REVIEW: March of the Penguins

You read that correctly. We actually decided to write a review on a documentary and one about animals no less!

Ok, so sitting here trying to come up with something witty to say about birds that can't fly isn't working so let's just get right to it.

Watch Trailer.

WIFEY'S REVIEW

Wow this one was a hard one to watch seeing it was a documentary. It was cute, but how much penguins can you stand to watch?

I really liked the fact that you got to see what they go through during the really harsh weather. Seeing the father take care of the little egg was so cute, but it was so sad to see that a lot of the babies didn’t make it, but watching the transfer go between the mom and the dad with the egg was very intriguing.

Another thing that amazed me was how many days penguins go without eating, and then when they do eat they then come back to the pack and regurgitate their food to give to the mother or the babies.

I wouldn’t want to be one of those filmers seeing how cold it was in the artic. Well, there’s really not much more to say about this film.

I would rate this one 3 out of 5 Ben & Jerry’s.

HUBBY'S REVIEW

Quite possibly the shortest review on this site to date by Wifey! I think she was really caught off guard when she heard I was writing a review about this one. I mean, we didn't rent the thing or even plan to watch it. Actually, the kids were being crazy one afternoon and the "cute lil pengins" were on TV so we watched it to keep them quiet!

To be perfectly honest, I didn't have a real problem with this one. It was kinda strange that Morgan Freeman was the narrator too. Where was the voice of the adult Kevin Arnold from Wonder Years when you need him? That would've been much better!

Best line in Wifey's review? "I really liked the fact that you got to see what they went through DURING THE REALLY HARSH WINTER."

Man, what a heartless woman! These poor little birdies already can't fly, they can only walk for so many miles forcing them to slide on their bellies, they don't eat for months, they lose their unborn babies to the ice and wind (and sometimes crazy mommy penguins who want more babies for themselves) and what does she say except that she enjoys watching these creatures suffer.

Nice.

Trust me, it was fascinating to see how much these penguins are like humans in the way they bond with one another, put their family first and work together for the greater good.

Besides, any animal that can withstand freezing temps as low as -100+ degrees is worthy of my praise. Keep on rockin' in your little tuxedos my feathered friends.

As documentaries go, I give this one a 3 out of 5 Ben & Jerry's. That gives us an OMD Rating of 3 Ben & Jerry's.

REVIEW: Deja Vu

Next up is another recent film and non-AFI List selection known simply as Deja-Vu. You know, that thing you experience where you feel as though what you're experiencing has already happened before (the Matrix was the last popular movie to comment on this phenomenon).

Next up is another recent film and non-AFI List selection known simply as Deja-Vu. You know, that thing you experience where you feel as though what you're experiencing has already happened before (the Matrix was the last popular movie to comment on this phenomenon).

Watch Trailer. Watch Trailer.


WIFEY'S REVIEW

Ok, this movie just freaked me out right from the beginning! It starts with everyone on this big ferry boat and a little girl loses her doll by it falling off the boat, but it’s done in such slow motion that it looks like a real kid falling from it so needless to say all the shots in this movie are very detailed and dramatic.

Denzel is the main character who I really enjoyed and he hasn’t aged a day in his life and always plays the good guy who has to figure out how to stop a crime before it happens. Val Kilmer is also in here and he looks so old and decrepid!

Now it really confused me when they could look at someone who you think is dead when they use this contraption they invented and somehow they can sense you're looking at them as well. Confused? So was I!

Watching this movie really puts into perspective how many times per day you are video taped without knowing it. The scene where they use the goggles to follow the murderer was very intense seeing you didn’t know what was going to happen seconds from what your seeing. The movie was outstanding but the ending got a little to confusing and too smart for anyone to figure out. Like how is Denzel with this girl if she’s supposed to be dead and is he stuck in the past?

I really enjoyed it and would rate this movie 5 Ben & Jerry’s out of 5.

HUBBY'S REVIEW

This is the first feature film we've watched and reviewed starring Denzel Washington. That got me thinking. Have I ever seen a "bad" Denzel Washington movie?

I had to think long and hard about it, but the only one that came to mind was Devil in a Blue Dress.

In any event, you get my point. I knew we were probably in for an entertaining thrill ride and boy was I right!

