"You look like Kid n’ Play." "That’s actually two people.”

Hot Tub Time Machine, 2010. Two and three-quarters stars?

I didn't know how to feel about when I finally got the opportunity to see this movie, because the first round of reviews I heard was that it kinda sucked, but then the second round of reviews I heard made it seem like the most hilarious thing ever. But I did want to see it because of all four of the main actors in it...

Turns out it's just okay. It runs hot and cold. Meh. There were some really funny parts, and there were some really uninspired moments.

The thing that ticked me the most was the deadpan deoivery of the line "It must be some kind of Hot Tub Time Machine." Actually, there are a lot of great lines in this movie. ("It’s called male bonding, okay? Haven’t you even seen Wild Hogs?") And I appreciated the unexplained innuendos about Cincinnati.

I usually enjoy the Rob Corddry, but I was unenthused with his character in the movie (though he pulled it off really well, of course. But he deserved a less stupid part). John Cusack... sorry dude, the 80's won't leave you alone. I wish they would. Making an interesting movie in this decade would be pretty cool, right...? I LOVE Craig Robinson (Who wants linoleum floors?), and I'm really really happy with pretty much anything he does. Clark Duke, I'm glad that you and Michael Cera's careers are taking off, but I miss your website.

I was surprised and stoked that Lizzy Caplan was in this, I only know her from Mean Girls but she's the best and I need to pay more attention to her.

So, Crispin Glover is in this too? He is my favorite Hollywood weirdo. I was more pumped about his performance than Chevy Chase's involvement in this flick.

The random Red Dawn allusions were delightful!

Even though this was a pretty uneven movie, I still enjoyed watching it. I don't think I'd see it again though.

Now I'm in the mood for a really funny movie. I want to see Pineapple Express again!!

"Lay down some phat beats for me to kick my buddy's ass to, alright?"

Iron Man 2, 2010. Three and a half stars.

Well, I should get started on this summer's movies before the summer ends, eh?

I thoroughly enjoyed Iron Man. In fact, I loved everything about it! And I'd been anxious to see Iron Man 2. I didn't have much hope for it being good: Usually movies I love have awful sequels, especially if they're big Hollywood blockbusters.

But this movie was pretty great! I mean, I feel like it's a different kind of movie, so it's like comparing apples and oranges: the first one is establishing the characters and movie universe, the second one is delving in more and taking it to the next level. Even though it was good... right now I'm giving it three and a half stars. That might change once I watch it again... Really it's good though!

Robert Downey Jr. continues his awesome performance as Tony Stark. There were a few points in the movie that I actually didn't like, that were (believe it or not) too fantastical that took me out of the movie. But his performance was so strong that he made it work. Like: the race-track scene where Vanko (BTW: Mickey Rourke? Excellent!) was Whiplash-ing cars to get to Tony... there would, and should, have been more destruction, shrapnel, and accidental hits that would have hurt or severely injured waaaaaaay more people. It's science, dudes. I know it's silly that something like that irked me, but, it did and does! Tony's reactions kept me from throwing things at the screen though. And that lame part with the little boy, Robert Downey Jr. made that cheesiness work in the end by having it be just so Tony.

Don Cheadle!! Terrence Howard was good as Rhodey in the first movie, and I'm not quite sure what happened here (I heard it was about $$, but I also heard it was a surprise to Howard...), and it's sad, but... Don Cheadle!! He is awesome, and if anyone had to successfully replace a prevalent character in a prevalent movie, it could only be him.

Scarlett Johansson. Blah. Sexy but pretty boring. And "Natasha Romanoff" shouldn't really be boring... right??

Pepper Potts! Gwyneth Paltrow is still good and as adorable as ever.

Has anyone else noticed that the ladies in this movies are wearing high heels that are too extreme and end up looking like they're walking in sand all of the time? Sexy while standing, awkward while walking.

Everyone in general is pretty much great in this. Sam Rockwell (slowly becoming one of my favorite character actors of all time), Sammy Jackson, like I said Mickey Rourke, and even Garry Shandling, who somehow sometimes makes me uncomfortable. And also, DAMN Jon Favreau's CV is getting pretty impressive, eh? Good for him!

"I think that's the shit, man. Raw intelligence." –OR– "I don't fuckin' know either. I guess we learned not to do it again."

Burn After Reading, 2008. Three and a Half Stars.

