Mashed Thoughts of dPotato http://dpotato.posterous.com My online journal of my amazingly boring life. Don't expect anything juicy. I write those in my real journal at home safe away from prying eyes. Except for maybe my sister. posterous.com Sat, 09 Apr 2011 16:09:00 -0700 Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/sharpays-fabulous-adventure-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/sharpays-fabulous-adventure-movie-review

Sharpayfabadventure
I won some passes to this movie showing this week and went to go see it this morning. There weren't many people in the theatre; those who came were mostly parents with their young kids. I think more people went to the theatre to watch some kind of opera show instead of this showing. However this is to be expected of these types of movies.

Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure is an upcoming direct to DVD movie spin-off from High School Musical starring Ashley Tisdale. The film follows Sharpay Evans, a spoiled rich heiress, after she has graduated high school and looking to get her big break on Broadway. After seeing Sharpay performing a song and dance number at her country club with her dog Boi, Jerry Taylor, a famous producer, was impressed and told her that he was looking to cast a Broadway musical in New York City. Her father lets her go on one condition: either she makes it in one month or she has to come back home and work for her parents. At first Sharpay thinks that she has her rise to stardom all planned out but when she arrives in New York she gets kicked out of her penthouse and discovers that Jerry was only interested in casting her dog for the part in the show! Forced to take the help of the son of a family friend, Peyton, she moves into a studio apartment and plans to use her dog as a stepping stone to get to her fame. Sharpay goes head to head with a very competitive Roger Elliston who also wants his dog, Countess, to star in the show. Desperate, Sharpay becomes assistant to her idol and star of the show, Amber Lee Adams only to discover she is not the kind of person Sharpay thinks she is. With time running out and her spirit broken, Sharpay will have to act like the star she is again to get to make her dreams come true.

This movie was fun movie with a light plot filled with glitz and glamour. Sharpay is absolutely clueless and there were many funny moments revolving around this fact. It was kind of hard to feel sympathetic toward Sharpay since she is so rich and had everything handed to her on a golden platter all her life. There were a few musical numbers, which were catchy and in the lines of High School Musical. Justin Bieber song, Baby was even included in the movie, though it was played during the side love story between the dogs, Boi and Countess. Kids will definitely enjoy this movie. 

Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure comes out on DVD and Blu-ray combo pack on April 19, 2011.

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Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:48:00 -0700 Hanna - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/hanna-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/hanna-movie-review

Hanna
Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is a girl who lives in the wintery forests of Finland with her father, Erik Heller (Eric Bana), an ex-CIA agent, who trained her to be a perfect soldier - strong, quick, fearless and deadly with or without firearms. All her training is to prepare her for one sole mission: kill Marisa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett), a ruthless intelligence operative, who will stop at nothing until Hanna and Erik are dead. A flip of switch calls Wiegler to them; however, unbeknownst to Hanna, she kills an imposter posing as Wiegler. As Hanna journeys across Europe to meet up with Erik, and with Wiegler and her operatives closing in, she uncovers secrets about her existence that lead her to question her own humanity which no amount of training could ever prepare her for.

Hanna is an intense movie with a lot of action but also has its tender moments. I was, however, slightly disappointed at what I thought would be a twist ending but instead the movie ended very predictably.

Cate Blanchett was brilliant as usual but her southern accent atrocious and tended to phase in and out. Her character needed more work as Wiegler was very one-dimensional; she wanted nothing more than the deaths of Hanna and Erik but you never really find out why. You get bits and pieces of the puzzle through flashbacks but never a clear motive. I find it hard to believe that it was only because of her job that drove Wiegler so hard to exterminate Erik and Hanna; she must have some personal grudge or secret that causes that kind of desperate dedication.

Saoirse Ronan also did a wonderful job as Hanna. She is so wonderfully innocent with a childlike fascination to everything. There are only a few moments in the movie that Hanna could be a child she is and these should be cherished as the pace picks up again very quickly. The score, by The Chemical Brothers, however funky, seemed to beautifully fit the movie. It reflects both Hanna's innocence and her deadly abilities. Nothing seems to be able to stop Hanna and Ronan does an amazing job with all the fight sequences - they were all believable and real.

