{"id":77,"date":"2009-01-31T23:03:16","date_gmt":"2009-01-31T22:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/doena-journal.net\/en\/77\/dj-doenas-movie-watchings-2009-january"},"modified":"2021-09-27T15:44:21","modified_gmt":"2021-09-27T13:44:21","slug":"dj-doenas-movie-watchings-2009-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doena-journal.net\/en\/77\/dj-doenas-movie-watchings-2009-january","title":{"rendered":"Movie Watchings 2009 – January"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deutsche Version<\/a> | February<\/a><\/p>\n

January, 1st<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Dark Knight<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Christian Bale … Bruce Wayne \/ Batman
\nHeath Ledger … The Joker
\nAaron Eckhart … Harvey Dent \/ Two-Face
\nMichael Caine … Alfred Pennyworth
\nMaggie Gyllenhaal … Rachel Dawes
\nGary Oldman … James Gordon
\nMorgan Freeman … Lucius Fox<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Batman, Lt. Gordon and DA Harvey Dent have become a very efficient team and they dealt some major blows to Gotham’s underworld. But now Batman gets a new class of enemy: The Joker. The Joker has no plan, he has no goal beside causing havoc and creating chaos. And he’s very good at what he does. But can he force Batman to cross the line?<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> A great continuation to the great first movie. I always liked the first two Batman<\/em> movies and I never really liked the cheesy third and especially fourth movie. Although I’ve never read any Batman<\/em> comic I’ve always felt that it had to be dark and dirty and sometimes morally grey. Batman is no bright character for me. And although it had many comic elements in it Batman Begins<\/em> felt very realistic. And The Dark Knight<\/em> is the perfect sequel. It continues where the first movie left off – and I love the Joker. When he first told the story about how he got the scars I thought they were going to blew it and then was relieved when he then told yet another – totally different – story and thus remained his mysteriousness. But to be perfectly honest, I had expected that the “good people” on the ferry would pull the trigger. And then have themselves blown up. That would be totally in the line of Joker’s thinking IMHO. If I were to give stars, what I rarely do, I’d give 9.5 out of 10.
\n<\/p>\n

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Kevin Costner … Robin Hood
\nMorgan Freeman … Azeem
\nMary Elizabeth Mastrantonio … Marian Dubois
\nChristian Slater … Will Scarlett
\nAlan Rickman … Sheriff of Nottingham
\nMichael Wincott … Guy of Gisborne
\nNick Brimble … Little John
\nSean Connery … King Richard<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> When Robin of Locksley returns home from the crusades, he finds his home burned down and his father killed. Behind this are the Guy of Gisborne and his cousin, the Sheriff of Nottingham. They try to forge an alliance of “noblemen” against the absent King Richard “The Lionheart” and to rob him of his throne. They supress the common folk to finance this plot. But Robin stands up to them and he uses Sherwood Forrest as his base of operations.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> I’ve never understood why Kevin Costner was suddenly “out”. I like most of his movies and I like this one, too. Alan Rickman plays an excellent opponent with some comical elements. Although the movie is trying to tell the story earnestly they also insterted enough funny elements to make it not too serious. I also really liked the rants of Azeem when he complains about the english’s lack of education but that he is considered the “barbarian”.
\nAnd the appearance of Sean Connery, however short, crowned the movie for me.<\/p>\n

January, 2nd<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Johnny Depp … Jack Sparrow
\nGeoffrey Rush … Barbossa
\nOrlando Bloom … Will Turner
\nKeira Knightley … Elizabeth Swann
\nJack Davenport … Norrington
\nJonathan Pryce … Governor Weatherby Swann<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> The pirate captain Jack Sparrow is coincidentally nearby when the daughter of Port Royal’s governor nearly drowns and he saves her. But that lands himself in a cell. Ho won’t stay there long. In the night after the “Black Pearl”, a feared pirate ship, comes to Port Royal and kidnaps Miss Swann. Only Jack knows where she’s been taken the blacksmith Will Turner teams up with him to rescue her. And now begins a wild chase across the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> This was a great movie. Alas, if it has just remained one. Just like with The Matrix<\/em> nobody can tell me they actually knew they were doing more than one movie and that they had a plan what was going to happen in the sequels. But this is about this movie and this movie was cool. It had all the fun and action a movie needs. It takes the whole pirates genre totally unseriously and makes a great fun out of it. And to be honest: This could only work with the current special effects. Remember how the skeletons walked in Army of Darkness<\/em>? Back then this movie could have never worked. Nowadays (visual) special effects are mostly used to blow something up or destroy it in another way. But to use them in a totally un-technical movie, in sword-fights – it made the movie whole.<\/p>\n

