Toy Story 3

2010               G             102 minutes

In this installment of the Pixar animated franchise, toy cowboy Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), his astronaut pal, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and their friends cope with their owner's departure for college -- and their new home in a day-care center. Joan Cusack, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton and Ned Beatty also lend their voices to this delightful sequel that earned a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.

Info From Netflix!

Last night my husband and I weren't at the top of our game what with him being sick with a cold, me being sick with a stomach ache, and both of us being crazy tired.  We didn't want to play anymore Minecraft so we hunkered down and fired up Netflix.   We just wanted to watch something easy so we started up Toy Story 3.  We both have fond memories of the first movie and he also enjoyed the second one.  I didn't really expect much from the third and I have to admit I thought it was just a cash grab.  I was wrong.  This was a super cute movie that Pixar put time and effort into.

All of your favorite characters are back and some new fun ones join the crew.  The new toys really stole the show for me.  I loved the jelly octopus, the rock guy, and Ken were amazing.  Being a girly girl along with a tomboy I really loved Barbie and Ken.  The story of Ken and Barbie really kept my attention and I found myself wanting to see more of them.  Ken is a style obsessed guy in this movie and I imagine he would actually be like that in real life.  There were a couple outfits that I had for my Ken doll and I spotted them in this movie.

The humor is well done, it kept my attention the whole time, it didn't feel stale, and I even felt a little weepy at the end.  Also, towards the end Buzz gets put on Spanish mode and it is fantastic.   Netflix gave this movie a 4.5 stars for me and I agree whole heartedly.  4.5 Stars!

Hot Tub Time Machine

2010                 R               100 minutes

 

Fueled by energy drinks, vodka and nostalgia for their younger, wilder days, a group of aging best friends travels back in time to 1987, where they get the chance to relive the best year of their lives. And their time machine? Well, it's a hot tub. John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Crispin Glover and Sebastian Stan co-star in this out-of-the-box comedy that takes time travel to a whole new level.

Info from Netflix.

This was the second time that I watched Hot Tub Time Machine and I have to say it was just as good as the first.   This movie is all about Clark Duke for me.  I first saw him in Greek a few years ago when he played a Jesus loving crazy roommate.  He is such a talented actor and he really fits his roles.  Playing the opposite end of the spectrum, In Sex Drive, he plays a loose moraled  play boy who just wants to get laid.  In this movie he plays a more serious character who is not having a good time and just wants to go home.  I wish he was in it more but, oh well.

I love how ridiculous this movie is.  People are calling their 9 year old future wives and cussing them out on the phone, men getting stabbed in the eye area with tiny cocktail forks, magical Chevy Chase repairmen, and lots and lots of crazy 80's style.  I think one of my favorite scenes is when Rob Corddrys character has to give a blow job to Craig Robinsons character. I am not going to spoil it but I am just going to say that someone has lots of white creamy stuff on their face when it is over.

Netflix thought this was a 4.1 stars for me and I must agree.

Pulling

2006              TV-MA              6 episodes

Instead of marrying her boring fiancé, Karl (Cavan Clerkin), Donna (Sharon Horgan) calls off the wedding, moves into a South London flat with her friends, Karen (Tanya Franks) and Louise (Rebekah Staton), and starts taking full advantage of being single again. The first season of this British comedy series finds Donna celebrating her thirtieth birthday, sleeping with Louise's boss and meeting a great new guy. 

More info on Netflix!

I was bored one night and I needed something to watch and Netflix told me that I would like this.  I gave it a try because I have liked other British shows like The IT Crowd, Torchwood, Dr. Who, Sherlock Holmes, Merlin, and Hotel Babylon.  All of which I highly recommend. 

Pulling is about 3 friends in their upper 20's and young 30's trying to find good boyfriends.  The 3 characters are pretty believable.  The main girl, Donna, wants to have fun as a single girl but does not do well.  Karen (the one who is smoking in the above picture)  is a drunk who makes bad decision after even worse decision.  Lastly, Louise is the nice one who is a little creepy because of her desperateness.  

I don't especially love this show but for some strange reason I am compelled to keep watching it.  I am in the middle of the second season and I just keep watching.  The humor is just so-so, the plot isn't that amazing, and I don't really relate but I don't care.  I click Next Episode.  

Don't get me wrong.  I do enjoy it.  I do giggle at the humor every once in a while and I do stay interested the whole time.  Each 30 minute episode takes the 3 ladies through the same story of finding a guy who might be okay but they turn out to be not a keeper for one reason or another.  Sometimes, they even get dumped by the fella.

Netflix gave this 4.1 stars for me and I think I have to give it 3 stars, and that might be pushing it.

Torchwood

2006-2009             TV-PG            Seasons 1-3

A spinoff from "Doctor Who," this wild sci-fi series recounts the exploits of the Torchwood Institute, which was initially begun by Queen Victoria as a way to investigate alien life forms and trap the Doctor if he ever returned to Earth. Now led by the mysterious Capt. Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), Torchwood leads the fight against hostile aliens with its crew of ex-policewoman Gwen, brash doctor Owen, computer expert Toshiko and aide Ianto.

