The Happening

There is not a person on the planet who has said a good thing about the latest thriller from M. Night Shyamalan, but I just had to see for myself. And you know what? All the people on the planet were right: it was a horrible movie. Chad has this to say during the DVD previews, “We are probably going to love it, just because we have heard such bad things about it.” No, not the case at all.

What is so terrible about this movie? The script, oh god the script, the acting, the camera shots, the story. You name it. The script is the foundation of every movie and this one was horrible, “We're packing hot dogs for the road. You know hot dogs get a bad rap? They got a cool shape, they got protein. You like hot dogs right? By the way, I think I know what's causing this.” Yes, someone actually says that?!?!?!

By now everyone knows the basic premise of the movie: the plants get mad that people have been polluting the earth for decades so they start releasing these toxins that cause people to kill themselves. Okay, it’s a “green movie” I get that, but so was The Day After Tomorrow and that movie managed to not be hokey and had some sort of believability. It’s not even cool to watch—it gets windy, people jump off buildings…ohhh scary, it’s windy. Come on.

I just couldn’t believe what poor performances came out of Mark Wahlberg and the rest of the cast which included: Zooey Deschanel and John Leguizama. They were all awful, probably because of the awful script. It made me sad because I’ve seen The Departed and The Perfect Storm and Boogie Nights and The Basketball Diaries, so I know Mark Wahlberg has talent, I know it, but this movie did nothing to show it, absolutely nothing. Plus, I’ve seen The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs and The Village and I know M. Night Shyamalan also has immense talent, he just didn’t showcase any of it in this film.

Rent it—just so you can see for yourself how truly bad it is, you won’t understand the horribleness until you watch for yourself.

(Abby—this is for you…I still don’t think it was as bad a Sin City…remember that disaster…LOL).

Missy Cinema Score: D-

Cardinals v. Cowboys

What victory looks like...


Chad very upset


Come on Chad, at least try to look like you are having a good time...

Okay, so the Cardinals v. Cowboys game on 10/12 wasn't a Hollywood movie, but it could have been. You can't write stuff this exciting, and if your Chad, heartbreaking. Chad had been pumped about this game for months and spent a small fortune on tickets for some of the best seats in the stadium (University of Phoenix Stadium to be exact--holla). He had longtime friends coming in from Las Cruces to join in the festivities. Unfortunatley, for the boys from Clovis things did not turn out as they had hoped.

The opening kick-off the Cardinal ran it back for a touchdown--a touchdown! I mean this is the Cardinals who haven't made the play-offs in twenty years and the Cowboys, America's team, who everyone said was going to win the Super Bowl. I guess that's why they have the sayings, "any given Sunday" and "that's why they play the game." That return kick for a TD pretty much set the tone of the game, it was a battle and a great one at that. With 3 seconds life the Cowboys made a 54 yard field goal to tie the game and send it into overtime. Then in overtime they get the ball first (of course they are gonna pull it off), but are unable to score. The kicker goes to punt the ball to the Cardinals...punt blocked, Cardinals get the ball...touchdown...madness. Needless to say the walk back to the car was not a fun one.

I love seeing professional sports live. There is so much energy and excitment, it's addicting. Chad bleeds blue and silver and though his beloved Cowboys lost he wouldn't given up the experience for anything. I loved cheering both teams on and getting caught up in the moment, Chad almost threw up a couple times and wanted to kill Tony Romo. It was very entertaining to watch.

Here's to hoping the Cardinals continue to defy expectations and make it to the play-offs this year!

My Best Friend's Girl

So, Saturday I am at the house alone because Chad had to work all day. I clean the house and it’s only noon. So I decide I’ll go check out a flick. Much to my surprise and excitement My Best Friend’s Girl is still playing that he theatre by our house (I guess that’s what happens when the Cineplex has 24 screens). I’ve wanted to see this movie since it first opened, since I first heard about it, but time hadn’t made that a possibility until Saturday.

I knew I would like the movie. Heck, it has Dane Cook and I super love him. I don’t know why everyone else on the planet thinks he’s a d-bag, but I absolutely adore him. He’s super, super funny, very good looking and really talented. It turns out this movie is good—not Oscar good—but definitely a Saturday movie good. I ended up really, really liking it. I was actually surprised by how much I liked it. It was far better than Employee of the Month or Good Luck Chuck. Dane Cook aside, I thought it stood on its own merit.

Dane Cook plays Tank, a professional a$$hole. In addition to his job as a call-center customer service agent, Tank also gets paid to take girls out on such horrible dates they run back to their ex’s. All is well until his roommate/best friend/cousin Dustin, played by Jason Biggs, pays tank to take out his ex-girl Alexis, played by Kate Hudson. Tank gets more than he bargained for with Alexis, who sees through his act and turns his world upside down.

I thought the chemistry between Cook and Hudson was genuine and sincere. The development of their relationship went beyond what you typically find in rated R comedies. Yes, the movie was raunchy, but it still had heart, and I liked that. Alec Baldwin, who plays Tank’s dad Professor Turner, gave a memorable and probably the raunchiest performance in the movie.

Overall, I thought this was a great movie. I quoted it the rest of the night to Chad once he got home from work. It is definitely Dane Cook’s best movie (well, second if you count Dan in Real Life, he was a support character in that movie) and I am sure I will be buying this movie once it comes out on DVD.

Missy Cinema Score: B+

Remember the Titans

I was flipping through the cable channels the other night and I noticed Remember the Titan was coming on HBO. I just had to watch, in fact; whenever this moving is playing I just have to watch. It doesn’t matter the time of day, the channel, commercials, no commercials or if the movie is half way or three-quarters over, I simply tune in, get mesmerized by its greatness and force a tear back at the end. I think Remember the Titans is the greatest sports movie of all time and Denzel Washington’s best movie. This is on my all-time favorite list. It’s as close to perfection as a movie gets: the acting, the story, the script, everything…I love it.

I still remember the very first time I saw Remember the Titans. It was my very first night at Eastern New Mexico University. I was in the Campus Union Building with my roommate and surrounded by a couple dozen frat boys. I couldn’t believe how emotionally overwhelmed I was by the movie, it was so hard not to cry right there in the Campus Union Building.

For those of you that don’t know, Remember the Titans is the story of a high school football team during the integration process in the south. The players must learn to overcome their race differences and play as a team. It’s truly emotional seeing the boys transform into men and unifying as a solid, un-stoppable team.

Missy Cinema Score: A+