Synopsis:
Chris Gardner (Will Smith) has had a string of bad luck. He sunk his life savings into a medical supply company that isn’t selling. His wife, Linda (Thandie Newton) resents him, and he can barely provide for his son (Smith’s real-life son Jaden), the center of his life. Things go from bad to worse when Linda leaves him, but Chris has a dream. He wants to be a stock broker for Dean Witter. Now he’s risking everything with an unpaid internship, taking a chance in the pursuit of happiness…..

Review:

Unfortunately, though I watched this on DVD and this should be a DVD review, I didn’t actually check out the special features (I watched a single disc widescreen copy from Blockbuster.) As a result, this review is going to be about the movie itself and not about the DVD. If I get a chance to actually check out the disc itself sometime, I’ll post an addendum to this review with details on special features and extras.

Plot: You can’t criticize the plot much because this movie is based on a true story. It’s hard to say real life wasn’t good enough. I thought the story flowed well and it definitely portrayed a man, down on his luck, who refused to let go of his dream. Though most of the movie was sad, with one setback after another, the overall story is uplifting. Surprisingly, there is a bit of comedy in the film and I did find myself laughing a few times. I don’t want to ruin the ending, though I think you can guess what it is. You’ll feel good when you’re done watching this movie.

Acting: The acting was great. I’ve always liked Will Smith, but this was definitely one of his best performances to date. He definitely produced Oscar-worthy work in this movie. He really shows the determination, fear, frustration, and hope that (I’d like to believe) the real Chris Gardner felt. I was also impressed by Jaden Smith. His role, though critical, doesn’t require great depth. After all, Christopher Gardner was only 5 years old. How deep can he be? Still, the boy acted well and I think the existing father/son relationship showed on the screen. The rest of the cast is inconsequential, though I really did get to hating Thandie Newton’s Linda.

Overall: I think that altogether this was a good movie. The story was great and the acting definitely left an impression. I would highly recommend you watch this movie if not purchase it. It’s definitely the type of movie that motivates you and keeps you hopeful. The movie has questionable replay value, but I think that being such a good film makes it a necessary part of a true move collection.

The Pursuit of Happyness (Widescreen Edition)

Synopsis:
Mumble Happy Feet (Elijah Wood) is a little different from the rest of the emporer penguins. He can’t seem to find his heart song. What he does have is a desire to dance and he quickly gets shunned by the rest of his kind. But now a mysterious food shortage is threatening the survival of the penguins, and Mumble sets out on an adventure to find out why, hoping he can win back the respect of all the other penguins.

Review:

Plot: This film follows the basic animals on a mission kind of scenario. Its mildly predictable, but there are a few surprises and all of the things that happen aren’t formulaic. I’ll be honest, I didn’t reallize from the trailers that the plot would be so conservation-themed. It carries a great message, I just didn’t know it was coming. A lot of people I spoke to about this before I saw it said the movie wasn’t funny. I disagree. There were plenty of laugh out load moments and when I wasn’t laughing, I was distracted by the incredibly cute penguins. It definitely appealed to the (very large) kid in me, but it isn’t as funny as classics like Toy Story.

Graphics: I thought the CGI in this film was great. All of the penguins looked real (not cartoonish) and the motion was fluid. This movie definitely has included great techniques from the previous generations of CGI films. Apparently (I heard this from a friend), the movie has been criticised for using actors as opposed to CG people in the film. I think the use of actors makes the message in the film a little more serious and relatable. CG people would just weaken the moral in my opinion.

Overall: This movie is definitely worth the watch. If you have kids, I would recommend a matinee showing. If you’re a big kid like me and just like animated movies, I would consider just waiting for the DVD. Enjoy!

Overall Rating: ***

Stanger Than Fiction @ IMDB

Synopsis:
A tax auditor named Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) lives a monotonous life full of calculated and precise actions. Things go horrible awry when he starts hearing his life narrated by a woman’s voice as he lives it. He soon discovers that the voice blongs to Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), a famous author who is suffering from writer’s block and is notorious for killing her protagonists.

