Movie reviews, pt. 2

Wow, it's only been, like, 2 weeks since I've posted. Ha.
So, my life... it's been busy - in a sense. I'm the kind of person that likes/needs to have some downtime each day in order to stay sane, (What will I do when I have children?!) but I've still kept pretty busy. Lots of tests to prepare for and papers to write (oh, the papers!), and I even survived a presentation the first day back from Thanksgiving break. During a class discussion on outsourcing and team MIS projects, my professor commended two of about fifty people, another girl and myself, for playing the "Devil's Advocates" in the discussion and sticking to our guns despite the overwhelming opposition. It was exciting, though it seemed like a lot of people that didn't speak up were nodding their heads when we spoke, so I think we weren't as alone on our views as we thought. I've watched a few movies, read a couple books, studied a BUNCH, caught up on Heroes (finally!), and even managed to test out Rock Band at Wal-Mart. Still, I can't wait until finals are over and then I get a month to NOT think about school.
On another note, I love Christmastime. Absolutely LOVE it. Our apartment is decorated with some lights and garland and even a fake poinsetta. I can't wait until I go back to LJ and we bake cookies... yay! I uploaded all my mom's Christmas music to my iPod, and now it's pretty much on there all the time. That's the one thing I truly miss about being in orchestra: the music. The Nutcracker Suite is soooooo amazing... ok, now I'm just being an orch dork. Sorry.
Also, I found this picture stuck inside a book I never finished reading (but am now starting again). Apparently, I used it as a bookmark... and come on, it's adorable!


I like how my dad looks exactly the same, but I'm like, 7 times bigger than that (obviously). I remember that little Cowboy Snoopy toy still.
I've done a few movie reviews for the holidays. These are some of the movies in theaters still that I've seen. Enjoy.

American Gangster: This movie was pretty darn good. It was thrilling and intriguing and heart-stopping and... I could continue with more adjectives, but I won't. There are some pretty shocking scenes, but I thought the story was amazingly written - my only complaint is that it's nearly 3 hours long. My suggestion: yes, watch this movie if you like thrillers and dramas. But wait until it comes out on DVD unless you're able to sit in a theater for 3 straight hours.

August Rush: Okay, so I'm a sucker for the sappy and heart-warming movies. That's exactly what August Rush is. Of course, I absolutely love Keri Russell (Felicity, Waitress, she was the captive agent in MI:3) and Freddie Highmore - who by the way, is in EVERYTHING these days: Finding Neverland, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he voices a main character in The Golden Compass... this kid is the new Haley Joel Osment. Or Dakota Fanning. Anyway, as much as I love music and the passion people around the world have for it, how could I not love this movie? It was amazing, though the fact that he could "hear" his parents' music and by following the sound he could find his parents was kinda corny. But cute. Very cute.

Enchanted: Omg, HILARIOUS. This is not your typical Disney movie - although it is every other typical Disney movie wrapped up into one big production. Pretty princesses, wicked witches, charming princes, McDreamy (I mean, what?), and musical numbers written by Alan Menken (The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Hercules, Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid... this guy is a Disney music LEGEND... it doesn't get much more Disney fairytale-ish than this. Except for the fact that they're in NYC. And that no one seems to understand the prince and princess except for themselves and children who still believe that dreams do come true. This one's worth the $5 matinee price - go see it. Bring your friends, your kids, your brothers and sisters, because this is the most enjoyable family film since Happy Feet (according to me).

Hitman: For a movie based off a video game, this was a fairly decent movie. Not that I've seen many movies of the type, but still. It's got the action - gun fights, sword fights, fist fights, people dying, etc. - and the comedy - the awkward assassin who doesn't know how to act around women, though whether or not the rest of his lines were meant to be funny is questionable... still, I laughed. I haven't played the VG, so no, I can't compare the two. If you're an action junkie, you can get your fix from Hitman.

Martian Child: Aww, the story of an endearing young boy who doesn't fit in and the man who takes him under his wing and tries to be the best dad-whose-wife-just-died ever. The kid WAS kinda strange-looking, though I won't fault the film for that because he IS supposed to be from Mars. The movie was kinda slow at times, but overall, it was your typical drama. I give it 3 of 5 stars.