This was once again a very “intelligent” solution of the german title translators. They made it “Curse of the Carribean”. And when part two came out they didn’t know what to do, so they called it simply “Curse of the Carribean 2”. \"Slap<\/p>\n

A History of Violence<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Viggo Mortensen … Tom Stall
\nMaria Bello … Edie Stall
\nEd Harris … Carl Fogarty
\nWilliam Hurt … Richie Cusack
\nAshton Holmes … Jack Stall<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Tom Stall is a simple man. He lives in a small town and owns a small diner. He has two children and his life is quiet. But that changes one day. One day two armed robbers come into his store. He can’t know this but they’ve left a trail of blood and killed a lot of people. Tom is willing to give them all the money but when one of them attempts to rape a women a switch turns in Tom’s head and he attacks and kills the robbers. This makes him famous and suddenly he gets visits from mobsters from the east coast who think he is someone else – or are they correct?<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> This is a very interesting movie that has no hollywood-like moral agenda. It’s brutal, it’s explicit and it doesn’t want to hide anything. The “good guy” isn’t a good guy at all, but if they would have left him alone, he would have never bothered them at all. I thought everyone played their role very well, from Viggo who has at first to pretend he doesn’t know anything to Maria and Ashton who have to learn that their husband\/father is someone totally different. And of course Ed, but I like Ed in most of his roles. I also liked the semi open end where it isn’t clear what is going to happen now.<\/p>\n

Cliffhanger<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Sylvester Stallone … Gabe Walker
\nJohn Lithgow … Eric Qualen
\nMichael Rooker … Hal Tucker
\nJanine Turner … Jessie Deighan
\nRex Linn … Richard Travers<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> The international thief Qualen captures a US government plane and tries to steal 100 million dollars in cash. The money is in three trunks but they get lost when the plane crashes in the Rocky Mountains. Fortunately the cases have location beacons but now they need the help of the mountain rescue to find them. Gabe and his former friend Hal are the unlucky ones to meet the gangsters and are forced to help them. But soon Qualen has to realize that it won’t be that easy to get the money back because Gabe develops into a real PITA.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> This movie hasn’t much story and sometimes it doesn’t make much sense. But it’s a Stallone action movie, if one expects much story on has gone into the wrong movie. it has however great pictures of the Rockys and beautiful panorama shots. It’s also interesting to watch them climb these basically vertical walls. To sum it up: It’s a no-brainer action movie with a lot of Rocky Mountains imagery.<\/p>\n

The Saint<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Val Kilmer … Simon Templar
\nElisabeth Shue … Dr. Emma Russell
\nRade Serbedzija … Ivan Tretiak
\nValeri Nikolayev … Ilya Tretiak
\nHenry Goodman … Dr. Lev Botvin<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> He is a man who has no name. And if he has then it’s one of a catholic saint, like Thomas Moore. But he is a thief and a good one at that. If it can be stolen and someone pays for it, he can steal it. But his life changes drastically when he steals the chemical formula to create cold fusion – a clean and basically unexhaustable power source. Now he’s not also on the run from Scotland Yard but also a russian oil magnat who wants to putsch against the russian president and he’s fallen in love with the scientist who discovered the formula.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> This is also a movie one can’t take too seriously. Even the whole cold fusion affair aside it has quite a number of ridiculous moments. For example: He’s already at the 20th or so floor when he climbs out of a window, and uses his extendable aluminium ladder to climb vertically upwards – with no hold whatsoever. But since I’ve never watched the original Simon Templar<\/em> series I still enjoyed this movie because I knew what to expect.<\/p>\n