More info at Netflix.

I remember seeing posters for Torchwood on the side of bus stops when I was living in Philly and thinking it looked cool and that I should check it out.  I really didn't know anything about it, or Dr. Who, but I still gave it a try.  I am super happy that I did.  As soon as I started watching I was hooked.  I had never watched Dr. Who and didn't really know it was a spin off until the end of the 1st season.  If you have watched Dr. Who it adds a bit of background info but it is not a necessity.  

Torchwood follows Gwen ( the main female role) and Captain Jack Harkness (the main male role) and thier alien catching shenanigans.  The characters are all individual and likable.  Gwen is forever optimistic and see the good in people, Jack has the highest charisma.  So high that he would have a +8 Charisma modifier in Dungeons and Dragons.  Toshiko, the tech expert, is quiet and has a hidden past that is very interesting.  Owen, the medic, is a smart ass cute guy who looks like a frog to me.  The last member of the team is Ianto Jones who is a real cutie who is the catch all guy who gets the coffee, takes phone calls, and other miscellaneous jobs.

If I lived in the Dr. Who universe I would run away with the Doctor anytime to see the space, time, and the universe.  I am not so sure I would want to join Torchwood.  They have fun times but it is a very dangerous job.  A little too dangerous for my taste.

I highly recommend this show for anyone.  Boy, girls, straight, gay, young, old, it is all good.

5 Stars.

Practical Magic

 1998                     PG-13                  104 minutes

In director Griffin Dunne's romantic comedy, sisters Sally and Gillian Owens (Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman) are modern-day witches whose love lives are complicated by an unusual curse: Men who fall in love with them meet untimely ends. But against the advice of their eccentric aunts, Frances (Stockard Channing) and Jet (Dianne Wiest) -- and even in the face of a murder investigation -- the sisters continue to try their hands at romance.

More info on Netflix here.

So lat night I was looking for something to watch and I stumbled onto this movie.  I just had to watch it, again.  I used to have this on DVD and watched it many many times.  I thought I would see how it fares after a few years since my last watch.  I remember it being a bit of a girly movie (which I enjoy every once in a while) that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  Well, it made me feel the same exact way as it used to.  

It had a lot of elements that I enjoy in my movies, books, tv shows, and other media.  It has obviously magical elements, humor, romance, and warm fuzzy feelings.

I don't know if I can recommend this movie to a lot of guys out there.  My husband likes Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman.  Well, what I should say is that thinks they are cute.  I didn't make him watch it and he thanked me.  But ,if you are a girl, watch it.

Monsters

2010        R        93 minutes

Six years after aliens invaded Earth, a security force maintains tenuous control in the Infected Zone straddling the U.S.-Mexican border. Andrew (Scoot McNairy), a photographer, is documenting this war-torn area when he's interrupted by an unexpected rescue mission. Samantha (Whitney Able), daughter of a media mogul who just happens to be his boss, needs an escort home, and Andrew reluctantly takes on the job.

Cast:

Whitney Able as Sam Wynden

Scoot McNairy as Andrew Kaulder

For more info go here.

I remember hearing about this movie a couple of weeks ago and thinking it sounded interesting.  I then forgot about it quickly.  If I don't write something down then I tend to forget it quite fast.  So, when I saw this as a recommened movie to me I started it immediately.  Thank you Netflix.  

  Monsters is a bit like Cloverfield.  Not is the wrecking up shit way but more in the you don't see the monsters that often but I quite enjoy it.  The movie takes place in Mexico 6 years after alien's have landed on earth.  Now we have then quarantined in and kill them when they advance on people.  While Sam and Kaulder make their way through the "Infected Zone" they come across people and creatures who help and hinder their journey.  Since you don't see the creatures very often when you do and right before you do there are very tense moments that had me excited and tense.  I don't get scaredby movies often and this one didn';t sdcare me but it did give me a few moments of tension and suspense.

Netflix gave this movie 4.1 stars and I give it 4.5.  Very good movie!

Daybreakers

Earth's population is up against a vicious plague that's transforming everyone into vampires and draining the world of an increasingly precious resource: blood. Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) and "Elvis" Cormac (Willem Dafoe) must decide what happens next. As the human race count nears zero, will vampires feast on the few men and women who remain, or could science hold the key to a less destructive solution? 

Ethan Hawke as Edward Dalton

Willem Dafoe as Elvis

Sam Neill as Charles Bromley

Claudia Karvan as Audrey Bennett

More info on imdb here.

