The Memory Keeper's Daughter: Blame Institutions

My mom and I are some of the most indecisive people when it comes to picking movies (she'll be in the mood for a drama and I'll want to watch a comedy or something like that). Last night we limited our options by giving up on renting one, instead picking one from the free on demand movies. Ultimately we picked this tear jerking movie that I'm pretty sure was made for Lifetime...

Dermont Mulrony plays Dr. Henry, whose wife give birth to twins, one boy and one girl, in the 60s. The only problem is that the girl has Down Syndrome. He decides to separate the daughter from the family, telling the nurse to take her to a home for people with mental disabilities, and telling his wife and the rest of the community that the baby died.

The nurse is unable to take her to the home and cares for the baby herself. The movie progresses through the childhood and teenage years of the twins. Norah, the doctor's wife, continues through life wishing for the daughter that died. She turns to alcohol and other men when Dr. Henry is not there for her.

Needless to say, Norah and her son eventually find photographs of the daughter and letters from the nurse to Dr. Henry keeping him updated on his daughter's life. The film was emotional and as the movie progressed it showed the changes in society's views towards people with Down Syndrome.

I enjoyed it, and hey, it was free!

Based on the novel by Kim Edwards.

Tropic Thunder: Tom Cruise?!?

I was skeptical about seeing this movie to begin with, but I wanted to hang with my friends so I decided to go.

My skepticism seemed to be within reason. Sure, the movie was funny, I mean stick a bunch of comedy actors in the middle of a jungle with drug dealers and there are sure to be some laughs.

There were a lot of the same actors from Pineapple Express like Danny McBride who played Red in Pineapple. In this flick he was an stunt coordinator specializing in explosives. He did a better job with Pineapple...or maybe he just had better material to work with...

Along with the typical comedy actors, there were a collection of actors I didn't know were going to be in the film and I wouldn't think of most of them as comedy actors. Matthew McConaughey was Ben Stiller's character's agent, and Tom Cruise surprised us all (well at least the ones who didn't know he was in the movie) as the producer of the film they were making.

I probably would never see the movie again unless you paid me but I will say this: "Apple Bottom Jeans, boots with the fur..."

Pineapple Express: No Pants

This movie was HILARIOUS! Some people might say that it's juvenile and stupid, which is true, and that it glamorizes doing illegal drugs, also true, but that doesn't stop it from being one of the funniest movies I have seen all summer!

So, a 25 year old is dating a high school girl and they sell pot to high school kids, no big deal. This movie was packed with so many laughs, I'm at a loss as to how to explain to you how great it was.

This is the best I can do:

Dust Buster fight.

Last 10 mintues: no pants...(I'll let that one remain a bit of a mystery since it was what left me doubled over outside of the theater trying to breath after a solid block of laughter)

Two TVs

"Camping" in the woods

"I gave you my jacket!"

"I'm the only one in the whole city who has it"

"You got it from Red, who got it from Ted...?"


It may have something to do with the fact that I go to the number 3 Reefer school in the country, but a lot of what happens to these people seems vaguely familiar...

21: Catch Him (Already)

From the beginning of the movie, after the first trip to Vegas, my mom and I spent the entire rest of the movie going "When are they going to catch him?" hoping that would make things a little more interesting.

This movie was horrible, it was a long string of playing Blackjack in Vegas (and I would have to say that it is one of the most boring card games to watch) and counting cards (which you don't even understand anyway) and then splurging with all of the money they've made.

In addition, I've heard that the original students at MIT, on which the movie is based, were all Asian. Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth are not Asian, they are white, typical Hollywood.

Plus, the ending is totally predictable (go figure): what you think is happening/happened actually did happen, congratulations you figured that one out...

Overall: Total piece of crap

P.S. I know "Catch Him Already" is three words instead of two, but I thought the whole phase was necessary.

WALL-E: Futuristic Warnings

I first saw a preview for WALL-E and fell in love with his need for love and the adorable way he said "Eeeevah!" I simply thought here is Disney/Pixar doing it again. I assumed that not only would the movie have the adorableness that is common in all kids movies, but I guessed that there would be strategically placed jokes that only the adults would understand. I thought back to Shrek (although that was DreamWorks) and the jokes about the size of Farquad's you-know-what that never registered in my mind as a child.

WALL-E was left behind on Earth by humans to clean up the mess they had made. The movie opens with a pan across a city filled with skyscrapers surrounded by skyscraper-shaped towers of cubes of trash. WALL-E searches through the trash with curiosity, making sure he doesn't crush anything "valuable" into the cube-o-trash. One day, WALL-E finds a little seedling and scoops it up to bring home for safekeeping.

Things get interesting when EVE shows up. As soon as WALL-E sees her (after nearly being blown up) he falls in love. They have a jolly good time, WALL-E shows EVE his favorite movie and shows her that he wants love. To impress her, he shows her the seedling he found; this causes EVE to put the plant inside of her and freeze up until her ship returns to take her back.

EVE's mission was to find life on Earth to prove that it is again safe for humans to inhabit. The movie carries strong messages against pollution and show a (dramatized?) version of how the world would turn out if we weren't more careful.

In addition to the messages against pollution, humans on the spaceship have grown obese and no longer communicate or interact with each other in any manner other than through the video screen attached to their hover chairs. Again, the movie is urging us to be careful with our health as well as the environment.

I was surprised by the warnings, I wasn't expecting the movie to be so blunt about what could happen with our lives, or more likely the lives of our great-grandchildren. There weren't as many hidden jokes, it was simply a caveat; a strong warning for everyone to watch themselves, to watch the world, and to not let them go to hell.

Indian Jones 4: Magnetic Aliens

The movie was ridiculous to say the least, but that is part of the Indy package. I mean, hearts ripped out of chests and fiery pits are among the many strange and unrealistic Indian Jones trademarks.

They made a few too many "I'm getting too old for this" jokes, but Shia Lebeouf as Mutt Williams brought the youth back into the film. Also, Karen Allen brought back the classic fast-paced romance as Indy's old flame Marion from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Although the special effects were much improved, the film lacked the flair that the original trilogy had, but what they lacked in entertainment they made up for with pure entertainment.

My final word: it was fun to reminisce and drool over newcomer Shia Lebeouf, but overall, it didn't compare to the classics that I remember from my childhood.