Oh, Coen Brothers! Your joints are such a delight.

This movie was quite enjoyable! And Brad Pitt ruled in it. And I looooooove Frances McDormand. And I dug George Clooney's performance, too. It's usually a little hit-or-miss with him for me (but mostly hit. I just think I'm a little sick of seeing so much of him sometimes). Anyways, the characters that he and Tilda Swinton played opposite each other were perfect!

I grew up watching Gilad on TV, so I took particular delight in the boat work-out scene with John Malkovich.

"I'm bigger, than ever. I'm bigger, I'm back. I'm better —I'm back, than ever—I'm back. You fuckers, I'm back."

"Our enemy has realized that they are fighting guys from the future."

Body of Lies, 2008. Three Stars.

Tim and I found ourselves randomly tuning in to the middle of this movie on TV. After both professing that we'd both been meaning to check out this flick, we found it on On Demand and watched it from the beginning.

I don't, and can't pretend to, know how accurately all of the different cultures, governments, and actions are portrayed in this movie. So I'm going on how good the actors are, and how engaging the story is.

So, I was pretty engrossed with the story and the characters. And yup, all the actors are great! It's always nice to see Leo in a good movie, and I was thrilled that Russell Crowe played a not hot guy. And I'm always happy to see Mark Strong, he seems to crop up in the darndest places. And Golshifteh Farahani! She is so pretty, and seems so cool in real life. Among other things, she's currently living in France and furthering her music career with musician Mohsen Namjoo; she had previously been in the Iranian band "Kooch Neshin" (which I think means "Nomads"?), which had remained underground in Iran since rock music and lady singers are forbidden.

Mike Patton (yay!) does a song on this soundtrack (with Serj Tankian, yuck), and the end credits feature a not very Guns N' Roses-y Guns N' Roses song (yuck).

"My family is not dying tonight. You are coming with me."

Mirrors, 2008. Two and a Half Stars.

I was in the mood for a scary movie. But this movie just didn't do it for me. Mirrors creep me way out, but not movies about mirrors. And especially not this movie about mirrors. There really wasn't much scary atmosphere or anything like that, and everything felt forced. So I just wasn't in to buying what these mirrors were selling.

One interesting thing is Esseker and the story of how the mirrors got haunted (THOUGH since "Esseker" was being written in a MIRROR, I really felt that they should have done the corny thing of the name being backwards and it really being "Rekesse". HWAH!). Also, Amy Smart is in this, and she's great. And her death scene was really the only other cool thing about this movie.

The ending's a bit cheesy, but I liked it a little. Though it didn't fit in with the rest of the movie, since it was so stylized when everything else was so reality-based. Which is a shame! Wasted potential.

Kiefer Sutherland, I miss you in The Lost Boys.

"It's almost a shame to smoke it. It's like killing a unicorn. It's like... a bomb."

Pineapple Express, 2008. Three Stars.

This movie was funny! And good!

I wasn't sure that I was going to like it; even as a non-stoner, I still enjoy stoner humor... most of the time. Sometimes it gets a little grating and unimaginative. So even though it has a good cast and writers that I like, I wasn't sure if this would be good, or just average.

Yeah, it definitely went where I didn't expect it to go. And it was so so funny.

Unsurprisingly, I had a crush on James Franco in "Freaks and Geeks". It was great to see him in something not serious, and also working with Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow again!

And My Guy's in it! If you didn't know that I've been a tremendous fan of his since seeing him in The Warriors, then now you know.

I could watch this movie several times in a row and not get sick of it.

"Time to go suck today's dick."

"Yeah it was funny, it was a fart-free set!"

Funny People, 2009. Three Stars.

This movie is very good. But I thought there would be more focus on the comedy since there were so many good comics and actors in it (plus I had spent a lot of time on RAAAAAAAANDY's website). Also, there's a lot of dick talk. I'm normally fine with stuff like that, but after awhile it got a little excruciating, especially from Adam Sandler's caustic character.

Anyways, the comics are funny, the cast is perfect, and there are lots of great cameos. James Taylor's appearance was probably one of the funniest parts! But this movie ended up getting surprisingly serious. And a little scary. And sad. And it felt like a very long movie. And it got pretty painful to watch. But still, it's good and I'd recommend checking it out if you come across it.

