Dark Skies

Surprisingly entertaining: where Poltergeist meets Paranormal
"Dark Skies" (2013 relase; 97 min.) brings the story of the Barrett family. Mom (played by Keri "Felicity" Russell) and dad (played by Josh Hamilton) are stressing because of their precarious financial situation (Dad is in between jobs, mom is barely hanging on to her real easate brokerage). They have two sons, 13 yr. old Jesse and 5 or 6 yr. old Sammy. Then slowly but surely strange things are starting to happen in and around the house, including a strange "remodeling" of the kitchen, then disappearance of pictures, and then hundreds of birds flying head-on into the house for no apparent reason. What is going on here exactly? At this point we're not even half-way into the movie, and things are to get a lot more tense than that still. But to tell you more of a plot-heavy movie like this would ruin your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Several comments: first, I had seen the trailer for this movie a few times in recent weeks, and...

Dark skies is sunny entertainment
I just took my daughter to see this on the big screen because I liked the bird collision with the window when I saw the trailer. The film started with the slow to moderate pacing of witnessing a family in the throes of tension created by the economy---bunker mentalities abound.Then something happened in Sammie's bedroom that made me jump the same way I did with "signs". Then pow. I was in. I immediately thought of the first script version of Close Encounters written by Paul Schrader "Taxi Driver". Spielberg turned it down saying it was mean spirited and didnt want a hostile invasion story. This movie was that draft. This independent piece was a homage to Close Encounters of the third kind, ET, The Birds, Poltergeist, Signs, and Paranormal Activity. Harvey Weinstein greenlit a film which was carried surprizingly well by the acting chops of Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton. I actually cared what happened to these people and thats rare for a scary film to be character and plot driven. The...

I don't understand...
...the hatred for this movie. Then again, I didn't understand the critics dislike of "The Forth Kind" from a few years ago or the dislike of "Fire In The Sky" from many years ago. I seems like whenever a movie comes along that doesn't involve a bike riding alien going over the moon (E.T.) or monsters blowing up the planet (Independence Day)the critics just can't seem to wrap their heads around it.
I've read about this movie being compared to the Paranormal Activity series.
This had NOTHING to do with ghosts. The usage of camcorders is minimal and I wouldn't for a second consider this film part of the "shaky cam" genre.
I knew within the first ten minutes this film was about alien abductions.
You're either a fan of this sort of film or you're not.
As far as your belief in aliens or inter-dimensional beings....I'm agnostic....like religion.
The movie itself?
Brilliant acting.
Amazing direction.
Perfectly cast.
Excellent score.
Many...

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Mugshots: Knoller and Noel - The Attack Dog Scandal

Fascinating Story.
By the time you have finished watching this, you will have a hate on for the dogs' owners. A true life horror story, and the horror lies in the dog owners callous disregard for others, as well as the actual attack.





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The Black Belle

great film
this is a great indie film... a very original film... a perfect portrait of LA's most dangerous angel and all the men desperately and destructively falling in her path.

Laugh out loud funny!
I love movies that really make me laugh. There is a scene in this film that made me fall off my couch. It's a scene with Bret Roberts and Brian McGuire, who's actually the Director of the film. It's a dark comedy and not for those who are easily offended, but the writing, directing and acting earned my five stars. It's always a joy to find an indie gem like this.

Don't waste your time.
This movie is terrible. The acting sub-par at best. I watched the entire movie hoping for some redeeming quality, unfortunately that never happened. Pick anything else to watch.

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Moondance Alexander

A Quality Family fFlm
I had the pleasure of seeing this film at its premiere in Salt Lake City, Utah. What a delightful film. It is based on a true story, and is beautifully written. The husband & wife team of Michael & Janeen Damian, did a superb job of writing, producing and directing this magical film. The cast is excellent from darling young actress Kay Panabaker, to veteran TV actors Don Johnson, James Best, & Lori Loughlin. It is a very heartwarming story (I cried 3 times), but is also filled with beautiful cinematography. In my opinion this film should have had a nationwide theatre release. Don't miss adding this excellent family film to your library. It is for all ages from children to senior citizens.

