I'm SO far behind on this! Since I had the cold from hell (do they have "colds" in hell, or are they called "hots" there? ugh, sorry....) earlier in November, I had a LOT of couch time to watch bad TV and tons of movies. Here's a little rundown of some of the notable things I was able to view.
The Watch
When this first was announced, I was thrilled about it because I usually love Ben Stiller or Jonah Hill movies. Once more trailers came out, I realized it was going to be pretty bad. Rotten tomatoes only gave it a 17! So I went into watching this knowing it was going to be pretty terrible.
It was entertaining at best, and I liked the one little plot twist with one of the main characters. I probably wouldn't watch it again, but it's worth seeing at least. It's a pretty predictable comedy.
4/10
Alien (1979)
After watching Prometheus in the last couple months and hearing how Alien fans were excited about that movie and more "into it" than I was, I figured we should watch what started it all. I'm going to sound like a terrible snob when I say this, but it pains me to watch movies made so early with the lack of cinema technology when the film is based on something so high tech. And I know when I'm sick I'm less patient with movies, but this one seemed to have so many scenes that were dragged out for far too long (seemed like they were going for suspense, but ended up with boredom) and could have been snipped down to something packed with more action.
I realize this is an iconic movie, but I couldn't bear to watch it again.
3/10
Aliens (1986)
The sequel to Alien? It took a lot of re-reading the info panel on DTV to figure it out, but apparently this was the follow up to the original. Once we started it and saw the opening scene, it was obvious that it was. While it was more action-packed and higher suspense than the first, it was still a little hard to watch due to the technology issue. (This is just a personal qualm and preference I have since I am spoiled with modern cinema technology, I apologize for it sounding as bad as it is. At least I can admit that I'm spoiled by my generation.) I appreciated seeing faces that I recognized other than Sigourney Weaver, though it was hard to watch Paul Reiser as the protagonist human after watching "Mad About You" as a youngster.
All in all: 5/10
We Bought A Zoo
Cute family movie! Some of you may know, Matt Damon is my "one" (aka the guy on my "celebrity I'd marry if I was single" list) so I try to watch all of his movies (Though "Stuck on You" and "Hereafter" were TERRRIBAD!!) I have to say that the child actors in this movie were such great actors (and the daughter was absolutely adorable) on top of having the great Matt Damon and Scarlett Johanson in the lead roles. I loved the amount of face-time the animals got, and the plot was interesting even though mostly predictable. I actually cried (don't tell Jawbs, he couldn't see my face) in one of the scenes were Damon's character was reminiscing about is deceased wife because I connected so greatly with the characters in the film.
Absolutely sweet and touching family movie. Watch it.
8/10
Midnight Run
Jawbs put this movie on after hearing it recommended on Rich Eisen's podcast as "a movie every man should see". I didn't expect to like it at all, even though I've been a fan of Robert De Niro for a long while. I actually sat on the couch playing Tiny Wings on my iPad for the first 20 mins or so because I expected to be bored. I pretty quickly put it down and got cozy on the sofa, as I ended up really enjoying the humor and action in it! Although it was farily predictable as a "bounty hunter" themed movie, I found it really endearing and couldn't look away. I also felt the ending was perfect. Happily surprised at this one!
8/10
Love and Other Drugs
Ok, so I'll admit that as a girly girl, I swooned at Jake Gyllenhaal in this movie. He was pretty handsome and quick-witted and adorable. And I can't deny that I am even fonder of Anne Hathaway after watching her in all of her "states of being" during this movie. I loved both of their roles and the acting. However.
This movie duped me.
I thought it was going to be a lighthearted rom-com that made me laugh and swoon, but JUST as I started to really love all the sex scenes and such, it really took a turn for the depressing and made me sad. I don't like to be depressed by movies. Even though it had a somewhat happy ending, I still left that movie feeling quite down.
The only reason I'd watch it again is for the bodies. Mostly Anne Hathaway's boobies, and just partially for Mr. Gyllenhaal's physique.
5/10
Something Borrowed
WARNING: SPOILERS ahead, as I had to mention the resolution to the plot to get my point across. SORRY!
Ok, this one is hardly worth mentioning because it is a TOTAL chick flick. But I've admitted these are like a good drug for me when I'm ailing, so I watched it, and shall mention it for one reason. It didn't end the way I predicted.
