Jane_Deaux

I saw this movie and, like a lot of people already, I really liked it. It's a good sports-movie but it's a great people-movie. The movie is apparently true to actual events and I think that is really what made the movie so good--it wasn't glamorized by Hollywood.

Matthew M. did an excellent job. I think this is his best movie to date. His character was in a challenging position and MM played the part perfectly, balancing enthusiasm for the team, sympathy for the town, and really capturing the helplessness that Jack Lengyell experienced when faced with the mourning and confusion or anger of the people who didn't agree with the rebuilding of the football team.

The whole cast did well with the grieving process, wonderfully portraying the desire to move on while still feeling the hurt of the accident. There was a scene from the movie shown in the trailer, when they look out a window and the town is there shouting "We are... Marshall!" For me, this was a very moving scene and I got a little teary!

One thing for the parents who were thinking of bringing their families: I wouldn't say that there is "quite a bit" of language, but MM says the S-word several times. There is other, mild language, but this stood out to me and I was surprised to find that it was only rated PG. It's definitely not enough to ruin the movie and is still good for the family with it's uplifting message about over-coming tragedy and hardship, but just be aware that some parents might not want their kids to hear some of it. I don't recall anything worse than the S-word... but there was some drinking.

You should know that I had decided I'd rather watch "Minors" than "Santa Clause 3" or "Deck the Halls," so going into the movie I was probably more lenient with it than I might have otherwise been...

But anyway, I saw this and I thought it was okay. It reminded me a little of Home Alone with more kids and antics. I thought the four main kids--the ones stuck in the airport--had good chemistry and went well together. The adults (Black, Valderrama), while they've done okay in other movies/shows, seemed to be "acting down." In fact, the whole movie kind of seemed that way.

These kids must be 13 or 14 but they're acting more like eight or nine. I'm sure it was as the director wanted but even the adults were talking slow and using lots of animated hand gestures. At the very beginning of the movie, one girl sits on a young, hip Santa's lap and tells him he "hot" and then the rest of the movie has the exaggerated and childish feeling of an episode of Blue's Clues. But, since I was ready to watch and enjoy this movie, I laughed at all the falling down, food-throwing, name-calling activity.

I noticed a theme. I think this theme or message is what some parents will like about the movie and what some might decide to steer clear of: children of divorce do well on their own, perhaps even better than kids whose parents are still married. My parents divorced when I was 14 and I don't really feel like it had a huge impact on my life but today's kids are... different. Maybe "divorce kids" will enjoy this divorce kid fantasy more than everyone else. Parents will approve of it because, even with the happy ending, the divorced parents in the film were still divorced in the end.

I saw this movie tonight and I thought it was pretty good. Usually I try to steer clear of time-travel movies because they seem too stupid to bother with. Time-travel is not possible and to try to make a movie where everyone is skipping around in time is just irritating.

It's because they try to explain too much. I'm fine with wormholes and "bending space" but when they go into to all the scientific explanations, my suspension of disbelief starts to falter. I want to understand but never will because time-travel (TT) is just not possible.

They did a good job working with TT in Deja Vu. It wasn't the movie revolving around this phenomenon, it was a good plot, some exciting action, and interesting dialog and situations... and some TT.

Aside from time, I liked the way the movie looked. Like all the Tony Scott films, it has a gritty feel and there was a lot of motion--whether it was people running around or just the camera moving around still objects or people, I felt like I was in a hurry. Very edge-of-your-seaty.

The only thing I didn't really like was TT-related. I won't give it away, but when it happened I immediately thought "This is why they shouldn't make movies about time-travel." Of course, I only thought that after I said out loud "DUH! Why can't you see that?!" But it was only a little thing and the forehead-slapping moment went away.

SOME NOT-SO-SPOILY SPOILERS AHEAD

Why do people, when they are disoriented or sick or scared at a club, cut through the middle of the crowded dance floor on their way to the bathroom?

Who in their right mind would hide under a bed when someone breaks into their room?

How often do you knock on a stranger's door and when they don't IMMEDIATELY answer, you open the door, walk in, shout a few hello's and then start going through their stuff?

If you were being pursued by someone you just discovered was a murderer, what would you do? Quietly sneak off and hide under a wooden platform or among metal implements? Run, quietly of course, to a ratty old barn or other decrepit structure?

I could be talking about almost any thriller that's come out in the last few years, but since this is the "The Return" page, obviously I'm talking about "The Return." I saw it free because I work at a movie theater and make a point of screening all the "scary" movies. I thought this one was tolerable... aside from the well-worn clichés. Sarah Michelle Gellar is really drab and looks kind of "Huh?" through most of the film. The details of the plot are slowly given out as the movie progresses and it's almost enough to make it interesting except there wasn't enough explanation as it moved on and so I was almost lost until the last 2/3 of it.

If you're a die-hard thriller fan, it's worth seeing at least once. If there's nothing better at the theater and you really want to watch a movie, eh, I guess it's worth a matinée ticket. If you thought the trailer made it look like an interesting movie and you can't wait... wait.

Synopsis: At a New England boarding school, Caleb Danvers and his three friends share a private bond: They are descendants of the original families that settled in Ipswich Colony around the time of the Salem witch trials and have inherited their ancestors' supernatural powers. But their special abilities come at a terrible cost; every time one of the Sons of Ipswich uses his magical powers, he ages prematurely, and the temptation to use the power makes it more addictive than any drug. Caleb's mother is terrified her son won't be able to resist the lure of the potent—and addictive—powers. Caleb assures her he can handle his powers, but can he really? And what if he needs his powers to fight an evil force that threatens everything he loves?

I saw this movie and was expecting it to be terrible--young actors can be so grating in their inexperience! For most of the cast, I wasn't disappointed (they were pretty bad) but the two main characters--the Good Guy and the Bad Guy--saved the movie for me, but just barely.

The worst part (aside from the acting) was that I didn't really understand parts of it. It just wasn't explained well. For example, "Someone sent me a Darkling." What the heck is a Darkling? I get the basic idea but are they like spam email? Darklings are referred to several times but never explained. It really seems like the explanation was edited out. There are other confusing moments but, like the Darklings, it's mostly just a distraction and doesn't ruin the whole movie, at least not for me.

The reason I give it a FIVE OUT OF TEN is because it was an okay thriller; it met the minimum of my scary-movie list of requirements. It is "from the producers of Underworld," or something like that, and it definitely had that Underworld element of cool. There were lots of attractive people, the magic was neat and the obligatory fight scene at the end was exciting. But through the whole movie, I couldn't help thinking, "This would be better if they were all vampires..."