Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Dona's Summer Movie Picks...and ANOTHER giveaway

I've been watching movies! My husband and I have a long-standing tradition that every summer we watch all of the big-budget blockbuster movies. I have to admit last year was a real disappointment with Pirates 3 (too long!), Bourne 3 (good, but really shaky), and Spiderman 3 (so lame!)
This year we started early with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. This movie had a lot of the classic Indy elements like snakes, villians where you don't expect and dry humor. There were also some new touches like SHIA (that's for you Steph!) and ...aliens.

I thought it was a little weird. I rate it 2/5.

Then we saw The Happening which I did not like at all. The movie had some really gruesome violence (a guy running himself over with a lawnmover, a woman stabbing herself in the neck with a hairpin, etc) and I didn't understand the "deeper" meaning of the movie. I rate it 0/5.

Over the weekend, we saw WALL-E which was very cute yet a bit too long to hold my attention for being an animated movie. Like all PIXAR movies, the hero if the movie is adorable and very likeable. I found this movie had too many robots though to be my favorite PIXAR movie--that title still goes to Monsters, Inc. I rate it 3/5.

We saw WANTED the night after that which I LOVED. I don't care if it is a mindless action movie...I loved the SFX and just the over-the-top fun of it. Plus, Angelina Jolie fit the role to a T. Let's not even get into the red-hot Viper she uses to kidnap our hero! I rate it 5/5.

Last night we went to the preview of HANCOCK. The misunderstood, lonely superhero has been done, but no one does it like Will Smith!

The movie felt somewhat disjointed between the first part of the movie and the second (with a very strange mythological love story) but I'm not complaining, I liked it overall thought found the ending very sappy. I rate it a 4/5.
So that's my summer so far! I still have a whole slew of movies to get through in the next few weeks including Get Smart, Hellboy and The Dark Knight so stay tuned!

So, happy readers, tell me: What is your favorite movie (of all time). I am looking for additions to my NetFlix queue.



Reply in the comments and win a copy of SHRINK TO FIT (my author copies came in last night!)
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Dona Sarkar-Mishra
HOW TO SALSA IN A SARI - out now!
SHRINK TO FIT - August 2008























19 comments:

paperxxflowers said...

I really like Dazed and Confused, Hair, Almost Famous.

And if you're looking for a series, if you haven't watched the entire Gilmore Girls seasons yet, I suggest that you do (my faves)

Anum said...

I suggest..Pride and Prejudice!
It's THE perfect love story!
It's a must, so do add to your Netflixie thingy. :)

TinaFerraro said...

Congrats on your author copies coming in!

I love 13 GOING ON 30 and OFFICE SPACE. Depending on my mood!

The Compulsive Reader said...

Hm, well, some of my favorite movies are:

The Princess Bride--this is a classic. If you have not seen this, watch it now. You want to know why? Because it is powerful. So powerful, it can be a chick flick about princesses, and yet when my 8th grade teacher showed it to us, even the guys were enraptured.

The Importance of Being Earnest--the play is good, in both written and performed form. But the movie is priceless. It sticks to the play very well, but Rupert Everett and Colin Firth make it that much for humorous and entertaining. And it has Reese Witherspoon!

Bride and Prejudice--It's Pride and Prejudice! Only it's a musical! Set in India! And Mr. Collins's Indian counterpart is hilarious! I'll stop talking in choppy sentences now...

Anyways, those are just a few of my favorites. I'm looking forward to reading Shrink to Fit!

Cheers,
TCR

Kiki said...

TCR, we share the same taste in movies!
Both Princess Bride and Bride & Prejudice are definitely up there on my all-times favourite list.

My all-time favourite though is Disney's Aladdin. I think I know every line to that one... ^_^

Meredith said...

Mine would be a tie between Disney's Beauty & the Beast, The Chipmunk Adventure (hahaha good childhood memories!) Legally Blonde, Sweet Home Alabama, aaanndd... Dracula: Dead and Loving It (it's a stupid funny movie.)

