Iron Man 2

I went to see Iron Man 2 on Monday and it was OK. Not as good as the first one. Mostly Robert Downy Jr. was feeling sorry for himself because he was dying which i get, but caused him to act stupidly through most of the movie.
There was a brief scene with DJ AM which surprised me, I hadn't known he was in this before he died. they also put a in memory of for him at the end of the film which was ice.
I enjoyed Pepper and Tony's relationship as they had serious issues, mostly relating to the fact he wasn't working in any capacity. And i did laugh at his loosing both kids in the divorce joke. Some of the action sequences were a bit long, and i don't see the extreme need for some of the scenes but over all it was enjoyable.
I have to say, at least for some of the guys in the audience there is a scene were Scarlett Johansson changes in the car from her work clothes to her skin tight kick some ass work clothes and then proceeds to go and kick some ass, so for some of you I'm sure that's a major perk. She also drops Happy in the boxing ring at her entrance which made me giggle.

Living 'till the End

I started Living 'till the End because Sean Maher (Simon Tam from Firefly and serenity <3) was in it. Well not only is he in it he's the main character. I was surprised to find i enjoyed it.
The movie is about a neurotic young man Jack (Maher) who goes to a psychic and finds out his girlfriend has been cheating on him and he's going to die on his next birthday.
10 months later he barely leaves his apartment and when he does he goes around in a bright orange football helmet. And then he meets Audrey and she's also dying, but she's using the time she has left to live life to the fullest and do all the little things she hadn't gotten to do yet. And somehow she ends up dragging Jack along on half of these things. They even go to Paris where things heat up between the two of the (because hello it's Paris)and Audrey freaks out and flees back home.
But Jack learns to live again, reconnects with his family and the world. I won't tell you the end of the movie but i will recommend you watch it for yourself.

Quest for Camelot

Quest for Camelot stars with music playing with we move through the fog over the ocean. WE then see a young girl playing horses and playing with her parents. Her dad tells her the story of the sword Excalliber.
It's been years since i saw this movie, and i'd forgotten it was a musical until King Arthur and then the nights all burst into song. ok Wow do those songs suck. 12 minutes in and i'm wondering why they chose to sing these, ok ok i get Kaylee singing about how she wants to go places and do things but On my Father's Wings is one of the sappiest songs ever.
Also King Arthur is like the worst warrior ever, a giant beast bursts into his round table chambers and all of his knights grab their swords but he stares at the beast then slowly inches for Excaliber. The point of having a sword is to use it no wonder it was so easy for the griffen to steal the sword. While the bad guys sing a happy little tune about being evil and conquring the world Kayley and her mother have a not so secret not so whispered conversation about Kayley hurrying to Camelot ahead of them to warn Arthur that Ruber (Senior evil pants) is coming.
Kayley barely escapes which, of course promts her mother to burst into song about mothers wanting their children to be safe. Kayley meets Garret and they set off to find the sword in the forbidden forest.
Apparently Arthur is also week as well as a sucky warrior because one scratch from the griffen and he's collapsing all over the place while trying to convince Merlin he should go look for his sword.
Despite the unending cheese and corny songs there were parts of the movie i enjoyed, but i wouldn't recommend it unless these are the things you are in the mood for.

Hurt Locker

Hurt Locker got on my list because Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman to win an Oscar for best director with this film. It was intense and left me jittery. You have to be in the right mood for this movie. It is emotionally trying.
Hurt Locker follows a bomb squad stationed in Iraq and their crazy every day lives as they try to make it their last month before going back home. Every shot you see them in you're waiting for one of the characters to get hurt, or worse die. It is an excellent tribute to the work of the men and women giving their lives over there.
One of the bombs they were sent out to deal with was attached to a man who didn't want to die. As he begged for his life and his kids they tried unsuccessfully to save him. I cried.
Although this wasn't my favorite movie ever, I'm much more drawn to ones which make me feel happy at the end i think the Hurt Locker will stick with me.