In most chick-flicky rom-coms, I can predict exactly what the lead characters will end up choosing as their path. Girl has crush on boy, boy has crush on girl, but she doesn't know, girl says boy should date her best friend, best friend ends up not being perfect for the guy, girl admits to crush on boy (and in this case, sleeping with him), boy says he can't leave best friend.... enter girl's best guy-friend who has ALWAYS loved girl... usually she'll end up with this new-found love in her best guy-friend, right? WRONG! Not in this one. I was happily surprised by that.
Thus, I will recommend it as a great chick flick.
7/10 (but only for chicks.)
Mr. Poppers Penguins
Jawbs and I are Jim Carrey fans. Have been for a long while. I try to watch anything he comes out with. While I adore penguins (gunkahs* as I called them as a toddler, for some reason) and Jim Carrey, this movie sorta peeved me. It's one of those situations where you keep willing the main character to do the right thing, and they keep lying instead, digging themselves into a deeper hole. It frustrated me to no end! It was entertaining and cute, so I would say I'd watch it again, if it was on a channel my TV happened to be on and the remote was too far to reach.
6/10
Moonrise Kingdom
If I recall, this movie got pretty high acclaim. It certainly had a star-studded cast, with Bill Murray, Ed Norton, Bruce Willis, and Frances McDormand. The children were amazing actors, and completely captivating to watch in their lead roles. Their child romance was endearing, and I found myself rooting for them the whole way. I have to admit, though, I totally cringed during the earring/fishhook scene. :shock:
This movie was on the quiet side, but filled with mellow action and a fun plot line. I would most definitely recommend this as a must-watch for everyone.
8/10
The Amazing Spider-Man
I saved this for last, because this is one of the most recent, big-screen, big-time action flicks that we watched this month. And I have to say, I am REALLY torn on whether i like this reboot better than the Kristin Dunst/Tobey MacGuire version. I'll just say that I liked both a LOT. I didn't think they'd have enough differences for me to enjoy watching the "same movie" but I'm glad to be wrong. While I believe Tobey MacGuire made a fabulous Spiderman, I also think that Andrew Garfield made a great one with a bit of a darker personality. And I can't deny that I enjoy watching Emma Stone in nearly any role. She's a great actress and very pretty. And Andrew Garfield is a cute geek.
The plot in this one engaged me, maybe slightly more than the plot of... the other one.
I suggest everyone see this if they're a fan of Spiderman at all.
9/10
There may have been a few other movies watched during this time, but I can't recall right now! I'll try to do another round as soon as I have a handful of notable watches available for ya.
Feel free to reply with your input/arguments/whatnot about these movies! I love to hear your thoughts.
The Watch
When this first was announced, I was thrilled about it because I usually love Ben Stiller or Jonah Hill movies. Once more trailers came out, I realized it was going to be pretty bad. Rotten tomatoes only gave it a 17! So I went into watching this knowing it was going to be pretty terrible.
It was entertaining at best, and I liked the one little plot twist with one of the main characters. I probably wouldn't watch it again, but it's worth seeing at least. It's a pretty predictable comedy.
4/10
Alien (1979)
After watching Prometheus in the last couple months and hearing how Alien fans were excited about that movie and more "into it" than I was, I figured we should watch what started it all. I'm going to sound like a terrible snob when I say this, but it pains me to watch movies made so early with the lack of cinema technology when the film is based on something so high tech. And I know when I'm sick I'm less patient with movies, but this one seemed to have so many scenes that were dragged out for far too long (seemed like they were going for suspense, but ended up with boredom) and could have been snipped down to something packed with more action.
I realize this is an iconic movie, but I couldn't bear to watch it again.
3/10
Aliens (1986)
The sequel to Alien? It took a lot of re-reading the info panel on DTV to figure it out, but apparently this was the follow up to the original. Once we started it and saw the opening scene, it was obvious that it was. While it was more action-packed and higher suspense than the first, it was still a little hard to watch due to the technology issue. (This is just a personal qualm and preference I have since I am spoiled with modern cinema technology, I apologize for it sounding as bad as it is. At least I can admit that I'm spoiled by my generation.) I appreciated seeing faces that I recognized other than Sigourney Weaver, though it was hard to watch Paul Reiser as the protagonist human after watching "Mad About You" as a youngster.
All in all: 5/10
We Bought A Zoo
Cute family movie! Some of you may know, Matt Damon is my "one" (aka the guy on my "celebrity I'd marry if I was single" list) so I try to watch all of his movies (Though "Stuck on You" and "Hereafter" were TERRRIBAD!!) I have to say that the child actors in this movie were such great actors (and the daughter was absolutely adorable) on top of having the great Matt Damon and Scarlett Johanson in the lead roles. I loved the amount of face-time the animals got, and the plot was interesting even though mostly predictable. I actually cried (don't tell Jawbs, he couldn't see my face) in one of the scenes were Damon's character was reminiscing about is deceased wife because I connected so greatly with the characters in the film.
