Yaaayyy!! Slurpees!!

The Setting: This Saturday, July 11 is 7-Eleven Day (it's 7/11 - get it?), the day 7-Eleven celebrates its 82nd birthday.

Y'all know how much I love me some Slurpees, right? Well, guess what! As part of the celebration, 7-Eleven is giving away free Slurpees! There will also be some free cash prizes. Go to the 7-Eleven site for all the details. Get there early because they are only giving away 5 million Slurpees on Saturday. Woot!

"There's a tiger in the bathroom!"

The Setting: I really like seeing movies when I don't know too much about them. As I mentioned in a previous post, previews give way too much of the movie away.

I must not have seen more than a couple previews for The Hangover, because I only had a vague idea of what it was about. But I needed some comedy in my life today so I decided to go check it out, and I am SO glad I went.

Four friends hit Las Vegas for a bachelor party before Doug's wedding. The next day, Doug is missing. Not only do his friends not know where he is, they have no idea what happened last night or why there's a tiger in the bathroom. The movie is about the guys using the few clues they have to piece the story together, find Doug, and get him to the church on time. It is a great ride as the story unfolds. I laughed out loud more times than I can remember. Along the way they meet a baby, the menacing Mr. Chow, and (yikes) Mike Tyson.

A la Trading Places and Coming to America, this movie has lots of great lines that people like me will amuse ourselves quoting every chance we get. One of my favorites: when asked directions somewhere, Dr. Valsh replies, "Yeah, it's on the corner of 'get a map' and 'fuck off'."

The movie stars Justin Bartha as Doug; Bradley Cooper as his married thrill seeking buddy, Phil; Ed Helms as straight-laced, henpecked dentist, Stu; and Zach Galifianakis as the bumbling but well-meaning brother-in-law to be, Alan. You won't hear me say this very often, but I give The Hangover four Slurpees out of five. It may not win any Oscars, but I highly recommend that you go see it if you just want to laugh your ass off.

"I need access to the Vatican Archives"

The Setting: Spoken by Robert Langdon in the movie Angels and Demons.

Angels and Demons is actually the prequel to the Da Vinci Code. I liked the Angels and Demons book more than the Da Vinci Code so I was looking forward to this movie.

The Pope has died and all cardinals are gathered at the papal conclave in Vatican City to elect a new pope. Four cardinals are kidnapped and a message is received that the four cardinals will be killed, one by one. Not just any cardinals; these four are the Preferiti - one of them is most likely to be voted by his peers as the new pope.

The kidnappers have also stolen and hidden a canister of antimatter which, if allowed to expode, would completely destroy Vatican City along with its priceless art, documents, architecture. Get it? Science vs religion. Symbologist Robert Langdon and physicist Vittoria Vetra are in a race against the clock to locate the kidnapped cardinals before they are killed. So the mystery this time is Langdon and friends trying to determine the locations where each cardinal will be killed and save them, while at the same time trying to figure out where the antimatter is hidden.

The storyline of the movie does not stick exactly to the book but the gist of it is still intact. Expect lots of scenes of Robert and Vittoria staring at old documents for clues, lots of cars racing through the streets, and actually, lots of action. There are moments that are not very believeable or feasible, but hey, it's Hollywood. It has enough action and plot twists to keep it interesting. Several times from where I was sitting in the theatre, I could see people literally sitting on the edges of their seats. All this time, I thought that was a cliche.

The movie stars Tom Hanks and Ayelet Zurer. I give it three thick Slurpees.

Live Long and Prosper

The Setting: Yep, I went and saw Star Trek.

I really liked this movie. It was a great prequel to the TV series and does a good job of explaining how the characters came together. The casting was great. Spock, played by Zachary Quinto, was my favorite.

The movie has Titantic syndrome (you show the ship's gonna sink in the end); meaning, you know none of the main characters are going to die because it then wouldn't be possible for them to later exist in the series. But it has enough great action to keep it interesting, cool special effects, and things blowing up, and I'm a big fan of all of those things. Especially when there's popcorn involved.

There is this time travel thing going on, which is just a little illogical, but that's another story. It's Star Trek - just go with it. Also, certain parts of the storyline were a bit of a stretch, but overall I thought it was well done.

I give this movie three Slurpees out of five.

"They said I was gonna die soon, but maybe not."

The Setting: Spoken by Brad Pitt's character to Daisy in The Curtious Case of Benjamin Button.

Benjamin Button is the fourth movie I've seen on my list of movies to see. It is a classic love story done in a very unusual way. Brad Pitt plays the main character who is born around 86 years old and grows younger over time. Picture a baby with arthritis and an otherwise healthy pre-teen with dementia.

