Airplane movies

The only time I catch up on my movies is on my flights.  I usually can't sleep much on the plane, so I watch movie after movie. Here are the movies I watched on my 2 flights to and from Paris:

• Bridesmaids - Raunchy in the beginning, but kinda funny some parts
• Hangover 2 - bad, bad, bad!  Same formula doesn't work twice
• Midnight in Paris
• 2 days in Paris
• Ratouille (watched this before)
• Ant Z
• Bad Teacher

I got into the "Paris" mood and watched 3 movies that were filmed or based in Paris.  I must say that Air France didn't really have a good selection of movies.  I had a hard time trying to find a movie that  I like.  I usually enjoy watching Comedy / Romantic comedies because I just like "light" movies....nothing too intense.  I rarely watch Action films because I find them so violent. I have enough stress in my life that I don't need additional stress when watching a movie.  

Up

Holy Cow, did you know that movie tickets cost $11 now?? 2 adults + popcorn + drink = $30. Holy. Things are getting pricey out there! The last theather movie SQ and I went to watch was Wall-E. (1 year ago!) Yesterday night we had a movie date to see Pixar's newest movie, Up. Ok, you probably got the gist that we like to watch Pixar films...





I briefly heard that Up was good, but don't know anything about the storyline or the plot. I guess that's sometimes a good thing - I go in with no expectations and get a nice pleasant surprise. I really like Up. The story does a great job tying everything together - it actually made me cry a few times! I know, how can a "cartoon" make someone cry? Watch it for yourself, there's a deep love story in there. The Asian boy, Russell, in the movie, was actually quite adorable - though maybe borderline annoying in some scenes. But overall, it's a good movie - thumbs Up from me!

Airplane movies

SQ and I haven't watched movies in ages - there is really nothing showing in the theater that interests us all that much and rentals are kinda blah at the moment. When we had Blockbuster, we did watch a lot but now we're kinda on a dry spell.

However, on my recent Transatlantic flights, I had nothing better to do than to watch a few movies. Between the 2 long flights, I watched 4 movies:

1. Confessions of a Shopaholic

This movie is adapted from a book by Sophie Kinsella, which got quite popular. Poor acting, bad plot, everything is so stupid. Not even worth a DVD rental. This girl shops and maxes out her credit card. She gets a job, and then she impresses everyone with her silliness? Who cares? Her character is annoying. Kinda reminds of Legally Blonde but at least Reese Witherspoon can act.

2. He's Just Not That Into You

In addition to the fact that there are tons of big stars in this movie, the movie itself is very good. It is totally a chick flick, but I loved it. I find it very funny and heart-warming. I especially liked Ginnifer Goodwin's character. She's very cute and portrays so many girls out there - dreaming of finding Mr. Right and trying to read & overanalyze very little "sign" the man gives out.

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Ok, one word to describe = BORING!! This is the stupidest movie I've seen. Very poor acting by everyone in this movie! Brad Pitt nominated as best actor? You've got to be kidding! Cate Blanchett was also bad. The movie consists of flashbacks as Cate's daughter reads a diary left by Benjamin Button to the dying Cate in the hospital. So really boring and stupid.

4. Coraline

This is a 3-D animated show based on Neil Gaiman's novel. While the computer graphics were amazing, the plot is only so-so IMO. Dakota Fanning, of course, does a fabulous job being the voice of Coraline Jones. Despite it being animation, this movie is quite dark and scary. It's not really a young kid movie - teenagers yes, kids under 10, no.

Cheesy movies

I am such a sucker for Cheesy movies - aka chick flicks. ABC showed "Win a date with Tad Hamilton" today for their Friday movie. When this movie first came out on DVD, I wanted to watch it so bad. But of course SQ would never agree to it so I never got to watch it. Finally I was able to watch it on the plane... and then again on TV. Tonight's show would be my third time watching it... and yet, I still cry over the cheesy parts. So touching. So romantic... ok, ok, I'm pathetic!

RedBox

Have you guys seen this? SQ and I went to Lucky's (supermarket) yesterday and came across the "RedBox." What attracted us to the machine is this $1 DVD rental banner. As you know, we don't have cable and since unsubscribing to Blockbuster.com, we haven't seen a DVD in a long long time. Plus,, the $1 deal is very attractive... DVDs at Blockbuster stores usually go for $3.99 or something ridiculous. So we gave this RedBox a try.

The movie selection is not extensive because I guess there is only so much DVDs the machine can store. I don't know if it's just me, or I couldn't recognize like 3/4 of the movie titles!! Finally, we saw a couple of titles we recognized and rented "Juno." The "vending" part of it was easy. Select the movie, and then just swipe your credit card and then enter your zip code on the key pad. Then within seconds, the DVD pops out on the side. $1.09 ($1 with tax). We need to return it by 9pm the next day otherwise there is a $1 per day charge(maximum $24). So it's not too bad. It's convenient - considering the machine is just inside the supermarket. I think we will use it more if they have more movies we want to watch in there. The website says you can also reserve it online and pick it up at a destinated location. Kinda cool...