First things first. T-H-E Val Kilmer (Iceman from Top Gun!) is in this movie and man did the guy put on some serious weight. I didn't recognize him at first that's how different he looked.

Billing itself as a sci-fi thriller I wasn't quite sure how this was going to play out. I mean, any time you make a movie that has to do with time travel there's bound to be some confusion (for example, see Donnie Darko for an excellent case study).

However, true to form, Mr. Washington chose to be in a movie that was just the opposite for its genre - - to an extent.

This was a smart, thinking man's movie or what I would call plausible sci-fi. That's to say, everything made sense along the way and I understood everything as they were explaining it. More importantly, there didn't appear to be too many (if any) holes in the storyline, which can be all to common in these types.

Yet, for as smart and engaging as it was the movie just got too smart for its own good in the end.

Ultimately, Denzel lost me!

Still, a very good movie and one that will keep you interested until the very end. Still, a very good movie and one that will keep you interested until the very end.

MY rating is 2.5 Ben & Jerry's for a total OMD Rating of 3.75 Ben & Jerry's.

REVIEW: Spider-Man 3

Are you noticing a trend here? It's been several weeks (and reviews) since we last watched a movie that came from the AFI Top 100 list (the reason for doing this in the first place!). At this pace, we'll probably be here until Luke and Amelia graduate from High School.

The next movie up was Spider-Man 3 or the final movie in the big screen adaptation of the classic Marvel comic book series.

Watch Trailer.


WIFEY'S REVIEW

Ok, if you haven’t seen the first 2 movies and you want to then don’t read this review. If you know you’re not going to see the first 2 movies then read away!

This movie introduces a lot of new characters like an Ex-Convict, a black crawly thing named Venom, some big Green Guy, and Sandman! This sequel is a lot more of a love story than an action-packed one that we are used to.

Poor Spiderman gets his ass kicked a lot right from the beginning.

The first 50 minutes, holy cow, so slow I thought I was going to fall asleep and not because it was way past 11pm. Ok, so at one point during this flick the Sandman was beating the crap out of everyone. If only they were thinking they would have just poured water on him to make him turn to mud!

The special effects were amazing as everything was thought out in such detail. The Sandman was the best! Well, in the end it was an ok ending, but I would have plotted it out a little better to get the audience more excited.

I also came to the conclusion that Mary Jane played by Kirsten Dunst is a very needy girl. If I was Spiderman I would have ditched her along time ago.

I did enjoy how the two joined and became friends again to help defeat the bad guys in the end.

Oh yeah, and I felt really bad for Sandman because all he wanted to do the whole movie was to help his little girl get better.

Anyway, I think I would only rate this movie a 2.5 out of 5 Ben & Jerry’s.

HUBBY'S REVIEW

I'm a nerd who used to collect comics throughout High School so I love it anytime Hollywood tries to put my favorite superhero characters up on the big screen.

Plus, the first two Spidey flicks were great so I was pretty charged up for this one.

Unfortunately, this is one movie I'd like to forget. That shouldn't be too hard because it was so lackluster that I barely remember anything about it! Luckily, I took some notes while watching it.

There's a very slow set-up to this film. I'm all for character-driven dramas, but we already knew the back-story from the previous two editions. Besides, I'm a big believer that if you want to show a person's character put them in situations that will get them to demonstrate who they are instead of telling us outright through the words of other characters what that person's been acting like lately. Boring.

Once it did get going the action scenes were just as good as those in the previous versions.

I also love that the Sandman character was played by a former Wings character. Stan Lee makes his usual cameo (he's the guy who created Marvel Comics).

Some very good fight scenes between Spidey, Venom and Sandman. All in all, not as good as the first two.

I give it a 2 out of a 5 (and only because it is the last film in the trilogy, which wraps up the storyline).

That means the OMD Rating for this one is 2.25 Ben & Jerry's.

REVIEW: The Kingdom

The next film up is The Kingdom. Even though there have been 2 OMD reviews posted this month this was actually the first film we watched in 2008.

What? You're surprised it took Hubby and Wifey a few weeks to write and publish our reviews? Yeah, I know what you mean, me too (he types with sarcastic fingertips).