Four Brothers<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Mark Wahlberg … Bobby Mercer
\nTyrese Gibson … Angel Mercer
\nAndr\u00e9 Benjamin … Jeremiah Mercer
\nGarrett Hedlund … Jack Mercer
\nTerrence Howard … Lt. Green
\nJosh Charles … Detective Fowler
\nSof\u00eda Vergara … Sofi
\nFionnula Flanagan … Evelyn Mercer
\nChiwetel Ejiofor … Victor Sweet
\nTaraji P. Henson … Camille Mercer<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> The four brothers Bobby, Angel, Jermeiah and Jack return home after their mother had been killed in a store robbery. The four aren’t genetically brothers but they’ve been raised by Evelyn who was a warm soul of the city and who cared for all children. But something doesn’t add up. This was no ordinary robbery but an execution. And now the four brothers want to bury Evelyn’s killer.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> When I first watched this in the theatre I had no real idea what to expect and I thought it to be a very good movie. Mark Wahlberg played a very good Bobby which was the reason for me to watch Shooter<\/em>, too. I also liked the occasional insertion of Evelyn, as if she was still there – and in the minds of her boys she still is! One could brush this aside as simple action flick, but for me it’s a bit more and I have to be in the mood to watch this.<\/p>\n

January, 3rd<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blast from the Past<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Brendan Fraser … Adam
\nAlicia Silverstone … Eve
\nChristopher Walken … Calvin
\nSissy Spacek … Helen
\nDave Foley … Troy
\nNathan Fillion … Cliff<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> During the cuba crisis Calvin Webber a rich but eccentric (doesn’t this always come in the same package?) inventor locks himself and his pregnant wife in a fallout shelter because he thinks a nuclear war has broken out. They live there for 35 years with their son Adam until one day the locks unseal themselves. Now Adam goes out to buy supplies in huge numbers and he’s looking for a wife – no mutant and from Pasadena, if possible. But then he meets Eve.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> I love this movie. It’s so great to see Adam and his seemingly outdated manners to win Eve’s heart (and the heart of nearly any woman in that movie for that matter). I have to admit I love romantic movies, the number of such movies in my collection is nearly twice as big as my science fiction movies. I can watch them until I’m totally overdosed.
\nToo bad that Alicia Silverstone isn’t seen more often on screen. I can’t describe it but she has something about her that I totally like. <\/p>\n

Music & Lyrics<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Hugh Grant … Alex Fletcher
\nDrew Barrymore … Sophie Fisher
\nHaley Bennett … Cora Corman
\nBrad Garrett … Chris Riley
\nCampbell Scott … Sloan Cates<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Alex Fletcher is an 80s-Has-Been of the pop band “PoP” who sings now in theme parks and class reunions. But then two things happen at the same time. The star Cora wants him to write a new song for her about a broken heart. And Sophie comes to his appartment to water his plants. And incidentally she can actually write lyrics! They team up together to deliver the new hit song for Cora and fall in love on the way.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> Romance movie stories are often rather simple and predictable with the usual break-up shortly before the happy end. So is the story of this movie. But as I said I don’t care. It’s not really what is told, but how it is told. And Hugh Grant doesn’t need to play much, he is actually the forty-something-doesn’t-want-to-grow-up-kinda-guy. But how he performed the typical 80s pop band member on stage was hilarious. It was so funny. And Drew as this shy yet totally sweet character is great.<\/p>\n

Notting Hill<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Julia Roberts … Anna Scott
\nHugh Grant … William Thacker
\nRichard McCabe … Tony
\nRhys Ifans … Spike
\nJames Dreyfus … Martin
\nTim McInnerny … Max
\nGina McKee … Bella
\nEmma Chambers … Honey
\nHugh Bonneville … Bernie<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> She’s an american actress who’s gotten 15 million dollars for her last movie. He owns a travel book store and earns nearly nothing. But one day their paths cross and they virtually run into each other. And then she kisses him! But is this going to work? She, known by the whole world? Him, whose name is sometimes forgotten even by his mother? In London’s Notting Hill their fate will be decided.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> I love Julia Roberts in both her romantic movies as well as her more serious roles (e.g. Erin Brockovich<\/em>). What I especially liked about this movie was, how they portreyed the gossip’s part of the life of a star. I – personally – couldn’t care less what they do outside the big screen. If I were the only consumer in the world all the gossip magazines would go bankrupt. The only time I’d really care would be when one of these beautiful actresses would fall in love with me. \ud83d\ude09
\n<\/p>\n

