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Aw, sadness! Though if I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing. Land before Time totally beats out Little Mermaid anyday. xd

I could post synopsises for the movies I've seen, but probably not for a while. College is kicking my a** right now. >.<
Procrastination is not a good thing. Neither is professors being sick and therefor unable to come to class and give you the hand out about the assignment due at the end of the week. (That hapened twice in the past two weeks! Though, admittedly, the first time it happened, we had the assignment already, but no one understood it and the professor was out of town without her computer to escape her asthma symptoms. It was rather frustrating.)

EDIT: I just reread this post and decided to come back and apologize for the horror that is this post. I can't really string together coherent sentances right now, due to the fact that my brain is completely fried from 6 hours of economics homework. burning_eyes

I'm utterly incandescent with joy! surprised

Ok, here are my first few movie summaries/reviews. (maybe we should put all the movie summaries in the first post)

Green Street Hooligans
What it's about:
After being expelled from Harvard two weeks before graduating, Matt Buckner decided to take some time to figure things our for himself. He heads to London to stay with his sister and once there, gets involved with the GSE firm, a gang-like group of die-hard football fans.

Review:
I really liked this movie. (obviously or I wouldn't be posting it here) It's an action packed adventure (oh dear, too cliche?) with a lot of emotion packed in as well. There is a lot of violence and language, so don't watch it if you're offended by that stuff.

Quote:
(their song)
I'm forever blowing bubbles
Pretty bubbles in the air
They fly so high
They reach the sky
And like my dreams
They fade and die
Fortune's always hiding
I've looked everywhere
I'm forever blowing bubbles
Pretty bubbles in the air.
United!
United!


Saved!
What it's about-- Mary is an upstanding Christian who is just starting her senior year at a really good Christian school. She is a member of a band called the Christian Jewel along with her best friend, Hillary Faye. She even has the perfect Christian boyfriend, Dean. Things are looking up for her until she recieves some crushing news: Dean's gay. In an effort to "save" Dean, Mary tries everything she can think of to make him straight again, including having sex with him. Despite her efforts, Dean continues to like the men folk and his parents send him to St. Mary's, a treatment facility.
As if that weren't bad enough, Mary soon finds out that she's pregnant! After loosing faith in God and in her friends, she finds some enexpected help from Cassandra (the only Jew in the school), Roland (Hillary Faye's cynical wheelchair bound brother), and Patrick (the pastor's son).

Review-- This movie is absolutely hilarious. It had me laughing from the begining. It pokes fun at the holier-than-thou attitude some Christians have and it really makes you think about some things.

Best quote:
Roland: I still don't think he's supposed to be white
Hillary Faye: Of course Jesus was white. (to Mary) Sometimes I think my brother's retarded.
rofl


That's all I have for now. Until next time, cheers.

Hmm... Movies...

Probably my favorite movie of all time would be Garden State, which is about an emotionally numb man/boy (He's technically an adult I suppose) who goes back to his hometown for his mother's funeral, and learns to live again from a girl who is a compulsive liar and an epileptic.

Another really good one is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It's just... Actually, I need to see it again because I can't recall all of it, or the exact storyline. sweatdrop And I'd hate to babble out something that ruins it, so, suffice to say, it's a great movie about love and lost memories.

Most of the rest of the movies I like are your basic nerd-boy movies: Lots of Sci-Fi/Fantasy elements. The Matrix, Constantine, Star Trek: First Contact.

And sorry, Enjy, but I hated My Own Private Idaho. gonk Which is sad, because I thought it started out brilliantly. But the end... It just lost me, at some point during their journey around the world, and the ending just... Bleh. I think too many of the story lines were too subtle, and sort of bland. Maybe it's just personal taste, though. I thought they should have focused more on the family-like bond of the father figure and his "boys." (Were they all prostitutes? Was he their pimp? o.O)

Aw, I adore the Princess Bride and Saved! heart

Also, I just loved Mulan and The Prince of Egypt as well. And That Darn Cat the old version only is quite amusing, but some may not like how slow it seems to run, for it is an old fashioned mystery movie in the style of Alfred Hitchcock.

Mulan is the story of a Chinese girl, who decides to steal her father's army uniform and sword and impersonate a man, so her father will not have to go to war against the Huns. Why does she does this? Her father is crippled and can barely walk without pain so he would no doubt not survive a battle, and since one male from each household must join the army, she realizes that this is the only way she can save her father. And so it tells the story of how a young girl, named Mulan, enters the army, goes to battle, and in a moment of despair, witnesses something that could turn the tide against the invaders. Excellent movie for it contains humor and beautiful songs as well as a well-told storyline.

