Well… since I do not have a play to be in this holiday season, I will try to hit a few of the blockbusters coming to the multiplexes in the next few weeks.  I have already mentioned the runaway train movie that I CAN NEVER remember the title of but it stars Denzel Washington and Chris Pine.  Denzel always seems to be at the top of his game.  Does anyone know of a less than great performance he has delivered?  Also curious to see if Mr. Pine can go beyond his role of Captain James Tiberius Kirk (that is the first role I have seen him in)  UNSTOPPABLE! THAT’S IT!  Opens Friday, November 12 (my day off, hmm).

Also Opening up this Friday is Skyline which looks like an entertaining alien invasion flick.

Next week’s major opening is a definite must see!  In fact, I have already made plans to see this next Saturday (it is my week to work Friday night).  If you have not read/seen book/movie 6 in the Harry Potter series… may I suggest hunting out one of the two before heading out to see the first part of the final chapter.  I have always thought that The Half Blood Prince was more of a transition to The Deathly Hallows.  Although, I found the previous film to be somewhat of a letdown, there are some elements that I recommend discovering before going into what I anticipate will be GREAT!

TRON:Legacy will probably be best experienced on a good cinema screen and hopefully, I will be able to make a viewing.  Twentysome years is an awfully long time to wait for a sequel.  However, with the technological advances made since 1982(?!), I’m sure it will be spectacular!

The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader opens in December, too.  I really was not aware that this had been completed until I saw a preview a few weeks ago.  This is the third movie based on C.S. Lewis’ classic 7 book series.  I really enjoyed the previous installments…primarily since they were some of my favorite tales growing up.

I think that is about it!  It almost seems like summer with all of the action-packed popcorn movies opening up.  I thought the last few months of the year were geared toward the Oscar worthy features.  Maybe someone thinks that Yogi and BooBoo will be “contendahs” 😀 or the return of the Fockers?

So… hopefully with all the hustle and bustle the holidays bring, everyone can take a few hours and escape.

…according to the movies, anyway.  Not one but two well-known movie franchises have plots revolving around adventure-seeking archaeologists, Indiana Jones and The Mummy.  I couldn’t resist the hype of the new Indiana Jones movie and made that my first experience with Indiana Jones earlier this year.  It was entertaining, though I still don’t really get what all the fuss is about, although I’m told the latest (and last, supposedly) Indiana Jones movie is not the best one by far.  So for date night last week, we decided to give the latest Mummy movie, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor a try, and again, I don’t see what all the fuss is about.  I did like it better than Hellboy 2, but I really think that has more to do with how sick I was when I saw Hellboy 2 because I just wanted to leave the theater.  My husband liked Hellboy 2 better.  I’m comparing the two because they are somewhat similiar movies; both action-fantasies involving the raising of ancient asian things.  But anyway, back to the latest Mummy movie…  Archaeology is dangerous in the movies!

Brendan Fraser plays an archaeologist who is hired to guard a precious artifact as it makes its journey to become a gift.  There’s a guy who is trying to raise this emperor from the dead; it has something to do with a curse.  So the emperor is raised, and that’s what I really liked about the movie.  The emperor was made out of what looked like metal and fire, and I really enjoyed these special effects.  When they were coupled with the emperor’s voice, it made for a nice scary villian – I hope you appreciate the oxymoron of nice scary villian 😉  The one thing I didn’t understand about the movie is why they threw in the random yetis.  You’ll have to see it to know what I’m talking about, I guess, but let’s just say that there were some yetis all of a sudden and they didn’t seem to have much to do with the rest of the plot.  As far as the plot goes, it wasn’t really my kind of movie, but it was a $3 matinee, buy one get one free, so for that price, I was thoroughly entertained.  Three random notes I have are:  1.  I didn’t realize the Mummy movies take place in the past, in the 1940’s.  2.  Is it a requirement for sequels to have extremely cheesy references to the original movie?  This movie is no exception.  3.  Anyone visiting Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida should definitely try the Mummy ride.  It is a thrill ride with special effects; a haunted house roller coaster, and it’s unlike any other roller coaster I’ve ever experienced – totally awesome!

I was debating on which blog to write this post. I, personally, have had enough of filmmakers making the same movie over and over again and attempting to make it a sequel. There has been Cruel Intentions I and II (based on the film Dangerous Liasons). It even had the same characters but played by different actors. Last night, The Cutting Edge 3 premiered. I did not tune in as I have seen the first movie at least once (and that is enough, thank you). The first movie starred D.B. Sweeney (a B-movie actor if there ever was one) as a hockey player who either is passed his prime or is injured. Somehow, he becomes the partner of an Olympic-medal hopeful figure skater (Moira Kelley). What follows is as predictable as any Dirty Dancing-esque movie could be. The two meet, argue, attempt to work together, fall apart, get back together, and finally perfect their routine enough to compete. Did I mention that they also fall in love…. how predictable?

OH…. forgive me please. The Cutting Edge 2 features the daughter of the characters of the original. It seems she has the same dream as her mother and meets and falls for her headstrong, stubborn skating partner. I’m sure that it is as brilliant as the first movie…. only the character names have been changed (or most) to protect the integrity of the first movie.

Unfortunately, I could find no synopsis for The Cutting Edge 3 to compare the plots of the trilogy. However, I can provide the following as a possible scenario:

A former hockey pro reluctantly agrees to become the partner of a stubborn, self-centered Olympic figure skating hopeful. Sexual tension begins to rise as they struggle to go for the gold.

Strange, but they seem like a case of been there, seen that, and seeing that was not so great. So enough of Hollywood rehashes posing as sequels even if they are direct to video or made-for-television. At the very least, Grease 2 attempted to be a completely different story… but that is another turkey.