"You don't like Creedence?" "This is like having a pine cone shoved in my ass."

Live Free or Die Hard, 2007. Three stars.

I could probably say a lot about this movie, but I think the only important thing to say is: It's no way near as cool as the first one (WHICH ROCKS!!!), but it's one of the better sequels.

And The Mac Guy wasn't as annoying as I expected.

Also, someone should have told the writers that the internet doesn't work like magic.

Aaaaaaand, I first knew Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, so I still get stoked when he talks in movies!

"He must have had on some really nice pants."

The Pursuit of Happyness, 2006. Four Stars.

How can such an inspirational and uplifting movie NOT get Four Stars?? Well, I guess if the movie sucked, it wouldn't get Four Stars. But this movie didn't suck!

Before seeing it, I knew this was going to be a "trials & tribulations" story, but with an extremely happy ending. I looooooove happy endings (especially those inspired by true events), but I just wasn't sure how difficult it would be to get through the "trials & tribulations" part. I get pretty emotionally involved in movies. Consider yourself lucky if you've never had to experience watching a movie with me.

But the difficult parts of this movie weren't that difficult to watch. This is partially because it's so amazing to see all the crap that the main character goes through, and how his unflappable spirit, brilliant problem-solving skills, and awesome ability to think on his feet helps him beat it and get what he's worked hard for. My jaw dropped many times during this film. This dude rocks.

If you've avoided this movie because you think it'll be sappy-sweet and stupid to watch, drop that notion and go watch this sometime.

Fun fact about Will Smith that I picked up on imdb.com: Once stated that in his whole career, he most regrets turning down the part of "Neo" in The Matrix (1999) and the film that he most regrets making was Wild Wild West (1999). If I were him, I'd feel the same way!!

"Shit just got real!"

Hot Fuzz, 2007. Four Stars.

I'd seen this in the theatre when it first came out, and I really liked it. Saw it again recently, and realized: THIS IS THE BEST COP MOVIE EVER.

Firstly, who'd heard of a British cop movie? So, really, to finally make one's brilliant on it's own. Secondly, this movie just kicks so much butt!! Lots of explosions and violence towards the end. And lots of fun cop movie references. Very self-aware of it though, which I'm always a fan of. Just really kicks butt.

And there's the whole eerie townspeople aspect of it too, which lends a sort of supernatural quality for awhile. It's a big ol' mystery-thriller-action movie. Which is awesome!!

Another cool thing? The soundtrack, of course. And, yes, that is a Jon Spencer song used for when everyone's getting booked! It RULES.

And, yeah, obviously this movie's really funny!!!

I'm not sure this needs to be said now, but it did kind of needed to be a reminder when it was first released: You'll be disappointed if you're expecting Shaun of the Dead Part II. This is a completely different movie! And Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost have done a heck of a job with this flick.

"Someone is either a smoker or a nonsmoker. There's no in-between. The trick is to find out which one you are, and be that."

Dead Again, 1991. Three Stars.

Pretty cool movie! Caught it by accident: was once again going through the TV guide, was interested in the title of this movie, read the description, and decided to record it on the ol' DVR.

So it's like a love story that spans past and present, between two couples, but, they're the same couple... Pretty darn stylish and, as other reviewers have said, "noir-y." The ending was pretty surprising! At least, it was for me.

I HATED Kenneth Branagh's 90's hair, but I LOVE his 40's hair! For awhile I actually couldn't tell that these two character were played by the same guy, I kept thinking to myself, "So, where's Kenneth Branagh in the 40's?? He's starring opposite Emma Thompson, so he has to be here somewhere." That's my only real gripe about this movie: that I got confused by Kenneth Branagh's hair. But really, if the point of this story is that the couples are the same in the past and in the present, wouldn't you want to make it obvious that the couples were the same, hence making the similarities between the two couples undeniable? It was easy to spot Emma's characters, why not do the same for Kenneth?

Oh, and by the way, totally dug Robin Williams in this movie! I'm sick of his crazy/wacky/loud RobonWilliams-esque characters. I like when he strays from that comfort zone. Like he was so good in One Hour Photo. Same with Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy, which is a terribly underrated movie!

