500 days of summer.

This film completely took me by surprise. I had only seen the trailer on TV a couple times, but never fully paid attention to it, assuming it was another teen drama flick or a chick flick type movie about a young couple's relationship over the summer, or something like "Elizabethtown". I didn't think about the title's meaning, and assumed it was what it was, 500 days of summer-a season... not a name. Which led me to wonder how summer could possibly last over a year?

Wow. I am really glad I didn't really know what to expect when stepping into this film, it surprised me in a very good way. Right from the beginning it had narration that reminded me of Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", split screen editing similar to "Requiem For A Dream", and a whimsical nature that seemed very familiar, yet very new. It was very funny, had good, interesting characters, and was most of all, dead honest. This was not another chick flick, and everyone should see it.

**SPOILERS**

I thought it was cool to see the movie's roles reversed, with the male character as the main story, and the female character as the "not-to-be-trusted" character usually males portray. The way the story was told was very funny, yet very heart felt and expressive, and I really connected with the characters on both sides of the 'argument'. You have this goofy guy who just wants to find his soul mate, and this independent girl who doesn't want to be tied down- I wanted the guy to get the girl, but at the same time I completely understood why she chose the path she did. He wasn't the right guy for her, she found someone else, and that was that. I found myself wanting to be angry at her, and the movie for destroying the 'hopeless romantic' within me, but this was the honest side of the film that I enjoyed. No bullshit, just life. The acting was great, and the musical scene couldn't have been performed better. I believe Joseph Gordon-Levitt was made for this role. I also thought the split screen segment with the main character's expectations versus reality to be effective and creative. The ending could be argued to be a little predictable but I thought it was fitting with the movie. Another thing; the soundtrack: perfect.

Though some might think "500 Days Of Summer" to be depressing, I thought it quite the opposite. Some things were a little corny, but I thought the humour and originality made up for it. Some things were a little sad, but it was very reminiscent of everyday life. I was entertained and surprised up until the very end, left with a satisfied, and hopeful demeanour, believing everything happens for a reason.

finding nemo.

Who doesn't love a good Pixar film? You can always trust Andrew Stanton to create a visually beautiful film and an amazingly touching story. I love this movie not just because it's a Pixar film...okay maybe because it's a Pixar film. But Pixar has never let me down. They always make the right decisions all the way to the root of the film.

**SPOILERS**

The voice acting was brilliant. I can't see any actor other than Ellen DeGeneres playing Dory. Who is by the way my favorite character. Facial expressions, personality, dialogue...all of it, just priceless. I love her. All the tank characters too, they were hilarious, especially with their tank initiation meeting for Nemo. The textures on everything as well, was so lifelike and beautiful. The animation of the sea anemone. Awesome. The animation in the movie in general is very intimidating.

I love the seagulls. They are the most annoying creatures in the world and I like how they're portrayed in this film. I also like how Dory speaks whale. You don't really question Dory about where she learned how to speak it and the fact that she has short-term memory loss is brilliant. Also, in the beginning where it's just a couple shots of their new neighborhood and you see all the fish just living their lives. It's pretty cool. There's a crab cutting grass and you know, fish making out in the background. It's very homey.

I admit, I shed a tear when Marlon's family got gobbled up. That totally sucked, and of course he gets stuck with the fish with the gimpy fin. It's okay. That whole part though was pretty sad. I'm glad at the end Dory ended up living with them. What I'd like to know is, are Marlon and Dory an "item" now? or are they just buddies? or what? They kinda just left that loose ended, but whatever Andrew Stanton knows what he's doing.

I love this movie and I've seen it a gagillion times and it never gets old. Did you know on the dvd/bluray there's an option for a TV screen saver. That means you can have awesome Finding Nemo backgrounds hanging out on your TV while your just doing things around the house, like vacuuming or reading or eating a sandwich or even knitting. It's pretty sweet, you guys should check it out.

paranormal activity.

