YOUNG ADULT, R ( 1 hr & 34 min )

Quickie Review:  A somewhat famous writer of "Young Adult" novels goes back to her hometown to try to win back her former high school sweetheart who is already happily married and also has a new baby.

The audience ( namely, the women ) liked this movie.  But I guess it was the women whose men were not stolen from them by some hot and sexy "home-wreckers" who were present and accounted for in the audience.

I didn't like it that much--which makes this movie a bona fide Chick Flick.

Here are the things that I didn't like about this movie:  So, that's what Charlize Theron looks like now, especially without makeup.   Mavis ( Charlize Theron ) had a reputation for being an "easy lay" back in high school and she drank  liquor without any reservation; so ... if I were that guy, I would have plied her with hard liquor over and over again until she got drunk ( Heh, heh, heh )---Come on, I'm just sayin' for "Realism's Sake"!  From her father's comment, her Traction Alopecia  Disorder had been going on for many  years; therefore, she should have had a big, bald spot in the back of her head by now.  When she took-off her dress and stood there with her strapless, self-adhesive silicone ( emphasis on the "sili", i.e. Silly ) bra on, I actually laughed because it looked too damn preposterous to be erotic in any way.  But, maybe, if the makers put fake nipples--Ahem!--on such silicone bras ....

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I had these two female co-workers, "B" and "C",  once.  They were both friends.  "C" was married to a doctor.  When "B" quit her job, "C's" doctor-husband hired her to be a front desk manager at his clinic.  Long story short, the doctor and "B" had an affair, "C" divorced her doctor-husband, and "B" is now happily married to the doctor.  What is my personal opinion on the matter?  I think that "C" is better-looking than "B"; so, the doctor "traded-down" in the "Looks Department", if you ask me.  ( But, of course, maybe "B" is better than "C" in another "department" .... )

As an aside, I went on a casual movie date with "C" back when she was still married.  Because "C" wanted to see one particular Art-House film, and she knew that I go to the movies a lot.  The movie that we went to see was an "R" rated one with nude scenes and sex scenes, too.  Nope, nothing happened!  I had to keep my sexual urge at bay in that darkened and mostly empty auditorium.  It was all I could do to keep from "jumping" on her and "pawing" her , at the very least.

Attention, Women:  If you are happily married, and you have female friends who are single or divorced, watch out!

NEW YEAR'S EVE, PG-13 ( 1 hr & 57 )

Quickie Review:  On New Year's Eve, people gather at Time's Square in New York City to ring in the New Year of New Beginnings as lost loves, dashed hopes and broken promises get their second chances on the most eagerly anticipated night of the year.

The audience was entertained by this Chick Flick.

I liked it enough, although it tended to be corny at times.  Go see this if you like Chick Flicks because this is definitely one such movie.

Here are the things that I found wrong in this movie:  Ingrid ( Michelle Pfeiffer ) rode the scooter side-saddle in her first scooter scene; she rode it astride in her second scooter scene; and she was back to side-saddle style in her third scooter scene.  Why ...?  Police officer Brendan's ( Chris "Ludacris" Bridges ) kids didn't look excited enough at the prospect of spending New Year's Eve with him!  If I win a contest fair and square, there ain't no way that I'm handing my win over to the other guy.  Sam's ( Josh Duhamel ) "mystery woman" was a major puke-inducing let-down ( if you ask me )!

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Watching this movie made me realize that one of my co-workers bears a resemblance to Katherine Heigl.

I waited until December 30th to watch this movie at it's last evening show, the 10:30 p.m. one, because I wanted it to be New Year's Eve day when I stepped out of the theatre.  I originally had it in mind to watch this tonight, December 31st,  at 10:30 p.m.; but I changed my mind because I have to go to work early tomorrow, a Sunday, January 1st; and I wanted to blog about this movie on the last day of 2011.

"Happy New Year To All Of You Out There!!!"
( Although celebrating the New Year in the dead of Winter instead of in the Spring doesn't make sense to me at all--it's all a Roman Catholic "thing", you see .... Whatever ....  Anyway ... have fun and be safe out there! )

WAR HORSE, PG-13 ( 2 hr & 26 min )

A LOVE STORY BETWEEN A BOY AND HIS HORSE

Quickie Review:  The advent of World War One forcefully separates a British farm boy from his horse.  Through the course of the war, the horse changes "ownership" until Fate reunites the two of them near the war's end.

The audience liked this movie.  And it got a "Hands Clapper" ending.

I liked this movie, too, especially the Wire Cutters scene.  Go see this movie if you're into Inspirational Dramas.  But it was an emotionally Sad & Sweet experience for me.  Many of the characters that I rooted for met their untimely deaths--such is the reality of war:  "The war takes everything from everyone."