Parent Trap vs. Parent Trap

As promised here is my comparison of the Hayley Mills 1961 Parent Trap and the 1998 Lindsey Lohan version.They start out drastically different, the 1960's has a diddy about setting your parents in a trap so they'll remember they love each other and 1998has the marriage of the parents. This is the most drastic difference of the film because as we get to camp the similarities already have started. in 1961 Sharon arrives in a fancy car while Annie arrives n a limo in 98 and that's just the start. Both of those characters are the more sophisticated of the twins, both have a checklist of things they need to remember, Sharon is handed theses things while Annie simply goes over them and both of these twins are the ones with accents. Sharon has a Bostonian accent and Annie is British. And as we are introduced to the other twin (Susan and Hallie) we can see they have shorter hair than their counterparts and both of them are from California. An interesting note the Cabin Arapaho is in both movie although different twins inhabit it Sharon has Arapaho in 1961 and Hallie has it in the newer version.
In both films the sisters play a series of pranks on each other, some of them are different in the movies and some are the same. In 1961 Susan's dress is cut up the back and the camp dance and in 98 Annie's clothes are stolen after a bad hand in poker. But in both Susan/Hallie raid Sharon/Annie's cabin and set a series of booby traps. Eventually the pranks become too much and they are sent to the isolation cabin (which they are led too with the entire camp and it takes them like forever to get there but later it's right at the edge of camp.)
In both films bond on a rainy day when Susan/Hallie's pictures are ruined and Sharon/Annie don't know who they are. They then eat Fig Newtons/Oreos and talk about there parents which is when Sharon/Annie gets a funny feeling and they show the pictures of their parents.
After they discover they are sisters they bond and eventually Susan/Hallie have a "Brilliant beyond Brilliant idea." Switch places! so they cut Sharon/Annie's hair and learn everything they have to know about each other, including accents. Sharon is forced to bite off her finger nails after a Susan points out she's bitten them her whole life and Annie has to get her ears pierced.
Susan/Hallie start their switch first they meet their lovable grandfather and "Make a memory" by smelling him. Susan also has a grandmother but there isn't one for Hallie. And then the mother appears at the top of the stairs. They talk about their parents first date. Margaret and Mitch (1961) went to an Italian restaurant named Martinallis and Elizabeth and Nick (1998) met on the QE2, a boat.
Sharon/Annie arrive in California where their dog doesn't recognize them and their father introduces them to a woman. An interesting note, Vicki the girlfriend in the 1961 version is also in the 1998 version, the same actress plays Vicki, the mother of Meredith Blake, the girlfriend in 98. Both woman show their true colors to the audience early "The first thing i do is ship that brat off to boarding school in Switzerland."
Eventually Chessie/Verbina (the housekeepers) over hear Sharon/Annie talking to themselves and get out the truth. They aren't Susan/Hallie, but their counterparts. And then their father arrives to tell them he's getting married. Sharon plays the piano to releave pressure which makes her dad wonder when she learned that. When he breaks the news both girls start shouting and ranting, which Annie did in french. And then they send a telegram/fax for Susan/Hallie to call them. A call which their grandfather overhears. They tell the truth to their mother who takes them to California to switch the twins back.
Sharon and Margaret arrive at the house and Hallie and Elizabeth at a hotel. Whne Mitch spys Margaret sneaking around in the house to get a look at Vicki he backs into a lake and when Nick spys Elizabeth he falls into the pool. The girls get the servents (who are more like part of the family) to help them recreate their parents first date. When this fails they dress identically and refuse to tell their parents which one is which until after their camping trip, which t=they insist on all taking together. Their mother of course tricks Vicki/Meredith to go in her place and the twins turn their tricky skills against her. they put lizards on her water bottle, rocks in her bags and dump her in the lake. Eventually it's too much and the lady departs in a rage.
The movies end happily (of course it is disney after all) both ending with the remarriage of the parents, in 1961 it was shown through Susan explaining her dream to Sharon and in 98 through snapshots of the wedding (includin Martin proposing to Chessie :) i love that little side plot) and that's my comparison of the Parent Traps like them both for their subtle differences.

Sleeping Murder

Another Marple Mystery, this one with my favorite Marple actress, Geraldine McEwan every thing from her heart shaped magnifying glass to her knitting habits make her look like the sweetest old lady in existence. You just want to give her a hug. But beneath that cute exterior lies a superior mind with excellent investigative skills and the ability to answer one of life's important questions -- Who done it? The only question that can't be answered here, is why the hell don't i own these?

