I was hook from the first frame.  The music, the old school animation, the characters, the voices, and the story.  Not only did Disney produce it’s first African-American princess, but a strong not-waiting for her prince to come Princess.  Frankly, Charlotte fits the old school princess mold more than Tiana.  Tiana is a hard working waitress in 1930′s New Orleans with only one goal to get the restaurant that her father and her always dreamed of.  Her journey will take her through the bayou with 2 of the best, in my opinion, characters, Louis the gator and Ray the firefly.  She would learn that what you want and what you need are different things and you don’t always get what you want how you want.  Or something like that.

I think this marks a new era in flims in and about New Orleans.  An era of getting actual locals input making for a much better story that doesn’t force New Orleans’ style upon the viewer.  More like it should be, just another story that happens to take place in New Orleans.  Sure there will be some things that non-locals won’t get, like the Shreveport joke, but I think this movie will go in the Disney vault as a classic.  And it doesn’t give a princess for all the African-American girls who have patiently waited, but to all the little girls who dream big, live in New Orleans and who don’t start out as princesses.  There are many of them and they come in all colors.

I won’t soon forget the day SoHubby called to explain he was  stuck in traffic due to a  crashed between a streetcar and regular car.  Well, that is not particularly news, unless done on purpose, which this time it was.  We were very excited when we noticed that we could witness what the people in L.A. (not the state, the city) are probably very use to by now.  An actual movie being made.

The family and I had decided to go to the Insectarium on Sunday.  It has been a wild couple of weeks, the Saints winning the Superbowl and Mardi Gras, and we all needed a break. We parked at the Canal Place Mall garage and I noticed those tell-tale yellow signs.  I didn’t think much of it, because I had been seeing the signs for months, now, but never saw actual filming.  After we left the Insectarium, we noticed a bunch of cables, a large cluster of people and a group sitting across the street.  So we decided to see what was going on.   SoHubby being unafraid of breaking rules, he went right up behind the film crew and almost made it into the background action.  Figuring out that we could get a better view of what was going on if we crossed the street, we grabbed the kids and ran.  We stood there and couldn’t really make out what was going on.  A lady in the group leaned over and whispered that the lady in gray was Kate Hudson.  Woo! Wow!! An actual movie star.  Then someone yelled, Quiet! and Action!  We stood in silence, which was a great feat for our kids and pretty much anyone in downtown New Orleans.  It is not really known for its peace and tranquility. We watched for a while.  I tried to get pictures with my camera phone and cursed that I forgot my real camera.  Then the kids started to get restless, so we left.

I asked Amber if she was excited about what she saw and she shrugged.  I guess if it wasn’t Hannah Montana or Alex from Wizards of Waverly place it was just some women standing by a car in front of the mall.  No big whoop there.   I will admit I had an urge to drive pass the area and blow my horn, but I had my grown up pants on that day and decided not to.  Not very exciting, like we are lead to believe, mainly, because they did the same scene about a million times.  The actual acting part took about 2 minutes while the setting up seemed to last forever.

Later, I looked up the movie that was being filmed, Earthbound, because I had no idea what the story line could be.  I found this story.  I didn’t really get a sense of what the movie was about, but I did discover something interesting, Green Lantern will start filming in our fine city in March.  Now, if I can figure out where they will be filming, maybe I can impress Sam with an actual superhero.  Green Lantern is no Batman or Spiderman, but I am sure Sam maybe impress to see a friend of his 2 favorite superheros.   We shall see.

I was interested in seeing Coraline, but didn’t know if it was right for our kids.  Sure they have watched Nightmare Before Christmas every Halloween, but some things I have heard about Coraline didn’t sit right with me.  It seemed more like an adult movie disguised as a kid’s movie.  After I saw the review, I had decided that Coraline was not the movie for us, so that left Hotel for Dogs.  It was certain to be a hit, because both kids love dogs.  I just wasn’t sure I would like it.

As a, in my opinion, true kid’s movie I did enjoy myself.  Sure it was predictable and I could tell you what was going to happen within the first 10 minutes, the movie kept my interest as well as the interest of my kids.  Of course, being 3 years old, Sam wouldn’t sit down, but at least he stood with his eyes glued to the screen.  There are interesting and cool gadgets, tons of different dogs to make everyone happy, evil villains, funny situations, poop jokes (not many), some romance, a chase scene and, of course, a happy ending.  It wasn’t a bad way to kill 2 hours on a Sunday afternoon.

