21

"Winner, winner, chicken dinner!"

3 Stars

I was, in the beginning, really excited to see the story of the MIT Blackjack Team.
I wanted a "true story", but I got a movie "based on actual events". In other words, a good story for a Hollywood movie.

Based on the book Bringing Down the House, 21 is the story of a group of MIT math students who used their smarts to count cards and take the house(es) of Vegas.
And a-one two three four, you know the rest.
Big wins, no worries, someone gets lost in the game, and then it's not fun anymore, and then you're caught.

One thing that I was really disappointed with was that there was no real "good times" montage. Hello? These are college kids in Vegas, winning whale like money, and they show just a clip or two of them in a limo, and shopping at Louis Vuitton. I've made a better Vegas "good times" montages, and I'm no where near high roller status.

The ending was very Hollywood.
I was hoping to see at least a short court scene, but it was taken in a direction that had me saying "What?".
I remembered when this whole MIT thing went down in the 90's. It was fascinating! I think the Vegas Gaming Commission should have fronted some money for the movie development to show the true story, and to prove that if you count cards, you get caught.
I bet those MIT students aren't having any "good times" montages now. But according to this movie, everyone's fine.
I expected more.

First Sunday

"I'm 'onna beat you till candy come out!"

2.5 Stars

I love Kat Williams and will watch anything just to see him for a second cause I know he's gonna kill.
Though he's predominant in the promos, his role is fairly small. Too bad.
But I was pleased to see Tracy Morgan too. That fool CRACKS ME UP! He can just look at someone, and I'm dyin'.

The story doesn't really matter, it's cheap.
Ice Cube and Tracy need money and decide to rob their local
church, which has been raising money for upgrades.
I'm sure you can guess the rest.
They befriend the church goers they get the money legit, and are acquitted on all charges.

I wouldn't recommend First Sunday to people, unless I know that THEY know what kind of movie it is.
A cheap black comedy with my man Kat.
I'll tell you one thing though,
it ain't no Soul Plane.

Sex and The City

"Did I dream it?"

4 Stars

First of all, I don't think I've ever been in a room with so many women!
It was really strange.
And these women (humble as they may have been) dressed up for the movie. On a Sunday afternoon! I even encountered some women in the bathroom after the show who were complaining about their feet hurting from wearing their heels that day.

The movie was great. After reading other reviews it seems as though you love it or hate it. Personally I wasn't looking for some brilliant piece of cinema. The show was fluff and I expected the movie to be fluff too.
And majority of it was, but I was impressed with how deep (I felt anyway) Carrie's pain went.
We've seen Carrie low before, but this was LOOoooow. For me that's when it turned into a movie. This went passed girly TV drama. I was feelin' it.
I was also feelin' the opening credits. I love the overture of sorts of each characters story line with footage from past episodes. A great way to put the viewer back in the rhythm of the show.

Surprisingly it wasn't SJP who shined throughout the movie. It was Kristin Davis!
She balanced the difficult tightrope of drama and comedy flawlessly!
In one scene (you'll know it when you see it) she shocks the viewer with her bravery and anger, and exits in such a way that makes you chuckle. I wouldn't doubt if she gets nominated for an Oscar.
Okay, maybe a Golden Globe. Okay, SAG Award at least, but she should totally be recognized!

Cattrall was good at being Samantha, always has always will. But I'm glad the script knows that her shtick is getting old.
Miranda's story was very touching, and at times, yes, brought me to tears.
Also Jeniffer Hudson, who has been slammed in reviews, did very well. She had such a small roll, but it was a great shot in the arm to this cast we know and love so well.
Hey, someone had to keep it real.

Sex and The City did what it knows best. I showed the unexplainable, and rich fulfillment that friendship among women can give. These relationships are a unique, and remarkable experience, and I was warmed to see it reflected in this movie.

Loverboy

"Your Mother is correct.
They are ugly."

2 Stars

I think the folks behind this movie (including director Kevin Bacon) probably thought this was going to spark up conversation, or shock and for me it didn't do either.
It actually kinda blew.

They way Netflix explained it, it sounded alright.
But then I just re-read it and now I have no idea what I was thinking

Emily (played by Kevin Bacon's true wife Kira Sedgwick) wants to have a baby. Real bad. So she does her own version of the movie Twins, where she bangs a lot of different dudes across the nation that have the qualities she would like for a father. She even bangs John Legend!!?
But none of those didn't really pan out. Until... she bangs some dude that is staying at the same hotel and ya'll know...
it only takes one.

