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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was terrific way to celebrate Virginia's birthday. The movie reminded me of the depth of characters in the book, I remembered completely the emotion that was traversed by the story. I remembered that Harry and his friends were going through the terrible teenage phase, that they just discovered dating, and that Harry has his closest brush with death so far. I really enjoyed the beautiful Special Effects, and as always, the depictions of life as a wizard were quite thrilling. I loved watching Viktor Krum's entrance during the World Wizarding Tournament, and even Weeping Myrtle's dialogue with Harry was exciting. This movie was more international than most, and it was nice to see all these other cultures who could have wizards. Although people said the Vilas were nowhere near as hot as they were to have been in the book, I felt that characters embodied by Viktor Krum and Cedric Diggory were just as handsome/self-possessed as they were i...

Ong-Bak was a truly inspiring movie. The fighting scenes were more awesome than in any other movie I've ever scene. Tony Jaa was so quick, and the moves were so deadly! It didn't matter that they didn't speak english or that thai sounds so peaceful, in contrast to the movie. His moves were superfastdeadlycool. I didn't want to blink, for missing any of the action. Although it was a *little* gory at bits, I felt that the story was pretty good, and there was a lot of dramatic twists to keep me going. Loved the car chase scene, and also the unexpected ways he would thwart his enemies. This is a must see for martial arts enthusisasts. :) F'n awesome!

We got to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at LSC some time ago. It was awesome. Johnny Depp is a terrific Charlie, and I liked everything they did. Although the old version is still pretty good, the newer version is a lot hipper, and I'm glad the story is more "adult" than "child oriented". The kids they got to play the brats were hilarious. I found myself falling out of my chair because Augustus Gloop was so funny, and that hilarious Verucca Salt. The evil looking Violet and her equally grownup, but fiercely competitive Mom. All Funny! The Oompa Loompa was also a neat surprise. I loved the part with the Administrative secretary. LOL!

Saw Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) with a few friends. It was definitely fun, and although a bit "cliche", I really enjoyed it. The concept of bunny heaven, a were-rabbit, and a town with a "giant vegetable" competition had me in stitches. The funniest character, other than the main folks, was the crazy priest (blessing the vegetables) and his hysteria, "We've brought this upon ourselves!" Gromit ROXXX. He is the pinnacle of cool, and the ultimate engineer-dog. He's got the best facial features, and his eyebrows are SO expressive. Go Gromit! Wouldn't we all want to be as kick-ass as Gromit?! He sure handles everything with aplomb and good spirit. He's also got the nicest pounce (see left)!

Sahara was very enjoyable. I loved the Panama scene, and the hilarious hijinx the two guys get up to. Penelope Cruz doesn't say a lot, but I guess most of the dialogue was between Al and Dirk. Their attitudes r0xx0r. I also enjoyed the improbable heroic acts of Dirk. Wow! His friend is also so loyal and capable, and FUNNY! Sahara's offical movie site.

Also saw Shallow Hal was cool because it was a beautiful story about a guy growing up. Hal started as a completely shallow and self-centered person, who has never loved anyone. he evolves into a selfless caring person who would follow the woman he loves around the world. It's very rare to find a romance where that's actually happened, so here's to those who follow their heart!

Saw Good Will Hunting (1997) on cable and realized it was awesome. The dialogue and character development was decent, but the acting of both Damon and Williams was terrific. On my repeat view of the movie, I felt there was always something new in the nuances of their facial features and dialogue. Good stuff!

I was able to catch Fever Pitch on the plane ride back from the UK. It was nice to see so much Red Sox stuff. Ofcourse, the romance in the plot was okay, especially because it was Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon. On one hand, it was pretty cheesy, on the other hand, the moral about having to grow up and become a functional adult was good. Not quite as tearjerking as 50 first dates, but then again, in this movie, the girl does all the work.

Ian, Tony and Matt had just finished their takedown of the RCA show, so we decided to go and see War of the Worlds . It was pretty good. I didn't like the little girl so much, or the drama with the family, either. The story could have used more character development, or more detail in any of the plot. Still, the storyline was okay and the effects were entertaining. It reminded me some of SIGNS, and at the end, Ian was sitting there with a look on his face that said "THIS IS CRAP", but that was funny. We celebrated with a great pizza feast at Ian's favorite Gloucester Road pizzeria. Cie la vie!

Jim and I caught Robots on the plane, and it was enjoyable. I had some genuine laughs, and the animation was really nice. Sure, robin williams character was a little bit over the top sometimes, and the toilet joke part was not funny, but the rest was good. I would watch it again just to see the fantastic whirlygigs and mechanical doodads. Thumbs up!

Small Soldiers (1998) was okay. I liked the mischief the soldiers got up to, and I also liked the creativity of the soldiers and soldierettes. I was surprised to see a young Kirstin Dunst in it. Jim didn't like the human bits as much as the toys doing their mischief. Still, it was a good way to pass the time.

