"Shopgirl" - Not sure if I really liked it. There were definitely several parts that just made you feel awkward, and I'm not a big fan of movies that make me feel like that. Steve Martin did a decent job, but more of the definite older man of the picture - think "LA Story" or "Father of the Bride" with no humor. Jason Schwartzman is also good in it, but his performance is where a lot of the awkwardness of the movie comes from.
"Topaz" - A good spy film. It's old and so kind of slow, but I enjoyed it. Not Hitchcock's best, but definitely not one of his worst.
"Cool Hand Luke" - You need to see this movie. It's a classic. Paul Newman and George Kennedy are incredible. A great story about the unbreakable will of a man.
"That old Luke smile. Oh, Luke. He was some boy. Cool Hand Luke. Hell, he's a natural-born world-shaker."
"Junebug" - Not quite sure what I thought of this movie. The performances of the cast was good enough, but the story was nothing to spectacular. Although it didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth, the was nothing quite memorable about it either. Good one to skip.
"Hoodwinked" - Thought it was going to be much better than it was. It had it's moments, but as is it in most of these movies, the moments that it has you've seen on the previews and the rest is just filler. Could be a good family movie, but then there are others that are much better.
"Terminator 3" - Pretty sweet. Good third film of a pretty cool trilogy. Although, I wouldn't be completely floored if they released another. Arnold's back and bad as ever although this time even more than in Terminator 2, you have no idea how he's going to win as out matched as he is. The story is definitely good enough to keep you entertained through the parts that have a little less action although those parts are few and far between. Check it out for a good entertaining couch night.
"The Squid and the Whale" - Didn't like it. Very disturbing. Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney had really good performances, but if I had never seen it I wouldn't be any less for it.
"Munich" - Powerful movie, powerful filming, writing and acting. Another good serious Stephen Spielberg success.
"Pride and Prejudice" - I haven't read the book, nor have I seen the BBC edition of the movie that came out a while ago and is about three times as long. I've heard that people who have read the book or seen the other version are really disappointed with this movie, but I thought it was actually pretty good. Donald Sutherland as the father of the girls does a great job, and Keira Knightley does a great job as well, although I'm a little biased on that point.
"The Sentinel" - Great movie. Intense all the way through and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The performances of Michael Douglas, Keifer Sutherland and Eva Longorina do not hurt the film either.
"Saint Ralph" - I really liked this movie, although there's some stuff in the beginning you're going to have to look over. Don't watch this movie with your parents but I think watching it separate from each other, each party would really enjoy it. A story about a boy with everything against him striving to do the impossible: win the Boston Marathon. It's definitely a drama, with some great funny parts in it as well as a lot of things to really make you think.
"Lucky Number Slevin" - Fast paced filming, smart writing, quick dialog and great performances from the all star cast make this a film not to miss. A little violent in times (it's about two rival gang leaders and a hitman) but that's easy to look over in a film this good. Sir Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman play the two rival gang leaders and have an incredible scene between them. Bruce Willis is still in his prime and there are two surprisingly good performances from both Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu whom I'm starting to like more and more with each movie I see them in.
"Art School Confidential" - Not as good as I thought it was going to be. Couldn't tell if they wanted to make it a mystery, a romantic comedy, or just a stupid college life run of the mill comedy. For me it ended up turning into the last one, just with out being very funny. Skip it.
"X-Men III: The Last Stand" - Wow. Really good movie. Action packed, good story line, great acting and unexpectedly dark. Very cool effects. Best of the trilogy. See it if you liked the other two, or even kind of liked the other two. If these type of movies aren't for you, then you probably won't see it anyway.
"Cocktail" - It's okay. Nothing too special although there's a good 10 to 15 minutes of Tom Cruise and co-star Bryan Brown doing some really cool bottle tricks while bar tending in crowded NYC bars. Other than that, I think it was only popular because it came out shortly after "Top Gun".
"The Break Up" - Surprisingly more of a drama than a comedy, although it definitely did have its laughs. Vince Vaughn is Vince Vaughn, and if you've liked him before you'll like him now. Same with Jennifer Aniston and same with John Favreau. The writing is pretty good though, and for all it's billed as a comedy - it's a good serious movie that I think couples will really enjoy.
