Ravens Fair for as far back as he can remember.

The other day I was in the mood for a scary movie. Dead Silence was available through HBO On Demand so I figured why not?! I remember when this came out , I thought it looked kind of stupid. But I went ahead and gave it a go!

Dead Silence comes from the creators of the Saw franchise so, immediately I was a little skeptical. However, I have to say that this was a genuinely creepy ghost story. I think that is why I liked it because it's just that, a ghost story. It's not gratuitous blood and gore it's an old school ghost story, stemming from an old children's rhyme:

Beware the stare of Mary Shaw
She had no children, only dolls
And if you see her in your dream
Be sure you never, ever scream
Or she'll rip your tongue out at the seam.

Not only is the ghost story creepy, the dolls in the movie are sinister and unnerving. I had an inkling of how the ending would play out and I turned out to be right, but it wasn't a "Duh, you could've seen it coming a mile away" ending.

I really liked the look of the movie as well, it was very dark (shocker) but, everything was dark and dingy except for Jamie's red car, which stood out in stark contrast to the dark dreary surroundings, and the creepy-creeperson ventriloquist doll, Billy.

I wasn't familiar with Ryan Kwanten the actor portraying the film's main character, Jamie. But he was pretty dang cute! ;)

Overall, I really enjoyed the movie. It was one of the better scary movies I've seen in awhile!

I'm giving it a B-.