I STILL haven't seen the movie!

But these are hilarious (via Dweebist):

Toy Story 3...OMG!

Thanks to one of my favorite blogger/vlogger/internet people Eric Striffler, I found out about this amazing sneak preview for Toy Story 3! I cannot wait for this movie!

New Moon Review

I feel wrong even calling this a review, because in reality, it is just going to be my opinions, which have little to do with any knowledge of film making, and a lot to do with feelings (yeah, I know, feelings can be a touchy topic). So here it goes, my feelings on New Moon:

Let me start out by giving you an idea of my overall feelings about the Twilight franchise: I'm not super into it. I watched the first movie last summer because I wanted to find out what all the hype was about. As much as I know this will upset certain people (Meagan), I actually found I liked it a lot. I cannot even explain to you why, but I loved the first movie. As corny as it sounds, I guess it moved me - I felt something when I watched it. The combination of the indie look, soundtrack, and story just fit together in a way that worked for me. After watching the movie, of course I had to read the books in order to compare (they were decent, but certainly not the best things I have ever read). And that is how I got somewhat sucked in to the whole Twilight frenzy. Now back to New Moon.

From the reviews I read and the people I heard talking, New Moon was way better than Twilight. I knew that most people hated Twilight, and so in their minds, it could only go up from there, but I was still skeptical. After seeing numerous New Moon trailers and preview clips, I was not sure how I felt about the movie. The more I saw, the more uncertain I became. To be honest, I think I got bored of seeing the same thing over and over in every single trailer. But of course, I had to go to the theater and see for myself.

I tried to be optimistic as I watched New Moon. I wanted to agree with the reviews I had read. I wanted it to be better. But alas, as usual, my feelings on the film were the opposite of those held by my peers and other fans of the series. I didn't like the movie at all. New Moon was probably my favorite book in the series, due a lot to the fact that Bella's heartache and pain are so strong and come through so strongly in Stephanie Meyer's writing. It was a very powerful book emotionally, and I was hoping that the movie would capture that. It was in vain, however, because director Chris Weitz and writer Melissa Rosenberg barely portrayed Bella's emptiness at all. And while I appreciate the attempt to add a few laughs (those moments exist in the book, and should in the movie as well), many lines that were meant to be serious just came off as corny.

Even the soundtrack, which was so perfectly chosen for Twilight was a flop for me in New Moon. When Bella is drowning after jumping off the cliff, Grizzly Bear's "Slow Life" just sounded wrong. There were other moments in the movie when I found myself saying "what is this song, and why is it playing?" Whereas in the first movie the music was mixed in so effortlessly, in New Moon, it was as disjunct as the pacing (which was also a source of confusion for me), and I definitely didn't leave the theater remembering any of the music in the film.

Overall, New Moon didn't move me the way Twilight did. When I finished watching Twilight, I immediately wanted to watch it again (I know Meagan, it's repulsive). When New Moon ended, I was glad it was finally over. When I watched Twilight, I felt something, and when I watched New Moon, I just didn't.

This series is entirely about the fans. The movies are about the fans. So if they liked New Moon, then I guess it was a success. I personally did not care for it in the least. But I don't consider myself a fan either, so I guess they don't have to please me.

Toy Story 3!!!

I haven't watched a Toy Story movie in a long time, and I forgot how much I love them!
Thanks to one of my favorite blogger/vloggers, Eric Striffler, it was brought to my attention that a new trailer for the third movie has been released. Watching it reminded me all over again how great Pixar movies are in general, but especially how great the Toy Story movies are.
I cannot wait for this to come out, and I will definitely be going to see it in theaters!

Here's the trailer:

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium Review

I originally was interested in Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium because I am a fan of Natalie Portman. When I picked it out for a family movie night, I was expecting a kid movie, but upon watching it, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only is Mr. Magorium's one of the most kid-friendly movies I have seen in the past few years, it has an original story and is just all-around well produced.

Being that this movie is about a toy store, I wasn't expecting much out of it. When I saw it had a G rating (very hard to find these days!), I must admit, I expected even less. In the end, however, this rating only testifies to the quality of this movie. Magorium's leaves out the (sometimes not so) subtle mature jokes that are so often included in "children's" movies these days in an attempt to keep parents and older audience members entertained (and which contribute to their PG ratings). The absence of these jokes does not detract from the film's entertainment value, but rather reminds us that it is possible to keep people's attention without crude "humor."

Another thing that sets this movie apart from the rest is its unique look. Unlike the all-too-similar comedies coming off the Disney assembly line, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is full of bright colors, and doesn't appear over-produced. Watching it is like stepping into a story book, and one actually begins to believe that a toy store can have a life of its own.

But don't think that Magorium's is simply a story about a toy store. Underneath the magic and wonder are themes of life, death, and growing (or never growing) up. Overall, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is a wonderful story that I would not be afraid to recommend to anyone with children of any age. Beautifully shot, poetically told, it makes us all want to believe in the magic.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Review

Last night (I guess technically this morning) I went to the midnight premiere of the new Transformers movie. I thought I would write a little review of sorts.

The thing we need to keep in mind is that Transformers is an action movie. The first film was popular because of the awesome CGI job on the robots and because of Megan Fox. Naturally, the second film would build upon the success of these two things. What does that get us? A lot more robot battles and a lot more Megan Fox. If you are going to see Transformers in hopes of a compelling plot line, then you have clearly missed the point entirely.

So maybe the story line is not as strong as in the first movie, but what it lacks in substance in the script it makes up for in battle sequences. This is an action movie, and in that department, Michael Bay does not disappoint. We also get to see a lot more of the Transformers outside of the battle, which provides (a bit) more character development on the part of the robots. The script is drenched with one-liners, coming from the Witwicky parents to the Autobots. If you like that kind of thing, you will definitely have some good laughs throughout the movie. If not, you may find yourself getting annoyed. A lot of these lines involve profanity (there is a lot more of it in this film than in the first), which is something to consider if you are planning on bringing younger fans.

And of course, there is Megan Fox, and of course, she is everywhere.
That's really all there is to say about that.

Overall, I think people are either going to really like this movie, or really hate it. If you go hoping for a great plot line, you are likely to be disappointed. If you go hoping for some great robot action sequences, some (very teen-aged/college-aged) humor, and Megan Fox, then you will probably be very pleased.