By the way, Juno was good. I liked it.

WALL-E

SQ and I went on a movie date to watch "WALL-E." It's Pixar's newest animated film about 2 robots, WALL-E and EVE. I don't want to give the story away, so all I will say is that the plot is really original, imaginative, and intriguing. It's one of Pixar's best films. There isn't a lot of dialogue in the film because the robots didn't talk, but only made sounds that resemble words. But you can follow the storyline. Kids will love it for the comedy and cuteness, and adults will appreciate the key messages the creators want to raise. It's a great movie - highly recommend it!

Oscars

Tonight ABC is showing the 79th Academy Awards show, hosted by Ellen Degeneres. Here are the people I'm rooting for!

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Leonardo DiCaprio - "Blood Diamond"
Forest Whitaker - "The Last King of Scotland" WINNER

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alan Arkin - "Little Miss Sunshine" WINNER Guessed it right!

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Meryl Streep - "The Devil Wears Prada"
Helen Mirren - "The Queen" WINNER

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Abigail Breslin - "Little Miss Sunshine"
Jennifer Hudson - "Dreamgirls" WINNER

BEST PICTURE
"The Departed" WINNER Guessed it right!

DIRECTING
Martin Scorsese - "The Departed" WINNER Guessed it right!

SCREENPLAY - ORIGINAL
Michael Arndt - "Little Miss Sunshine" WINNER Guessed it right!

Let's see how many I get right?!
4 out of 7!

Brokeback Mountain

Once you get over and see pass the nudity and some of the more intense homosexual acts in the movie, you will learn to LOVE this movie. The story is thought-provoking, mind-bloggling, and simply powerful. Pay close attention to every detail and you will notice there is a purpose for everything. This movie is full of symbolism and intriguing notations. Everyone did such a magnificent job telling this story of forbidden love...

If you're up for some after-the-movie discussions, email me!

RENT

Seasons of Love
Five hundrend twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundrend twenty five thousand moments so dear
Five hundrend twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year
In daylight, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee,
In inches, in miles, in laughter in strife
Five hundrend twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life
How about Love? how about love? how about love?
measure in love seasons of love, seasons of love
Five hundrend twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundrend twenty five thousand journeys to plan
Five hundrend twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure the life of a woman or a man
In truth that she learned or in times that he cried
In the bridges he burned or the way that she died
Its time now to sing outthough the story never ends
Let's celebrate remember a year in the life of friends
Opening song from Rent, the musical and the movie (2005). Just finished watching this on DVD. I never saw the Broadway show, so the movie was new to me. Interesting storyline -- unique plot. I'm so used to watching musicals that are older and set in more historical times like Les Miserables or Phantom of the Opera. Nothing so modern and new. Fresh idea. I watched the special features and they did a story about the writer/composer, Jonathan Larson. I learned that Larson died the day before Rent's Opening Show at the age of 35, alone at his house from Marfan Syndrome. That was so sad because he had dedicated over 7 years in writing this play while waiting tables at a local diner because this was his passion, his dream. And he didn't even get find out whether this show was a success or not. (Of course this show was a huge hit). So Larson didn't get to enjoy the fame or recognition that he deserved for his work. Just soooo sad. His family used some of the profits from the show to start a Jonathan Larson foundation, which awards money to starving composers/writers who wait on tables, drive cabs, just to live to do what they enjoy most, so they too can fulfill their dreams. It is so inspiring.

Blockbuster Online

It's another wet and wild one out there today, so what better to do than to stay in the comfort of your own home, snuggle in your warmest blanket & enjoy a movie or 2 on your big screen TV? That's exactly my game plan this weekend. Ever since we joined Blockbuster.com, my husband and I have been watching movies, a lot of movies. I think we average about 4-5 movies a week. But that's because we haven't watched any for the past couple of years! I think the last movie we watched in the theater was "The Incredibles," back in Nov 2004 when we were in Wash DC with nothing better to do. Anyhow, you get the picture : haven't watched any movies in ages so there was a lot to catch up when we finally joined Blockbuster.com. It's this thing about monthly charge & unlimited rentals that make you want to watch & return as fast as you can so you can make it all worth the money.

We just finished watching the Johnny Cash's movie Walk the Line. Ok, sorry if I'm totally ignorant but I didn't really know who Johnny Cash is or was before this movie. His name sounds familiar but I had no clue. But now I know. I guess he was just as big of a star as Bob Dylan or Elvis Presley. I enjoyed the movie - both the acting and singing were good by both Jaoquin Pheonix and Resse Witherspoon. The love between Johnny Cash and June Carter was romanticized throughout the movie and also in real life. They were married for 25 years and that's probably very hard to come by in the showbiz world ... but I was still very disappointed to learn that Johnny Cash cheated on his first wife to be with June Carter. He left his first wife and his kids behind to be with June Carter. I didn't like that part... and no one seems to care about that!