Birthdays and Movies
|
 |
Tuesday, 26 May 09 - 04:51 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Movie Reviews |
| ||
Big movie weekend at our house. Might have been because the crud was going around and no one felt like doing much, or, because we actually had some free time this weekend, so we filled it with a family favorite of watching movies.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: I wasn't really sure what to expect out of this one, I had heard a lot of differing opinions. We watched it as a family and it was a little long (2hrs 40mins) but it didn't seem that long. Very good story and Brad Pitt does an awesome job. Again, I can see why awards were won here. A.
Taken: I'm a big James Bond fan and grew up watching all the Bond movies. The newer ones, not so much, but our oldest watched this movie before my wife and I did and he said "It's like Bond movies, only cooler". Indeed, it had a lot of action and villain butt-kicking which made it fun to watch. Really draws you in and you find yourself talking to the TV and trying to give direction. Good movie. A-
Paul Blart - Mall Cop: Good family movie, this was our second viewing, we saw it in theaters too. Fun, light hearted, family friendly. B+
Notorious: First note - NOT family friendly. No, I'm serious about that. Don't let the kids watch. But...that being said.....I knew bits and pieces of this story just from recalling the news/headlines, but this is a pretty in-depth look at his life and it was really good. As a special note, his real-life son has a role in the movie too, love that. A-
Birthdays - today is my niece's and my sister-in-laws birthday, and, was my Dad's birthday too. Happy Birthday to all! I'm still amazed that it's been 2 1/2 yrs since he died...feels like yesterday. I came into the office and my desk calendar has a quote for today:
"There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way." - Christopher Morley
You got that right, and how fitting. Miss you Dad!
Forgot one...
|
|
|
Wednesday, 20 May 09 - 03:31 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Movie Reviews |
| ||
I almost forgot - we watched Untraceable too. Good movie, pretty good action, good job keeping your interest. A little predictable in places, but overall pretty good. B+
Although, I do sometimes worry that movies are getting so advanced, so detailed, and so gripping that we are actually at risk of giving some crazies ideas. Thoughts?
Old Beer and Movies...
|
|
|
Monday, 16 March 09 - 07:12 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Movie Reviews |
| ||
Back in the 80's (or maybe it was 70's), there were beer commercials that usually involved a group of men doing something "manly" like standing in the middle of a stream fishing or wrestling alligators or something (ok, not really) and the commercial would end with a beautiful sunset, all the men around a campfire and one of them would say "Guys, it jus' dudn't git any bett'r than this!" - Maybe it was Old Milwaukee?
Anyway. It's 70 degrees here. That may not be a big deal to you depending where you are currently reading this...but it's March 16, it's Iowa, and it's 70 degrees. "It jus' dudn't git any bett'r than this!" The first "real" day of spring is always a big one - more runners, walkers, kids on bikes, dogs out for a stroll and ......MOTORCYCLES! My wife and I rode 40 miles yesterday and it's time to start riding to work again. NICE!
Movies from the weekend:
For starters, TNT was running a "Saving Private Ryan" marathon or something, so I caught bits and pieces of that on several occasions throughout the weekend - never get tired of that movie!
Also watched a good chunk of "Commando" before I fell asleep on the couch. Not bad, total 80's movie. I forgot how much movies/shows in the 80's liked their background music - overpowers the movies. I'm glad we all grew out of that phase...
But - to the movies I actually intended to watch this weekend:
"Never Back Down" - predictable....ok, VERY predictable - but good. B+ But, of course, I really like MMA, and some of the workouts they showed are some of the same stuff I've been doing at the new gym I go to - so that was fun to see.
"Changeling" with Angelina Jolie. Different than what I expected. Heartbreaking to know it is true story. A- I'd recommend it, especially if you like true stories. Not all warm/fuzzy with a feel-good ending, but life isn't always warm and fuzzy.
"Secret Life of Bees" - surprisingly - really liked this one. At first I thought - I've seen this plot line 100 times in other movies, but it quickly changes. Thought provoking -sucks you into the storyline and you find yourself really engulfed in it, not just a casual observer. A-
Weekend movie viewing....
|
|
|
Tuesday, 03 February 09 - 12:32 AM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Movie Reviews |
| ||
So, we started working our way through the full DVR this weekend.
Blades Of Glory - not my cup of tea. I swear I've seen Will Farrell do that same part in about 14 other movies. And Jon Heder - really - the Napoleon Dynamite character only goes so far....and it ain't far! Maybe 1 or 2 chuckles, but from my seat, not worth the time it took to watch.
Hairspray - actually, I was surprisingly impressed with this one. I didn't really know what it was about or what to expect, but I figured Travolta in drag couldn't be all bad, right? Good messages, entertaining, good cast, music wasn't half bad either. I liked it.
On a lighter note...
|
|
|
Friday, 30 January 09 - 03:22 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Movie Reviews |
| ||
We took the kids and went to see "Paul Blart, Mall Cop" last weekend.
We're big (no pun intended) Kevin James fans and we'll be seeing him live in Vegas in a couple months, so we were expecting to enjoy the movie.
It was classic Kevin James and we laughed a lot. The kids loved it and it was appropriate for them to watch too.
It was a fun afternoon, I'd recommend it. Notwithstanding movie theater and concession prices (WOW! and we even went to a matinee for cheaper prices) it was a fun family afternoon.
I wanna be a cowboy...
|
|
|
Monday, 19 January 09 - 05:34 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Movie Reviews |
| ||
Movie update - we have DirectTV and every once in a while they will have some of the movie channels for a "free preview weekend". The upside is since they are trying to sell you the channels, they have some great movies on. The downside is, now my DVR is full and need to find time to watch all the movies we recorded over the weekend.
We had a chance to watch "Space Cowboys". I really liked it. And seeing Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland all in one movie was a nice treat too. I grew up watching these guys in movies. Not an overly realistic movie, but it was fun to watch and, other than a little language, I didn't have to worry about watching it with the kids.
I also caught the tail end of "Astronaut Farmer" and it was intriguing enough that now I want to see that movie. I'll have to rent it as I missed recording it (and, to be honest, I only recorded movies on the High Def channels - yes, I've been spoiled by High Def now!)
I'll put some reviews on here as we work our way through the DVR...really looking forward to some of them. Stay tuned...
Movies...
|
|
|
Monday, 31 March 08 - 03:21 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Movie Reviews |
| ||
Don't worry, no spoilers here, you can read and not be concerned that I'm going to ruin any plot twists or surprise endings....
Some recent movies that I've watched and, really, I'd recommend all three.
A Mighty Heart, Into the Wild, and World Trade Center. Actually, I'm going to really disappoint everyone now and NOT talk about the movies. I just think you need to see them and make your own judgement on each. They are all so vastly different from each other, but I liked all of the.
And finally, the "Easter Bunny" brought our oldest son the DVD of I Am Legend, so I watched that again too. Nice.
There you go...4 movies that all get my recommendation....if that means anything.
... More items are available in my News Archive