Absolutely sweet and touching family movie. Watch it.
8/10
Midnight Run
Jawbs put this movie on after hearing it recommended on Rich Eisen's podcast as "a movie every man should see". I didn't expect to like it at all, even though I've been a fan of Robert De Niro for a long while. I actually sat on the couch playing Tiny Wings on my iPad for the first 20 mins or so because I expected to be bored. I pretty quickly put it down and got cozy on the sofa, as I ended up really enjoying the humor and action in it! Although it was farily predictable as a "bounty hunter" themed movie, I found it really endearing and couldn't look away. I also felt the ending was perfect. Happily surprised at this one!
8/10
Love and Other Drugs
Ok, so I'll admit that as a girly girl, I swooned at Jake Gyllenhaal in this movie. He was pretty handsome and quick-witted and adorable. And I can't deny that I am even fonder of Anne Hathaway after watching her in all of her "states of being" during this movie. I loved both of their roles and the acting. However.
This movie duped me.
I thought it was going to be a lighthearted rom-com that made me laugh and swoon, but JUST as I started to really love all the sex scenes and such, it really took a turn for the depressing and made me sad. I don't like to be depressed by movies. Even though it had a somewhat happy ending, I still left that movie feeling quite down.
The only reason I'd watch it again is for the bodies. Mostly Anne Hathaway's boobies, and just partially for Mr. Gyllenhaal's physique.
5/10
Something Borrowed
WARNING: SPOILERS ahead, as I had to mention the resolution to the plot to get my point across. SORRY!
Ok, this one is hardly worth mentioning because it is a TOTAL chick flick. But I've admitted these are like a good drug for me when I'm ailing, so I watched it, and shall mention it for one reason. It didn't end the way I predicted.
In most chick-flicky rom-coms, I can predict exactly what the lead characters will end up choosing as their path. Girl has crush on boy, boy has crush on girl, but she doesn't know, girl says boy should date her best friend, best friend ends up not being perfect for the guy, girl admits to crush on boy (and in this case, sleeping with him), boy says he can't leave best friend.... enter girl's best guy-friend who has ALWAYS loved girl... usually she'll end up with this new-found love in her best guy-friend, right? WRONG! Not in this one. I was happily surprised by that.
Thus, I will recommend it as a great chick flick.
7/10 (but only for chicks.)
Mr. Poppers Penguins
Jawbs and I are Jim Carrey fans. Have been for a long while. I try to watch anything he comes out with. While I adore penguins (gunkahs* as I called them as a toddler, for some reason) and Jim Carrey, this movie sorta peeved me. It's one of those situations where you keep willing the main character to do the right thing, and they keep lying instead, digging themselves into a deeper hole. It frustrated me to no end! It was entertaining and cute, so I would say I'd watch it again, if it was on a channel my TV happened to be on and the remote was too far to reach.
6/10
Moonrise Kingdom
If I recall, this movie got pretty high acclaim. It certainly had a star-studded cast, with Bill Murray, Ed Norton, Bruce Willis, and Frances McDormand. The children were amazing actors, and completely captivating to watch in their lead roles. Their child romance was endearing, and I found myself rooting for them the whole way. I have to admit, though, I totally cringed during the earring/fishhook scene. :shock:
This movie was on the quiet side, but filled with mellow action and a fun plot line. I would most definitely recommend this as a must-watch for everyone.
8/10
The Amazing Spider-Man
I saved this for last, because this is one of the most recent, big-screen, big-time action flicks that we watched this month. And I have to say, I am REALLY torn on whether i like this reboot better than the Kristin Dunst/Tobey MacGuire version. I'll just say that I liked both a LOT. I didn't think they'd have enough differences for me to enjoy watching the "same movie" but I'm glad to be wrong. While I believe Tobey MacGuire made a fabulous Spiderman, I also think that Andrew Garfield made a great one with a bit of a darker personality. And I can't deny that I enjoy watching Emma Stone in nearly any role. She's a great actress and very pretty. And Andrew Garfield is a cute geek.
The plot in this one engaged me, maybe slightly more than the plot of... the other one.
I suggest everyone see this if they're a fan of Spiderman at all.
9/10
There may have been a few other movies watched during this time, but I can't recall right now! I'll try to do another round as soon as I have a handful of notable watches available for ya.
Feel free to reply with your input/arguments/whatnot about these movies! I love to hear your thoughts.
