Sydney White

I recently purchased "Sydney White" on DVD. I know it's cheesy and really girly, but I really enjoyed it. I tend to like most Amanda Bynes movies. I've thought she was hilarious since I was a kid. I used to come home from school and watch "All That" every afternoon.

(Side Note: Since we're talking about Amanda Bynes movies, I also really like "She's the Man" and "What a girl wants.")

"Sydney White" is basically a modern-day take on the Snow White fairy tale. Amanda Bynes plays Sydney who is on her way to college at the beginning of the film. "Sydney" is attending her mother's alma matter and hopes to join her mom's old sorority. Sydney runs into some problems throughout the pledging process and finds herself going toe to toe with the president of the sorority (Sarah Paxton). Sarah Paxton's character refuses to allow Sydney to join the sorority, so she finds herself homeless for a while. She gets taken in by seven painfully awkward dorks who live in a run down shack by the sorority. Sydney and Rachel (Paxton) battle it out in a race for student body president.

The film has an interesting take on the fairy tale. I thought it was pretty clever how they incorporated the poisoned apple, the seven dwarfs, and the magic mirror. Sydney is definitely less of a damsel in distress than Snow White was;she takes a more pro-active role in similar unfortunate circumstances. The movie has some funny moments. It's very cute. Obviously not something your brother/boyfriend/dad/guy friend will wanna be watching any time soon.

"Sydney White" is rated PG-13, but I'd say it's safe to watch on family night. It's pretty mild.

Aquamarine

I went into this endeavor knowing that this was going to be a really cheesy film. On the cheesy scale I would rate this film velveeta. There's something I'll never understand about some Disney films and most films geared towards pre-teens...Why does the dialogue have to be so awful? I can stand a cheesy premise. I'm a fan of "Happily ever after." What I can't stand are lines that are so cheesy that you'd rather shoot yourself than say them in real life. Pre-teens are young, not retarded. What are these writers thinking? I know you're writing for young people, but it doesn't mean that all the opportunities for witty dialogue can be completely ignored. Despite some really painfully awkward lines in the movie, I kind of enjoyed it. It had an unexpected ending. I would not, however, pay to own this film on DVD.

This movie is rated PG and is definitely family-time worthy.

Stardust

I absolutely loved "Stardust." I really didn't want to watch it in the first place. My little sister was far more eager about this film than I was, at first. About half way through the film, I realized that I was being stupid before.

"Stardust" is pretty cheesy, but good cheesy (if that makes sense). This movie is a sci-fi/ fantasy film about a faerie world adjacent to a small English village called "Wall." The protagonist of the film is a young man by the name of Tristan who crosses the literal wall between "Wall" and "Stormhold" in order to retrieve a fallen star for the woman he loves. What he finds on the other side of the wall is a lot more than a piece of rock that fell from the heavens. This film has it all : humor, fantasy, betrayal, suspense,a star-studded cast(no pun intended)and plenty of cheese.

Some of the better-known actors in the film include: Robert DeNiro, Claire Daines, Michelle Pfieffer, Peter O'Toole, Rupert Everett,Ricky Gervais, and Sienna Miller.

Give it a chance. Everyone has their guilty pleasures. :)

"Stardust" is rated PG-13 for some violence and a bit of risque humor. I'd still say it was a family film. There's nothing vulgar or graphic about it.

Mad Money

"Mad Money" was a pretty funny film. I pretty much expected it to be, though. I love Queen Latifah. Even if she's in a film that sucks, she makes some part of it funny and worthwhile.

Diane Keaton plays an older, upper-middle class lady whose husband loses his job and is about an inch away from losing everything else. She and Ted Danson's character find themselves up to their eyeballs in debt, so after thirty years as a house wife she goes looking for a job. After many failed attempts at securing a job somewhere, she manages to get hired at the Federal Reserve. While on the job she learns that all the old, worn out bills get shredded and replaced with new bills from the mint. Keaton then proceeds to hatch a plan to pocket some of the worn out bills, but soon discovers she's gonna need some help. She enlists the help of Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes. It had some pretty hilarious moments, but I don't think I would pay to see it again.

"Mad Money" is rated PG-13. I don't know if this is a "Family Film" even though the rating may indicate that it's suitable. I'd say this is something you can go see with some teenagers, but I wouldn't take younger kids to see it. The film isn't particularly vulgar or violent, I just don't think younger kids would enjoy it much at all.

The Orphanage

The Orphanage

"The Orphanage" was really freaking creepy. I went into the theatre thinking I wasn't going to enjoy myself very much. I even left the theatre thinking I didn't like it all that much, but then I couldn't stop thinking about it. After it sunk in a bit, I really actually enjoyed the film. It's made by the same man who directed "Pan's Labrynth." "The Orphanage" and "Pan's Labrynth" are both Spanish films, so if you have an aversion to subtitles, this isn't the movie for you. This film is essentially about a horrible crime that was committed on the grounds of an orphanage many years ago and how the consequences of that action rippled through time to affect a woman who was an orphan at that orphanage a good 20 to 30 years before. Despite it's creepiness, the film had a nice ending...sort of. ;)

The Orphanage is rated R. I certainly wouldn't take young kids to this movie. It's bound to give them nightmares. I wouldn't recommend it to people with heart conditions either. It nearly gave me a heart attack and my heart is as healthy as can be.

Juno

JUNO

"Juno" is a quirky film about a sixteen year old girl who gets pregnant. The beginning of the film commences with her finding out she's pregnant. Juno considers aborting the child, but then opts to give it up for adoption. She chooses a couple, but still manages to get into some trouble along the way. The film, as I said before, is quirky so its not for everyone. The dialogue in the movie is very unique, which may be problematic for people who aren't familiar with teenspeak. I really enjoyed it. I thought it was funny in a really non-conventional way. It kind of had a "Little Miss Sunshine" feel to it, but Juno was a much better film.

Juno is rated PG-13. I'd say it's an okay family movie; especially if you wanna send an indirect message to your teenaged daughter (j/k).

Happy New Year! (Alias)

Happy New Year to all my non-existent readers.

I have seen a great deal of movies since I posted last.

For the First Post of the day, I've gotta start by saying that I recently purchased all five seasons of "Alias" because that show is amazing. It's suspenseful, action-packed, and mildly funny. I was hooked from beginning to end. The show is based on a young woman named Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) who was recruited into a black-ops branch of the CIA. In the pilot the heroine discovers that she was tricked into believing she was working for the CIA when in reality, she was working for a terrorist organization nestled safely within the United States. The terrorist group is one sector in a huge "Alliance" made up of a total of 12 branches all around the world. It's like organized crime on steroids. After discovering that she was working for the bad guys, she goes to the real CIA so that they can help her take down SD-6 (The name of the terrorist branch she works for). That's just a very general summary. There's so much more to it than that. It is spectacular though, so you if you ever have the opportunity to buy a season or two, do so!

The show is produced by ABC (A.K.A. Disney) so you don't have to worry about any excess of vulgarity or sexual content, but the show is kinda violent. Either way, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 13.