This film reminded me of Forest Gump many times. Not the plot nor the characters, but the way that the story unfolds - via flashbacks and around-the-world journeys. Although this movie is not quite as whimsical as Forest Gump, it has that same feel.

Is it just me, or does Brad Pitt look more and more like Robert Redford as he ages? I meant in real life, but you see it at certain points in this movie, also. The picture was directed by David Fincher and it also stars a mesmerizingly beautiful Cate Blanchett, plus Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, and Tilda Swinton.

If you can allow yourself to believe the premise of this almost three-hour movie, I recommend that you see it. I give Benjamin Buttons four out of five Slurpees. Based on the movies I saw last year, if Slumdog Millionaire does not win picture of the year, this one will.

Best picture of the year goes to...

The Setting: Because of the hype surrounding it and just because I can't think of any other movie that I've seen this year that is better, I will go out on a limb right now and say that Slumdog Millionaire will win the Oscar for best picture of the year. It's not a stretch for me to say that; it's what many so-called professional movie critics are also saying.

This movie wasn't even on my list of movies to see, but I've heard so much about it - all positive - that I decided I would just go see it and find out for myself. I'm glad I did.

Slumdog Millionaire takes place in Mumbai, India and follows the story of a young man who is on the verge of winning millions in the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The story cleverly unfolds, using flashbacks of Jamal's life to show how, through his experiences, he is able to know the answers to most of the questions in the game.

The movie manages to capture the beauty of Mumbai, the culture, and the people in the midst of the corruption, over-population, poverty, and anguish. Be prepared: there are many heart-breaking scenes.

I admit I haven't previously heard of any of the actors, but the picture stars Dev Patel, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto, and Anil Kapoor. Danny Boyle directed the picture. This picture also has a great music soundtrack. Stay and watch the dance during the closing credits.

I definitely recommend this movie and give it four and a quarter out of five Slurpees. Yes, a quarter. I just think it's a little better than a four. Go see it.

"We have to kill Hitler"

The Setting: Spoken by Tom Cruise's character, Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, in the movie Valkyrie. Easier said than done. If you're as hated as Hitler, you know someone (lots of someones) will try to kill you. He practically had bodyguards for his bodyguards.

Valkyrie is the third movie I've seen on my list of movies I want to see this holiday season. Not exactly a feel-good movie to see during the holiday season but that is not what I was expecting. It is very much of a drama with lots of moments of suspense. By how crowded the movie theatre was, it appears a lot of people were able to see past the wackiness of Tom Cruise's personal life. Good.

This is one of those films that you go into knowing pretty much how it's going to end. We all knew the Titantic was going to sink, but we still rooted for the characters; we wanted them to succeed, to survive. Well, most of them, anyway. This movie takes you to that place. This picture is not about how the plot ends, it's about the plan, the operation, the attempt. Men who felt strongly enough about their cause that they were willing to risk not only their own lives but the lives of their families as well. It did a great job of portraying the struggle the men felt, wanting to do something but knowing the consequences of failure.

It was based on a true story which, I admit, I really know nothing about, so I don't know how accurate this story is or isn't. Apparently there were 15 known attempts on Hitler's life by Germans. This movie is the portrayal of one of those attempts. As one character says, "We have to show the world that not all of us were like him."

The movie also stars Christian Berkel, Kenneth Branagh, and Terrence Stamp. I liked the movie and I recommend it. I give it three and a half Slurpees.

"Do you consider yourself to be a good person?"

The Setting: Walking out of the movie theatre after watching Seven Pounds, all I heard was silence. And a few women (and maybe a few men) sniffing.

Seven Pounds is the second movie I've seen from my list of movies I want to see this Christmas season. One of the reasons I wanted to see it is because the previews and commercials really haven't given too much of the movie away. I really like being able to see a movie under those circumstances and watching it unfold, without knowing much about what's going to happen. Yes, that means I am not going to tell you the plot here.

I was disappointed that I managed to guess part of what was going on a little more than half-way through the movie, but there were some surprises at the end. However, I felt things could have been much more of a surprise if they had left a few things out earlier. Do not expect a Sixth Sense punch .

Certain parts reminded me of another Will Smith movie, I am Legend: Will Smith waking up from a nightmare about something that happened in the past; Will Smith in the shower, upset about something that happened in the past; flashbacks of bits and pieces of something (we just don't know what yet) that happened in the past. Of course, we get to see the whole situation in the end.

This movie is very much of a drama, so expect it to be slow moving in certain spots. Will Smith is good at dramas, but he is really subdued in this movie and I did get a little sick of his having the same look on his face in several scenes. The potential for this movie to be great was there but lack of believeability in parts allowed it to only be good.

