"This Is It"

NELSON: "This Is It" was a very good tribute to the music Michael Jackson gave to all of his fans. Unfortunately his untimely death took him away from his fans before his "last curtain call" as he said. This was to be his final concert tour although now we will never know. What you get to see are weeks of film shot of rehearsals for the upcoming tour which was to begin just days after he was lost. I myself was a huge fan of his, and even got to see him live at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, TN in 1978. I had pushed my way down with a buddy of mine and we were only about 10 people deep from the stage. What a show and what a showman he was. He was there as Michael Jackson and The Jacksons, which included his brothers who also performed that night. His legal troubles caused me to sort of pidgeon hole Michael into a category other than musical genius, and I often wondered what was going through his mind with all the cosmetic surgeries and the whitening of his skin; my kids sometimes don't believe the young Michael and the later Michael are the same person. Ellie tonight said she liked young Michael better. This movie is very good, but I would have liked to see him perform live, even if they had recorded the final concert. We'll not have that chance, so this is as close as we will get. He looks really good, no signs of health problems at all. I will recommend this film to anyone who ever enjoyed Michael Jackson's gift of entertainment; he was a musical genius and a wonderful dancer. I give this movie 3.5 stars.

Pam: This is a cross between a documentary and a concert movie showing MJ in rehearsals with his band and dancers. He is a legend and knows his music and the type of show he wanted to give to fans and that really comes through in this film. With someone as iconic as MJ, it's ridiculous to think we know even a little of what he was like in real life, but there was one scene that was revealing. Michael's earpiece wasn't working properly and he stopped the rehearsal and made a comment that it sounded like someone was pushing a fist into his eardrum, then quickly followed that with the statement, "I say that with love, with l-o-v-e." It was interesting, because for a second, I got a sense of who he really was as a person. A glimpse of the "real" rather than the performer or the superstar. I am an old school MJ fan - I don't like most anything he did after Thriller - even Thriller was a little too commercial for me. I did enjoy seeing this footage, although I kept getting the urge to go to my computer and search YouTube for the clip of him on stage in his white glove doing the moon dance across the floor...ah...the good ol' days. 3 stars.

"The Invention of Lying"

Nelson: "The Invention of Lying" started out as a fun and funny movie, I REALLY wanted to like this movie too, just like the last one we watched, "The Ugly Truth" for many of the same reasons. I like Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner, and it was an all star cast but once I got into the movie I realized something that was either intended or not about the premise and it bothered me a bit. You see, in the world the characters in this movie live in, no one is able to lie and therefore anything that is said is considered the gospel truth, PUN INTENDED because in their world no one had written "The Bible" and there was no concept of an afterlife, or any religion and that was a large hurdle for me. Ricky Gervais is the first man to be able to lie and he really enjoys his new found ability and even tells of a man in the sky who is the ultimate creator and how the afterlife will be great because we spend eternity with our loved ones in mansions, but why would a liar have to be the one to consider these possibilities? There were some very funny scenes where people tell the truth about what they are thinking and what they are or have been doing, but the whole religion thing was a problem for me, and I am not a religious fanatic but I do believe in heaven and hell and that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and my faith tells me that that is not a lie, nor is it made up. If they had not made the fact that there was no religion in a no lying world, I probably would have enjoyed this movie more and maybe I am making more of it than I should, but since this blog is my opinion, then I have given it. I give it 1.5 stars for being an ingenious concept and funny, but I would not recommend this movie.

Pam: It's a funny premise: everyone tells the absolute truth and no one thinks to question anything you say because they don't understand the concept of lying. It creates some pretty funny scenes between a couple on a first date (what if people said what they were really thinking rather than trying to be nice and polite?), and an inept boss and his secretary (wouldn't you love to say all those things you're thinking, but can't say out loud?)But along with no lying, screenplay co-writer Gervais has also created a world with no imagination, no creativity, and no religion. Wait a minute, what's the message here? Does that mean that religion is based on a lie? Once the movie crosses over into this territory, its purpose becomes a little fuzzy. Is it still a comedy? Is it social satire? Is it a comment on people's gullibility to believe anything told to them by hypocritical priests or ministers? Is it a comment on how the screenwriter thinks religion was really founded, by someone making up a fantastical story? Once the movie lost its focus, I lost interest. If you're willing to endure the commentary on religion, there are some funny scenes, but overall, I would not recommend this movie. 1.5 stars

The Ugly Truth

Nelson: Well, "The Ugly Truth". I really wanted to like this movie, I like Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler but it only had a few funny moments in it. Of course those two end up together after starting out hating each other. But it was somewhat enjoyable watching them interact. I guess I didn't hate it, but I really wouldn't recommend it, I give it 1.5 stars.

