Chocolat

"A woman and her daughter open a chocolate shop in a small French village that shakes up the rigid morality of the community." www.imdb.com

It's the simple things in life that give it meaning and make it enjoyable. Family, friends, chocolate. Indulgence is not a sin, but rather a way of making the routines we must go through more bearable. Indulgence is an adventure. We must allow indulgence, but not give in to gluttony. Allowing indulgence makes life sweeter.

This is a beautiful movie. A simple story but very well told. The acting is amazing. A very small town with a very big story to tell.

Think Mary Poppins with chocolate.

Legend

 

"A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from both destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves." www.imdb.com

This movie has been one of my favorites ever since I first saw it. I still watch it at least once a month.

Through the movie young Jack must discover the dark side (I know you just thought of Star Wars when I said that, wrong movie!) that is in each of us. Realizing that even though we want to be pure and good and part of the Light, there is more inside us. And he uses that dark part to save the Light from being driven out of existence. This illustrates the balance of Good and Evil. Evil becomes necessary. Evil becomes seductive. But it is how we use it and who we are as a person that determines if we are good or evil.

 An epic story of the battle and balance of Good and Evil, Light and Dark. Amazing story. Beautiful imagery.

The Possession

"A young girl buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that inside the collectible lives a malicious ancient spirit. The girl's father teams with his ex-wife to find a way to end the curse upon their child." www.imdb.com

This movie was interesting but a bit disappointing. With all the hype it got and the radio interviews with the guys who wrote it and their personal stories related to "the box" depicted in the movie. There is so much more that could have been done to add to the story and the thriller aspect of this movie. It definitely doesn't fall into the Horror category, it barely passes for creepy. Pretty much just another Exorcist style movie.

However, the little girl in this movie who gets the box is very good. It is strange that children are so good in scary movies, especially when they are the ones possessed or attacked. It is kind of frightening how good children are at accessing that dark side and portraying it in a movie. Sometimes they are more believable then adults in Thriller, Horror, Sci Fi movies. The rest of the cast in the movie was fine.

Lockout



"A man wrongly convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage against the U.S. is offered his freedom if he can rescue the president's daughter from an outer space prison taken over by violent inmates." www.imdb.com

Escape from New York storyline with Die Hard action in space. This movie is surpisingly entertaining. The good thing about this movie, while being in the future and in space, it doesn't have any outrageous special effects to ruin it. The casting was fine, no outstanding performances(well one inmate was a bit over the top but still tolerable) but that actually helped the believability of the movie.

Battleship

"A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals." www.imdb.com

Making a movie based on a board game is only slightly more tolerable then remaking a movie that already exists because it actually takes effort to walk around Toys R Us looking for inspiration. Some movies are annoying because they only reference something in the title and not in the story, others are annoying because they are too literal in their reference. This movie is literal. You wonder how they are going to make it seem like the game but then once you find out how you wish you hadn't because there is no real thought behind it. And to hide that fact there is a second part of the story that takes place on land that is meant to distract you and convince you this is an actual original idea.

The casting was nothing special. No standout performances at all. Liam Neeson was only used to help sell the movie.

If you like alien invasion movies then you might not mind this one. Think Independance Day on water.

How to Eat Fried Worms

"During the first day of his new school year, a fifth grade boy squares off against a bully and winds up accepting a dare that could change the balance of power within the class." www.imdb.com



Slimy yet satisfying entertainment for the whole family. I've heard about this book my entire life, but never had the guts to read it because it sounded so disgusting. But I thought I'd give the movie a try. I admit there are a few scenes I had to look away. If you have a VERY sensitive stomach this might not be the best choice for you. But definately give it a try. Lessons for all ages to learn from. I laughed most of the movie. The casting is perfect, adults and children alike. I think this is one I am going to add to my collection.