A superhero movie set in the Victorian times, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen combines various characters from books such as Allan Quatermaine (Sean Connery), Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah), Tom Sawyer (Shane West), Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend)), Skinner (Tony Curran) and Mina Harker (Peta Wilson) and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (Jason Flemyng). This another one of those comic-book adaptations. Anyway, to say that it was an odd assortment of characters is an understatement and, the fact that these eccentrics will be the ones to save the world� well it will make you sit up and take notice. Charles Quatermaine is a hunter, and it is said that Africa will not let him die. He was the first to be recruited to save England from the threats of a villain who calls himself the phantom. In comes Captain Nemo, who not only brings his submarine but also knowledge far beyond the understanding of that time; followed by the invisible Skinner, who�s in it because he was promised an antidote to his invisibility. Mina Harker is a vampire, Dorian Gray an immortal, the American secret service agent Tom Sawyer (I say where�s Huck Finn? ^-^), and lastly the complex personality of Dr. Jekyll. Before I launch into negatives, I would like to make it clear that I love the concept of this movie. It is simply ironic that the people most likely to be condemned by the �normal� ones are the same people who hold the key to the world�s salvation. Also, I love the setting. They were able to show a past that doesn�t exist anymore. It provides this idyllic feeling where the last thing you�d expect is for a war to break. Plus, the camera has managed to capture scenery that is just too beautiful for words. The last thing you�d expect to see in an action film, but I�m just giving credit where it�s due. The interplay of characters was also intriguing, how Quatermaine and Sawyer develop a father-son relationship, but became almost instantly antagonistic towards Captain Sawyer. Now, where mistrust is essential for survival, it is but natural to assume doubt for someone whom you cannot see (skinner). As for the vampire harker, her powers are my favorite. A unique vampire who certainly knows how to fly� now this is girl power at its earliest! As for Dorian Gray, aside from being immortal, there�s not much to him except for the mystery that shrouds his personality and the special painting in his possession. Dr. Jekyll has the most complicated personality of the whole cast, but his powers are achieved through a more scientific means. Another mysterious character is Captain Nemo, who possesses the submarine far too modern for that day and age. Now his gadgetry is cool, this includes a detachable escape pod or something like it, a revolving silver globe, and numerous others. The action sequences were alright, everything emphasized by explosions here and there. The shifting from country to country was something I can only marvel at. But, there are also a lot of stupid things shown. For instance, they showed technology which was impossible to exist during the late 19th century, like the automobile that can run like a race car. Not to mention the submarine�s sleek sword shape and its escape pod. Now something even more impossible is the ability of the characters to jump from a speeding automotive to the ground on their feet! Without even breaking stride. Now as for the vampire, this is one unique vampire not vulnerable to sunlight. Ah well� you can�t really have it all. This one's entertaining but definitely not for everyone.
For those not familiar with the series, Lizzie Mcguire has been ruling the Disney channel for a couple of years now. The series stars Hilary Duff as Lizzie Mcguire and she has her two best friends there, Miranda and Gordo (Adam Lamberg); with Kate acting as her very own personal tormentor. About the movie, Lizzie�s a 14-year-old girl, recently graduated from junior high and is on her way to Rome for a class trip (wish I had trips like that). She also has Gordo with her, but much to my dismay, Miranda was not in the movie, she�s supposed to be in Mexico or something like that. It�s a bit sad and because she�s every bit Lizzie�s friend as Gordo is. Moving on, Ethan, a cute brainless dude who was also Lizzie�s former crush in the series, and Kate, former best-buddy-turned-enemy, was also with them. Lizzie is the same old awkward, unconfident and clumsy girl you�ve always known, but with a little bit more maturity.
I�ve always liked the series so I figured I�d also go for the movie, even if it were a girly girl film. The general plot is like this: Once in Rome, she meets a really good-looking Italian guy, Paolo (Yani Gellman), who mistook her for Isabella, his singing partner. Apparently, they were a famous pop star duo there. Lizzie was instantly swept off her feet. Paolo then asked her to help him out by pretending to be Isabella for one night in the International Music Video Awards. Lizzie then turns into an overnight success under the very nose of their chaperone, Mrs. Ungermayer. What we have here is another Cinderella type story.