Overall Hanna is a very enjoyable, interesting and beautifully shot movie but could have used much more character development and clearer motives. It is a good movie but could have been amazing. Still, I would recommend seeing it in theatres. 

Hanna opens in theatres tomorrow, Friday April 8th, 2011.

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Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:00:00 -0700 Your Highness - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/your-highness-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/your-highness-movie-review

Highness
Always living in the shadow of his quest-loving older brother Fabious (James Franco), lazy Prince Thadeous (Danny McBride) settled to just smoke weed and getting in trouble with the women of the neighbouring dwarven kingdom. But when evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux) kidnaps Fabious' bride, Belladonna on their wedding day, his father gives him a choice - either aid Fabious on his quest to rescue his bride or be banished from the kingdom. As the brothers venture out to prevent an ancient prophecy from being fulfilled, they face betrayal from their own knights, danger and adventure which brings them to join forces with the fearless warrior Isabel (Natalie Portman), who has secret agenda of her own. When the traitorous knights return and imprison Fabious, Thadeous must step up become the hero in order to save his brother and the kingdom and win the heart of Isabel.

Your Highness is a stupidly funny movie set in medieval times. Everything is exaggerated to poke fun of damsels and knights and what they do. There is a lot of swearing and the shock of a medieval character swearing was funny the first time we hear but it just gets old after the hundredth time it is uttered. There is very little character development and almost all the jokes are made up of lowbrow humor, gay jokes and vulgar shock factors. Still it will make you laugh (or at least chuckle) and the action and special effects are not bad. You can tell the actors loved making this movie and all did a fantastic job in delivering their lines.

Your Highness is in theatres tomorrow, Friday, April 8th, 2011.

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Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:56:00 -0700 Hop - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/hop-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/hop-movie-review

Hop
The first ever movie about the Easter Bunny, Hop follows E.B. (Russell Brand), the teenage son of the Easter Bunny (Hugh Laurie), who ditches his duties as the next Easter Bunny and runs away to Hollywood to pursue his dream of becoming a drummer. Instead he gets accidentally run over by the out-of-work slacker Fred O'Hare (James Marsden) and then guilts him into letting him stay at the home Fred is house-sitting for his sister's boss. E.B. causes all sorts of trouble in Fred life as he tries to escape the Pink Berets, the Easter Bunny's guards who are tasked to bring E.B. back to Easter Island. Meanwhile, E.B.'s father is having some trouble of his own as Carlos, a power hungry chick, plots to take over and ruin Easter.

Hop is a cute and fun movie that kids will enjoy but can't seem to make up it's mind on whether it is suppose to be a kids' movie or a bad adult movie. There is a joking scene with reference to the Playboy mansion that I'm sure only adults will get. The Mexican accent on an Easter chick seems kind of out of place especially when the bunnies have English accents! Scenes with Carlos are intended to be funny but the jokes don't seem to fly - pardon the pun.  On another note, the animation is amazing! E.B. is so realistic and blends so seamlessly into the live action that it is hard to believe that he was never there. Also E.B. is so adorable! I especially love it when he wriggles his nose! The chicks are cute too except for Carlos; he scares me.

Hop is in theatres Friday, April 1st, 2011.

 

...

 

Several things happened at the screening of Hop today. Being a kids movie, there were a ton of kids being loud and running and jumping around while we waited in line. When suddenly, this little boy pulled down his pants and to the horror of everyone, especially his parents, he relieved himself in the sidewalk! Ewwww!

When we got into the theatre, they handed out raffle tickets for a chance to win a few DVDs. They called everyone up but the last person didn't respond so they redrew and it was my number! I won The Tale of Despereaux! But that's not all...Being that the screening was sponsored by Winners and Homesense, the representatives had taped five $50 giftcards under random seats. Suddenly, the theatre was abuzz with all the children looking under all the seats. I saw a kid find one a couple of rows in front of us. After a while several woman started to look down our row and one of them asked me "Did you look under your seat?!" I had previously felt a little bit under but not completely. So I stood up and lo-and-behold a giftcard! Wow. LOL The other woman then said "That took you long enough! We can finally start the movie!" Hahahah!  

