Ella Enchanted

Supposedly based on a book of the same name by Gail Carson Levine, this whimsical romantic comedy is a delight to watch. But, before all of the Levine fans get excited, let's clarify one thing. The ONLY things this the movie has in common with the book is (1) Names and (2) the fact that Ella has the "gift" of having no choice but to obey. Other than that, there is no comparison. The stories are SO different. If you read the book first and loved it, you will probably hate the movie, unless you can accept the fact that it is nothing like the book.
The story gets a 4. I thought it was very original, but I did like the book better.
How well its made gets a 5. It was well made.
Language gets 1. There wasn't any.
Sexual content gets a 2. There was some kissing and a couple of girls who were ridiculously enamored with Prince Char.
Violence gets 2. There was some random slap-stick violence that was more comedy than painful.
Overall, I'm giving this movie a 5. It was a fun, family friendly video.

Charlie St. Cloud

Zac Efron proves that despite the fact that he started out as a Disney actor, he actually has some amazing talent.
In this moving teen drama, Efron plays Charlie St. Cloud, a young man who was a rising star with and amazing future. But that all changed one day when he was in a car crash that killed his little brother. Fast forward 5 years. Now Charlie is still in the little coastal town where he grew up, working in the graveyard. Most people would find working in a graveyard creepy, but not Charlie. Because Charlie's close brush with death left him with a unique ability. He can see dead people. Every day he meets his little brother to play catch.
Then enters Tess, a beautiful young woman who went to high school with Charlie. With her comes an opportunity to break free of the chains that have been keeping Charlie a recluse. But when the door is opened, will Charlie have the courage to walk through it?
The story is amazing. I found it original and entertaining. So, I'm giving it a 5.
And it was incredibly well made. So that gets a 5 as well.
Language gets a 3. Charlie's little brother has quite the attitude and a mouth to go with it.
Sexual content gets 3. There is some suggestiveness and sensuality.
Violence gets a 4. There wasn't much, but there was a little.
Overall, I'm giving this movie a 4. This was an amazing movie. Emotional, well-made and thought-provoking. But, because of some inappropriate content and mature themes, I would not suggest anyone under the age of 16 watching it.

17 Again

Zac Efron takes his first steps away from Disney and the world of "High School Musical" in this delightful teen comedy. Of course he still has to bust out a dance move or two, but then, this is his first *real* movie.
17 Again is very much like "It's a Wonderful Life". This guy things his life sucks, he falls in with some angelic being who changes his perspective, and viola! His life is great again. Of course there are some differences, most significant being that the main character, instead of never being born, is transformed into a 17 year old and given the chance to choose a different life then he did the first time.
I have to give the story a 3. It really is not that original.
How well it is made gets a 5.
Language gets a 3, there was some swearing and crude joking.
Sexual content gets a 3, there were some innuendos and inappropriate joking. But! I have to mention, the main character's (Zac Efron) view of intimacy is a good message: save it for marriage.
Violence gets a 4. There was a well-choreographed fight scene that was more funny than violent, and a couple other random things.
Overall, I'm giving this movie a 4. I personally absolutely LOVE this movie, it's in my top ten, but because of the content, I have to say that I do not think that anyone under the age of 15 should watch it.

Owl City~ All Things Bright and Beautiful

Owl City. The name alone makes me smile. Adam Young, the brilliant young man behind the music is a genius. The music he writes is so moving, and the lyrics are beautiful, painting such beautiful pictures with words, that at times, it makes me want to cry.
In "All Things Bright and Beautiful" Owl City does not disappoint the expectations of his fans. This album is everything we have come to expect of Owl City and more. Beautiful metaphors woven with magical music work together to create a tapestry of emotions and pictures that leaves one feeling satisfied as if one truly has seen "all things bright and beautiful".
Sound quality gets a 5. Lyrics get a 5. And of course, the music gets a 5. All three categories of content get a 5. This album is totally family friendly, anyone could listen to it without fear of being slapped in the face with inappropriate content.
Adam Young is a brilliant young man with an amazing gift. I look forward to seeing how his career progresses.

