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.