The Dark Knight

For those of you who are big Batman fans, I'm sure you all loved Batman Begins and are eagerly anticipating (like yours truly here) the release of the next Batman movie, which happened to be the late Heath Ledger's final movie before he passed away last January.

Anyway, while surfing on YouTube this evening I came across this full trailer for the upcoming The Dark Knight movie. Heath was almost unrecognizable as the Joker in this movie! And his acting...oh man, talk about a method actor who does get way too deep into his character! His "Joker" was more psychotically scary than Jack Nicholson's "Joker" in the first Batman movies back in the early '90!

I'm glad to see that aside from Christian Bale (who reprised his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman), Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman were back into the skin of their 'old' characters from Batman Begins.

I guess we'll be seeing a helluva lot MORE action in this latest Batman movie installation. And I'm so glad this franchise was revived. I have to say that after Batman Forever I kinda lost interest in the franchise. George Clooney was nice to ogle at and so was Chris O'Donnell when they did Batman & Robin back in '97, but honestly the storyline went flat. I think that movie was made for the sake of...well, for the sake of showing off George and reminding the public about everyone's favourite billionaire avenger.

4 Movies in 2 Weeks

The one thing I really enjoyed when I was asked to house-sit by my brother while he and his family went on their much anticipated vacation this month was the freebie movies I watched thanks to his satellite dish! These new movies that I wouldn't have watched ASAP if it hadn't been shown on TV for free sure helped me pass the time while I was home-alone.

I dunno about Amanda Bynes, but I think she's being typecast as the goody-two-shoes heroine in most teeny-bopper movies such as Sydney White, a spinoff of the popular Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs tale.

In this version, Amanda's character is Sydney White who got accepted at her mother's old college and was asked to attend the same sorority her mother became a part of. Things were looking great for her; she passed the 'hazing' part, but like in the original Snow White story, the evil witch (this time the role was given to Sara Paxton who played the character of 'Rachel Witchburn') set out to ruin her chance, thus thrusting our poor Sydney out of the sorority house and right in to the Vortex (the home of the 7 'geeky losers' who happen to live in Greek Lane).

Matt Long's a very charming Prince Charming and the movie's not without its funny moments. Actually all the funny moments were spot-on and before you knew it, the movie's coming to an end. And like in all movies, this one ended with a Happily Ever After for Sydney, her 'dwarfs' and of course her Prince Charming. As for Rachel Witchburn...she didn't fall off the cliff like in the Disney version of Snow White, but she was ousted as the Leader of the sorority clan she'd been a part of since her first year at the university.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made a name for himself during his stint as pro-wrestler The Rock in the WWE. Now I don't really know the story behind him entering the movies and leaving his pro-wrestling career behind, but I have to say that of all pro-wrestlers who jumped ship (wrestling to acting, that is), Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson can act!

Playing quarterback Joe Kingman in The Game Plan, he was believable as this egotistic rich player who was so selfish he wants to be on the spotlight all the friggin' time, but when a scene a few minutes in to the movie called for some serious moments, he was able to convey without words what his character was feeling: alone inspite of his partying ways. But there's a surprise in store for Joe in the form of Peyton, his estranged eight-year-old daughter who showed up at his door.

Suddenly Joe's life was turned upside-down, and his "man card" was stolen without him knowing it. He was still the tough-guy who wants all the glory, but we see him loosen up and enjoy life with his daughter.

The movie was filled lots of laugh-out-loud moments and the ballet concert scene was phenomenal! I mean, who wouldn't want to see a hunka-piece-of-meat like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson wear tights?!

I wasn't really sure if I wanted to watch this movie or not. Sure I was captivated by it when I saw the trailer in theater while waiting for one of the last few movies I was able to watch in theaters. But the story fascinated me and, well, I was bored one night and this movie was just starting so I decided to watch it.

All I can say is Sienna Miller's not as "all that" nor was she an impressive actress. But she did manage to make me hate her character in this movie because she was just using poor Tristan.

Michelle Pfeiffer was gorgeous and great as the evil witch. She's got playing the villain part down path. Who would've thought that the sweet, innocent lady from LadyHawke would turn up to be this conniving, hearthless witch who's after the heart of a fallen star???