I'm starting to get excited about Aubrey Plaza. I love her in "Parks and Recreation", and she's great in this too. And I just found out that she's going to play Julie Powers in the Scott Pilgrim movie (so perfect!). Which I'm still not looking forward to. I love everyone involved but I don't think it can do the comic book that I love so dearly the justice it deserves. But I'll still see it. Hopefully by not keeping up with the video blogs and all that jazz, everything will be a surprise and I'll love it.

"It's a gift... and a curse."

"Monk", 2002–2009. Three and a Half Stars.

Speaking of excellent shows coming back from the brink of awfulness, there's also "Monk"!!

So, this show was great. But the last few seasons, however, got really stagnant; there wasn't much room for innovation until Monk was able to grow, and he couldn't grow until he started to solved Trudy's murder. (I always thought it was curious that a character so important to the main character in this show ended up being played by two different actresses, the first Trudy being Stellina Rusich.)

Well, because the series would end with the solving of Trudy's murder, this last season was phenomenal! Monk finally starts progressing and growing as a person, the characters around him also develop, and situations aren't dictated by his predictable reactions to everything. It was also cool to see how he finally got his badge back (which was something he always sought during the series), but since he (and the department) has changed and grown so much over the years, he realized he was happier just doing his Monk thang on his own. And, did anyone see the two-part series finale? It was so perfect! Everything I could have wanted and more.

Also, I'm a little bit of a sap, and I really like that Sharona and Disher got together, and that Disher is heading his own department in NJ. Mostly I'm very happy that Disher finally got so less annoying!! Unfortunately, Julie's character remained pretty flat. And I really think it's the character, not the actress (she was good in that episode "Mr. Monk and the Critic"!).

If you've never watched an episode of this show in your life, and you wanna get in to it, I suggest checking out the first few seasons, then a few of the first Natalie seasons, then the last season. Those will all give you a decent Monk experience. Then, if you like it, check out the rest of the seasons. It's easy to check out episodes of this show since, if it's anything like it is now, USA will be re-airing Monk marathons for ages to come.

Whenever I see Craig T. Nelson ("Coach")'s name in credits, for a split second I think it's actually Michael J. Nelson ("Mystery Science Theater 3000") and I get excited. I know that's weird. And don't get me wrong, I'm always happy to see the dad from Poltergeist!

"Not you, Fat Jesus. Slide it on back."

The Hangover, 2009. Three Stars.

The trailers for this made it seem like a basic "men are miserable when they're married so let's have one last hurrah before we get married and our lives are over" kind of movie. I had no interest in seeing it. (Even though Ed Helms is pretty awesome!)

But then I heard from many people that it was very funny. So when it came out on DVD, someone let me borrow it.

This movie heavily depends on the "here's this unexpected ridiculous thing!!" technique, which I'm big fan of. But, since people were kind of freaking out over it so much, I was expecting ridiculous things. So I wasn't surprised by the ridiculousness. So I didn't laugh very much. But I did enjoy this movie a lot, and I still thought it was funny.

The best part, though, are all the pics from that night that are shown through the end credits. Genius!

Also, A NAKED SEÑOR CHANG is in this!!!!

It was nice to see Heather Graham in a movie again! But I just looked at her imdb.com profile, and she has been in lots. Just stuff I haven't seen. Oops. Still, nice to see her. And Jeffrey Tambor! I like him! And yay for Rachel Harris playing a bitch, too!

I first saw Zach Galifianakis in "Bored to Death" (which I'll write about if I can ever bring myself to finish the first season), and I look forward to seeing him in more stuff.

I can't get Ken Jeong off my mind though. He steals the show almost every time I see him!

..."But more importantly, you're dressed like a gladiator in a desk fort you built during a bad trip."

"Community", 2009–Present. Four Stars.

This show's not only the biggest surprise of the new shows on the Fall '09 line up, but also the funniest thing on television right now. When I first saw an ad for it, I was confused about what it was about, and whether it would be funny or painful (like most budding sitcoms nowadays). But it had me at the first episode. Wholly original, and just so darn funny.

Seriously, every single character on this show is hysterical. I don't have the patience to write about all of them. But really, the characters are great and the actors that play them are phenomenal.

