THE BLIND SIDE
5 out of 5 stars

“you threaten my SON! you threaten ME!” – leigh anne touhy



this is probably one of the MOST inspirational movies i’ve watched in a long time... it’s just awesome to see someone change a kid’s life like this by giving him the best gifts in the world: higher education and family. leigh anne touhy, you are a saint! ;)


so, you’re asking yourself... who is leigh anne touhy? well... leigh anne (sandra bullock with the most southern hairstyle i’ve seen) and sean touhy (an unrecognizable tim mcgraw) live in memphis, TN and they are RICH beyond belief. their home is BEAUTIFUL and very well decorated, and of course, their kids go to one of the most prestigious christian academies in memphis. one day, leigh anne sees a 16 year old black kid nicknamed big mike at the school, and she wonders who he is... her son s.j. (he’s the cutest little boy!) befriends him, and when leigh anne seems him walking in the rain by himself with a t-shirt in a plastic bag, she offers him a place to stay. it’s the kindest gesture one could do for a homeless person, and with that, the touhys give him food, shelter, an education, a car, and cultivate him into a football star. it’s sooooo heartbreaking to see where big mike is coming from AKA hurt village/the ghetto of memphis, and even more heartbreaking when mike’s druggie mother and leigh anne are having a one-on-one talk about their son...


now, did i think sandra deserved an oscar for this? i mean, she’s pretty good at playing bitchy roles, but i don’t really think i agree with the academy on this one... she’s great, but ehh... i actually thought tim mcgraw did a better job, but what do i know, right? i just LOVE how the family treats him as an equal, and s.j. and mike’s relationship is very sweet... (so fun to see s.j. be his coach for his summer workout!) but boy, leigh anne’s a tough woman, and she doesn’t take no guff from no one... not even her racist friends, and it’s just a DELIGHT to see someone who does what she wants because it’s the right thing to do...


HIGHLY recommend this one, and be sure to have a box of kleenex next to you when you do... ;)

DISTRICT 9
4 out of 5 stars

MAN, this one was done in such a style i've NEVER seen BEFORE!!! really enjoyed this flick about alien segregation and the allusion to south african apartheid! :) (another south african movie to add to my SA/world cup theme these days...)


district 9's plot is ALL about how a global defense corporation called multi-national united is hired by the south african goverment to evict/relocate the aliens into a new concentration camp. this is because these "prawns" came to johannesburg 20 odd years ago in their ship, got stranded on earth, and the humans allowed them to take refuge on our planet... well, the humans today thought that it would be a good idea to evict them from their slum, and serve them illegal eviction notices for relocation. it's total illegal search&seizure, but what "rights" do these aliens have anyway, right? (well, that's exactly the way MNU thinks) so, a mild-mannered guy named witus who worked for MNU heads the eviction process, and things get CRAZY very quickly... riots start in the slum, aliens are shot in cold-blood, fires blaze, and witus makes the mistake of opening a mysterious can filled with weird brown liquid in his face... (i'll just stop @ that and make you watch this one to find out what happens...)

i think i really liked the way this was shot, esp. in a docu-action style because the movie starts off as a documentary with interviews about this situation in johannesburg, then transitions off into the traditional action movie style we're used to seeing. the storyline is quite intense and unpredictable, and i think the writers for this did a superb job with the momentum and allowing us to see the POVs of witus and his predictament (aka the transition), christopher the prawn and his predictament (aka going home), and the greedy/corrupt MNU who wants to develop the advanced alien weaponry for their own profit. this is another case of the "evil human" plot just like in avatar, but i think this is FAR better in style, plot, and acting. the only thing i would warn is that this movie is quite GRAPHIC... you'll see human body parts getting ripped off, body parts being blown up, and the like... VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED. (don't say i didn't warn you either...)

