The Matrix

This is another one of my all time favorites, if you haven't seen it, then you may be one of the few. I had such a crush on Keanu Reeves when I was younger, and I still like him. The special effects in this one were impressive when the movie was first released, and I enjoy the entire Matrix series. Still hoping they might continue it for one or two more episodes showing how the humans, and machines carry on life in peace, or war...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgRq3S1qync&feature=fvst
Retrieved from You Tube Nov.25/10.

Ella Enchanted

This movie has a lot of fun action and humour together with musical intersessions. It's a Cinder"ella" spoof, mixed with a variety of fairytales, thrown together with some magic (and some really bad magic). I think the singing and dancing scenes are very well done, and the music is well selected for this movie. My children think it's pretty funny and fair at the end when Prince Chars' Uncle Edcar's wicked plans backfire on himself. My favorite part is where Prince Char is about to be corinated "King" and the fight starts out when an objection is made to that. The "special effect" fighting action is pretty hilarious, and I like happy endings. This is a show I've seen a few times, and will probably, in time, watch it a few more times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZaa3gZwSdA&NR=1

The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring

A fantastic, mythical adventure about a tiny hobbit Frodo, together with his best friend Sam, and the members of The Fellowship of the Ring who must set aside their differences to save the world from darkness. Frodo, who just wants to be back at home in his quiet, private hobbit hole in the side of the hill, must face his fears, trust in his friends, and perservere until his task is fullfilled. Full of adventure, action, and even a little romance to top off a great cast of characters. I was pleasantly surprised at the special f/x in this film. A terrific movie that keeps you looking forward to the next installment in the series. This will always be one of my all time favorite trilogy's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pki6jbSbXIY

Dragonheart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSYThEfy9PU

This is one of my favorites. It's about the last dragon, "Draco," who sacrificed half of his heart to save the life of Prince Einan, who swore an oath that he never intended to keep...  Now Draco was forever tied to Prince Einan and Prince Einan to Draco, till their dying days. An honourable and courageous knight, Bowen thought he had trained Prince Einan in his youth to the old & honourable ways. Prince Einan was convincing, but had an agenda of his own that didn't include caring for his people. Instead, he placed greed and selfish desires ahead of anyone or anything that got in his way. I love the humour and irony in this story, with the Dragonslayer Bowen, who tries so desperately to save the life of this dragon while he goes from village to village collecting money from villagers to protect them and slay the vicious Draco. Sean Connery does an outstanding job of bringing Draco to life... and death.

Martyrs

Against my better judgement I had to put this one in here.  I'm a huge horror movie buff, and this is by far the most terrifying, most visceral horror movie I have ever seen.  That being said, it takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to make it through this film.  I don't recommend it to anyone who pulls the blankets over their eyes.  It begins with a young girl escaping from a her torturers, then 15 years later as a woman she is on their trail in hopes of bringing them to justice.  When we see her accused torturers are a seemingly textbook family (complete with teenage children), it is unclear if our protagonist is telling the truth, or if she just mentally unstable.  The movie is full of twists and turns, and it has an ending which will keep the viewer thinking about it long after the final frame.  View at your own risk.



I was going to put the trailer here, but I couldn't find one that would be considered appropriate.  See what I mean?  Even the trailers are intense!



Image from http://www.movie666.com/images/martyrs.jpg

It's All Gone Pete Tong

This movie is a "mocumentary" which follows the exploits of DJ Frankie Wilde (comedian Paul Kaye).  At the beginning of the film we see Frankie at the height of his popularity and enjoying every minute of it.  Women, alcohol, drugs, and lavish parties are all perks of the job.  However this lifestyle is taking its toll on Frankie.  He won't admit it to his friends or family (or himself for that matter), but he is slowly going deaf.  Everyone tells him that his career is over, but Frankie won't give in.  He's determined to make a comeback as the worlds greatest deaf DJ.  The movie starts out as a comedy with Frankie as an almost unlikeable character, but it moves to more dramatic territory as he starts to fall apart at the seams.  Then towards the end of the film the viewer can't help but cheer, as the once despicable Frankie redeems himself.      
I also like to give this movie kudos for its ingenious use of sound and music, demonstrating to the viewer the effect of going deaf.


Trailer


Image from http://www.thescene.com.au/upload/itsallgonepetetong2004-304.jpg

Unforgiven

Possibly my favourite movie of all time.  Unforgiven is a revisionist western, in that it examines the morality of classic western themes.  The story revolves around William Munny (Clint Eastwood making a return to the genre which made him a star), a retired gun for hire who straps on his pistols one more time in order to support his family.  The story begins as a typical western, but it is stripped of the romanticism which other generations of western movies embraced.  The lines between good and evil aren't as obvious as you would expect, and the old west is portrayed as a dirty, vicious, lawless wasteland.  Which is probably more realistic than most of the films in the genre.  My favourite line in the movie (and there are plenty of gems in this one) is when Munny is having a conversation with one of his partners whom we were led to believe is a cold blooded killer, but had actually only just killed a man for the first time.  Munny says, "It's a hell of a thing killing a man.  Take away all he's got, and all he's ever gonna have.", his partner replies, "Yeah well, I guess he had it coming.", to which Munny replies, "We all got it coming kid.".
So awesome.

