ViveLaNeige

As soon as I saw the trailer for this movie, I was excited: a Disney movie where they parodied Disney fairy tales? Genius! I saw the movie today, and it did not disappoint. From the traditional animation-style beginning to the live action (the majority of the movie), the story was excellent. Without spoiling any plot details, I will say that both Amy Adams and James Marsden have excellent singing voices, and play their fairy tale characters in the real world with the perfect mixture of magic and ridiculousness. Patrick Dempsey is also surprisingly good as the man Giselle (Amy Adams) meets and whose life she turns upside down.

If you're a fan of the old Disney princess movies, and also can appreciate laughing at them (in a way that is also a loving tribute to them), this movie is for you.

When I heard all the lukewarm reviews for "The Legend of Zorro", I was disappointed, having enjoyed "Mask of Zorro" a great deal. But I decided to go see it anyway - I've learned that I frequently don't agree with movie reviewers' opinions, after all. And I left the theatre fairly well satisfied with the movie - it was good entertainment, definitely worth the price of admission.

Antonio Banderas does excellently reprising the role of Don Alejandro/Zorro, sword-fighting, swinging, and punching his way through the cool action scenes. The actor who plays his son is very cute and talented, as well. And though the story line is formulaic, with a few Western-movie clichés, this kind of movie is supposed to follow the formula, in my opinion. The only scene that I felt was a bit corny was the very last scene.

If you liked "Mask of Zorro" and were excited when you saw the trailers for "Legend", go see it. You will most likely find it very enjoyable.

I went to see "Serenity" today slightly unsure if I would be able to enjoy it fully, since I have not seen "Firefly", the TV series it was based on. The trailers had intrigued me, though, as well as enthusiastic word of mouth from "Firefly" fans. Also, I've always been a fan of sci-fi. After seeing the movie, I have to say it is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Even though I wasn't familiar with the series, the movie explains enough of the background that I was not at all confused at any point. "Serenity" stood on its own fantastically.

The crew of the ship Serenity are a somewhat rag-tag bunch captained by Mal, a man who fought against the galactic Alliance and lost. Serenity usually does jobs under the radar of the Alliance, but when they offer transport to a young doctor and his sister, Simon and River Tam, they find they've got more than they bargained for - River has a secret, and the Alliance has a strong interest in her. There is an excellent mixture of action, clever dialog, and character development. At no point was I distracted by my lack of knowledge about the series. If you enjoy sci-fi of any kind, or really, if you enjoy a very well-written and carried-out movie, go see "Serenity"! You won't regret it.