Juno<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Ellen Page … Juno MacGuff
\nMichael Cera … Paulie Bleeker
\nJennifer Garner … Vanessa Loring
\nJason Bateman … Mark Loring
\nAllison Janney … Brenda ‘Bren’ MacGuff
\nJ.K. Simmons … Mac MacGuff
\nOlivia Thirlby … Leah<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Juno is 16 and pregnant. And although she thinks about an abortion she decides against it. But she also doesn’t want to keep the baby. Thus she’s looking for adoptive parents who will take her child after it is born. And she finds the seemingly perfect couple. But there are still a few months left until the birth and some things aren’t meant to be.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> This was a blind buy for me after it got good critics. Ellen Page played the role wunderfully. But I have to say one thing: Although I would love to have children, I wouldn’t have wanted one with Vanessa either. She felt to overwhelming to me. Her entire world did spin around that baby and I’m not sure I could have borne that weight. And in my opinion Michael Cera’s role could have been a bit bigger, it’s his child after all and he loves Juno. All in all an interesting movie but another one that one has to be in the mood for.
\nOne additional remark: Juno says she’s named after Zeus’s wife. But Zeus’ wife is Hera. Only in the roman mythology they are called Jupiter and Juno. But then again, Zeus’s son is not Hercules, but Heracles and no one ever cared. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

January, 4th<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Hard Way<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael J. Fox … Nick Lang \/ Ray Casanov
\nJames Woods … Detective Lt. John Moss, NYPD
\nStephen Lang … Party Crasher
\nAnnabella Sciorra … Susan
\nLL Cool J … Detective Billy, NYPD
\nChristina Ricci … Bonnie<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Nick Lang is the action star of the “Smoking Gunn” movie series. His lives the life of a normal star with personal trainer, beach villa and whatnot. But he wants something more, he wants to play a cop who bleeds, who doesn’t know how to pay his rent. And so he goes undercover to New York to team up with a real cop: John Moss. And John should be delighted to work with him, shouldn’t he? How wrong he was…<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> It was so funny to watch how Nick\/Ray drove John to despair and he didn’t know how to respond. I especially liked the hunt of the party killer in the theatre in front of the running “Smoking Gunn” movie. But the party killer himself was also a cool opponent in my opinion, all the action scenes with him were well done. The roles for Michael and James were totally fitting, especially from the viewpoint of what they are usually playing.<\/p>\n

January, 5th<\/strong><\/p>\n

L\u00e9on<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Jean Reno … L\u00e9on
\nGary Oldman … Stansfield
\nNatalie Portman … Mathilda
\nDanny Aiello … Tony
\nPeter Appel … Malky<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> L\u00e9on is a professional hitman, a cleaner. Mathilda’s family has just been executed by corrupt cops over a drug issue. Now she seeks refuge at his appartment and he doesn’t know how to deal with this twelve-year old child. But soon he teaches her how to become a cleaner and she teaches him how to read. And she has also a score to settle with the killers of her four-year old brother.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> Everytime I watch that movie I wonder if Tony is really saving L\u00e9on’s money because everytime it comes to this topic he evades it. Yes he says that L\u00e9on could have it but he gives a number of reasons why he shouldn’t take it. And at the end he treats Mathilda the very same way. It’s a fascinating movie actually and excellently played by Reno, Oldman and Portman. I am especially fascinated by Gary Oldman. In my opinin he’s very good in speaking different accents and playing varying degrees of insanity. \ud83d\ude42
\nThis is one of few movies where I notice the music much more, it seems more intense and helps to tell the story and isn’t just a background noise.
\nIf it weren’t already late, I’d just watch another Luc Besson movie with Gary: The Fifth Element<\/em>.<\/p>\n