What I absolutely love about the movie is the setting. Rome has been one of the biggest empires in the world, and even from the screen, you can see how much history the place has. My favorite place there was when Paolo and Lizzie went to this place with the sort of small waterfalls within a garden with waterfalls in the center or something. Can�t describe it fully because aside from defying description, they only showed the place for around 10 seconds. Just believe me when I say the place was enchanting. Another thing I like was how Lizzie got to live an adventure. It�s something I�ve always wanted to have for myself, and I swear someday I�d live like that too. Another plus there is Gordo, the one true friend Lizzie had. He gave friendship a whole new meaning (although now that I think about it, it�s also probably because he himself had a �hidden agenda�). Regardless, he�s one sincere and loyal dude. Now I may be gushing but I do realize there are disadvantages. In terms of feasibility, obviously the chance of that happening is one in a million. But suppose it does happen, it�s still beyond me how the people never wondered at Isabella�s �new� accent. The plot itself was so-so. They couldn�t even think of something unique and instead used an already over-used concept, that of being a success overnight. As a whole, the movie is a fairy tale. But one that can make you feel good. And to give credit, the movie will keep you entertained. But one word of advice, if you�re a guy, forget about this movie.
3 very different girls, and they all work for Charlie. Charlie�s Angels are back! Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Alex (Lucy Liu) and Dylan (Drew Barrymore) become embroiled in another not so mysterious mission to save the world (in this case the identities of people in the Witness Protection Program). I must say, this is one movie worth seeing (if not only for Demi Moore). Aside from having three gorgeous girls promoting girl power, there are some kick ass scenes. Admittedly, some of the scenes were over the top (we have Matrix to thank for that) and the story isn�t anything with substance, but there were a lot of funny scenes. And I was kept absorbed through the duration of the movie because it was Exciting. Besides, I always wanted to see Demi Moore acting again, and you won�t be disappointed with her in this one. She really really looks good and did I say she�s super sexy? I wouldn�t mind seeing it again. Anyway, in here Natalie is moving in with her boyfriend, and Alex is on a �cooling off period� (entirely her choice girls). Lastly, Dylan is part of the witness protection program and her real name is (you�ll never guess) Helen Zas. Oh, and you probably know already that Demi Moore is the villain here, she's Madison Lee a former (you guessed it) Angel! There�s this one character from Angels 1 who looked like a villain (forgot his name) with hair parted in the middle and having a super pale complexion. Guess what? He�s back in part 2. Bosley however is now an African American (didn�t catch the explanation for this one). Guys, you should see this even if it�s only because of the sexy girls (lots of eye candy promise). Girls, Charlie�s Angels should be our heroines� they�re simply magnificent.
Finally! After much anticipation, I�ve been able to watch this movie. Before I start, let me say that I have always been (and probably always will be) a great lover of chick flicks. Yes, I�m a self-admitted mushy person (hey! That would make a great clique). So don�t be so amazed if I start singing praises about this movie. For the general plot, Andie, (Kate Hudson), the resident how to girl of Composure magazine, was assigned to do an article about how to lose a guy in ten days (duh!) by doing things women do wrong in a relationship. Her target was Ben (Matthew MacCounaghey), an advertiser who bet he can make any woman fall in love with him (he did this so he can be in charge of the advertisement on a major client). So just see who wins. Anyway, I absolutely adore Kate Hudson. Not only is she gorgeous, she can also act although her acting prowess was admittedly not exhibited to its fullest degree in this movie. If you want to see her caliber, watch The Four Feathers. Besides, she won a golden globe for best actress and was nominated for an Oscar for Almost Famous (proof enough?). As for Matthew, he spells cute with a capital C! Well, he can act, to what degree I can�t say. Don�t expect anything serious, deep or poignantly substantial in this movie because it doesn�t have anything like that to offer. Instead, it will tickle you to your toes and will make you feel light-hearted after watching it (a feel good movie). It�s pretty much what you see is what you get but I don�t think you�ll be disappointed.
I�ve always liked Haley Joel Osment since �The sixth sense� and after watching pay it forward, nothing has changed, I still find him as cute and adorable as ever. It�s funny how we often dismiss children as not knowing anything about life, but still they are the ones who teach us how good life can be. In this movie, Trevor (Haley) was student whose Social Studies project was a kind of a networking. Only in this case, the end result would be Utopia, what we commonly refer to as the perfect world. If you ask me, that kind of world won�t be seen in this lifetime (or in the next) but such is the mind of a child, full of hopes and ideals and untouched by the cynicism of today�s world. Anyway, his proposal was this, each person was to help 3 people and instead of returning the favor, those people would find another three to help (so that makes nine, and so forth). Hence the term �pay it forward.� Now unbeknownst to him, he started a movement that would spread halfway round the country, and that a reporter would then try to track him down. Anyways, I really like this movie because of the values it presents. We shouldn�t lose hope for the future because as long as there are tomorrows, then we have another opportunity to correct the mistakes of today. The only thing that frustrated me here is that it has a sad ending�.