LOL the catfood obsession is totally random... but them prawns REALLY like to eat it... soooo bizarre! :P

JENNIFER’S BODY
4 out of 5 stars


i think last week, megan fox’s engagement to brian austin green probably made a lot of boys weep... i mean, she’s got a killer body, a sexy face, AND... she’s a literal man-eater in this horror comedy about a demon possessing “jennifer’s body”... :P


megan fox plays jennifer check, a hot 17 year old cheerleader, who knows exactly how to work them boys... she has a BFF named needy (uglified amanda seyfried), who is just the opposite. needy has a boyfriend named chip, and is in a “committed” relationship with said BF. jennifer doesn’t play by the rules, and one day, they decide to see some band called low shoulder at their local dive bar. (adam brody is awesome as the sketchy/hilarious/charismatic lead singer craving for fame) once there, the place basically catches on fire. almost everyone dies except these two and the band, and well... jennifer ends up possessed by the demon thanks to the guys in the band. (don’t want to give away the whole story here...) so, it’s up to needy to save her HS from this man-eating killer babe of a BFF!


i actually thought this was well done due to the script alone! diablo cody is one of my favorite screenwriters, and i knew she wouldn’t let me down with this... plus, great casting! i couldn’t imagine a hotter, more cliche “babe” to play the role of jennifer none other than megan fox. adam brody does a great job as the fame-craving lead singer nickolai, who ends up singing “8675309” to jennifer before the sacrifice... (WTF but hilarious!) it may seem like a scary movie, but i totally don’t think that was the intention in this case. it’s more of a mockery of your cliche horror film, and a reversal in cliche horror roles too since the hot cheerleader is the demon instead. LOTS of funny moments and must i mention that it’s HOT HOT HOT? :P

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
4 out of 5 stars

i actually really REALLY LIKED this one! great job, spike jonze!!! :)



i think almost every kid in america knows the story about max and the wild things... where the wild things are by maurice sendak is a children’s book CLASSIC! but... in case you didn’t know (+ this is just an adaptation): max is a wild child, who doesn’t listen to his mother, doesn’t want to eat his dinner, howls/pretends to be a wolf, destroys his sister's bedroom, and eventually runs away from home. he finds a boat by the shore to his home, and journeys to the mysterious island of the wild things, where he mets carol, ira, judith, alexander (a goat!), douglas, KW and bob/terry... the wild things make him their king, and together, they build a fort, sleep in a pile, have a dirt clod fight (my favorite scene!), and play rumpus! i can’t help but LOL when KW introduces max to her new friends bob and terry who happen to be... OWLS!!! (HOOT HOOT!) 


this movie is very moody (ESP the creatures) and indie/hipster, but i really like this adaptation a lot since the story is told very well! laced with karen o’s voice from the yeah yeah yeahs on the OST (original sound track), i loved the music, the storyline, the screenplay/dialogue between the creatures and max, and the overall theme that even if you are a wild thing, you still got to live by some rules... that and there is no perfect/happy world, no matter how hard you try to build one... the message is quite deep for lil kids, but i think it’s a good one for both kids and adults alike. this one is worth watching, especially since the friendship between carol and max is just heartbreakingly good!!! :)   

THE HURT LOCKER
5 out of 5 stars

i can see why this movie got the best picture win @ the oscars because it’s sooooo f-ing INTENSE!!! such edge-of-your-seat INTENSITY!!! i LOVED this one!!!



here's the storyline: jeremy renner plays sgt. will james, an adrenaline pumping, risk taking, bomb defusion expert in the u.s. army’s EOD unit where he is called in where literally “shit hits the fan”. (meaning when troops encounter items that may be bombs)  he has defused over +800 bombs in the iraqi desert, and knows exactly what to do whether a bomb is strapped to a car, hidden in the sand, or even placed inside a dead body... his team mates don’t really understand his methodology/approach, and are scared SHITLESS when many of their assignments reach a boiling point. (or even higher...) best scenes are probably when they run into a british intelligence unit capitan-ed by a fiery ralph fiennes, the beginning/opening scene with guy pearce as the bomb defusion expert, the end scene with the “suicide bomber”, and the car bomb scene. the car bomb scene is my favorite due to the fact that it’s soooooo suspenseful, unpredictable, and you get to see both POVs from sgt. james as well as his other team mates...