Here are the things that I found wrong in this movie:  Mind you, these have less to do with the script writer or the director, but they  have a lot to do with antiquated/ineffective battle plans and strategies that were hard-headedly used for centuries!  The Cavalry Charge, with sabers drawn, was practically invented thousands of years ago and is of no use in today's battlefields.  In fact, it became ineffective shortly after Rifles and Cannons were invented.  And even more so when Explosives ( i.e. Dynamite and Grenades ) and Machine Guns came into use.  Do you remember Tom Cruise's THE LAST SAMURAI ( 2003 )?  

If I were the British officer in charged of that surprise attack on the Germans, I would have employed the primary use of the Infantry in concealment, with well-placed Snipers for support; and I would have used the Cavalry--with pistols drawn, not sabers--to flank the enemy.  It looked to me like those German machine gunners didn't use their machine guns in a sweeping motion.  The Cavalry officers just went past  the machine gunners when they could have struck them with their sabers or had their horses trample them to death.

WE BOUGHT A ZOO, PG ( 2 hr & 4 min )

Quickie Review:  After the death of his wife, Benjamin Mee ( Matt Damon ), a journalist, quits his job and relocates his little family out of town and onto  an 18-acre farm property that includes a recently-closed zoo.  A small zoo staff, run by Kelly Foster ( Scarlett Johansson ), cares for the menagerie.  Knowing full well that if the zoo is not opened many of its animals will be euthanized, Ben puts in his time and money into renovating the zoo and opening it to the public once again.

The audience liked this movie, especially the little brats.  But it didn't get a "Hands Clapper" ending.

I liked this movie, too.  It's a good Family Movie, if you don't mind the foul language.

Here are the things that  I found wrong about this movie.  Although this movie is based on a true story about the Mee family in England, the setting ( as well as the zoo's name ) was changed.  Why, is it because the main characters in this movie couldn't learn the British accent well enough before production began?  Well, if that was the problem, couldn't they just have hired British actors, instead?  I mean, come on ....  And the real zoo, Dartmoor Wildlife Park, was only closed for about 15 months, not years.  All that time spent on renovation and bringing the whole place up to code and nobody bothered to repaint the signs at each enclosure.  Whoever installed the doorknobs on the Big Cat enclosures sure didn't have the foresight or common sense to have repair work accessible only on the outside!  Duh ....

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I read an article years ago that says all Big Cats kept in captivity die of Kidney Failure.  Imagine that.  These felines are carnivores, and have been so for tens of millions of years.  Yet, they die of Kidney Failure.

As an aside, native Eskimos mostly subsist on a High-Fat, High Protein diet and they, too, succumb early to Kidney Failure before they can live long enough to get their Arteries clogged with Cholesterol!

Well, so much for the High-Fat, High Protein Diet!

THE DARKEST HOUR 3-D, PG-13 ( 1 hr & 29 min )

Quickie Review:  Two American entrepreneurial friends are in Moscow on a business trip.  While there, they hook-up with a couple of female American tourists at a night club just as the whole world is being invaded by power-hungry near-invisible aliens who have no qualms about disintegrating any living thing that comes in their way.  Somehow surviving the initial attack, the group emerge from hiding days later to find and join with other survivors to fight the deadly alien threat.

The audience somewhat liked it.

It was just okay to me.

Here are the things that I found wrong in this movie:  If everybody felt like it was the end of the world and I came upon the guy who stole my business idea, I'd kill him right there and then!  After all, who'll be there to arrest me and put me in jail?  That dead guy's body that they wrapped in Saran Wrap should have been bloated after two days' time!  The guys emerged out of hiding without any facial hair at all even though they had no access to razor blades and shaving cream! The plane that crashed through the wall of that shopping center still had its nose in perfect shape.  Obviously, the aliens cannot see through glass; BUT their human targets don't have sharply-delineated energy fields--they glow.  So ... if a human hides behind a glass shield, the human's energy field will still radiate a glow in much the same way that a light bulb will glow and give away its location even if it is hidden behind a solid, opaque object!  Before that alien disintegrated the dog, it was far enough away to have been able to see the area underneath the patrol car and would have--should have--noticed the two guys's energy fields!  I guess these aliens don't have the presence of mind to turn their heads and look at what's behind them!  And speaking of the patrol car and the human energy field, the four of them could just have hopped into a car and driven away with the glass windows rolled-up and not be seen by any of the aliens!  How long did that electrician take to turn his apartment into a "Faraday Cage" since he obviously had to go around town to scrounge for parts and supplies?  The aliens' energy fields can make lights turn on, can make windshield wipers turn on and can make a drained car battery charge-up BUT it cannot charge the battery pack of the Microwave Projector Rifle???  Why did the girl swim to shore when the submarine that they went looking for was RIGHT THERE???  Why did all of their cellphones give-off ring tones  even though they couldn't tell whether the 'phones were off or on since they were all without charge and had no reception at all, to begin with?  And who would be calling all of their cellphones at that ungodly time???  AND ... instead of coming down to the ground to harvest energy, the aliens could just have stayed in the clouds since lightnings are generated in the clouds over 8 1/2 million times PER DAY!!!  Ha, ha, ha.

P.S.  I hope that that poor  little ol' kitty got out of there okay ....