Now this is one funny movie that spells G I R L power! Let�s meet Shante (Vivica Fox), a sexy woman who knows everything there is to know about men. And when I say everything, I mean everything! The movie is sort of like a documentary on men and their styles. More on Shante. She is this type of girl who has rules for everything pertaining on the male species. Rules on dating, a ten day plan guaranteed to make your man come up to scratch, signs your man may be cheating, and lots of others. I wouldn�t say this is an artistic piece of work, but I still think it�s worth the money you�ll spend on it. I love how she almost always turns out right� and how the battle of the sexes was portrayed. But as with know-it-alls, I found it satisfying (in a strange sort of way) how she found out she�s not always right. Not that I�m championing men out there, but I simply think that to make generalizations is a bit stupid, especially since diversity is the keyword among us human beings. A little bit of psychoanalysis� I guess Shante needed these rules to keep everything in perspective, a way to make her feel in control of the situation. As she said �I thought if you had rules for everything, including love, you�ll never lose (I�m not really sure of the exact wording but it basically has this essence). I forgot that when it comes to love, there are no rules.�
Expect to get your funny bones tickled in this movie. At first my reaction was like: �what�s so great about this movie?� I mean, sure it�s funny� but that�s as far as it goes. I never realized I was gonna laugh so hard� and appreciate God and life more. Bruce (Jim Carrey) is a funny sort of newscaster, he does human interest stories, but what he really wants is to be taken seriously and be the anchor (not sure about the terminology). When things don�t go his way, what I mean is that it�s like all the forces of nature are conspiring against his succeeding, he rages and blames it all on God (saying He sucks). So God (Morgan Freeman) decides to give him the job if he thinks he can do it better. Now for such a loser guy, he has one great girl (Jennifer Aniston) who was always supporting him. I just didn�t like Bruce�s character, he was a whiny child AND egocentric too. But don�t worry he�ll improve eventually (^_^). I really really laughed when Bruce first starts to hear people�s prayers, it was just hilarious. Another scene that I liked comes near the end of the film and I don�t want to spoil the movie for anyone, so just go look for the scene when he kneels in the middle of the road. That�s about it. All I can say is that Jim Carrey knows his stuff, and he sure can make people laugh.
This one isn�t too hard to figure out. It�s a movie for kids and teens, not something serious. I decided to see it just because I like Hillary Duff (and because my sister sort of dragged me into it, just like she did with Jimmy Neutron and Big Green Liar). Thought I�d be bored, but to give it credit I also found it funny. The plot was very highly unlikely of course, but entertaining nonetheless. And at least you�d know what to expect. Cody (Frankie Muniz) was a �junior� CIA agent with a mission: To get close to Natalie (Hillary Duff) whose father is a scientist (Martin Donovan). There�s an evil scientist (or was it a doctor?) with his very own henchmen and a sort of partner (or handler) for Cody to make sure he doesn�t screw up. Now everything here is 2 inches near impossible! But it was also F-U-N. So it�s ok I guess. Fight scenes were like �wow� and the weaponry�s technology was similar to Spykids or any other spy movie for that matter. It made me wonder whether that stuff already exists.
I've talked about this before in the journal section,
so it must be quite obvious that I highly recommend this movie. If you
want laughs then this is the movie for you.
We saw this movie a couple of weeks ago. I like Amanda Bynes, she's
really cute. Anyway, at first I thought this movie was something like
Princess diaries, "cute" being the operative term to describe it. But
when I got to see it, I was surprised, I didn't expect to find substance.
The movie is basically about this 17 year old girl who went to England
to meet her father, Lord Dashwood (Colin Firth). There's frilly
girl stuff in here of course, but there's more. I totally like it!
If you ask me, Disney came up with another winner with this one. Stitch is
an experimental life form (experiment 626) who was banished by the intergalactic
something (i forgot) because he was programmed for only one thing, destruction.
Because of his skill, he managed to escape and came to Earth instead.
He is definitely not the average cute and fluffy pet, but he grows on you
(and I think he's adorable). Lilo is little girl who found him. This is
a perfect movie for the family...