I do have to mention Joel McHale. I only watched "Talk Soup" when John Henson was on it. He was the only one that made the show for me. And it has been disappointing to see his acting career plateau as him basically playing himself as news reporters in the background in movies. But! I started watching the latest "Talk Soup" variation, "The Soup", one day randomly. I loved that the show focused on all the horrors that reality television unleashes on to its viewers (not just talk shows). And, this Joel McHale dude was on it, and he was hilarious! Just the right amount of self-deprecating humor mixed in with self confidence, sarcastic-ness, and ability to rock a suit while remaining agile enough for bits of physical comedy. Also I'm starting to really like his leprechaun-y face. But then I got worried: Would Joel McHale follow in John Henson's footsteps by being on some weird show about a community college that might fail tremendously? Thankfully, no!

So, also, Chevy Chase is in this. Surprising, and, great! I've heard he's not the swellest gentleman ever (but who in Hollywood is?), but his ability to not take himself seriously in this show really works for him, and makes him funny to me again!

But! The best part in this fantastic show? SEÑOR CHANG!!

Hooray for Dan Harmon, the creator of this amazing show. He's worked on other such gems like "The Sarah Silverman Program" and "Channel 101"!

I can't wait for new episodes to start airing again. 1/14/2010. Yay!

"I think it's fabulous. Every value I've ever held is being questioned. And I'm loving it."

"The IT Crowd", Series 2 & 3. Four Stars.

I watched Series 1 a little while ago, and I wasn't floored by it. But it had lots of potential, and I'd been told that Series 2 & 3 are a lot funnier, so I recently checked them out.

Already by the first episode of the second series, the show got a LOT funnier. And there IS a Drinky Crow and Uncle Gabby on Roy's desk! And some Love and Rockets books make an appearance! Yay comic books! And now Bainbridge is in the show!!!

Third series is a laugh riot. And everyone got a style update (Roy's 'do is working for him and he looks slimmer, and Jen's hair doesn't look wonky anymore). One of my ultimate faves (though I like all of them) is "Are We Not Men?" (the football one), it's brilliant!

I want to watch all of these episodes all over again.

"God damn these electric pants..."


...
...
...
...JOEL McHALE was in the pilot of the US "The IT Crowd"?? I love that guy so much!! I will profess my love for "Community" in a timely manner, so stick around!

"Oh my God, what's wrong with your hands!"

Star Trek, 2009. Four Stars.

That T4 review really threw off the timeliness of my reviews. I need to play a bit of catch-up.

I saw Star Trek when it came out in the theatre. Saw it opening night, and we liked it so much that Tim and I took his mom to see it a few days later for Mother’s Day! And after all the hype the movie generated, I want to see it again STAT to see how I still feel about it. When does it come out on DVD??

Just checked: November 17th! Rad!

So, as stated in earlier reviews (par example, Star Trek: Insurrection), I like Star Trek. And I like this movie. I thought I would hate this new “My daddy’s dead” brat-faced Kirk, but, he was still cute and a bad-ass! Just had even more edge.

Zachary Quinto is a perfect Spock, but it’s too bad that his “Sylar” face looks like his “Spock” face, because even though he’s totally being Spock, all I can think about is Sylar.

Uhura and Spock are a thing? I’m totally okay with that.

Actually, I loved everyone in this, and they all did a great job breathing new life into these already-established characters. I got a kick out of Karl Urban’s Bones. (In fact, it's the only time I've ever gotten a kick out of Karl Urban.) A friend told me that was one of the only parts of the movie she didn’t like since he mimicked the original Bones’s character, while everyone else’s character is a unique adaptation. I can understand it, but really Urban did such a phenomenal job that I think it works fine in this reboot, plus it's really enjoyable! And like I mentioned in the T4 review, I really didn't mind that Anton Yelchin was in not one but TWO summer blockbusters, and as pretty important characters. His Chekov is commendable comedic relief, and I like that he's a kid. And he does it all with integrity. Also, SCOTTY!!!

I liked that Leonard Nimoy is in this, because I like him.

Since I mentioned so many actors, I feel badly if I don't mention all of them now. Eric Bana. Bruce Greenwood. John Cho. Those are the only ones I was familiar with before seeing this, and they were all great. Except, Winona Ryder. I don't know how I feel about her being in this.

This movie is really fun and enjoyable, and it looks cool. If you're not a big sci-fi fan, you still might like this. If you're a die-hard "Original" Star Trek fan, you still might like this.

"I'm sorry, are you from the past?" -OR- "Hello Computer."

"The IT Crowd", Season 1, 2006. Three Stars.

