Movies

A few weeks ago we took the kids to see WALL-E (2008,G) (ScreenIt! Review).  From Wikipedia:

Centuries after Earth has been abandoned, a lone trash collector robot longs for love and thinks he's found it when a sleek, feminine robot suddenly arrives on the planet.

Lisa especially liked the social commentary of the inhabitants of the starliner communicating with each other through computer screens even when they were actually physically right next to each other.  I was annoyed that the relationship between WALL-E and Eve had to be romantic, but we all enjoyed the film. 

I give it 4 out of 5.

I read Journey to the Center of the Earth and then saw the movie after I read it.  The movie and the book were different in a couple ways.  One was in the movie there was a dinosaur and in the the book there wasn't.  In the book they were trying to go to the center of the earth but in the movie they accidentally did.  In the book the mountain guide was a man and in the movie it was a woman. 

My favorite part of the movie was when the dinosaur chased them because it was cool.  The dinosaur was huge and the people were trying to get away.  One of the funny parts was when the boy woke up and there was a dead piranha right next to him with its mouth open and the sharp teeth showing.  He was really really surprised and scared at first but then he realized it was dead.  When we saw the movie it was in 3D.  We had special glasses and when stuff was coming forward it looked like it was coming right at you.  It looked like it was right in front of your face. 

My favorite part of the book was when these two big monsters in the ocean fought.  The funniest part of the book was: nothing!

Thursday night we watched The Painted Veil (2006,PG-13) (ScreenIt! Review), the first film we've watched together in a while (with the kids going to bed so late in the summer, we have to stay up late ourselves to fit in a film).  From ScreenIt!:

An adulterous, 1920s era wife must contend with being forced by her angry husband to accompany him to a remote Chinese village where he hopes to treat cholera victims.

Lisa's comment as the film ended:

Books based on novels always have a terrible ending.

By terrible, she meant “tragic”, not “of poor quality.” In fact, Lisa apparently enjoyed the film because I noticed it was added to her list of movie favorites (joining Juno, Hotel Rwanda, Running on Empty, The Graduate, and Stand By Me) on Facebook.  I give it 4 out of 5.

One of the last films in the bachelor's film festival was Invincible (2006, PG) (ScreenIt! Review).  From ScreenIt!:

Despite the long odds, his age, size, and lack of experience, an unassuming 30-year-old man tries out for a spot playing professional football for the 1976 Philadelphia Eagles.

I liked this one so much and it was so clean (check out all of the moderates, minors, nones, and milds in the ScreenIt! review), that I watched it again as a movie night selection with Lisa and the boys.  Since my boys are crazy about football, I knew they would love it...and Lisa did too.  It's an enjoyable film and an inspiring story.  It's not exactly deep or anything, but I thought it was excellent for what it is.

I give it 5 out of 5.

This Films is Not Yet Rated (2006,NR) was another film watched during a few days of bachelorhood.  The filmmaker examines the MPAA's rating system and its lack of transparency.  One of the more interesting aspects of the film is how he hires a private investigator to determine the identities of the ratings and appeals board members.  The MPAA is certainly providing a useful service with its rating system, but it also seems like there should be more transparency and that the ratings should be applied with more consistency.

I enjoyed this film.  I give it 4 out of 5.