five movie reveiws (reviews?)

i watched five movies this weekend, all that i hadn't seen before. if you haven't seen them either, no worries, i won't give away the ending. i really hate it when people do that.

The Butterfly Effect- this movie completely blew me away. it was by far the best one i saw this weekend. i should metion right now that i saw the director's cut, which i'm told has a totally different ending from the theatre version. some nudity, too. but the plotline was so awesome, i don't know how people come up with brilliant stuff like that.
the movie starts out with a flash-forward to the end, with ashton krutcher's character, evan, running through a building and hiding from people. he writes a note about trying to save a mysterious "her". it then goes back to his childhood, when he's seven and when he's thirteen, and begins the story. little evan seems to have a problem- he blacks out events in his childhood and can't remember what happened while he was out, even though others don't notice a difference in his behavior. his mom gets concerned about him, thinking that he had inheirited a mysterious "father's illness", and makes him start keeping journals and writing everything down so he can remember it better.
after a messed-up childhood, evan discovers that he can revisit events in his past by reading about them in his journal, and can even change what happened. of course by changing the past he changes the future, and he gets stuck going back and forth between his childhood and the alternate presents he creates, trying to find the perfect future for everyone he loves. you see the problem here i think.
like i said, the plotline was great, maybe just a little disturbing. i was very impressed with the versitility of the actors. one that went to particular extremes was william lee scott, who played adult tommy.
one thing that did bug me about this film was that the directors made it seem like a horror movie at first. the first half hour or so makes you think that little even is very psychotic, sadistic, murderous, etc, but that's really not how it is at all. there were definitely some not-so-pleasant scenes, but this was in no way a slasher movie, contrary to the initial vibes.
the butterfly effect is definitely a thinker. it's got some nudity and a lot of language and a lot of violence, even among the seven and thirteen-year-old characters. it's disturbing... but you have to see it!

Maid in Manhattan- i was a little bit prepared for this one... alicia of course told me how it ended several months ago, so there was no surprize. i really hate when she does that. but i guess it didn't ruin much since it says "cinderella story" on the tagline.
anyway, this movie was very enjoyable. i think jennifer lopez is extremely beautiful, especially when she's not in one of her music videos. there are a lot of great dresses in this film. the kid that played the son was great! he was funny and believable and really cute! he reminded me of my little brother. he was my favorite, along with the make-shift fairy-godmother, who was really the heroine's troublemaker co-worker.
the "prince charming" character didn't impress me too much. he wasn't very likeable or dreamy, in my opinion, and i didn't understand why she fell for him. it was because he liked her kid i guess. okay. it's true, girls are suckers for guys that like kids. guys, take note of this but don't abuse it.
all in all, this movie was interesting as movies go, but it wasn't very believable in the plotline. it was very predictable, not just because i knew the ending or because the end of cinderella is common knowledge anyway, but because there was no suspence. a nice little chick flick, but nothing special.

The Prince and Me- (a.k.a. cinderella story # 2) i liked this one better than maid in manhatten, but i still didn't get it. what's so great about the guy? it's frusterating.
this is the story of edward, the spoiled, perverted, lazy prince of denmark and the hardworking, movated, focused, sensible, independant, wisconsin college girl, paige. and that's just it! there was no kid to speed up the process in this story. i can't understand it when these goal-oriented intelligent women fall for these total guys. no offence guys, but really, what is the deal? that's why i never really liked the music man. the songs are great, to be sure, but the sensible librarian falls for this lying, cheating con artist. i hate that.
anyway, this film was a little too multi-faceted for me. there were too many stages of the relationship. they were strangers, enimies, friends, and lovers, in several different locations. and those categories were visited more than once each. it's like this movie crammed what might be a believable romance into... well, into a movie. it didn't work in my head.
what also didn't work is why she fell for him. he's very dreamy-looking, but she had her goals and he had no character, and i just don't see it.
i did enjoy this movie, even though it may not seem like it. there were some beautiful locations, very nice dresses, incredible palaces, and a handsome couple. but i don't think i'd watch this one again.

Knockaround Guys- i wanted to see this movie because i really like barry pepper and seth green, even though vin diesel doesn't inpress me much and i really can't stand john malkovich. i just think he's the worst actor in the whole world. i liked this movie a lot. there was a lot of language and a considerable amount of violence (the worst part was in the first ten minutes), but i did like it. i liked that seth green's character flew an airplane.
this really isn't a light-hearted movie, as it's about a mob kid trying to prove himself to his uncle and father. the movie starts out with the uncle telling the 12-year-old kid to kill one of the mob targets in the basement of the family restaurant. it has a lot of honest suspence, and i really like that about movies. i love the feeling that i don't know what's going to happen, for some reson. this one's not a waste of your time.

When Harry met Sally- okay, i never thought of billy crystal as attractive before, but in this movie i thought differently. he also does that lonely, lost-puppy look very well. i still kept thinking of him in an old man face saying lines from the princess bride, which messed me up for a while, but didn't spoil anything. meg ryan freaks me out, i'm not sure why, and this movie was no different. i see a lot of her, however, since she is one of mike's favorite actresses.
but about the movie... i really liked that they kept meeting at several year intervals, that made it interesting, and the initial 70's style was fun. billy crystal is so funny! and carrie fischer in her role as the quirky best friend was hilarious as well. i never knew that about her.
this movie is about two very different people who are looking for love and not really finding what they want. as they keep running into each other, they become good friends. of course a weird romance blossoms. the movie has serveral interruptions, so to speak, from old couples sitting on the couch telling the stories of how they met. it's very sweet. i'm not one to really like romantic movies, but i liked this one. and it was funny! but honestly, what did i expect, watching a film by the creator of the princess bride?
i took a quiz online once that said this was the movie i belong in. naturally i was very curious, but i just don't see it. i really don't. can you explain this to me?