Stationary Reviews: 1

Since I spend the majority of my time either in bed or doing the only exercise beyond physical therapy that I am allowed to do, the oh-so-boring recumbent bike, I have spent an awful lot of time watching TV and movies (contrary to popular belief- popular meaning everyone who has given me a book as a present- my tiredness and mind are not yet up to actual active reading). Since most good TV shows are on summer hiatus (leaving me with all things ABC Family and BRAVO... not that that's a bad thing) and the bike in our house is near a TV that is only hooked up to a DVD player (and I had to beg to even have that in there), I have been going through movies like nobody's business (and even upped my Netflix to 3 unlimited from 1 unlimited for the time being). For the next three weeks or so I decided to "review" these movies (and by review I mean there will be some spoilers because that is just how I am), because it's fun and well, to be honest, it is the only thing I really have going on right now:

Invictus: Even though I had no knowledge of rugby (beyond that it was similar to football, and pretty physically intense) and actually little knowledge of Nelson Mandela (even though I'm sure we learned about apartheid in school), I found myself slow-clapping and cheering on South Africa by the end of this movie (sort of like I did for the Little Giants in that movie..only Matt Damon is way hotter). I had always meant to see this movie in the theaters, but failed, and I honestly think Avatar and the Hurt Locker sadly took away a lot of this movie's thunder (I think the plot/acting was actually better here). It deserved far more awards attention (yes I know it was nominated, but so were like 8 other movies this year including UP), and I truly think Clint Eastwood deserves some sort of special award for best actor turned director...ever (I mean seriously has he directed one bad movie yet??). In my opinion, this is a must-see movie, because even though it teaches you some history and has a lot of deep underlying meanings, it really is just pure sports entertainment and that is right up this (American) football fan's alley.

Sex and the City 2: Obviously since this movie is still in the theaters, I did not watch this at home and SHOCKER actually left the house to see it. This movie was SUPER slow to start (Seriously, I did not need to watch a 30 minute wedding occur step-by-step, or see old ass Liza Minnelli attempt to dance--even if I was a Cabaret fan) and honestly, it never really got going that well. Beyond some hot rugby boys, hot Aiden, and of course, hot hot Smith Jared, this movie was pretty predictable and the plot was lacking much of what was in the first movie and the TV shows...entertainment. The Part in Abu Dhabi (or shall I say Morocco where it was actually filmed) was probably the best part, but even that could not make me love this movie. I'm a Charlotte fan (and her cute half Asian daughter's fan), but even her story line was sort of blah and unnecessary. I definitely am still glad I saw it (even if it was more of a movie to rent and not go see), but I really do hope it is their last film...I am not sure they have much else they can play out or drama they can cause.

Get Him to the Greek: My friend convinced me to see this movie and because I wanted to feel like I still had friends at home (truth: it is only really her haha), I went. Though I have never liked Russell Brand (starting with his bizarre hosting of that award show even though I, and all of the US, had never heard of him), Katy Perry is making him cooler and more normal and tolerable (good choice of mate...mate). Still, while this movie was not HORRIBLE and was more entertaining than the previews made it out to be, this movie was not half as funny as its' "prequel" Forgetting Sarah Marshall was (that movie was fantastic minus the full frontal from Marshall from How I Met Your Mother). I did, however, find it ridiculous to see how many people from TV shows that I watch had really random roles in this film (Peggy from Mad Men as Jonah Hill's girlfriend, and Daisy from Bones in her shocking turn as a crazy nympho ho-bag, to name a few), but, the people I was with had never seen these shows and sort of just stared at me when I got excited about seeing someone. Also, I found it funny that Jonah Hill dated a medical resident and they made fun of how shitty his lifestyle was with her was because of her hours and sleep routine. I literally turned to my friend and was like: "Shit...that is going to be our lives". Well, here's to hoping I can find a man who can handle it :) Oh, and the best line of the movie: "I am mindf-king you right now"... "Well you better be wearing a condom, because my mind is dirty". Yes, I am that cheesy.

Dear John: I love that Amanda Seyfried is the famous one to come out of Mean Girls ("I have like ESPN...my BOOBS can tell when its' raining"), and have to admit that I have since liked about 90% of her movie choices. I also am a huge fan of the Notebook (as one of the only movies that I cry in EVERY time), and enjoy catching all of Nicholas Sparks' book to movie adaptations (though, I actually have never read one of his novels). This movie was entertaining as far as love stories go (and made me miss the days of love letters via snail mail), but I was pretty bummed at how everything went down in it (seriously, who would ditch Channing Tatum for some older dying man). I heard they originally changed the ending to please the audience, but since I never read the book, I have no real comment here. But, I can say that I get why she did it... I mean, if I only saw someone for 2 weeks and then they went to war for like 4 years...I might have trouble being faithful too.

Now and Then: It has been years since I have watched this movie and rocked out to the AWESOME soundtrack (KNOCK THREE TIMES ON THE CEILING IF YOU WANT ME), but it is still as good of a movie now as it was back then (movie title pun INTENDED). I am not sure if I like this movie because it feels perfectly cast (WHERE DID THORA BIRCH AND CHRISTINA RICCI GO?!) in both the young and old generations of the friends, or because it has a good mix of stuff going on in all of the girls lives that was just so real, or if I like it simply because it is pretty innocently pure and still a good movie (One mother even describes sex to her daughter as a man watering a garden with his garden hose). All in all, it is a great movie worth watching and it makes me thankful for the friends I have had forever, and the new ones who I feel like I've known forever.

Mystic Pizza: I decided to watch this movie for two reasons: 1. I LOVE Julia Roberts, especially her old school movies that no one has really seen and 2. It takes place in Mystic, Connecticut and one sister goes to Yale and well, all of that just seemed relevant to my current life. Beyond making me truly crave pizza (which I can't eat because of my diet), this movie has all the elements of a good romantic drama: 3 girls-two of whom are sisters- live in a poor fishing town and work at a pizza joint. 1 girl is in love but afraid of marriage, 1 girl is the smart one-going to Yale-but has never been in love and falls for the father of the kid she baby sits, and 1 girl-Julia Roberts- has all the looks and falls for the "rich boy" (a la Pretty in Pink) who might be using her to slum it and get back at his parents. Although the girls have their share of problems, they always have each other and well, the pizza joint/pizza joint owner keeping them together as a family. It is good vintage Julia (big hair and all), and definitely not a waste of time to watch.

An Education: Once my mind adjusted to British accents and I had a clue what was going on in this movie, every second of it I kept thinking to myself/screaming out loud "THIS GIRL HAS THE DUMBEST PARENTS EVER" (a la "of course I will let my 16 year old sail around the world", but even dumber). Her parents were like: Sure honey, you can go to dinner with and go on a weekend trip with and go to Paris alone with an old man....I am sure he is just showing you the sights and not taking your innocence/ruining your life (By far the most awkward/moderately amusing scene of the movie is when he pulls out a banana in bed, and tells her it is so the banana can get the "gross part" over with...hmmm, I suppose it is creative though). While the girl ends up lucky that she can pull herself up by her bootstraps and still get into college, and the acting/plot is still very intriguing and engrossing, this movie was as hard for me to watch as a bad horror flick (you know the type where you know what is going to happen and want to SCREAM and tell them to stop, but well, you can't because it is a movie). Ultimately, if you can handle this type of movie, rent it, but if not, it could give you a mild heart attack.