17 Again (2009)

When I began to see previews and movie trailers advertising 17 Again a couple months ago, I thought it looked hilariously funny. This is the main reason I wanted to see this movie and surprisingly, the movie actually lived up to my expectations. I found it extremely entertaining, and laughed all the way through it.

Along the same lines as Big, The Kid and 13 Going on 30, 17 Again explores the idea of reversing the clock and getting the chance to relive your life again. Mike O’Donnell is currently living with his best friend from high school, Ned Gold, because he is going through a divorce with his high school sweetheart, Scarlett. Stuck in a dead-end job with no relationship with his family or teenage kids, Mike contemplates what it would be like to go back in time and relive his high school “dream years” when he was a basketball star with the chance at a college scholarship. Mike’s wish is granted when he meets the mysterious school janitor. He is transformed back to his 17-year-old self, and gets a second chance at reliving high school, and changing his life.

Directed by Burr Steers, 17 Again earned a PG-13 rating for language, and some sexual content. However, younger kids were also present in the theater, and they seemed to enjoy it as well, although I believe it is geared at a more mature audience. I thought the acting was very good, with Matthew Perry playing the adult Mike O’Donnell, and Zac Efron playing the 17-year-old version of Mike. I feel that Efron proved in this performance that he has a lot of talent that extends beyond High School Musical. The supporting actors also added a lot to the film. Thomas Lennon was hilarious in his role as nerdy Ned Gold, and Leslie Mann was also great as estranged wife Scarlett.

While the time-warp vortex that Mike falls into is a little unrealistic, and the plotline is inevitably predictable, there is really no point in overanalyzing the film. The movie is just meant to be fun.

I felt that this movie was everything it was geared towards being. It was humorous, with a well-written plot, and very good acting. While it is not an Oscar worthy film, it served its purpose at being entertaining and funny. I would definitely recommend seeing it. If you don't plan on watching it in theaters, look for it in the future months to be released onto DVD. You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised.

-Lindsay

Changeling (2008)

This film has been out on DVD for a while now, but I really wanted to take the time to recommend seeing it if you have not already. Not enough can be said for Angelina Jolie's performance as Christine Collins, the mother of missing child, Walter Collins, who actually did disappear in March of 1928 and caused a series of events to unfold that proved that truth can be just as strange as fiction.

Directed by Clint Eastwood, the movie follows the true events quite faithfully, all the while focusing on Angelina's character as she searches for her son with the help of the LAPD. When they bring her son back to her, she is shocked to realize that some evident mistake has been made, and that the boy they present her with is not Walter. The police insist she is wrong, and pressure her into accepting the boy as her own. This acceptance is something that she will rue as the story progresses, and perhaps is something hard for the audience to swallow. We must remember, though, that this really happened! As she begins to insist that the boy is not Walter, and to raise her voice higher and higher in opposition to the mistake made by the LAPD, and their denials of their mistake, they go to greater and greater lengths to dismiss and discredit her.

Women, we must remember, had a much different standing in society in the 1920s than they do today. She was speaking out not only against a powerful organization, but against powerfully ambitious men, who inevitably decided she was not minding her ladylike manners.

After being locked away in an insane asylum by the police, her cause begins to expose the corruption of the LAPD and to ignite a public outcry against it.

Things seem to go from bad to worse at this point, when a serial killer is apprehended after his cousin confesses their crimes due to a heavy conscience. The murders of all those boys that they kidnapped inspire all of the grisly shock onscreen that they must have caused in the 1920s when they were recounted in papers and in the courtrooms of the trial. These scenes no doubt earned the film's R rating, and are not for the faint of heart, but even if crime and horror is not your forte in film, you are guaranteed to be riveted and unable to look away! It's a splendid film, and a fascinating story.

-Dani

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

As the Oscar winner for Best Picture, Slumdog Millionaire is definitely one of the most original movies I have seen. While it may not consist of well-known actors cast as the leading roles, I feel that this movie still has a unique storyline, and is portrayed in a very captivating way.

Based on the book Q & A by Vikas Swarup and directed by Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandon, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of Jamal Malik, a Mumbai teen who becomes a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? in order to find his lost childhood sweetheart. As Jamal advances his way through the questions, he is suspected of cheating. No one can believe that a young man who grew up in the slums knows the right answers. He is arrested and interrogated. During his interrogation, the movie reveals how events throughout Jamal’s life prove that he knows the correct answers.

I really enjoyed how the situations from Jamal’s past ended up relating to questions he was being asked on the game show. This really kept me interested throughout the whole movie. While flashbacks usually end up confusing me, these were done very well.

The only complaint I will make is relatively minor. While the movie was not anti-climatic in any sense, it seemed to drag a bit. At exactly 120 minutes, the beginning seemed a little sluggish, but it picked up soon after.

Overall, I think this movie was extremely fascinating and well-done; a different twist on the average “love story.” I would not recommend it for younger children, however. It has an R rating for violence and language, and I must admit that a couple of the scenes are pretty graphic.

Slumdog Millionaire is emotional and engaging, making it one of the most memorable movies. It is now available on DVD, so be sure to see it!

