I Want To Believe

The X Files: I Want To Believe was a better movie than I expected. I didn't follow the TV show through the end of its run so I worried that I wouldn't be able to follow all the inside sub-plots. But there is no need to be an X Phile to follow this movie. This could have been any FBI movie, but it was more fun to watch Mulder and Scully trying to solve the case. The movie opens in modern day after Mulder and Scully have both been retired from the FBI for some time. Mulder is called in to assist with a case in which they are using a psychic to assist them (the "X" part of the movie), and Mulder, in turn, needs Scully's assistance.

Initially, I thought "I Want To Believe" was a cheesy attention getting ploy for the title. But as the movie wore on it became apparent that this was the main theme of the movie for all of the main characters. While not applicable to the specific case they were trying to solve, the psychic needed to believe that his sins (which we learn to be heinous) are forgiven, Mulder needs to believe in his old X Files intuition, and Scully, the person in the most intense personal crises, needs to believe in God.

It's not a movie you have to run right out and see this instant, but you should at least put it on your rental list. The truth is out there.

Movie and Book Reviews

I don't like westerns so it better be a darn good movie if I'm going to invest the time to watch it. 3:10 to Yuma is better than darn good and I highly recommend it. It stars Christian Bale as a rancher who volunteers to join the group of men escorting a high profile outlaw, played by Russell Crowe, to the train that would take him to prison. The beginning of the movie is good, but as the movie progressed and the characters developed I liked it more and more. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it was going to end (I was not disappointed). Add this to your list of movies to rent.

The book I just finished reading is Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer. This is the sixth book in his Artemis Fowl series and I love it as much as I loved all the others. I think these books fall in the genre of young adult literature, but if JK Rowling taught us anything it's that a good book is a good book no matter what section you buy from in the book store. In this one, Artemis' mother becomes deathly ill with a disease that can only be contracted through tainted magic. Artemis has to call on his old friend, Holly Short, a fairy and officer in the Lower Elements Police (LEP) Recon division. He also calls on his new friend, No 1, a demon (but a happy and friendly one to be sure) to them back in time so he can find the cure for his mother in a now extinct lemur. But to save his mother's life he has to triumph over his most cunning adversary yet - his younger (and much more obnoxious) self. My favorite character in all of literature has an appearance - Mulch Diggums, a dwarf and thief that creates tunnels by eating the earth, then expelling the debris out the other end in rude but hilarious ways. This book is a fun ride. If you've never read one you should give it a chance.

Charlie Bartlett

Charlie Barlett is a coming-of-age tale about a teenager, new to public schools, who gains popularity when he attempts to be a psychologist to the troubled student body. Half comedy/half drama, this is funny and moving look into the problems life deals out. Once again, I am blown away by the phenomenal acting of Robert Downey Jr. Even though he only has a supporting role as the high school principal and father of Charlie's girlfriend, he brings so much power and emotion to the struggles that his character is forced to deal with. I suggest you add this to your list of DVD rentals.

The Golden Compass

I just finished reading The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, the first book of His Dark Materials series. (Yes, I'm quite late to this party.) The central character is an 11 year old girl, but I didn't think this book was written down to speak to children. Since I'm a fan of sci-fi/action books and movies, I was bound to like this one. Who can resist talking polar bears who kick major booty?! If you're a fan of this genre I suggest you pick up this book and give this series a try.

I'm going to read the other two Dark Materials books, but first I have to read the latest Artemis Fowl.

Also, I went to see The Dark Knight this weekend. Wow! What a GREAT movie! This is a must see. For a more in-depth review, please see my other blog http://jandkatthemovies.blogspot.com/

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

Disney knows how to make good movies, that's all there is to it. National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets was a fun adventure romp that takes us on a quest to find a lost city of gold from a pre-Columbian Native American nation. The places our heroes sneak in and out of unscathed are ridiculous (Buckingham Palace, the White House), but who cares?! I liked going along for the ride. My favorite part was that Mount Rushmore was an attempt to cover up a vast conspiracy. Add this to your list of movies to rent.