I had heard about this show a few years ago and was eager to watch it. Between then and now, though, boy was it over-hyped! So I didn't really know what to expect.

What I definitely didn't expect, though, was the laugh track. Laugh tracks nearly ruin most anything. And, there were a lot of "Hey, this is a funny part!" moments in the show that just really got on my nerves. It took away from the actual funny, bizarre, and original moments.

Which existed! The characters are stereotypes (I especially can't stand stereotypes of women and nerds!) and a lot of the big jokes are lifeless, so when I first started watching the show, I was practically insulted. But, some of the character's actions and what they were saying were genuinely funny... was it a fluke? Or are these stereotypes just a canvas for actual hilariousness? I had to keep watching.

No one told me that Noel Fielding plays the goth IT guy that stays locked in the back room! His appearance was so refreshing, and after his first appearance, the series really picked up for me. If they can have Vince Noir playing an ex-Executive whose obsession with Cradle of Filth has turned him into a nocturnal goth that's hidden away in the IT office... then maybe those little glitters of bizarre humor are on purpose!

The show ended up growing on me, and even though I don't really like the characters, I like what they say and how they react to stuff. I still get irritated sometimes, like with Moss's annoying "He's so stupid, isn't he funny"-ness, but his actual funny moments make up for it. Plus he's Saboo, so he can do anything he wants really. Also, the boss is amazing!

Is that a Jimmy Corrigan doll behind Roy's desk??????

By the way, I really like the DVD warning and menu, and the opening theme (both music- and graphics-wise). And I'm such an 8-bit weirdo that I spent lots of time with the DVD options to see what would happen. I really like how it was done.

I'll probably check out the other seasons of this show!

OH, I watched the "Behind the Scenes" too; it's pronounced "The It Crowd" and NOT the "I.T. Crowd"? Or is that a joke? Because I think the ironic reference to the phrase "The It Crowd" still works if you pronounce it "I.T.", plus it makes more sense with the show. I think about these things.

SUGAH SLAM!

"Parks and Recreation", 2008–Present. Three Stars (currently, and so far!).

The first season was okay. It reminded me of the British "Office" in that it definitely makes you cringe like crazy (though it's not nearly as cringeworthy); in the British "Office," however, no one's a very good person, so it's easier to come to terms with all of the horrible, embarrassing-to-watch antics that happen. "Parks" is actually harder to watch because Leslie Knope is such a nice and good person, and her naiveté is from genuine niceness, not jackass-iness. So you really feel for the poor girl.

All of the other characters in the show, however, are just terrible, selfish people, and they're not very nice to Leslie, which is difficult for me to watch. Because no one cared about anyone else, I didn't care about them, and how do you watch a show when you don't care about what you're watching? But I cared about Leslie, and I wanted to see something good finally happen to her... Well, in general, I felt that this show had potential, so I stuck with it.

There's a welcome shift in Season 2, which makes it way more enjoyable so far: the characters seem to start noticing Leslie's genuine and plucky attitude, and it's making everyone not as mean. And it's nice to see people start to come around to Leslie's side and actually support her. So now the episodes aren't just a total shitfest on the main character! And, the show is funny! Episode 2 ("The Stakeout") is pretty great, but really, I think the episodes keep getting better and better.

Amy Poehler is amazing as the show's clueless but confident lead. I like her work in general, but it's so so good to see her in a lead role! Rashida Jones is a great "straight man," and she's just so super cute. And Aziz Ansari is hilarious, I love that guy!

I don't know if this show's for everybody, but if you want to, give it a shot. I went from kind of dreading watching it, to looking forward to watching it. It gets a thumbs up from me!

“FUCK PICASSO!” a.k.a. “Is Picasso more important than your family?”

Pollock, 2000. Three and a half stars.

Bud Cort’s in this??

Also, so is Greg from Flight of the Conchords???

And Val Kilmer plays De Kooning????

…Awesome!

Everyone was really good in this. I was pleasantly surprised by all the well-known actors in this, especially the ones playing well-known artists.

I like Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings, and the idea behind and execution of his paintings and what they meant for the art world. But I didn’t know much about this personal life, so I couldn’t tell ya if Ed Harris got it right or not. This was an interesting movie though, and I liked it!

