Movies and a talented actor everybody loves

Hello there. Sorry I haven't updated for a long time, especially with movie reviews!

This weekend I saw two completely different movies: No Country For Old Men and Penelope. Warning, may contain minor spoilers.

No Country For Old Men is an intense movie. It is scary, suspenseful, and creepy. Javier Bardem is terrifying as Anton, the psychopathic killer. Some parts are funny with the naive sheriff. All the parts with Anton are frightening and suspenseful, and everyone is no match for him with his devastating weapons. The first part of the movie is pretty straightforward with a cat and mouse chase, but with a lingering mystery as to who Anton is and what he wants. Towards the end, everything amounts to nothing. All the effort made in the beginning is ineffective. As the title of the movie says, there is no room for the old ways of men: greed, murder, etc.. I got confused at the very last scene because I didn't catch everything that Tommy Lee Jones's character said, so I'll have to watch this movie again to truly understand everything that happened in the movie. The atmosphere of the movie and the way it was shot, added to the ominous feel of the whole story. All in all, I think it deserved its Best Picture, but I haven't seen any of the other nominees besides Atonement.

Trailer for No Country For Old Men



Penelope is a cute fairy tale that young girls will enjoy. If you love James McAvoy like I do, you'll adore him in this movie. His character, Max, is wonderful. James can carry a movie so well. Whenever he came on, the movie became even more surreal. Christina Ricci also does a great job as Penelope, and I found her pretty cute with the pig nose. I enjoyed this film so much. It is definitely a feel-good movie that's guaranteed to make you happier. I was smirking during the movie, especially whenever James was on the screen. His American accent is flawless too. Any slips are definitely not obvious because his American accent sounds natural. No offense to Ewan McGregor (whom I also love), but James's American accent sounds a lot more natural than Ewan's forced accent. At times, the movie can get cheesy, but that's what makes it fun! There are quite a few faces that I was surprised to see, including some famous British actors like the one who played Owen from Torchwood. The soundtrack is nice too! I found this film very enjoyable because of James's lovable performance. If you're looking for a fun and adorable movie, go watch this one!

Trailer for Penelope



Yes, everybody loves James McAvoy. I absolutely adore him. He first made himself known to me as Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe and I found him cute in that. However, it wasn't until several months ago that I saw him in The Last King Of Scotland. After I saw him in that movie, I started to become fascinated with this talented Scot. Then I watched the trailer for Atonement. I was so excited by it that I became obsessed with James in anticipation of the movie. I already loved him before Atonement, but he was just wonderful in that movie. He didn't get nominated for an Oscar for his role as Robbie Turner, but that was one hell of a performance. Now, after seeing him in many of his other movies and watching interviews of him, he is currently my favorite actor out there. He is so talented and he is only 28! His acting ability and range are amazing. He has revived my love for film. During most of 2007, I was only into music. Then I saw James and his movies towards the end of the year, and now I am truly a movie geek again.

Talented, cute, nice, funny, SCOTTISH, and he has gorgeous blue eyes..


One of the best interviews with James

Movie, music, actor recap :D

Alright, for nearly the past month, I've watched quite a few movies, got interested in yet another actor, and listened to new/good music. I've added a few in my radio. ;)

Casino Royale
When I first heard about Daniel Craig playing James Bond, I wasn't too impressed, but once I saw trailers and commercials, I really wanted to watch the movie anyway. He was a great Bond, tough and cool (and pretty sexy, I admit).. The action was intense and suspenseful, the acting was excellent - Daniel Craig's dry British humor along with his suave demeanor... Mads Mikkelsen, playing Le Chiffre, didn't show up as much as I thought he would since I thought he was the main bad guy (why do Bond villains tend to be a little disfigured too?)..
SPOILER AHEAD
I watched this with my brother during winter break, and it was hard not to laugh at the torture scene when Bond said something along the lines of "Now the world will know you died scratching my balls" or something.. lol. XD I wasn't too pleased with the abrupt and unceremonious end to Le Chiffre, though... I would've liked to see more of him. Craig and Mikkelsen were marvelous.
(9/10)