Your name is dumb bitch TOO? No wonder I keep getting all of your mail! You know, we could be related. There are a lot of us dumb bitches here in LA.

The Truth About Cats & Dogs, 1996. Three Stars.

I was hanging out at my friend Captain's one night, and I saw she had a copy of The Truth About Cats & Dogs next to her TV. I think I joked about it, because I'd heard it was such a chick-flick and was kind of lame. And I thought she started joking back about how it was her favorite movie and she could watch it all the time. Except, she wasn't joking! She really liked it, so we decided to watch it.

She's right: this is a great movie! It's fun, it has animals in it, the cast is cute-as-buttons, and the story is very sweet. Janeane Garofalo is absolutely adorable, more adorable than usual. I always think Uma's a hottie, but it was cool to see her play a fragile person. I don't really know who Ben Chaplin is, but, he's kind of charming in this.

And, though there's an obvious message, it's also a true one that's good to remember: a smokin' hottie on the outside might not necessarily be so great on the inside, and someone who you'd normally not cast a second look at could be the coolest person you'd ever meet.

"I love you!... I mean, I think we should hang out socially... I have a new ping pong table."

Evan Almighty, 2007. Three Stars.

Yeah, this movie wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be! Though I need to mention that I saw this on an 8-hour flight from Chicago to Hololulu, so I'm keeping in mind that viewing conditions weren't the best, and it was also edited.

But, I dunno, it was funny! Definitely geared toward little kids, so some of the gags were obvious and kept repeating themselves, but there were some genuinely comedic things happening in this flick. I laughed more than I expected to. Me and the 10-year-old girl sitting in front of me were having a ball watching it, haha!

And the story was, like, better than I'd expected. It was heart-warming and, like, actually made sense. And the bad guy got his in the end. And I liked the message from God:

"Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?"

...Awwwwww!

"Well if they weren't you could kiss my rebel coochie, faggot."

Black Snake Moan, 2006. Three and a Half Stars.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie; the descriptions and ads made it seem like some heavy, uncomfortable shit was going to happen, particularly between Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci. I braced myself for the worst.

But, nothing awful happened! In fact, this was a really good movie! The story was unexpected, the characters were amazing, and the acting? Of course Jackson and Ricci were awesome, but, so was... JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE!! I kept going back and forth between if it was really him or not. It sure was. Hot Damn.

AND Reba the Mail Lady was in it too!

Music's a key part of the storytelling in this flick, I say. It was great. Go Samuel. Go blues guys.

A couple of parts in this movie were a bit much, but it's not bothersome. I'm actually surprised at how much I ended up liking this movie.

"Whether Andromeda is the newspaper, or it's the delivery boy who is dropping it off, the message is loud and clear: Drop Dead."

The Andromeda Strain, 2008. One Star.

This made-for-TV miniseries was awful. Except that Daniel Dae Kim was in it. But his character's death had absolutely no cause, which was really dumb! Ricky Schroder was pretty good in this too. But this movie is so boring and pointless, don't waste your time.

"We know now we can't beat their machines. We've got to beat THEM."

War of the Worlds, 1953. Three Stars.

Good fun, including all the 50's sci-fi ridiculousness! The RGB alien lenses were great. I don't know what else to say about this movie. Everyone's probably seen it already, right? It's better than the Tom Cruise version, where everyone in Boston is miraculously safe. Go Beacon Hill!!

I only now get that Dr. Clayton Forrester from MST3K was named after the main character in this movie! That's awesome!

"We were younger." "We had guns!"

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, 2008. Four Stars.

I so enjoyed this movie! More so than the people I saw it with. The "Indy" character stayed true, the action was fun and ridiculous (like all Indiana Jones movies!), and I didn't even mind "Mutt" or that Indy and Mary got married at the end. All good fun. I've overheard complaints about how the whole "aliens" thing was "unbelievable." IT'S AN INDIANA JONES MOVIE. It fits right in, plus gives the whole "50's sci-fi" feel that was accurate to the time period. I've also heard that the "bad guy" wasn't "bad" enough. Though I agree a little bit, I don't think that's a negative thing, just interesting.

