3 out of 5

Body of Lies

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Tonight I finished watching Body of Lies (2008,R).  From Screen It!:

A Middle East based CIA field operative clashes with his supervisor back in the states as the two try to find and stop a terrorist ringleader.

We started it last weekend.  Lisa gave up on it pretty quickly with all of the non-stop gunfire at the beginning.  She missed the romance in the middle before the violence returned at the end.  It was OK...reminded me of The Kingdom

I give it 3 out of 5.

Taken

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Tonight we watched Taken (2009,PG-13).  From ScreenIt!:

A former CIA agent uses every tool in his arsenal and leaves many bad guys in his wake as he tries to find and rescue his 17-year-old daughter who's been kidnapped into the sex slave trade while vacationing in Paris.

It’s chock full of violence and a bit too far-fetched over and over again.  Also, Lisa says the boys are never going to Europe alone.

I give it 3 out of 5.

The Upside of Anger

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I recently watched The Upside of Anger (2005,R).  From ScreenIt!:

A woman tries to deal with her anger regarding her husband who's disappeared and left her alone to raise their daughters whose actions and decisions challenge her in various ways.

It was fine but nothing special.  I suspect the fairer sex would relate more to the relationships between the sisters and with their mom.

I give it 3 out of 5.

New Moon

200px-Newmoonposter I enjoyed reading Twilight enough that I continued on with reading and then recently going to see New Moon (2009,PG-13) with Lisa.  From ScreenIt!:

A teen must not only contend with her vampire boyfriend suddenly dumping her and moving away, but also the discovery that her best friend is a werewolf.

I pretty much felt the same about this one as the first one.  The book was enjoyable enough, and the film was tolerable as a companion to the book.

I give it 3 out of 5.

Twilight

250px-Twilightbook On our 15th anniversary cruise back in July, Twilight (2008,PG-13) was showing in the ship’s theater.  I’d been planning to read it anyway (if the ladies occasionally watch football with us, we can occasionally read about romantic vampires), so I knocked the book out over a few days before watching it with the Crumps.  From ScreenIt!:

After relocating to a small town to live with her dad, a teenager meets and ends up falling for a teenage vampire who's torn between his love for her and his appetite for her blood.

I didn’t love the book or anything, but it was enjoyable enough.  Having read the book also made the film more interesting than it would have been otherwise.

I give the film 3 out of 5.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

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Back in March we went to see Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian in the theater.  From ScreenIt!:

A former museum night guard tries to rescue his museum figure friends -- that magically come to life at night -- from an Egyptian pharaoh figure that's likewise now animated and desirous of resurrecting his army of the dead.

The kids liked it, but I thought it was pretty bland.

I give it 3 out of 5.

The Santa Clause

200px-The_Santa_Clause Several weeks back we watched The Santa Clause (1994,PG) (ScreenIt! Review) for family movie night.  From ScreenIt!:

A father unwillingly takes over Santa’s duties after the real Santa falls from his roof.

Funny to think that Home Improvement was in it's prime when this film was made.  I didn't watch either his show or this film back then.

I give it 3 out of 5.

Monsters vs. Aliens

200px-Monsters-vs-aliens-poster This evening the fam went to see Monsters vs. Aliens (2009,PG) (ScreenIt! Review).  From ScreenIt!:

After being struck by a meteorite, a bride-to-be suddenly grows to 50 feet tall and finds herself, along with a group of monsters long-held in secret by the U.S. Government, in a battle against an extraterrestrial, his clones, and the alien robotic probes sent to conquer Earth.

I thought it was OK, though not as good as I was expecting.  I found myself paying too much attention to the identity of the voices and not enough on the story.  I thought it was very nice visually.  Maybe my expectations were too high based on the comments I'd heard other people make.

I give it 3 out of 5.

I Am Legend

200px-I_am_legend_teaser A few weeks back we watched I Am Legend (2007,PG-13) (ScreenIt! Review) after turning off Will Ferrell's disappointing GWB special.  From ScreenIt!:

The lone inhabitant of post-apocalyptic Manhattan must not only contend with having no human contact, but also the evolving actions of zombie-type, infected beings, all he continues his quest to find a cure for the contagion that afflicts them.

I like Will Smith and liked this film well enough, though I don't particularly care for blood/gore/suspense in my cinema.  I didn't know anything about the book on which the film is loosely based, so after watching the film it was interesting to read about the plot of the book as well as the original ending of the film.  Not only was the original ending of the film more consistent with the spirit of the book, but it was also more interesting than the actual ending of the movie.  However, I can understand the ending the filmmakers chose in the end was the safer one...we like a clear line between the good guys and bad guys and clarity about which is which.

By the way, there's going to be a prequel.

I give it 3 out of 5.

Five Children and It

200px-Five_Children_Poster Since the boys were out of school today and tomorrow, we decided to have a special Thursday-night edition of family movie night.

We watched Five Children and It (2004, G).  From Wikipedia:

Five children are sent to the country to live with their mad uncle during the war. When there, they meet as Psammead (a sand fairy), who grants them wishes - with unexpected consequences.

I was kind of surprised that I haven't heard of this one and until we watched it and I realized it was fairly unremarkable.  I give it 3 out of 5.

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