Prince of Egypt is a beautiful rendition of Moses story starting from his birth to the point where he leads the Israelites to safety on the opposite side of the Red sea. The movie focuses on how Moses felt during all of this, and on the relationship between Moses and his adopted brother (who has become the Pharaoh once Moses returns from his long sojourn in the desert). It is an incredible remake of that Biblical tale, and I highly recommend everyone here to watch it.

That Darn Cat is centered around a tabby who roams the town at will, but mostly lives with this girl and her sister. The cat follows a guy with fish, who enters an apartment through a hidden back stairs. Inside, one finds a kidnapped woman and stolen money. The cat sniffs the fish, and while the woman is told to make the fish for dinner, under gunpoint, she proceeds to pet the cat, put her watch on the kitty with help half scratched onto its back, before her kidnappers realize she's paying far too much attention to that cat.

This watch is noticed by the girl, who with her overactive imagination contacts the FBI. A federal agent, who is allergic to cats, is sent to investigate the first lead in days. When it doesn't pan out at first since the cat, called D.C for Darn Cat, the girl proceeds to come up with a scheme to get the federal agent involved again, for she is positive DC is connected with the kidnapped woman somehow. It's quite the bundle of laughs! And I must say that Hayley Mills and Dean Jones are wonderfully cast.

I also highly recommend The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe that just recently came out in theaters this past year. It is true to the book and beautifully done. The cast was well picked (the Pevensies looked exactly like I thought they would!) and the music is spectacular! I shouldn't have to describe the plot for I assume most of you have read the Chronicles of Narnia. If not, go read them now! It is essential to one's life!

Of course, Sound of Music is a must. It tells the tale of Maria, a girl who planned to be a nun, but was too energetic, and so to help discern her vocation, the Mother Abbess sends her to be a governess to a retired Captain, who rules his household with strict rules that allow for no exceptions. Maria's spirited and affectious personality soon begins to change this, but disaster is on the horizon, for the Nazis are slowly penetrating into Austria, and soon the family may have to make a deadly choice.

Although I am sure all of you have heard of this story, I couldn't resist a dramatic summary. xd Besides one must see it just to hear Julie Andrews and especially the Mother Abbess sing their songs. Absolutely astounding.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is CGI film, which is spectacular in graphics and a fairly good plotline as well. Here is the summary from the back of the DVD: "The year is 2065AD. The Earth is infested with alien spirits, and mankind faces total extinction. Led by a strange dream and guided by her mentor, Dr. Sid, scientist Aki Ross struggles to collect the eight spirits in the hope of creating a force powerful enough to destroy the alien presence and pure enough to protect the planet. With the aid of the Deep Eyes Squardron, Aki must sve the Earth from its darkest hate and unleash the spirits within."

So the summary is a little dorky, but the movie is very, very good especially for a science fiction film that was created from the Final Fantasy Video Game Franchise.

Also Hayao Miyazaki films are a MUST watch. Especially: Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Howl's Moving Castle. If anyone would like, I can post more detailed reviews of these movies later. wink

Back in July, I watched Thunderbirds, which is a cute family movie that deals with superheros. But not the kind that has inherent superpowers. No, these superheros are a lot like Batman in the sense they created their gadgets, spaceships, and secret home on a remote island. It's an interesting movie, and I found it highly entertaining. I think what impressed me was the unique take on rescuing ~ I liked the idea of the spaceships and the gadgets they used. The family of superheros is not really original, for it's been done many times before, but this movie gave a fresh outlook since without their gadgets and spaceships, the family is pretty much helpless. I think the character that simply stole the show was Lady Penelope. She is their English contact, who not only has a ton of fun gadgets, a hilarious butler, and amazing karate skills but a great wit. Her lines are simply priceless. The story itself centers on the youngest kid of the Tracy family (the Thunderbirds) ~ Alan, who is still in school and yearning to be a Thunderbird like his older brothers and father. He has a nerdy, science friend, whose father is the scientist who monitors all the gadgets, spaceships, island, and spacestation through the control room. The third main character is the daughter of the housekeepers, who has quite the secret ~ a secret which saves everyone's butts in the end. Alan only wants a chance to prove himself, but his father says he's not ready yet ~ especially after Alan performs a really dumb stunt with the one of the Thunderbirds. The plot thickens when an old acquaintance of the father shows up for revenge. Sure, it was a tad corny at times, but that's to be expected for a family movie.