Robert de Niro was awesome, as usual. I mean, playing a crossdressing captain of a pirate ship wasn't that easy to pull. And his comedic timing was flawless.

Charlie Cox and Claire Danes looked perfect together!

Since this is a fairy tale/fantasy story, all the elements of magic -- black magic, white magic and everything in-between -- was abundant, as well as the fallen star who turned out to be a beautiful young woman whose heart became the prime target of three aging witches. It was an adventure-filled ride and you wouldn't be bored (I thought I would be before I watched it, but turns out it wasn't that bad).

When I saw the preview for this movie I wasn't exactly sure what this movie was about. I mean, I kinda got the gist of what it was about, but the whole concept of it was too...well, it was too darn confusing for me, IMO!

Anyway, the story was a good one. Interesting and the way it was told kept the audience on his or her toes. It flashes back between the present and the past, explaining how young Evan Taylor (played by the cute and talented Freddie Highmore) came into this world.

Both his parents were musically inclined. Lyla (Keri Russell) was a Julliard grad celllist; Louis (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) was the lead singer and guitarist for an up and coming rock band. Lyla & Louis met by chance while they were in New York and had a one-night-stand. They were supposed to meet again, but Lyla's father (played by William Saddler) dashed that chance and sent his daughter back to Chicago where she found out she was expecting, but since her father wanted her to become a successful cellist, unbeknownst to his daughter he put his grandson up for adoption but told his daughter that her son didn't survive.

Eleven years later and the lives of Evan, Lyla and Louis will cross once again and it would be because of the music resonating from within them that would bring them together. Robin Williams played the bad guy in this movie who wanted to exploit child prodigy Evan, thus renaming him August Rush and wanted all the profits from his talents. His comeuppance was justly served and...well, although the ending wasn't that great, still, you know it ended happily for the trio.

What's the Secret in BONES????

I finally got my hands on the first 2 seasons of the Fox hit series, Bones starring former Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel star, David Boreanaz and Glory Road's Emily Deschanel.

Right off the bat I have to say that both David and Emily have a good chemistry together. Not to mention that they both look good on screen together. Plus their back-and-forth lines were just too cute to not set you giggling and rooting for them to get together. But knowing me, I don't want that to happen just yet; I want them to play it up a bit, ya know? I don't want them to hook up just yet, then later on break up and hook up again; that just makes it crap for me. It worked for the likes of Buffy and Angel, but Cole and Phoebe from Charmed? I got sick and tired of the latter's love story because the writers just doesn't know WHAT ELSE to write about!

Anyway, back to the season 1 DVD. I know I'm kinda behind in getting my hands on this, but it took me a while to find it on sale to begin with! I love collecting DVD sets of my fave TV series/shows, but unless I'm really desperate and I wanted to watch that particular season, I'd wait until there's a sale happening before I grab it!

Again, I digress. Back on to what Bones is really about and the wonderful cast of colourful characters in the series. To quote TJ Thyne ("Jack Hodges"), the Squints (Boreanaz's character, Seeley Booth, dubbed the scientists) are like one big family complete with the straight-laced Dad ("Goodman"); goody-two-shoes older sis ("Temperence Brennan"); happy-go-lucky sis ("Angela Montenegro"); worry-wart bro ("Hodges"); and the sweet and innocent little bro ("Zack Addy"). Then there's the sexy/hunky next door neighbour ("Booth") that the brothers must protect their sisters from.

I have to admit that the technical jargons used by the Squints often threw me off, especially when it was Brennan who was explaining. But thanks to such "regular folk" characters like Booth and Angela (who are both laid back and more in touch with the "real world"), some of the explanations are simplified.

I'd do an episode-by-episode review, but that will take me a while. All I can say is Season 1 of this series got me soooo hooked on the series right away that I can't wait to finish Season 2, which I also bought on sale along with the season 1 DVD.

No Reservation? No Worries...

