The Pixar Story: This was a wonderful documentary about the history of Pixar. If you like Pixar this is worth watching. Also a feel good movie that will make you feel great after watching and ready to tackle any problems ahead of you.
Hard Candy: I went into this film with no knowledge except that Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson were in it. Hadn’t watched a trailer or heard anything about the plot. And I’m glad I went into it that way. The movie was fantastic. Acting was top notch. Also there were really good extras and commentaries. This movie might make you feel a bit uneasy at times.
27 Dresses - I am always a sucker for romance comedies. This one did not disappoint. Funny sappy movie. Really enjoyed it. Trailer
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets - If you liked the first national treasure you will most likely will like this one. I like these types of movies for some reason. Just fun family friendly entertaining movies. I really like the writing for the Riley character in the films. You can’t go wrong with a nerdy witty sidekick. Check it out if you liked the first one. Trailer
I saw this and was very intrigued. I haven’t read the book or know anything about the plot or characters. But this trailer really got me excited for something I know nothing about.
The Dark Knight: First off I think this movie is extremely over hyped. But after saying that, it is and will probably be the best movie of the summer. It is not a perfect movie like many have said elsewhere all over the web. My first and pretty much only complaint is its length. It is 2 1/2 hours and feels it by the end. If they would have cut 15-20 minutes off of it it would have felt perfect to me. But I don’t know what they could have cut to make it that length. One thing I did notice were a lot of continuity mistakes during the film and I usually don’t pick up on those during a first viewing. Not a big deal but I was surprised to have noticed quite a few. Now on to the all the goodness. The acting in this is excellent all around, not just from the Joker. I am so glad that Maggie Gyllenhaal has replaced Katie Holmes. She just ads her acting goodness to the role. The action sequences are spectacular all around as well. The best thing about this movie is the writing and especially the writing for the Joker. The Joker in this film is really a mastermind of a character. They made him extremely ruthless but also extremely clever. The crimes he puts together always keep you guessing to what will happen. I just really love good plot writing and this movie has that even though you could complain about the end not wrapping very well. I almost forgot but the music in this movie is top notch. They use the motif of a slow glissando (my own audio example below) a few times during the Joker’s scenes to create tension, and it sure does. Such a great device and overall great score. You probably won’t even notice it during the movie and that is a good thing. That means it’s doing its job extremely well. Overall this is a really good film. Go see it in the theater or even at an IMAX theater if you have one near by. Some of the film was shot with an IMAX camera. Trailer
Bella: What a great movie. This is a great drama mainly about 2 people and how one moment in their lives will or have changed them forever. Very emotional movie. Has great characters and acting. Definitely worth seeing. Trailer I don’t like the first song of the trailer. It doesn’t represent the vibe of the movie at all.
Sunshine: I had heard about this movie a while ago and stuck it on my list and it just came in. This movie could have put itself on the list of best sci-fi movies of all time but really went in a direction that has been done before and really cheapens this film down. The first 40-60 minutes of this film are perfect. Was sucked right in and was loving what this movie was about. But the plot took a turn that I really didn’t care for. Spoilers (skip to End Spoilers if you don’t want to read any)
They had to go and turn it into a semi monster movie kind of like “Event Horizon”. I don’t know why they decided to have a half burnt superpower crazy man enter the plot but they did. They really could have had the one crew member go kind of crazy, separate the ships, sabotage the ship and then kill himself. It would have worked and I would have bought it. I just didn’t want this movie to be that kind of movie. Just wanted something different. End Spoiler
I love the cast in this film. You probably will recognize every person in this film if you are an avid movie goer. They aren’t what people call “A-listers” but they are all great actors. As a group they work very well together. Overall this is a great film about trying to revitalize the sun to save the earth even though the plot went to a place explained in the spoiler section. But you may love where the plot goes. Acting is great and the film is beautiful. Something to put on your list if you like sci-fi. Trailer
Diggers: This movie is about a group of friends who all are clam harvesters or “diggers” living in a small town. I put it on my list because Paul Rudd was in it. This is a pretty good comedy/drama. Nothing spectacular about it, but it might be something you would want to check out. Trailer
Be Kind Rewind: I thought this movie was pretty funny. Mos Def and Jack black were both great. Fun little movie. Trailer
This was a bad movie week for me. Sometimes you just get a string of movies that you don’t like or can’t watch all the way through. Here they are for this week: Rescue Dawn, Fay Grim, Mr. Untouchable. Rescue Dawn I sat all the way through just because I was doing something else. It was pretty bad. The other 2 I watched about 15 minutes of and had to turn them off. I hate turning off movies and not watching the whole thing, but sometimes you just have to.
