tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71092062011-10-02T06:43:56.350-07:00My opinions on books I've read, movies I've seen, maybe some songs I've heard... and some I haven't!Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.comBlogger1121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-68113719255104165172007-06-01T16:33:00.000-07:002007-06-01T17:07:35.461-07:00

My friend Holly describes Spider-Man 3 thusly:Watching Spiderman 3, one gets the impression that a good writer and a bad writer were duking it out over the pen until the bad writer finally punched the good writer in the nose and stole the last third of the script for himself.Needless to say, she didn't enjoy it much. I didn't think it was that bad, but I did notice that the tone was much less

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-43912599083107818512007-05-23T13:21:00.000-07:002007-05-23T13:27:18.786-07:00

I was going to recommend a fantastic remix of "Dark Side of the Moon" (not a remake of the Pink Floyd song, though the lyrics do reference it), but apparently it's the original! It's off the album Ultra: iTrance 3 (yes, this is the stuff I listen to) and "by" Ernesto vs. Bastian, which is shorthand for saying someone mixed the vocals from Ernesto with another song by Bastian. The synth line

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-61776237986080899842007-05-09T13:29:00.000-07:002007-05-09T16:51:55.625-07:00

The Newsboys' latest album is a confection of every good thing they're known for. The songs are clever and ridiculously catchy. "Your Love Is Better Than Life" is a funky spoken-verse party, while "Wherever We Go" and "Secret Kingdom" (to an extent) hearken back to their punny, goofy "Reality" days. "I Am Free" is the requisite worship anthem, and "Gonna Be Alright" does all right for the

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-23527123341916466812007-02-18T21:36:00.000-08:002007-02-18T21:46:55.082-08:00

Who wouldn't love Josh Groban? (Supposing you're female, of course.) The rich tenor... the puppy-dog eyes... the intensely emotional songs... But the songs are all about sappy love. Wouldn't it be nice if there were a Christian artist, of upstanding character, with a good family life and a healthy ministry, releasing albums of the same quality?Ladies, meet Travis Cottrell. His voice lacks nothing

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-44808057602512970582007-02-05T14:05:00.000-08:002007-02-05T17:29:40.496-08:00

I didn't know I loved trance music until I came to Seattle and heard about C89.5. Then I discovered that I like all kinds of dance music! My preference, as I think has already been demonstrated on this blog, is for divalicious dance-pop, but trance -- musical, atmospheric club-dance -- has many of the same admirable qualities (if a little more ambient result). And if you're thinking "trance,"

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-12697273621063085892007-01-09T22:36:00.000-08:002007-01-09T23:42:44.943-08:00

Darren Aronofsky's movie The Fountain is one of those rare but pleasant surprises in which a movie you go see is exactly as advertised. If you've watched the trailer, the movie will feel and sound familiar to you, but you the story hasn't been ruined.The Fountain is Aronofsky's meditation on love, death, birth, immortality and the meaning of life, which he conceived, if I'm remembering aright,

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1167198947547860172006-12-26T21:47:00.000-08:002006-12-26T21:55:47.560-08:00

This comedy, starring Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson, received very mediocre reviews. I think they were a tad undeserved, because it was almost good, for what it was. The premise is that a shy, insecure woman has superpowers, and her well-meaning boyfriend finds her too crazy to handle. She reacts with petty vengefulness until all is made right in the end. It was actually a pretty insightful look at

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1165904431406850822006-12-11T22:16:00.000-08:002006-12-11T22:20:31.430-08:00

Wintersong sounds just like one would expect a Christmas album from Sarah McLachlan to sound: spare instrumentation, ethereal atmosphere, and haunting vocals. Plenty of holiday wistfulness. It makes great background music, but there is one standout track. "The First Noel/Mary Mary," in which she combines reverberating vocals in her famous style, several holiday classics, beautiful pop, some folk,

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1164261876661890392006-11-22T22:02:00.000-08:002006-11-22T22:05:47.693-08:00

"Chasing Cars" (off the album Eyes Open) is a great guitar-driven Brit-rock song. But you know the only thing I like more than guitar-driven Brit-rock is a synth-washed techno beat... and so I present you with the House Remix of Chasing Cars. So great that I actually listened to it multiple times in a row.Edit: the same site also calls this the Topher Jones & Blake Jarrell Remix.

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1158782918686115542006-09-20T13:08:00.000-07:002006-09-20T13:08:38.700-07:00

A wise man once said that remixing is like admitting you were wrong. Sometimes I disagree, but in general I think he's right. That said, if you're going to admit you're wrong, at least make it right! With O2/Avalon Remixed, Avalon have taken their frustratingly poppy, stereotypical CCM and made it into trip-hoppy/downtempo dance beats! w00t! Songs that I already liked ("Testify To Love" and "

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1155369554390535842006-08-11T23:57:00.000-07:002006-08-12T00:59:14.596-07:00

I'm critical by nature and a movie critic by presumption, but it surprised me this summer that I didn't often agree with my friends about movies. Some of them liked X3 "just fine," for example. (Ha! See my previous review...) Some of them didn't like Pirates 2 (see my next review). Everyone I know but me hated Elektra. And most of them didn't like Superman Returns, the Project That Stole Bryan

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1151603397862445912006-06-29T10:43:00.000-07:002006-06-29T10:49:57.900-07:00