The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

To be completely honest, when I heard that they were making another Pirates movie, I was a little skeptical. Alright, very skeptical. They've already made three, and that was pushing it, but a fourth? How much longer can Hollywood beat a dead horse?
BUT! I am happy to say that I was very wrong in my expectations. "The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" just might be the best Pirates movie yet. Mermaids, ships, swords, swashbuckling pirates, and even a missionary. There were two things that I really loved about this movie. The first one was that they portrayed the *Christian* missionary in a complimentary light. He was good, and had character, integrity and honor. He was NOT hypocritical, nor did he walk away from his faith. Such a portrayal of missionaries or Christian characters in movies is rare. The second thing that I loved was that they were able to re-invent the story in such a way that one doesn't miss Will and Elizabeth. We all know that we watched "The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" the first time to see Orlando Bloom, but we watched it a second time, and all the subsequent movies for Johnny Depp. Now, this Pirates movie is all about Jack. Which is fine with me. I have really enjoyed watching Jack's character develop over the course of these movies, and this one was no exception.
Overall, I'm giving the story a 5. I think that is was highly original, and did a great job of building on the first movies, while at the same time re-inventing the story in such a way that they can continue the series.
How well it's made gets a 4. The effects were great, but there were some times when it just seemed obviously CG'd.
Sexual content gets a 3 1/2. There were a lot of innuendos and sexual jokes, and there were some inappropriate outfits. And the mermaids are very risque.
Language gets a 4. There were a handful of swear words scattered here and there.
Violence gets a 3 1/2. There was some fighting.
Overall, the movie gets a 4. It is very well made, interesting and fun. However, due to the violence and innuendos, I would not suggest anyone under the age of 15 watching it.

The Tourist

Starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. She's a beautiful and mysterious woman, he's an unsuspecting American tourist. They meet on a train. Perfect chemistry for an intriguing and fascinating movie.

 I have to give the plot a 4. It was intriguing, and fairly unpredictable, but I personally thought that the characters could have used a little more development.

 I'm going to give how well the movie is made a 5. The effects, style and everything about how it was made was superb in my opinion. 

Sexual content gets a 3. In the beginning there is an inappropriate reference, and later on there is a passionate kissing scene. 

Violence gets a 3 as well. There are some gun chases and other types of violence, but it wasn't too bad. 

Language gets a 2. There was a lot of swearing.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie, and I would not mind watching it again multiple times. But, because of the content, I am going to have to give it a 4 instead of a 5. I would also say that this movie is definitely not appropriate for anyone under the age of 13. 

TRON: Legacy

In this sequel to 1982's original TRON, Sam Flynn (Kevin's son, played by the fantastic Garret Hedlund) is a 27 year old college drop out with a bad attitude. His dad disappeared without a trace when he was 12, and that left poor Sam an orphan and a little bitter. Sam is drawn to the arcade that his dad owned by a curiosity, wondering why his dad's friend, Alan, was paged from inside it. While exploring his dad's old computer, Sam gets sucked into it. Thus begins what some like to call the 2-hour Daft Punk music video.
The plot/storyline of TRON: Legacy gets a 3. The storyline was a little predictable and cliché. But, it was able to hold my interest.
Special effects get a glowing 5. They were absolutely fantastic.
Language gets a 4. There were a few (5 or less) swear words used.
Violence gets a 4. There were a couple explosions, some frisbee fighting (like the original) and other fantasy related action.
Sexual content gets 4. There is one scene with mildly implied sensuality.
Overall, I'm giving this movie a 4 out of 5. I would give it a 5, but the plot really wasn't that great. But, the fact that there is very little objectionable content make TRON: Legacy perfect. for a family movie night. And personally, I really liked it and would not be opposed to watching it again.