50 First Dates (2004) was completely funny. So mushy so funny so cute, I enjoyed the ending. The Hawaiians are way cool, and the acting by Sandler and Barrymore was ultra cute. What a guy, to go through all that for her. Barrymore plays the perfect sweet, innocent, clueless girl. Yay!

Gong fu (2004) was funny. I enjoyed and had a terrific time with this parody of kung-fu action flicks. A good way to pass a saturday afternoon. The buddhist palm move and other kungfu action scenes were novel. I liked the cinematography and also the subplots between the different characters. A nice touch was that the northerners spoke in Mandarin and the southerners spoke Cantonese. The fight scenes were top notch and the ending was very cool!

Team America: World Police (2004) was enjoyable. I really liked that stupid song "America, F*CK yeah!", and all the DVD extras about how the craftsmen made the film. The film itself was okay, but after I saw the comments from the set designers and engineers, I wanted to go back to look at their handicrafts. It is unfortunate that such wonderful detail go unnoticed because of the poor quality of the script. Hopefully they could reuse those models for a better story that highlights all the special details in the physical props... kind of like Lord Of the Rings.

Closer (2004/I) was interesting, but pretty weird and mean. The story of two couples who swap due to petty, selfish, and cruel reasons is pretty bad. I can't say I understand the psychological motivations of any of the characters. There was practically no character development, so all the drama was very detached from the viewer. All of the characters were people that I wouldn't care to associate with. They had something emotional wrong with them, and they were unable to take joy in the simply being in relationshiops. The way everyone suddenly changes moods is pretty annoying, so perhaps the book was better. Still, I tend not to like plots where the main characters are mean, spiteful people.... definitely not upbeat. My friend Tad said that, "if you want to have an argument with a girl, take her to see this movie".

Blade Trinity was a disappointment. There was barely any cool fighting. The plot focused mainly on two new characters who weren't really portrayed well. Who were these people? One was a smart aleck guy who wasnt really any funny and couldn't really fight. The other was a girl who was supposed to really be a good fighter, but she was not a really strong main character. No great lines, no personality, and no character development. What was her story anyway? Did anyone really care about the little girl they were suppose to rescue, and if so, where was she in the end? What happened to Blade, and why didn't he fight a lot. He only had one really good line. There wasn't even really a plot. Ah well... at least I can say I've rounded out this collection...

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) was pretty good. There wasn't as much zombie dancing, but it was a good way to spend a few hours. My favorite part was when they dumped the smartaleck to the mass of zombies, and then the first zombie to get him was the one he shot. That was zombie justice right there. The action was okay, but it wasn't as much of a horror flick as we had expected. Then again, the humor from the LJ dude was cool "Please, my sh*t is custom!"

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) was okay. It was interesting. I couldn't hear all the stuff that happened because it was noisy. All in all, it was okay, but I bet I would have liked it better if they sped it up a little, and talked a little louder. Jim said there were a lot of interesting tensions in the book, and I agree. ALthough I couldn't really get why they had all these tensions. The characters were good, and we all liked Klaus. :)

OMG is that Orly? I didn't even recognize him in Kingdom of Heaven . I liked the information on the different cultures. I really liked Saladdin. I wish we could have been in his tent more, because the stuff going on inside where Orly was wasn't really that interesting. Saladdin kicked ass, and it would have been cool to learn more about the assassins. There wasn't really any character development, and things progressed .. or should I say, Jumped, to different levels of interaction between characters at breakneck pace. One minute two people are meeting, the next minute, they're intimate, just like that. As Jim pointed out, "condensing a 600-page historical novel into 2 hours is near impossible." Not only was this movie a little jumpy-- but what happened to Tiberius at the end (he was last seen on the donkey)? Isn't that a little important? And what was with the bald guy in the background ruining the serious shots-- was that comic relief!? Or the girl at th...

Resident Evil was Rocking! We can't wait to get the sequel. At first I was a little fretful that it would be too scary. But when they broke out the Zombie Dancing, oh-oh-oh-OH-oh, even I couldn't suppress a laugh. It was a good combo of unknown: the zombies were suprisingly quick and the Red Queen was sppooookky! The unveiling of the final character was also good. *nice work* A good fun flick. We had heard from Ray that this was good, and we were not disappointed... :) Thanks Ray!

White Chicks (2004) was okay. It wasn't as funny as I had hoped, but there were a few good bits. I liked when they were breakdancing and that's about it. There's a good bit in the car where they are getting down to some rap music, and the guy getting down in the club with the whistle. That's about it though. I think we had Nick on a suicide watch for a little bit because it was not going so well. I don't think the Wayans do a good white girl impression at all, and they don't seem to know what it is about girls in general that is funny. Maybe if they had David Alan Greer... I mean there's a lot more material out there, go see Legally Blonde or something if you want to see what's funny about blonde girls. As IF!