Smith's relationship with Rosario Dawson is, as times, elegant. In smaller roles: Barry Pepper, Woody Harrelson, and Michael Ealy. I would give this movie a three and a half out of five Slurpees (that's my new rating system). Worth seeing, but I always recommend going to the matinee just because I never pay full price for a movie.

"The Process Has Begun"

The Setting: Cue dramatic music and zoom in on Keanu Reeve's emotionless face as he utters this line to the poor, helpless humans in The Day the Earth Stood Still.

This movie is on my list of movies I want to see this Christmas season. I'll start my review with two comments. As the closing credits were rolling a lady walking past said to me, "Not as good as the original." Then a couple went by and I heard the woman say, "It was kinda hokey." Both true statements.

I didn't expect to see Oscar-nomination-worthy performances; I just wanted to see stuff getting blown up. Surprisingly, this movie really doesn't have a lot of that. For example, you just know that in every disaster or alien-attack movie, NYC will be destroyed. In this movie, we see parts of it destroyed, but not how you would expect. This movie has way more drama and way less action than I expected.

Plus, there is a message that is overdone to the point of being preachy. And in the end, it was a little too, well... easy to get rid of the aliens.

Keanu Reeves was good at being robotic and unemotional as Klaatu. Seeing him in a suit for much of the movie was weird because I couldn't stop thinking about the bad guys in The Matrix. Jennifer Connelly is the sympathetic scientist who wants to help Klaatu. Jaden Smith seems too bratty and smart alecky most of the movie, even after we learn his situation. Kathy Bates is tough as nails as the US Secretary of Defense. In my opinion, the star of the show is the huge, indestructible, super robot that comes out of the spacecraft. He (It?) was named Gort in the original movie, although I don't remember them saying his name in this movie. Anyway, I would like to see Gort get his own starring role.

I would give the movie a two and a half out of five. My advice if you want to see this movie: either go to a matinee (absolutely do not pay full price) or wait until the DVD comes out. In better news, yes, I had my requisite Slurpee, plus I saw a preview for the upcoming Star Trek movie, which looks promising.

The Shyamalan Phenomenon

The Setting: How come there are so many movies that don’t live up to their hype?

I went to the movies the other day to see Quantum of Solace. I didn't like it as much as Casino Royale, also featuring Daniel Craig, but I liked it more than the critics seemed to. Before the movie started, I realized that I could probably enjoy sitting in a theatre and watching nothing but movie previews for two hours, as long as there were a medium popcorn and a large Slurpee involved. Whomever is in charge of editing those movie trailers (the directors?), does a really good job of making you want to see the actual movies. The trailers are like little two-minute movies, with nothing but good parts throughout.

The problem is, the two-hour versions of many of those movies can't match the excitement of the trailers. This happens quite a bit with M. Night Shyamalan movies. I always want to see his movies but often end up disappointed. One example is The Happening, starring Mark Wahlberg. Did you see it? Remember how great the trailers were? Don't get me wrong: the movie was OK. It had some good suspenseful scenes, and it had that message about mankind not destroying the earth, blah, blah, blah, but I just wanted more. Check out various trailers for The Happening.

Movies of 2008 Christmas Season

The Setting: The five movies of the 2008 Christmas season that I am most looking forward to.


December 12 – The Day the Earth Stood Still
Keanu Reeves pretty much acts robot-like in all of his movies so he will probably do a good job playing space alien Klaatu in this remake of the 1951 original movie. Also stars Jennifer Connelly and Kathy Bates (love her!). And I’m sure there will be lots of things blowing up. Woo hoo!

December 19 – Seven Pounds
Will Smith stars as a suicidal IRS agent who is changing the lives of seven people. But we don’t know why. There is enough of a mystery here to make me really want to see this movie. That, and the fact that Will Smith is in it and he usually makes great movies. Plus, he’s fine as hell. Also stars Woody Harrelson and Rosario Dawson.

December 19 – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Brad Pitt plays a boy who was born into a 70-year old body and he’s aging backwards. No, I don’t know how it all works, but this is a funky enough concept that I wanna see it. Also stars Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton.

December 25 – Marley & Me
Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson star with a very cute Labrador named, you guessed it, Marley. It is about various adventures in this wild and crazy dog’s 13-year life. I know, I know: it is a feel good movie. What’s wrong with that? Hey, any excuse for some popcorn and a Slurpee.

December 26 – Valkyrie
Tom Cruise and friends plot to assassinate Hitler in Nazi Germany. Um… I don’t think they succeed, but what the heck? Interesting story, probably has some great action, and Tom Cruise is in it. Eddie Izzard is also in it – he’s my future husband, although he probably doesn’t know yet. Oh, and I get another Slurpee!