Most of us would probably say that we have faith in a higher-being and whether you call him Jesus or any other name I bet that if he came down and told you to build an Ark you would be like; “Yeah right”.  That is the surface story of “Evan Almighty”. 

This is a great family movie that really surprised me.  Not being a big Steve Carell fan I just wasn’t expecting much but being a big Morgan Freeman fan I thought what the hay.  I soon found both were very good at this movie.  A story about a politician that wants to change the world but isn’t prepared for God to come down and tell him to build an ark and being a workaholic this is not the way that he is looking to make a difference.  But as the movie goes on he learns that to make a difference all you have to really do is “Acts of Random Kindness” or “ARK”.

If you have young ones this is a great movie to own or rent often.  They will love all the animals and the random comedy and you will like the story of family togetherness and helping others.  I will warn you that there are a ridiculous amount of extras.  It was almost too many for me.  There are bloopers and like seven featurettes if not more.  It is two pages of extras so if you decided to give them a look through be prepared to send almost the same amount of time on them as you did on the movie.

Evan is definitely a recommend movie.  This is a great addition for your collection.  Just think of buying it as an act of God.

Post from: EveryJoe

Evan Almighty is Almighty Family Fun

 

We all remember where we were on 9/11.  We remember what we were doing, where we were going, and especially how we felt watch our nation under attack.  However, there are so many that remember that day for other reasons.  That was the day that they lost their husbands, wives, children, sisters, brothers, and best friends.  But that is not the point of “Reign Over Me”.

True it does start out as a looking like a story about a man that lost his whole family during the attacks but by the end of the film you understand that at its heart it is just a movie about friendship. 

This was a superbly acted movie by both Adam Sandler, who I have to admit I wasn’t sure could pull of drama, and Don Cheadle.  Both men bring a humanity to their characters and a sense of watching your friend go through what they are living through.  Although this film does have some fantastic supporting ladies, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, and Saffron Borrows, the story is so centered around the two guys that they do get a little lost in the movie.  Still this is one that you should definitely check out.

The best extra was a jam session between Sandler and Cheadle’s characters.  They are both sitting there playing guitar and making up this crazy lyrics and it is really fun.  It gives you a chance to see the chemistry that they brought to these characters and why you really believe them as friends.

I’m still not sure if this is a keeper or just a renter but I do know that I enjoyed it and if you get a chance you should pick it up and just let in reign over you and see.

Post from: EveryJoe

Reign is Raining Talent

 

Jason Bourne is back. 

If you saw any of this trilogy you know that mean there will be lots of fighting, stunts, and a crap load of killing.  With Ultimatum they don’t disappoint. 

Matt Damon reprises his role as the troubled, memory lost secret agent in this “last” installment of the series.  In this movie he is search to find out who he was before he became Jason Bourne; a quest that leads him half way around Europe and back to the US. 

If you are familiar with the series you will notice faces you have seen before.  Joan Allen is back as Pam Landy and there is a really short scene with Marie’s brother from the first Bourne movie.  The biggest or at least most interesting comeback is Julia Stiles and Nicky Parsons.  The direction that they take the relationship of Nicky and Bourne I missed in the last two movies and might just have to go back and watch them again.

Over all it was a Bourne movie; plan and simple.  There was entertainment and brooding and fighting and a conspiracy and all the normal plots that make up the Bourne experience.  I can’t really say that I like it better than any of the others but it was just as fun as both Identity and Supremacy.

There were one or two interesting extras including a commentary by the director that didn’t bore me to tears.  Granted he is just talking about his vision for the movie and a few parts here and there but it was over all kinda interesting.

In short I would add it my collection but I liked both Identity and to a lesser point Supremacy.  So if you are a Bourne fan this will definitely complete your collection; at least until Damon has no other movie prospects and decides to do one more.  You never know.

Post from: EveryJoe

The Bourne Ultimatum is the Ultimate in Action

 

Although not a big Diane Lane fan I was persuaded to rent “Under the Tuscan Sun” a few days ago.  I must admit that although the person that recommended it to me has rarely steered me wrong I was a little less than thrilled with this suggestion.  Not that I think she can’t act and since I was recently pleasantly surprised with “Untraceable” I decided not to bemoan their selection to much and just watch the dang movie.