So she has this kid, nicknames him Loverboy and is totally obsessed. She wants to be the only thing in his life and him in hers. Throughout the movie he's about 7-ish. She won't let him go to school, interact with others, and the moment he shows any Independence she panics. Does she realize that he won't stay a boy forever? For a minute there I thought she was gonna kill him. You know that "If I can't have you" type thing.
And a very annoying thing is that they don't use contactions when talking to each other. "I do not want to/ I cannot", SHUT UP!! I have a really hard time with fantasy talk like they do throughout. It's retarded.

In and out of the movie there are flashbacks of her childhood. Bacon plays her father and is hot!! I hate that I couldn't find a picture of him for this. He had the tight poly pants, the satin shirts, and the best rose colored aviator shades on, and smoking at all times. Marisa Tomei plays her mom, and while the movie was trying to portraySedgwick as the sex pot while she's banging-cross-America, really Marisa was way hotter.


This movie was a real waste of time.
Thank God I had paperwork to do while it was on.
If you plan on watching it I advise you do the same.

Gone Baby Gone

"When I was young, I asked my priest how could you get into heaven and still protect from all the evil in the world.
He told me what God said to his children.
'You are sheep among wolves. Be wise as serpents, yet innocent as doves.' "

5 Stars

I had heard from so many that this was good and they were right. I honestly didn't know much about it except what all the buzz it got during Oscar season.
It was Ben Affleck's directorial debut starring his younger brother Casey, and that's pretty much all I knew.

I was intrigued during that time about this actress I had never heard of before Amy Ryan, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. My good friend was certain she would win, and could not stop talking about how impressed he was with her accent considering she's a Broadway star from New York. Apparently so was the crew.
I read that her accent was so convincing that security wouldn't let her on set the first day of shooting thinking she was a fan on the street. When a crew member finally recognized her and let her through, she knew she had the dialect down.

The talent in this film is phenomenal. Above directing, I was glad to see Ben Affleck wrote the screenplay for it as well and he did a great collaborative job. Casey is quickly becoming a bankable actor for drama.
And a heartthrob...
He did such a good job as a man under pressure who had genuine concern for this lost girl.
I loved his fast thinking during a hold up at the bar. Great scene.

A young married couple serve as detectives to their small Boston neighborhood. When a little girl goes missing, her aunt seeks their help to find her, aside from the police.
The mother of the girl is supper trashy, and it seems as though she doesn't really get, or care that her little girl could be in serious danger, or even dead! Which is only one side of this story that makes this girl's disappearance so intriguing.

When I talk to people who have seen this movie I ask them, after the many praises we give it, "What was the right thing?" And the usual response is a hefty sigh and the same answer I have, "I don't know."

The end of this film really left me asking what would I do, and could I actually follow through with either side.
Is the right thing, always the right thing?
I go back and forth on the out come. At times I think it was a very selfish decision, and other times I feel the injustice had to be exposed.
Anything that makes me think this long, and makes me question my own choices, is just brilliant.

Flyboys

"He's just in shock."

1 Star

Are you kidding?!! This was like a parody of a movie. I turned it off somewhere in the middle, I totally didn't care about this movie. And that's a bummer cause I heard so many great reviews from people I know, and trust!

I think this was supposed to be a true story 'er something. Well I would be hecka pissed if I were one of those dudes.
Some country boy wants to fly planes as a way to getting out of jail time. Turns out the rebel is a natural when it comes to flying. Yawn...
So the other pilots who have put in their time hassle him, and they shut up once they see his skills. Ok...
So stupid, I can't get over it.

The victorious musical score was way premature. Playing while he's training as if by shooting at a bale of hay, he's winning the war. The special effects were very disappointing too. I remember seeing the previews and being impressed with 'em, but I guess they're only impressive when you see them for a split second.

Also, the upper class man know-it-all is so annoying. I counted 3 scenes of him doing the cheesiest comebacks!! Each one went something like this.
Crowed place, kid says, "This plane tried to shoot me!"
Voice from the back of the room, "Did it have 2 swords on it?"
The crowd parts, he's sitting at the back of the room, he stands up like he's some bad ass, and starts to tell some story which is supposed to make him look like more of a bad ass as he starts to tell his tale.
3 times that shtick happened, and I only watched half of it.

Positives?
This might have been a better movie had I been sick and hopped up on NyQuil. The kind where you don't really care what's on the TV as long as you can hear the hum.
And the boots were incredible.

Poor James Franco.