Not just "another horse movie"
I got to see this movie during its premiere weekend in Salt Lake City. At first I didn't think I would like it since I'm not really into the traditional "horse" movie. Much to my surprise the wonderfully-written story deals much more with the relationships of the characters in the story. I thought the performances by Kay Panabaker, Don Johnson and Lori Laughlin were fantastic, believable and relevant. The best thing is that it is a movie that the entire family will enjoy, including the parents!!!
Another note: I agree with past reviewers on the photography, it is fantastically done. I also think the soundtrack is brilliant, featuring some wonderful vocalists doing some great songs.

Uplifting Heartwarming Famliy Film
This film was so great. It is a truly heartwarming family film. Great family movies are so hard to come by now a days, this is the first I have been truly happy to see at a film festival in a long time. I was so moved by the story, it felt as if it was my life story being told up on the screen. My favorite part was that the mother and daughter had a real nice relationship. My props goes to the writer of this film. They should be nominated for an academy award or for family film. I absolutely loved it, and can't wait for it to come out on DVD. I am recommending this film to all my friends and stocking up on christmas presents of this film now. Only 14 more days to go...I can't wait until it arrives!!!!!!!!

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Mugshots: Martin Frankel

Martin Frankel
Not as interesting as the other Mugshots, I enjoyed the other ones more and they kept my attention, this one didn't.

Never Heard on Him
I'd never heard of Martin Frankel prior to viewing this episode of Mugshots. As I mentioned in a previous review,I like the additional information Mugshots provided. I'm finding this series gives a unique perspective on the individual.



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Evita

This is a great movie...
I just purchased this DVD and I remembered instantly why I enjoyed this film so much when it came out. I would just like to answer some of the critiques listed here.

1) The character of Ché was always meant to be a nemesis to Evita, but not the real character as such . In the stage production that I saw, it was a man with the typical beret and machine gun singing to the side of the action. It would have been ridiculous and historically inaccurate to portray Ché as such in the movie version. Ché Guevara was still a medical student when Eva died. I think it is very effective to blend Ché into various characters because it represents the silent and not so silent opposition to the Perón Revolution. The only time the two characters meet for real interaction is when Evita is having delusions. The song argued in that moment perfectly clashes Ché's "idealism" with Evita's "realism." Ché is always there in some form, yet Evita...

EXCELLENT Adaption of the broadway show - have an open mind.
Boy do people miss the point on this movie. You can't present a movie like a broadway show. Everytime this has been attemped, historically, the results are bad, most adaptions of famous shows are only OK at best, some are awful. The medium is totally different, the demands are different, the singing is different, the acting style is different. Yes, the shows usually are "better", in a sense, that's how it was originally written, as a stage play. You have got to really change things to make a successful movie.

So how good an ADAPTION is this? Very good indeed. The story was changed to very effectively fit the medium. Madonna stretched herself unbelievably to do this role, and I think she did very well. You may quite validly prefer the stage version of Evita (I like both), but its almost like apples and oranges. As good as Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin were, they would, if they played it the same way anyway, come off mannered and absurd in a movie context...

certainties disappear
Worth noting that Evita is wall-to-wall music with virtually no spoken lines: not an opera so much as an extended music video, so the pop-music motifs need not be an anachronism.

I'm not a fan of Madonna, I find Andrew Lloyd Webber's music a bit obvious .. and yet -- and yet. Here everything seems to come together. It's a visually gorgeous film, the added songs (The Lady's Got Potential, You Must Love Me) are strong enhancements. The Che character's change from Che Guevara in the stage version to an Argentine Everyman here (desk clerk, bartender, cabinet minister, union activist) is an improvement over the stage musical and Antonio Banderas is a smoldering presence who carries the movie. Jimmy Nail is perfect as the oily tango singer; Jonathan Pryce capable in an equally slick role. The montage songs are splendid, like Goodnight and Thank You, that bucket-brigade sequence of Eva's lovers that she uses (and the film uses) to get her from the street to the Casa Rosada, or...

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Mugshots: George Rivas

This was ok
This was ok... Ive seen better... I don't know in I really have fifteen words to really about this movie...





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Mystery, Alaska

Mystery, Alaska is the place to be!
This charming film didn't get the positive praise it deserved. It was absolutely wonderful. The small Alaskan town of "Mystery" has a quirky "Northern Exposure" feel to it, and a wonderful ensemble cast add a lot of fun and games.