January, 7th<\/strong><\/p>\n

X-Men<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Hugh Jackman … Logan \/ Wolverine
\nPatrick Stewart … Professor Charles Xavier
\nIan McKellen … Eric Lensherr \/ Magneto
\nFamke Janssen … Jean Grey
\nJames Marsden … Scott Summers \/ Cyclops
\nHalle Berry … Ororo Munroe \/ Storm
\nAnna Paquin … Rogue \/ Marie D’Ancanto
\nTyler Mane … Sabretooth
\nRay Park … Toad
\nRebecca Romijn … Mystique
\nBruce Davison … Senator Kelly<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Evolution is a long and slow process. But every few hundred millenia it takes a leap forward. It has created human mutants. But how are they going to live in our society? Do we have to control them? Do we have to know what they can do? There’s a war upon us and Magneto wants to make sure that he’s on the winning side. And for this he needs a mutant called Wolverine, or doesn’t he?<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> Although it’s a comic adaption it feels much more real than previous superhero movies, Christopher Reeve’s Superman<\/em> movies come to mind. As with Batman<\/em>, Superman<\/em> and all the other american superhero I’ve never read any of the comics and am thus not burdened with any expectations or knowledge that could hinder my enjoyment of the movie.
\nAnd so I enjoyed it a lot. The characters were great altough a bit few for my taste. It’s a dilemma: One the one hand it’s not really logical that each side has only three fighters (Wolverine, Storm & Cyclops vs. Sabretooth, Mystique & Toad) but if they had been more it may have been to much. But the fights were cool, everyone could participate and use their abilities.
\nWhen X-Men Origins: Wolverine<\/em> comes into the theatres this year you’ll find me exactly there!<\/p>\n

X2<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Patrick Stewart … Professor Charles Xavier
\nHugh Jackman … Logan \/ Wolverine
\nIan McKellen … Eric Lensherr \/ Magneto
\nHalle Berry … Storm \/ Ororo Munroe
\nFamke Janssen … Jean Grey
\nJames Marsden … Scott Summers \/ Cyclops
\nAnna Paquin … Rogue \/ Marie D’Ancanto
\nRebecca Romijn … Mystique \/ Grace
\nBrian Cox … William Stryker
\nAlan Cumming … Kurt Wagner \/ Nightcrawler
\nBruce Davison … Senator Kelly
\nAaron Stanford … John Allerdyce \/ Pyro
\nShawn Ashmore … Bobby Drake \/ Iceman
\nKelly Hu … Yuriko Oyama \/ Deathstrike<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> While Wolverine is searching for his past, his past is coming to him – in form of Colonel Stryker. Stryker once gave him his adamantium skeleton and now he wants “Cerebro”, Xavier’s technology to find all the mutants in the world. And Stryker wants to control them with it. But he hadn’t anticipated that the “X-Men” and Magneto’s “Brotherhood of Mutants” would join forces to stop him.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> It’s the best of the three X-Men<\/em> movies, the main characters are all aready introduced and we see much more mutants and abilities. The story is very enthralling but also balanced between action scenes and more quieter ones like the one at Bobby’s parents. I’Ve never noticed this before, but: Bobby’s parents ask him whether he has tried not being a mutant. As if the question itself isn’t funny enough, Buffy’s mother asked a similar one: Whether she can’t be the Slayer anymore (must have been in Becoming<\/em> [second season’s finale] if I remember correctly).
\nToo bad that Bryan Singer decided to make Superman Returns<\/em> instead of the third X-Men<\/em> movie. Just like with Spider-Man<\/em> the third part can’t keep up with it’s predecessors.<\/p>\n

