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Burn After Reading starts with Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) who works for the CIA on a non-threatening level. Osbourne Cox quits after they demote his position. When he tells his rigid uptight wife, Katie Cox (Tilda Swinton), she puts together divorce case without his knowledge. During this case she makes a copy of all his financial/personal records onto a disc to give to her attorney. The attorney's secretary loses the disc at a gym.

Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) and Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) are best friends who work at this gym. Frances is a dopey lovable, overly hyper questionably gay guy friend. Linda is an insecure plastic surgery obsessed lonely, chronic Internet dater. When they discover the disc, they find out it belongs to Osbourne and attempt to blackmail him. Things really don't turn out quite as planned, and through a series of miscommunication and unfortunate events help to unfold the story.

I honestly didn't know what to make of this story, except I was left just as confused as the writers were. The movie didn't know what it was. The movie thought it was a dark comedy, then a drama, then a romantic comedy, then a suspense thriller. It was bipolar is what it was.

If the Coen brothers had left it as specifically a drama or a specifically a comedy it would've been really great. But because you confuse the viewers by trying to throw everything into one big pot, it's just a big mesh and you can't distinguish one taste from the next, so you sacrifice a great potential.

And the ending. Oy! Do not even get me started. It was a half-ass ending of "We don't really know how to tie this up, so let's just kill everyone."

Mamma Mia an ABBA themed musical, set the day before Sophie's wedding. She reads her mother's diary to hopefully find out who her father is. Instead she discovers that she has 3 possible fathers, so without her mother's knowledge or permission, she invites all 3 mysterious men, whom her mother hasn't seen in 20 years.

I love musicals. Fantastic examples are Chicago, Moulin Rouge, Grease, Newsies, etc. (not listed in any particular order) If it's done right it's just a really big music video. The dancing and songs especially are what I love about this genre. You are already emotionally involved in the story and music always helps to amplify that emotion the character is conveying.

Mamma Mia was... corny, at best. The transitions of acting to singing just didn't come off well. The scenes were choppy and the songs and dancing weren't really well done. No doubt that Meryl Streep has a good voice, but she's going in her 50's(?) skipping and jumping around in an overall. I like her better as Miranda Priestley in Devil Wears Prada.

The whole movie came off amateur. The songs went on a bit too long, or maybe that's because it just wasn't really that enjoyable. Muriel's Wedding was a better ABBA themed musical then this. I actually fast forwarded through the movie only to discover a very predictable ending.

Again I don't know if this movie is just bad, or if it was a bad translation to film like Rent was. (God, that one was just as awful, if not more, because I loved the Broadway version so much.)

Coraline is based on the books by Neil Gaiman.

Coraline Jones moves to a new house and on top of feeling sad and alone from the move, her parents ignore her completely. They are both writers and incredibly involved with their work, and the mother especially is annoyed everytime Coraline is in her presence. Upon exploring the house, she comes across a door that has been wallpapered over. After pestering her mother to help her find a key, they find one, with a button as a handle. With her mother present, they open it, only to find that it's a brick wall.

During the night she is awoken from her sleep and sees little white mice leading her to the door. This time it leads to a tunnel. On the other side is the exact opposite of her mother... with buttons as eyes. At first all seems to be an ideal world.

I'm a HUGE fan of Nightmare Before Christmas, so without a second thought I went to see this one. (FYI: It seems a lot of people are confusing this little fact that Tim Burton DID NOT direct Nightmare Before Christmas. He wrote and produced it.)

I was kinda disappointed with this one. There wasn't much else to the story. It wasn't a story where it had a beginning, middle and end. We dont' know how that door got there. We don't know why the evil woman on the other side captures little children. We just know she's there and Coraline went through it and defeated the evil woman.

The story wasn't really captivating enough for me, which is a shame because the animation was simply fantastic.

Lars is 27 years old and works a 9 to 5 job while he shares a cubicle. He goes home to the garage of his brother and sister-in-law's house. He doesn't have any friends. He hates being touched.