Although the movie had its draggy moments IMO, the overall outcome of the movie was...sweet. -grins-

I am no big Zeta-Jones fan, but she's got the charm and the calibre to make me like her character, Kate, who started off as this stick-up-her-ass O.D.D.-type of character that soon had one too many things thrown in her mixing bowl that whipped her up real good; shaking the life she created for herself and allowed her to open up and welcome a somewhat eccentric Italian-loving Sous Chef (Aaron Eckhart) and a recently orphaned, out-of-place niece, Zoe (Abigail Breslin), whom Kate hadn't seen in years.

The events of the accident that led to Zoe living with Kate wasn't dealt with, but I believe it was safe to assume that Zoe and her mother, Christine, were involved in a nasty car accident en route to visiting Kate in New York.

I have to say that my most favourite part was when Kate took out a RAW steak and slammed it on the annoying customer's table. The annoying guy kept on complaining that the steak wasn't raw enough; well of course our temperamental Kate, who's been going through a lot, has had enough and served it to him raw -- to the delight of what I believed to be annoyed patrons of the restaurant as well.

Kate's vulnerability was present the entire time; right from the opening scenes even though she was putting up this facade of a tough-as-nails Top New York Chef. She avoids relationships and committments; she lives her life hassle free and lonely, IMO, but she get by. But after the major turning point in her life (her sister's death and her taking custody of her orphaned niece), we see her struggle to adjust and make amends and...I was satisfied with the way Kate's transformation was shown and how she was handling her equally vulnerable niece.

I kinda predicted that Zoe will be the one responsible for getting Kate and Nick (Eckhart) together, but hey, who could not predict that in any movie of this genre, huh?

Overall No Reservation wouldn't be a waste of your video rental money.

Step Up 2 The Streets (Movie Soundtrack)

I know I've been reviewing nothing but movies lately, but today, however, I'm taking a break from giving you my 2 cents about certain movies I've seen to share with you my thoughts on the latest movie soundtrack I bought.

I seldom buy CDs these days. Majority of the time I just download the songs I like. But since I bought the soundtrack to the first Step Up movie, I decided to grab the second movie's soundtrack as well and hoped that I'd end up liking more than just Flo Rida's "Low" song off the soundtrack. Well guess what? Turns out the entire album's not so bad!

From Flo Rida's "Low" to Enrique Iglesias' "Push", this soundtrack's got it all. Now I haven't seen the movie yet, but from the previews I've seen on TV I got the gist of it. If the movie was all about "street" dancing, then this soundtrack's hopping!

All 16 tracks is sure going to make your body move to the beat. And if you haven't heard Flo Rida's "Low" invading the airwaves as of late, then you better listen to it and see if the song ain't gonna make you shake yer booty!

Sliding Doors

I've seen this movie on Movie Central a few years back (like shortly after it was released on DVD), and I kinda was doing a back-and-forth with the channel this movie was on and another channel.

Anyway, the story behind this movie was nice. It was sweet and...well, the WHAT IF element was there, you know?

Sliding Doors starred Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah (best known as "Jonathan" from The Mummy movies), two complete strangers whose paths crossed one way or the other -- regardless of whether Helen (Paltrow) got on the tube or not. Of course for the latter, it took them months from the initial tube-missing incident before their paths crossed.

Gwyneth Paltrow's British accent was superb; you wouldn't think she was an American actor. Her accent was flawless. And John Hannah...man, he charmed me in The Mummy and he was fitting as James in this movie. Very sweet. Very charming. Very...well, he embodied the whole MR. RIGHT package, except you know he was also hiding something from her.

Now I won't go on and on about what happened in the movie. If you've seen this movie already, then you know that the story was simultaneously told from BOTH of Helen's POV (her life when she got on the tube and her life when she missed the tube), and her life when she got on the tube was better than her life when she missed the tube, but in the end everything she went through in her POV when she missed the tube was what (IMO) shaped her to become the person she was when she caught the tube.

Confused?

Don't be.

Just watch the bloody movie! It's a good one. And the soundtrack's not bad either.

27 Dresses

For those of you who've been to one too many weddings and always end up as part of the entourage, you'll empathize with Jane (Katherine Heigl).