~Meredith
rosesaremyfavorite@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

I'd have to say that Shawshank redemption has to be my all time favorite movie. It just really caught my attention. The falsly accused man being sent to prizon for the murder of his wife he never committed. I have this movie and have watched it often.

Awesome giveaway by the way...I'd love to win!!

Karin said...

My Man Godfrey --just love it!

The Golfing Librarian said...

Hands down, the greatest movie of all time is "Citizen Kane", but my favorite is "A River Runs Through It". (of course the book is better!)
I saw Wall-E this past weekend with my 5 yr. old (I'm Scared. Why are the people fat? What's an autopilot? Do plants grow in boots? ETC.) Even with all the questions, we loved the movie and had a great time together.

Lori T said...

My favorite movie of all time is Breakfast at Tiffanys with Audrey Hepburn. I love Audrey Hepburn and if I run across something with her in I have to stop and watch...much to everyone's irritation in my family.

I really loved Empire Records, Inventing the Abbotts, and Mallrats (I am huge Kevin Smith fan) to name a few more.

There are some great suggestions on here and I am going to have pull out my copy of Dazed and Confused and the Princess Bride this weekend.

I hope that everyone has a great holiday weekend.

kamewh said...

My favorite movies are Gone With the Wind and Pretty Woman :)

Cara King said...

Hard to name a favorite, but if I had to, it might be Shakespeare in Love. So funny! And so fun.

Or maybe The Sound of Music. Or The Music Man.

Or Newsies. Love seeing Christian Bale sing and dance!

And Star Trek 2 and 4 were awfully good. And Serenity. And Branagh's Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing.

And I agree -- Princess Bride was great! And Office Space.

Oh, wait, you said just ONE???

Cara

Breanna said...

Congrats on getting your author copies in! That has to be exciting. =)

Hmm lets see. I love Knocked Up and Juno. Also I saw The Invisible not too long ago. It was really really good.

My all time favorites though are the 80's movies. Like The Breakfast Club and Pretty In Pink. Ah and Better Off Dead, my favorite. John Cusack stars in it.

I love anything with John Cusack in it. He's awesome. I loved him in Serendipity. Right now I have Grace is Gone on DVD from Blockbuster. It's supposed to be really sad but I really want to see it because John Cusack is in it, lol.

-Breanna

Rachael Stein said...

Juno is a really good movie, and so is Pride and Prejudice. i also really like the Nightmare Before Christmas (even tho it's animated, it's also got great songs!), Because I Said So, and all the Lord of the Rings movies.

Anonymous said...

hmm, i'm not really sure. i like a lot of the Disney movies, and I also really liked The Devil Wears Prada (tho it's kinda dif from the book) and the Princess Diaries, both 1 and 2 (even tho the second is WAY off from the books!)

Samantha
ssclarinet@hotmail.com

MarjoleinBookBlog said...

I have a little list:

1. Princess Diaries
2. Devil wears Prada
3. 13 going on 30
4. Enchanted
5. The Phantom of the opera (the movie based on the musical of course)

stephhale said...

Thanks for the Shia shout-out, Dona! I haven't seen Indy yet but still want to. I really want to see Hancock.
As for my favorite movie, I have about a hundred, but I'll name one that I saw recently and fell in love with again, The Family Stone. I just love that movie!

Dona Sarkar-Mishra said...

Wow! What great picks everyone! I love tons of movies you guys have called out like Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Devil Wears Prada, 13 Going on 30, and Pride and Prejudice!

Carolina said...

I suggest
1.Forbidden Kingdom
2. The whole Alias series. They're amazing
3. Batman Begins
4.She's the man
5. Pride & Prejudice
6. John Q
7. I am Sam
8. Bicentennial Man
9. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
10. 24 all seasons

Hope you like these movies.