Newly engaged Gwenda Halliday travels to Britain for the first time in her life to find a home and get settled before her fiancee Charles joins her for their wedding. Charles sends Hugh Hornbeam, a man who works for him to Shepperd her around England and handle anything she needs. They travel to a small town called Dillmouth where Gwenda sees, falls in love with and buys a lovely house with a view of the sea and then sees the memory of a corpse at the body of her stairs. She comes to realize this memory is of the murder of her father's fiancee Helen, before she "disappeared" and he died and she was shipped back off to India. Gwenda, along with Hornbeam and his acquaintance Miss Jane Marple set off to find out who killed Helen.

This is one of my favorite Marple movies. Hugh Hornbeam is adorable, Gwenda is enchanting and Miss Marple ingeniously solves the murder once again. I'll recommend any Marple but especially this one, watch it.

Murder is Easy

With the end of the week i settled down for a nice Marple Marathon, some of which i shall review for you today. In Murder is Easy Miss Marple meets a lady who tells her she suspects several people in her town have been murdered and she's on her way to Scotland Yard to report it. Unfortunately before she can reach the police she falls to her death. This sets Miss Marple's spidey sense a tingling and she travels to the small town of Witchwood to investigate.

I think more people die, in various ingenious ways, in this Marple than in any other. An old woman eats mushrooms, the vicar breathes in poison, a woman falls down the stairs, the doctor gets an infection and so on. In addition to this there are several cute boys and a great story that makes this movie worth watching - and yes re-watching.

Julia McKenzie is not my favorite Marple, not that i dislike her, but Geraldine McEwan is a hard act to follow. That being said i think Ms. McKenzie did quite well meandering about town, asking questions and spending time with the previously mentioned good looking young men.

If you enjoy a good murder or two a Marple is a great solution for your mood.

It Happened One Night

I considered doing my Parent Trap comparison but the thirties were calling me so we'll start with It Happened One Night. Basics: Ellen Andrews (Claudette Colbert) a rich heiress is running away from her father to try and get back to her new husband Westley King, who her father doesn't approve of. Along the way she meets Peter Warne (Clark Gable) a newspaper writer just out of a job and he agrees to help her get there in return for the story.

Memorable characters, starting with characters Shapely an obnoxious fellow bus rider who hits on Ellen then later tries to blackmail the couple. And Westley King Ellen's slimy husband.

Scenes The Wall of Jericho, a string with a blanket over it separating their beds, this and the fact Clark Gable partially undresses in front of Claudette Colbert was considered scandalous at the time.
Also to be remembered is the hitchhiking scene, as Gable makes every attempt to stop a car telling his companion its all in the thumb, and proceeds to fail miserably only to have Colbert walk right out and stop the first car that passes, with her leg instead of his thumb.
And the two pretending to be an arguing married couple to cover who they really are, first talking about fake relatives then having Gable shout at Colbert and reduce her to "tears" and the audience to laughter.

Trivia. Bugs Bunny was supposedly based on Clark Gable in this film when he sits on a fence and eats raw carrots, Gable was often drawn with an emphasis on his large ears which eventually led to Bugs.
This movie won 5 oscars

Thoughts: I love this movie, but then who who has seen it doesn't it's funny, romantic and a good time. Recommended as it's another rewatch. PLease comment on either my writings or the movie itself!

My Favorite Wife

OK, OK so it's a re-watch but can you blame me? 1940, Irene Dunne and Carey Grant? It's a classic and i love it. Basic plot, Nicholas Arden(Carey Grant) has his wife Ellen pronounced legally dead and marries again. That very day Ellen arrives back at the house to find Nick has gone off to the very hotel where they had their honeymoon and rushes off to try and stop things from progressing in the natural way. As Nick runs around helplessly trying to juggle two wives, two kids and the mysterious man Ellen was on an island with for the last 7 years Ellen works to reclaim her family.

Interesting note The Parent Trap (1998 version) uses almost the exact same shot when Nick sees Ellen and he's in the elevator and she's in the lobby, only in the parent trap Nick(character also named Nick) is kissing his fiance and Gary Grant is tamely standing next to his new bride ( it was the forties after all. They also used a similar scene with Nick (in Parent Trap) falling into the pool as Ellen does in My Favorite Wife, in the original parent trap (1961) the father Mitch falls into a lake.I'll probably have a post on comparing the parent traps later on.

Anyways back to my favorite wife, I love this movie there's romance, comedy and I enjoy it immensely. I recommend it to everyone who likes classic comedies. Actually you'll probably find I'll be recommending most of these movies unless there's something i hate and must rant about. So that's my first post i hope you found it helpful in your movie choices.