Paul McCartney: In Performance Hits

This documentary centered on Paul McCartney during and post The Beatles. It mainly covered his song writing and musicality. He played quite a few instruments. Well, that was what it was supposed to be about anyway. It started off as a beautifully detailed docu-timeline working through the entire Beatles anthology, stopping at key McCartney penned gems accompanied by live performances of those songs. Then it stopped. Only 72 minutes. That wasn't enough time to finish Paul's career. After they got to Abbey Road, they showed the remainder of Paul's still strong career (he just got nominated for a Golden Globe for best original song) in the last five minutes. The Beatles broke up in 1970, so five minutes isn't sufficient enough time to fit in 30+ years of fantastic solo and side band work. It needed another hour. Very disappointing.

** stars simply for it being a McCartney docu (he's my favorite Beatle)

The Pregnancy Pact (TV)

I just watched an awesomely bad lifetime made for TV movie. I will admit that really bad over the top TV movies are a guilty pleasure. This one had just the type of plot to serve that purpose, the type of plot that really makes my sarcasm run amok, as I laugh and poke fun at every teary eye and crazy scream fest. This one was just bad and not in a fun way. First of all, only twenty minutes of Cameron Manheim What?. She's the only reason I was even slightly excited about this movie. Seeing her at a podium harkened back to those good ole "The Practice" days. And you, Lifetime, only give me twenty minutes. Shame. Now to the plot. Though it is based on a true story, and I understood by the end why the girls made this pact, I still didn't feel any resolve with the film; Thora Birch, who I usually like, had absolutely no emotion in her face the entire film. It's as if it was botoxed away. Don’t even get me started on the fact that they just "had" to make it so it turned out the Catholic parents didn't actually wait until marriage. Is it so inconceivable that there might be people that actually do wait? I did. My parents did. I know plenty of other girls that did as well. The one thing I liked about this film was the character development with Thora Birch's and Nancy Travis's characters. They were well-rounded characters; there was no good guy or bad guy in this film. I liked that.

Still tho only *1/2

I Love You Beth Cooper

This movie was pretty funny. It definitely paid homage to Ferris Bueller. Beth was a character that could've been very unlikeable, but she was played so well by Hayden Panettiere (who I haven't really been a huge fan of since she's grown up) that I liked her. The best part of the movie was the lead guy's in-the-closet film fanatic best friend. My husband said he's the gay male version of me. Lol. All in all, an ok time filler with a few laughs but nothing special. However, it was a good date movie that won't make you gag.

**stars

Armored

Thrilling, interesting, not terribly original, but very entertaining suspense/heist hybrid about a down on his luck Iraq veteran who joins forces with his late father's (and now his) coworkers to rob the armored truck they are supposed to be protecting. We've seen this heist film before done a few different ways, and though I knew pretty much every curve and bend, I still very much enjoyed the ride. Nice acting by all. Definitely some homage to Reservoir Dogs. My husband (an Iraq vet himself) pointed out that he liked that the Iraq vet was just a man put in an out of ordinary situation, rather than making all soldiers look like super heroes (a la The Marine). It gave the film some realism. A solid film.

**1/2 stars.

Top Movies of 2009

So here it is. I have taken every TV show (even if I saw only one episode) and every movie I've seen in 2009 and put them in order from best to worst. Yes, it took awhile.

Top new tv shows/tv specials of 2009

TV

"Glee" (2009)
"Cougar Town" (2009)
"The Fashion Show" (2009)
"Lie to Me" (2009)
"United States of Tara"
"Community" (2009)
"Make It or Break It" (2009)

"Dollhouse" (2009)
Dane Cook: Isolated Incident (2009) (TV)
Aisha Tyler Is Lit: Live at the Fillmore (2009) (TV)

Eastwick
"FlashForward" (2009)
"The Philanthropist" (2009)
"Taking the Stage" (2009)
"Models of the Runway" (2009)

"Merlin: Secrets & Magic" (2009)
"The Vampire Diaries" (2009)

"Hung" (2009)

"Making Over America with Trinny & Susannah" (2009)

"Dark Blue" (2009)

Top movies of 2009

Inglorious Basterds
(500) Days of Summer (2009)

Coraline
Surrogates (2009)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Changeling (2009)
The Hangover (2009)
The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)

Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) 17 Again Zombieland (2009) S. Darko (2009) (V)

Armored (2009) And Nothing But the Truth (2009) My One and Only (2009)

I Love You Man

Obsessed
He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Weather Girl (2009)
Jennifer's Body (2009)