January, 8th<\/strong><\/p>\n

X-Men: The Last Stand<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Hugh Jackman … Logan \/ Wolverine
\nHalle Berry … Ororo Munroe \/ Storm
\nIan McKellen … Eric Lehnsherr \/ Magneto
\nPatrick Stewart … Professor Charles Xavier
\nFamke Janssen … Jean Grey \/ Phoenix
\nAnna Paquin … Marie \/ Rogue
\nKelsey Grammer … Dr. Henry ‘Hank’ McCoy \/ Beast
\nJames Marsden … Scott Summers \/ Cyclops
\nRebecca Romijn … Raven Darkholme \/ Mystique
\nShawn Ashmore … Bobby Drake \/ Iceman
\nAaron Stanford … John Allerdyce \/ Pyro
\nVinnie Jones … Cain Marko \/ Juggernaut
\nEllen Page … Kitty Pryde<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> A “cure” has been found to “heal” the mutants. And while some mutants like Rogue want to be healed most of them don’t see their abilities not as a disease that has to be cured. And Magneto will do anything in his power to destroy what he sees as poison for his kind. But the X-Men have problems of their own: Jean has returned as Phoenix and she’s already killed Cyclops. Can she be stopped?<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> A not so good conclusion to the overall very good trilogy. There were too many things I didn’t really like about it and most of them are connected to the Phoenix: Scott’s death (offscreen, too!), Xavier’s character change, Jean’s character change, Xavier’s death, … I know that the “Dark Phoenix” story is part of the comics but not everything that works in a comic works in a movie, too. Especially when it has never been mentioned before. If they had really wanted to conlcude the series this way they would have dropped hints in the first two installments. This goes also for this sudden classification: What the heck is a “class 3 mutant”?
\nI have told you before that I am not really good with faces that I have a hard time to recognize a person if I haven’t seen him or her that often before. What helps is that I have a good recognition of voices, so I often recognize an actor even if he wears an alien mask or something else. And so it was with the Kitty Pryde of this movie. I heard her voice and instantly said “Hey, that’s Juno!” and so it was. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

The Blues Brothers<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

John Belushi … ‘Joliet’ Jake Blues
\nDan Aykroyd … Elwood Blues
\nJames Brown … Reverend Cleophus James
\nCab Calloway … Curtis
\nRay Charles … Ray
\nAretha Franklin … Mrs. Murphy
\nSteve Cropper … Steve ‘The Colonel’ Cropper
\nDonald Dunn … Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn
\nMurphy Dunne … Murphy ‘Murph’ Dunne
\nWillie Hall … Willie ‘Too Big’ Hall
\nTom Malone … Tom ‘Bones’ Malone
\nLou Marini … ‘Blue Lou’ Marini
\nMatt Murphy … Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy
\nAlan Rubin … Alan ‘Mr. Fabulous’ Rubin
\nCarrie Fisher … Mystery Woman
\nHenry Gibson … Head Nazi
\nJohn Candy … Burton Mercer
\nKathleen Freeman … Sister Mary Stigmata (a.k.a. The Penguin)
\nSteve Lawrence … Maury Sline
\nTwiggy … Chic Lady
\nFrank Oz … Corrections Officer
\nJeff Morris … Bob
\nCharles Napier … Tucker McElroy
\nSteven Williams … Trooper Mount<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Jake has just been released from prison when he and his brother Elwood visit Sister Mary who asks them for a favour. She needs 5,000 dollars or the city will close the orphanage where Jake and Elwood had grown up. And now both are on a mission from God: They put the band back together to raise the money. And now starts one of the best music road trips of all time.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> Great movie. Great music. Great car crashings. Great guest appearances. Great movie. Everyone who likes good music (that excludes addicted \ud83d\ude09 ) should have seen this one. And the story is really funny, too, especially Carrie Fisher’s character. Did I mention “great movie”?<\/p>\n

Early in the nineties I used to get up real early on saturdays because at 5.50 a TV show called Rawhide<\/em> used to run where a Mr. Favor was the trail boss and he brought a herd of cattle from A to B and one of his cowboys was Rowdy Yates, played by a certain Clint Eastwood. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

[youtube GP2mcVwQ2as]<\/p>\n

[youtube WArD9zfwjMY]<\/p>\n

January, 10th<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Neil Patrick Harris … Billy \/ Dr. Horrible
\nNathan Fillion … Captain Hammer
\nFelicia Day … Penny
\nSimon Helberg … Moist
\nNick Towne … Bad Horse Chorus #1
\nJed Whedon … Bad Horse Chorus #2
\nRob Reinis … Bad Horse Chorus #3<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Dr. Horrible wants to become a member of the ELE – the Evil League of Evil. But his inventions haven’t been a success yet. Somehow his crimes always fail, mostly due to the intervention of Horrible’s nemesis: Captain Hammer. But the league wants him to commit a real crime before he can become a member of the ELE. And additionally he’s in love with Penny but he’s to shy to approach her.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> It’s a very funny musical by Joss Whedon. I don’t know if he produced it during the writer’s strike but he got the idea back then. The three acts were released on the internet without charge, without being accompanied by advertisement. I watched them back then and loved it from the start. The musics, the lyrics, the acting – everything matches and it’s a great fun to watch. I even watched all the bonus material, something I usually don’t do. And I watched the application videos for the ELE which were also really funny.<\/p>\n