katheryn bigelow wows us with such a great movie about soldiers who risk their lives everyday by defending our country in rough terrain, and she sure knows how to create such anxiety, even from the get-go! you feel it in your head, and it does not leave you...for one minute! acting is superb and refined, the cinematography is very documentary-style yet tons of indie-action, and like i said, this one is definitely worthy of oscar gold... the movie's tone is all about how war is an addiction for sgt. james, but underneath that exterior, he realizes that everytime he puts on that bomb-proof suit, he risks EVERYTHING to do what he does best.  like i said, it's very gripping! 

SEE IT NOW if you haven’t yet! it'll leave you wanting more... just like sgt. james! ;) (you'll get it once you see it...)

THE YOUNG VICTORIA
5 out of 5 stars

"you're the only wife i've got or ever will have. you are my whole existence, and i will love you until my very last breath."
- prince albert to queen victoria



it's about time british hollywood did a movie about one of the greatest sovereigns ever to reign the british empire!!! SO HAPPY with this one, and by george! the acting, the costumes, ... the cinematography is just as great as queen victoria, herself! :)


this film focuses on the early years of victoria's life, as she deals with british politics on one side and a belgium king and his own agenda on the other. victoria (played by the lovely and beautiful emily blunt) is a 17 year old girl, who is ever so high-spirited and witty, and she is next in line for the throne. her mother AKA the duchess of kent (miranda richardson) and her controller sir john conroy (mark strong- god, such a great actor!) want to do everything in their power to make her weak and dependent on them, so they can be regents in place of her. (if you don't know what a regent is, it's someone who rules in place of the heir/heiress if they are too sick, mentally incapable, or in this case... too young.) victoria sees through their plan, and refuses to sign the regency agreement. (best scene: sir john conroy shoving the papers in her face while she's sick in her bed) all the while... she's being courted by a shy young prince named albert, who is tasked with winning victoria's heart by his uncle leopold, the king of belgium. there's more to this story of royal politics and love, but i think i'll just leave it at that... WATCH this one if you like any of these actors: paul bettany plays lord melbourne, the 1st PM to the queen, jim broadbent plays king william IV (victoria's british uncle), the gorgeous rupert friend plays prince albert and victoria's one and only love...


i think i really liked this film because victoria was such a strong monarch, and she was committed to helping the people of england as a just queen. when you read about historical figures, i think most history texts tell you their key accomplishments, how many children she had, and so forth and so on... i think with this film, you get to see a side of vulnerability from this high-spirited girl from when she's crying alone in her room to dealing with ridicule from her court. the family drama in this is SPLENDID especially when king william IV drunkingly calls out/insults victoria's mother for preventing her from making appearances at his court at his birthday party dinner. WHAT A SCENE!!!


i guess enough raving from me... all in all, i most enjoyed this one, and totally recommend it if you're into historical biodramas like i am... (plus, it's a great love story for all you romantics out there!) ;)

INVICTUS
4 out of 5 stars

“i am the master of my fate – i am the captain of my soul.”
– nelson mandela
(reciting the poem invictus by william ernest henley)



with the world cup going on in south africa right now, i thought this would be a great choice to view, and boy, was i right! ;)


slow-paced but invigorating in the end! a true depiction of how one of the greatest foreign leaders took a torn nation and bonded it through sport... nelson mandela (portrayed spot-on by morgan freeman) is newly elected, and wants to find a way to convince his people to stop hating one another, and to forgive each other for past wrongs. the racial tensions in south africa are on the brink of civil war, but mandela knows with the world cup for rugby a year away, he can bring change and hopefully, reconciliation to his country. the tension is sooooo strong that even his own security is having issues, as mandela wants the whites and the "natives" to work together, even in his own cabinet.  matt damon plays francois pienaar, the captain of the south african team, who turns a losing streak into championship gold in this movie about winning for your country and ultimately having the support of 43 million south africans rooting for you in the very end... (cue tears of nationalism!) 