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Wed, 30 Mar 2011 22:13:00 -0700 Source Code - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/source-code-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/source-code-movie-review

Source
Source Code revolves around Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) who wakes up in another man's body aboard a commuter train heading toward Chicago. As he tries to make sense of things, the train blows up and he awakes inside of a strange capsule. With a video screen as his only way of communicating to the outside world, he discovers that he is inside a machine called the Source Code and is part of a mission to stop the bomber from detonating another bomb within the city of Chicago. Source Code enables Colter Stevens to relive the last 8 minutes of a train passenger's life again and again, each time allowing him to gather more clues to the uncover identity of the bomber. Things get more complicated when he finds himself falling in love with one of the passengers and is determined to try and save her.  

A sense of urgency is instilled in the audience right from the start with the tense and ominous music playing throughout the beginning of the movie. Source Code is an awesome movie that is reminiscent to Ground Hog Day but with better looking people and a more exciting and intelligent plot. You start paying more attention to the passengers to see if you can't figure out the identity of the bomber before Stevens. Gyllenhaal plays Stevens with such passion and emotion; it was a very captivating performance that made you feel a lot for his character. It was very fun to watch him go through what he goes through in those eight minutes of eternity. Just when you think it ends, it starts up again and this happens several times in the movie. It could have ended at any one of those points and you'd still think it's a good ending but it just keeps pushing and pushing so that just when you think you have it all figured out, you don't and leaves you with the thought that the movie may have gone on a little bit too long. The way the director, Duncan Jones, has done it, it's not too bad, it just leaves you more to think about. Source Code is a highly recommended sci-fi action-thriller that will leave you craving for more.

Souce Code comes out in theatres on Friday, April 1st. Don't miss it!

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Wed, 30 Mar 2011 06:00:00 -0700 Hall Pass - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/hall-pass-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/hall-pass-movie-review

Hallpass
I won a run of engagement pass for this movie a few weeks back and I finally went to see it today. Hall Pass is comedy about two best friends, Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) who are getting a little restless in their many years of marriage. In attempt to fix their husbands' behaviour, their wives gives them a hall pass - a week off from marriage to do whatever they want, including sleep with other women, with no consequences. At first the men are thrilled but as the week goes on they begin to realize that single life isn't at all like they remember. With their husbands absent, the wives also find themselves tempted to engage in extramarital relations themselves.

Hall Pass is a funny movie but it also contains a lot of crude and vulgar jokes involving bodily fluids and genitalia which is also displayed in full force. The plot was ho-hum and I didn't like the side story of their wives. It seemed too rushed to be resolved properly. If you are looking for a few laughs, Hall Pass will deliver but it may also end up making you uncomfortable. If watching Rick and Fred's miserable attempts at picking up women is your kind of thing by all means go for it. If you don't have time then just watch the trailer. It basically contains almost everything in the movie minus the vulgarity.

Hall Pass is in theatres now but won't be for long!

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Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:31:00 -0700 West is West - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/west-is-west-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/west-is-west-movie-review

Wiw
West is West is the sequel to East is East. This time the movie focuses on teenager Sajid, played by Aqib Khan, the youngest of the Khan family. Sajid is both plagued by school bullies who hates him for being half Pakistani and by his father George (Om Puri reprises his role) who's oppressing insistence in upholding Pakistani traditions is driving father and son apart. Desperate to instill at least some Pakistani values into his son, George flies Sajid to his house in rural Pakistan where the the wife and daughters he had abandoned 30 years ago resides. Not before long, Mrs Khan No. 2 follows them in attempt to sort out the mess George has made with his family.

I found the movie very funny. There were many jokes that played on the culture clash and greatly enjoyed watching it. Aqib brilliantly played Sajid, the brooding teenager who eventually opens up to some of the lessons this trip has taught him. The side story about Sajid's brother Maneer and how Sajid tries to help him in finding a wife was hilarious! Overall this is a feelgood coming-of-age movie with comedy, romance, tenderness, that I very much enjoyed.

West is West is playing in select theatres now.

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Thu, 24 Mar 2011 06:00:00 -0700 Sucker Punch - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/sucker-punch-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/sucker-punch-movie-review

Suckerpunch
A young girl who has lost her family is institutionalized by her evil stepfather and set to be lomotomized in five days time. To cope with her desperate situation, she imagines a whole alternate reality where she is in control of her destiny.  The girl known as Baby Doll (Emily Browning) enlists the help of four other inmates - Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung) - to help her plan an escape from the hospital. The lines of reality and fantasy blur as the she and the girls gather the five items that they need to escape their prison.