Donkey Punch (2009)

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

Gamer (2009) Star Trek (2009) Bedtime Stories (2009) Fired Up! (2009) Monsters vs Aliens (2009) I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)

Terminator Salvation
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)

Bride Wars (2009) My Sister's Keeper (2009) Public Enemies (2009) Duplicity (2009) Land of the Lost (2009) My Bloody Valentine (2009) 3D The Final Destination 3D

Ugly Truth
Watchmen (2009)
Dragonball Evolution (2009)
Funny People (2009)
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

Adventureland (2009)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Fast & Furious (2009) Love N' Dancing (2009)

Observe and Report
Road Trip: Beer Pong (2009) (V)
Miss March (2009)

Night at the Museum: Battle For the Smithsonian
The Invention of Lying (2009)

New Year’s Movie Marathon: New Year's Resolution Movies

We all have our goals, our New Year’s Resolutions. This year we’ll work out every day, this year we’ll stop eating the entire pie in one sitting, we’ll take longer than three months to finish a book, we’ll stop smoking (hint hint Shaun), and we’ll stop spending money on shoes. Well we’ll try at least. So, what a better way to start than to find inspiration in those people on screen trying to do the same, with some even succeeding. So, whether you are living vicariously through these characters or laughing at their failures, seeing your future unfold across the screen, here’s a helpful list of titles. So watch them all if you wish or just scroll down the list and find the appropriate title for your resolution {resolutions (goals) for each movie are provided under each title}. This list also serves as lovely time filler for an uneventful New Year’s Eve. Hope everyone has a great one.

Alfie (1966) & (2004)

Goal: “What’s it all about?”-life, that is

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

Goal: Stop drinking, stop shagging boss, stop smoking, lose weight, etc., ad nauseum.

Fireproof (2008)

Goal: Save marriage

Evan Almighty (2007)

Goal: Build an arc

Miss Congeniality (2000) & Beautiful (2000)

Goal: Become a pageant queen

Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber

Goal: Climb the social ladder

Beauty Shop

Goal: Open a salon.

Hot Rod

Goal: Save dad so you can kick his ass later

Zach & Miri Make A Porno

Goal: Make a porno

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Goal: Get out of debt

Wicker Park (2004)

Goal: Find long lost love

Can’t Hardly Wait

Goal: Finally tell that special someone you love them

Alex & Emma

Goal: Write a novel in 30 days

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Goal: Forget that special someone who broke your heart

Someone Like You (2001)

Goal: Figure out men & write a theory about them

The Proposal

Goal: Fool the INS

Audrey Hepburn Story

Goal: Become a actress/singer/dancer

28 Days

Goal: Kick that drinking habit

Rainmaker

Goal: Win that case. -Any law film will do as well

Simone

Goal: Create the perfect actress

Reservoir Dogs

Goal: Steal those diamonds- Any heist/caper film will also do (not condoning this)

Memento

Goal: Revenge (not condoning this either)

Kill Bill vol.1 & 2

Goal: Kill Bill (again not condoning)

The Bourne Identity

Goal: Figure out identity

Cast Away

Goal: Survive on a deserted island/may also help in cases of wilderness survival

Gone in 60 Seconds

Goal: Steal 50 Cars in 1 Night (again with the not condoning)

Time Machine (1960) & (2002)

Goal: Build a time machine

Duets

Goal: Win a karaoke competition

August Rush

Goal: Find long lost relative

I Am Legend

Goal: Find a cure for a disease

Gatacca

Goal: Become an astronaut

Valkyrie (2008) & Inglorious Basterds (2009)

Goal: Kill Hitler (am definitely condoning this)

The Labyrinth

Goal: Solve a maze in 12 hours or less

Super Mario Brothers

Goal: Save Daisy from King Koopa

Death Defying Acts

Looking at the cast and the subject, Harry Houdini, I was looking forward to this movie. For some reason, I really enjoy magician movies. The Illusionist and The Prestige were great. This movie was not. An interesting premise with some great ideas of character development with Harry just didn't add up to a complete movie. If this movie was supposed to be more of a character study, which I gather it was, there wasn't enough character development. If it was supposed to be a love story, a plot which took up a lot more of the story, it failed miserably because Houdini was married, and therefore, was cheating on his wife with the so called loved interest. Grrrrr. This film should have steered clear of the love angle and stayed with the character study. It would have been far more compelling. What a waste of the terrific Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta Jones.

* for the acting.