The "Saturday" hockey game leads off this fairy-tale story of David vs. Goliath, as their hometown boys go against the NHL'S New York Rangers. Former "townie" Hank Azaria starts this whole thing by writing a spotlight on the "Saturday Game" for Sports Illustrated and well.. Mystery is never the same after that. Russell Crowe turns in a great performance as "slightly older" town Sherif John Biebe, who is the heart and soul of the much younger hockey team. There are many wonderful smaller performances by faces you'll certainly know and love. It's a wonderfully sweet, charming and funny (with classic one liners from MANY of the young players) movie that only HAPPENS to be about hockey. There...

Genuinely fun movie
I rented this DVD having never even heard of the movie.But after having watched it, Mystery, Alaska has become one of my favorite movies. This enjoyable tale about a town full of eccentric, hockey-obsessed people, moves along at a nice, steady pace. Unlike many movies these days, Mystery, Alaska doesn't rush through important plot points. When a former neighbor returns home bringing the New York Rangers to play against Mystery's legendary hockey team, the town sheriff, recently bumped from the team for a younger player who's got "jump", agrees to coach. The members of the team are fleshed out well by an ensemble cast of virtual unknowns, with the exception of Russell Crowe. The ending is exciting, and surprisingly unpredictable. For me, the actor that stole the show was Ryan Northcott, a barely credited character, who plays the pivotal role of the high school skating whiz who takes Russell Crowe's place on the team. He has a couple of the most amusing, and...

The Pride Of Mystery.....
This review refers to the Hollywood Pictures DVD edition of "Mystery,Alaska"....

The small close-knit town of Mystery, Alaska(pop.633), is obssesed with the game of Hockey. Everyone in the town is invovled. There's even a committee of the important men of the town whose sole job it is to decide who will be on the team in the all important Saturday games.There in their own little niche of the world, they go about their business, live their quirky little lives and all revolving around their hockey team.All that is about to change though...

An ex-Mysterian who has moved to New York and is now a sports promoter has lined up the game of a lifetime for this little town. They will play the New York Rangers in an exhibition game right there in Mystery.Will it turn into more than an exhibition game for these everyday people? The team is good but how good are they? Can they even score against the Rangers? What will it do to their pride if the Rangers annihlate them? You'll...

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The Bake Street Hauntings

Slightly above average indie horror
I felt I had to rent this and write a review, considering that at least one of the reviews already on here was written by a cast member. I have seen just about every haunted house and found footage film available, and most of them are complete crap. I'm happy to say that this one bucks the trend and is actually not horrible. Still, I wouldn't say that it's good, but it seems to be an achievement to make an indie horror flick that's simply tolerable.

The movie is very short - just 70 minutes - which makes it great as a short diversion. However, it also leaves little room to develop characters or a plot. As a result, both end up being wafer thin and easily forgettable. Even the house, which used to be the main character in any haunted house story, as well as the ghosts themselves, have taken supporting roles in a movie that really stars a few good haunt scenes. Thankfully, these scenes are the movie's real strong points, and I dare say that some of them were creepy. I...

Don't waste your time
I was hoping for the best, but this movie disappointed so badly that I made a point of going online to review it--something I've never been motivated to do before, but I'd hate for someone else to waste their time like we did. You don't need a big budget to make a scary movie, but you do need a story. This had nothing but a bare bones idea that they never did a thing to develop. The scares were few and far between and lame as hell. It was one of those movies where you're constantly going, "No one would do that" or "Why don't they just turn on the lights?" So flipping stupid.

Better than expected!
I am a fairly critical reviewer of horror, primarily because today it is so inexpensive (both in time and money) for most anyone to create a movie and upload it to Amazon and elsewhere, that there is a glut of absolutely terrible "films" on the market today (and I think that now that genie is out of the bottle, so this is the new reality of the horror movie genre). Anyway, suffice to say that I have spent a lot of my meager disposable income on streaming movies here on Amazon and on Netflix, with very few real creepy and spooky moments to show for it - especially with regard to "lost footage" films which are the most conducive to those no/low budget movies I mentioned. So it was with no small amount of surprise when I found myself genuinely creeped out by The Bake Street Hauntings. I won't give any spoilers here, and while this movie is not perfect, it makes up for its shortcomings (one big one being wayyy too many F-bombs - OH and the chemistry between the "husband" and "wife" is...