The choppy storytelling/timeline is pretty effective: It was like if Pollock was thinking back on his life, and only the most important, powerful parts to him popped up, and since it’s memory, it doesn’t flow perfectly together. It does, however, require more work for the viewer to become involved in the act of watching the movie, and there’s always the possibility of being confused and annoyed. I like it (I like being completely immersed in a movie), but I’m sure that if I were in a different mood, I could have lost patience with it.

There are quite a few “conversations” in this flick. I had a difficult time following the “blue painting” conversation, but I loooooooved the “Let’s Have a Baby” scene/speech.

It was sad to see Lee so fervently focusing on promoting Pollock's work rather than working on her own paintings (though to his defense, in the movie Pollock always made it a point that she has a space to do her own work in). Well, near the beginning of the movie, when he said “You’re a good woman painter,” I guess it set the tone for their whole professional relationship (and I wanted to hit him).

One thing I got sick of was the “stuff’s happening” music. UGH.

I’m pretty jealous that Ed Harris got to recreate Pollock’s paintings in front of the camera. How much fun is that? I’d like to find out that whole process.

Here’s a list of all the clothing items from this movie that I want, and where it can be found time-wise:

- The first cardigan seen in the Opening Scene

- Lee’s dress 55-ish minutes in

- The sweater at 1:29

Aw man, there were way more dresses in this movie that I liked, but I forgot to write them down.

“I killed a swan yesterday. ...Took a shit on it.”

"The Mighty Boosh", 2004–2007 (so far?). Four Stars.

They started airing episodes on Adult Swim. My friend Aimee mentioned how much she loves the show and that she thought I’d like it too. I hate when people tell me that they think I’ll like something! It makes me instantly hate it. But I started watching.

And! I love it!!

I can’t believe no one had love enough to introduce me to this sooner!

After seeing some third season episodes on TV, Tim and I immediately rented all the Boosh DVDs. I like all three series that’ve come out. I like that each season’s different from one another. I like how silly-insane it is!

One of my absolute faves is “Nanageddon” (where this title quote’s from). Holy crap.

“Did you drop any Weather Report?”

“Get stuffed.”

“Fair enough.”

…Okay I’m also obsessed with Old Gregg! And Kirk!

I don’t really want to talk about this any more, because if you haven’t seen it yet, I don’t want to ruin it for you. I probably already have by gushing about it. But still check it out sometime if you like comedy and electro music and fabulously badly-good costumes.

"Can I get some pants?"

"Stargate Universe", 2009. Possibly Three Stars, so far.


I liked the Stargate movie. And I was a big fan of SG-1 and Atlantis, and am bummed that they’re both off the air (SG-1 I can understand since it’s been on for so long, but I think Atlantis still had weekly tune-in-ability!).

And now there’s ANOTHER Stargate show going on the air?

Will it be good? Or will it be a disaster.

Just saw the first episode. I didn’t mind it. It didn’t immediately grab me, but it didn’t repulse me either (I was afraid it would). It was two hours long, which is amount of time to establish the series plot and characters and relationships.

Yay, Carter and O’Neill make an appearance! And so does Daniel Jackson in video form! Eli seems like a lovable Rodney McKay (well, actually I like Rodney, but in general I mean!), so yay! I don’t get how everyone’s so suspicious of Rush. Did he do something horrible that I missed? I also don’t understand how everyone’s generally being bitchy at each other. Wouldn’t being on a moving, old, broken Ancient ship bring people together despite their differences to work toward a solution for survival??

I think it’s cool (and smart) that something new’s being done with the Stargate universe: Instead of purposely exploring new planets and galaxies, these people are transported to a moving, old, broken Ancient ship that hey have no control over. And seeing how this fleshes out is what really has me interested in checking out more of the series. And the first episode hasn’t deterred me from watching the next one, so looks like I’ll be giving this series s shot!

"What should I tell your men when they find out you're gone?" "I'll be back."

Terminator Salvation, 2009. Three Stars.

This review is a long time coming. And it's why I haven't been updating; I really wanted to get this one done before I wrote anything else. But it was so difficult to write. I have so many mixed, strong feelings. And my suckage with words was making it frustratingly hard to get out what I wanted to say.

Here we go:

I love The Terminator, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day is my all-time favorite ever. I don't remember much about T3, which I'm pretty thankful for... but my point is, I grew up with Terminator, and I am crazy about it.

So when I found out about T4, I made sure I got my Opening Night/Midnight ticket. I was very excited!

