http://www.viewpoints.com/aboutme/LauraBelle Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:28:07 GMT Reviews by LauraBelle http://www.viewpoints.com/Favorite-Movie-Musicals-review-64956 I love a good story, and the great thing about movie musicals is that they tell the story both in the film and through the music. The list of my top ten might not match others', but that's because I'm using a unique judging system. I'm judging on those that take me back to a certain time in my life. At different times in my life, these movie musicals all opened me up in a certain way. — — 1. Grease I don't know if there will ever come a movie musical that will top this one on my list. It has just appeared at too many different points in my life that really mattered. I saw the movie and fell in love with it like most other junior high girls. We all wanted to be Sandy. The music took us back to the time when our parents were our age. I then saw a Florida dinner theater put on the play a few years later while I was on vacation and dreamed of someday being able to do something fun like that. Seven years later I did it. I didn't have the talent to be a Sandy or even a Rizzo,... Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:28:07 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Favorite-Movie-Musicals-review-64956 LauraBelle 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Kitt-Kittredge-An-American-Girl-review-43e46 Looking for a movie to take a few girls to for my daughter's 12th birthday, I was caught. Everything either seemed slightly too old for them or slightly young. I finally settled on Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl. It seemed a little young for them, and I'm no fan of this doll series that always seemed to me to be nothing more than product placement, but this was my choice, nonetheless. What I found watching this film, is that it's so much more than product placement. The film is based on the accompanying book series for the doll line, and the story that is spun from this is quite a good one for young girls, with its historical references to The Depression Era. — — An additional factor in me deciding to see this film is its young star, Abigail Breslin. She's quickly becoming my favorite young star, after seeing her in Little Miss Sunshine, Definitely, Maybe, and Nim's Island.  Although in this film, she seemed to be playing younger than her real age, and it almost... Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:11:48 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Kitt-Kittredge-An-American-Girl-review-43e46 LauraBelle 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Nims-Island-vs-Journey-to-the-Center-of-the-Earth-3-D-review-68761 It seems that too many of our kids choose to sit around inside playing video games, watching movies and TV, and burning up the internet. It's always good when they can find some entertainment that opens up possibilities for adventure to them. Two films this spring and summer have done just that, Nim's Island and Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D. — — Both of these films promote adventure and reading with kids. While young Nim (Abigail Breslin) is a big fan of reading, and can't seem to get enough of the adventure novels of Alex Rover (a pseudonym of the character played by Jodie Foster), young Sean (Josh Hutcherson) doesn't seem to have any interest in reading at all, never having read his father's favorite book, Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Vernon. — — Nim's father (Gerard Butler) is a marine biologist, and he and his daughter live alone on a deserted island no one else knows about. Her mother had been an oceanographer and passed away... Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:13:35 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Nims-Island-vs-Journey-to-the-Center-of-the-Earth-3-D-review-68761 LauraBelle 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Hancock-review-d8706 I'm not a real huge fan of superhero films, but I do get a chance to see a few here and there, just based on the fact that my son is a huge fan of the genre. I'm also a Will Smith fan, so Hancock was a good film to see with my son. — — From the very beginning of the film, you could tell Smith's Hancock was a different superhero. He was slovenly and if not an alcoholic, a very heavy drinker. When he flew, he'd fly with his bottle of bourbon, hit birds, and narrowly miss airplanes. When he appeared on the scene, he saved the day, but at a cost. He would cause millions and millions of dollars, to the extent that people weren't always happy to see him. — — Hancock saves the "Bono of PR" Ray Embrey's (Jason Bateman) life, and Ray is just beside himself, wanting to pay Hancock back in any way he can. He invites him home for dinner, to the delight of his young son, but the dismay of his protective wife, Mary (Charlize Theron). Just feeding the guy isn't enough for... Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:25:59 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Hancock-review-d8706 LauraBelle 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Coming-Soon-review-332c2 As a movie reviewer, I'm always looking for information, whether it's what day the movie is released, who the stars are, trailers, etc. The one place I've found where I can find the information before the film is released is Coming Soon. — — The website is a very attractive one, albeit a little busy. If I wasn't heading there for a singular purpose, I could get lost on the front page, with the full gut of information there. Included is top stories in the movie business, exclusive featurettes, top trailers and interviews, recent features, new videos, the top charts for previews, box office, and DVD sales, top news in different genres, polls, and Hollywood gossip. Honestly, I could sit and do nothing but read just this info all day long. — — If you're looking for specific information, which I usually am, the headings at the top break down as follows, Features, Films, TV (which curiously has nothing but one ad on it), DVDs, Box Office, Message Boards, and The... Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:58:50 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Coming-Soon-review-332c2 LauraBelle 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Wipeout-review-b90e0 Meet this summer's newest guilty pleasure, the new TV series, Wipeout. This show seems to be banking on how much people like to laugh at others falling and making fools of themselves, and even if you don't want to laugh at them, you just can't help it! — — Unlike reality shows that seem to invite only the best looking and/or most athletic to be on their show, Wipeout invites everyone that is willing to not take themselves seriously. They start out with an obstacle course designed to make people fall, and fall in funny ways. Twenty-four people try the course, and some are just so bad, you can't help but wonder why they came on the show. They have to jump from stacks of padded mats, bounce from big rubber balls, walk past a wall with punching robotic fists, and Tarzan leap to a platform which will have them falling through a body-sized cutout. If they don't make it, there's mud and water waiting below. — — The top twelve finishers move on through two more... Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:51:47 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Wipeout-review-b90e0 LauraBelle 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/So-You-Think-You-Can-Dance-4-review-2bb94 I've been a fan of So You Think You Can Dance through all of its four seasons, and through all of its ups and downs. Clearly, the best thing ever to happen to the show was when the original host left and was replaced with Cat Deeley. I know it sounds trite, but she's truly a breath of fresh air. They've lost and gained choreographers throughout the years as well, but their current switches are being brought out in the show, which probably isn't a good idea. Making up for it, though, is the astounding talent we're presented with this season. — — Mary Murphy has now taken a permanent seat next to Nigel Lythgoe in the judges' chairs. She used to choreograph some of the ballroom routines, but she hasn't handled that on the show in at least a few years. While it took us a little bit of time to warm up to her screams, we now understand her much more, and look forward to finding out who is getting tickets on her hot tamale train. Yes, we do! — — Choreographer Brian... Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:49:21 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/So-You-Think-You-Can-Dance-4-review-2bb94 LauraBelle 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Illuminated-Heart-Love-Songs-of-the-Zen-Romantic-review-0eb26 More than a quarter century ago, I was in my first and only year of college. My goal at that point in my life was not to be a writer, but to be a teacher, yet I was very drawn to literature. I took as many literature courses as was allowed, but found myself dropping out of the poetry class, as I explained to my teacher that I just didn't understand why I'm supposed to read about leaves falling off trees and understand that someone is dying. — — I have avoided poetry since then, as I felt I just didn't understand the art form. After I became a writer, I sometimes thought of myself more as a storyteller than a writer, and I didn't want short bits. I wanted a story. Yet, the book Illuminated Heart, Love Songs of the Zen Romantic was interesting to me when I heard about it, as I thought maybe a series of poems with coordinating pictures would tell that story I was looking for. — — I found what I was looking for, and the most interesting thing about that is that... Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:52:57 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Illuminated-Heart-Love-Songs-of-the-Zen-Romantic-review-0eb26 LauraBelle 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Wall-E-review-5a874 While we expected Wall-E to be a cute movie about a robot, it was so much more. We saw the trailer of the robot putting a bra on his head, playing paddle ball, and propelling himself with a fire extinguisher, but there was so much more to this animated film that. And most of the bits we saw actually happened in the first twenty minutes or so of the film. I'm not all that surprised to find that Wall-E had a not-so-hidden message on the dangers of too much technology, but I was surprised to see a romance that tugged at my heartstrings. At times I forgot I was watching animated robots. — — It turns out that we never do get a handle on our garbage, and rather than do the dirty work of cleaning up ourselves, we send the population of the world out on a five year cruise through space, so that robots such as Wall-E can do the work. After 700 years, the world still isn't cleaned up, and Wall-E seems to be the only robot still working. He compacts the garbage into cubes and stacks... Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:01:35 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Wall-E-review-5a874 LauraBelle 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Love-Guru-review-26f41 The Love Guru starring Mike Myers wasn't anywhere near as funny as I expected it to be, however it was entertaining, and there were times when I just couldn't help but laugh, even though I didn't want to. With all the hype this movie has been getting, I just expected much more, especially out of Myers. Throughout much of the film my 15-year-old son seemed to be the only one guffawing out loud, and that right there speaks volumes. — — Myers plays the Love Guru, Guru Pitka. Much of what comes out of his mouth has something to do with a sexual joke of some sort, which could have to do with his mentor, Guru Tugginmypudha (It's hard to imagine Ben Kingsley playing a character with this name, but it happened) placing a chastity belt on him when he was 12 years old, telling him he had to wear it until he could learn to love unselfishly. Pitka's nemesis, Deepak Chopra, was given the go ahead by the mentor to love freely. — — Guru Pitka wants to land a spot on Oprah... Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:09:36 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Love-Guru-review-26f41 LauraBelle 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Get-Smart-review-30842 The original Get Smart TV series was such a 60s classic, and was so identificable with the dry humor of star Don Adams, the sexiness of costar Barbara Feldon, and the innovative technology, the only way to truly honor this entertainment from our past is bring two of the original writers back. While the story in the new film version of Get Smart is written by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, the characters are written by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, the two lead writers of the series. — — The main characters of the original Get Smart series remain, just with new actors behind them. Steve Carell, master of dry humor in his own right is playing Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, and does well enough with it, that he almost made me forget Don Adams. Almost. Anne Hathaway takes over the part of Agent 99, and while her looks certainly match that of Barbara Feldon, she doesn't seem to match up well with Carell. They play it like they have chemistry, but even one of Maxwell's crafty gadgets... Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:35:11 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Get-Smart-review-30842 LauraBelle 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Horror-Flicks-That-Set-the-Bar-for-The-Happening-review-5e3c2 I wouldn't say horror flicks are my favorite genre of film, but sure, I enjoy a good scare now and then. But it has to be a good scare, not just doing it for the sake of scaring, and it can't be a slasher flick. I want to be watching on the edge of my seat, periodically having to glance at the screen through my hands over my eyes, and don't want to be absolutely grossed out. After seeing The Happening this week, I thought of the earlier films that taught me how to properly enjoy a good horror flick and wanted to see how it compared. — — 1. The Shining Throughout many of my favorite films there's a theme featuring writers, and the intersting thing is they were my favorites way before I even thought of becoming a writer. Jack Nicholson plays this one perfectly as he slowly goes mad. I would be lying if I said I didn't occasionally have bad days and think of typing over and over, "All work and no play makes Laura a dull girl." This scared me sufficiently, to the point of not... Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:35:35 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Horror-Flicks-That-Set-the-Bar-for-The-Happening-review-5e3c2 LauraBelle 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/You-Dont-Mess-With-the-Zohan-vs-Reign-Over-Me-review-49634 I just couldn't get over the two different sides of Adam Sandler while watching his latest film, You Don't Mess With the Zohan. While I enjoyed him very much on Saturday Night Live, his other films don't seem as fulfilling. 90 to 120 minutes of Sandler's brand of sophomoric humor can sometimes be just too much. He's become a a great success with this type of film, yet it's just not usually my cup of tea. — — My teenaged son really enjoys Sandler's humor, and that right there explains a lot. He begs me to watch Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore with him, and I've seen parts, and I find them funny, but I can only take so much at a time. Mr. Deeds I do like, but what I like much more is the soundtrack behind the film, giving me a glimmer of hope that Sandler does have it in him to reach me. — — That glimmer led to a full realization that yes, Adam Sandler did indeed have a deeper side to himself in last year's Reign Over Me, a heavy drama he starred in alongside... Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:38:42 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/You-Dont-Mess-With-the-Zohan-vs-Reign-Over-Me-review-49634 LauraBelle 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/The-40-Year-Old-Virgin-2005-review-0513 I've had this movie from Blockbuster for awhile, just waiting to see it. I had just never gotten around to seeing The 40 Year Old Virgin before, for no particular reason. My teenaged son ended up watching it first, and after that he told me it was good, but definitely not a movie to be watching with your parents. While that statement raised interest with me, it also let me know I had limited times where I could watch it. — — Finding that perfect time to be today, I realized exactly why he had said this. I knew of the movie before, and knew the basic plot and had seen some of the scenes, but I wasn't aware it had this amount of sexual content in it. Not that I mind, I just wasn't aware. In retrospect, looking at the cast, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, and Romany Malco, and director/writer, Jude Apatow, I should have been at least weary, as originally I had thought I would watch this movie with my son, and luckily he grabbed it to watch alone first. — —... Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:23:03 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/The-40-Year-Old-Virgin-2005-review-0513 LauraBelle 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Kung-Fu-Panda-review-deee1 If there was one thing we heard the most during this week's martial arts classes, it was the kids asking us what a "Wu-Shi Finger Hold" was and if it was a real technique. I had seen Kung Fu Panda, the newest Dreamworks creation, with my kids, so I knew exactly what they were referring to. Something tells me we'll be hearing about that all summer long. — — Jack Black voices the character of Po, a very portly panda bear that works in his father's noodle stand. While his father has promised that some day when the time is right, the noodle stand will be all Po's, he longs instead to become a kung fu hero. What is never answered during the movie, unless you count them hinting at the end that it might be remotely odd, is the fact that Po the panda bear's father is a goose, as well as all his ancestors. — — With the village in fear that the deposed Tai Lung, a snow leopard that is voiced by Ian McShane, will break out of prison, Shifu, a red panda and kung fu... Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:34:09 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Kung-Fu-Panda-review-deee1 LauraBelle 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Sex-and-The-City-The-Movie-review-837b4 I have never watched Sex and the City on TV more that a few times, have never had a Cosmopolitan, and have never even been to New York, yet, I found myself with a need to see the film version. I did the only logical choice; I brought along with me two dedicated fans of the show, my sister and my niece, thinking I'd need them to fill in a few blanks for me, to explain who was who and who had done what. — — Even though I had watched the television series just a few times, I knew the basics of who everyone was and what they were up to. I knew that Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) was an author and on again/off again with Mr. Big (Chris Noth). I know Samantha (Kim Cattrall) was sex-crazed, that Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) was an attorney, and that Charlotte (Kristin Davis) was a do-gooder. Of course, faithful viewers of the television series will tell you there's much more to the six seasons of the show than this, but what I found, was that that was really enough to know walking in... Sat, 07 Jun 2008 01:43:51 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Sex-and-The-City-The-Movie-review-837b4 LauraBelle 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Reel-Soundtrack-review-d3bc2 One of my favorite genres of music is movie soundtracks, for a variety of different reasons, but mainly because it incorporates different types of music, instead just being from one artist, and most importantly because they tell a story. So many times while I'm watching a movie, I enjoy the music as it fits into the story so much, I can't wait to get home to hit iTunes for the download. More often than not lately, the soundtracks I'm looking forward to aren't even released. I stumbled upon a great resource to circumvent this recently, Reel Soundtrack. — — Looking for information on a song recently, I googled it and came to reelsoundtrack.com. As I explored the site, I found that they had the music listed for all films, not just the ones that have soundtracks released. They must really do their homework there, as for each film, they have a complete listing of every song that can be heard, even if it's just the smallest piece of it.  For each song, it lists the title... Sat, 31 May 2008 17:57:02 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Reel-Soundtrack-review-d3bc2 LauraBelle 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Bachelorette-review-c6460 We all like happy endings, and truth be told, that's probably one reason we like to watch The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. There's just nothing like the two people at the end pledging their love to each other forever and ever, even if six months later we find that they're now split up. It just makes for good TV. Our normal six month disappointment turned to cynicism two seasons ago on The Bachelor, when Brad Womack told Jenny he wasn't picking her, then just after, told Deanna he let Jenny go, but ... he also couldn't tell Deanna he loved her. She was shocked, as were we, and a week later on live TV, he allowed her to think he changed his mind, then turned her away again! — — Ellen DeGeneres was right on the mark with this one, having Deanna on her talk show, telling her she deserved happiness and should be the next Bachelorette. ABC was listening and did just that. Deanna is the new Bachelorette, looking for that happily ever after that she was cheated out on last... Sat, 31 May 2008 17:17:35 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Bachelorette-review-c6460 LauraBelle 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Village-Squire-Restaurant-South-Elgin-IL-review-3e7e3 Looking for a place for the family to go for my birthday dinner, I wanted somewhere where we don't go very often, but probably should, and I settled on The Village Squire Restaurant, popular in our local area with a few locations. I have been going to their original location since becoming an adult, and now with a location even more closer to our home, we really should find our way there more often. It's not that it's ever too far away from my thoughts, as I pass by this place every time I go grocery shopping, and each of those times the aromas wafting through the air tantalize me. — — While I originally enjoyed going to The Village Squire's Dundee location, their newer South Elgin location is much closer for me, and they also have Crystal Lake and McHenry locations further north. Walking into either of the locations I've been to, it's immediately warm and inviting, very cozy. Yet, there is a heartiness to it that reminds me of the restaurant Rat and Stacy visit in Fast... Sat, 31 May 2008 14:37:36 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Village-Squire-Restaurant-South-Elgin-IL-review-3e7e3 LauraBelle 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Rookie-Day-3-Extraction-review-4fc85 I kept thinking while I was watching The Rookie Day 3: Extraction what a great break it would be for people who are busy working at home or in the office. Laid out in four to eight minute installments, it would be a nice quick break before you have to go back to that daily grind, regardless of what that may be. — — The Rookie Day 3: Extraction plays out in what are referred to as webisodes, episodes of a series that are viewed on the web instead of the television. Helping along the idea is that it's also a takeoff on the television series 24, yet instead of taking a whole season to play out a 24 hour day, it takes six webisodes to play out one hour. These are easily accessed through youtube. — — Jason Blaine is an American Counter Terrorism rookie. His older more experienced partner is kidnapped by members of a drug cartel, and Jason uses his own wiles, along with information gained from the others in the Counter Terrorism outfit to search and rescue his... Fri, 30 May 2008 20:15:49 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Rookie-Day-3-Extraction-review-4fc85 LauraBelle 4