At a very early age she realized that helping others during the most important milestone of their life was her gift. She was the perfect Maid of Honor/Bridesmaid/Wedding Planner. And not only that, Jane had a habit of not being able to say "No" even if she really, really wanted to.


She was that kinda really nice girl, ya know? She's a pleaser. Some might call her a pushover. But really, she just wants to help out and see others happy because, hey, she's a romantic at heart and even though she knew she'd never walk down the aisle after all the entourage had gone, at least she made the bride happy; but deep down inside, that romantic in her wished and hoped for her moment to shine and see the face of the man she was to marry looking at her all besotted and crazy in love with her.


Now ain’t that every girl’s fantasy? To see the man of their dreams waiting for them at the end of the aisle as their mother and father walk down the aisle with them to be given away to the man she’d be promising her ever after to?


The movie started off with Jane being fitted for a wedding gown, but turns out she was standing-in for the actual bride who was freaking out because her gown needed some last-minute alteration. Fastforward to the actual ceremony and we see Jane sneaking a peak at her wristwatch. This is also when we'll see Kevin (James Marsden) noticing this peculiar behavior from one of the bridesmaids; she looked like she couldn’t' wait to get outta there.


Anyway, I won't be spoiling the rest of the movie for you. All I can say is even though it was predictable who will end up with who in the end (because really, a movie like this rarely ends up with the heroine being with the man she's been madly in love with since the beginning of the film!), the twist concerning Jane's sister Tess and her boss, George, sure was wrapped up nicely. I was highly miffed at Tess and the way she took advantage of everything to get things her way, but the lesson Jane taught her baby sister, no matter how juvenile and below-the-belt sorta, was understood loud and clear.


I think that gave Tess a wake-up call in the end and made her a better person.


Overall this movie was a GREAT chick-flick-date-movie! Girls you'd love it and the Benny and the Jetts scene was just awesome. James and Katherine had chemistry, especially when Jane had to parade around her apartment in her 27 bridesmaids dresses for Kevin's entertainment.

P.S. I....

I knew before I walked in to the theater to watch P.S. I Love You with my friends that this movie is going to be one chick-flick tear-jerker.

Little did I know that I'd be crying practically right from the very beginning!

Well, okay, so I know that Gerard Butler's character was already dead in this movie and that his widow, Hilary Swank, was left to pick up the pieces of her life and move on. But flashbacks of their times together, seen through Holly's (Swank) memories and... -sighs- OK, how can you not fall for a rogue romantic Irishman, huh? I mean, jeezums! Not only was Gerry (Butler) oozing with charm, he was also the epitome of every woman's dream guy!

Sure he says things without thinking about it at first, and he's ever the patient of men who really, really loves his wife so much hence why he schemed a plan to help her get on and continue on living even though the chapter of his life has already ended.

There were a few chuckle-worthy moments in the film, but the whole point of the movie, IMO, is that Gerry doesn't want Holly to stop living the life she was supposed to live. He wanted her to find that niche of hers; he wanted her to be successful, and even though he did it in a morbid sort of way (OK, receiving a birthday cake on your 30th bday signed with your deceased husband's name would creep anybody out), but to me it all seemed romantic. Not to mention the accompanying tape recorder with a message for his wife. Gerry was conversing with Holly almost when he recorded that message; it showed just how much he knew his wife so well and anticipated her answers.

I left the theater wondering where I'm going to find my Gerry or if ever I'm going to find someone like him...

Ladies, if you want a feel-good movie that will make you yearn for that something more, then THIS is the movie I suggest you watch with your current beau.

And Guys? It never hurts to be a romantic every once in a while...

Happy New Year!

Oh wow...I can't believe we're already in Day 4 of 2008! Time sure is flying fast, eh?

OK, no reviews for this post, but hey, it's Friday today and I ain't got much planned for this weekend. Maybe I'll load myself up with movies galore and watch all those DVDs I bought on sale but never got the time to watch OR actually drag my lazy arse off to the theater and watch a new-release flick. We'll see.

Hope everybody had a safe and joyous new year! More updates in later blog posts...