Hi, my name is Affy and I believe in ghosts. Now put me and this movie together and I'm shitting myself. I went to see this with my friend and as I recall I was the 1st person to scream. Okay, it wasn't a proper scream, it was more like a squeak. I love horror movies. The old classic "Halloween", "Nightmare on Elm St", and "Friday the 13th" were all cheesy and had the same idea behind them, but I can't help but appreciate them. I love to get scared, it's like a sick fascination or something. I might need help, but right now we're going to focus on the movie, not me.

**SPOILERS**

Lets go to the beginning of the movie. No trailers. No beginning credits. Nothing. Just straight to the movie, which was awesome. I like that. And the whole time was just a hand held camera. The actors...no name. Never seen them before in my life and at the end...no credits. That was it. All this made the whole movie experience very unique. The whole movie just seemed rough and candid. That helped a lot in scaring the shit out of me.

Now, lets talk about the boyfriend, shall we? What a raging asshole! He's pissing off this demon thing when the psychic and the girlfriend strictly said to leave it alone and brings a Ouija Board in the house?! If my anyone brought that thing in my house Id throw them and that thing out the window. You know what? I'm glad she killed him at the end. She probably wasn't even possessed. I think he just pissed her off so much she said, "you know what? fuck it!"

Other than the annoying boyfriend, the movie was freaking awesome! All the stuff that was going on while they were in bed. Okay, let me just say this. If that was my house and I was doing that experiment. I would have been long gone from that house the moment I saw the door swing. No, I think I would have left after the noises. I would have gotten up, packed up some shirts and my psp and I don't even think Id leave through the door because that would mean I would have to go down to where all that stuff was happening. I think I would just jump out the window and make my way down somehow. Oh yeah, and don't you hate it when they always go to where the noise is? Why would anyone do that?! "Oh did you hear that loud bang growl thing? Let's go down (IN THE DARK!!!) and investigate." Anyone who has ever seen a horror movie would know never to go to where the bad stuff is happening and that movie has taken place in modern time, so they should know better!

Alright, so after the movie, sleeping life changed for about three days. I was up for two nights patrolling my area, and I think on the 3rd night I was able to have a few minutes of sleep. This movie truly scared the bejesus out of me. My boyfriend said I wasn't allowed to watch it anymore and I too agreed to ban myself from watching it. Considering this movie was done on a very low budget, it definitely made it's point. I even went out and bought the movie on bluray after I promised myself I wouldn't watch it ever again. I can't help it. Like I said, I'm a sucker for horror flicks. I made him watch it with me, and 2nd time around...not bad ;)

Oh yeah, I'm in the credits!

coraline.

Coraline is easily one of the best, and most artistic movies of the last decade. It's amazing how much detail, time, and expertise went into the film, and in my opinion it far exceeds Corpse Bride's story, and is comparable with Nightmare Before Christmas, if not better in it's own way. It's animated play on real life, mixed with it's magical 'other' world, draws the viewer in and leaves one wanting more... And who could resist watching an almost two hour stop motion animated film, let alone in 3D! I got goosebumps throughout the entire thing, and my only dislike is that it wasn't longer. If only I could take a set home with me; I could stare at the details, colours, and textures for hours. Even the clothing is amazing, as it is all hand-knit and incredibly tiny. Henry Selick and Neil Gaiman make for a fantastic team, and my only wish is that more films like this are created in the future.

terminator salvation.

I watched this twice yesterday with my boyfriend, Tom. So while it's fresh, I'm just going to say a few things. Continuity wise, this movie needs some work. It's little things really, but you'd be surprised by how many people actually notice these things.

**SPOILERS**

So here I am trying to get through the second viewing and Tom spots two mistakes in one scene, not far apart from each other either. If you watch the beginning of the movie where John Conner is getting in the helicopter and crashes, you'll notice he didn't put on his seat belt, but the next scene he has it on. And just shortly after that when he's fighting the terminator his boot comes off and oh what do you know! His boot is on in the next scene. Seriously? Is anyone paying attention during the making of this film? Seems like Christian Bale is the only one TOTALLY into this movie considering he flipped out on some guy "looking at the light". Come on Mr. Bale, if your so into character and your work how could you let this happen...in YOUR movie?! It's very disappointing. I thought you were different.

