Meh. Just didn’t seem that great this time around for some reason. The beginning especially ddddrrrrraaagggggeeeeeddddd. It could have used more Quidditch matches. Maybe that’s it.
It also reminded me of our leaky kitchen and bathroom faucets that the maintenance man was supposed to have fixed months ago and are now leaking — again. Maybe it’s the Basil-isk’s fault. 
Ocean’s Thirteenby Steven Soderbergh
Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin, who give excellent performances, are nice welcomes to the latest of Ocean’s schemes. The first one was awesome (I’d give it 5 stars), but the second one tanked (see Ocean’s Waning). Fortunately, unlike the Pirates of the Carribbean trilogy, you don’t have to see Twelve before watching Thirteen. And yes, I’m still planning to write reviews on Pirates 2 and 3. Some day. I’m writing this one now because April requested it!
First of all, don’t bother trying to count who the thirteen people involved in the scheme are. I think it’s just part of the title. Brothers Virgil (Steve Caan) and Turk (Casey Affleck) seem to have grown smarter. Yen (Shaobo Qin) has grown cockier — I guess money will do that to you. Linus (Matt Damon) is blooming as a con man, though still not good enough for dad. He has an awesome scene with Abigail Sponder (Ellen Barkin) that’s totally hilarious. Saul (Carl Reiner) is as great as ever playing different characters, his specialty. Reuben (Elliott Gould) looks like he lost weight, so it doesn’t make sense that he ends up in the hospital in critical condition because of Willy Bank (Al Pacino). Livingston (Eddie Jemison), Frank (Bernie Mac), and Basher (Don Cheadle) don’t get enough screen time, in my opinion. Terry (Andy Garcia) is his usual condescending, conniving self. And there isn’t enough banter between Danny (George Clooney) and Rusty (Brad Pitt), which I think is a huge part of Eleven’s success.
Another thing that bothered me was that, for a two-hour long movie, the plan wasn’t as intricate or, perhaps, we don’t see as much details as we do in Eleven or Twelve. However, there are still plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, though much more dry and subtle, which will definitely appeal to the intelligent viewer.
We’ve owned this DVD for a few years now, which we received as a present, and watched it for the first time last night. I don’t know why we waited so long. It was such a fun movie, that included action, adventure, comedy, romance — so many different genres in one movie.
And who would’ve figured that baby-faced Johnny Depp from 21 Jump Street (yes, I used to love that show when it first came out) would not only “grow up” to be an excellent actor, but an excellent character actor as well. I figured this out years ago, so just sayin’.
We haven’t watched movies much lately, but we’re planning to get the sequel today and watch it this evening, then see Pirates 3 at the movies. I still LOVE Chow Yun-Fat, even though he sold out to Hollywood. *sigh*
Haven’t seen this in what seems like a million years. There was a lot in the movie I couldn’t remember, but I don’t think it was just because of the ECT. It’s one of my favorite movies, so I’m not even going to review it.
The important thing is that I believe tonight (Saturday night) was the first time we’ve had guests at this apartment. My teammate Kristina, who Brian and I have now nicknamed “Hermione,” came over and we ordered in and watched HP. She drove in from the suburbs in snowy weather, which was really cool. Luckily, it stopped by the time she left, but if it hadn’t, of course she was welcome to spend the night.
We all realized — or rather, remembered — how Quidditch is similar to hockey, with the exception of the Seeker position. Kristina’s a Chaser and I, of course, am the Keeper. 
Brian and I do need to socialize more, and it was nice to have someone over instead of always going to other people’s houses. The three of us agreed to watch the rest of the HP DVDs in the future, and maybe we ought to invite the Beaters and other Chasers on our team, too. :d
Wow. The movie version of The Prestige totally blew me away. I’m surprised to say this, but although I liked the book (see book review here), I LOVED the movie, which I think is way better. Although there are many similarities between the two, I’d say the movie is loosely based on the novel. Yes, there were things that were left out and really not much added in at the screenwriters’ (Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan) discretion, but they did an excellent job adapting this for the big screen.
Not surprisingly, Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, and Michael Caine give excellent performances, as does David Bowie in his role as Nikolas Tesla, the scientist. However, anyone could have played Scarlett Johansson’s character; Nolan didn’t utilize her full potential as an actress, though the character was a minor one, in my opinion. Rebecca Hall does a much better job portraying Borden’s wife, Sarah. Personally, I think Bale outshines Jackman, but this could be because his character, Alfred Borden, is a bit more complex. However, Jackman really plays up his character’s (Robert–changed from Rupert–Angier’s) obsession with not only learning Borden’s secret to his greatest illusion, but in his quest to outdo him.
I have to admit that if I saw the movie before reading the book, I’d be very disappointed with the novel. That isn’t to say the book isn’t good–it is–but I thought the movie was just so much better and really well done.
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