With a band as big as Third Day, you either already like them or already don't. I happen to like them, because the "Southern Rock" sound is full of electric guitar and strings(!). Plus, of course, Mac Powell's voice is amazing. The lyrics aren't dippy and some of them are downright deep. Where You Are, the latest album, is nothing new or surprising (if you're already used to Third Day, anyway),

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1149118071670744802006-05-31T16:27:00.000-07:002006-05-31T16:27:51.766-07:00

DreamHost (through which I have my e-mail and website) is a techy place. Sometimes their site goes down. But they're all techy people who are actually eager to help you. If you sign read their announcements blog, they'll tell you what went wrong and why and why it won't or might happen again. Most importantly, they're not evil!Herewith I present to you two blog entries describing other hosting

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1148721569235443602006-05-27T01:31:00.000-07:002006-05-27T02:19:29.253-07:00

The author wishes to thank her kind and tolerant friends for letting her vent/detox after the movie, especially Dan, who reminded her to get her car, and DJ, who reminded her to fill it with gas. Without them, she literally wouldn't have made it home.Okay. I -- No. Where do I start? I thought Goblet of Fire was fast-paced. That only crammed an 800-page novel into two and a half hours. Last Stand

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1142297670751321932006-05-13T14:37:00.000-07:002006-05-14T23:33:50.123-07:00

There are few invariants in this life. It rains in Seattle. All governments waste money. Everybody dies (at least once). And Jean Grey loves Scott Summers. This is how it has always been! To watch the Grey-Summers marriage unravel under the authorship of Grant Morrison in New X-Men violates the existence of the known universe and all principles of being a good writer and a good person.* Therefore

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1147458928755976562006-05-12T11:07:00.000-07:002006-05-12T11:35:28.810-07:00

Dear Nick Lachey,Will you marry me?Sincerely,AbigailIf the world should ever fall apart around youAnd if you're lost and barely breathing,I will find you and carry you back home.I won't forsake the only love I've ever known. And I will wait however long it takesTil you realize what you've been searching forWas right here all along.Okay, I understand that sentiment is easy to fake, but by all

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1147285607145535372006-05-10T10:59:00.000-07:002006-05-10T11:36:05.016-07:00

Nothing much changed in Switchfoot's sound between Beautiful Letdown and Nothing is Sound; it appears they adhere to the old adage, "If it's not broke..." Indeed, since Letdown was anything but, I'm glad the band decided to rehash the sound. The first listen or two, then, of Nothing is Sound felt very familiar, which is not what you want on the first listen or two.But "Stars" was very catchy and

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1146680928283224352006-05-03T11:16:00.000-07:002006-05-03T11:28:48.306-07:00

The Goo Goo Dolls are the type of band that does things I don't understand. (That type of band could perhaps be described as "any band who plays in a genre including the word alternative.") Their name -- really, what does that mean? You see little garage bands all the type with names like that and then some of them hit it big and none of us stop to think, wow, that's really strange. Second, their

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1145985930023824642006-04-25T10:11:00.000-07:002006-04-25T10:25:30.046-07:00

QED is one of those artists that you've never heard of, but you'd recognize their songs if you listened to a dance music station every day -- which I do. Unlike some outfits that release the best single off the album and have nothing else for you (D.H.T., I'm talking to you), QED managed to put together a complete album that's listenable the whole way through.The singles you'd recognize, if you

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1145494242953092262006-04-19T17:18:00.000-07:002006-04-19T17:50:42.970-07:00

I probably should've watched this in theaters, rather than waiting until a friend rented it, since I owe Peter Jackson an unpayable debt for Lord of the Rings. But really, the story of King Kong didn't appeal to me. And I have to say that it still doesn't really.The frame on which the story hangs is the ambition of Karl Denham (played by Jack Black, in a role I'm not sure whether you're supposed

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1142289424387929522006-03-13T14:28:00.000-08:002006-03-13T14:37:04.410-08:00

Every time I watch the fourth movie, I like it more. This may or may not have to do with my thinking Ralph Fiennes* is creepier every time I see the movie. Seriously -- how scary would it be to have him (bald or not) screaming at you, "I want you to look at me when I kill you! I want to see the light leave your eyes!" As Jonathan pointed out, my increased "enjoyment" of the movie may be due to

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1142027163135425042006-03-10T13:40:00.000-08:002006-03-10T13:46:03.150-08:00

I never had a problem with Matchbox Twenty (of which Thomas was the lead singer), so I was predisposed to like his first solo CD. The tracks you've heard on the radio -- "Lonely No More", "This is How a Heart Breaks", "Ever the Same" -- are good but a bit pedestrian. The standouts in my mind, however, are "All That I Am", an Eastern-flavored melancholy extravaganza to rival Howie Day's "Come Lay

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1142016784752229492006-03-10T10:42:00.000-08:002006-03-10T10:53:04.820-08:00

Normally, I'm not a huge country fan. I dislike twang and whining and maudlin sentiment. But something about Jessi Colter's new album, Out of the Ashes, and its related single, "Through the Maze,"are strangely compelling. I picked up one track on Rhapsody's recommendation, then kept listening, one or two tracks at a time, expecting to get tired of it and then never doing. (My grammar grows

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1141371408562947712006-03-02T23:36:00.000-08:002006-03-02T23:36:48.630-08:00

DailySixer.com: Brokeback Mountain ParodiesMore parodies than you can shake a stick at. Fortunately, I did the hard work for you, and really, Brokeback to the Future is so much better than the others that you don't really need to watch them. The two Star Wars ones are pretty good, too. But if you watch any more, really, you're just going to start hating the trailer music.