Eragon
I am probably one of the few who hasn't read this book, but I was still not sure what to expect after hearing so many bad reviews for it.. While it was a little on the cheesy side, I don't know if it was THAT bad. I liked the dragon scenes and the effects were good for the big battle scene. However, I didn't really feel for any of the characters and it felt a bit weird.. I felt more sympathy for Bond and Le Chiffre than any of these characters! I guess I felt that it wasn't as terrible as some people said, especially since I didn't read the book.
(5/10)

Night At The Museum
I didn't expect anything from this besides a fun kids movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie with all the quirks and references to history (although some were wrong!). There was the Roman diorama that was all anachronistic. XP The Colosseum did not exist during Octavius' time. Vespasian built it way after! Anyway, that didn't bother me much and I still enjoyed the movie a lot. It was cute and fun, and I especially loved all the little guys, including Jed and Octavius. XD This was probably the most dramatic thing I've seen Ben Stiller do. He was in Empire Of The Sun, but that was like a cameo. :P
(7/10)

Blood Diamond
I knew going into this movie that it would be sad. I was right! It was quite the emotional roller coaster with a lot of suspenseful action scenes dispersed throughout. Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou were brilliant. I liked Leo's character, Danny, for his conflicting morals and the 3-dimensionality of his persona. The internal and external conflict were intriguing and even though he's not really a good guy, I wanted him to be. He is the anti-hero, and I usually like those kinds of characters with lots of dark angst and stuff.. :P I practically had tears throughout the whole movie, and Leo and Djimon really brought forth my emotions. A sad, but powerful movie that makes you wonder about the things that go on behind the scenes.
(10/10)

Now for some music! :D

Guillemots
A guillemot is a type of bird, I believe. ;D I've always liked their song "Trains To Brazil" since I downloaded it as a free single of the week on iTunes about a year ago, but I didn't hear their other songs until now. I sure have missed out on them for awhile! You can listen to a few of their songs in my radio. :) Through the Windowpane is fantastic! I absolutely love their unique and fun style! Their songs are beautiful, and I love their creativity with sounds/instruments!!! The band members' names are very interesting! Lead singer: Fyfe Dangerfield, guitar: MC Lord Magrao, cello: Aristazabel Hawkes, and drummer: Greig Stewart. :P Yes, I am quite obsessed with them now. They also have the best website! XD
CLICK HERE TO SEE IT
My favorite songs are "We're Here", "Annie, Let's Not Wait", "Made-Up Love Song #43", "Trains To Brazil", and "Sao Paulo". Most of them are singles, but I still need to listen to more of their stuff!!
Another British band I've become obsessed with!

Check out some of their awesome music videos. :D

Trains To Brazil

Aww, lol

Made-Up Love Song #43

♥

Cool live version :D


Annie, Let's Not Wait

Such a cool video and a catchy tune! ♥

GREAT live version, same production as the last live one!


We're Here

I LOVE this song! XD

Now another actor I got obsessed with...

Mads Mikkelsen
When I saw him in Casino Royale, I thought he looked so familiar because his face is quite distinguished. I always feel like I've seen something before if it stands out. Anyway, I didn't really become obsessed with him after watching him as Le Chiffre, but he certainly did intrigue me. One day my dad started watching King Arthur. I didn't really want to, but I just let him watch it while we ate dinner. Then I instantly recognized the face through all the messy hair that covered Tristan's face. I pointed at him to my brother and I was like, "It's Le Chiffre!" :P So I ended up watching King Arthur for Tristan/Mads. XD Aaah, Tristan was so awesome as the quiet and mysterious scout, with his mad archery skills and samurai-looking fighting style AND his hawk!! *love* He was the best and only good part about the movie, I thought. So yeah, I got obsessed after seeing the beautiful Tristan.. *g* Argh, forget the age difference, I still think he's cool and handsome as a gentleman. His figure was great as Tristan and in real life, of course - tall and slim - lol. I wish I could see his Danish movies, but a lot of them are hard to come by over here.. He's a great actor and I could tell from the trailers I've seen of his Danish movies. Well, I do have a liking for gentlemen over the age of 30. And it's not much different from thinking that Johnny Depp and Viggo Mortensen are hot, as they are over 40 like Mads.

Movie stills from OutNow.CH