WIFEY'S REVIEW

This movie was going to be good seeing that it had Jennifer Garner and Jamie Fox in it. Also it is based on a true story. It was very interesting in the very beginning seeing as how it showed real clips from local TV shows for the first couple of minutes.

The first 5 minutes was a lot of shooting/killings from the terrorists. The talking in the movie was hard to hear from being muffled. There were a lot of intense parts during this film. One thing that I had a really hard time with was trying to figure out who was the good guys vs. the bad guys seeing they all looked, talked, and prayed to the same god Allah.

Watching this movie and seeing all these little kids wanting to act like their fathers and wanting to become a terrorists makes me sick. But on the flip side they did add a little humor into the movie seeing that a majority of it was such a downer!

Most of it was just evil. At one part of the movie the terrorist took one of the FBI Agents and was going to use him as bait and torture him. Talk about a nail biting scene when the rest of the team came looking for him - - WOW! I would recommend this movie to everyone!

I rate it 5 Ben & Jerry’s out of 5.

HUBBY'S REVIEW

This is another smart, edgy film by Michael Mann who also gave us The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, The Insider, Ali, Collateral, The Aviator, Miami Vice and (a little known favorite of mine from the '80s) Band of the Hand.

This is the true story of the events surrounding a terrorist attack on Americans living in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, a team of U.S. government agents is sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East.

I cannot imagine putting my life on the line like these people do on a daily basis in the name of preserving democracy and justice.

The acting was fantastic (casting even better!) and there were quite a few good action scenes. Although, when you stop to think about it, it feels a little strange being entertained by "action scenes" that are merely a retelling of what happened to these innocent people as well as those trying to hunt down such barbaric human beings.

That leaves me with one final comment. This was an extremely powerful, engaging, emotional film aside from the director's moral equivalency commentary at the very end this movie.

I won't give it away, but needless to say, it mad me angry. Peter Berg (the Director) manages to exact a similar fate on the viewing audience as the terrorists do on their innocent victims.

He highjacks us and preaches to us at the very moment our raw emotions are exposed and the whole experience makes one feel used and duped. It made this reviewer angry.

In essence, I maintain that this movie is a reality check for those who don't understand the true nature of the world we live in as well as the enemy we are fighting.

God bless our troops and their families for the sacrifices they've made (and will continue to make) on my behalf.

3.5 Ben & Jerry's out of 5, which makes this film's OMD rating 4.25.

Oscar Nominations

What kind of a movie site would we be if we didn't comment on the recent nominations for the 2008 80th Annual Academy Awards?

Here's a full list of the 2008 nominations with embedded links to more info on each selection.

The only thing I want to briefly touch upon are the biggest snubs and surprises.

It's hardly a newsflash that the Academy is truly out of touch with mainstream America. Too often, their nominees (and winners) stink of politics and political correctness. That's a shame.

Here's the nominations I would've liked to have seen myself...

The Kingdom for ANYTHING. A case could've been made for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor/Actress. Sadly, it got nothing.

What about Zodiac? Here's another true story that was beautifully written, directed and acted. Again, nothing from the Academy.

No nod to the brothers Affleck for their role in Gone Baby Gone (Ben as Director and Casey as Best Actor)? Ridiculous.

I guess the more things change in Hollywood the more the stay the same.

REVIEW: Superbad

Two movies in a row with Arrested Development alums. This time it's the "George Michael" character (Michael Cera) who is one of the stars.

Don't expect much from us here at OMD because there's not too much to say about this one. Wifey hit the nail on the head when she asked, "How do you even wite a review on this one?"

Exactly. Watch Trailer.

WIFEY'S REVIEW

Ok we started this movie at 9:15pm and boy was I in for a rude awakening for this movie!

This is why...

Well, let’s just put it to you this way - - the title says it all SUPERBAD! This movie was super bad in many ways. It was nothing but a sex/cursing movie. Every other word was F*** this, F*** her WOW!!!

So, how do you write a review on this type of movie? I’m not a prude person one bit, but this movie was hard to watch even in front of my husband!

Well the plot of this movie kind of goes like this. Two boys Seth and Evan want to have sex before they go to college. They want to hook-up with some chicks at a party, but needless to say they aren’t the most popular boys in high school.

