Monday, September 21, 2009

Monday's Movie... make that movies...


It's a movie meme hosted by A Novel Menagerie. Click here to participate.

A few movies I've watched the last few weeks:

Chances Are
1989
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Cybill Shepherd, Ryan O'Neal, Mary Stuart Masterson
Rated: PG

We were flipping through the On Demand movies the other night, and when I saw this one listed I said to my daughter, you will LOVE this one!

It was everything I remembered. So cute, and funny, and heart warming. I adore Robert Downey Jr. in this movie (well, any movie I should say.) He can't get any cuter.

The premise: a couple is celebrating their first anniversary, the guy dies. He is distraught, so he jumps in the first body he can and is instantly reborn. Opps... they forgot to give him his "forgetting" inoculation! Flash forward 23 years. A young boy meets a girl, she takes him home to her family, then he starts remembering strange things!

I give this FIVE popcorns for sheer entertainment value.

A scene from the movie:





17 Again
2009
Starring: Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Matthew Perry
Rated: PG-13

I am not scared to admit that I love Zac Efron in this movie. The speech at the end... so so good. We rented this awhile back, even though we saw it in the theater, and watched it again. Then my daughter proceeded to watch it again... and again.. and again. Hmmm... I wonder.

Strangely, Chances Are and this movie have a lot in common. If you haven't seen this one, it's about a 40 something guy, nearly divorced from his wife, non-existent relationship with his kids, and he's rethinking his whole life. Maybe he should have done something different. Suddenly, he gets that chance. What will he do????

It has few squirmy moments. But I love the overall message of the movie. There's a great lesson to learn here.

I give this FOUR popcorns, it would have been five if the squirmy parts were left out.

The trailer:




Valkyrie
2008
Staring: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branaugh
Rated: PG-13

This one is about one of several attempts at assassinating Hitler. It had me totally on the edge of my seat, even though we all know how it ends. (You do know that Hitler was not assassinated, right?) I hate that, knowing how it ends, yet hoping that perhaps you missed something in history!

Tom Cruise was great in the movie. Very dramatic and all. Great movie, though depressing and sad. So be prepared for that.

I give this FIVE popcorns for a well-made, intense, historical movie.

The trailer:






Have you seen any of these movies? What do you think? You agree or disagree? And if you haven't seen them, do you plan on it someday?

5 comments:

  1. I haven't seen Chances Are since I was in college, but I remember really liking it. It has some very funny stuff in it.
    Haven't seen 17 Again.
    I saw Valkyrie, reluctantly, knowing that it ended so badly. (I'm not a big Cruise fan. It seems to me that he plays all his characters the same way.)
    Fun blog. Are you going to be doing this meme regularly?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really want to see Valkyrie, but I'm not interested in 17 Again.

    Hadn't heard of Chances Are.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Megan: Oh, semi-regularly. How's that for a definate answer!

    Britt: Are you a Robert Downey Jr. fan? If so, rent Chances Are. Really.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We recently rented 17 Again. I have never seen a movie with Zac Efron in it, and I got to say that I was little smitten with him. Very good lookin' kid. Liked the movie too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I haven't seen Chances are or 17 Again. I am kind of curious about 17 Again and will probably get around to seeing it one of these days.

    Hubby and I saw Valkyrie when it first came out and enjoyed it. I couldn't help but wish for a different outcome, evening knowing what would happen. My only complaint about the movie was the variety of accents that the German soldiers had.

    ReplyDelete