The Ice Age will be back tomorrow and we hope for everyone involved sakes that it will be received warmly. To be honest I am not a fan of Ice Age but since this one’s in 3D and I promised my dad just this weekend that I’ll be bringing my nephew to the next 3D movie then I just might see this (cross my fingers they don’t decide to come by and visit till Ice Age is out of the cinemas). Now that doesn’t mean that I don’t like it at all but I’d rather spend my money on other movies that would be more enjoyable for me. Of course, it’s called selfishness. Anyway here’s what the makers say you expect if you do decide to watch Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

Got vetoed and ended up watching “Transformers Revenge of the Fallen” instead of “My Sister’s Keeper”. So did I end up enjoying myself? Yes. Did it live up to the hype? I’m not quite sure. Will it keep on topping the box office? Hell, yeah!

The movie to watch in my book this coming weekend will require me to bring a whole box of tissue. “My Sister’s Keeper”, an adaptation of Jodi Picoult’s book, has captured my attention the first time I saw it’s trailer, tugging at my heartstrings with the few scenes revealed. “My Sister’s Keeper “ is a film about a family of a dying child and a sister “created” to save her . Sofia Vassilieva plays the role of the suffering 15 year old Kate who’s dying from leukemia. Abigail Breslin plays the role of her sister, Anna, who was literally conceived/created using science to be Kate’s genetic match. Anna, who from infancy has been constantly giving blood and bone marrow to her sister, finally refuses to be a spare parts factory when one of her kidney is required to keep Kate alive. Now that is a story to make one’s head spin.

Now that the Academy Awards has announced that it will be considering twice the number of movies (from 5 to 10) as nominees for the best picture category what people are wondering about is whether we’ll actually be seeing a box office movie get the best picture award. Many are skeptical about such a thing happening though and share Jon Favreau’s, director of “Iron Man”, sentiments when he said, “I think it’s going to help the musicals and comedies and the genre films, but I don’t think this means they will be winning. I think this means more people are in on the party, but I think you will still see films sweep. The nominee list is going to look like an Iraqi presidential ballot with all the names. I also think it could hurt small films that have won in the past, like ‘Crash’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ which may suffer when there’s more choices.” Favreau has a good point indeed since the Oscars are likely expanding the nominee count just to get more attention from the same viewers that watch the box office hits but will likely stick to their current criterion, which will mean that the more artsy films will still keep on winning. Still, for those hoping to at least get nominated this will at least give them a better chance. Better a nominee than be being completely snubbed, right?

Alice in Wonderland has always scared me when I was a kid. I think it still does scare me a bit now. One look at the concept art Disney released on the upcoming Alice in Wonderland film and its enough to peak anyone’s interest, no matter how queasy one may be with the trauma the weird story inflicted on you as a child. Aside from the great effects, costume and all that we can be sure though that the movie, which won’t be coming out till March of next year, will be as surreal and weird as the story since Tim Burton will be the one directing it. No problem with me now though I will never consider it a children’s story and won’t be bringing the kids to see the film (not sure if it’s going to be PG anyway) until I deem it not scary.

You’d think that any film with Brad Pitt on board will ensure that things will roll smoothly. I guess Columbia Pictures know better and wouldn’t bank their money even with the super star of stars on board if they figure that the script isn’t up to par. Up to par with what though, I don’t know. What we know for sure is that Columbia Pictures president Amy Pascal just backed out from backing “Moneyball” after reading the final draft of the script.

More than 5 years old and this TV movie still moves me to tears each time I see it. Gracie’s Choice is about a 17 year-old girl who all her life has taken on the responsibility of raising her siblings, a sister and three brothers who all have different fathers, because of the irresponsibility of their addict mom. Kristen Bell plays the part of Gracie and Anne Heche, who was nominated for an Emmy for the role, played the mother.

I never saw the original “Taking of Pelham123” movie because it was made before I was even born. It is hailed as a classic though, which makes the expectations for the remake (Don’t call it that in front of Denzel Washington…) pretty high. The 1974 “Taking of Pelham 123” stars Walter Matthau as the transit police lieutenant working to rescue passengers on the train hijacked by four armed men. The new version, coming out on June 12, changes things up a bit with the hero, played by Denzel Washington, inexperienced when it comes to crime-fighting since he’s a train dispatcher and not a policeman. The new movie is also more current and relevant in this post 9/11 world, making references to the Iraq war. The hijackers’ demands has also risen with inflation and is now $10 million, 10 times more than the $1 million actor Robert Shaw and his fellow hijackers asked for back in 1974.

When I watch movies I almost always go with a positive mindset. I go to watch movies to enjoy it and not to find flaws. For this reason I do not call myself a film critic but a movie enthusiast. I guess as corny as it sounds my enthusiasm for movies makes the title more apt.
I know movie critics actually exist to critique a film and not criticize it but sometimes critics can get on anyone’s nerves, mine included. Granted that all movies are not equal and a lot of movies deserve the bashing they get (I have given bad reviews for such movies myself) but in my opinion movies should just be enjoyed as they are. Sure we’ll give reviews and notice both the great moments and the really dumb ones but what matters to me is my mindset when I go to watch a film. Am I setting too high an expectation? If you know that a movie sucks and still go watch it then I think it’s your fault for being dumb enough to waste your time and money. If you go watch something and find out that it isn’t enjoyable to you then I guess you have the right to grumble. That to me is just fair.

I can’t believe that the first Toy Story came out FOURTEEN YEARS AGO. Boy, does that make me feel old!
Toy Story 3 is coming and it’s trailer premiered on Entertainment Tonight.