I remember seeing this trailer at the movie theater  and thinking that I loved the original idea of a world run by vampires.  I appreciated that they thought of something other than vampires hide their existence from humans, and super strong fighters, and look really sexy all of the time.  I enjoy that formula but a change of pace is nice as well. 
So, when I saw this movie on Netflix last night I was surprised that it was already "Watch Instantly".  I happily loaded it up and watched it while I was working on a crafty project.  The look of the movie had a kind of Equilibrium feel to it with a steely color palette and lots of very well dressed people in black.  The movie sets up the plot of  "We are running out of blood and we need a blood substitute." quite nicely.  Perhaps my favorite scene of the whole movie is when Ethan Hawke's character is testing out a new drug on a vampire test subject.  They inject him with the blood, his temperature rises, he pukes, and he bloats up with huge puss bubble things.  The scientists inject him with something to make it stop and it works.  He shrinks back to normal, says he feels fine, and then proceeds to explode like a water balloon. 
The gore is fun in a B movie kind of way.  Lots of blood and guts make it fun to watch.  Even though Netflix gave this movie 4.3 stars I didn't really love this movie.  There was something about the story that just wasn't compelling.  There were several times in the movie when I would just think to myself, "I wish I liked this more".  All the elements were there.  Vampires, fight scenes, blood and guts, and a neato plot but it just didn't quite get there.  Even though it wasn't an amazing movie like I thought it was going to be I still did enjoy it and I rated it 3 stars.  Not bad at all.

Nicholas Nickleby

A young compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-heartedly grasping uncle. 

Charlie Hunnam as Nicholas Nickleby

Christopher Plummer as Ralph Nickleby

Jamie Bell as Smike

Jim Broadbent as Mr. Squeers

Kevin McKidd as John Browdie

Info from imdb, check it out here 

I take a lot of chances on Netflix.  Why not?  It's the 90's.  Netflix often suggests movies and shows to me with an almost 5 star rating and I see that as a challenge from Netflix.  As if it is saying, "Here.  Try this.  I KNOW you will love it."  I have to say that most if not all of the time, it is right.  I watch and rate so many things that it knows me well.

I took a chance with the above movie, Nicholas Nickleby.  Netflix gave it a 4.3 stars for me.  I had a little time to kill while I did some jewelry making so I started it up.  Here is Netflix's plot.

Charles Dickens's beloved story The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is the inspiration for this drama set in 1800s England. Life hands Nicholas Nickleby (Charlie Hunnam) a difficult hand when his father dies and Nicholas, his sister and his mother, now penniless, are forced to seek help from his twisted Uncle Ralph (Christopher Plummer), who only wants to tear the family apart. Nathan Lane and Jim Broadbent also star.

It sounded like it would be a sad and dark movie but it was not that simple.  The start is sad with the death of a parent and hard times to follow.  Nicholas and his family travel to London to ask their wealthy uncle for assistance.   He does so unhappily and sends Nicholas away to a school for young boys to be a teacher.  The school is run by a wretched couple. the Squeers, who treat the boys horribly.  Nicholas meets a young man by the name of Smike who he quickly befriends and then saves from a beating.  The two young men leave the school and start on their adventures together.  I will not go into much more detail but I will say that they meet and make friends, save people, invite people to be family, and more.

  All throughout the movie Nicholas stands up for what is right, remains optimistic through out tough times, and is quite like-able.  I also found the character of Smike to be a great one.  He is kind, funny, and remains a loyal friend.  

I would highly recommend this movie to most people.  Netflix thought that I would like this movie 4.3 stars worth and it was right.

Queen of the Damned

Plot:

After many years of sleeping in his coffin, the vampire Lestat awakens only to find that the world has changed and he wants to be a part of it. He gathers a following and becomes a rock star only to find that his music awakens the ancient Queen Akasha and she wants him to become her king... Written by Andrew Main  

Stuart Townsend as Lestat

Marguerite Mureau as Jesse Reeves

Aaliyah as The Queen of the Damned

The above info is from imdb, here.

			This is about the 3rd time that I have watched this movie and I really do like it.  It was a vampire movie before vampires were super cool with the kids.  I personally believe that the above poster sheds a heavy light on Aaliyah is false advertising.  She is in about perhaps 15 to 20 minutes of the movie.  Yes, she is trying to take over the world but she only has a few scenes where she is try to do so.  I would have liked to have seen more of a focus on the character of Jesse Reeves, our young and curious Lestat loving girl.
			This movie is pretty fun all the way through.  I love the character of Lestat and the silliness of him being in a band.  He is cool, cute, and seems like a half way decent vampire.  Jesse is a girl that I can connect with because she is curious and naive about vampires and Lestat and also a bit of a snazzy dresser.  I must say, I love the long fur jacket that she wears to the vampire club.  I also love the buns in her hair (I like to do buns in my hair as well).
			This movie is not a serious watch, but if you are looking for a fun vampire movie to watch I can't recommend it enough.  It is not a very violent movie.  There are a few a few fight scenes but it is mostly flying around and what not.  Nothing like the Blade movies, which are amazing. I give this movie 4 fangs. ****