Review:

Plot: This one is a comedy and a drama, the all to prevalent dramedy. Unfortunately for Ferrell fans, its heavy on the drama portion. There are some mildly funny moments throughout the movie, but no bust-a-gut/ROTFL moments like in Ricky Bobby. Doesn’t mean it was bad. Its somewhat interesting to see a slightly more serious side to Ferrell.

Acting: I actually enjoyed Emma Thompson a lot. Her character’s fascination with death and approach to writing is terribly awkward and Thompson translates it excelently. Queen Latifah is inconsequential as Eiffel’s assistant. I also liked Maggie Gyllenhaal as liberal activist baker. She’s odd but endearing as Ana Pascal.

Photography/Production: I was really dissappointed with the quality of filming for this movie. I guess my criticism here is not based on personal experience, but how hard can it be to keep a mic boom out of the scene? Maybe its just me, but it seemed a bit sloppy. It ruined it for me a little, because after the first time, my eyes kept getting distracted whenever the mic dipped in to the shot.

Overall: It wasn’t a bad movie, but its not worth a primetime ticket. If you’re a “I must see all Will Ferrell movies on the big screen” kind of fan, then go for a matinee. Personally, I think its amusing enough that its worth a rental when it comes to DVD, but probably not a purchase.

Overall Rating: *****

Casino Royale @ IMDB

Summary:
When James Bond (Daniel Craig) is promoted to 007, he must prove himself against a terrorist financier (Mads Mikkelsen) and learn that in the spy business, you really can trust anyone.

Review:

Plot: The plot for this movie was pretty well put together. I liked the flow a lot, though it started to get a little confusing. When you get to the end of the movie, it becomes clear why the plot is not so clear cut. If you feel like there are parts missing, I wouldn’t hold your breath for them to fill in the blanks by the end of the film. Personally, I think it was an interesting approach. The mission and action played out the way I expected a true Bond movie should, with almost no gadgets.

Acting: There was a lot of negative hype around the selection of Craig as Bond. I’ve seen him in other films, like Layer Cake, and he met my expectations. Since he is playing an “immature” Bond, he comes off as an arrogant and slightly niave assassin. Though he is suave, he’s not quite as charming as Sean Connery and Roger Moore. Perhaps, we’ll see a little improvement in future films, masked as character development. The Bond Girls didn’t really stand out, but they were much better than Halle Berry and Denise Richards.

Action: Entertaining and engrossing, especially the first major chase/fight scene. The best part was there was no percievable CGI. I was very pleased to see that considering the apalling job they did in Die Another Day.

Overall: Definitely worth the ticket price. I was impressed with this reboot of the 007 franchise. I recommend seeing it on the big screen, you won’t be dissappointed.

Overall Rating: ****

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby @ IMDB

Summary:
Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) was born with a need for speed and a natural talent behind the wheel. With a lucky break he is flung to NASCAR greatness and quickly moves to the top. But Ricky’s dominance is challenged by a Formula-1 racer named Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), who is looking to make his mark on the sport. When a devistating crash puts Ricky in the hospital, he loses his nerves and is unable to race. With his world crumbling around him, Ricky goes back to his roots and seeks help from his dead-beat-dad (Gary Cole).

Review:
I thought this movie was hilarious! If you liked Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy, then you will love Talladega Nights. This movie continues the “American Man” series that Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay began with Anchorman. I had really high hopes for this movie and I have to say I was not dissappointed.
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Overall Rating: ***

Final Destination 3 @ IMDB

Synopsis:
When Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has a premonition of a horrible rollercoaster accidents, she saves a handful of her classmates from a horrible fate. But when the survivors start dieing one by one, Wendy realizes its harder than it seems to cheat death. Can she convince everyone that death has a design for all of them? This is the third installment of the Final Destination series.

Review:
Some people are probably wondering why I gave this movie three stars. In fact I would bet that most people would give this movie one star, two if they were feeling generous. I have to be honest, I liked it. Probably because I’m a fan of the series. Plus its always fun to see what cool and sinister methods they develop to kill all the characters off. I never wrote a review for Final Destination 1 & 2. So if you’re not familiar with the series, here is the critical info: folks somehow cheat death, death’s not happy, death finds more complicated means of killing said folks. The only dissappointment I had with the previous films is that they killed Clear Rivers (Ali Larter) in FD2. I thought she was a good lead character (and potential tie between all of the films).
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