One day he decides to buy a lifesize sex toy and calls her Bianca. He doesn't use Bianca for the purposes as intended by the website. Instead he uses her as a companion. Toting her around everywhere on their dates, shopping, parties, etc. Their relationship grows and progresses and helps Lars to be more social and not so introverted.

Oddly enough the entire town comes together and helps to welcome Bianca. When Bianca becomes more independent they invite her to the hospital to read to the children. She goes out shopping with the girls.

By any means this movie should've been a comedy, or the new genre of "dramedy" (drama + comedy = dramedy). Look at the cover. It even suggests that there's a hint of comedy or dark humor in there. I've never been so depressed more in my life. Scratch that... I was more depressed watching Sideways, but you get the connection.

Watching Lars hit a delusional state by finding companionship in this sex doll was sad... in a really depressing pathetic way. Ryan Gosling's performance didn't help either. He just came off as a creepy delusional lonely guy, when he should've came off simply the lonely guy, you feel really bad for, for not having anyone in his life, and being abandoned by his older brother, when their father died. How do you screw that up?

I just couldn't connect to this movie. First I was sympathetic towards Lars, even when he got the doll, and the psychiatrist suggested to his family they play along, until he figures things out. But after awhile, it just got ridiculous and not at all enjoyable to watch.

Ryan Gosling can be placed in the large pool of actors/actresses who have the acting range of a teaspoon. He plays the same cocky, awkward, bored looking character almost everytime.

Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) is an A-List actor on his way to becoming on the D-List.

Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) is a comedic actor making fart movies, playing all of the characters in the movie in a fat suit.

Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) is an award winning method actor known for fully involving himself into each character he is casted in. 'Nuff said.

All three were actors were hired to play as a unit of soldiers based on the book pretty much Saving Private Ryan. But when the antics of the actors caused the movie to be behind production by a month (3 days into shooting) and over budget $100 million, the Director tries to get them to be more in character by dropping them off in the middle of the woods and scaring them with special effects to act more like soldiers.

Something goes horribly wrong and Tugg and his actor friends are caught by a gang of drug dealers and they still thing it's part of the movie.

By all means this movie should've been fucking hilarious. Like I should be rolling on the floor laughing, busting a gut. There were moments that were funny, and they should've used that as a momentum to lead up to something funnier than the one before, but it was a stop and go comedy. You'd chuckle here, then wait for it... wait for it... Chuckle. Nothing was absolutely hilarious. The previews were better than the movie in it's entirety.

However, there are only two things about this movie that are absolutely worth seeing. First is the opening sequence. They're mock previews and upcoming trailers of the actors in Tropic Thunder. Brilliant. Then there's the closing scene of Tom Cruise, as the Jewish investor, doing his ghetto money dance. 'Nuff said.

How am I going to explain this one...?

Based on the reviews, this is going to be one of those films that you're either going to absolutely love, or absolutely hate.

Dae-Su Oh was kidnapped and held captive for 15 years without knowing a clue as to why or who would do this to him. He lived for 15 years in a hotel room with nothing but a television and fried dumplings for meals. He was occasionally gassed to be knocked unconscious not knowing what was being done or why. He was however framed for the murder of his wife. Samples of his DNA and fingerprints were collected from his cell and then planted at the scene of the crime. His daughter survived.

Just as he was captured randomly, he was released randomly one day. Upon receiving a phone and a wallet from a random beggar, he meets a woman sushi chef, Mi-Do, and then receives a call from his captor stating he had 5 days to find out the reason why he was held captive, where he then promises to commit suicide if Dae-Su completes the challenge.

For the next 5 days, Mi-Do helps him uncover the disturbing secret of why her love, Dae-Su was kidnapped. An honest and immature mistake made back in high school.

First off, the style of the movie came off a bit odd to me, and upon some research discovered it was originally a manga, and then it made perfect sense. The movie is part of a three part series originally done in a Japanese manga. This is the second installment of the revenge themed series.