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A Summer in the Cage

Insightful
I liked his description of living in a room with bipolar and the fact that the bipolar monster can grow bigger until you are a little tiny defeated person curled up in the corner or you can accept the fact that you have to share the space in this room with the bipolar monster and then get up and stand up to it and do the best you can.

I thought this was a good film worth watching. There was real honesty and sincere interest in its approach. One of the biggest disappointments one with Bipolar has to bear is to have so few people in their life be willing to take the time and make the effort to educate themselves about it so they can be more understanding and of greater help to the sufferer. I wish there were more who would. Being bipolar is often a lonely world to live in.

Thank you for making this film. People with this disorder deserve a voice. We have already been robbed of so much in life, including our true potential. This mental illness is not who we...

It's okay
An interesting view into a life dominated by bipolar disorder was a bit scary for me, as it hits close to home. This was about a videographer who filmed 5 years of bipolar- the good parts, the bad parts, the sad parts. It was a decent film that left me wanting to know what happened after the camera turned off the last time.

The cage - How true
I have read several books on Bipolar, and wondered what it would be like to see it in action in a movie. This movie gave me a better idiea of Bipolar and the hell one goes through, hover, I would like to see a Bipolar movie in a story form.

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Identity Thief

Has its moments
Identity Thief is a movie about a mild-mannered businessman Sandy Patterson (Bateman) who travels from Denver to Miami to confront the deceptively harmless-looking woman (McCarthy) who has been living it up after stealing Sandy's identity.

This movie is definitely not the funniest I have ever seen but it does have its moments that will make you laugh although sometimes straying into the area of bad taste. At times the jokes miss more than make you laugh and sometimes makes you cringe but Identity Thief does soften up at the end and comes across as being a somewhat sweet comedy in the end despite some of the cringe worthy jokes.

I will give McCarthy credit as she does about anything to get a laugh even with physical comedy and she is not afraid to ham it up for the camera.

This movie is definitely not in the league of some of the funnier movies I have seen (like Hangover or 40 year old virgin) but isn't bad and will keep you entertained. I did expect...

A funny, enjoyable movie thanks to leads
If you enjoyed Jason Batemen as the put-upon, sane family member/lead in the short-lived TV series Arrested Development, you will probably enjoy him here. If you enjoyed Melissa McCarthy's in Bridesmaids, you will find many more moments of genius lunacy.

My one fear was that the trailer had all the funny set pieces, but not by a long shot. The movie was funnier.

This is a movie in the Hollywood tradition of road trips from hell on a deadline. (Think Rat Race or Trains, Planes and Automobiles.) I also found the revelations about her background made the outcome more satisfying. I'm happily in the 'it's a darn funny movie' camp.

I suspect other reviewers who hated it will mark this 'unhelpful,' but that just goes to show you. Take those negatives with grain of salt. I believe you will enjoy it, if you enjoyed the movie trailer of it.

Funniest Movie I've Ever Seen
I think the biggest problem with movie goers these days is they all expect this amazing life changing movie whenever they go to see a movie. But this is not what I look for when I go see a movie I just go to have fun and get away from real life for a little bit and that's what this movie did for me. This movie is honestly the funniest movie I have ever seen I was laughing throughout the whole movie and it wasn't like I was waiting bored for the next laugh because it kept me interested and satisfied in between the laughs. The movie even had a little heart in it with Melissa McCarthy's character and she developed throughout the movie and became someone that was respectable even though she is stealing people's identities left and right. I honestly loved this movie so much and people can say all they want about it I thought it was perfectly scripted, super funny, and a little touching. I would recommend this to honestly every person I know.

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Gomorrah

Riveting Movie about the true face of the Mafia
Based on true events. Captures the modern mafia clan (The Camorra) that runs Naples. One of the most unique films ever made about Italy's organized crime. This is not the Sopranos or Goodfellas so don't walk in expecting that.The glitzy aggrandized lifestyle isn't shown here. What is shown is probably the best presentation of what the nuts and bolts day to day business of the mob is, what it's all about & how it has invaded every aspect of Italian life. It's in subtitles but is still worth watching.