TRON

For computer people, this movie is hilarious. For us normal people... actually, it was pretty funny for us too, but in a different way. TRON was made in 1982 and is about a guy named Kevin Flynn (played by Jeff Bridges) getting sucked into a computer. Pretty interesting. And funny. For computer people who know what they are talking about when they say things like "bit" and "memory chip" and other more complicated technical terms, this movie is funny because they understand how ridiculous the notion is that someone could get sucked into a computer. For the rest of us, its funny 'cause of how old it is.

But seriously, I actually really enjoyed watching this movie. The story was enjoyable and the effects were fantastic for how old it is.

As far as rating goes, I'm going to give the story a 3.5 out of 5. It's pretty predictable. How well it's made gets a 4 out of 5. For the era it was made in, the effects are phenomenal.

Sexual content gets a 5. There wasn't any. 

Violence gets a 4. There's less violence then you would see in the fake wrestling on TV, and its of the same caliber. They're throwing frisbees around and there's a shocker stick used as a weapon. 

Language gets 4. There wasn't much, but there was some. 

Overall I'm giving this movie a 4 out of 5. As far as age goes, this is a great family movie. It's clean and tame enough for the kids, and yet has enough amusing moments that it is enjoyable for the parents. 

Music and Lyrics

With wit, amazing music and perfect chemistry, Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore write a song for a rising pop star in this delightful romantic comedy, Music and Lyrics.  Hugh Grant plays an 80's has-been, a former pop star who now lives in the past, trying to keep ahold of his former glory.  Drew Barrymore plays a somewhat eccentric young woman who works in marketing.  She covers for a friend and waters his plants for him, and while there, she gets roped into helping him write the lyrics for a song he his working on.

The story gets 5 stars. It's a little predictable, but it is very enjoyable to watch. 

Sexual content gets a 2. The pop star that Hugh and Drew write the song for is very sensual in the way that she dances, talks and moves. I actually ended up fast-forwarding all of the scenes that she danced in. 

Violence gets a 5. There wasn't any. 

Language gets a 3. There was a handful of swear words and suggestive dialogue scattered around.

Overall I'm giving this movie a 4 out of 5. I love this movie, but due to the inappropriate content, I would not recommend anyone under the age of 16 watching it. 

Alright, movies of the past few weeks. I am going to organize the way I rate movies to make it a little easier for myself. I'm going to rate on a 1-5 scale (with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest) the story/plot, how well it's made, and then how I like it overall. I am also going to rate the content, broken down into 3 categories: sexual, language and violence on a 1-10 scale, with 1 being little to no objectionable content and 10 being so much it's not worth watching. 

The Tourist

Starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. She's a beautiful and mysterious woman, he's an unsuspecting American tourist. They meet on a train. Perfect chemistry for an intriguing and fascinating movie.

 I have to give the plot a 4. It was intriguing, and fairly unpredictable, but I personally thought that the characters could have used a little more development.

 I'm going to give how well the movie is made a 5. The effects, style and everything about how it was made was superb in my opinion. 

Sexual content gets a 5. In the beginning there is an inappropriate reference, and later on there is a passionate kissing scene. 

Violence gets a 5 as well. There are some gun chases and other types of violence, but it wasn't too bad. 

Language gets a 6. There was a lot of swearing.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie, and I would not mind watching it again multiple times. But, because of the content, I am going to have to give it a 4 instead of a 5. I would also say that this movie is definitely not appropriate for anyone under the age of 13. 

Tangled

I honestly am not sure where to begin with this movie. I LOVE this movie. If I had to pick a top ten, this would definitely make the top of the list. Beautiful music, beautiful story, this is Disney princess at its best. There was no sexual content, no violence, and no language (thus earning a rating of 1 for each of those categories). The plot was sweet and fun and the movie was well made, thus earning a rating of 5 in each of those areas. Overall I give this movie a 5 and in my opinion, this movie is appropriate for all ages. 