acting is superb especially the scenes with the president and the rugby captain. like i said, it’s slow-paced, but i think a part of that has to do with the way clint eastwood likes to direct? idk... it doesn’t matter since the end is the polar opposite, and the emotions of the final game just grab ahold of you... good movie that’ll remain in our hearts forever, and it makes you realize what a godsend nelson mandela was to his people... :)

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
4 out of 5 stars

i actually originally wrote this review in a sketch pad, similar to how tom (joseph gordon levitt) drew his architectural sketches of L.A. in his! ;) (NOTE: i wrote this review/saw this movie a while back but wanted to post this as today is the first day of SUMMER!!!)   



this movie was interesting in the sense that it forwarned us that this wasn’t a typical love story, but moreso of a “boy meets girls” story. and...so it is! tom (JGL) is a quiet, lonely guy working at a greeting card company, who meets summer (zooey deschanel) a cute, commitment-phobic girl who starts working as his boss’s assistant. the movie, cleverly goes through their relationship from first acquaintance to breakup, but not necessarily in true chronological order... (which is what makes it interesting, in my opinion) best scene(s): the karaoke bar (watch out for mackenzie, tom’s office friend drunk-singing...hilarious!); tom and summer shopping as a “married” couple @ IKEA; split-screen moments of tom’s life (expectation vs. reality- don’t we all think about that though?); beginning montage w/ tom/summer’s baby pics! (really cute!)


a truly enjoyable love story for those who do not wish to watch a typical love story... OK, hate love stories? then, watch it for the ever-so-cute joseph gordon-levitt or zoey d’s beautiful blue eyes and anthropologie dresses this valentine’s day! it’s that heart-breakingly good... ;)

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
3 out of 5 stars

what a strange, strange movie... this is the movie where johnny depp, jude law, and colin farrell came to the rescue after heath ledger’s unfortunate death two years ago... in fact, they were still in the middle of production when it happened, so terry gilliam (the director) was eternally grateful when three great actors came forth to help finish heath’s last film... very clever story writing with a seamless storyline! BRAVO, MR. SCREENWRITER!!! THAT i think was the true gem of this—that was what drew me to this film in the first place. i wondered how they would pull it off? ;)


great acting from all, but the fantastical parts are crazy weird... (as they should be? it is afterall an imaginarium?) the story is about dr. parnassus, a wizard of sorts, who makes a wager with the devil in the form of mr. nick AKA tom waits of who can get to five souls in two days. the prize: his beautiful daughter, valentina... but one stormy/rainy night, they (valentina, anton, and percy- a snarky verne troyer!) come across an amnesic stranger by the name of tony AKA heath ledger, who is found hanging under a bridge... (well, not quite, but you’ll find out why if you watch this flick...) tony helps the imaginarium trope transform their magical act into something more, and hopefully the doctor can outsmart the devil? i’ll let you find out in this one... it’s worth a shot, even you’re not into the fantasy stuff. ;)


p.s. R.I.P. heath ledger... glad to have seen you again on screen in something comical and fun...

BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM
5 out of 5 stars

now that WORLD CUP fever is upon us… i’ve decided to review some soccer movies to alleviate this fever! :P



this one is a classic, and a few of my friends were actually surprised i haven’t seen this. “OMG, it’s soooo good” and “i can’t believe you of all people haven’t seen this” were my reactions at first. well, i listened, made it my #1 on my netflix queue, and voila! I LOVED IT. not only is this movie about playing soccer and loving the game of futbol, but it’s also got tons of cultural references and lots of good humor. if you don’t know it already—jesminder bharma is a punjabi brit, living in london, with a passion for football and david beckham, her hero. she longs to play professionally, so when jules (keira knightly- she’s come a long way from this…) finds her kicking asses with her skills in a park, jules asks her to be on her soccer team. at first, even the coach joe (jonathan rhys meyers- HOT HOT HOT and totally unexpected!) is reluctant of accepting her on the team, but when they see this little punjabi girl bend that ball… everyone falls in love with her. of course, there’s love, heartbreak, friendship, and even an indian wedding! (probably the best part in the entire movie- makes me want to watch a bollywood flick next… hmm…)