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1141197592540660332006-02-28T22:52:00.000-08:002006-03-10T14:59:49.410-08:00

First in a series of touting my favorites by way of reviews.Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of the finest musical soundtracks* out there, and certainly Disney's best. Here are the reasons why Hunchback is totally awesome:They (the producsers/composers/lyricists/etc.) don't ignore the score. First and foremost, I'm a film score buff. Give me a bombastic string section and I'll give you

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1140859157333349412006-02-25T01:19:00.000-08:002006-02-25T01:19:17.406-08:00

I randomly found this screenwriter's blog with an entry about the next Samuel L. Jackson movie, Snakes on a Plane, which has to be the most awesome movie title ever, or at least this year. In it he says, It's a title. It's a concept. It's a poster and a logline and whatever else you need it to be. It's perfect. Perfect. It's the Everlasting Gobstopper of movie titles. ...In fact, during the two

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1140563575923891532006-02-21T15:04:00.000-08:002006-03-01T18:10:49.666-08:00

I like a lot of random songs, but there are hardly any songs I like so well that I wouldn't like a dance remake even better (note: all U2 originals are an exception). I'm not talking about remixing the original song with different beats, I mean completely remaking the song in the vein of a diva-led dance anthem. Purr.So in case you're unfamiliar with this genre, here is a list of all such songs I

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1140040824914840422006-02-15T13:57:00.000-08:002006-02-15T14:00:24.926-08:00

Imogen Heap, lead singer for the band Frou Frou (who performed the End Credits version of "Holding Out For A Hero" on the Shrek 2 soundtrack), has two solo albums out. They're kind-of trip-hoppy, and she has a very disctinctive voice. I found the first album, I Megaphone, to be too harsh and grating, but the more recent release, Speak For Yourself, was listenable for much longer. Though I liked

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1138144539669561092006-01-24T15:15:00.000-08:002006-01-24T15:15:39.743-08:00

If you haven't seen the movie Big Fish, you should go see it. Then the song "How I Go" will make much more sense as well as being more moving than it would be if you just heard the song. Which you should also hear.

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1137396040596271032006-01-15T22:50:00.000-08:002006-01-15T23:20:40.633-08:00

Let it be known that no one could replace Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. That said, there is still much to recommend the latest adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, arguably Jane Austen's best novel (and undisputedly her most popular). The story is, approximately, thus: rich man meets poor woman, man insults woman, man falls in love with woman, man must then change woman's mind. Can there be any doubt

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1134205473218311402005-12-09T23:54:00.000-08:002005-12-10T01:04:33.276-08:00

I don't know what I was expecting when I went to see it, but I'm happy to report that The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (a mouthful if ever there was one, possibly topped only by The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) is a much better movie than I expected. Of course it isn't perfect, but what is in this fallen world of ours?I think what I liked best was

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1132386761762648102005-11-18T23:44:00.000-08:002006-02-22T17:55:23.953-08:00

No time for a fancy, witty review -- just the basics tonight.Overall, four stars out of five. Very enjoyable to see the book translated so well to the screen.Of course, I can't escape the comparisons to the book -- especially for the first time I see a movie, when I haven't yet adjusted my expectations. There were few changes, but naturally, great swaths of plot had to be left out or it would've

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1132193163272824672005-11-16T17:30:00.000-08:002005-11-16T18:43:40.396-08:00

(Generally, I try not to listen to a movie's soundtrack before I see the movie. For one, I like to get the full impact of the movie the first time I see it, and for another, part of the reason I like soundtracks is to relive the movie in my head, which I clearly can't do if I haven't seen the movie. Listening to it a lot before the movie means I run the risk of starting to associate music with

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1127286147920836512005-09-20T23:45:00.000-07:002005-09-21T00:02:27.926-07:00

I'd heard of Death Cab For Cutie before (they're from north of Seattle), but I'd never heard any of their music. They were the most-listened-to band on Rhapsody for a while, so I finally decided to give them a listen. I have to say, I'm converted! Sure, this is their first non-indie-label release, and so it probably bears little resemblance to the work that made them famous. But I love the tender

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1124950361598043462005-08-24T22:13:00.000-07:002005-08-24T23:12:41.603-07:00

Another quickie review that I should've posted long ago but never got around to.If you haven't heard of Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow, I can't really help you. If you have, then this book hardly needs introduction, but here it goes. It's the fourth (and final?) book in the "Shadow" series, which starts with the parallel novel Ender's Shadow and follows your favorite characters from Ender's Game

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1124946687694830172005-08-24T22:11:00.000-07:002005-08-24T22:12:54.546-07:00

These will just be quickies, since I haven’t had the time to review them properly.Black SwanThis book was so entertaining — filled with believable, interesting characters and a vivid sense of place (a Germanic kingdom in the later middle ages) — that I found myself looking for points to critique. It’s a retelling of Swan Lake from the points of view of Rothbart’s daughter, Odile; Queen Clothilde;

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1124927608989550792005-08-24T16:53:00.000-07:002005-08-24T22:13:42.043-07:00

I pride myself on having a certain tone when reviewing what I review, but I have to admit that negative reviews are more fun. Here I present a recent favorite of mine, just loaded with snide remarks and $64 vocabulary. The best parts are quoted below for convience.Oops, They Did It Again by Steve WieckingIf you're a 12-year-old girl, stop reading this and go tell your parents that if they've got