Pam: This movie was terrible. Like Nelson, I really wanted to like this movie, but there's not much in it that's likable. After the first 29 minutes, I got up and told Nelson I wasn't going to watch any more, but I got drawn back in by a little witty dialogue between Heigl and Butler. Unfortunately, it dissolved into such silliness and improbability that I just couldn't suspend disbelief long enough to go along with the plot any further. I did finish the movie, but I wish I hadn't. I give it 1 star.

The Hurt Locker

Nelson: This movie is a look into the lives of an EOD Unit in Iraq. You get an inside look at how life in a high adrenaline job in Iraq really is. Very Realistic portayal. Not a really entertaining movie but I liked it. The best Iraqi War movie so far, best war movie since "Saving Private Ryan" but in a totally differnt way. "Saving Private Ryan" was a movie with a story, "The Hurt Locker" has no real entertaining story just a realistic look at the Iraqi War through those characters' experience together doing their jobs. I would give it 3 stars.

Pam: The feeling I got for the American soldiers in parts of this movie reminds me a lot of how I felt watching "Blackhawk Down." The soldiers are at the mercy of natives who obstruct their efforts to protect them. I kept asking "why? I just don't understand." Can you imagine how the soldiers feel who must face this every day for months, sometimes years at a time? How futile their jobs must seem?

The image of the general in charge of security on Pandora in the movie "Avatar" sprang to mind warning the soldiers about the natives and expressing his fervant hatred and mistrust of them. I, as an American, don't want to invision soldiers hating the natives they are trying to protect, but damn, when I see a movie like this, I'm thinking, hand me the gun and I will shoot the guy myself. That's the mark of a good movie, though, to get me emotionally involved at that level. It's powerful, intense and won't bring a smile to your face, but it'll get you thinking. I recommend it. 3.5 stars

"YEAR ONE"

Nelson: Well we watched "Year One" tonight. It has several of our favorite stars in it and we were not sure what to expect. It had several laugh out loud moments, but the time line for history is way off and the story was nonsensical. As I said I did laugh out loud several times but I find that I cannot really recommend this movie unless you just want to blow an hour and a half and have a couple of laughs. I do not plan to watch the movie again but am glad I did. I would give it 1.5 stars.

Pam: I don't think the intention was for the timeline to be historically accurate; I think the writers wanted to play with different scenarios and ancient beliefs. Our silly and inept hunter/gatherers (Jack Black and Michael Cera) are thrown out of the tribe and head off to the "end of the world." They soon discover there is no end of the world, but a thriving, populated world just over the nearest mountain. They encounter Cain and Abel, Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham expounding on the virtues of circumcision, and Abraham denouncing the evils of Sodom. There's also Roman soldiers, slaves, evil kings, and incompetent high priests. There's some crude humor, debauchery (they do visit Sodom) and the quest to lose virginity, so I would say even though it's rated PG-13, it's not suitable for young kids, unless you're ready to explain circumcision. I agree with Nelson: 1.5 stars

Way Back Wednesday

Nelson: As posted on Facebook couple of days ago, we have "Year One" but we will probably not get to that until tomorrow or Friday. So I thought maybe I'd suggest a movie we both liked but saw some time ago. If you haven't seen "Family Man" you have missed a great, underappreciated movie. It is like a modern day "It's a Wonderful Life" where Nicholas Cage's character gets a "glimpse" of how his life may have been different if he had made a different choice in his past. We watch this movie a couple of times a year, and yes we own it. We'll get "Year One" done shortly. Thanks.

Pam: Not really looking forward to Year One. I'll probably laugh at Jack Black, though, because I'll be thinking about how funny he was in School of Rock, one of our family favorites. Michael Cera's schtick gets a little old pretty quick, but I don't know, maybe it'll play off Jack Black's outrageousness - who knows? Anyway, as for Nelson's Way Back Wednesday pick, I'll have to agree, it's definitely one to own. I can identify with Tea Leoni's character in both worlds - the real one, and the "glimpsed" one. In the real world, she's a dynamic, independent business woman with a lot on her plate and loving it with no need for a male counterpart in her life. Makes me wonder sometimes what my life would have been like had I not gotten married and had children - would I have been that successful or happy? Doubt it. In the "glimpse," she's got two small kids, lives in the suburbs, works as a non-profit lawyer, sometimes cleans the house and eats large pieces of chocolate cake at 10:00 p.m. while trying to balance the checkbook. I can relate! I've always liked Nick Cage, even in his bad movies, but in this one he's particularly engaging as a crass unemotional corporate shark who doesn't even realize there's anything missing in his life until he gets a "glimpse" of what things might have been like if he hadn't left his old girlfriend standing in that airport all alone. A really good one to watch around Christmas.