Next in line was Sky High produced by the Disney Studios. Alright, I admit it, when I first saw this movie I thought it would be terrible. I mean, it's Disney, right? Some of their movies can be just plain terrible. And the blurb on the back spoke about Wil, the son of the two greatest superheros on Earth, and how he heads to superhero school. The catch? Wil doesn't seem to have any superhero powers. Doesn't sound like much does it? Well, I changed my view when I saw the movie. I was floored by the well-written script, it was plain brilliant. All the superhero and high school cliches you can think of were used in this movie and then turned on their head. Even the usual cliche of disappointed father appeared. The script just reveled in great one-liners, brilliant metaphors and I'm beginning to think there's some sort of subtle joke in every name and every action performed. The actors were just right for their roles, and there were moments when you literally burst into laughter. Actually, I was laughing the entire way through ~ it's definitely become one of my favorites. If you've ever seen a high school flick, then you know what to expect: boy and his friend (that's a girl) goes to high school; boy meets really popular and cute girl and falls for her; the best friend discovers she's in love with the boy after the boy starts to "accidentally" ignore her; boy is stupid and doesn't realize the popular, cute girl is manipulating him and destroying his friendship with the best friend; boy has rude awakening, dumps popular girl, and desperately tries to contact best friend who he now realizes he loves passionately; and so forth. The difference this movie has with all other high school flicks? The superhero aspect, which involves some pretty ingenious satire on heros and sidekicks and high school life in general, plus the unique twist at the end where you learn the popular girl's secret. The final battle between the villian, Wil, and his friends is simply hilarious. Honest. I don't want to give it away, for it's way more fun to be surprised at just what this evil villian has in mind for the superhero high school and Wil's parents. If you want a movie that will send you rolling and surprise you ~ even with its deceptive generic plot ~ rent this movie! ^_^

House of Flying Daggers, in all honesty, had me confused, freaked, and depressed all at once. If any of you has seen Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon, this movie is in the same vein: romantic tragedy. It helps to go in knowing this movie will not be happy. I have yet to see a Chinese movie that does end happily and makes it to the international scene. Now I must admit, I have yet to see Hero, but from the review I've read, it also is a tragedy ~ though a few friends admitted it was a tad more humorous than some of the other movies Zhang Yimou directed. Since I've only seen two of his movies, I really can't say how well this movie compares to some of his others. I can say this: the movie begins with an explanation of who the House of Flying Daggers are and why they existed, so you are left with the illusion that this movie chronicles either their existence or their last stand or something. What you get is entirely different. You meet the three main characters almost right away: Mei, Leo, and Jin, but only one of these characters doesn't have a secret. The story is pretty much this: It's 859AD and the Tang dynasty is in decline mostly because the Emperor is incompetent and the government corrupt. This is why the House of Flying Daggers came to be ~ to end the corruption. Captain Leo and Jin, who is his second in command, suspect one of the dancers at the Peony Pavalion to be the lost blind girl who was the daughter of the former leader of the House of Flying Daggers. Sounds confusing? It only gets better ~ The pair conspire to capture her and question her, yet once accomplished, they devise a bizarre, risky plan, to free her and follow her to the House of Flying Daggers. This is where the plot of the story falls apart. The story itself was weak to begin with, and as the movie progresses the plot swiftly fades away and vanishes. What saves the movie is the beautiful scenery, the amazing soundtrack, and the spectacular fight scenes. Honest, this movie is worth watching for that alone. I've got to warn you ~ there is a battle in a bamboo forest, and this is simply awesome. It's far better than the tree battle in Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon. I recommend watching it just for the breath-taking scenery, the awe-inspiring music, and superb fight scenes. Just be warned: the plot pitters out only thirty minutes into the movie (perhaps even earlier for I was distracted by the fight scenes) and it morphs into a wanna-be love fest (that thankfully enough didn't reveal too much ~ but then I did hold a pillow in front of my face for most of those "sensual/sexual" scenes). Want my full honesty? I didn't really like it ~ but I wouldn't mind having the soundtrack someday.

I could write a review on Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon, but am feeling far too lazy now after having written all of the above.

Zathura is a movie I recently watched since I was curious about all the hype that had surrounded it. It is just a space version of Jumanji except it lacked the humor of Robin Williams. It's really just two young kids bickering the entire time. The only redeeming feature is the astronaut that floats into the scene halfway through, for the identity of the astronaut is the best twist of the entire movie. If you can tolerate the bickering, it'll be a great surprise.

I've always wanted to watch A Clockwork Orange, but I was always told I was too young. ¬¬

I should read this thread more often, but I'm out of sync with film; I watch what I can afford in time and money - it's usually for my classes than anything else. Hm.