Summer Break Movie Review Roundup!

Between the three weeks without school, the free and willing babysitters at home (Jordan's Grandparents) and the Clean Flick's Edited movies, it was quite the cinematic break for me and Melissa. Don't feel like you have to read about every movie, these reviews are probably more for me than for you, but here's my quick recommendations:

Iron Man
This was tied for my favorite movie we saw. It had all the enjoyable elements of a typical superhero movie (the ones that are most enjoyable in the theater with the big screen and the surround sound) plus some funny parts. I thought Robert Downey Jr. did a great job.
Recommendation: Best seen in the theater, but I'd still watch it on DVD.

The Bucket List
Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are both dying so they set out to do all the things they missed out on. Along the way they get into fights and stuff and help each other learn new things. The very last line of the movie was pretty funny. Seriously though, would you want to ditch your wife to hang out with some guy you just met if you were a dying old man? Freeman did, but they made it look like it was OK because his wife was annoying him and he needed some freedom. They probably should have worked that out earlier in life and he should have taken her on his bucket list.
Me? There's just one thing I'd change if I knew my time was limited. Hang gliding. It looks so incredibly appealing to me but I don't think I could stand before my maker with a clear conscience if I risked my life like that for a few thrills. Unless, of course, the life I was risking was almost over anyway! Melissa still isn't keen on me hang-gliding even if I'm dying, but I think I could convince her.
Recommendation: Nah, go do something outside instead. Better yet, start working on your own bucket list.

Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
We brushed up on two of the original three movies before we saw this one. That probably helped me to appreciate Stephen Spielberg staying true to form with this one. Had I not seen the old ones recently, I might have thought that some of the scenes were kind of dumb with how far-fetched they were.
Recommendation: If you enjoyed the originals, you should see this one.

Stuck on You
My brother picked this one up from the video store and I watched it for the second time. It was really funny for about 3/4 of it, but then I felt like the writers stopped being funny and began trying to wrap up the story.
Recommendation: Watch it late at night so you fall asleep after an hour.

Prince Caspian
In anticipation of this movie, I re-read the book. I hadn't read any of the chronicles since I was a child and was amazed at how much wisdom CS Lewis managed to put into these "children's" books. The movie was a great adaptation. The plot was changed a little bit, but the storyline wasn't any worse for it. Melissa and I agree this was a much better movie than the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Recommendation: Great family movie, definitely worth seeing.

The Kite Runner
Think Hotel Rwanda but in Afghanistan instead of Rwanda. It was a good story that drew me in and helped me better understand what that country has been through. It's not really a feel-good movie but you might be better for having seen it.
Recommendation: See this one by yourself.

The Kingdom (edited)
Before I looked this up on imdb.com, I would have bet money that this was the same director/producer as the movie and TV show Friday Night Lights. I would have won some money. The man's name is Peter Berg. He used many of the same actors and the movies have the same type of musical montages and they both end with the same sort of feeling (but I won't give it away).
Recommendation: I can only speak for the edited version, but it was pretty good.

We Own the Night (edited)
Not really an upper, but it had a good story. Joaquin Phoenix is running around with a bunch of baddies who go after the cops. Problem is, his dad and brother are cops but nobody knows that so he finds himself torn between two worlds.
Recommendation: Meh. I dunno. I enjoyed it so you might too.

Get Smart
This was the other one that tied for my favorite movie we saw. Steve Carell was funny as usual. You have to go in expecting some corny humor. We had an enjoyable time because there was a middle-aged lady behind us that would repeat the jokes to her friends. One example is when Carell's character makes a play on words by saying "thinsk" she said, for all to hear, "ha ha ha, thinsk" to make sure all her friends got it. This actually wasn't annoying but made it more enjoyable because we would laugh at the movie and then laugh at her. Double the Fun!
Recommendation: I'd see it again.

Untraceable (edited)
There was one original element to this movie: the idea of a bad guy setting up a website where the more traffic it generates, the faster the victim dies. Other than that this movie was totally predictable and I felt like I'd seen it 5 times before. Maybe the un-edited version has some surprises.
Recommendation: It's stupid.

Thank you for smoking (edited)
To the extent that untraceable was predictable, this one was equally as unpredictable. Maybe unconventional would be a better word. The story follows the charming and suave spokesperson for big tobacco as he goes about his work while at the same time trying to be a good example to his son and hive him some fatherly wisdom.
Recommendation: I thoroughly enjoyed the edited version of this movie.

Little Miss Sunshine (edited)
I picked this one up because I wanted my parents to see it. We all watched it together. I had actually seen the original version before and it was interesting to see what they took out. They managed to make Steve Carell's character not gay. He wasn't really straight, but any reference to a boyfriend was taken out of the movie. This resulted in them taking out a later seen which in and of itself was entirely clean, but wouldn't have made sense without some key events that were removed. Anyway, I'm glad they edited the language and the not-so-good grandfatherly advice because with those parts missing, this was a really enjoyable movie with a good message about how un-important the world's opinions of us really is.
Recommendation: One of my all-time favorite movies. I'll probably order the edited version for my home library when I grow up and get a job.

12 monkeys
We watched this in Melissa's Fairview cabin. We decided what to watch by reading the back covers and picked the most interesting one. This was it. It was an interesting and original storyline, but it was really weird. I'm still mixed on my feelings about this movie. After watching it, I dreamed that I was in a similar situation as Bruce Willis (either from the future or crazy, but not sure) . I should point out that Brad Pitt did an amazing performance as a crazy guy. In fact, this may be the best role I've ever seen him play.
Recommendation: It's ok to see if you're in a cabin with nothing else to watch. Otherwise, watch something else.

Con-air
Also viewed in the Fairview Cabin, the next day. Interesting story, strong and convincing performance by Nicholas Cage and the bad guy, but too much bad language.
Recommendation: See it edited if you can.

Definately Maybe
I'm watching that right now and decided to blog instead. Ryan Reynolds looks like the love child of Ben Affleck and Dane Cook. Anyway, the movie has way too many failed attempts at humor for my liking.
Recommendation: If you like movies that try to be funny but aren't, then knock yourself out.


So there you have it. Now I'm home and have to go back to school. I'll post some other stuff about our vacation soon. Also, I'm too lazy to put in links or pictures now so if you really want to, use google and imdb.com and you'll find stuff.