The Yellow Handkerchief and Fireproof

 I saw this 2008 flick, "The Yellow Handkerchief" on Netflix and decided to give it a whirl.  I love the unexpected relationships between the characters.   Basically three strangers are thrown together and I love how each dynamic plays out.  The character that William Hurt plays is my favorite.  He is soft spoken and beautifully understated.  Most of the story was a bit uncomfortable because of the character that Eddie Redmayne plays, he's just creepy and I can't get used to him even in the end when he straitens out.  Kristen Stewart was pretty good in this role but I think that is because she wasn't required to act any different than she does in any of her other films or in real life for that matter, mumbly and strange.

I give this 2 buns....@@ (still no bun icons from Baron)

This movie, "Fireproof" was also released in 2008 and was patterned to be about the book 'The Love Dare'.  I read The Love Dare last year and had seen this movie on Netflix but was never interested till the other day.  I really liked this movie.  It stars Kirk Cameron and even though his MO is cheeseyness lately, I still like him.  This is a Christian based film so it is a bit low budget and the script in parts is like a road show but I think that aspect really lets you feel some tender moments.  I thought the story was sweet and it made me want to read the book again and take the dare.  I cried through the end.
This is one that I would like to own for times when I'm down.

I give it 3 buns....@@@(buns please Baron!)

Broken English

Broken English stars Parker Posey and is about a woman who is essentially a mess in every aspect of her life.

I was on the fence about this movie till the adorable Frenchman entered the scene. This is an independent film so a lot of the camera shots are a bit odd and the whole movie seems to be blanched of color. I honestly didn't like any of the characters including Parker's character until Melvil Poupaud (the adorable Frenchman) entered. The feelings of disgust and annoyance for the main character slowly turned to compassion and by the end I was rooting for her.

There were certain scenes that really got to me and changed my view of the whole movie. For example, the Frenchman was leaving early in the morning to go back to France and Parker's character decided not to go with him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed as he sat up on the edge of the bed. He responded by tenderly begging her to stop crying. Such a simple scene but I tear up just thinking about it. There were at least a dozen tiny scenes like that, sweet, innocent, and pure. If I had one word to describe this movie it would be 'honest'.

I give 'Broken English' 3 buns! (Bun icons to come!)

The Ramen Girl

The Ramen Girl stars Brittany Murphy. This is another movie I had never heard of that popped up on Netflix. I usually don't like Brittany Murphy but her usual style of acting (ditsy) worked for this role.

Brittany's character is stranded in Tokyo and decides she wants to be taught to make ramen. Apparently it is a much bigger deal than just boiling noodles with veggies and meat. Her brut of a teacher is tough on her and requires her to really dig deep inside herself to make the perfect bowl of ramen.

The film is almost entirely in Japanese with subtitles. The story is endearing and even though there is a huge language barrier between Brittany's character and everyone else it forces the characters to communicate more spiritually.

I loved that each ingredient in the ramen soup has a meaning and each bowl is a gift to it's recipient. The film delivered a sweet story and a great message about never giving up. It also made me want noodles, noodles, noodles!

The only qualm I have is although Brittany played an innocent and a tad ditsy, sometimes it was a bit over the top.

I give The Ramen Girl 3 1/2 buns!

Suburban Girl

This movie stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin. At first when I saw 'Suburban Girl' had popped up on Netflix I thought it would just be a cheesy chick flick but it ended up to be much more.

It's the all too familiar tale of a girl who is unsure of her self and relys on others for her self esteem. What is different about this story is the dynamic with her love interest and how it is paralleled to the relationship she has with her father. I loved Alec Baldwin in this, he took on the arrogant lady's man with a very apparent soft spot. It was endearing how he took care of Sarah Michelle's character.

The acting was solid and the chemistry was even better. The ending wasn't wrapped up in a neat little bow and some how that made the movie even better.

I really enjoyed this unexpectedly great movie and totally recommend it!

I give Suburban Girl four buns! ( I still need Baron to get the buns icons for me)

Bryce Jay Taggart's Movie Picks

My Dad forwarded me, via email, his over all movie list. I found this list very lengthy BUT noteworthy! Sooooo many great movies are on this list! If you are interested in seeing what made his list then please email me at:

wigglebug@gmail.com

I will send it out upon request.

P.S. Baron and I will be adding a request for review portion of this blog so be thinking what movies you want us to see and review!

Breaking Dawn Part 1

Welcome back to Cinemabon! It has been what...4 or 5 years? Whatever I am back with the much anticipated fourth installment of the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn Part 1.

