Bubba Ho-Tep

Libraried 'cuz someone (Glue?) had LJ'd about it. Bubba Ho-Tep involves an old Elvis and his Texas rest home doing battle with a cursed mummy.

Once upon a time, Elvis got tired of his life and swapped places with an impersonator. Due to circumstances, he could not regain his old life and things went downhill after he had an accident onstage involving his hip. Present day, he's bed-ridden in a Texas rest home with likely cancer on his penis and contemplating his life. Then when an accident with a stolen cursed mummy occurs in a nearby creek unleashes the soul-sucking monster on the unknowing elderly, Elvis & a fellow resident who believes himself to be JFK learn more about what they're dealing with and put a stop to it with fire.

Interesting enough, though it could've been more faster paced.

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Not too long. Recommend it for the ppl who intend to see it anyway.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

Chick flick. Maybe it was I was too distracted by the cat or didn't catch all the dialog, so it didn't make that much of an impact on me. eh.

Collateral

Not a bad movie. Didn't really know "collateral" meant "an expendable person who's in the wrong place at the wrong time".

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Now I know where "Klaatu barada nikto" came from. Humanoid alien Klaatu and his silvery bullet of a robot land in DC's Mall to bring a message of "be nice or die". Before he can convey this message though, he demands that all the leaders of all the nations be his audience 'cuz he'll only say it once. Finding that human nations are still playing childish games, he appeals to the scientific community instead. All while the armed forces manhunt for 'im.

boy feel like I've sucked in enough sci-fi/fantasy for a while. Well, the last DVD I borrowed is considered "chick flick" so there.

More DVDs

I borrowed a "Star Wars Trilogy - Bonus Material" DVD just for the heck of it. The Empire of Dreams feature was the main meat of the DVD, where Lucas, the actors, and crew told the story of how the 1st 3 Star Wars came to be. You learn that Lucas wanted independence from the main movie studios from the get go, and most of this feature focused on the struggle to produce the 1st Star Wars. After watching this thing, you kinda forgive Lucas for making the changes he wanted to the DVD release of Star Wars today, being a perfectionist and tweaking stuff.

I also borrowed "Mind Meld", but I found it kinda boring as it was mostly Shatner & Nimoy talking to each other in lawn chairs in Nimoy's backyard. It wasn't interjected as much w/ bits from the series as the Star Wars thing was. I didn't watch the whole thing as I didn't watch much of TOS anyway.

Van Helsing is sent to investigate murders of young women, all their corpses looking like shriveled corpses. He finds Dr. Jekyll has been robbing these women of their youth and using that to restore Queen Victoria to her youth. He had fallen in love with the queen a long time ago and in transforming her back to her 20s, she also believes she is as young. Van Helsing chases Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde around town through a fiery hell, subway trains, and fight in a hot air balloon to rescue the queen.

Story was eh. Didn't like the animation much. A good chunk of the DVD was also devoted to Van Helsing (The Movie) type bonus material.

Sleepy Hollow

The story is different from the story I vaguely remember: Johnny Depp plays Ichabod Crane in this Tim Burton movie. Ichabod is fairer than the one in the storybooks, a NYC constable in the late 18th century out to prove that the tools of science can dispel the supernatural headless horseman murders. He discovers that the horseman is indeed called into being by manner of witchcraft, and that the people dying are connected in some way (it involves assets). Amusing to watch, and the humor helps make it not all that scary.

Messenger

The last book in this unnamed trilogy, finished it in a few hours. In the village of cripples and benevolence, people are trading things to attain their desires and suffering as a result. Matty trots here and there delivering messages and when a group of villagers want to close off their borders to those that would seek refuge in this village, he returns to his hometown to fetch his an old friend - Kira, daughter to the blind man he lives with. At the same time the village rottens, so does the surrounding forest. It attacks Matty & Kira on their way back...

Matty uses his special power to heal everything and dies.

Leaves me curious as to how the Trademaster is able to trade intangible things. Also how the world became the way it is in these books.

The Black Cauldron & Eldest

Watched this a 2 days ago? I never watched it before so just borrowed it from the library. Unfortunately, the disc was scratched so the disc froze at certain parts. I wondered where all the other humans were. And thinking movies w/ preteens doing stupid things are something I prolly shouldn't try to watch anymore as it irritates me.

Just finished this. The story bounces with a few chapters on Eragon, then a few on his cousin Roran, and a few on Eragon's liegelord Nasuada. Eragon & his dragon Saphira spend most of his time training in elven Ellesmera while Roran leads his village people out of besieged Carvahall to join the resistance group Varden and to rescue his fiancee Katrina. They meet up at the end of the book in a major battle. I give this book a 3 outta 4.

Mirrormask

Mirrormask is a movie laden w/ the Dave McKean touch. The visuals are prolly the main draw for anyone not already a fan of Neil Gaiman. Spoilers ahead.

The main storyline isn't something unfamiliar: Teenage Helena tries to save the good/light queen and the dreamland by recovering a charm called the Mirrormask, else the dark queen will prevail in having her Shadows overrun everything. Both queens resemble Helena's suddenly-ill mother, and Helena puts guilt on herself in the beginning for wishing her mother dead when they had a fight about Helena wanting to leave the family business (circus). Helena is first pulled into this dreamland that resembles her drawings pasted all over her bedroom wall when she wakes up in the night to music outside, and when she goes out to investigate, the shadows envelope 2 performers while the 3rd, Valentine, manages to pull her through a door to safety. From there, Helena learns that she resembles the dark princess who had run away to the light Queen's palace, got hold of the Mirrormask, and switched places with the real Helena. So Valentine accompanies Helena to find the Mirrormask and restore everything to normal.

The only line I remember laughing at is when a fairly muddled sphinx stops a desperate Valentine from going any further and after a quick battle of riddles, Valentine points and yells, "Look! An idiot!" The sphinx looks in the pointed direction "Where?" and when he looks back, Valentine was gone.

La Cité des Enfants Perdus

Picked this up 'cuz it looked weird. And it was. In a strange, dark city where a Cyclops cult captures children and sell them to an experiment bent on taking their dreams, One the strongman tries to find his kidnapped adopted brother. He runs into a pack of street kids and Miette helps him in his quest. Along the way you see siamese twins fighting due to a chemical influence injected by a flea, how a child's tear can cause a boat to crash into a dock, and other weird stuff.

Felt long. Does Ron Perlman actually know French or does he not so that's why his speech is simpler? I liked the actress who played Miette; I see she hasn't pursued or did not continue her acting career based on a simple search on Google. Anyway, movie was eh.

Gathering Blue

The 2nd book in this Lois Lowry trilogy, the story introduces a different post-apocalyptic society where things are less advanced. Kira is a lame but gifted weaver and after her mother's quick death, she is given the role of working on a special robe worn by the Singer for the yearly Gathering. She learns that she and her other fellow captive "talents" were likely orphaned by the Council that governs the society so that they can be used for their purposes.

Finished this off in a few hours, already put in a request for the last book.

Beyond the Valley of Thorns

Finished this one off last night. The 2nd book of the Land of Elyon trilogy. Alexa is sucked into a quest with more dangerous consequences: To prevent the puppet of a dangerous seraph from taking over the land for his master. He wants the last Jocasta stone that enables Alexa to communicate with mammals, although I'm not sure how it'll let anyone rule the land. Didn't even realize it was a trilogy when I was reading the 1st book: The 1st book was fairly self contained in its story but the 2nd is more definitely spilling over to the 3rd. I'll go ahead and read the 3rd whenever it comes out.