A must-see for every Whedon (Buffy<\/em>, Angel<\/em>, Firefly<\/em>, Dollhouse<\/em>) fan.<\/p>\n

PS: When I first watched this, I didn’t even know him, but now I recognized “Moist”: It’s “Wolowitz” from The Big Bang Theory<\/em>!<\/p>\n

January, 11th<\/strong><\/p>\n

Masters of the Universe<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Dolph Lundgren … He-Man
\nFrank Langella … Skeletor
\nMeg Foster … Evil-Lyn
\nBilly Barty … Gwildor
\nCourteney Cox … Julie Winston
\nRobert Duncan McNeill … Kevin Corrigan
\nJon Cypher … Duncan (Man-at-Arms)
\nChelsea Field … Teela
\nJames Tolkan … Detective Lubic<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Whoever becomes lord over Castle Grayskull on Eternia becomes the Master of the Universe and Skeletor plans exactly this. He uses a cosmic key to open a portal directly into the castle and he can assume control. He-Man and his friends have to retreat, they use the key to get out and they land on Earth. But neither Skeletor nor He-Man is giving up. And suddenly the highschool students Julie and Kevin are in the middle of an epic fight between good and evil.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> This is a guilty pleasure of mine. I love this movie even though it’s totally cheesy and Dolph Lundgren can’t act at all. But it doesn’t matter. It’s still a great fun to watch. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

January, 17th<\/strong><\/p>\n

Never Been Kissed<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Drew Barrymore … Josie Geller
\nDavid Arquette … Rob Geller
\nMichael Vartan … Sam Coulson
\nMolly Shannon … Anita
\nJohn C. Reilly … Gus
\nGarry Marshall … Rigfort
\nLeelee Sobieski … Aldys
\nJeremy Jordan … Guy Perkins
\nJames Franco … Jason
\nGregory Sporleder … Coach Romano<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Josie Geller was one of the nerds in highschool, the kind of girl who asked for extra homework. It was not a pleasent time for her. But now she’s an editor at the Chicago Sun-Times and good at her job. But she wants to be a reporter, to write stories instead of reading them. And for this she has to go undercover to highschool again. But neither she nor highschool has changed.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> A sweet liitle comedy about a young woman who gets the chance of having a better highschool memory and to finally fall in love with the right guy. Not the best romance I’ve ever seen but still quite enjoyable.<\/p>\n

Back to the Future<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael J. Fox … Marty McFly
\nChristopher Lloyd … Dr. Emmett Brown
\nLea Thompson … Lorraine Baines McFly
\nCrispin Glover … George McFly
\nThomas F. Wilson … Biff Tannen
\nClaudia Wells … Jennifer Parker
\nJames Tolkan … Mr. Strickland<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Marty McFly is an ordinary 17-year-old highschool student in the year 1985. But he also happens to have a weird friend, a scientist who invents a lot of stuff that doesn’t work. But this time he has done it. He invented a time machine and he has built it into a DeLorean sports car. But he had to con some Lybians out of their Plutonium and that would become his death sentence. Marty has no choice but to flee before them and he does. The time machine brings him to 1955 where he has to find the Doc again in order to bring him home. But he also runs into his parents and that’s where the real trouble starts.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> If asked for a top ten movie list, this movie would be in it. I enjoy the entire trilogy very much (and I will continue watching as soon as I finished this review). Marty and the Doc are a great pair and it’s fun to watch them. I also really enjoyed the entire idea that a teen could actually observe the teenage years of his parents and see that they weren’t that different.
\nOne of my favourite scenes is when Marty disguises as Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan and plays Van Halen music (he was also sent by the Supreme Klingon”, but that was cut out, I read it in the novelization of the movie).<\/p>\n

And if there’s anyone out there who isn’t familiar with the story, here is it:<\/p>\n