"A Prairie Home Companion" - I liked it enough, but nothing really great. I think I liked it as much as I did because I've listed to the radio show enough that I really got the characters. It was interesting seeing Garrison Keillor as an actor, but I would definitely say that John C. Reilly and Woody Harrleson stole the show. Their number towards the end of the film was a high point in the film for me and had me laughing out loud. A good family movie with not a lot to it.
"The Prestige" - Really good movie. Thriller that keeps you guessing (or at least kept me guessing, Julia caught the ending much sooner than I did) until the end, or nearly the end. The writing, filming and acting are incredible - there's not one weak link in the cast. See this movie.
"Sahara" - Fun entertaining movie. Steve Zahn is great and gives you laughs in his role as only he can. Matthew McConaughey is perfect for the lead character and I hope (although I think some of Clive Cussler's fans will disagree) that they will continue with this character and make some of the other books into movies.
"Borat" - You'll either love or hate this movie, and if you love it, there will still be several unbelievable scenes that make your jaw drop and your mind have to ask yourself if you actually just saw what you think you did. There's enough press going on about this movie that I don't need to review it any further.
"Clerks II" - Not as good as Clerks I, and I didn't really feel that it had quite the Kevin Smith touch as his other movies, but as a sequel goes - it accomplishes what it needs to. It's a nice wrap up and a nice continuation of some running gags throughout the Tri-city movies. There were a couple of great dialogues reminiscent of the first movie and those definitely made me laugh out loud. There just weren't enough of them for me.
"Superman Returns" - Pretty good. I really liked Kevin Spacey, thought he did a great job as Lex Luthor. Decent story line as well, but nothing awesome. For as much hype as it got and for as big as it needed to be as a new Superman movie, it fell a little short for my liking. Not that I didn't think it was a good movie - it was a fine movie - but nothing special. A good, entertaining, Sunday night flick for the whole family.
11 December 2006
08 December 2006
A Trip To Paradise
Wow. What to say about an incredible week spent with great friends in one of the most beautiful places in the world? I spent last week in the town of Paraiso in the Dominican Republic with two great friends from high school and junior high, one of whom is a Peace Corps volunteer down there working with a coffee cooperative. Now I'm not extremely well traveled, but I have been to my fair share of the world and I must say that the beaches of the southern coast of the Dominican Republic where the most breathtaking beaches I have every seen.
So because I can't tell you everything about the trip - it would take way to long, as those of you who know me realize ;) - I'm just going to give you some highlights:
-fresh fruit: It's incredible. Oranges, grapefruit, papaya, passion fruit, avocados, sweet lemons, bananas, and coconuts. First time eating fresh coconut and trying to peel them from their outer shell with a machete. Good times.
-people: Everybody we met were so helpful, gracious and wanted to be the best hosts they could be. We were offered fresh made Dominican coffee in every house we went to, very sweet coffee, but I enjoyed it. Everybody made us feel very welcome and all of Kat's friends became our friends in a matter of minutes.
-the first view of Paraiso. After driving down a road near the coast line, you wind up a fairly large hill (mountain) and as you turn the corner and start the decent you have an amazing view of the green landscape, the blue sea and sky and the white of the clouds and the sand. Beautiful.
-riding on a "moto": The main mode of transportation and my first time on a motorcycle. There's not a better way to see the scenery around you though.
-the weather: I mean come on! It's December and I'm in shorts and a t-shirt, sunny all the time hanging out on the beach in the Caribbean Sea. Pretty sweet.
-Bahia de las Aguilas - Bay of the Eagles. Two hours in the back of a truck carrying 11 people, but it was a fun ride and the destination for the day was absolutely worth it. White sandy beaches, clear sky, blue water, snorkeling, eating freshly caught fish, picking up little blowfish, laying in a hammock in the shade of a tree, walking the beach during an incredible sunset.
-Santo Domingo: Overall not my favorite, and glad we only spent a day there, but it was cool seeing the Colonial District of the first European city of the New World. Standing outside Columbus' house, visiting the first Cathedral of the New World walking by the remains of the first hospital.
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