James Bond

Still working on watching all of these movies...

Breaking Dawn Part II

If it was not for the GREAT twist at the end of the movie, this show would have been a waste of film.

Unicorn City (2012)

This movie won all sorts of accolades that the film festival that they do down in Utah County each year (I cannot think of the name of the festival, but it is primarily focused on clean films). Unicorn City was filmed in Utah and is akeen to Napoleon Dynamite. Voss is a mid-twenties man who has enveloped his entire life around that of Fantasy. He is part of a coven at the local comic book store where they play Dungeon and Dragons games ad nasium. The rules and lifestyles are so enter twined that to separate them would cause these people to have withdrawals. Voss lives in his brothers closet, and is in need of finding a job. He finds a good job, but needs to prove to the hiring manager that he is able to lead a group of people, so he decides to take a group of his friends out in the mountains to create a real-life fantasy world called Unicorn City. Drama ensues and happiness wins out in the end. I laughed out-loud many times during this movie, but do not expect much more than a locally made movie. 3 Stars

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Several years ago Peter Jackman directed the greatest trilogy in the history of movies, but he filmed all three of the movies at one time, so as to maintain the same characters, scenes, and feelings that were portrayed in the Lord of the Rings series.  The Hobbit was the first book in the series of book that JRR Tolken wrote about the Hobbits and their impending adventures, but the Lord of the Rings was made first.  Frankly, I feel that this was a better move because it gave us a reason to care about the characters of the story.  If not, we would not have understood about Gollum, or Bilboe, or Gandolf or the trials that the "ring" was about to bring to their quiet world.

This movie begins back in the Shire showing Bilboe writing about his adventure he had been on some decades earlier; if you remember back to the LotR movies this is where that story begun, particularly the part where the Shire is preparing for Bilboe's birthday.  From there the movie dives into a back flash of the adventure that Bilboe went on to the Misty Mountains.

By a chance situation Bilboe and Gandolf find each other and Gandolf determines that Bilboe would be a perfect member for the band of Dwarfs that are going to go back to their mine city to reclaim it from the dragon that ran them out years earlier.  Bilboe states that he does not want to take part of this, but Gandolf does not take this as his final answer.  Later that night several dwarfs show up at his house to meet up for their adventure...to make a long story short Bilboe agrees to be their thief, and they head out on their adventure.  Along the way they encounter Wizards, Trolls, and Orks that all want to kill them, or stop them from going back to the mine city.

I really enjoyed this movie and felt that it picked right back up with the same feeling and emotion that the Lord of the Ring movies was filmed with.  For the longest time they were hoping the Del Torro would direct this film but I am glad that Peter Jackman came back to take the helm of these shows.  There will be two more movies in this story, and they were all filmed like it predecessor so I am expecting nothing but perfection with these films.  5 stars.

A Kiss Before Dying - 1956

I just finished a book about Natalie Wood's life. The author talked about how Robert Wagner's best film was this movie. So I had to check it out. I don't get what the big deal is about this movie. They even did a remake in 1991 with Matt Dillon. Wagner plays Bud Corliss who is dating Dorothy Kingship (Joann Woodward) purely for her father's mining fortune. When he finds she is pregnant he realises she is likely to be disinherited, so cleverly stages her suicide. After a couple of months her sister back home finds evidence to question the suicide verdict, but by then has a new boyfriend of her own... Bud. 1.5 stars.

No Man of Her Own - 1950

Just a fun little noir film. 2.5 stars. Here is what this film is about. "Helen Ferguson, pregnant, penniless and dumped by her boyfriend Steve Morley, takes the identity of the pregnant Patrice Harkness, when she and her husband are killed in a train crash. The rich Harkness in-laws, and their other son Bill, had never seen Patrice, so they accept her and her newborn son into their family. However Steve eventually finds her and starts to blackmail her" I am excited to see Les Mis in the theatres this holiday.

Witness for the Prosecution - 1957

All the reviews I read had high marks. We know that Billy Wilder is a great director, so mix that with a great writer (Agathe Christie)and what do you get? A 5 star movie with an absolutley stunning ending. Made my top 100 easily. I strongly recommend this movie. I saw it on NF instant. Charles Laughton plays Sir Wilfird Robarts- a tough old bird of a lawyer, who happens to be dying of heart disease. The british humor between Robarts and his at home nurse is great. Laughton steals the show with his performance. All of his manerisms are just perfect for the role. Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich play the other leads in the movie. Laughton is representing Power who has been charged with murder. I don't want to say anything else because it may ruin it for you. How many films have you seen where at the ending of the movie right when the credits are starting a voice actually says "The management of this theater suggests that for the greater entertainment of your friends who have not yet seen the picture you will not divulge to anyone the secret of the ending of Witness for the Prosecution." About half way through the movie I thought I had it figured out, wow did the end suprise me. Probably the best ending to a movie I can remember. Great acting by Laughton, great writing, directing, everything. Well done!!!