This movie is definitely a "chick flick". The plus factor for this movie
is Freddie Prinze Jr (he's really cute) who played Jimy. Monica Potter
plays Amanda, an art restorer who got to share an apartment with
4 models. Don't expect much in terms of plot, because
it's not really much. But then again, it's comedy so you'll get a few laughs
out of it. Just imagine 4 models (her roommates) trying to investigate
what they thought was a crime! Doesn't make a lot of sense but Monica
and Freddie were cute.
Angelina Jolie is Lanie, a reporter, who thought she had the perfect
life. When suddenly a homeless "prophet" tells her
that she only has a week to live, she is forced to take stock of her life
and her happiness. What would you do if you found out you only had
a couple of days to live? The movie also tackles life altering choices
one has to make. Like choosing between a career and happiness. I think
this one is good. Edward Burns was a cameraman who she's been at odds with.
His mission was to protect the code. Yet another movie about war (world war two) and its heroes. Stars Nicholas Cage as Joe Enders, a marine whose duty was to protect John Yahzee (Adam Beach), a Navajo (an Indian tribe I think) whose native language was used as the basis of a code. Almost all the angles of the war have been explored and exploited already, but this is something new. Personally, I can never understand this fascination people (men especially) seem to have on wars. A lot of innocent lives are sacrificed and the negative effects definitely outweigh the benefits. But then again, I guess some things are worth fighting and even dying for. Something like freedom! As usual, you can expect to see a lot (and I mean a LOT) of explosions. And since the code talkers were Indians, a form of racial discrimination was inevitably portrayed, preventing them to get the respect that they deserved. As for the protagonist, he had major issues, just like most of the soldiers who have seen first hand how war can destroy. He was �scarred� for want of a better term. I do like Nicholas Cage so don�t expect any complaints from me. I can�t say I enjoyed the movie because it was a heavy experience for me. It was hard, watching how the marines were killed, it�s like their lives weren�t worth much� heart-breaking to say the least. You will simply realize that even one life has meaning, and has importance. Anyway, before I go on and on, let me just say that as every war movie has some heroes, Joe Enders was the hero in this one. A damn good marine (as John Yahzee said).
Sigourney Weaver) and Page (Jennifer Love Hewitt) are out to suck up everything you�ve got. A mother-daughter enterprise unique in the sense that the Max hooks the men, gets them to marry her and after which Page seduces them. What have we got? A hefty divorce settlement. But, Page soon tires of the team-up, and wanting to strike on her own; they agree to do a �last one time big time� scam on a tobacco puffing billionare (Gene Hackman). What happens if Page falls in love (obviously not with the tobacco guy)? This movie is definitely good for a few laughs, will keep you entertained for an hour or so� BUT if you�re looking for a worthy story, something with substance, forget it. In terms of a star-studded cast, you wont be disappointed, but the movie itself is simply not worth the time or effort you have to exert to see it. Maybe if you were looking to relieve some stress, then this movie would be perfect. Otherwise, don�t bother. I can�t really say what I�ve got against it, especially since I�ve had a few good laughs myself, I guess the simple non-uniqueness of the movie has quite disappointed me. I myself am into love stories, but in this case the fusion of romance and comedy didn�t work out.
Finally! I got to watch the much-awaited (at least for me) sequel to the movie X-men. In here, the x-men again become the target of a prejudiced human being who thinks mutants are some kind of monsters. Now, I�ve got nothing but praises for this movie, in my opinion, they even surpassed the first x movie. Some scenes were spine-tingling, bone-chilling, action-packed and suspense-filled! Hmmm, can�t think of any more adjectives at the moment. Anyway, a few new characters were introduced: Iceman (Bob, who by the way, is Rogue�s bf. Check out the kissing scene ^_^)(Shawn Ashmore), Pyro (John)(Aaron Stanford), Nightcrawler (before, I thought he was one of the bad guys)(Allan Cumming & Deathstrike (Kelly Hu, a minion of the Villain. Walter Striker, who as it turns out also holds the key to Logan�s (Hugh Jackman) past, attacked Xavier�s school of gifted children. Before I give out the whole movie, let me just say that the performance was really two big thumbs up, Logan was intense, his love was tragic. And, behind Nightcrawler�s appearance lie a gentle man whose soul has seen too much but still managed to retain his faith. Storm (Halle Berry) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) were also magnificent. One of my favorite scenes, where I was left in awe, was when Magneto (Ian Mckellen) managed to escape a plastic prison! Another was� well, I better not say it or I�ll spoil the whole movie. As an ender, I think this one is really for the books, one of the best sci-fi, hero movies ever!