I actually haven't been watching a ton of movies lately, I have been reading. I got hooked on the Left Behind Series by Jerry B Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. The Left Behind series if Christian fiction about what could happen in the last days. The first book starts with Jesus Christ rapturing His church and leaving all the unbelievers behind. The series then follows the people who come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ after the rapture as they struggle to survive in the world of the tribulation. In the last three weeks I have read books 1, 2, 3, 4 and am now in the middle of #5. 

Last night I watch Left Behind the movie. It was good, but read the book first. Or watch the movie and the read the book right away. The movie was true to the spirit of the book, but it cut soooo much out and took to many liberties. They would have done much better to have stayed true to the book. 

Well, thats all I have for today. Until later,

Goodnight world. 

A very good friend of mine suggested that I start a book and movie review site, a place where I tell people what books and movies I have read and watched recently and give my opinion of them. So, that's what I am going to do. I'm going to try to get on once or twice a week and review my most recent media.

To start us off.............. The Social Network.
I watched this  movie a couple nights ago. It is the fictionalized story of how Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook. Overall I really enjoyed it. The plot was well thought out and not too predictable.  I loved how the story was told in flashback form. Telling the story like that really grabbed my attention and kept it. There was some content which definitely made this a non-family-friendly film. No surprise, because this is about a guy at a college, there was a bit of sexual content, some language and some drug use. Based on this content, I personally would recommend that no one under the age of 15 watch this movie. That being said, overall The Social Network was a well made movie, the plot and storyline was well thought out and quite enjoyable to watch. I probably would even watch it twice.

Another movie that I have seen in the last week is The Brothers Grimm, starring Heath Ledger and Matt Damon. Quite honestly, for most females, the fact that those two actors are in it are reason enough to watch this movie. And, to be completely honest, that was the big draw of this movie for me as well. But once I actually started watching it, I was watching it for much more than Matt Damon's smooth talking character. The story is about  two brothers named Jacob and William... ready for it? Grimm. Hence the name The Brothers Grimm. Anyway. So, the movie is about the Grimm brothers and their business- eradicating witches and ghosts from the superstitious villages. Well, as you may have guessed, its just a pretense. The Grimm brothers are a traveling con show. Which is working out great for them.... until someone figures it out and they are sent to a village that really does have something haunting it. And so begins the adventures of the brothers as they try to save the village's girls from whatever is in the Enchanted forest. I'm not going to tell you anymore, because I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that it was not as predictable as I thought it would be. This movie is very dark and has a few scary scenes and also a couple sensual ones, so I wouldn't recommend allowing anyone under the age of 13 or 14 to watch it. But overall I would give this movie two big thumbs up.

The next movie on the list that I have seen this week is Prom. Yes, yes I know. I'm 18 years old and I paid for a ticket to go watch a stupid Disney movie that's aimed at junior highers in theaters. But it actually was a really good movie. It was cute, sweet and clean. And the chemistry between the cast was just electric. Plus, contrary to Disney norm, there were actually a couple of very good messages in this movie. Several people go to prom alone, and happy to be so. They are confident and self-relient, and don't need a date to make them feel like they have worth. Another character takes his sister instead of a girlfriend or date, and contrary to typical Disney, this action is smiled on and looked upon as "cool". This movie has several different stories that seemingly have no connection to each other, except one. The people involved are all thinking about and planning for Prom. Some are reluctant, some are excited, and some don't care in the slightest. The storyline that I liked best was the one about Nova and Jesse. But that's all I am going to say about the stories because I don't want to give anything away. This movie is a funny, sweet, clean, cute chick flick that is perfect for a sleepover that has a range of ages. The younger girls will like the story and feel important because they get to watch a movie with their older sister. And the older girls will love it because they can appreciate the romance and sweetness of the story-and the attractiveness of the cast.

Alright, that sums up the major movies of the week. Catch ya'll next week.