[youtube GheAd59anbU]<\/p>\n

Back to the Future: Part II<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael J. Fox … Marty McFly \/ Marty McFly Jr \/ Marlene McFly
\nChristopher Lloyd … Dr. Emmett Brown
\nLea Thompson … Lorraine
\nThomas F. Wilson … Biff Tannen \/ Griff Tannen
\nElisabeth Shue … Jennifer Parker \/ Jennifer McFly
\nJames Tolkan … Mr. Strickland
\nJeffrey Weissman … George McFly<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Doc is back from the future and he has bad news. Marty must help him to protect the future of Marty’s children in the year 2015. But not everything goes according to plan. When they return to 1985 it’s not the one they have left. Suddenly Biff is a rich and powerful man. Someone has interfered with the timeline and it was neither Doc nor Marty. To solve this they have to return where it started – to 1955.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> This was my very first VHS I ever bought, back in the early 90s. If I remember correctly (and I have a memory for numbers) I paid 39.95 DM for it which is – including inflation – about 34 euros today. I don’t think I paid that much for my very first DVD (Braveheart<\/em>).
\nWhile I enjoy it a lot, it’s still my least favourite movie of the trilogy. Sometimes I jump directly from the end of part one to the beginning of part three which fit neatly together. But as I said it is very enjoyable with the antiques store and the number of close encounters of the same person. Unfortunately it’s already 2009 and we have neither holo projections like the “Jaws 19” movie nor hover technology for boards and cars. \"Undecided\"<\/p>\n

January, 18th<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back to the Future: Part III<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael J. Fox … Marty McFly \/ Seamus McFly
\nChristopher Lloyd … Dr. Emmett Brown
\nMary Steenburgen … Clara Clayton
\nThomas F. Wilson … Buford ‘Mad Dog’ Tannen \/ Biff Tannen
\nLea Thompson … Maggie McFly \/ Lorraine McFly
\nElisabeth Shue … Jennifer Parker
\nJames Tolkan … Chief Marshal James Strickland
\nMatt Clark … Chester the Bartender<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Marty’s stuck in 1955 while the Doc’s back in 1885. But the Doc isn’t going to live much longer after he had written the letter and Marty decides to go back and get him.But the old West didn’t have real roads and Marty subsequently rips the fuel line apart. Now they have to find another way to accelerate the DeLorean to 88 miles per hour. As if this weren’t enough Doc also falls in love and Marty agrees to a gunfight against ‘Mad Dog’ Tannen.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> In my opinion this movie is a bit more serious than the other two and both characters seem to have grown a lot due to their travels. I felt it to be a bit unfair that Marty travelled back to save Doc’s life and he doesn’t even thank him by warning him of the “Rolls-Royce accident”. But I also thought it to be a really good idea to let Marty make that decision alone and to show that the time travels have taught him something. I also thought that Mary Steenburgen was a great addition and to see Doc in love was very nice. It great conclusion to a fantastic trilogy.<\/p>\n

January, 28th<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bad Boys<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Martin Lawrence … Marcus Burnett
\nWill Smith … Mike Lowrey
\nT\u00e9a Leoni … Julie Mott
\nTch\u00e9ky Karyo … Fouchet
\nTheresa Randle … Theresa Burnett
\nJoe Pantoliano … Captain Howard
\nNestor Serrano … Detective Sanchez
\nJulio Oscar Mechoso … Detective Ruiz<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/em> Heroin worth 100 million Dollars gets stolen directly from the police’s evidence room. It is suspected that this was an inside job and Internal Affairs is investigating. The detectives Lowrey and Burnett have only one lead, an eyewitness to a shooting between the thieves. But for this to work, Lowrey and Burnett have to switch roles and their lives are very different.<\/p>\n

My Opinion:<\/em> I listened randomly thorugh my iTunes library when the theme song of COPS<\/em> suddenly played and that gave me the idea to watch Bad Boys<\/em> again.
\nIt’s a good action movie although neither my favourite Michael Bay movie nor my favourite Will Smith or Martin Lawrence movie. But it was funny to see them bickering about their different livestyles and I loved all these different shootouts and explosions. Hey what did you expect? It’s a Bay\/Bruckenheimer movie for crying out loud! \"Laugh\"<\/p>\n

February<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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