When the Tim Burton series came out, I loved them, too.  Although it was a little hard to take Michael Keaton as Batman.  I mean he was okay and all, but not the brooding hotness that is Christian Bale.  Tim Burton did a good job, as always, with keeping the films dark, but still in the style of the comic books.  Let me say, here, that I don’t read comic books and never will.   However, I did watch the Batman TV series and have ruled that they too were quirky and comic booky. 

This new series of Batman is much darker than the others and we get a sense of pure evil.  Batman is not the superhero, but a man trying to do good and getting caught in the murky waters of what is the outcome of his actions.  Batman is flawed and he can’t always save everyone.  Batman is, in a sense, human.  It might be why he is my favorite of the superheros.  He is not cocky, well not as much, as Ironman, he is not born of some another planet, like Superman, and his special powers come from the mortal mind of Morgan Freeman’s character.  I really need to pay more attention to the names of the characters. 

I will agree with others that the movie was too long.  It went past the mark where I thought, “Hmmm, this is a good place to end.”  And after waiting over an hour to make sure that we got seats and then dodging the running of the rabid Batman fans to get said seats, I was a little done.  However, it is was not so bad that I felt I needed to walk out in protest. 

There were many surprises.  Characters that I thought were going to live died and others remained alive.  Again, in agreement that Heath Ledger’s Joker was perfection and haunting.  Frankly, this Joker made me shiver and still does.  He is pure evil and evil for evil sake, nothing more.  While I still enjoy Nicholson’s Joker, I think Ledger’s Joker will go down as the one that scare people shitless.   

I have many questions and am anxiously waiting for the next Batman to answer them.  This movie has awakened a urge to see the older Batman movies, but feel that they will disappoint.  So I, along with everyone else, will sit and wait for the questions to be answered and wonder what more they have in store for us. 

Also, I don’t feel that this is a Batman for the under 13 group.  I question the PG13 rating, although I understand why it was set.  There are no large amounts of blood,  foul language and definitely no sex or nudity, but the evil (which is the only way I can think to describe it) maybe a little hard for kids.  Mainly, I think because they won’t understand it.  I guess it is a judge for yourself, but I know that my kids won’t see Dark Knight.  They have seen Batman Begins, which I questioned because of the Scarecrow, but there is no doubt that this Joker will not be seen by my kids for a long time.  I think if they are interested in Batman,  we will stick to the Burton films, where Joker is simply some crazy cartoonish figure. 

One last note:  I can’t believe that out of all the movies we have watched this summer, I have enjoyed the comic book ones the best.  They have pleasantly surprised, even Hellboy, me and made me want more.  My husband has been pleasantly surprised, as well, because it has saved him from sitting through many a chick flick.  I am further saving his brain cells by not asking to see Mamma Mia.  Oh how I love a good ABBA song, but really the story seems a little been there, done that.

I went into this movie with no expectations, but only one direction: STAY UNTIL THE END OF THE CREDITS and a wonderful wealth of information will be opened up to you.  Okay, okay, can I have my popcorn, please.  I had mentioned to a couple of people that I thought it was strange that Robert Downey, Jr. was an odd choice for a superhero, but I was assured that he was perfect for this part.  I will agree, he was so very perfect for this role.

I love, love, love this movie.  I am sure we will have it in our DVD collection as soon as it comes out along with the Christian Bale Batman and Spiderman.  I came to this movie with very limited knowledge and walked away wanting more.  I have even foamed at the mouth to talk to someone about it and hit my husband’s arm repeatly when we got to the end of the credits.  All I can tell you is that my favorite actor of all times shows up.

I was shocked to learn that Jon Favreau directed the movie.  Who knew?  And I was very pleased that it all looked real.  Anything computerized or done after production was so seamless that you never had a second thought that there was really an Ironman out there saving the civilians of the Middle East.  Robert Downey, Jr. seemed very comfortable in this role and played it so well.  I had a few problems with Gweyth Paltrow, but nothing major.  I understood that she was suppose to be stiff, but there was scenes where she could have let loose on the emotions a little bit more.  However, that is real nit-picky stuff.

