Jenny Loves Movies

If you are a fan of Terry Gilliam films (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Time Bandits, 12 Monkeys, The Brothers Grimm) you would expect nothing less than a crazy and wild ride. And you would get no less in this film.

The movie starts out a little strange and it's hard to figure out what is going on at first, but once you do it is fantastic.

Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) travels from place to place with his daughter Valentina(Lily Cole), sidekick Percy (Verne Troyer) and assistant Anton (Andrew Garfield) promoting his "imaginarium": a world of imagination created out of the doctor's mind. All you have to do is buy a ticket and come on the stage that unfolds from the carriage the group travels in. When you walk through the magic mirror and enter the doctor's world, all your dreams come true.

The troupe however, is not having much luck promoting their act, scaring more people off than intriguing them. Meanwhile, we find out that Dr. Parnassus has some trouble brewing. Years before, when he was a monk, he was visited by the Devil (Tom Waits) who offered him a bet in exchange for immortality. Dr. Parnassus wins but starts to regret his victory when, at 1000 years old, he falls in love with a young woman and decides to trade the Devil his immortality for youth. The Devil agrees, but on one condition. If the doctor ever becomes a father, the Devil gets to take the child on its 16th birthday.

Valentina turns 16 in three days and the Devil is ready to collect. But not before offering Dr. P another bet, an offer the good doctor cannot refuse! If Dr. P can get five souls before the Devil does he gets to keep Valentina. The way they do this is by getting people into Dr. P's "imaginarium." While in there, a person will have the opportunity to choose between good and evil. It seems like an easy decision, but not when one is lured by the Devil's temptation.

But with business not exactly booming, Dr. P fears he will lose Valentina forever! But all that is about to change when the group finds a man hanging from a bridge one night. They cut him down and try to resuscitate him. He wakes up with no recollection of who or where he is. Valentina takes an instant liking to him and they decide to make him part of their gang.

The Devil recognizes the guy and tells Dr. P that his name is Tony and that he used to do charity work, but that's all the information he shares. Tony (Heath Ledger) convinces Dr. P to modernize his act and perform for rich people to make some money. Intrigued by Tony's power of persuasion, Dr. P agrees and before long business is finally booming! Dr. P quickly gets four souls and only needs one more! But not everything is that easy when the Devil is involved, and we learn that Tony is not exactly who he claims to be and every one's world, even in imagination land turns upside down!

This film was absolutely fantastic from the beautiful visions of the dream worlds to the magnificent performances especially from Heath Ledger. This was his last film, though he died before it was complete and Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell each fill in for his role. I had read they were going to do this and thought it might be a bit strange but it totally works in the film and they all do a great job.

Lily Cole is gorgeous and sweet as Valentina and Andrew Garfield is funny and charming. Both are fairly new to the acting world.

Terry Gilliam movies tend to go off the handle a bit and this film might not be for everyone. But it is good light fun and it's worth it just to see Heath Ledger perform. He was a magnificent actor, I wish that his life had not ended so quickly. Step through the mirror and explore this film!

Stars *****

Yes, the third installment of the Twilight series comes out in just a little over two months (June 30). (Insert teenage girls screaming here.) Oh, who am I kidding, whoo hoo!

Now, I can't say that the two previous movies are anywhere near oscar-worthy, but they do satisfy a desire to see Stephanie Meyer's characters put into motion on the big screen. Not to mention the eye candy of our two leading men, Edward the vampire and Jacob the werewolf vying for the heart of Bella the human.

In this story, Bella (Kristin Stewart) has Edward (Robert Pattinson) back and life slowly slips back to normal as she nears her graduation day and hopes that Edward will change her soon. But Jacob (Taylor Lautner) is not happy with that deal and tries to convince Bella that she would be much happier with him. While Bella struggles with her feelings towards both guys, Victoria, the vengeful vampire who has been hunting Bella, is creating an army that will force vampires and werewolves to work together to save Bella and the community of Forks.


This movie is sure to have a lot more action than the previous movies, but I think the audiences will be glad that Edward will be present more in this film. David Slade is the director for this installment and I am anxious to see how his film will turn out. He directed a fantastic film called 30 Days of Night in 2007 about vampires, so he is familiar with the genre!


Watching these movies is fun, but I highly recommend reading the Twilight book series in addition to watching the movies, they are wonderful!


Trailer

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi984483609/

Action, suspense, comedy and a little romance mixed with feel-good fun are all rolled into one of the best animated movies I have seen in a long time. It's amazing how much emotion and enjoyment you can feel from characters that have been drawn onto screen with a pencil. (Or a computer, whatever.) The details, the action it was so awesome!

Hiccup (voice of Jay Beruchel) is a young Viking who doesn't quite live up to the standards set by his macho father, Stoik the Vast (voice of Gerard Butler), the leader of the village of Berk.

While everyone is off killing dragons that are ruining their city, Hiccup decides to prove that he is more than a clumsy, weak Viking and tries to capture the uncatchable Night Fury dragon. No one has ever seen this kind of dragon but it is the most dangerous and destructive of it's kind.

With the help of a catapult-like device Hiccup catches him, but can't bring himself to cut out his heart like a good, strong, manly Viking should do. Against his better judgement, he cuts the dragon lose, not sure if he will become dinner or not and the dragon flies off.

Meanwhile, back in the village, Hiccup's father and the other Vikings prepare for a mission to find the dragon's nest. While he is away, he orders Hiccup to join Dragon Training with other youths in the village in hopes that his son might have even an eyelash of hope of becoming a true Viking.