Even though the movie screening was at 10pm, there was still quite a number of people who showed up. Even some of the costume designers were at the screening! I have to say WOW! It was a very interesting movie and it exceeded my expectations. It was way better than Watch Man which was also directed by Zach Snyder. The film was really surreal and had everything from evil Samurai warriors, Nazi zombies, dragons to robots. I LOVED the dragon. The special effects are stunning in this film. Everything was fast paced and you really get the sense of the desperation present in these girls. I think it will make a great video game with all the action! In Baby Doll's imagination, the mental hospital is a brothel and the costumes are very cool. All the racy dances the girls had to perform were cleverly overlapped by the missions that Baby Doll imagined them going on. The story could have been a little stronger; there are some minor loose ends that leave you unsatisfied and asking questions but overall I liked the film and was very impressed by the visuals.

Remember to stick around during the credits. According to the costume designers, that song and dance number costed a pretty million to make. Oh and get ready for the twist in the ending because you never see it coming.

If you want to see more of the costumes featured in Sucker Punch, and you are in Vancouver tonight, there is a Sucker Punch Ball being hosted at the Rio Theatre at 10pm followed by a midnight screening of the film. Tickets are $18 in advance and $20 on the night-of the event at Rio Theatre. Should be a fun evening!

Sucker Punch opens in theatres Friday, March 25, 2011.

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Thu, 17 Mar 2011 06:00:00 -0700 Paul - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/paul-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/paul-movie-review

Paul
I had a tough choice this week. I had the option to go to three screenings yesterday: The Lincoln Lawyer, Limitless and Paul. I opted to go for a comedy though I'm sure I will catch the other two in theatres later.

Paul follows two British comic book geeks, Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost), who are visiting the US to attend Comic-Con, a large comic book and popular arts convention. Being huge sci-fi fans, they planned a road trip to go to see all the famous UFO sites across the America. While outside Area 51, they accidentally meet Paul (Seth Rogen), an alien on the run who was held captive there by the government for the last 60 years. When the government decides that Paul had outlived his usefulness, Paul launched an escape. Being a matter of life and death, Graeme and Clive take the rude, wise-cracking little alien aboard their rented RV. Now they are being chased by government agents and also the fanatic father of Ruth (Kisten Wiig), a young woman whom the two had to kidnap to prevent her from telling the authorities about Paul. Graeme and Clive are in for the road trip of their life as they take Paul to rendezvous with his mother ship.

On the one hand, this movie is funny and entertaining to watch. Pegg, Frost and Rogen are an amazing trio who gives the audience a lot of laughs and Wiig delivers all her lines in a spectacularly funny way. There are also many popular sci-fi references littered throughout the movie. Sci-fi and movie buffs will get a kick out of those.

On the other hand, this R-rated movie is full of swearing (I lost count of the number of times the word f*ck was used), lowbrow humour and attacks on Christianity. I cringed at all the sexual parts that were mentioned just for fun in this movie but the other people at the screening seemed love it. There is a scene where there is a small debate on God and evolution. Christians may not like it, it was very controversial and there are other jokes made at the expense of Christians. But if you can keep an open mind, as many will, the scenes are rather funny.

Overall I liked the story, it was hilarious, the animation is very realistic and I suppose that for being R-rated it is rather tame...Just don't bring your parents to see it.

Paul opens in theatres Friday, March 18, 2011.

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Fri, 11 Mar 2011 06:00:00 -0800 Win Win - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/win-win-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/win-win-movie-review

Winwin
Down on luck attorney Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti) is on the verge of losing his practice because of money problems. Without thinking Mike convinces a judge to let him be the guardian of Leo, one of his clients, who is declared legally incapacitated to obtain an extra $1500 monthly paycheck. However, instead of letting Leo stay at home where he told the judge he would be, Mike drops him off at a care home. Unfortunately things don't always go to plan especially when people are involved. Leo's grandson Kyle (Alex Shaffer) suddenly drops in Mike's life when he runs away from his addict mother and her abusive boyfriend. Mike discovers that Kyle is a great wrestler and Mike puts him on the sorry high school team that he coaches. All is going well -  Mike is getting the extra money he needs and his team is finally winning matches when Kyle's mother, fresh out of rehab, threatens to take it all away by exposing his deception to everyone.