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1115253680341709282005-08-24T14:54:00.000-07:002005-08-24T17:20:15.740-07:00

(Edit: I accidentally saved this as a draft instead of publishing it. So you can't really go to the theaters to see this anymore, but here's the review.)I was one of the three or so people in the theater who hadn't read Douglas Adams' classic absurdist comedy about the end of the planet Earth and what happens to its surviving humans before seeing the movie. It was a joyous experience, frankly,

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1122272977904976682005-07-24T22:54:00.000-07:002005-07-24T23:29:37.943-07:00

It seemed hard to do at first -- Alexandre Dumas's enormous The Three Musketeers performed outdoors, with no set and just a few props. But it worked surprisingly well! Theater Schmeater put together a talented cast (one of whom I recognized as Jess from the Reduced Shakespeare Company at another local venue) who didn't mind role-juggling (the Queen of France returns at one point as a

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1121592242265278802005-07-17T02:17:00.000-07:002005-07-17T02:24:02.270-07:00

I'm not going to give you the full review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince because -- well, for one, it's 2:20 am. I'm also still in its throes, and in the throes of the (out)rage that ignited within me upon finishing the book. How could she? Stick us in that situation and then make us wait two years to get out of it. Two years -- or more! I can't take it! Oy.

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1121198140503549172005-07-12T11:54:00.000-07:002005-07-12T12:55:40.546-07:00

It's inevitable that critics will second-guess themselves. Women change their minds all the time. I'm a female critic; it was bound to happen.I had a pretty dim opinion of King Arthur and slighted Hans Zimmer's soundtrack as being boring. I've since then listened to it several times and I find that it makes excellent background music. Some of the melodies are memorable and the orchestrations are

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1120013779485493622005-06-28T19:21:00.000-07:002005-06-28T19:56:19.490-07:00

Finally! A rise after the long, slow slide of the Batman movie franchise! This movie was phenomenal. Directed by Chris Nolan (Memento) with some of the same time-jumping, Batman Begins features a stellar cast and a compelling reinvention of the Batman mythos. It doesn't try to build bridges to previously made movies that take place later (*coughstarwarscough*), it just starts over.*We meet Bruce

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1120011639162134472005-06-28T19:10:00.000-07:002005-06-28T19:20:39.166-07:00

A terrible thing has happened to me since I started writing these reviews. In the interest of providing thorough, fair, entertaining reviews to you, my five-person reading public, I've started looking for flaws in the things I watch and read! Heaven forfend!I don't know what that has to do with anything, I just wanted to share.

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1119309499317305612005-06-20T15:57:00.000-07:002005-06-20T16:18:19.336-07:00

Remember when Jessica Simpson was the wholesome one? The preacher's kid who saved her virginity for marriage. Well, have you seen her latest video? She remade Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" for the new Dukes of Hazzard movie. I don't know if she's trying to out-"Dirrty" Christina Aguilera or merely to undercut the for-now-wholesomely pregnant Britney Spears, but she threw away

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1118642445593760672005-06-12T22:58:00.000-07:002005-06-12T23:00:45.603-07:00

I'm happy to say that this film lived up to the promise of its trailer, but I must also say that it was a particularly misleading trailer. Most trailers are, mixing sound clips and and images that didn't originally go together to imply something about a plot that piques the viewer's interest without actually giving away the plot. Okay, most good trailers do that. Bad ones just give away the plot.

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1118176523447002142005-06-07T12:45:00.000-07:002005-06-07T13:35:23.490-07:00

Okay, I'm not trying to dis Coldplay, but why does everyone keep referring to them as "the next U2"? Is there something wrong with the real U2? No! And I don't think Coldplay sounds like U2 anyway; they sound like Coldplay. Elements of their music sound like elements of U2's music, but they also sound like other bands and like no one else. [end rant]So X&Y isn't a showstopper. Entertainment

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1116572722554541592005-05-20T00:04:00.000-07:002005-05-20T00:06:10.893-07:00

(Not really sure how to punctuate the title, but here goes the review.)I will try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, but if you’re one of those who wants to have a totally clean experience, I’ll just get this out of the way right now: It doesn’t suck! (Come back and read the rest after you’ve seen it.)You know, it's not very high praise that almost everyone I talk to effervescently describes

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1115619448638707802005-05-08T21:30:00.000-07:002005-05-08T23:17:28.716-07:00

Fortunately for all concerned (not like it's a surprise), Kingdom of Heaven was directed by the Ridley Scott of Gladiator and not the Ridley Scott of Matchstick Men. Unfortunately, it's not as good as the former (though far better than the latter, if you can compare epics to oranges).What makes a good epic film? Braveheart had it; so did Gladiator. King Arthur tried, Troy tried harder, and

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1115272949204380422005-05-04T22:59:00.000-07:002005-05-04T23:02:29.210-07:00

Here's how I was going to start my review of Elektra: "This was not a good movie. The plot was convoluted and meandering, the acting was unconvincing, the special effects were unrealistic, and the style was cool but not terribly original. It's a testament to my affinity for the genre that I cared at all about the outcome." It turns out that that particular sentence applies to Johnny Mnemonic as

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1113115375026434112005-04-09T23:00:00.000-07:002005-04-09T23:42:55.026-07:00

I went to Fever Pitch knowing almost nothing about it but its premise and its stars, and was pleasantly surprised. It was a cute romantic comedy, of course, and formulaic at that; its frame, however -- the BoSox World Series win in 2004 -- was anything but! The stars had good chemistry, and managed somehow to be sweet without being cloying, quirky without being annoying... if anything, they were