Because, LOOK AT THIS TRAILER!! It THRILLS me! It's scary, and exciting, and makes me feel like, "YES! Finally, we get to see the aftermath of Judgment Day, and John Connor kicking butt!!"

Well, this is why I try not to get too excited about movies before I see them, because when I get excited, I always get let down. And poor little me was nearly devastated.

The movie is NOT BAD. Really. But it's also NOT FANTASTIC. It felt like a long movie. There was way too much attention paid to some parts, like when Marcus is trying to figure out where the heck he is, whereas other parts were glossed over, like John Connor's relationship to his wifey (WHO IS PREGNANT, and yeah it's cool to see a pregnant lady in a movie and not have it be a big deal, but when John Connor is spawning? BIG DARN DEAL. Yeah, also there were no sparks between them. It was just blah.)

Also, the other movies oozed such a strong sense of doom, which was surprisingly missing in this flick. And Skynet just wasn't very scary.

I'd heard that originally, the focus of this movie was going to be Marcus, and that John Connor was just going to be running around in the background. I would have been cool with that. I think it would've been interesting. But what ended up happening is that both Marcus and John Connor were the main stars of the show, and it just didn't work out very well. It was pretty confusing and disjointed.

I'm still unsure how I feel about Christian Bale as John Connor. I love Christian Bale. And I love that he has done a lot of cool weird cult-y sci-fi action-y flicks (American Psycho, Equilibrium, Reign of Fire, Batman Begins / The Dark Knight, Rescue Dawn). I would have preferred that John Connor be someone a little less "known" so the audience can have an easier time seeing John Connor as John Connor rather than John Connor as Famous Hunky Guy. But clearly Christian Bale's impressive CV shows that he's more than capable of being a fabulous John Connor.

Yet, John Connor didn't really feel very John Connor-y. We know that eventually he becomes this kick-butt hero of humanity, but... what happened to his smart-ass-ness?? One of my friends mentioned that he thought John Connor was just expectant of everything to happen, hence he was on edge and paranoid. I agree, this could explain his blank-ness. But I don't think the movie did that much to tell us that he is actually going through that. So it just felt awkward. It makes more sense that, at this point in his life, he should be at a transition stage where he's still his smart-ass-y self, but is beginning to show his strengths as a leader.

It was awesome when he was listening to that same Guns N' Roses song ("You Could Be Mine," which is in fact my most favorite GNR song!) from T2 while he was on his bike and catching the Moto-Terminator. But since they were pulling so much from that scene, I wish they just had him say "Easy money"!

I was totally fine with the actor that played Kyle Reese, and it didn't bother me that he played a big role in another summer blockbuster. And I think it's cool how young he is; it's like we're witnessing the genesis of John Connor's influence on him and future soldiers.

I thought I would hate Fake Arnold, but, I didn't!

I would like to see this movie again...

Hey, does anyone else think that McG's a douche?

You know what was pretty great, actually? "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles". And that got canceled. I call shenanigans!

"Why the fuck would I blow up Chick-Fil-A? It’s fuckin’ delicious!"

Observe and Report, 2009. Three Stars.

I enjoyed the trailers for this flick, and I'd see them on TV a lot. Because they trailers are kind of silly, I completely forgot that this was not a silly movie, but rather a dark comedy.

Yes, this is a daaaaaaaaaaaark comedy. I was sitting in the theatre thinking, "WOW this isn't silly, some of it's SAD!" But I figured it out soon enough. I really liked it. I liked the choppy-ish editing and segment-y scenes. It was quirky-ish and funny. And everyone was great in it. Pretty darn dark, especially when set against a backdrop of a typical suburban mall, but that's how I like my comedies sometimes!

I would like to see this movie again!!

"Roar! I will piss on the bones of your ancestors!"

Be Kind Rewind, 2008. Three Stars.

This was a very sweet and endearing movie... which is not how it was advertised at all! I was expecting Jack Black and Mos Def to just be crazy the whole time. So I was pretty confused. It should have been advertised correctly; I still think people would have gone to see it.

So like I said, it's a very sweet movie. And it's good. Very cool seeing Michel Gondry's well-known stunning visuals created with commonplace objects. The movie montage is probably the best montage I've seen ever! And I was not expecting to see Sigourney Weaver, she's great!

It's totally worth seeing this. Just don't be surprised at the sappy moments in the movie.