Win Win is a feel-good movie about second chances, doing the right thing and the unexpected relationships that pop up in life because of one's choices. I liked Shaffer's performance as the often stoic Kyle and Amy Ryan who played Mike's wife Jackie Flaherty was at times hilarious. The director shows that sometimes not a word needs to be said in order to convey messages and feelings. You will feel for the characters and begin cheering them on, however flawed they may be. It was funny, heartwarming and the characters are interesting and relatable. This film is a winner for sure.

Win Win opens in theatres on Friday, March 18th, 2011.

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Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:00:00 -0800 Red Riding Hood - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/red-riding-hood-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/red-riding-hood-movie-review

Red_riding_hood
Red Riding Hood is loosely based on the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood. The story centers on Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) who lives in the village of Daggerhorn, which is under an uneasy peace with a werewolf that prowls the surrounding forest. Beautiful Valarie is also in a little predicament. She loves her childhood sweetheart Peter, a poor woodcutter, but her parents have betrothed her to Henry, a wealthy blacksmith. Unwilling to be parted from each other, they plan to run away together when the villagers discover that the werewolf, which had previously been satisfied with monthly animal sacrifices, has taken the life of her older sister. Hungry for revenge, the villagers take the matter into their own hands while the village priest call upon Father Solomon, a famed werewolf hunter. As the blood moon rises, which is the only time a new werewolf can be created, the attacks on the village become more frequent. During one of those attacks, Valarie discovers that she shares a deep connection with the werewolf and it may even be someone she loves...

This is another movie in a string of retellings of well-known fairy tales. Little Red Riding Hood is certainly not little in this interpretation but except for a romp in the hay the movie remains safely PG. It has themes of fantasy, horror and love all jumbled together. I would say it is more a thriller than a love story though it is obvious it has Twilight influences (not surprising since it has the same director). Broody and angsty teenagers who both want the girl...Familiar to anyone? The story also is very similar to M. Night Shyamalan's The Village in setting and premise - isolated village with an unknown beast prowling the surrounding woods.

The whole story is one big guessing game. Who is the wolf? By process of elimination you MIGHT be able to guess who the wolf is but it isn't easy. Suspects disappear and reappear to keep the viewer guessing and errie music is played to intensify the moments of uncertainty. Some parts of the movie reminded me of the Blair Witch Project with the shaky hand held camera movement. Some of the story was predictable and some of it was over the top, with the excessive and unnecessary killings and torture. But if you like a good mystery with some love in thrown in the mix you'll like Red Riding Hood. Twilight fans will love the ending. Especially if you are Team Jacob. 

Red Riding Hood opens in theatres Friday March 11th, 2011.

 

Want more Red Riding Hood? Here's a post that nicely reminds me of the story and has beautiful wolf pictures: http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/little-red-riding-hoods-demise

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Thu, 03 Mar 2011 10:43:00 -0800 Beastly - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/beastly-movie-review-0 http://dpotato.posterous.com/beastly-movie-review-0

Beastly

Beastly is the modern retelling of the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast set in New York City. Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer of I Am Number Four) is a handsome but arrogant high school student who cares only about himself and his looks. That cocky attitude however won him the title of President of an environmental club even though he doesn't care at all about the environment. When goth classmate Kendra (Mary Kate Olsen) protests against him, Kyle gets revenge by making fun of her looks and humiliating her in front of everyone at a party. In retaliation, Kendra casts a spell that transforms Kyle into a disfigured freak with tattoos and scars all over his body that mirrors the ugliness in his heart. She gives him one year to get someone to fall in love with him and say "I love you" or be forever trapped in that form. Kyle turns to his father for help only to be banished to Brooklyn with nobody but except his housekeeper and a blind tutor to keep him company. Desperate for normality, he attends the school Halloween party only to find out that everyone who said they liked him actually hated him, even his old girlfriend. He bumps into Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), a classmate who he had felt a connection with prior to his transformation, at the party and begins stalking following her. When Kyle saves Lindy and her father from drug dealers, he makes a deal with Lindy's father to help him protect her from the vengeful dealers by making her move into his home in Brooklyn. After a rocky start, the two forge an unlikely relationship and slowly Kyle starts to change but will it be enough to break the spell?