i think the best parts of this movie is how we get a glimpse of punjabi culture and ideals through the eyes of this teenage girl and also through the eyes of her family members. jess’s parents are WAY overprotective of her (for “good” reason- you’ll see why…), and it’s heartbreaking to watch jess balance her passion for soccer with the ideals of how a “proper” punjabi girl should act. it’s also interesting to see jules face a similar situation with her parents, who come to the conclusion that she might be a lesbian. (watch out for the actress who plays her mother who is HILARIOUS!) the misunderstandings and misconceptions are priceless in this film, and the dialogue itself is very well written! i love the scene where the sari dressmaker is like “don’t worry… we’ll turn these little mosquito bites into juicy mangoes with our gowns” LOL! :P

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
2 out of 5 stars

king sharaman: “the princess of alamut will be your first wife! what say you, dastan?”

prince dastan: “uhh....”
king sharaman: “he plunges into a hundred foes without falter, but before marriage he stands frozen with fear!”
prince dastan: “i need a drink.”


and... i felt like i should have drank something strong before a friend convinced me to see this jerry bruckheimer production based upon a computer game that i used to play when i was in elementary school! :P


not that i had high expectations for this one, but i think my fave movie critic peter travers from rollingstone said it the best: if a hollywood producer can convince a studio to turn a computer game into a major motion picture filled with CGI sand storms and epic battles, it WOULD BE jerry bruckheimer. (i.e. the production behind pirates of the caribbean) unfortunately, this one doesn’t have johnny depp or jack sparrow... instead, we get prince dastan (jake gyllenhaal all grown up and muscular) mastering the art of parkour and faux-tanning to save the world from his power-hungry uncle nizam, who covets the sand-filled dagger that can allow a person to go back in time. (ben kingsley going for the racoon-eyed look so he could pass off as a “persian”) there’s also the beautiful princess tamina (i found her WAY TOO annoying...), and alfred molina as a sheik who had the best lines in the entire movie. could have possibly been the jack sparrow of this film, but wished he was more of a central character... (which i would have easily given it another star. you lose, prince of persia, hahahahaha :P)


plot is predictable... the chemistry between tamina and dastan is eye-rollingingly cheesy... final verdict on this one: save it for your netflix queue. (it’s not worth your $13 or however much movies cost these days...)

THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE
1 out of 5 stars


don’t waste your time on this extremely confusing movie about time travel, love, and eric bana’s hot body! (ok, maybe the last thing is the only incentive for watching this... :P)


the story is simple: handsome librarian henry detamble is a time traveler. chicago based artist clare abshire is his wife. their relationship is problematic due to the fact that henry unwillingly time-travels to the past, future, whathaveyou. clare just wants to have a normal life with henry, but of course and ironically so, that’s impossible! i guess the entire premise of the movie is to show how the wife of the time traveler must feel, but we don’t really care... we end up caring more about henry and his complicated nature and honestly, i think it would have been a better movie, if they just focused on him and his past complexities. (i.e. trying to prevent his mother’s death, dealing with his alcoholic father) also, are we going to make up our mind about linear vs. non-linear plots? the whole premise of this movie is confusing as it is, but i think i could have easily said “WTF is going on? at least 10 times with 30 min. into this one... FAIL!!!


i would say the only best/poignant scenes were when he met his mother on the subway, alive and well. (will def make you cry if you ever lost someone in your life- makes you wonder what it’d be like to see them again, right?) i just feel like this could have been done better... ESP. since it’s from the producers of GHOST! (as much as i am, anti-ashton kutcher, i probably would rather watch butterfly effect b/c i'd rather be more interested in the EFFECTS of time-travel rather than some sad story about a woman married to a guy who randomly disappears from her life...)


i guess the question is then: when you do time-travel, would one really travel without clothes? i think that’s hilarious and honestly, i think it was made up to show off eric bana’s HOT HOT bod... LOL henry can show up in my room naked ANYTIME and i certainly would NOT have problem with that... ;)