Director Chan-Wook Park delivers a disturbing but addicting film. You are deeply bothered by the underlying message of the film but are still drawn to each character, who are all dynamic and fucked up. I can't rave enough about the storyline. It's so original and captivating and haunting and pulls on all of your emotions. By the end of it you are left just as emotionally exhuasted as Dae-Su and anguished upon the final reveal which can never be replicated. It puts the Sixth Sense's ending to shame.

Beyond the sexuality and violence and sometimes dark humored moments, this film defies what makes a great film. This movie ironically carries the perfect formula for what makes a great film that will have you raving about it time after time. The camerawork, the direction, the pace, the characters, etc. In every aspect of it, this was absolute work of art.

The direction was a great pace. You were left at the edge of your seat waiting for the secret to fold out, but absolutely involved in each character wondering what will come of them next. Even the villainous Woo-Jin Lee, responsible for the imprisonment of Dae-su for 15 years. I have to say when you find out why Woo-Jin hired to have Dae-Su kidnapped, you can't help but to think, "Over-react much?" But I suppose you when you grow up to have money and power at your disposal, eccentricity follows.

Korean style of film is very different than American film. As are most movies done outside of the US. There aren't restrictions or "safety nets" set up on the topics or scenes of what can be in the movie. It's pretty much free reign. So it can be understood when some of the reviewers can't enjoy a foreign film when a certain topic/direction is introduced into a movie, that has never seen the light of day in American theaters. As long as you can watch this movie with an open mind and let go of the boundaries of where a movie can/should go, then you can definitely appreciate this film for what it is, and hopefully others. You'd be surprised at how safe and "G-Rated" American films are compared to outside of the box.

I'm hoping the rumors that Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are attempting the remake are false. I have no idea how they're going to pull this one off and I can't think of two more wrong people for this project. IF this were to be redone on American soil it needs to be done by Guy Ritchie/Richie (can't remember spelling, and too lazy to look up), Robert Rodriguez (based on works done in Sin City) and... David Fincher.

I reluctantly saw this one on Christmas. I was with mom and her boyfriend and kinda felt bad. I hardly see them and they were begging to see Valkyrie but I had already promised to see that with someone else. Feeling cornered I very reluctantly agreed to see emotionless Keanu Reeves act as an alien trying to teach us a lesson.

I gotta say... I was WILDLY surprised at how much I enjoyed this. I sat in the theater being a hardcore fan of the original and was expecting a bomb, but at the very least I still remained open-minded, which is how you should view this movie if you want to enjoy it. The graphics are phenomenal, even though I thought GORT was a little over the top.

The storyline changed quite a bit. The general tone of the movie was very different as well, but it was very fitting for something that would be likely happen today. When Klatu mysteriously arrives he is welcomed with scientists in hazmat suits, tanks, cops, guns pointed at him, helicopters, etc. Basically the movie sends the message that we're trigger happy Americans who want to shoot down anything that threatens it may be far more superior than we are.

This movie is worth checking out. The acting isn't spectacular but it isn't horrible. Who else would you cast to play an emotionless alien who doesn't understand the concept of human feelings. You're basically watching Neo, from Matrix, in a different environment and script. So if you have an interest in seeing this please go with an open-mind. If you're going in expecting an homage to the original you will be disappointed. This is more of an update on how it would spin if it were modern.

I swear it was purely coincidental that I got another Netflix movie with Tom Cruise in it. Or maybe I went through one of my crazy movie binges and picked all the movies with a certain actor I was thinking of at that time.

Anyway this move was pretty good. I liked going through it.

My friend and I agreed that it was impossible to get over the image of Tom Cruise in gray hair. It just seemed... too MUCH like a character. Maybe it was the "cheap" gray suit. Something about his costume design just wasn't well thought out and we couldn't figure it out. Usually they will do it on purpose to portray some characterization, but in this case it just seemed like a bad wardrobe job.