Mirror Mirror

I just finished reading Mirror Mirror by Gregory McGuire. He's the same guy who wrote Wicked (which I didn't enjoy at all). I liked the spin he put on this overhaul of the Snow White story. He worked in Lucrezia Borgia in the wicked queen role, along with her brother, Cesare, both of whom were infamous for being the children of a pope and who spent their lives in pursuit of power by just about any means available to them. Weaving these historical figures into his story made it more interesting to read. This story also includes an eighth "dwarf" (for lack of a better word to call these odd creatures), apples from the Tree of Knowledge (yes, that one from the Bible), and, of course, a magic mirror. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading a dramatically different story of Snow White.

The Water's Lovely

I think I need to add Ruth Rendell to my list of favorite authors. In The Water's Lovely, she creates a fabulous mess with a mixed cast of characters that makes you not want to put the book down until you've read the very last word. Everybody has vastly different motivations (some good, some sinister) and she weaves their lives together in the wonderfully intricate web. This is a must read (as all of her novels probably are, but it'll take me quite some time to read all 60 or 70 of them).

Reviews for 2 1/2 Movies

The Bucket List is a touching movie about two older gentlemen, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, who find out they both have less than a year to live. So they make a list of all the things they want to do before they kick the bucket. It's much more moving and inspiring than I was expecting. If I had known it was this good I would have gone to the theaters to watch it. This is a must see so add it to your movie list.

27 Dresses turned out to be better than I thought too. It's about a woman who's always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Then her sister comes to town and turns her life upside down, forcing her to decide to take charge of her own life. Add this to your list of chick flicks to watch.

Now for the "half" movie, Fools Gold. This was so stupid that I couldn't finish watching it. It was torture. Don't waste your time or money on this one.

Reviews for 1 1/2 Books

I just finished reading Two-Dollar Bill by Stuart Woods. Definitely a must-read. It's a quick-paced mystery full of many well fleshed-out characters that turn the pages for you. This novel follows Stone Barrington, a Manhattan cop-turned-lawyer, as his life gets turned around by a highly skilled con man. I guarantee you will enjoy the crisp writing and witty banter between the characters.

Before that, I was struggling through another mystery called Shattered by Dick Francis, who is clearly a stuffy, fussy old British guy. I tried to stay with it, but the writing was too tedious to keep reading. After almost a 100 pages I decided that I had enough of the background story to be able to read the conclusion, so I flipped to the back of the book to read the ending. I'm so glad I did. I saved myself a few hundred pages of reading and I still got the whole story without suffering through more of the writing than I had to.

Movie Reviews

Let's start with the good movie first. The Orphanage is a very good movie but it's in Spanish so you'll have to read subtitles. It's by Guillermo del Toro of Pan's Labyrinth fame, which I also recommend. It's about a woman who was in an orphanage as a little girl before she was adopted. Now as an adult, she bought the orphanage with her husband with the intention of caring for several special children. But when her (adopted) son goes missing, she has to discover the secret the ghosts of her childhood friends keep in an effort to find her own child. It's dark but not scary, and the ghosts are minimal so it's not hokey. It's very well made and I suggest you add it to your list of movies to see.

Now for the bad movie. Sweeny Todd is s-l-o-w and boring and the music is terrible! I thought I remember that it got good reviews, but I recommend that you don't waste your time because it's two hours of your life that you'll never get back. The acting is good - no one could argue that Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, and Helena Bonham-Carter (all Harry Potter actors, by the way) could ever do a poor job. But the almost nonexistent plot and the bad music just make this movie drag. Skip this one.

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What's So Funny?

I'm finally diving into my backlog of books (as opposed to buying all new books like I've been doing lately) and found a treasure my Dad passed along to me a while back. What's So Funny?, written by Donald Westlake, is a crime caper featuring one of Westlake's best loved characters, Dortmunder. This hilarious romp follows Dortmunder and his usual goofy crew of hoodlums as they try to get their hands on a gold and jewel encrusted chess set. If you're looking for something light and funny, pick this one up.