SMOKIN' ACES
5 out of 5 stars

after watching this original, well thought-out storyline and visual storytelling, i kind of want to watch/get smokin’ aces 2 on my netflix queue next... plus, it’s got a ho fight (JERRY, JERRY, JERRY! style), more hoes, and GUNS! :P



we’re bringing this one with us to vegas this september, since it’s got all the elements of a great movie! (plus it’s about taking out a las vegas entertainer!) buddy “aces” israel is a dead man. he’s snitched out mafia secrets to the FBI in exchange for witness protection, and the family now wants him DEAD... such interesting characters line up to claim the prize: 1) pasquale acosta: spanish merc and torture expert 2) georgia and sharice: two bad-ass bitches looking for a big payday and a good kill and OMG, it’s alicia keys! 3) lazlo soot: the irish dude from sons of anarchy! also, a disguise heavy/go through great lengths kind of approach to hits... 4) the tremor bros: three crazy speed-freak neo nazi bounty hunters and OMG, it’s chris pine and keamy from LOST! so, we’ve got the assassins literally gunning about buddy israel (jeremy piven in his usual fine form), the FBI (a serious ryan reynolds yet a playful ray liotta), and boy, perspective, perspective, perspectives! (basically, you get a sense of everyone’s POV within the story- A+, joe carnahan!)


i think alicia keys and common do a great job in this, but the real gem is quality storytelling... expect a plot twist at the end! of course, perspective is always key, but (and i can’t believe i’m saying this) the cinematography and action sequences are quite good... script is quality too, especially jeremy piven’s lines, the back-and-forth between ray liotta’s character and ryan reynold’s, the “relationship” between georgia and my ghetto girl sharice! (she was benjamin button’s mama!) anyway, LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie, and must not forget to pack it in the suitcase when we fly off to vegas this september! (it’ll be a good action selection for the trip) ;)


p.s. can’t wait to visit hot smokin’ aces @ the venetian!!!

COUPLES RETREAT
3 out of 5 stars

“wow, this place looks like a screensaver!” – joey (jon favreau)


sometimes we all need a little bit of therapy when it comes to relationships. sometimes it’s a little bit hard to resist when your friends jason and cynthia (jason bateman and kristen bell) present a full-out powerpoint presentation to you with a proposition to a magical, beautiful, mystical place called EDEN ISLAND. so... we’ve got four sets of couples in this flick about relationships and how to make the worst of the worst work. 1) the power couple: man controls everything in the relationship, thus suffocating the woman... 2) the worry worts: man and woman have separate needs/projects/wants and constantly worrying about the problems/kids... 3) the “couple”: yeah, they’re married but they don’t even stand the sight of each other... (also staying together for the sake of the child) 4) the old man and the young mistress: “age ain’t nothing but a number...” HA! tell them that when the man can’t stay awake past 10pm...

so, these couples travel to the exotic EDEN island to seek answers and to hopefully save their marriages... BEST scene(s) are probably the sexual yoga with the sexy yet not-so-great english speaking yoga instructor salvadore; vince vaughn’s character’s little boy peeing in the lowes show room (sooo cute!); jean reno dressed hilariously as a monk/dali lama/love guru type character; ken jeong (god, i love that guy from community and the hangover) as a hilarious marriage counselor; ghetto 20something trudy and her antics (“daddy, wanna go bang-bang in the hot tuuuuub?” LOL). i think this is one of the movies where the sub characters are actually more fun/hilarious than the main players... expect happy endings and cozy feelings of love... i was expecting more though, in the end. afterall it’s got vince vaughn! ehh...it just goes to show that he’s not funny w/o his boys around... (and what’s with the mis-matched casting? it’s like they just got whoever’s schedule was available at the moment...)

at least faizon love provides a lot of comic relief as the token black guy, and actually delivers a lot of funny lines i.e. “i ain’t harriet tubman!” when jon favreau asks him to find the big dipper in the sky. bahahaha! :P