Water for Elephants

Ok - I will admit that I was dying to see Robert Pattinson in a role other than Edward Cullen, so I was really excited to see this movie.  Other reasons include the fact that I love Reese Witherspoon (who doesn't?) and Christoph Waltz is a new actor to watch (he was absolutely brilliant in Inglorious Basterds.)  So - how was it?  It's another tough one to call because there are lots of positives and lots of negatives.  Positives:  really good story and beautiful scenery; Negatives:  animal abuse and no chemistry between Robert and Reese.  I understand that the animal abuse was a big part of the story, and I will say that they don't actually show it (they just imply it) but it was still hard to watch.  The chemistry between Robert and Reese was practically non-existent, which I had heard from movie critics before I saw it, but it was worse than I expected.  It's one of those things that you can't really explain, you'd just have to see it to understand it.  Don't get me wrong, Robert was oh so dreamy, and Reese was beautiful (although sometimes a little stiff.)  They just didn't work so well together.  Now despite those (fairly major) negatives, the story and scenery are really good, and it will make you wish you had a pet elephant.  So, overall, it's BEARABLE (unfortunetely.)  I wish I could give it a "check it out", but it just doesn't quite get there.

Madea's Big Happy Family

This was my first Madea movie, so I was a little overwhelmed!  Overall, it was pretty funny, but also pretty sad.  And it bounces back and forth between funny and sad ALOT!  The funny parts are pretty ridiculous, some of the comedic scenes drag on a little too long and are a little far fetched.  But that said, it's still gonna make you laugh!  The sad parts are very realistic - it's all stuff that families go through in real life, which I found overly depressing.  To me, a big reason for watching a movie is to be immersed in a different world so you don't have to think about your real life, and this one reminds you all too much of the family dramas that pretty much everyone has going on all the time.  Overall, I'd say it was BEARABLE... you will laugh, but you will also cry so it's a tough call!

Jane Eyre

Loved it!  I started reading the novel a few years ago but stopped early on so I knew very little about the story, except for the fact that it was dark and a little spooky at times.  While watching this interpretation, I was totally mesmerized by the whole film... the 2 girls who played young and adult Jane were both stunning, Mr. Rochester was charmingly arrogant, and the cinematography and setting were absolutely gorgeous.  As with other films based on novels that I loved (like Never Let Me Go) - it was like watching poetry on film.  I know that is a weird analogy but it's the only thing I can think of to describe the way I see it.  Overall, it was beautiful.  So - CHECK IT OUT!

Secretariat

L O V E D it!  Made me wish I had my own horse... seriously.  It's a great family movie that is exciting, suspenseful, and for the most part PG rated (I don't remember anything questionable, but I was so wrapped up in the story I might not remember it either way.)  I just can't say enough good things about it - so CHECK IT OUT!  The general consensus from everyone else I know that has seen it has all been highly favorable as well!

Source Code

Love me some Jake!!  And he's really quite good in this movie.  The story was interesting enough to keep me curious, but I will say that there was ALOT of scientific talk that left me a little confused.  I think I'd say that I understood the ending about half way - part of me was like "I think I get it" and the other part of me was like "Wait, what?"  However, because science fiction is not really my favorite kind of movie, I'm sure I totally ignored some important sci-fi talk while I was swooning over Jake.  Overall, if you like science fiction, or if you like Jake, CHECK IT OUT!