Between training, Hiccup wanders out into the forest one day and finds that the Night Fury dragon has not flown away after all because of an injury to his tail. Hiccup decides to befriend the dragon, who turns out not to be a monster at all. Little by little Hiccup gains the trust of Toothless, his new dragon friend, and learns more about dragons than the evil traits he has read about in books.

He takes these secrets with him to Dragon Training, although never revealing how he knows what he does and gains the respect of the villagers and his peers. But no one knows about Toothless and the adventures him and Hiccup have together. And when his father returns it is only a matter of time before Hiccup must reveal why he cannot kill a dragon.

Hiccup also finds out the reason why the dragons raid their village, and it is not because they are evil or mean. It is something much bigger than any Viking could imagine. But will Hiccup's father listen to him and understand? And will Hiccup ever become the hero he has always tried to be?

You will just have to watch and find out! It is so worth it!

Besides the great story line and action in the film, I love all the different characters. It's always fun to figure out who is voicing them and see how just their voice can bring so much life into the characters. But my favorite character has to be Hiccup with his determination to be who he is and prove himself no matter what. And everyone will fall in love with Toothless! He is such a cute dragon, it makes me wish I could just dive into the screen and fly through the skies with him.

You know a movie is that good when you wish you could be in it! I advise you to watch this in the theater, because you will feel that you really are there! I didn't see it in 3D, but the picture was still great anyway. It is good fun for anyone of any age!

From Dreamworks Animation, (Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda), directed by Dean DeBois and Chris Sanders (Lilo and Stitch).

Other character's voiced by: Craig Ferguson, America Ferrara, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig and T.J. Miller).

Stars *****

This is one of my favorite TV series and when I first moved to St. Louis and didn't have cable I watched it all the time. I just love the concept of 4 girlfriends talking about their love lives and no matter what they went through they had each other. I have a couple of those friends myself. Friends you can just tell anything to and they will love you no matter what. Even if you are as open as Samantha! Haha!

The series sadly ended in 2004. But it ended on a good note, Carrie got Mr. Big! The way it was supposed to be right?

Well, four years later, not satisfied with ending the series all-together, the writers of the show got together and made the show into a movie. Instead of a happily ever-after series ending we were taken to where the series left off into the next step of our girlfriend's lives. There were some surprises and tears but in the end Carrie and Mr. Big got married. The end.

Nope, now there is a sequel because we just cannot get enough and we just have to know what could happen next. At first I thought, alright, might be cute. But after seeing the newest trailer on http://www.imdb.com/, I am INTRIGUED, EXCITED, ON EDGE!!!

"What happens after you say I do?" is the question Carrie asks herself in this new film. It's been two years and the lovely ladies need a break from their domestic lives, well, three out of the four, Samantha is the eternal bachelorette, but she has an answer for them. A trip to Abu Dhabi! While there the ladies let loose, drink cocktails and Carrie runs into...AIDEN!!!

What??? I thought he was out of the picture! Not so, he is back and looking hotter than ever. What will happen with Big back in the States and the spark already fading in their marriage? Will they get it back?

Guess you will have to find out on May 27 when the movie comes to the "Big" screen!

Trailer

Every so often I browse imdb.com for upcoming movies and while searching a couple of months ago I came upon this movie. I had seen Peter Sarsgaard in a couple movies like Jarhead and Shattered Glass and just really liked his acting style. So I clicked on the trailer and instantly fell in love with the movie's love story; a young girl falls in love with an older gentleman and he shows her the world! I didn't get to see the film at the theater and it seemed forever until it came out on DVD. It was worth the wait!

Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a pretty and smart 16-year old girl who is what people would say "well beyond her years". She is living in suburban-London in the 1960's, bored out of her mind studying Latin and French, hoping to get into Oxford and dreaming of a life in Paris. Her parents, are very loving but very strict, wanting her to study hard and not waste time listening to French music records.

One rainy day, Jenny is standing outside, fresh from cello practice when a handsome man about twice her age (Peter Sarsgaard) drives up in a fancy car. He introduces himself as David and offers her and her cello a ride out of the rain because he loves music and doesn't want her instrument to be ruined. She agrees and is instantly hooked by his charms. The next day he sends her flowers wishing her luck on her upcoming music concert. Jenny runs into him the following day and thanks him for the flowers. He invites her on a date with him, a request her father disapproves of. But when David comes by to ask for her father's approval personally, both her parents are also swept away by his charms and agree to let her go.

David and Jenny meet up with his friends Danny and Helen (Dominique Cooper, Rosemund Pike) to see an orchestra and have dinner and drinks. Jenny can't help but fall in love with David's world of excitement, money, concerts, fancy restaurants and expensive clothes! She feels alive and is romanticized by all the glamour. David then convinces her parents to let him take her away for a weekend to show her Paris. Impressed by his cultural knowledge they trust his intentions and agree to let her go. Jenny feels as if her dreams are coming true. She leaves behind her studies and goes off to Paris.

Everything seems to be going well, but Jenny soon finds out how David earns his living and her confidence in him starts to dwindle. Jenny must decide between the boring life of her studies or the exciting life David has introduced her to. The decision is harder than she ever imagined as she, though smart and mature, reveals her innocence and naivety.

I love this movie so much because it reminds me of the infatuation with life and love I felt when I was a teenager. I remember learning some lessons the hard way, just as Jenny does in this story, but some lessons are worth the heartache.

Carey Mulligan is amazing in her first starring role playing her character with such poise and Peter Sarsgaard is smooth and charming. Both play their roles so naturally and effortlessly and the chemistry between them reminds me of an old-time Hollywood romance. This movie is full of other strong performances from Alfred Molina as Jenny's father, Olivia Williams as one of her teachers and Emma Thompson as the headmistress at her school.

I highly recommend this film.

Stars *****