Let me set the premise for you.  A lady finds out that her husband has cheated and basically looses almost everything.  Because they are worried about her some friend send her on a “Gay” tour of Tuscany to help her get over this point in her life and while there she impulsively buys a Tuscan Villa and decides to move.  Sound pretty far fetched if I had asked me.  However, it isn’t.  Yes, most people wouldn’t do what she does or for that matter have the money to do what she does but this story is artfully written so that you understand not only why she does it but why it turns out to be the best decision she could ever have made.

Plus they keep you guessing as to if this is a romantic movie or an uplifting one and I would hazard to say that even in the end your still not sure if it can be categorized as one or the other or both.  Over all the story will touch you and you will find yourself feeling her struggles (especially if you have ever been hurt before) and joy.  I mean after all who hasn’t done something foolish and it accidentally worked out? 

Extras where a little less enjoyable for me.  There was a commentary from the director but it really started to put me to sleep.  One person doing a commentary just isn’t the same as a group.  To me it comes out as a little more like narration but that is strictly my opinion.

In short if you like movies that can make you think and open your eyes to some things in your life you might want to change this might be the movie for you.  And if not you still might enjoy the sunsets and atmosphere of the movie.

Post from: EveryJoe

Fun in The Sun

 

Yes everyone is so excited for Nicole Kidman right now with the birth of her baby girl so as a fun tribute I decided to rent “Golden Compass”.  I’m not really sure what I was expecting but I am pretty sure that I didn’t get it.

If you’re not familiar; the basic premise is that there are many different worlds that are barely separated.  In this particular world people walk around with their souls in the form of animals that they call demons.  At the center of this story are of course Nicole Kidman’s character, Mrs. Coulter, and a spunky little girl named Lyra portrayed by Dakota Blue Richards. 

I had to major problems with this movie.  While entertaining I couldn’t tell whether Kidman’s character was really the villain you feel they are trying to make her out to be and if it was really a children’s movie then shouldn’t it be a little more child themed?  Don’t get me wrong I think the kiddies will like it if for no other reason all the animals talk and the heroine is a little girl but some of the wording and themes just seemed a little adult to me. 

Plus I know one of the new things is to leave you hanging for the sequel (think Lord of the Rings) but I like for my movies to well end at the end.  I appreciate that Hollywood is looking to make as much as they can from a story they feel could be a franchise but after 2 plus hours watching a movie I don’t the feeling like I’m stuck waiting a year to two for who knows what.  I feel like I wasted my time and should have just waited and done it in one 4 hour lump sum.  If you do the math it just makes more sense.  4 hours or 2 hours plus 395 days at 24 hours per day equal more than I care to count and at least I would know the real end (unless they are going for three movies instead of two).

As far as extras I didn’t get any.  Once again I think it is because it was a two disc special edition and of course I only got one and my local rental store which is another blog altogether. 

So my advice is that if you have kids this might be one that you would like to buy but unless you are just a big Kidman fan or really liked the story then renting is the way to come out golden.

Post from: EveryJoe

The Golden Compass Is Great But Not Quite Golden

 Okay so gas prices are peaking over $4.00 a gallon and more and more people are getting laid off; what is a girl to do? Why not take a job at a federal reserve bank and steal a few million just to get by? Sound like a plan to me or at the least a fun movie and that is what you get with “Mad Money”.

Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, and Katie Holmes are great in this light entertaining movie. Keaton plays a housewife whose husband gets downsized and has to find a job to keep them from loosing their home. After taking a job as janitor for one of the federal reserve banks she realizes that there is a way to steal money that is about to be shredded and hatches a plan that includes Latifah and Holmes. Together they steal an undisclosed amount of money that even at the end you’re still not sure how much it was.

This was actually better than I assumed it would be. I had heard all the different reviews of “I loved it” or “It’s stupid” and so I really didn’t know what to expect but I have to say that I am in the “love it” camp. It had me laughing and thoroughly entertained and as someone who use to work in a bank I actually found the story a little plausible. I’m not recommending anyone try it at home but I could see how it might be able to happen. Plus in the extras there is a behind the scenes featurette where someone mentions that the story was based loosely on a true story about a group of women stealing money from the Bank of London some years ago.