I was impressed with Beastly. Except for some cheesy dialogue it was pretty good. The interpretation of the story was believable in modern times and the make-up and costume design were amazing. I loved Kendra's outfit and shoes! The jokes were funny and kept the story from getting too serious. That said, Vanessa Hudgens acting could have been a little better. She was a bit stiff at times and I found it hard to believe her feelings toward Kyle.

It was almost a full house at the screening. Mostly young girls and women and the guys they brought along. So if you are into love stories like Twilight (but with better acting), you will enjoy Beastly. Go see it! Even if it is only just to see Alex Pettyfer's beautifully sculpted body again...You know what I mean...

Beastly opens in theatres Friday, March 4, 2011.

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Wed, 02 Mar 2011 22:46:00 -0800 Rango - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/rango-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/rango-movie-review

Rango
Rango is about a pet chameleon (voiced by Johnny Depp) who lives in the safety of his terrarium where he acts as a director and lead actor of stories of his own creation but he longs to figure out who he is. Due to a fateful accident, he that is suddenly thrust into adventure and a quest to find his true self. He journeys across the desert to the Old Western town of Dirt that is currently in the grips of a severe drought. In order to fit in and realizing that he can be like the hero of his stories, he convince the towns-animals that he is the fearsome Rango. By an act of pure accident, he manages to solidify his claim and is made sheriff to protect the town's remaining water supply, which is running dangerously low. However when the supply is stolen, it is up to Rango and his newly found friends to bring it back. Instead they discover that there is a sinister explanation behind the water's disappearance and that appearances can be deceiving. Rango is then faced with a choice to be the nobody he thinks he is or the hero the town needs him to be.

I got nothing from the trailer, I went to the movie not expecting very much but I was pleasantly surprised! The movie is funny, witty and extremely entertaining. It will definitely appeal to the older crowd as well as older kids. There are some parts that may scare younger children such as the parts with the villain Rattlesnake Jake. It also may be a bit violent and dark for the younger audience and there are certain references and jokes that only the older audience will get.

Rango is beautifully animated - all the textures of the animals and environment were very realistic. The score by Hans Zimmer set the tone of the movie very well and Rango was also directed by Gore Verbinski, the same person who directed Pirates of the Caribbean! A lot of the music reminds of that same adventurous tones that Pirates had. This is a movie that shouldn't be missed.

Rango is in theatres Friday, March 4th 2011. I recommend you go see it!

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Wed, 16 Feb 2011 22:17:00 -0800 I Am Number Four - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/i-am-number-four-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/i-am-number-four-movie-review

I_am_number_four
Today I got to go to an advanced screening of I Am Number Four courtesy of Virgin Mobile.

I Am Number Four is based on a the book of the same name by Pittacus Lore (pen name of James Frey and Jobie Hughes) and follows a special teen "John Smith". Unlike other teens he is actually an alien from the planet Lorien on the run from other aliens called Mogadorians. They destroyed John's home planet but not before he and 8 other children and their guardians escaped. These children are special since each of them possess special powers called Legacies. Now the Mogs are hunting them down one by one in sequence (Don't know why...I guess I'll have to read the book). They've killed three already and John is Number Four. Because of this John and his guardian Henri have to move around a lot. Their latest move takes them to Paradise, Ohio where he falls in love with a girl from school named Sarah, an avid photographer. This makes it all very complicated since his powers have started manifesting themselves and the Mogadorians have picked up his trail...Now John must learn to control his powers to protect the ones he cares about.

I did enjoy it...it kind of reminded me of Smallville and a little bit of Dark Angel where instead of escaped mutants being hunted you have escaped aliens with superpowers. I loved the action and the story is interesting but the movie leaves A LOT of unanswered questions. Like what's in the box? What's the significance of the symbols? Scenes in the trailer don't even make it into the movie! I guess Dreamworks leaves it very open so that more movies can be made. I want to learn what happens...Time to go to the library!

I Am Number Four is out in theatres on Friday February 18th. 