There should be a disclaimer to this movie that says if you are NOT a fan of the books then your experience will surely be sub- par. I am a huge fan of the books so I eat this stuff up!

I loved this movie. Sadly, I had to view it in the theater alone because I am a shamed looser in my mid-thirties who likes a good cheesy vampire love story and apparently there aren't many of those in Eagle Mountain, UT.

Anyway, enough of that. The wedding was great, the flash backs were a bit lame, the honeymoon night was slanted (I couldn't see very well because I was too close and on the far right of the screen), the pregnancy was frightful (amazing job, CGI wise, in making Bella look emaciated), and the birth made me crave a jam sandwich. As always you can count on some bad acting, some eye candy, and some great Edward and Bella moments. In fact, recounting all the goopey love is making me want to see it again!

So go see this if you like the books, if not, the music is nice and Edward speaks some Portuguese... yummy!

(BTDubbs....buns to come, I gave it three)

21 • July 22, 2008

21 (2008) - Starring: Jim Sturgess • Kevin Spacey • Kate Bosworth • Laurence Fishburne

Inspired by a true story, 21 mixes Las Vegas casino wheeling and dealing with college-kid angst: think OCEAN'S ELEVEN via THE PAPER CHASE. Kevin Spacey is crafty MIT professor Micky Rosa, who trains brainiac students to count cards and then flies them out to Vegas to raid the blackjack tables... Inspired by a true story, 21 mixes Las Vegas casino wheeling and dealing with college-kid angst. Kevin Spacey is crafty MIT professor who trains brainiac students to count cards and then flies them out to Vegas to raid the blackjack tables between classes. Super math genius Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) joins the ring in order to come up with the $300,000 he needs for tuition money. When he finds out Professor Rosa hasn't been dealing entirely from a straight deck, Ben's high-end shopping spree dreams turn sour and the battle of wits is on, no second chances given.

2 buns...an average rating for an average movie. The only aspect of this movie that was remotely intriguing is the fact that it's based on actual events. How much "artistic liberty" was taken we'll never know but the storyline with its twists & turns as well as its romantic sub-theme seemed very typical of a Hollywood template movie. One thing that was interesting is how they mention several times that "card counting" is not illegal yet the team survives on a system of false identities, code words and hand gestures to avoid detection. The fact of the matter is, yes...card counting, if you're smart enough to be able to pull it off, is not illegal, but as we all know, casinos don't like to lose money and therefore attempt to thwart these players by using thugs, threats, and physical intimidation. All in all, i did enjoy the film while i was watching it, but it never "wowed" me. A good 1-time view movie but not one that I'll be looking to add to my home collection. (Rated PG-13 for some violence, and sexual content including partial nudity.)



Yeay! Another movie set in Las Vegas! No I am not being facetious, I truly like movies set in America's playground. I do loathe going there myself but now not only empty pockets, strippers and cigarette smoke come out of Vegas but so does some good films like "Oceans Eleven", "Honeymoon in Vegas", "National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation", "Fools Rush In", "Indecent Proposal", etc. and now "21". "21" wasn't all shot in Sin City, half of the film was based out of Boston on a university campus so the diversity in the settings was quite refreshing. The name of the game is blackjack and it goes like this; five gifted university students are chosen by a corrupt college professor to 'count cards' and ultimately win a lot of money at the game. Don't ask me to explain the plan much further than that because most of this movie the mathematics involved made my head hurt. The game is always spearheaded by one brilliant student and this happens to be the main character, Ben. He drags his feet on participating at first but the allure of having much needed money for Harvard medical school and the attention of a beautiful girl on the team persuades him. The movie follows the main character from sweet, vulnerable kid trying to get through school to a cocky high roller in the biggest casinos in Las Vegas. I liked the contrast between lives in the this movie, it gave it variety. The gambling and money stashing was fasted paced and fun to watch but when Ben's life starts to fall apart I felt the Boston scenes were a little too after school special. There is a scene where he is apologizing to his best friend and the cheesy music was going, I thought he was going to pull out a Best Friends Forever bracelet or something. I would have liked the relationship between Ben and Jill, played by Kate Bosworth, to have been explored a bit more. I felt that part of the story was cut short. You know me, the hopeless romantic! Other than that the movie had great flow and fun music. It kept my interest especially the colorful scenes in Vegas. Overall I say see this movie, just try not to fully understand their rules of counting cards because you will have to follow this movie with a Diet Coke and an Advil like I did.