Movie Monday: Featuring Gerald Butler, a Funeral Gone Awry, and Sliding Across Hardwood Floors

Hello, my fellow bloggers! It is a new year which means resolutions and fresh starts. With that said, I'm going to try something new with my blog. I've seen on other popular blog sites that the writers write specific types of blogs on certain days, like photo Fridays. So I'm going to use my love for movies, music, pop culture, and the news to create my own weekly blogs. Let's start with what I will talk about each Monday... movies!



Well, in the past week, I posted on my Facebook and Twitter that I was going to start catching up on movies that I have never seen before. In my impressive movie collection, I have many that I purchased with the impression that I would enjoy them (when I got around to actually watching them). I keep them separated from the rest of my movies as a reminder that I have to make them a priority. Well, between Christmas, work, New Years, and spending a lot of time hanging out with my kiddo (who has been on school break), I was able to watch three of my movies. Let's review those movies, shall we???

Law Abiding Citizen




Clyde, a loving father and husband, has his home invaded and witnesses his wife and daughter get brutally murdered. Months later, he's in court and listens to the judge give one of the men 3 years in prison and the other get awarded the death penalty. Outraged by the justice system, he resurfaces 10 years later after murdering one of the criminals and has strategically planned revenge on all those involved in the case, with his lawyer, Nick, in the middle of it.

Aside from the fact that Gerald Butler is major eye candy to me, I am amazed with his plethora of acting credits. I don't see any kind of role that he cannot do. As Clyde, I saw a deeper, dark side to him that made his role unforgettable. About halfway into the movie, Nick and his partner are requesting to the judge to give Clyde as minimal of interaction with others as possible. The judges cell phone rings and as she answers it, it explodes and kills her. I had a major WTF moment that I had to re watch the scene. The execution of Clyde's plans were so extremely brutal that it kept my attention to the screen wondering what was going to happen next. This was a very enjoyable thriller and one of the best movies released in 2009. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Death at a Funeral




I wanted to see this in theaters, but it never happened. Oh well, I saved a few bucks buying it on DVD than if I purchased a movie ticket (gotta love after holiday sales!). A family is grieving over the death of their patriarch, and while trying to reflect on his life, chaos ensues in many interesting ways! There's secret love affairs, drugs mistaken for prescription medication, career envy, and one of the most active caskets I've ever seen!

Based on the cast alone, I expected this to be absolutely entertaining and hilarious! Between Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Zoe Saldana, James Marsden, Danny Glover, Luke Wilson, and Tracy Morgan (plus several others), the comedic timing was very well executed! As much as I enjoyed several laughs out of this movie, I still want to the the 2007 British film to compare (yes, it is a remake). I recommend this movie to anyone who loves comedies, or just want to watch something to make you giggle many times. Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Risky Business


Yes, I had never seen this movie before now. I think the person most shocked about this was my Mom. Well, no more shocked reactions since I finally watched it! Within the first 10 minutes of watching this, I realized two things. One, Joel's parents are anally overprotective over their materialistic things (the stereo settings, the crystal on the mantle, the Porsche). Two, I recalled seeing some of the scenes spoofed in Not Another Teen Movie.

After the infamous living room dancing, I realized exactly how risque this movie was for the early 80's. High school students were having sex with prostitutes (wow, Joel and Lana make stairway sex look painless). A jealous pimp was causing havoc on Joel, especially with loading all the main floor furniture into a truck just hours before the parents came home. If I had watched this as a teen, I probably would have been blown away, but since I've seen movies like The Girl Next Door (a lot like Risky Business but involving the porn industry instead of prostitution), it wasn't as mind blowing as it could have been. I am glad I finally watched this though... totally worth the $3.49 I spent on it at Best Buy. :-) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


And this concludes the first of many Movie Monday blogs! In the future, I plan on adding movies I see in theaters. I already plan to see a lot this year, including: The Hangover Part II (May 26), Cars 2 (June), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II (July 15), Black Swan (in theaters), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (May 20), Blue Valentine (expanding to more screens this month), Scream 4 (April 15), and.... maybe.... Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I (November 18). Damn! There's a lot of sequels coming out this year... just like how it has been the past several years (while my mind reminds myself of the Scream 2 film class discussion of how sequels suck... which there is a good amount of truth to that). Anyway, I might need a movie watching buddy, or several, this year!!