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Thu, 10 Feb 2011 23:41:00 -0800 From Prada to Nada - Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/42681137 http://dpotato.posterous.com/42681137

Pradanada
From Prada to Nada is a romantic comedy about two sisters with vastly different personalities who are left penniless after their rich father dies. Olivia is materialistic one and Nora is the bookworm. They are forced from their home by their half-brother's girlfriend - the brother they never knew they had. The girls end up in East Los Angeles with their aunt. There they try to learn about their Mexican heritage and find love...in an absurdly short amount of time!

Apparently this movie is based on Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility". I haven't read the book yet but I bet I would have gotten more out of it than this movie. The plot was just all over the place. It tried to fit in their brother's story but failed miserably and the relationships that formed were very rushed. If you are looking for a light movie with no real sustenance then you don't have to look any further but don't expect to enjoy it that much.

From Prada to Nada opens in theatres in Canada tomorrow, February 11, 2011.

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Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:48:00 -0800 Incendies Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/incendies-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/incendies-movie-review

Incendies

Incendies begins with the reading of the will of Nawal Marwan (Lubna Azabal) to her twin children Jeanne (Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette). Naval's last requested to her children is to deliver two letters - one to their father, whom they thought was long dead and a letter to a brother they never knew existed. This sets the twins off on a journey to the Middle East where they start to discover their mother's horrific and heartbreaking past and in turn discover theirs as well. The movie shifts back and forth in time following the twins’ journey to find their brother and father and Nawal’s journey to find the son that she was forced to give up. The movie just builds and builds until the shocking revalation at the end. 

How to describe this movie? Incendies has me leaving the theatre reeling. Montreal filmmaker Denis Villeneuve draws us into the tangled story of Nawal Marwan and her children with great skill. It is not a feel-good movie but I cannot deny it is very good storytelling.

Incendies has already won a lot of awards and there are rumours that it will be up for an Oscar in February. 

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Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:40:00 -0800 Tron: Legacy 3D Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/tron-legacy-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/tron-legacy-movie-review

Tron
I got the chance to watch an advanced screening of Tron: Legacy on Wednesday. I have never watched the original Tron from 1982 but with all the hype generated around this new sequel, I was really looking forward to watching it. Plus I like glowy things and Tron: Legacy has so many mesmerizingly glowy things. It certainly has benefited much from the advance in technology.

Turns out you don't need to watch the original at all to enjoy this movie. It did a very good job of providing backstory and stands very well on its own. Garrett Hedlund stars as Sam, Kevin Flynn's son (the protagonist from the previous film). Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn and also plays Clu.

Kevin Flynn is a genius programmer and the CEO of Encom. A sudden and mysterious disappearance of Kevin Flynn leaves his young son Sam orphaned. Years later, Sam recieves a message from his dad's friend Alan Bradley regarding a page he received originating from the office of the abandoned Flynn's Arcade. Sam investigates and discover's his dad's secret office and is somehow whisked away into the Grid - a digital world of his dad's creation. There he meets Clu, a program his father create years ago to handle things in the Grid but apparently he has turned bad and gained control of all the Grid. Sam manages to escape from Clu with the help of Quorra (Olivia Wilde from House), a fearless and mysterious program of the Grid who knows where his father is. Together they must race against time to make it out of the Grid alive.

The movie had awesome special effects - did I mention cool glowing costumes and set? An amazing musical score by Daft Punk carried the atmosphere of the movie very well. The actors did an amazing job but the only thing I didn't like was how fake the younger Kevin Flynn seemed. Disney had to digitalize Jeff Bridges' face to turn back the clock but everytime younger Kevin or Clu spoke it was rather uncanny. But that is a small detail. This move is full of eye candy and you will love it. I would recommend the movie to everyone whether or not you are a Tron fan! But if you are a Tron fan, I am told that there are many references to the original movie. It is not likely to disappoint. However if you can watch in non-3D choose that option. The movie had practically no 3D effects!

Tron: Legacy is in theatres today! Go see it! I highly recommend it. I want to go back and watch the original Tron now. And I hope they will make another one!