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1111692909343857282005-03-24T11:27:00.000-08:002005-03-24T11:55:20.613-08:00

First, anyone who shares a name with the lead singer of The Holograms can't go far wrong. ;) Of course, Jem probably wouldn't appreciate the comparison (she's Welsh). Second, this is one of those rare albums where every song is both listenable and distinctive. There's not a sour note on the whole album, which ranges from down-tempo dance to outright trip-hop (cool groove beats). "They" was the

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1110345595618754862005-03-08T21:05:00.000-08:002005-03-08T21:19:55.620-08:00

This movie earned Jamie Foxx an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and he deserved every ballot (though as Entertainment Weekly put it, how the role can be described as "supporting" is known only to Tom Cruise's publicists). Honestly, Cruise wasn't half bad himself. It was weird to see him as the villain but nice to know that he looks, if possible, even hotter with grey hair (or

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1109658500832660382005-02-28T22:17:00.000-08:002005-02-28T22:28:20.833-08:00

Best line in the movie: "So is that a noun or a verb?" :)The phrases "Will Smith" and "romantic comedy" don't seem at first glance to go very well together, but he did a pretty decent job. He stars as Alex Hitchens (the title character, Hitch), who was jilted as a young lover and has spent the rest of his life showing other men how to get their women -- for a fee, of course. He's the legendary

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1109142154198412372005-02-22T22:56:00.000-08:002005-02-22T23:02:34.203-08:00

After six novels that casually mentioned her, it was nice to finally meet Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern. As any good writer would have done, McCaffrey significantly alters the details of what we were told, although the basic outline remains. She does a terribly good job of setting up a happy situation and then executing tragedy upon the characters with a ruthlessness I both admired and feared. In

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1109057820154660522005-02-21T23:31:00.000-08:002005-02-21T23:37:00.156-08:00

The Harper Hall Trilogy takes place during the early years of the original Dragonriders trilogy. Dragonsong and Dragonsinger follow Menolly from an oppressed life in Half-Circle Sea Hold to finding her place among the harpers, while Dragondrums primarily tells the story of how Piemur went from boy soprano to valued journeyman harper. The main characters in this story are younger and the stories

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1109014357465783582005-02-21T11:32:00.000-08:002005-02-21T11:32:37.466-08:00

Amazon.com: Music: Sunsets & Sushi [ENHANCED] I reviewed this on Amazon and at present, mine is the top review. If you can't find it, scroll on down through "all reviews."

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1108731652291379452005-02-18T04:50:00.000-08:002005-02-18T05:00:52.293-08:00

Keanu Reeves is perfect for this role- supernatural seems to be what he's best at. Even though the concept behind this movie may not match up with Christian truths, it sure looks fantastic. The basic plot seems to be that God and Satan made a wager for the souls of humans, and the rules of the wager are no direct intervention- angels stay in heaven, demons stay in hell, and the bettors rely on

Amynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1106380400889402492005-01-21T23:53:00.000-08:002005-01-21T23:53:20.890-08:00

The Kingdom of Heaven trailer can't decide what it wants to be: wall-of-choir "I'm an epic and don't I just know it," soprano-solo-over-battle-scenes "I'm an epic with a sensitive perspective on my victims," dramatic-montage "I'm an epic war movie," or mournful-pop-song thwarted love story. Yet the movie ends up looking very cool. Granted, it maintains the potential for being as hollowly

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1105569664784760682005-01-12T23:06:00.000-08:002005-01-12T23:28:00.856-08:00

My first impression of House of Flying Daggers was extremely ambivalent. No, I take that back. My first first impression was that this movie was even more entertaining and visually appealing and entertaining than Hero (also from director Yimou Zhang). But after the second attempted rape (nothing's shown) and the third "Ha! I am not left-handed either" moment, they lost me. I wasn't having any

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1105258681444407382005-01-09T01:18:00.000-08:002005-01-09T00:18:50.753-08:00

First, you should read Amy's review of Anne McCaffrey's Pern books, which manages not to divulge any crucial information! Now read on (my review might have a few more spoilers). I've just finished reading the original three books, the "Dragonriders of Pern" series, which occur thousands of Turns (Pernese years) after the original colonization but were the first ones published. The best part

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1105227310765306392005-01-08T15:12:00.000-08:002005-01-08T15:35:10.766-08:00

Four words: Johnny Depp, Irish accent. Now that I've gotten the female half of the population to see Finding Neverland, I'll work on the rest of you. :) This is a sappy tale, I'll just admit it right out. But it's a well-done sappy tale, so there! Johnny Depp stars as James (J.M.) Barrie, author of the original Peter Pan. But before he wrote that, he was a struggling playwright with no

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1104216697132845552004-12-28T01:19:00.000-08:002004-12-27T22:51:37.133-08:00

It was the best of films, it was the worst of films. It was the best of genres, it was the worst of genres. Okay, fine; it was just a battle for mediocracy in the genre that I hate to love, and here's who came out on top. Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! stars Kate (Ms. Orlando Bloom) Bosworth -- who doesn't deserve to be remembered only for her affiliation with the gorgeous manboy, but at least I

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1103412695315225202004-12-18T14:58:00.000-08:002004-12-18T15:31:35.316-08:00

