I Have Seen More Movies...

I have watched more movies in the past week than I normally would watch in a month. Here is a list of the movies, and my personal critique of each one. Please note that my opinion is not that of a professional. (I added that little disclaimer so that someone somewhere will not come after me in the future.)

• Love's Abiding Joy. Off hand I can't think of the names of anyone starring in the film. It's the fourth in a series by Janette Oake. It's a Christian-based series. I have seen the first three movies as well. They are set in the 1800s. The first two are set in the eastern U.S. someplace. Maybe Virginia or something like that. Lush greenery, farmland, snow, horses, fetching water, etc. The third and fourth movies are set in the "wild west" somewhere. I don't think it ever really says where they are for sure. As the series has progressed, you see the Missy grow up. In this last movie, she is a mother. She and her husband endure a tragic turn of fate to the their family. The rest of the movie is about how they cope with and overcome the tragedy. It is an awesome movie. G-rated. It's full of love, God, and beautiful scenery. I love this movie.
• Broken Bridges. Toby Keith, Kelly Preston, Burt Reynolds, Willie Nelson, and several others. Need I say more? It's a CMT Motion Picture. We Tivo-ed it of course. There are a lot of sub-plots, though it's not hard to keep track of all the drama. Small town, America. The daughter that got knocked up and left town. She now has a 17 yr old, who pushes her limits daily. She has a strained relationship with her father, hasn't seen her child's father in 17 years, lives in a big city and is a news reporter. Her child's father is a country music star struggling with an alcohol addiction. Both of their brothers, along with 3 other boys from their hometown, die in some war-related accident. This brings both of them to town, and brings the town together. Toby forms a relationship with his daughter. Yada-yada. A little cheesy, but I loved it. Of course I loved it. It has Toby Keith in it. It's a little predictable and has a few too many dramatic situations to make it totally believable. But it was a good movie.
• Miami Vice. First of all, let me say that Jamie Foxx and Collin Ferrell are both extremely hott, and the directors didn't forget to remind us of that. I had heard a few people say they didn't particularly like the movie. I did like it. Maybe it was because I didn't have my expectations too high, I'm not sure. It was pretty cool though. They dig deep into the drug world, trying to bring down one of the big bosses. They're hot-shots who convincingly sneak into the "world." With a few little romantic breaks for the chicks, the movie was very action-packed. I liked it.
• Talledega Nights. Will Ferrell. Stinkin' hilarious! I laughed through the whole thing. It's totally stupid of course, but totally hilarious. I mean, the star's name was Ricky Bobby. Does it get any funnier than that? White-trash humor gets me every time. If you haven't seen it, you should.
• Akeelah and the Bee. Not the best movie ever made, but sweet and endearing nonetheless. It's inspirational from beginning to end. Lawrence Fishbourne gives an awesome performance as the girl's coach/mentor. He has a plaque hanging in his office that he makes her read. It says, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be?" That is awesome. I made it my quote on Myspace.
• Anchor Man. My brother and sister-n-law gave me this movie for Christmas. I'm not sure how I am going to tell them this without hurting their feelings, but this was the worst movie I have ever seen. Wait. Not true. Artificial Intelligence was the worst movie I have ever seen, but this one is a close second. And I was so upset by this. I love Will Ferrell, and have enjoyed every stupid thing I have seen him do. But this movie took stupid to a whole new level. It had a lot of big-named stars in it, most of which you expect to see in a spoof, but it was just horrible. Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, the funny guy from The Office, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and several more. What were they thinking?
• We Are Marshall. Now this was, hands down, without a doubt, one of the best movies I have ever seen. Matthew Fox and Matthew McConaughey. That's enough by itself. This movie is a true story about Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Their football team was flying home from a game, along with all of the coaching staff, minus one, the Athletic Director, and the boosters and sponsors. The plane crashed and there were no survivors. Enter McConaughey. He applies to be the new coach. He has to build a staff and a team from nothing and get ready to play football. I was crying one minute and laughing the next, all the way through the movie. It is a well-written script, it was well acted, and while you're watching it, you can literally feel the loss, the tragedy, the pride, and the legacy that this town still carries. Log off of your computer right now, get in your car, drive to the theatre. You have to see this movie.
• Santa Clause the Movie. This movie was made in the early 80s. Apparently, I saw it in theatre when I was small, but have no recollection. I do remember watching it on TV, and VHS as I was growing up though. It has John Lithgow and Dudley Moore in it. It's the tail of how Santa Clause came to be, etc. It is majestic in its colors and fantasy at the North Pole. It's my favorite Christmas movie. For several years, I tried to find it on TV or at the video stores and everyone looked at me as if they thought I was crazy. I am crazy, but I knew that movie existed and my mom seemed to be the only one, besides me, to remember it. Finally, my cousin found it for me on Ebay three Christmases ago. Now I get to watch it every year. If you've never seen it, I'll let you borrow it. It's worth the watch.
• Pirates of the Carribean 2: Dead Man's Chest. Johnny Depp, ooo-lah-lah. It was a little slimy and gross, but I liked it. You know, I thoought in the first one that Johhny Depp and Kierra Knightly had better chemistry than she and Orlando Bloom, but I took it in stride when things there didn't pan out. In the second one though, the chemistry between her and Depp thickens and it was almost more than I could bare because Orlando was just around the corner everytime. And I love him too, so it was hard for me to choose who I thought she be with. I loved the movie, but hated how it ended. There was no resolution to the drama. So we'll just have to wait for the next one...