Mamma Mia!

Four stars!

I loved ABBA as a kid. I had to bite my tongue to keep from singing along.

The story is a bit lightweight- girl is getting married, invites the three men who could be her father without telling her mom they're coming, chaos ensues...but it was a fun, joyful two hours in the theater. Most of the cast could sing really well.

Great cast! Meryl Streep was at her best, and it was a hoot to hear her singing ABBA songs. Pierce Brosnan was the only cast member who really couldn't sing well, but he made up for it with charm. Colin Firth seemed a bit Darcy-like at first (hey, he can never fully escape that role), but the character loosened up through the movie. And Christine Baranski and Julie Walters stole the show as Streep's pals. The younger leads were good, too. And the chorus (a Greek chorus, hee!) was perfect!

The scenery was beautiful. I so want to go to Greece now!

Most of the best ABBA songs were here (if not actually sung, they were instrumental versions). They weren't just thrown in. They actually fit in with the story- like Money, Money, Money and The Winner Takes It All. When Streep sings Slipping Through My Fingers, I almost started crying! Baranski nearly brought down the house with Does Your Mother Know. And of course, I wanted to sing along with Mamma Mia! and Dancing Queen.

DVD watching!

I have a lot of time on my hands while I'm house sitting this week. I brought along a bunch of DVDs to watch. Tonight I watched Atonement. Tomorrow night I'll watch Sweeney Todd. I plan to watch Batman Begins...so I'll be prepared to see The Dark Knight! I also plan to watch Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World for the millionth time.

Tomorrow I'm going to see Mamma Mia! in the theater. Dark Knight will have to wait- it will be too crowded!

Another summer movie down!

My nephew wanted to see Hancock today, so I went with him. It was pretty good- a bit slow in parts, but Will Smith was great as usual. It wasn't very funny. The previews made it look like a comedy. There were a few funny bits, but it takes a bit of a serious turn. It was a different kind of superhero movie!

The previews didn't interest me much. I've already seen The Dark Knight preview about six times! I think the summer movie rush is about over. I hope the preview for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will attached to something I want to see. There's not much left!

Disney/Pixar does it again!

WALL-E was great! Easily the best Pixar movie to date. Great story, characters, visuals. Very little dialog! The movie presented a rather depressing future, with Earth becoming so polluted that humans have to go into space- where they are so pampered by machines that they get fat and lazy. Yikes. I loved WALL-E, the little garbage compactor-bot left on the ruined Earth in the 28th Century. He meets the probe EVE, who is sent to find life. He follows her back to the colony ship, and has an adventure in trying to bring the humans home.

I also loved the slight dig at big-box stores like Wal-Mart- the Buy-N-Large corporation of the film controls everything. The world leader is a CEO instead of a president or prime minister.

WALL-E's obsession with the "ancient" movie Hello, Dolly! was amusing.

There was a nice little short at the beginning. I hope it will be on the DVD.

Not sure I'll go see Hancock- the reviews have been mixed, but word of mouth is pretty good. I may wait a while for the crowds to go down.

I wasn't planning on it...

...but I saw Get Smart again today. My sister and nephew wanted to see it, and I went with them because I had nothing else to do today! It was better the second time- I was able to hear the jokes more. I missed a few because there was so much noise (especially laughter!) the first time I saw it.

Planning on seeing Hancock and WALL-E this week- but I also may end up going to see Indy 4 again!

The summer movies really haven't interested me much this year. After Mamma Mia! and The Dark Knight, there isn't anything else I want to see.

Some silly fun!

I saw You Don't Mess With the Zohan today. It was hilarious. Adam Sandler is not normally my cup of tea, but this blend of ridiculous plot and wacky characters won me over.

imdb.com summary:

"An Israeli Special Forces Soldier fakes his death so he can re-emerge in New York City as a hair stylist."

Yep, that's the plot. Absolutely insane, but fun. Nice little "Can't we all get along" message, too.

Would you believe...

..Get Smart is actually good? I laughed all the way through it. Hooray for Steve Carell! Bigger hooray for Alan Arkin as The Chief! It wasn't brilliant, but a fun romp and a fine adaptation of the television series. Three stars.

Also on the summer movie front, I loved Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, despite some re-used plot devices and the bizarre ending. I plan to see it again. I'll write a longer review then. Three and a half stars for now!

I'm probably going to see You Don't Mess With The Zohan this week, then Hancock. I'm looking most forward to Mamma Mia!, though.