This album could’ve been called “U2: The Return of The Edge.” It’s such a pleasure to have his beautiful guitar back! Instead, of course, it was given a name that, unbelievably, has even more syllables than All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Still, since it’s a slightly better album, we’ll let them have it. Not surprisingly, this album has nothing to do with atomic bombs and almost nothing to do

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1103098234704154242004-12-14T23:36:00.000-08:002004-12-15T00:10:34.703-08:00

And I even left some Thes out of the title... :) You wouldn't think it possible to improve upon an 11-Oscar–winning movie... but it is! The Oscars were given out at least as much for the preceding two movies and in anticipation of the extended edition as they were for Return of the King itself. Not that I mind. :) With one exception, I thought the additions added a lot to the movie, both

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1102743975567730502004-12-10T21:22:00.000-08:002004-12-10T21:46:15.566-08:00

Then, because I have a Blockbuster gift card, I rented Intolerable Cruelty, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones (-Douglas?) and George Clooney. Talk about hard to watch! I passed up Laws of Attraction because I thought it would be too dumb, but now I've just wasted 1.7 hours of my life with nothing to show for it! Most of it wasn't even funny. "Screwball comedy" they called it in the special features.

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1102742546221793832004-12-10T21:15:00.000-08:002004-12-10T21:22:26.220-08:00

To borrow from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's reviewer, this was an easy, breezy, popcorn of a movie, in which the most fun is had just watching beautiful people in beautiful places be beautifully funny. The plot..."lacks focus" -- which is to say, we're not really sure there's a plot, except as an excuse to get them all back together. By "them all" I mean Ocean's Eleven, of course, although

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1102461726542914082004-12-07T15:36:00.000-08:002004-12-07T15:41:10.526-08:00

I was pleasantly surprised with this CD, although the wet-finger-in-a-light-socket hairdo on the front cover will surely become one of her greatest "How did I ever let my manager/dad talk me into this?!" regrets. Her songs are strongest when she's not trying to do Shakira-esque vocal gymnastics. (Have I ever ranted about how much I dislike Shakira's voice when she does that?) Most of the songs

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1102150454072807602004-12-04T01:47:00.000-08:002004-12-04T00:54:14.073-08:00

Recipe for Return To The Forbidden Planet: Take the skeleton of the plot of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Move the setting to a futuristic space-ship. Fill in the scenes with quotes of other Shakespeare works, ripping as many as possible as cruelly as possible out of context; bad puns are encouraged ("Two beeps, or not two beeps?!"). Score to '50s rock-and-roll music, changing lyrics only when

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1102150057679121832004-12-04T00:18:00.000-08:002004-12-04T00:47:37.680-08:00

My biggest complaint about Shrek was that it made love seem easy. "Ooh, we like each other, we spend a little fun time getting to know each other, and boom! Everlasting love." That aspect of the story has been fully rectified in Shrek 2. In fact, Shrek and Fiona spend most of the movie fighting. But don't worry, it all works out in the end. We start out watching the Handsome Prince ride to

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1102026759642919782004-12-02T14:09:00.000-08:002004-12-03T14:47:50.253-08:00

What started as a guilty pleasure has turned into a genuine appreciation for Kelly Clarkson's voice and slick pop production. Her new album cements my opinion that she sings good songs and does it well. In between her perky debut Thankful and the ungrammatically named Breakaway (she uses it continually as a verb in the song of the same name, so it should be break away), she must have gone

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1100702071055359372004-11-17T06:25:00.000-08:002004-11-17T06:34:31.056-08:00

Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels have it all: a dramatic and violent conflict that spans generations, heroic heroes and heroines, and dragons that fly and go between and bond deeply with their riders. Discovering that I liked these books was like discovering a hidden treasure- there are so many of them. I swear I sat in the library admiring them all like one would enjoy running their hands through

Amynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1100651979356222752004-11-16T16:33:00.000-08:002004-11-16T16:39:39.356-08:00

I had heard the name Howie Day before, I think, but not until "Collide" was made a big deal of on my local mix station did I bother to listen to his music. Thanks to Rhapsody, I had instant access to his whole album. Often, the song on the radio ends up being the only one on its album that I like. With Stop All the World Now, though, I was pleasantly surprised. As each new song played, I expected

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1100651602491753382004-11-16T16:16:00.000-08:002004-11-16T16:33:22.493-08:00

Michael W. Smith's best album so far was Live the Life, and Healing Rain doesn't challenge its status. It does, however, provide another set of catchy, singable songs. The bad news: The first two tracks, "Here I Am" and "Healing Rain" (which has lately gotten a lot of radio play on my local Christian station), are too saccharine for me to enjoy. And I can listen to lots of saccharine. But these

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1100403199460664712004-11-13T19:33:00.000-08:002004-11-13T19:33:19.460-08:00

... Warriors Of Heaven And Earth. Mind you, it looks like the sort of movie I would enjoy. But the Official Melodramatic Trailer Announcer really goes overboard on this one.

