So I did talk Rob (and my cousin) into watching Up in the Air last weekend and I liked it!

Spoilers?

I think I liked it so much because I was intrigued by Ryan’s (George Clooney) job of traveling back and forth across the country to fire people. I mean, is there really such a job?! And I found it believable that someone who has this job would live a nomadic lifestyle as well — only living for miles and elite status, pushing friends and family away to avoid having a place to call “home.” I ended up really sympathizing with him as the movie went on. And I attribute a lot of that to George Clooney. Ryan probably wouldn’t have been as likable and charming a character if it weren’t for him.

Towards the end of the movie, I thought they were going for the whole “he gets the girl — and regains his life” ending and as much as I’m a romantic, it wasn’t true to life and I didn’t want the movie to go in that direction. I’m glad it didn’t. Life isn’t easy and I think that Ryan needed to learn that emotional connection doesn’t always happen when you want it to. So I was much happier that the ending was left… up in the air (haha, pun intended). That you weren’t quite sure where Ryan was headed. Was he going to revert back to where he started? Or was he going to move forward and regain his life? I hope it was the latter.

Aside from the story, I thought the acting was solid. Vera Farmiga was beautiful and strong as Alex. But Anna Kendrick’s Natalie Keener totally stole the movie! (She was also one of the best parts of New Moon). She really holds her own against the other two more experienced actors. In fact, my favorite scenes were the ones of the three of them drinking and party-ing in Miami. The casting department really did a great job with this ensemble. They’re so deserving of all their award nominations.

It’s not a movie for everyone but I really appreciated it and hope you will too!

I saw a few movies in the theatre recently (it’s been months)… so you get to read my thoughts on Avatar and New Moon. 😀

Back on New Year’s Eve, I went to see Avatar AT 9AM (!). Yes, you read that right. I’m pretty sure I woke up earlier that day than I do regularly for work. I honestly didn’t think that many people would watch a movie AT 9AM (!) but when we arrived around 8:30, the line to enter the theatre was winding around the building. Craziness.

We decided to see the movie in IMAX 3-D, which was a great decision but holy cow, it’s expensive! The ticket price is $16.50. Luckily we had discount tickets that made them $12.50 each but still. Maybe I’m just cheap.

I don’t remember the last time I saw a 3-D movie (maybe it was one of the 3-D shows at Disneyland?) but I know it’s been years. So I was not prepared when the lights dimmed, I put on my 3-D glasses and the 20th Century Fox logo on the screen practically jumped out at me. WOW.

So the movie. I wouldn’t say I LOVED it… as in I feel fan-girly about the characters or would buy the DVD to watch it over and over. But I did really enjoy it and appreciate it. It’s an *amazing* movie. Wait — it’s an amazing experience. Admittedly, the story is predictable and generic (reminds me so much of Pocahontas) but it’s so visually stunning (OMG, the floating mountains!) that it almost doesn’t matter. All the Pandoran details were incredible — my personal favorites were the seeds of Eywa and the Tree of Souls — that it really felt as if I was transported into that world. The only thing that kept taking me out of the story was the fact that the humans wanted unobtainium from Pandora. UNOBTAINIUM. I couldn’t help but giggle each time someone said that. I mean, seriously? Regardless, I highly recommend this movie. GO SEE IT!

I think I read somewhere that James Cameron confirmed he would be making a sequel. While I’d like to see if the humans really did leave the Na’Vi alone on Pandora (does anyone really believe that?!), I’d LOVE to see a prequel even more. Like how humans found Pandora in the first place and how initial contact was made with the Na’Vi. I guess it’ll be interesting either way.

I spent this past weekend with my best friends on our annual Girls Weekend where we gossip, eat yummy food, and go to the spa… this year we also decided to watch a movie. We were originally going to see Avatar since neither of them had seen it and really, it’s a CAN’T MISS kind of movie but when we got to the theatre, we saw a poster for New Moon and opted for that instead since it’s a chick flick and all.

I have to say upfront that I’m not a huge fan of the Twilight series. I read all 4 of the books and don’t understand the obsession. I’M SORRY! I tried, I really did. But I don’t like Bella at all and that really colors the story for me.

Back to the movie. I definitely think New Moon was miles better than Twilight. The bigger production budget showed. And it seemed like the acting was better. Despite better acting, though, Kristen Stewart actually made me dislike Bella even more. 🙁 She’s just so sullen that it makes it hard to root for her. I seriously wanted to reach through the screen, shake her, and tell her to snap out of it! It’s been over a year since I read the book but I don’t remember her being quite so mopey or so flat.

And because everyone always asks… for the record, in the books, I leaned toward Team Edward but so far in the movies, I’ve been Team Jacob. He’s so charming and likable (and darn it, I feel so bad for the guy) while Edward just looks bored. Come on, RPattz! Stop phoning it in.

Anyway, my favorite parts of the movie were all the Volturi scenes because they were so over the top (Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning as Aro and Jane were exactly how I pictured those characters) and pretty much any scenes that had to do with Emmett (not that there were many but Kellan Lutz is awesome), Alice, and Jessica. The only thing I didn’t like about the movie was the way Edward appeared to Bella when she was being reckless/crazy. It looked really cheesy to me. :/

So yay! That’s it. I’m interested in seeing Eclipse when it comes out later this year because I remember liking that book a lot.

I just realized that I have a 3-day weekend coming up (yay MLK) and I’d really love to watch another movie in the theatre. I’d forgotten how much better it is that way. I’m trying to see if Rob will watch Up In the Air. We’ll see. 😉