Seth (Michael Cera) wants to “be” with his crush and Evan (Jonah Hill) wants to be with whomever. They have to go as far as using “McLovin’s” fake ID to purchase alcohol to impress these girls at the party, but boy do they have some obstacles to go through!

Sorry I just don’t have much to say on this one!

I rate this one 1.5 Ben & Jerry’s

HUBBY'S REVIEW

Yeah, Wifey said all there is to say about this one. Your classic "coming-of-age" movie that was kinda like a Porky's for 2008.

After the first few minutes of the movie I decided to do my own scientific experiment. What was it you ask? Well, let's just say I was counting the number of times I heard this movie's favorite four letter word. If nothing else it helped me get through a movie with a plot and story that I've seen a million times before.

Simply put, I decided to count the number of F-Bombs in the film!

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't ready for the challenge. It's amazing to me that some Hollywood writer made a few hundred-thousand dollars for his/her screenplay.

Maybe while they're on strike these writers can think of some better plots, characters and dialogue.

The final tally? 152 (+/- 10 I figure is the margin of error here) F-Bombs...in a 112 minute film! That's more than 1 per minute! One word: WOW!!!

Also, on a side note, not to be too crass or vulgar, but at one point Lindsay stopped me to ask, "What's a Hymen?"

Yeah, that should give you a good enough idea of what this one was like.

1 Ben & Jerry's out of 5 making our OMD Rating 1.25 Ben & Jerry's.

REVIEW: The Ex

This is the first movie review since we made the decision to write about any and all moves that we rent and watch and not just the classics from the AFI list.

It's also the first of 4 movies we've watched in the past week! Yes, that's right, that wasn't a typo - - 4 movies in 1 week! We're rocking and rolling now. When we finally get all 4 reviews written and posted? Well, that remains to be seen.

Next up for us was the comedy The Ex. Watch Trailer.

WIFEY'S REVIEW

Now this is going to be fun since we're now reviewing EVERY MOVIE we watch! So, sit back and enjoy all up-to-date movies as well as the classics.

We started the movie at 9:15pm.

I was surprised that Jeff would sit through this whole movie seeing how much of a chick flick this one was. The first 20 minutes was about a wife having a baby. Oh, and by the way, for all you Arrested Development fans out there this movie is for you!

“Michael” is in this one. Ok, so after she pushed out this baby that’s where the laughs began! Oh yeah, by the way, finally a cute movie baby for once. "Oliver" is his name and being cute is his game.

Everyone who works for family knows that’s a BIG MISTAKE - - you just don't do it. Well, for the main character he doesn’t know that quite yet, but boy does he learn really fast.

"Chip" (Jason Bateman) who is disabled is a real jerk and he takes this to his advantage and makes "Tom" (Zack Braff) look like an idiot in front of his father-in-law (Charles Grodin) and even his wife "Sofia" (Amanda Peet).

Sofia (who was a lawyer before she had the baby) now has to adjust to being a stay-at-home-mom and her husband is worried that he won’t be able to support his family.

Chip was in love with Sofia and tries so hard to get back with her by making Tom look like a jealous husband. So very funny, but boy does it end bad for Chip!

Great Movie. I give it 4.5 Ben & Jerry's.

HUBBY'S REVIEW

I too am a big fan of Arrested Development and especially Jason Bateman and Michael Cera. Bateman's comedic timing is textbook it seems.

At first, I was a little fired up because we did not have out usual chips-n-cheese movie snack because Lindsay was sick. I was stuck with several Slim Jims instead. Not a bad snack, just not what I've grown used to during our movie dates.

One of the previews we saw was for Dead Or Alive, which is based off of the popular video game series.

Note to Hollywood: Movies based on video games NEVER work. See Double Dragon and Mortal Kombat if you don't believe me. However, video games that are created to promote movies ALWAYS work. See Shrek, which was one of the very first games for the original XBOX.

Wifey was right to say that the first 30-45 minutes or so made this definitely feel like a chick flick. Also, why do I want to spend my free time (when the kids are sleeping) watching other people try to take care of their own kids? I want to escape for a couple of hours when I watch a movie. Is that so wrong?

Ok, the real reason I don't like these types of movies is because it makes Wifey wonder if she'd like to have another little Radt tot. Great.