Image from http://www.gonemovies.com/www/wanadoofilms/western/unforgiven2.jpg

Trailer

School of Rock

Few movies can make me smile like this one.  It's a warm comedy about how a group of music prodigies at a posh private school, forget the everyday pressures of adolescence when they encounter a substitute teacher with a powerful passion for rock n roll music.  The teacher (Jack Black, in a tailor made role) has a hidden agenda though.  He ignores the regular curriculum in favor of molding the children into the successful rock band he has always dreamed of being in.  One of my favorite scenes involves Black leading the children into an impromptu rock anthem once he realizes their potential. This is feel good movie with a ripping classic rock soundtrack. 
School of Rock trailer.

Image from http://www.iphoneuserguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/2003_the_school_of_rock_wallpaper_002.jpg



Star Trek: The Motion Picture

An unknown entity races toward Earth, destroying everything in its path. Kirk must resume his post as captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and along with Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the Enterprise crew, Kirk must find a way to stop it before it destroys the Earth and all its inhabitants. Some would say that this is worst Trek episode of them all. I beg to differ. A true science fiction movie, this film is about exploration; exploration of the human condition, and why we should even exist. Truly a masterpiece.

Watch the trailer here












Image courtesy of http://www.sci-fimovieposters.co.uk/

Cool Hand Luke

After being arrested on a drunk and disorderly charge, Luke is sent to a brutal prison work camp. His strong personality and cool wit quickly gain him the favour of the other inmates, but places him in the cross-hairs of the prison warden and his guards.    The Ultimate tale of non-conformity, this is one of my all time favorite movies, an inspiration to not back down. There is no communication failure, Luke just doesn't agree. 5 out of 5.

Watch the trailer here







Image from http://www.12news.us/

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button(2008)

On the day that Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, elderly Daisy Williams (nee Fuller) is on her deathbed in a New Orleans hospital. At her side is her adult daughter, Caroline. Daisy asks Caroline to read to her aloud the diary of Daisy's lifelong friend, Benjamin Button. Benjamin's diary recounts his entire extraordinary life, the primary unusual aspect of which was his aging backwards, being diagnosed with several aging diseases at birth and thus given little chance of survival, but who does survive and gets younger with time. Abandoned by his biological father, Thomas Button, after Benjamin's biological mother died in childbirth, Benjamin was raised by Queenie, a black woman and caregiver at a seniors home. Daisy's grandmother was a resident at that home, which is where she first met Benjamin. Although separated through the years, Daisy and Benjamin remain in contact throughout their lives, reconnecting in their forties when in age they finally match up. Some of the revelations in Benjamin's diary are difficult for Caroline to read, especially as it relates to the time past this reconnection between Benjamin and Daisy, when Daisy gets older and Benjamin grows younger into his childhood years.

Written by huggo

Reference:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421715/plotsummary

Shutter Island(2010)

It's 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He's been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn't been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy's shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals "escape" in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything - his memory, his partner, even his own sanity.

Written by alfiehitchie

Reference:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130884/plotsummary

WALL-E(2008)

In a distant, but not so unrealistic future, where mankind has abandoned earth because it has become covered with trash from products sold by the powerful multi-national Buy N Large corporation, WALL-E, a garbage collecting robot has been left to clean up the mess. Mesmerized with trinkets of Earth's history and show tunes, WALL-E is alone on Earth except for a sprightly pet cockroach. One day, Eve, a sleek (and dangerous) reconnaissance robot, is sent to Earth to find proof that life is once again sustainable. WALL-E falls in love with Eve. WALL-E rescues Eve from a dust storm and shows her a living plant he found amongst the rubble. Consistent with her "directive" Eve takes the plant and automatically enters a deactivated state except for a blinking green beacon. WALL-E, doesn't understand what has happened to his new friend, but true to his love, he protects her from wind, rain, and lightning, even as she is unresponsive. One day a massive ship comes to reclaim Eve, but WALL-E, out of love or loneliness hitches a ride on the outside of the ship to rescue Eve. The ship arrives back at a large space cruise ship, which is carrying all of the humans who evacuated Earth 700 years earlier. The people of Earth ride around this space resort on hovering chairs which give them a constant feed of TV and video chatting. They drink all of their meals through a straw out of laziness and/or bone loss, and are all so fat that they can barely move. When the auto-pilot computer, acting on hastily given instructions sent many centuries before, tries to prevent the people of Earth from returning, by stealing the plant, WALL-E, Eve, the portly captain, and a band of broken robots stage a mutiny.

Written by Anonymous.

Reference:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130884/plotsummary

The Princess Bride

I used to love this movie when I was a kid. A Grandfather reads his ill grandson a book to help the boy to forget about being sick. Full of adventure and romance, laughs and gasps, this is the the feel good movie I still watch when I'm sick. The fencing match at the top of the Cliffs of Insanity is my favorite part. Inconceivable!



View the trailer here!









Image from http://rosenortfestival.files.wordpress.com/