This is the type of action movie I usually end up cringing at in the end. You have Jamie Foxx who is a meek cab driver throughout the entire movie, and when he finds out the woman he has a possible love interest in is next on the hitlist, he magically becomes a great action hero. I hate when they go realistic for three-quarters of the movie and then get all fantasy for the last quarter. Throws me off.

I also feel like there were chunks of this movie missing. They didn't put much thought into the script at all. Vincent (assassin, played by Tom Cruise) has this complex job description and they don't really go into depth about him at all. I personally would like to know how he started getting into this line of work, and why? Nevermind the why, that's obvious. Father issues.

To wrap it up, this movie was alright. Not great, and not bad.

I love fairy tales, which is probably why I still watch Disney movies and cartoons. The imagination and the buildup of it is the ultimate story. You have a beginning with the goal/dream of the character who goes through quite an adventure to get to the end. How can you not love fairy tales?

So here's the tale this movie revolves around:
Long ago humans lived in harmony with water nymphs, the Narfs. As time passed humans on land moved more and more inland breaking ties with the Narfs. Without the communication and guidance from the Narfs, humans on land became increasingly violent and disruptive towards one another. So the Narfs starting sending in their most precious ones to guide them once more. According to the legend, Narfs have the ability to see into the future. Based on that they know who their "Vessel", person they have to meet, is going to be. The Vessel is said to have a major impact on the world, but needs to see the Narf in order to be inspired and directed where he/she needs to go. All the Narf has to do is make sure the Vessel sees her.

Scrunts are animals made of twigs and grass who try to prevent the Narfs from accomplishing their mission. But there is an understand that Scrunts will not attack on the night of the Narf's departure, for fear that they will be punished by the Tartutic's. Sometimes rogue Scrunts will attack regardless of the rules. The Tartutic's are three monkey-like animals that keep justice between them. They are said to be evil.

The entire movie takes place on this story. A Narf, Story, is stranded after completing her mission. A rogue Scrunt has attacked her repeatedly when she tries to leave. And so she seeks the help of the landlord to apartment complex, Cleveland Heep, help her, who researches the story from one of his neighbors, a Korean college student who has a mother who knows all about this bedtime story.

As the movie continues there is more to the story of how to help her get back to the giant eagle, who will help her get back home. Like if she has obstacles there is a select group of humans who can help protect her. A Guardian who can ward off the Scrunts. An Interpreter who can see signs in simple things to guide them. A Healer, to... well heal her.

What I loved was the realistic spin to this fairytale. What I didn't like were the inconsistencies:

1. The fact that the Korean lady knew of this bedtime story and made-up words like "Narf", "Scrunt" and "Tartutic" were somehow translated from Korean to English.
2. Where were the Tartutic's all along? Weren't they supposed to come punish the Scrunt's for attacking her when she tried to leave the first time?
   
3. If she is allowed to have helpers like the Guardian, or the Interpreter, to help her get to the eagle, and they're allowed to see the eagle, then why can't she tell these people she's allowed to see them?
4. I wasn't quite clear on the "ceremony". What was the purpose of the 7 sisters? 5 of them were actual sisters, so where did the Interpreter pick the other 2 from?
5. This is going to sound weird but given the circumstances, I find it hard to believe that everyone would believe such a fairytale is really true. Think about your landlord coming to you and saying "I really found Cinderella, and she needs help finding her glass slipper. Can you help?"

The movie was alright. I'm more impressed with the writing than the writing. If it comes on tv I'll watch it, but it's not something I'll go out of my way to buy and put in my collection.

Yes those are the figures as of right now for the Dark Knight. I did check it out Friday night, waiting an hour before the show started in blistering heat. I was lucky enough to snag tickets before standing in line on Fandango, because it sold out literally 5 minutes after I bought them.

I will probably be outcasted for saying this:

I'm going to start off by saying Heath Ledger was FLAWLESS! I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that it was Heath Ledger behind all the make up and pure insanity. He just really captured the mental disturbance and brilliant mind that is the Joker. The littlest things that were done help the character stand out, like the way his mouth kept twitching and his slight clumsiness when it comes to fighting or his lack of care of whether he comes out dead or alive at the end of it. Whether it was the writer's or the director, or Heath Ledger himself, the entire presentation of the Joker was phenomenal.