Enough about Christian Bale's mistakes. Let's talk about Mr. McG. 1st of all, change your name, you sound like a one hit wonder rapper. I just want to know why? Why you thought it would be a good idea to use a CG Arnold in this movie? It looked awful. It's so badly done it almost embarrasses me for you. It would have been a smarter move to use the ACTUAL Arnold and sure he's old and wrinkly and probably lost a bit of muscle definition, but since we have the technology I'm sure you could have done a bit of airbrushing or SOMETHING. Either way it would have looked a million times better and made that scene better considering ARNOLD was back. So in a way it was a shitty tease that went wrong. Fail.

I don't think anything else really bugged me in this movie. Other than the fact that John Conner meets his dad as a child. That whole thing confused the hell out of me, but Tom was nice enough to explain it several times to me until I got it and thought "wow that's pretty lame".

Let's quickly go back to Christian Bale for a sec. I know I said enough about him, but I can't help it. What the hell is up with his mole by his eye? It's distracting and every time he shows up in the movie I just see the mole, you'd think he'd get it removed or something or I don't know have them edit it out in compositing. Just something so I'm not watching a giant mole fighting terminators! That should be the tag line of the movie.

Other than that, I liked this movie, just some parts made me want to punch McG in the face.

district 9.

This movie totally came out on my birthday. I think it was Peter Jackson's gift to me. I love how this movie took place in another part of the world other than North America. Every alien type movie you see out there has to do with America. It's still cool to watch, but somehow this being taken place in South Africa made it seem more "real" so-to-speak. I love that it was shot as a documentary/story. I don't do documentaries too much, but this had to do with aliens and explosions so I was sold.

**SPOILERS**

I must say, the visual effects in this movie was amazing. The part where the little alien kid (I want one by the way) activates the robot and starts killing people with it was pretty sweet, but not as sweet when he makes that guy's head explode. THAT WAS WIN! I love the transition of the guy going from human to alien. The nails falling off was really gross, but you can't help to look. AND OH MY GOD! When he chops off his hand!? Can you imagine?! You must be in such a state to willfully grab a knife or whatever and just chop it off. I also love how the relationship changes between Christopher and the guy. 1st he has authority, then he needs his help, then they're buddy buddy in a way. It's quite nice.

You can't help but feel bad for the aliens in this movie. It almost made me think of the Holocaust just by the way they were being treated and how they were forced to live in those camps. I'm glad Christopher and his little kid we're able to get back to their ship. It sucks for that guy whose life was completely destroyed, but he was an asshole. There's definitely going to be a part 2 just by the way the movie ended. It's either going to be really awesome or really disappointing. Either way I'm there.

the princess and the frog.

Though "The Princess and the Frog" may not have been the best choice for a Disney 'comeback' 2d film, I still felt it had a lot of heart, great ideas, and artistic showmanship. I would have assumed something more 'epic' like "The Lion King" would have been chosen to demand more audience attention.

The animation was great, especially the sequences with the Shadow Man, and the shadows. Great backgrounds. Great songs. Some cool characters. For a kid's movie it had a lot of creepy moments, which I personally enjoyed the most, and had similarities to the "Be Prepared" sequence in "The Lion King", and Ursula's Grotto in "The Little Mermaid". I loved that the movie wasn't afraid to explore different styles of animation, and thought Tiana's fantasy sequence was incredible. I'm not sure if it's just me or not, but I noticed the 3d elements a little too much, and didn't like it. I wasn't sure if it was intentional stylistically or just me picking up on things most people might not notice. Though the movie did have moments to laugh at, and moments to cry about, I'm still left wishing there was more to it... Feels like something's missing compared to Disney's best. That being said, I can't wait to see more 2d films in the future, and hope this film helped in reviving interest in the almost lost art of traditional animation.