I really don't have too much to say about this one. I mean, I was entertained and laughed out loud a few times (see the "I'm Upset That..." game that the couple plays!), but what do you say about a movie like this that hasn't been said already?

I guess I would say that if you like comedies about how couples deal with past relationships (i.e. how they try to deal with the paranoia and jealousy) then this is a very good movie.

To me, the casting was exceptional as the threesome of Zack Braff, Amanda Peet and Jason Bateman were fantastic.

I'll give it 2.5 Ben & Jerry's out of 5, which means this movie gets an OMD rating of 3.5 Ben & Jerry's Ice Creams.

Sci-Fly Superfly

Entertainment Weekly decided they had nothing better to do then to put out their list of the "Sci-Fi's Top 25 Movies and TV of the Past 25 Years."

At first, I was a little skeptical because these types of lists tend to be boring, lazy and put together with very little thought and/or energy.

In other words, kinda like this blog!

I was a little shocked that EW decided to select and rank the best Sci-Fi Movie and/or TV moments from the past 25 years - - period - - instead of selecting one from each of the last 25 years. Even so, they made up for it by including a "Pop Culture Legacy" and the "Best Bit" feature for each selection.

Here's a quick rundown of their selections (how they ranked them is enclosed in parantheses)...

V: The Miniseries (#25)
Galaxy Guest (#24)
Doctor Who (#23)
Quantum Leap (#22)
Futurama (#21)
Star Wars: Clone Wars (#20)
Starship Troopers (#19)
Heroes (#18)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (#17)
Total Recall (#16)
Firefly/Serenity (#15)
Children of Men (#14)
The Terminator/Terminator 2 (#13)
Back to the Future (#12)
Lost (#11)
The Thing (#10)
Aliens (#9)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (#8)
E.T. (#7)
Brazil (#6)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (#5)
The X-Files (#4)
Blade Runner (#3)
Battlestar Galactica (#2)
The Matrix (#1)

While I agree with most of their selections (despite the fact that they left quite a few BIG ONES off their list), I have to say that I'm a little surprised that The Matrix was selected as EW's top choice for best Sci-Fi Movie/TV Show in the last 25 years.

Groundbreaking special effects? No doubt (those slow-motion bullet scenes are amazing!), but the thematic elements and social questions raised by this trilogy was hardly anything new.

My vote would've been for a film like Gattaca (with Minority Report a close second), which SHOCKINGLY was left off of this list despite its relevance to many social and scientific issues we're facing today. Plus, the special effects could hold their own too.

Check it out and decide for yourself.

Hubby

Happy New Year!

I almost forgot to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. " Ben Franklin

Our Movie Date Will Rule In 2009

Almost everyone in the United States watches TV. However, many people don't know about the impending TV blackout.


In a throwback to the Y2K transition, a number of Web sites are running countdown clocks that, presently, read "426 days, 8 hours, 39 minutes, 31 seconds." That is the time remaining until Feb. 17, 2009, the deadline set by Congress when all US broadcasters must cease analog broadcasting and switch to all-digital signals.

As this date approaches, interested parties are ratcheting up the debate over a number of important questions, including:

How prepared are the government and the broadcast industry for the changeover?
How aware is the public of the transition?
Who is most likely to be affected by the change?
What technical issues need to be resolved before the transition happens?

You can read more about this issue at eMarketer.

Personally, I think the most important question is what Movie Blog will capture the attention of the American Public because, let's face it, when the TV screens go dark in 2009 the only choice we'll have to be entertained by the boob tube is to pop in a DVD and watch movies. Forget about video games, the Wii and XBOX 360!

Bad for Television, but GREAT for sites like Our Movie Date!

Hopefully, OMD can keep this in mind from this point moving forward so we can post regularly and build a steady following leading up to this fateful year.

Who knows, in another year DVD's may become obsolete and everyone will be participating in Virtual Reality ala the Star Trek Holodeck.

Until then, we encourage you to visit this site often and tell your family and friends about us.

If, by some chance, Television and Movies go the way of the dinosaur we might just have to start a new blog - - one about books perhaps!

Could you imagine the length of time between posts on that site? CRIPES! Let's hope it doesn't come to that any time soon.