Speaking of extras, there weren’t as many as I like to see but there was a commentary with the director that I have to say I found a little boring. Still if you find that you have a little “Mad Money” tucked away somewhere this might not be a bad splurge. If nothing else you might get a little vocational advice but if asked you didn’t hear it from me.

Post from: EveryJoe

Mad Money is Mad Fun

 

I might be the only one that wasn’t a big fan of “Little Miss Sunshine” but even though I didn’t love the movie something in it did capture my heart.  A little bit of sunshine names Abigail Breslin and she has continued to melt it ever since.

And so it goes with “Definitely, Maybe” which is a cute story about a dad that through a quirky mix of events ends up telling his daughter the story of how he met her mother.  The story becomes a little more complicated because of course there is more than one woman.

This movie does boost good performances out of everyone from Ryan Reynolds to Rachel Weisz.  And Isla Fisher is just as lovable as she was in “The Wedding Crashers”.  Yet I wish that there had been a little more comedy for her to sink her teeth in.  Still there is really nothing bad I could say about script or movie.

The extras were the standard behind the scenes that we are all getting use to.  There is a rather fun commentary from the director and Reynolds.

I would say that this is a great movie to pick up if and if you love that little sunshine like I do then this is definitely, maybe one that you need to add to your collection.

Post from: EveryJoe

Definitely Maybe Could Be Definitely Worth It

 

Titantic might have been long but at least it was interesting.  However, I am not sure I can say the same for “Marie Antoinette”.  Although it might only be a few minutes over two hours I think “Gladiator” felt shorter.

Of course everyone should know the story of Marie Antoinette as the queen of France but this is the behind the scenes story of her life as queen.  After coming off just seeing “The Other Boleyn Girl” I was psyched to see this story, but about half an hour into it that was about when the excitement died and really so did the story.  Kirsten Dunst does do an adequate job of trying to bring Antoinette to life but she has little material to work with.  As far as story goes the only real high point was waiting to see how long it would take for her and the prince to consummate their marriage.

As far as extras there are a few interesting featurettes.  One is even titled something like “Cribs of the King” or something close and it shows the set up close.  But pass that one and a number of trailers there isn’t much left.

So unless you are a huge Kirsten Dunst fan this might be one DVD that you might want to skip, but if you are just looking for a boost in your French history I would suggest a history class or at the very least a good book.

Post from: EveryJoe

Can A Movie Be Longer Than A Life?

 

I generally as a rule am not impressed with made of tv movies.   To me they tend to lack a little something that you normally get from a big screen adventure.  Maybe it’s the fact that I always feel like they are trying to teach me something and are a little “after-school special”.

But when I saw “The Librarian: Quest for the Spear” (TNT) I thought what the hay.  I mean I was at the library and it was free to rent so if it was bad at least the only thing I would be out of was 2 hours and we have all done that.  So I went ahead and checked it out based heavily on the fact that I like Noah Wyle and was startling surprised.  It was actually good.

There are funny parts and the action was surprisingly natural and although they do throw a little romance in just for effect they give you a little twist with it.  The story is a little far-fetched but I guess that is why they don’t call it a documentary.

Extras were a lacking to me but I guess that could be because at the end of the day it is a TV/Cable movie. 

I would so recommend this to any Indiana Jones or Mummy fans.  You might find a new favorite.  I know I did.

Post from: EveryJoe

The Librarian is Full of Surprises

 

Okay so I am like to only person on the planet that just saw “Juno”.  I know I am so behind the times but there you have it and I will say that after seeing it I am missing some of the hype.  Yes it was good and yes I enjoyed it, but it was like most good movies.  Good. 

If you’re like me then let me give you a brief overview.  “Juno” is about a teenage girl, Ellen Page, who finds out that she is pregnant.  Her first thought is to terminate the pregnancy but then decides to give it up for adoption.  She finds a couple, Jennifer Gardner and Jason Bateman, through an ad in a small local paper and the rest is basically the story of her next nine months.  All of the actors give excellent performances and Ellen Page does a wonderful job driving the story.  However, I am not really sure that I thought it should have been an Oscar contender.    

As far as extras go there was a lot of info and a fun gag reel.  So if this is one of your favorites you definitely are going to want to go and pick this one up.  And if in fact I am not the only one that hasn’t seen it then go and rent it.  You are at least guaranteed at least some entertainment.

Post from: EveryJoe

Do You Know Juno?