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1100330961646854432004-11-12T23:08:00.000-08:002004-11-12T23:42:16.316-08:00

[Who's procrastinating on writing her novel?] At some point, Pixar is bound to raise the bar of animation quality, plot strength and humorous dialogue so high that they themselves will fail to clear it. But this is not that point, now is not that time, and this is not that movie (Lord have mercy on it, whenever it cometh to be). To quote another reviewer (or, in all likelihood, to misquote him),

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1099704725667159312004-11-05T13:10:00.000-08:002004-11-05T17:35:01.463-08:00

Employing guitars of which The Edge or Delirious would be proud and lush orchestrations that would sound at home on a Steven Curtis Chapman project, the Newsboys' latest release is an aural treat before you even listen to the words. This is another worship album like "Adoration," so the songs bear more resemblance to inspirational power ballads than the clever wordplay in "Thrive." Most of the

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1099381568954519762004-11-01T23:36:00.000-08:002004-11-01T23:46:08.956-08:00

This is what I get for thinking, "Gee, this movie has Johnny Depp in it, it's supposed to be funny, he's cool, someone I knew liked it, sure, what the heck, let's watch a 'Halloween' movie." Miranda Richardson makes a scary blonde but Christina Ricci makes a scarier one, even though the latter is ostensibly the romantic lead. In a movie that couldn't decide if it wanted to be creepy or campy,

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1098515714560518322004-10-23T01:09:00.000-07:002004-10-23T00:15:14.560-07:00

I'm a stubborn [favorite insulting noun], so I'm going to attempt to recreate my post, despite the fact that such a paragon of wordsmithing has rarely been achieved and is even harder to duplicate. Actually, no I'm not. I've been defeated by technology. The gist of it was, Sunshine is just as good the second time around, but a little more bearable, because you aren't consumed by the need to find

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1098515188798109512004-10-23T01:05:00.000-07:002004-10-23T00:06:28.796-07:00

Actually, Blogger didn't eat my post, stupid Windows "I'm going to randomly disconnect from your wireless network without telling you so that when you post all your information will go into cyberneverneverwhere" XP SP2 ate my post. We're not happy.

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1095726099246463422004-09-20T15:24:00.000-07:002004-09-20T17:21:39.246-07:00

In the spirit of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the movie Hero presents us with a visually stunning portrayal of honor among warriors in ancient China. The warrior Nameless (Jet Li) visits the king of Qin (pronounced "chin") to present him with the swords (representing their deaths, for only over their dead bodies would a warrior surrender his/her swords) of Sky, Broken Sword and Falling Snow,

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1094889724723981542004-09-11T01:58:00.000-07:002004-09-11T01:02:04.723-07:00

It starts out: "In the last days of Narnia..." Such a phrase would be devastating if you knew nothing about Narnia, but is doubly so when you have just spent six books falling in love with it. To tell you that this is about the end of Narnia's world is to tell you nothing you couldn't have figured out from the title and nothing that will ruin the ending. There's nothing to say about the plot or

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1094068716960288202004-09-01T12:57:00.000-07:002004-09-01T12:58:36.960-07:00

Overall a mediocre CD, good for background listening, with a few standout tracks. And I actually paid for this CD. 1. Dashboard Confessional - "Vindicated" The emo-rock you've come to expect from them, ramped up to near-Daredevil levels. Heavy metal guitar accompanies obtuse but insightful lyrics. 2. Train - "Ordinary" My favorite track. "Drops of Jupiter" was extraordinary (pun intended), but

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1093976480225662772004-08-31T09:07:00.001-07:002004-08-31T11:21:20.226-07:00

At the Imperial Theatre on 45th St, between Times Square and 8th St I think I have am finally adequately recovered, physically, emotionally, spiritually, musically, ecumenically and grammatically, from my experience at The Boy from Oz to review it without pulling something. First, the musical itself. It's not the best I've seen either from a musical or storytelling perspective, but is at the

mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09232007563067045342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1093822864897819892004-08-29T15:47:00.000-07:002004-08-30T22:27:38.440-07:00

The latest hand-animated movie from Dreamworks (also responsible for Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and the computer-animated Antz, Shrek and Shrek 2) was just as mediocre in production as I expected; but I found the story unexpectedly compelling. "Mediocre" is probably not quite the right word. It was simply... nothing original -- just what you'd

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1092888112337473042004-08-18T20:27:00.000-07:002004-08-18T21:09:11.853-07:00

Written by Aristophanes, freely adapted by Burt Shevelove, musicalized by Stephen Sondheim, even more freely adapted and politicized by Nathan Lane, produced by Lincoln Center in the Vivian Beaumont Theatre The time is the present. The place is Ancient Greece. The absolute best thing about this show was that I didn't pay a cent to see it -- some friends took me. The seats were phenomenal -- we

mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09232007563067045342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1091622833226207002004-08-04T05:33:00.000-07:002004-08-04T05:34:51.496-07:00

It’s a splendid British comedy and all-out girly movie starring twelve women, above forty years of age at least, who pose “nude” (that’s very different from naked, as they inform you in the movie) for a calendar. It sounds pretty sketch, but there’s a twist- they’re doing it to raise money for the local hospital in memory of one of the women’s husband, who died of leukemia. I recommend this movie

Amynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1090908492080020502004-07-26T22:56:00.000-07:002004-07-26T23:08:12.080-07:00

This was an endearing, entertaining and surprisingly long movie that I can't recommend outright because of totally superfluous nudity. We follow the intercut love stories of about a dozen Londoners right before Christmas, including the new Prime Minister (Hugh Grant), a struggling writer (Colin Firth -- how nice to have them both in a movie and both good guys this time :) ), a newlywed (Keira

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1090907745848775042004-07-26T22:52:00.000-07:002004-07-26T22:55:45.850-07:00

I started reading Frank E. Peretti's "The Prophet" but accidentally lost the book (it will get back to me eventually). I started Lloyd Alexander's Westmark trilogy but was so frustrated by the second book that I didn't start the third (I will eventually review the first two). I started "Interview With The Vampire" by Anne Rice, on the recommendation of a trusted cousin, but found that his