-Lindsay

The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)

Well, I saw this film a while ago, (a few days after it came out due to my excitement). I love scary movies, but only when they have supernatural elements and are more akin to ghost stories than slasher flicks.

Rated PG-13, the film is director Peter Cornwell's debut. Keep that in mind when you see it...

This story about an average family struggling to deal with their eldest son's cancer diagnosis and the changes in their lives that that brings was always, in my opinion, a rich and promising premise. If this so far sounds like a drama, instead of a horror film, allow me to continue. The family is forced to move to Connecticut where their son is being treated, and they then see no choice but to move into a house that was once a funeral home and seems to have a very dark and sinister past. Paranormal activity is witnessed by every single member of the family and slowly but surely begins to put a strain on their lives and also cause mysterious effects to their son, Matt, and his grave illness.

This is basically where fiction takes leave of fact, as believe it or not, the film is based on a true story that I have been quite fascinated with for some years now. A more in depth look at the actual events can be obtained from the Discovery Channel's program A Haunting in Connecticut, or from the book, In a Dark Place, written by the family alongside Ed and Lorraine Warren; the paranormal investigators that they ended up calling into their home.

For reasons unknown to me, it seems that Hollywood made the decision to deliberately leave out the most compelling aspects of the story and the details that made this particular case different from any other. The film plays onscreen like a bad imitation of The Amityville Horror; falling into every cliche and using every cheap trick known to the genre. I love subtlety in my horror films, and also admission from them within their plot that unexplainable things happen in our world, and that not all stories end with a resolution. Needless to say, this film did not give me that.

I would recommend seeing this movie before looking for yourself into the real case, if you intend to do so. This does not guarantee that you will avoid disappointment, but it may help.

- Dani

Marley & Me (2008)

Based on the “New York Times” bestselling book by the same title, “Marley & Me” follows the life of John Grogan and his family, and the many trials they face with their Labrador, Marley.
John and Jenny Grogan have no idea what’s in store for them when they bring home puppy Marley. Soon, Marley grows in to a large, out of control dog that’s always causing hilarious, but awkward trouble.
Directed by David Frankel, “Marley & Me” is entertaining for the whole family at only a PG rating. Many scenes made me laugh out loud, as well as cry. Even though I’ve never owned a dog, I felt that the development of Marley throughout the years was very accurate. While the cast was not very large, both the main actors, Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, portrayed John and Jenny immensely well.
I have yet to read the book, but I believe that the movie accurately captured the story. I definitely have plans to read the book in the near future.
“Marley & Me” is now available on DVD, so make sure you see it! It’s definitely a movie worth watching.

-Lindsay

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

One short phrase can probably sum this movie up here for me, but I have a feeling that it won't. The phrase is this: Best film I have seen in a long time.

Directed by David Fincher and based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the story chronicles the entire life of Benjamin Button, who is born an old man and ages backwards from there. The film makes no apologies and offers no explanations for this condition, but you somehow find yourself never wondering about the whys and hows. The direction and acting are mesmerizing, and from the start you are swept away into the story which is poignant and humorous; joyful and sad.

I was amazed by the textures and artistry of the sets and scenes, and though that was greatly due to the location of the story's setting (New Orleans, with some adventures abroad also thrown in), the cinematography was exquisite.

Benjamin Button is played by Brad Pitt, and with the help of some amazing make-up and nearly undetectable computer aid, he plays both a frail and elderly man, and a flawlessly youthful teen all in the same movie! Cate Blanchett's transformation in her role as Benjamin's friend and love interest, Daisy, is also very dramatic.

Benjamin's strange life seems to have also been frought with strange adventures, and for a time we follow him about on some Huck Finn-style forays into the world beyond his home, where he meets a seemingly endless array of odd characters. One cannot help but feel at least a little wanderlust while watching him learn as much as he does from these travels.

This is what I would call a fantasy movie , though it is not the classic definition of that genre. It is rated PG-13 and is a lengthy 166 minutes. It will be coming to DVD on 05/05/09, and is available for hold placement today, so be sure to get your name on the list!

- Dani

Coraline (2009)

Coraline is a computer animated adaptation of Neil Gaiman's book for children, directed by Henry Selick. The film, however, has appeal for viewers of all ages. It is rated PG, and though inevitably it has a happy ending, some elements may be a bit frightening to young children, and many scenes are quite dark. It is about an 11 year old girl who unlocks an Alice in Wonderland-type door in her new home and finds behind it a parallel universe where all her wishes seem to have come true. Things take a creepy turn, however, when she is faced with the fact that it is all too good to be true, and that she may never be able to return home again.
The theatre was showing it in 3-D when I went, and handed you the glasses as you entered to take your seat. I cannot say that I noticed much of anything popping out from the screen (as I expected!), but rather felt that the 3-D added a depth that I cannot now imagine the film being without.
I am a fan of the Tim Burton-style of animation, and was hoping that Coraline would be similar. I was not disappointed, and hope that the same will true for you when you see it! Keep an eye out in the months to come for the film's release onto DVD!
-Dani