Movies

1. Cool Hand Luke

2. The Sting

3. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

4. The Hustler

5. Slapshot

(Honorable Mention: Hud)

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Jareth: I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave.

Prepare to enter another world when Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media present C.S. Lewis's timeless and beloved adventure. With the stunningly realistic special effects, you'll experience the exploits of Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter, four siblings who find the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe while playing a game of "hide-and-seek" at the country estate of a mysterious professor. Once there, the children discover a charming, once peaceful land inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs and giants that has been turned into a world of eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Aided by the wise and magnificent lion Aslan, the children lead Narnia into a spectacular, climactic battle to be free of the Witch's glacial powers forever!

I honestly cannot remember if I ever read these books as a kid. I, like many, have felt a slight itch to read them now, since the movie release was somewhat of a reminder that the books even existed. I wanted to see the movie first, though. I wanted watch with attention devoid of geeky "this-is-nothing-like-the-book" bias.

As I lay in bed on my lazy Saturday afternoon watching The Chronicles of Narnia, I definitely had the longing to be sitting in a dark movie theater, losing myself in the action on the giant silver-screen. Seeing it on DVD was not a bad thing, but I think if I had taken the time to see it in the theater it would have definitely been a good thing.

In the "books we read as children turned movies" category, The Chronicles of Narnia was geared more towards children than Tolkien/Jackson Lord of the Rings movies.

In the "books my children may or may not have read turned movies" category, The Chronicles of Narnia may have even been a little less sophsiticated than Harry Potter. Forgive me for saying that in The Chronicles of Narnia it seemed that a few more things were a little far-fetched. I know it seems ridiculous that I say that a young boy, his brother and sisters leading a war against an evil witch is far fetched, though the fauns and centaurs they lead into battle and a completely different story about an entire school of young wizards were completely acceptable.

Some of the effects were flawless. The CG lion was masterfully done, as were most of the panoramic views. There were so many beatiful scenery shots, but some appeared lazily done. Maybe the design team had to cut a few corners, but the kids looked too blatantly super-imposed at times. This is a petty complaint, and my only one really.

I had fun watching The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I enjoyed it thoroughly and recommend it to anyone with young kids who are yet to go through the phase where they repress their imagination or anyone who has already come out of it.

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The Rage in Placid Lake

Placid Lake's life has never been normal. From his early years when his mother sent him to school in a dress to challenge the other 5 year old children's 'preconceived notions of sexuality,' he should have guessed that fitting in was not going to be easy.

Fortunately for Placid, Gemma, the crayon gobbling scientific genius in awe of no one but her father is also having a few 'blending in' issues. They develop a firm friendship through the years during which their own peculiar parents attempt to drag them up and hurl them into adulthood, and they both discover the binding passion between them is a desperate bid for the elusive … 'Normal life'.

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Set in the New York underworld where nothing is as it seems, Lucky # Slevin is an action-packed, "fun-as-hell roller coaster ride" (Venice Magazine). When down-on-his-luck Slevin (Josh Hartnett) stumbles into a running feud between the city's most feared crime bosses (Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley), he ignites an all-out war. Tracked by a mysterious assassin (Bruce Willis) and distracted by his flirtatious neighbor (Lucy Liu), Slevin must try to cheat death by turning the tables on the gangsters. "If you take the best parts of Pulp Fiction, The Usual Suspects and The Professional, what you get is Lucky # Slevin" (Shawn Edwards, Fox-TV Kansas City).

This is the movie that put Josh Hartnett on the acting map for me. His earlier works have been easy enough to avoid and consider yourself lucky if you've been able to do so. I do hope this is a transition on his part into better roles; he was entertaining. His quick-witted quips keep you laughing and help you avoid the need to wonder what on earth is going on in the movie. They fill you in due time, even though I wouldn't be surprised if you figure out the ending before it unfolds; you wouldn't be the first.

It seemed a little silly to have Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley in roles such as these since they were relatively small roles. But they definitely added big names to draw attention to a movie more people should see.

I feel like I should have more to say about this movie, but I can really sum it up by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed Lucky # Slevin.

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A simple, haunting phrase whistled off-screen tells us that a young girl will be killed. "Who is the murderer?" pleads a nearby placard as serial killer Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre) closes in on little Elsie Beckmann. In his harrowing masterwork M, Fritz Lang merges trenchant social commentary with chilling suspense, creating a panorama of private madness and public hysteria that to this day remains the blueprint for the psychological thriller.

There are so many cinematic gems from the first half of the 20th century that are hidden under piles of dust. It is unfortunate that many have been largely forgotten. The good news is that I do not foresee the same fate for M. Filmed in 1931, M still entertains and keeps viewers on the edge of their seats generations later. The elaborate steps through which good guys and bad guys alike must keep watch for the man who has already killed 8 children was thoroughly engaging. And the irony of crooks bringing a criminal to justice was beautiful.

I grew up with Peter Lorre being nothing more than an occasional guest spot in a Looney Tunes Cartoon. I had no idea who this man was with these signature puppy-dog eyes and this voice you wouldn't let read to your kids at night. I had no idea he made movies until I was older. I began to see his name associated with certain movies that were well before my time. I heard stories and read snippets about him that praised his body of work. Before M I had seen him support such great leads as Humphrey Bogart and Daffy Duck. It wasn't until M that I experienced first hand how good Peter Lorre was. He spends most of the movie nearly silent. I was nearly confused by why his name was so prominently displayed on the DVD, though he had such a quiet role. And then the movie began to draw to a close and as it did its pace quickened and Peter Lorre came out of his shell.

I really enjoyed M.

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Always remember the cardinal rule of eating out: Never mess with people who handle your food! Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder), Anna Faris (the Scary Movie series) and Justin Long (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) star in this hilarious comedy about the band of mischievous waiters, waitresses and cooks just waiting to show guests how extraordinary the service at ShenaniganZ restaurant can be.

I sat down to watch this movie with friends a few months ago and only made it through the first 30 minutes before I fell asleep. It was not the movie's fault, I was grossly sleep deprived at the time. It is hard to imagine that I was able to fall asleep considering how hard I laughed through the first 30 minutes. All I can say for sure is that I had to see the rest if the beginning was that funny.

I've now seen the entire movie and it was funny. I laughed hard and often. I don't recommend the movie to you if you fell in with those who criticized Napoleon Dynamite for its lack of plot. You would be similarly disappointed with Waiting. Sure there is a moral dilemma in which one waiter is entrenched, but the rest of the movie is just about daily shenanigans of a few angsty employees of the food industry.

If you are naive enough to believe that restaurant dining is 100% clean and healthy, you may want to avoid seeing Waiting as it is an over-the-top portrayal of how sometimes a disgruntled server and/or cook will take a few inappopriate measures to get even with an annoying customer.

Ryan Reynolds gives a solid performance that, while not his best, goes to great strides to typecast him as the nearly past his prime big man on campus; a part he played perfectly in Van Wilder.

This will never be listed in the annals of great comedies, but it certainly was good for a few laughs. I am glad I finally got around to seeing the whole thing.

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Patricia: My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement.

1. Stand By Me

2. The Green Mile

3. The Shining

4. Apt Pupil

5. The Running Man

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