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1090706471327319572004-07-24T14:55:00.000-07:002004-07-24T15:01:11.326-07:00

Never have I wanted so badly to like a movie and been so badly underwhelmed. King Arthur had so much potential... Purporting to be the true story of Arthur, it's mostly just a lot of pretty fight scenes nearly devoid of emotion, helped along by an unfortunately forgettable Hans Zimmer score. Even the ending that dearly wanted to be meaningful was less satisfying than Troy's. If this is, as one

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1090706599007028492004-07-24T13:01:00.000-07:002004-07-24T15:03:19.006-07:00

Mean Girls was a smart, fast-paced comedy that should strike fear into the hearts of parents everywhere. At least they were high-school juniors and not Thirteen. :) Lindsay Lohan stars as 16-year-old Cady ("kaydie"), who was home-schooled in Africa by her researcher parents until her mother earned a tenured position at Northwestern and brings her daughter back to the States. Struggling to find

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1089905265681656512004-07-15T08:11:00.000-07:002004-07-15T08:27:45.680-07:00

The bad news first: Keanu Reeves is compelled to portray a human being. Given that Keanu's strongest suit is standing still and looking beautiful, the fact that he has to deal with things like lines and emotions is a pity. The good news: It's a magnificent movie. It's set in 1945, right after the end of WWII, and Keanu is playing Paul Sutton, a soldier who has just returned from battle. He

mangohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09232007563067045342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1089856350804044932004-07-14T18:30:00.000-07:002004-07-14T18:52:30.803-07:00

My sister and I resolved, upon the commencement of the credits, not to like this movie. Not because it's an unlikable movie, but because there was just no call for making it that sad. No reason whatsoever. To be sure, the Civil War (during which the movie takes place) was a terrible time in history, and war is never glorious, easy or untragic. But almost everybody dies -- too many of the good

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1089855045557377072004-07-14T18:22:00.000-07:002004-07-14T18:30:45.556-07:00

I didn't expect to like this movie as much as I did. Though it was a little bit of a slow starter (relative to, say, Spider-Man), the plot kept me interested most of the time and the humor, which ranged from intelligent wit to absurdist comedy, was mostly of my taste. :) Based very loosely on "The Odyssey," the story follows Ulysses Everett Grant (George Clooney) and his two chain(-gang)

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1088651899587299812004-06-30T19:04:00.000-07:002004-06-30T20:18:33.353-07:00

Maybe now I can stop thinking about Sunshine and Con (see below). One review I read says that this movie exceeds the first in all ways, and that's saying something! I didn't think it was all that much better than the first Spiderman movie (in the comics it's always been "Spiderman," I don't know why the movies make it "SPIDER-MAN"). But I will say this: while watching 2, I never once thought "

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1088510713274521462004-06-29T05:01:00.000-07:002004-06-29T05:05:53.983-07:00

When I rented Hugh Grant’s “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, I was fully expecting a romantic comedy. However, this movie was neither romantic nor a comedy. In fact, I disliked it so much that I could not resist presenting the plot here to prove, if you will, just how awful it was. It showed its true colors immediately- we see Charles (played by Grant) and his sister waking up late for a wedding

Amynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1088510461491711662004-06-29T04:59:00.000-07:002004-06-29T05:01:01.493-07:00

The story begins when Jesus returns to earth for those who believe in Him, and proceeds to tell the story of those who didn’t get to go. It is sometimes sad, sometimes heart-wrenching, but most of the time, it’s just good. The writers did very well in thinking out what the consequences of millions of people simply disappearing would be. The attitudes of those left behind cover a very realistic

Amynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1088387964988833572004-06-27T18:33:00.000-07:002004-07-01T19:38:48.790-07:00

Something like "Clue," something like your standard English character comedy, and a lot of interesting accents muttered at nearly inaudible levels -- in short, a grand old time! Starts a bit slow but you have to be paying attention so that you'll understand all the familial relationships. And then they add everyone's servants, and call most of them by the same name as their employers! Yay for the

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1088213165006684932004-06-25T17:35:00.000-07:002004-06-25T18:26:05.006-07:00

Robin McKinley never disappoints. Okay, has never yet disappointed, and with this outing, I think it's safe to say that she never will, because Sunshine is about as different from her other books as you can get and still be kind-of in the fantasy genre. Our library actually had it classified as horror; that and the review calling it her "first adult and then some" novel made me very reticent to

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1087961826545289062004-06-22T20:07:00.000-07:002004-06-22T20:37:06.546-07:00

The director of Bend It Like Beckham had at least as much fun directing it as the actors had acting in it, which is saying something. And I had fun watching it -- cute young actors (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers looks okay until he puts on that white shirt, at which point the hotness factor increases considerably), Indian techno music in the background (no, I'm not being sarcastic, I actually like that),

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7109206.post-1087699691349021752004-06-19T19:41:00.000-07:002004-06-19T19:48:11.350-07:00

Beware romantic comedies whose soundtracks feature Norah Jones. Now, I don't hate her music, but it has a certain... obviousness to it. Like, "okay everyone, pay attention, they're falling in love now." Then the plot thickens, they have a falling out, and the second Norah Jones song heralds their reunion. (Sorry if you weren't expecting that "spoiler"!) Still, I think Alex & Emma is a step up

Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15784091223235707418noreply@blogger.com0