Everything was kept true to my vision of what a comic book story should be.  I am sure there will be the purest out there that had problems with this or that, but overall this is a great movie.  I am surprised that it wasn’t released in the summer, but I guess Ironman is the new kid on the block.  Honestly, I could go see this movie again.  It was that good and that is coming from a bored housewife that likes trashy reality TV and fart jokes.

So there was a drug bust gone bad and this regular Joe finds a bag of money.  At the same time there is this mean looking large man that goes around shooting people in the head with compressed air for no real reason at all.  Sure the cop had to die for him to escape but did the guy he pulled over to steal his car?  *shrugs*  And everyone mumbles which doesn’t help in the whole understanding thing.

The rest of the movie we are taken on a ride where the regular Joe sets out to get away from the large man, but retain the money and get back to his wife.  Then there are characters introduce, but not formally, so if someone walks in and asked who is that, you sit there with a dumb look on your face.  Oh, and there is Tommy Lee Jones.  He is the crotchety old sheriff that just doesn’t understand the killing these young people do.  Yeah, well join the club Mr. Jones.  Then the movie ends and you shoot up from your comfy position on the sofa and scream, “What the hell?”.  I swear I have never been so angry in all my life.

I am sure this movie has some deep meaning and makes all kinds of sense, but if the general public, meaning me, can’t get it what is the point.  This will be a movie that will haunt me to my death bed where I exclaim what was that movie about and then kill over.

What can I say?  I liked it; the characters were all likable and funny, the story was a bit on the same old, same old side, but put together enough to get through it and as a whole was enjoyable.  The downside can all be described as my expectations were not met.  I wanted to see a movie with immature humor about the weird, magical process that is pregnancy.  The movie focused more on the relationship between the 2 women, which is good, I guess, but haven’t we seen this before?  I just wanted more. 

I would recommend the film, especially if you like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, which I do.  And I will probably watch it over and over when it shows up on the movie channels and then on basic cable.  It just wasn’t what my mind had build it up to be and I guess like a baby, I will just have to live with it.

I have, now, caught up with Weeds, Dexter and most recently the Tudors.  The Tudors have impressed me the most.  The other shows are quite interesting and push the envelope to certain extents, but the Tudors have taken history and served it up to the masses the only way television can.  This show has everything a good soap opera should, backstabbing, political intrigue, passion, mistresses, etc, but the one jewel of the show is that it is based in historical fact.  Like many have said, “No one can write anything better than reality”. 

I have only done minor research, as far as Henry VIII’s wives and children, and have some memory leftover from my History major, but so far the fact is there.  Now, one could argue that the show has rushed things, like Henry’ bastard son’s death, but one can suggest that liberty can be given for the better good.  If there wasn’t so much nudity and sex, I would suggest this series to be shown to high school students.  I am sure they would be able to understand History much better.  Alas, I think that would not be a suggestion most school districts would take up. 

I would strongly suggest that you check out these fine Showtime shows and if you are a history buff then definitely check out the Tudors.  I wonder how far this series will go.  The Tudors ruled England for over 187 years and left many great kings and queens in their path.  This is surely TV gold for many years.

I think this movie was a good thriller and brought up an interesting question at the end.  Patrick (Casey Affleck) and his girlfriend (sorry, I can’t remember her name, but the actress was very good) are private detectives that are brought in, against the mother and police’s wishes, on a case of a missing girl.  There are lots of twist and turns and I don’t want to give too much away, because you should see the movie.  At the end Patrick is faced with the choice of doing the right thing or the legal thing.  And don’t be mistaken they are not one in the same.  When I saw the movie I thought he did the right and legal thing, but after much thought I agree with his girlfriend, and the officiers involved, that he did not do the RIGHT THING.  I strongly suggest you see this movie and make the decision for yourself. 

Ben Affleck directed this movie and did a great job.  I have to commend him on handling the subject of child molestation and death in a not in your face kind of way.  He was able to let you know what happens without having it shown to you.  I think when directors and actors stick to an area they know the story they tell is that much more powerful.  So stay in one night and see this movie, you won’t regret it. 

Kate and Matt are a couple ready to split, because of Matt’s obsession with treasure hunting.  If you want to know all the details on the treasure that brings them back together in the end you will have to see the movie, because it was nothing new and kinda boring.  Both actors were okay, with the roles given them, to watch and it wasn’t a total snooze fest.  Again, if you have nothing better to do and just have to see a movie, this one will do, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to catch a glimpse.