Can't say it enough: I really enjoyed this movie!!

"Sir, I think I speak for everyone when I say: To hell with our orders."

Star Trek: First Contact, 1996. Four Stars.

In case you're not familiar with my Star Trek experience, it's kind of explained in my Insurrection review!

So, this movie kicked butt!! It was so great! I'd never been that familiar with The Borg, so this was really cool. They looked phenomenal, especially for mid-90's special effects!! They were really scary. And the thing with how Earth makes First Contact, and how The Borg were going to destroy it, and the thing with Data, and everything... was so COOL!!

A+ movie!!!


FYI: I found this website while looking up The Borg. What??

"You may be *a* Doctor, but I'm *the* Doctor. The definite article, you might say."

"Doctor Who: Robot (Parts 1 - 4)", 1974 - 1975. Two and a Half Stars.

I am an UNBELIEVABLY HUGE fan of the new "Doctor Who" series!! Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant have both been amazing and hottie Doctors, and their differences in character only add to the deliciousness of The Doctor.

Despite my fanaticism toward the current series, I had never seen any of the previous series. My boyfriend Tim (my parter-in-Nerdism) read up on the Doctor Who universe (he's like a handsome encyclopedia of interesting nerdy things!), and came to the consensus that Tom Baker seems to be the most favored "Doctor," so let's give his first episodes a go. Hence, we watched "Robot."

Erm, couldn't really get into it. I appreciate the camp value, and that the special effects were from a 70's British TV show. And I'm sure that Tom Baker's character was a breath of fresh air for the fans. Heck, if you get past his annoying spaciness, he's a little charming.

It seems like the earlier series of "Doctor Who" were more geared toward children (I've heard people say how much these "Robot" episodes scared the daylights out of 'em when they were kids!), whereas the new episodes seem to be appropriate for adults... like, say, the kids who watched it when they were young except they're grown up now. I know, I'm so philosophical. Haha!

So, I couldn't get into these episodes. I'll definitely still check out more of the older series, either I'll start liking it more or at least I'll be paying some sort of respect to the history of the show I love so much now.



Fun Fact: I love making paper toys! This is the latest design I downloaded and made: http://cubeecraft.com/character085.html!

"God didn't make Rambo. I made him!"

First Blood, 1982. Three and a Half Stars.

My childhood had been filled with lots of Rambo references, so I'm sure I'd seen this movie at some point a long time ago. Couldn't have told you a thing about it, though; the only thing I remembered is my sister Sara's Rambo weeble-esque punching bag and toy machine gun, and the spoof with Weird Al Yankovic in UHF. So... nothing about the actual movie.

Yet, in my heart, when thinking about revisiting this movie, I'd get all fidgety. I have an awful memory, and I tend to only remember my emotions and reactions to things rather than the actual things. And my infant brain apparently only remembers the tedious parts of movies. For example, before re-watching these movies when I was older, this is all I had recalled from Baby Chrissy's memories:

- Big Trouble in Little China: Kurt Russell got lipsticked from kissing a girl, and he and friends are walking in a mucky tunnel. And that lightning guy!
- The Abyss: Water and lights.
- Poltergeist: That the little girl died from the flu and the girl at the end of the movie was a double. Yeah I know that happened in the third one but that's all I could remember about any of the Poltergeist movies.
- Dirty Dancing: That bitchin' song during that final dance (I really really liked that part of the movie; actually I haven't watched it in ages, I don't know what happens in this movie!!).

So, I think for First Blood, I know there was supposed to be a lot of kick ass-edry, but all I remembered was a guy in a forest and me being bored watching that, so thinking about re-watching it made me think about being fidgety.

But I worked through it and indeed watched it again. (In fact, I rented it from my sister Sara!) It was not what I expected. It WAS full of kick ass-edry, but I felt really bad for Rambo. Really, those numbnuts called the cavalry on a dude who fought for their country and now has nowhere to go so he gets charged with vagrancy? And they chase him all around trying to kill him and people die? It was ridiculous. But I still enjoyed it, especially the whole psychology part!

I should probably watch all the other ones. I hear the fourth one actually isn't half bad!!