If this was to educate it missed it
Read the outline, watched it to the end.. and this is a perfect example of someone trying to make a documentary and failing. Other reviewers liked it, but if the intent was to make you feel depressed then it almost worked. I understand the crime in Italy, and the problems people have there, in some places in the US it is no better (Chicago) but it felt disjointed and it was tough to find a thread to follow in this one, other than the mafia is bad.

Gomorrah
The movie was okay, it was too long and sometimes the actions were cloudy and with subtitles sometimes you still do not get the true meaning of the language spoken. Some of the scenes were better than others.

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Black Trash

1976, not 1909.
This is a pretty well done 70's movie with the quirky, somewhat unorthodox style of the period; similar to blaxploitation films, or a 70's crime drama.





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The Help

The Help: The best novel adaptation in a loooong time.
"Oscar season", as it's typically referred to, is a period of time, usually beginning in late November, and ending in late January. This year, it starts early, with "The Help".

"The Help" is based on the well-known novel by Kathryn Stockett, someone who I had never heard of before discovering this film and book. For the most part, when I hear about a film that I want to see, I try to read the book prior to viewing the movie, to enhance the whole experience. Usually I get bored, or stop mid-way through one of these said books, before I end up watching the movie.

But "The Help" grabbed me. Stockett kept me on a leash, dying to know what happened next, and I ended up finishing its 530 pages in a few sittings. And, I'm glad it did, because "The Help" is not only the best movie I've seen this summer, but it very well could be the best one I see all year.

The film centers on Aibileen, Skeeter and Minny (Davis, Stone and Spencer, respectively) three very...

Not the movie you think it is
"The Help" works as well as it does because it doesn't offer easy answers. This lovely and sometimes extraordinary film is not concerned with big sermons about clivil rights, religion or easy to swallow messages. The film is simply about behavior; how we should act, morally, towards other people, no matter who they might be. This thematic line is structured nicely throughout the film by zeroing in on a select group of people. This was a smart move since the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s is just too large a subject to truly flesh out in a 2 hour film. Because the film is about actual characters instead of predisposed, prepackaged lessons, the audience can take with them what they choose from the story (none of the characters have a major epiphany, each just starts to become aware of their behavior and effects, both good and bad- they all have so much more life to live). Surprisingly the film rarely gets melodramatic, and when it does it almost seems cheep and easy...

Hot Humid Sensual South & an Oscar brews faster than sweet iced-tea
Now we see this film wins award nominations aplenty. Biggest winner was the public. Leads of Davis and Spencer that stole the spotlight. DVD to own, not rent.
The only drawback with the DVD is the sparse bonus material. 4 min. of 2 deleted, and a 5 min. music video of one of the film's songs. Pathetically weak bonus, but then it is a 5.5 star film. Everyone asks to borrow our copy, I should have bought 2.
Oh yes, there are SUBTITLES.

We attended the opening matinee; we'll view it again, that good. Is `The Help' the soul of 60s era race relations? This worthy film based on Kathryn Stockett's #1 best-seller is equally a first-class view as true for the read. The story of 3 daring Mississippi women is as absorbing as any you'll see this year. The plot is writing a book which attempts to tell the truth about B/W relations in the city of Jackson, between wealthy whites and `the help'; but doing it anonymously. Without being fired or lynched.

There is humor...

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21 Below

A heart wrenching and honest documentary
This documentary is worth your time and consideration. Seldom are we given the privilege and opportunity to view a families' struggle to deal with extraordinary circumstances and their path to forgiveness. A great lesson in how a family of diverse individuals find a way to come together with compassion and understanding.

Brilliant film
This is an amazing movie. I saw it at a festival here and aam so relieved it is out because i have been telling people about it ever since. 21 Below so beautifully captures a family in crisis. It seriously made me think, made me laugh and made me cry. The way the story is told and how the film is made is too exquisite and you really feel like you get to know this family over time. Their dynamic. The relationships. And as crazy as the circumstances seemed at times, they are like any other family, just trying to make sense of the world and deal with the challenges they've been dealt. Like brilliant docs should, it takes a specific story of tragedies big and small, and through its raw portrayal draws emotion universal to all of us. Bravo.

Documentary with pace, poise and punch
I saw this film at Sheffield Doc/Fest and it really is a great film that packs a considerable emotional punch. It is the kind of film that is engaging from the start, yet raises wider questions about the way we live, love and lie to each other, (and ourselves!). It stayed with me long after the final frame and credits rolled. Don't miss it!!