In other news, I am currently in a contest that BestBuy is hosting on Facebook. It's the Unboxing Day contest and I need people to vote for me and you can vote every day until Dec 31. Everytime you vote, you get entered into a weekly draw for a $150 BestBuy giftcard! So the more you vote, the better the chance you will have! Please vote for Jenny Lee (Xbox Unboxing). Thank you very much! http://apps.facebook.com/unboxingday/gallery.php?sort=2

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Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:41:00 -0800 The Fighter Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/the-fighter-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/the-fighter-movie-review

Fighter
The Fighter is a movie based on a true story about the early years of famous boxer "Irish" Micky Ward, starring Mark Wahlberg, and his life leading up to the World Championship. His older brother Dick "Dicky" Eklund, played by Christian Bale, was also a boxer and taught Micky everything he knows. Dicky becomes Micky's trainer and their mother Alice (Melissa Leo) manages his career. Sadly Dicky is an unreliable trainer since he is a drug addict. After one too many loses and Dicky ends up in jail, Micky quits boxing until his girlfriend Charlene (Amy Adams) convinces him to go back - this time without his mother and bother. His family was plagued with anger and feelings of betrayal but suddenly Micky is actually winning and has a chance at the World Championship.

This movie is actually pretty good! For someone who knows absolutely nothing about boxing, this movie was very entertaining. It was about family and rising up to meet all the challenges life throws at you. It was humourous, heartwarming and will have you cheering for Micky until the end. This inspirational movie is about never giving up and how important family is - just when you think someone is going to lose, they come back and surprise you.

The Fighter opens in theatres Dec 17, 2010.

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Sat, 13 Nov 2010 21:02:00 -0800 Disney's Tangled Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/disneys-tangled-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/disneys-tangled-movie-review

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Tangled is a retelling of the fairy tale Rapunzel. In Disney's version, Rapunzel is a princess, kidnapped as a baby and locked up in a hidden tower by Mother Gothel. Why would she do this? Well, Mother Gothel is an evil old lady that wants to use Rapunzel's magical hair to keep herself young. She's managed to convince Rapunzel to stay in the tower for 18 years by telling her that the outside world is too dangerous for her. Along comes theif Flynn Ryder who accidentally stumbles across the tower while trying to escape the palace guards. Rapunzel convinces Flynn to take her out of the tower to see the floating lanterns, that always seem to appear on her birthday. But Mother Gothel is not going to stand idle while her precious fountain of youth walks out the door and also everyone seems to want a piece of Flynn! A hair-raising adventure ensues...

I have to say Tangled is AWESOME! I was looking forward to watching it and Disney did not disappoint! I loved the animation, the story, the music, everything.

Rapunzel is voiced by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi (from TV series Chuck) voices Flynn Ryder. They did a very good job of making their characters come alive. One of my favourite non-voice characters is Rapunzel's pet chameleon, Pascal. He didn't need to utter a single word but he made the audience laugh all the time. As with all Disney movies, there is singing. Alan Menken does it again with an awesome set of songs and score. I loved all the songs and I might even purchase the soundtrack!

Tangled is shown in 3D but I thought that it wasn't necessary. There weren't many places where Disney took advantage of the 3D effect. The movie would be enjoyed the same if watching on regular screen.

If you are planning to bring your kids to watch a movie, you can't go wrong with Tangled. Disney delivers a very entertaining, humerous and unique spin to a story that kids and even adults will love.

Tangled is in theatres Wednesday, November 24, 2010.

 

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Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:41:00 -0700 Buried Movie Review http://dpotato.posterous.com/buried-movie-review http://dpotato.posterous.com/buried-movie-review

If you want to leave the theatre feeling happy, this is definitely the wrong movie to see. Buried left a bad taste in my mouth. It is about a US supply truck driver who was attacked by Iraqis and buried alive. Ryan Reynolds plays Paul Conroy trapped in a coffin with only a cell phone an a lighter (at first) and his time running out. Don't get me wrong Reynolds performance was spectacular but he is also the only one we ever see. Everyone else in the movie are only voices coming from the cellphone, Paul's only link to the outside world. Even though the entire 94 minutes is spent within a box, it was at times thrilling and the ending will shock you. Buried that leaves you feeling very uneasy and thinking about real current situation in Iraq is and how it might not be too far off from fiction. Not a movie to take your date to. 

Buried opens in theatres tomorrow Friday October 8.

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