As for the rest of the movie... eh. Yes I said it... eh.

For the friends that are dearest to me, they know I have an immense hatred for Katie Holmes, but it kills me to say, she made a better Rachel. *flops over dead* There was just something about Maggie Gyllenhaal that I didn't like on the big screen. She didn't fit in with Christian Bale, and Aaron Eckhart who came out a tiny bit too goody-two-shoes with a hint of the need to be in the spotlight. His dire need to help the poor city of Gotham was annoying.

If it weren't for the Joker, this movie would bomb in my opinion. Whether it was Heath Ledger or the Joker's contribution in the storyline it doesn't matter. They carried the story. You sat in anticipation of the next scene that included the Joker. The rest was just fluff.

At the end I felt like I walked out of a B-rated movie instead of being wowed by all aspects of the film and not just one.

Being a HUGE fan of Wall-E which is still out in the theater's right now, I strongly recommend that you check out this film. Not for the animation factor, which is really not the greatest I've seen, to be honest. It starts out with really great jaw-dropping effects. The opening sequence of the doomed Earth hundreds of years from now with garbage everywhere, and the detailed put into this planet was phenomenal. You'd have to blink and pinch yourself that this is an animated movie. Towards the end, as the humans get involved it just looks like a cartoon. But I'm not questioning the quality. The quality is still better than Dreamworks, but that's just cause my opinion is biased.

Wall-E is the only robot left behind on Earth and he lives his life day to day doing what he was programmed to do: to compact the garbage left behind by the humans into little cubes and build them into these piles as big as the skyscrapers. His only companion is a cockroach. They live collecting random trinkets while taking care of one another. Wall-E's clumsy, awkward and almost childlike naivete help make him relateable and sympathetic to be the ultimate underdog.

I gotta say that I'm surprised Pixar went where it did. They went brutally honest at what may become of the human race. The humans are morbidly obese living in the midst of a heavily commercialized community. Everything is flashing and announcing that you should be eating this or that and no one is talking to one another without the help of something electronic. They all float through the cruise ship on recliners with machines that give them everything they need. It's a scary but convincing rendition of what the future is expected to be.

Wall-E hardly had any dialogue but still carried a strong and very clear message of loneliness, love and the possible future of our planet. I know I know, it's a weird combo, but it works. The two songs used to help mold the story was "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" and "It Only Takes a Moment".

Found this article that shares a small interview with Jerry Herman, who was the award winning composer for "Hello Dolly!".
"My eyes were really wet at both the opening and the closing of the film, and just the wonderful way those songs were used to make him more human," Herman said. "That's really what they did."

You can check out the article as posted by the Associated Press, here.
Another interesting article. This one focuses more on Pixar itself.

So... Yeah. They're shooting a scene for the Transformers 2 movie literally a mile up the street from where I work, in the heart of Princeton University.

Co-worker went into town and said there was a lot of traffic coming back and it was because they moved in about 4 18-wheelers on this one street, which happens to be in the direction that I go to get home.

Anyway, couple days ago, I'm on my way to job #2 and I'm stuck in mini-traffic. At the stoplight I take notice of the car in front of me. The most sickest and hottest Maserati. I'm really not into cars, but if a car could be sexy... that'd be it. Again I don't think much of it. Then we come to where the lane splits and Maserati has to make a left, and I make a right. I look to my left... wouldn't you know it. It was Shia LaBeof.

I was telling my friends about this and they were suggesting I walk by to see if I'd get "discovered". Riiiiiiight. I'm so not the "discovering" type. But I was thinking of swinging by to maybe see if I can get some production work. Even if it was getting some coffee or bagels... could you just imagine the contacts I would be getting?!?!?!

Update: Wouldn't you know it... on the way home they wrapped up production. The trailers were gone. *shrug