Bonus Movie Review not yet available on DVD – “Welcome to Mooseport”

...is a comedy starring Ray Romano and Gene Hackman. Ray plays a plumber in the town of Mooseport, Maine. Gene plays the former US President, who decides to live in Mooseport.

The story revolves around Ray’s attempt to win over his long-time girl friend after a brief falling out. To win her over, he decides to run for Mayor. Unknowingly, the town’s council asks the Former President to run for Mayor.

“Welcome to Mooseport” is a great movie. If you enjoy Ray Romano and his comedy, you will enjoy this movie. Bring your date along, you won’t go wrong with this one. It is a definite first date movie.

Movie Review – “Spy Kids 3-D”

... is another sequel to the Spy Kids story. Casts of the usual characters but add Sylvester Stallone as a crazed game maker, who seeks to rule the world. Short review for a short movie; it is 72 minutes in length. Save it for a rainy day and expect not to receive the 3-D glasses when you rent it from Blockbuster.

Movie Review – “Cold Creek Manor”

... is a drama starring Dennis Quaid and Sharen Stone. They are a married couple with two children. They live in New York but decide to get away from the city and move to the country. They find an old manor with 1200 acres and buy it well below the market.

They move in and begin to get settled in but soon find themselves tangled in the mysterious disappearance of the former owners family.

“Cold Creek Manor” is suspenseful. May not be one take a first date to, unless you want her to cuddle up next to you when things get edgy.

Movie Review – “Mona Lisa Smiles”

...is a drama starring Julia Roberts and numerous “twenty-somethings” such as Kirsetn Dunst, Julia Stiles, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Julia is a young college professor who is accepts a position at a women’s college, Wellessley.

Set in the 1950’s, the movie provides a glimpse into social moreys and traditions that supported the “women live to get married and support their husbands”. Julia breaks these barriers and introduces a greater glimpse of their potential.

“Mona Lisa Smiles” is a chick flick and first date movie. I enjoyed the acting and the storyline but as a guy, I would not make a special trip to rent this one.

Bonus Movie Review not yet available on DVD – “50 First Dates”

...is a comedy starring Adam Sadler and Drew Barrymore. Adam is a funny but likeable animal trainer / vetenarian. Drew is a junior high art teacher. They live in Hawaii and are considered locals. Adam enjoys short flings with the women tourists except when he meets Drew.

The story revolves around Drew and her memory loss from a car accident. She possesses only long term memory. Her short term memory is erased every night when she sleeps. Adam falls in love with Drew but must make her fall in love with him everyday as if it were their first date.

“50 First Dates” is a great movie. I was concerned that it would be another raunchy, slapstick, “Happy Gilmore, Waterboy" Adam Sadler movie. It is not. Bring your date along, you won’t go wrong with this one. Especially with its theme – “Everyday a man must make a woman fall in love with him as if it were the first time they met!”

Movie Review – “Duplex”

...is a comedy starring Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore. Ben and Drew play a young couple that decides to buy a duplex in New York. It is a great deal. Except, there is a tenant to deal with.

The movie then takes you through their misadventures as landlord and tenant. Moreover, due to rent-control issues, they cannot force her to break the lease.

“Duplex” is a funny movie that will keep you entertained. It is more a situational comedy but the plot makes it worthwhile to rent. Check it out sometime and bring your date along.

Movie Review – “Missing”

...is a movie starring Cate Blancett and Tommy Lee Jones. It is a drama set in the old west. Cate is a rancher and the mother of two daughters. Tommy Lee is her father who abandoned Cate and her mother many years before.

Cate’s family is attacked by a rouge band of Indians and Desperados. They kill her ranch hands, kidnap her oldest daughter, and head to Mexico. There they plan to sell Cate’s daughter to the highest bidder. Cate and her remaining daughter seek help from local authorities but find no help. She then seeks the aid of her father in desperation. Her father accepts her request, and together Cate, Tommy Lee, and the remaining daughter set-off on a rescue.

“Missing” is a good movie with a lot of action. Directed by Ron “Opie” Howard, I consider it a first-choice, movie rental. Watch out for some brutal Indian attacks. Else, sit back let the drama unfold.

Movie Review – “School of Rock”

...is a movie starring Jack Black as “wannabe” rock musician Dewey Finn. Kicked out of the band he started, Dewey must find work to pay his share of the rent. When opportunity offers a substitute teacher position at a fancy prep school, he quickly accepts. While “teaching” he is motivated by his students’ musical ability to start-up a new band – The School of Rock.

The movie was okay. That is, I would not buy it nor see it at the theater. Instead, I would wait till a rainy day as a second or third choice to watch. It has its moments but not enough to warrant a first-choice, movie-rental rating.

Movie Review – “Matchstick Men”

...is a movie starring Nicholas Cage as a neurotic con artist. Things must be a certain way or else he begins to get nervous. Everything seems to be working well for him until he meets his daughter, who he has not met since birth. Trying to play a good role model for his daughter, his conscience bothers him. So, he looks to better himself. Unfortunately, before he can reform himself, he must deal with misfortune and failure.

As a Nicholas Cage fan, I enjoy his movies. In “Matchstick Men”, he did not let me down. Check it out some time. It is a first date as well as a first rate movie.