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Vamperifica

Unique Witty and Charming
We found this story to be a rather interesting twist to the vampire legend full of laughs and gut wrenching moments it defanatley delivered its not a top notch movie but its not bad either great story but you got to have an open mind to legend twisting otherwise your not gonna get it give this movie a try you wont be dissapointed

Loved It!
Haven't reviewed anything on here before, but just rented Vamperifica and really enjoyed it. I added it to my watchlist last night when browsing for horror movies and checked it out tonight. I laughed through practically the whole movie. The characters were all really likeable, especially Martin Yurkovic who plays the main character. If you're tired of seeing sparkly vampires and want to laugh and see some blood and language, I'd recommend it!

Something new
Tired of the same old story line? Give this movie a try. The story is fun, the actors are the best I have seen in a long time, and the characters are definitely not standard order. Good music, creative effects, and just a relief from standard fare.

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Dasepo Naughty Girls

Used it for a bit of language training
This movie is a standard college campus comedy; it just happens to be set in a high school. If you are learning Korean, the dialog is manageable at an intermediate level. The comedic aspects are fairly standard although there are cultural nuggets to be gleaned from the various situations in which the characters find themselves. If you aren't interested in the language acquisition aspects of the movie, you could liken it to American Pie.

Would you believe me
Would you believe me if I told you this is one of the most positive and uplifting movies I've ever seen? No, I don't only watch melodramas and emo s***. This is a genuinely funny, sad, and positive movie with great messages about how to be comfortable with yourself and your life.
But if that doesn't float your boat, watch this movie for its ridiculousness and hilariously non-racy racy scenes. That teacher(s) is so supportive and perverted..



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Somewhere

A beautiful meditation on loneliness and love
Somewhere is a beautiful meditative film about Johnny Marco (played by Stephen Dorff), a lonely, bored, dissolute Hollywood star who, by spending time with his daughter, Cleo (played by Elle Fanning) learns to love again. Elle Fanning is absolutely delightful in the role -- she is so sweet, natural, and at times, charmingly awkward. Her youth and unpretentious beauty are an effective foil to Stephen Dorff's character, who parties hard on a regular basis and looks it. Johnny is in a state of existential ennui; he lacks emotional connection with others and lives a life of instant gratification that is devoid of meaning. When Cleo's mother leaves Cleo with Johnny for an extended period of time, it gives him the chance to renew his relationship with her and thaw his heart. By learning to love Cleo, Johnny is forced to face the emptiness in his life and decides to change.

Not quite over the rainbow...
Being the fan of Sophia Coppola that I am, `Somewhere' was my most anticipated film from last year. I literally could not wait to see it, so much so that I downloaded it to my computer months before it was released in theaters near me so that I could watch it.

For me, `Somewhere' doesn't quite live up to my expectations.

First things first, this is not a bad film at all. In fact, it is a very good film. Some of my friends have noted that they feel this is Coppola's most mature offering, and in many ways I totally agree. She has a beautiful knack for fleshing out the humanity in her stories with such graceful subtlety. She masters that here, allowing the fluid movement of the scenes to do most of the talking. While some would make sweeping statements that this is, `by far', we worst film, I can only half agree. While she shows definite maturity here, this is my least favorite of her films. In that same respect though, I can't say `by far' since the film is...

coppola knows about the reality of movie stars
sophia coppola, the writer and director, is francis coppola's daughter. her cousin is nicholas cage. another cousin is jason schwartzman (Bored to Death on HBO), whose mother is talia shire (Rocky), francis's sister. sofia was married to director spike jonze. she has probably known no one but movie people her entire life. her movie is about a movie star who ,far from being a fascinating guy, is closer to being a total zero in personality. and, of course, everyone who barely knows him thinks he is fascinating. sofia coppola paints a devastating portrait of a top actor in the first half of this movie.

i found it very funny but you might miss the satire it is so low key. johnny, played by stephen dorf, is like an unmade bed walking around. he can barely be bothered to comb his hair, change his clothes or do much but passively participate. he hires twin pole dancers and falls asleep during their act. he falls asleep during sex. his costar finds him a big nothing. women...

