OMG what a pile of cotton candy, cheesy, fluff. Yes I went to see this, I even laughed a couple of times - but the feeling I had when I left this was that I needed to go do a couple shots of tequila to regain my womanhood.
Basic plot Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty meets Everquest. Ella is given a gift by a fairy as a baby (Sleeping Beauty was going to prick her finger on a spindle), this gift was to be obedient. (You tell her “pick your nose” she has to do it.) Her mother dies and her father finally remarries. (Enter the evil step mother and two evil step-sisters a la Cinderella.) The older of the two, figures out that she has this problem which gets her into all kinds of trouble. How does this meet Everquest you ask - as it turns out the Prince’s Uncle (Current King until the Prince is of age) has put laws in place making Elves only able to dance, sing and juggle - he has forced the Giants to do labor and the Ogres are outlawed. Ella of course wants to save them all. Along her journey to find the fairy who gave her the “gift” she meets an elf, some giants and some ogres - oh and meets and falls in love with the prince. With a bunch of gooey sillyness in the middle - in the end she gets her man and rids herself of her “gift.” BTW, through out the movie they had music you would recognize. Some oldies and some current/semicurrent.
To top all the sappy-ness off they end the fluffy pile o’fluff with a song and dance number.
LamW - 0
Connie and Carla grew up together singing cabaret songs. They end up witnessing the murder of their boss and flee to LA to avoid death. They end up posing as cross dressing men singing cabaret songs at a bar. (You know cabaret and gay men go hand in hand.)
It was very cheesy and silly. It had a couple slow parts and a guest appearance. But several good laughs.
LamW - nearly 2x
Jack Nicholson is a music industry executive who likes the young ladies. When he goes to visit his latest girlfriend's mother, Diane Keaton, he has a heart attack. He is left in her care along with his doctor Keanu Reeves. Then people might just fall for people their own age!
This movie was on the plane ride back to the U.S. from Germany. I saw most of it when the guy in front of me got his head out of the way. It wasn't completely vital that I see everything to follow what was going on. Keanu Reeves was not believable as a doctor.
I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. It is total cheese and you know what is going to happen. It isn't believable at all, but it was entertaining on the plane. I wouldn't have watched it otherwise.
Rating: B-
British tomboy wants to be a soccer player, but her family wants her to be a traditional Indian wife. That means no soccer.
It was a very cute movie. Some of the stuff might have went over my head because of the accents. The girl's family kept eating Indian food so I craved that the entire movie.
The girls fighting over the soccer coach was very funny. I forget everyone's names in the movie, but the Indian girl is now on ER and the blonde girl was in Pirates of the Carribean. If you have seen them in those things, you can see them playing soccer in this movie.
The ending credits are very silly since it has the entire cast singing to Hot! Hot! Hot!
Rating: B+
Girl goes to England to announce to a rich guy that he is really her father.
When I was in a hotel room in Dallas, I wanted something on television that could half pay attention to while I read my book. The only movie channel was HBO and it looked like this movie just started so I watched it.
I'm not sure how much I missed, but she had just arrived in England when I started watching it. Based on the length of the movie I saw, it didn't seem like I missed too much.
Oh my god, this was dumb. It was extremely lame. Everyone was a stereotype instead of actual characters. They kept telling each other to just act like themselves. It was like watching Saved By the Bell or some other similarly stupid show. Amanda Byrnes can't act either.
There was nothing redeeming in it, such as good music or an extremely fat cat.
Rating: F
Farrelly brothers comedy about two co-joined twins, Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear.
I am not a Farrelly brothers fan, even though I have seen most of their movies. I hardly ever laugh at them, so take this lovely review with a grain of salt if you think they are the funniest things in the world.
Greg Kinnear and Matt Damon were the only good things about this movie. There were a few instances that I actually laughed out loud in the plane. Yep, watched this one on the plane to Germany. The movie was way too long though. It would have been better as a recurring SNL skit than an entire movie.
Grade: C
Tale of the Body Thief
Author: Anne Rice
The fourth in the Vampire Chronicles. This time it focuses on Lestat and his wish to be mortal again, even if it is for just a short period of time. He finds a mortal to switch bodies with for two days while he experiences mortal joys like orange juice and horrors like getting a cold. Will the mortal be willing to give up his supernatural powers and immortality like he promised?
Oh, this book could have been shorter. It dragged the first 100 pages or so with some talk about God and the Devil. It was just so boring. Lestat is talking to his friend David, who refuses to be turned into a vampire after years and years of Lestat asking, and they talk about good and evil and blah blah blah. Once they get past that, they actually get to the plot of the story. I really didn’t think any of that furthered the main plot of the story at all. It also made me want to stop reading it.
After we get to the actual introduction of the body thief, which seriously doesn’t happen until after 100 pages. Then it is very interesting with Lestat being in a human body and then trying to get his body back. I just think the book would have been better with almost the first 100 pages gone. The very beginning should be there, leave all the good/evil talk out, and then move on!
Due to the blabbing, this would have been my least favorite out of the vampire chronicles.
Neverwhere
Author: Neil Gaiman
Richard Mayhew life is turned upside down after he finds a bleeding girl on the street. He is dragged from his normal, everyday life in the London Above to the world he didnt know existed in the London Below filled with rat talkers, angels, demons and people who have fallen through the cracks.
This is the guy that wrote the Sandman graphic novel series. I never read that, but I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me very much of Weaveworld by Clive Barker. It isn’t the same story but it has the same tone and I really enjoyed the fantasy world that was right under everyone’s noses without them realize it. The main guy kept wanting to get back to his normal life, but after seeing his “normal” life, I just wanted him to stay where he was. It was much more interesting.
I highly recommend this book for anyone that likes books that describe fantasy worlds that are just out of touch from the reality we currently live in.
Clint Eastwood directs Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon as childhood friends reunited as one of their daughters dies and her death is investigated.
We saw the movie last night. I thought they did a great job with the book and having most of the main things in the movie. There were lines straight out of the book in the movie too. The only changes they made were very minor and a few plot points they left out might have been cut out scenes or just left out to not make the movie too much longer.
Sean Penn and Tim Robbins both won Oscars for their roles and I can see why after watching this movie.
Rating: B+
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Author: J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the gang start their third year at Hogwart’s School of Wizardry. Sirius Black has been a prisoner of Azkaban for twelve years, but he has recently escaped along with rumors that he is headed for Hogwarts for Harry Potter.
I started and finished the third Harry Potter book when I was in Dallas. When I was supposed to be mentally preparing myself for a speech I was giving in front of almost 700 people, I was reading the book because I had to know what happened! These books just get started with crazy stuff right away and there is always a little mystery of what is going on. Also, when I think I know what’s going to happen, something surprises me so I enjoy that a lot too. I hate guessing what’s going to happen all the time. Good thing I didn’t have the fourth book with me or I might have started to read that too. 
I have hope for the third movie since it has a different director. The other director was so concerned about sticking to the events and timeline of the books that I think he lost the spirit of the books. I thought the movies were kinda boring to watch when the books were so exciting to read. I hope the new director puts some excitement and humor into the movie. Also, it should be fun to see Gary Oldman as Sirius Black.