After the Sunset (2004) was not as good as the The tailor of Panama . The movie moved too slowly, and I really thought the main characters were both schmucks. Salma Hayek was too good for the role she had to play. Lots of gratuitous cleavage shots, for both men and women. I don't think Pierce Brosnan buttoned on a shirt the whole movie, and there was a lot of gay innuendo that would have been funnier if Roger Moore was involved. If you're looking for a story about paradise and hiding diamonds in the rough, I would recommend Boat Trip instead, because its what you do on a gay cruise. (wave hands!). Seriously, there was very little entertainment going on here, mainly because the plot really dragged on and the character development was really choppy.

All about Eve was okay. it was long, and drawn out. Lots of drama, and it was a good script. The drama wasn't all that interesting to me, personally, but it was okay. I did not like the personas in the characters very much. Think of it as "Striptease" back in the 50s.

This weekend I saw On the Waterfront . It was the first time I had seen Marlon Brando in a flick, and also the first time I really heard those famous lines. When I walked into work the next Monday, my coworkers all chimed in "I could-a been a contender, I could-a been a somebody". It was great, and really shows how a movie can be great without needing lots of highpriced action special effects. The story was terrific, and so was the drama. This is a MUST see, especially when you're getting the 5-5-5 domino pizza deal!

Tonight we have plans to see Equilibrium (2002) at Nicks. It should be fun...

For Hollywood Videos' 2fer2sdays, I rented The Bourne Supremacy :: Universal Pictures and Chronicles of Riddick. Funny thing was that both bad guys were the same Russian dude, Karl Urban . He's intense. Anyway, kewl blowbyblow action flicks. Good choices. Bourne was full of action packed running around. Jason Bourne pwns the Secret Service! :) Riddick pwns the necromongers! Doesn't everyone like a good movie with Vin Diesel. Jim thinks he was flexing for the whole movie, but maybe that's just the way he's built...

Jim's . Snowflake generator gives you the most beautiful samples. The drawing algorithm is based on the a simple set of rules of snowflake creation, akin to John Conway's Life

The New Yorker :The most insidious implication of the new system is that Rumsfeld no longer has to tell people what he’s doing so they can ask, ‘Why are you doing this?’ or ‘What are your priorities?’ Now he can keep all of the mattress mice out of it.”

The cream of the crop for movies this winter was really The Incredibles . The best thing about the movie was that the whole package was well done. It had a great plot, with lots of wonderful action and animation. The cast of characters were delightful, and the soundtrack was nice too. One interesting note about the movie was that it wasn't just completely fanciful. The characters had observations about modern life that are very valid, and they exude the values that most superheroes and superheroines would want: honor, consideration for one's loved ones, righteousness, a willing to go all out for one's family, and pride of one's strengths. I would be proud to share this movie with future generations.

Went over at Chris and Nick's to see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and it was a pretty satisfying, unique movie. I think the cliche is "those who forget their histories are destined to repeat it". The idea it brings to mind is that love hurts sometimes-- and maybe it helps you make better choices in the future. If you erase that hurt, that life lesson is lost, and you might make the same mistake again. Perhaps alot of people would get their minds erased if they are in great pain, but Jim thinks that it is really sad that people would part so easily with their memories, even if they are hard. We all agree that the best part is when Jim Carrey is knocked out and people are having a jumping party on his bed. The premise of the medical company that makes housecalls and takes over your house is pretty funny.

Virginia and I braved snow and cold to see House of Flying Daggers(Shi mian mai fu ) . It was very enjoyable, and the movie was BREATHTAKING. The plot was pretty standard, love and passion, rage and jealousy, intrigue and betrayal. I liked the kungfu ALOT. There were parts with dancing on bamboo and Ziyi Zhang dancing with long scarves that are just gorgeous and captivating. I think this one is worth owning just for their dance/fight scenes. The scenery through the hills of China are also reminiscent of Hero. However, I think the CG knife action distracts a little from the raw material of the people and landscape-- yet, it seems to fit in (just too obviously CG).

Got to see Ocean's Twelve with Jackie in Miami. It was a pretty good movie, but I think you have to watch it twice. Twelve people is a lot to keep track of. I think Brad Pitt looked really good, there were lots of glamour shots of him, and then there are lots of nice shots of other stars like Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, and George Clooney in it. Its a movie with lots of little visual vignettes, and I am SO glad that Jackie was there to explain things to me. I should have paid more attention to the dialogue, but anyway, it was good to see the famous actors and actresses enjoying their roles. It's like watching a who's who of young, trendy stars. C'est bon!

Lots of winter movies: Saw Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events ,and had to say that it was a pretty good movie. The plot jumbled up and invented stuff that didn't really happen in the books,but hey, it was just a cute movie. I really liked the style of the animations at the end, and it reminded me a lot of Edward Scissorhands-- sarcastic comedy, but really cute.... Virginia reminded me that the attack of the Lachrymose Leeches was pretty scary for a kids movie, but the sight was astounding. I liked these huge shutter windows of the lady in the Grim Grotto, and it was nice to see the fanciful settings from the stories brought to life. All in all,a good sunday afternoon!