Hancock: I didn’t know much about this film before I saw it so I really didn’t have any expectations. Other reviews of this movie give the first 2/3 of the film a good review and the last 1/3 a bad one. I kind of agree with that assessment. The movie overall is very entertaining. I think Will Smith was good in this film but I have read elsewhere otherwise. Another solid summer film. I liked it, you may hate it. Trailer
Mr. Brooks: I gave Kevin Costner another chance with this film. I’m not a big fan of his as most people are not, but I’m glad I watched this one. This is a different role for him as he plays a killer. Don’t want to talk about the plot because it might reveal something. If you like serial killer cop movies give it a shot. And Dane Cook is even pretty good in this film. Did I just say that? Trailer
Super High Me: I just watched Super Size Me last week so why not follow it up with Super High Me this week. This is about comedian Doug Benson’s quest to stop smoking pot for 30 days and then start smoking pot all day for 30 days. He wants to see what it does to him both mentally and physically. The movie is very funny and is done pretty well. It speaks about California law of medical Marijuana as well. As someone who doesn’t drink, smoke or do any drugs (legal or illegal) I have come to certain opinions about subjects like this. In a nutshell it is just let people do what they want as long as it doesn’t effect someone else. If you have a differing opinion you might want to check it out to get a different point of view. Trailer
Conversations With Other Women: I heard about this film through a tech podcast of all things. The Executive Producer/Post Production Supervisor for this film was on the podcast. The interesting thing about this movie is that it is done in split screen. So there are 2 seperate shots on screen at all times. You may think that it would be hard to watch both and keep up with what is happening but it isn’t. It stars Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter. It was nice to see Helena Carter in a normal role, since I have only seen her in dark movies for the most part(fight club, harry potter, sweeney todd). I liked this film but it may not be your cup of tea with the format as well as it being very relationship dialogue heavy. Trailer
Wall-E: Wall-E is just the continuation of Pixar making great films. The animation in this film is the best yet. Movie is extremely funny yet also very moving and has some serious undertones in the thematic material. This film reminded me of a bunch of films while watching. It brought Short Circuit, Idiocracy, An Inconvenient Truth, 2001: A Space Odyssey and a few others to mind. This movie was great. A must see.I forgot, the short at the begining was hilarious. Probably my favorite short to date. Trailer
Wanted: If you want to see an action packed movie with a lot of violence, then this movie is for you. This movie won’t become a classic or anything but was a very good summer action movie. Rated R for a reason. Trailer
Fargo: While watching this I thought to myself, “this is a lot like No Country for Old Men”. The 2 movies are very similar. Great movie all around. Trailer
Super Size Me: Eat McDonalds 3 meals a day for a month is the premise of this documentary by Morgan Spurlock. He wants to see the effect it has on his body. As you probably know and what this film will help show is that fast food and soda does horrible things to us. Kind of a no-brainer, but it is interesting to see just how bad this stuff is for our bodies. Very well done doc. Trailer
Juno: This is a movie that most people really love. I just thought it was so so. The language was a little annoying at times for me. Over all it is still a very good film. You should watch it if you haven’t. Jason Bateman was my favorite character from the film.
Helvetica: This is a documentary about typefaces (a.k.a. fonts) and how one of them Helvetica is and had been used. The movie might be interesting to you if graphic design and spacial awareness is something you find interesting. I would recommend this for artistic minded people, but there are always exceptions to the rule.
King of California: This movie was a real surprise to me. I think netflix recommended it to me in there algorithm. I saw it had Michael Douglas in it so I gave it a shot. This is about a teenager who has her dad come back home from a mental hospital and lead them on a treasure hunt. Michael Douglas is really good in this film. It was a great departure from anything I have seen him do. This is one of those films that you probably would never hear of unless someone told you about it.
King of Kong: This is a documentary about competitive old school arcade gaming and the battle between 2 men for the donkey kong world record. This movie was awesome. I think a must see for everyone. I really don’t need to say anything else about it, just see it.
I will go see anything with Ryan Gosling in it. Ever since I saw the Notebook (yes I like the Notebook, I think there is even a t-shirt) I have kept my eye out for movies he has been in. Even stumbled upon(not the website) an older film, The United States of Leland, which was really good.
So Lars and the Real Girl is a story about a guy Lars(Ryan Gosling) that lives in the garage of the house his parents left to him and his brother. Lars being pretty socially awkward and hermit like decides that a relationship with a doll is something he wants to do. Through the movie his family and the community have to adapt with this new relationship. At first it is strange and awkward but by the end they treat the doll like a real person.
This movie is really funny and also really moving. It might seem a little slow at times but it is worth it. It is a great movie about community and family and what they will do for you because they love you, even if you are dating a life size plastic doll.
Talking over dinner one night my sister told me that she had just received and seen Once.(We are both Netflix subscribers) She told me the basic premise and that it was really good. I forgot of course that she mentioned it and continued with life. A few weeks later I was over at a friends place and sitting on the floor was the movie. Remembering that instant to myself,’oh yeah I didn’t look into this after she told me’. So my friends told me that it was great and myself, being a musician, would probably love it.
Well let me tell you, this is probably one of the best movies I have seen in a while. This movie shot for only $160k(wikipedia) just goes to show that a great script and material can go much further than a huge budget. <cough> pirates movies </cough> If you enjoy great song writing/music and romance stories, this movie is for you. I was sucked in right away with the first solo singing performance. And after the first duet performance you might just want to rewind and listen to it again. I almost did.
Due yourself a favor and rent this. If you don’t like it, I don’t want to talk to you.
Length: 86 minutes (1h 26min)
Rated R for language. They do use the F bomb a bit. Trailer
I want this to be a place where music is free if you want it to be. I don't want to be famous or rich, I just want to be able to pay my bills. If you like the music, download it and listen to it. If you feel led to donate, that is a bonus for me.
Juno: This is a movie that most people really love. I just thought it was so so. The language was a little annoying at times for me. Over all it is still a very good film. You should watch it if you haven’t. 
I will go see anything with Ryan Gosling in it. Ever since I saw the Notebook (yes I like the Notebook, I think there is even a t-shirt) I have kept my eye out for movies he has been in. Even stumbled upon(not the website) an older film, The United States of Leland, which was really good.
Talking over dinner one night my sister told me that she had just received and seen Once.(We are both Netflix subscribers) She told me the basic premise and that it was really good. I forgot of course that she mentioned it and continued with life. A few weeks later I was over at a friends place and sitting on the floor was the movie. Remembering that instant to myself,’oh yeah I didn’t look into this after she told me’. So my friends told me that it was great and myself, being a musician, would probably love it.