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First Daughter

Keaton and Holmes were wonderful, plus great soundtrack
I thought "First Daughter" was beautifully acted; the wonderful soundtrack also did much to enhance the movie. I totally fell in love with Katie Holmes and Michael Keaton's characters; both acted their roles so convincingly. Holmes is adorable and sweet as the First Daughter; Keaton is a mix of the cool and adoring (and funny!) father who's also fiercely protective of his only child. Their scenes together are very charming - I loved when they shared midnight chocolate cake and when they danced at the Inaugural Ball in one of the last scenes. Keaton's President character makes you wish that he actually was the President. The soundtrack is fantastic too and leaves me wondering why it was never released as an audio CD. I especially loved the songs they played when Sam and her parents were being driven to her school and when Sam, Mia, and the group were frolicking on the water slide. Also, if you are a fan of Sinatra's "The Way You Look Tonight", there are two dancing scenes set to...

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!
This movie is great! I love Katie Holmes' character. It is about a girl (Katie) who's dad is the president, and she has to adapt to being the "president's daughter" (First Daughter). She is going off to college, and wants to fit in. She does some crazy stunts, and her dad drops in the polls. She then has to decide between her crazy new lifestyle, or her father. A GREAT MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very worth watching
The plot itself - about the First daughter who went to College in Carlifornia, far away from the White House, in order to be normal and meet friends may be cliché. Yet the movie on the whole can still hand out nice surprises every now and then. Katie Holmes has a unique face and looks intelligent enough to want to be independent as well as not to disappoint the First family. More importantly, Marc Blucas (her love interest) is not like the stereotyped Prince Charming for a teenager. At least he also looks sophisticated and mature and gives a strong case why the first daughter would fall for him. The two make an attractive couple and are on the same wavelength when they share the views on science etc.

The twist in the movie, at least I didn't see it coming, is good. Considering how many such plots have appeared on screen, I must say this one at least is not as predictable and does give me some credibility as a story about real people. The President and First Lady are...

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Carriers

Worth a watch for viral zombie film fans
Brian and Danny grew up as two brothers who were relatively close to one another. They cherish the memories they have of Turtle Beach, a beach their family vacationed to every summer. The abandoned motel in Turtle Beach may be their best bet of surviving the highly contagious disease that now plagues the entire country and possibly the world. Not much is known about the virus other than the victims coughing up blood and bleeding from the ears as their condition worsens. Brian actually came up with a few rules that will hopefully get him, his girlfriend Bobby, his brother Danny, and Danny's friend Kate through this disease ridden world to Turtle Beach clean. The rules include avoiding the infected at all costs, disinfecting anything they've touched in the past 24 hours, and that the infected are already dead as there is no cure. You may survive if you stick to the rules, but actually abiding by them is an entirely different story.

Right off the bat, people are probably going...

Intense the entire way through
I just heard about this movie and since I'm a fan of viral movies and/or Chris Pine, I checked it out! Basic premise is that four travelers are attempting to hit a possibly safe/tucked away location from the lead character's childhood - all the while trying to steer clear of infected people. Naturally, this proves hard to do.

One of the things you notice about this film is that the cast is very strong and very believeable. These are just regular people who are just trying to survive as society completely disintegrates and the rules change. The director made smart choices in my opinion with no few special effects - and thus making the film simply more realistic, barren, and terrifying. The film raises the question of what would you do if faced with the same situation? And it does make you think.

Choices and rules are difficult and they have to be. Chris Pine is very strong in the lead role and it's a great change from his role as Jim Kirk. He still is very...

The end of the road
Trouble in paradise: Two young couples in a car on the way to the beach, in jolly mood and all seems shipshape.
Then you realize, they are just whistling in the dark. Humanity is being eradicated by a deadly virus. The 4 people are running away through the desert to an empty beach on the West Coast in the futile hope to escape it...
Of course they run into logistical trouble: gasoline runs out and can be had only through complicated social acts like carjacking and murder. They have defined rules: if one falls ill, he will be left behind. The sick are dead.
Of course this will be one of the drivers of the conflicts.
This film is unusually smart for the genre. It stays on the small scale and shies away from murderous zombie hordes. It ends in a dead end, predictably, and no answers are given.
For the 'end of the world' and 'zombie' genre fans: an outstanding contribution to the available stock of movies.

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