Toy Story 3

Toy Story

G,1hr 43min.

BLOGGERS OPINION: The third of the phenomenon that swept the country is now here. Yes, I'm talking about Toy Story. Directed by Lee Unkrich, this movie doesn't lose it's touch. All of your favorite characters (and actors) are back for the greatest and most dangorous adventure of their lives! Woody (played by Tom Hanks), Buzz (played by Tim Allen) and the rest of the gang find themselves trapped in "Sunny Side Daycare" when the box they were in was mistakabley donated there. Now the toys must escape from the terible wrath of Lots-o'-the bear (played by Ned Beatty) and make it back home before Andy (played by John Morris) leaves for collage. This movie is absolutley my favorite out of the three and is a definet must see.

SCALE FROM A+-F: The third movie is amazing! I can't help but give this movie an A+. This movie is so heartwarming and cute. It has a great message and is a great movie and I absolutley love it! It is a must must see movie!

The Return....

As you can see I haven't been on my blog in awhile. I am happy to say that I am returning to work on my blog! I hope you enjoy! :)

District 9

District 9
R, 1hr 53min.

BLOGGERS OPINION: Directed by Neill Blomkamp, this Sci-fi movie is definitely one that you don’t want to miss! Its absolutely full of action and suspense. The plot was amazing and the actors were great! The thing that caught my eye the most though was the animation for the aliens. Each alien looked realalistic. There language was cool as well. The fact that a movie can make their own languages is phenomenal. I thought that it was very neat to listen to. I also liked that the aliens were friendly yet deadly. If you get them ticked off then they are highly deadly. Their weapons can’t be used by humans and are much more advanced then ours. But there are aliens like Christopher (one of the main characters) who wouldn’t hurt humans. All in all, They are basically harmless unless you get them ticked off. The only thing that I didn’t like about this movie is the constant F-bombs. I understand that the situations were dire and the first thing that a human being would do would be to swear, but they constantly said that word over and over again! It kind-off got annoying. Also, some people can’t stand seeing blood or people being shot or exploding. If you are one of these people, this movie may not be the best for you. They don’t show people exploding all the time but there are parts were the people are like….torn in half. It’s not the prettiest sight in the world! But never the less, this movie was incredible and one that you should see.

SCALE FROM A+ - F: District 9 was a fascinating movie. There was action and suspense. Those are some of the qualities that you want to see in these movies. That is why I am giving this movie and A-. I really liked this movie. But again the constant F-bombs and the gory killing scenes were the parts that drew me away from this movie. But never the less I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone! (Be sure that if you are under the age of 18, you are accompanied by an adult. Some scenes may be too scary of graphic for certain kids.)


(Below is a link to District 9’s site)

http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/district9/site/?hs317=district9+entertheatricalsite

skaterdawg-hawk presents……

The First Annual Blog Movie Awards!

Ok now I know this probably sounds very strange but each month or two I will be presenting virtual awards to best movie, best actor, best actress, best animation, and best director for each movie that I have blogged about.

Here are the nominees for Best Movie:
Ø Avatar
Ø 9
Ø When in Rome
Ø Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Ø Valentine’s Day

And the award goes to……
Avatar
This was a tough decision. I really thought that Avatar just stood apart from the rest. I congratulate you on your success Avatar!

Here are the nominees for best actor:
Ø Sam Worthington ~ Avatar
Ø Elijah Wood ~ 9
Ø Michael Jackson ~ Michael Jackson’s- This is It
Ø Logan Lerman ~ Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Ø Tom Hanks ~ Angels and Demons

And the award goes to…..
Sam Worthington ~ Avatar
Talk about a tough category! There were so many incredible actors. But out of all of them I would have to say that Sam Worthington really shined in Avatar. I congratulated him on his success.

Here are the nominees for best actress:
Ø Zoe Saldana ~ Avatar
Ø Jennifer Connelly ~ 9
Ø Kristen Bell ~ When in Rome
Ø Alexandra Daddario ~ Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Ø Taylor Swift ~ Valentine’s Day

And the award goes to…….
Alexandra Daddario ~ Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Again this was a very hard category. I just felt like Alexandra had this fire that no one could match. She has some talent. Congratulations to you Alexandra on your success.

Here are the nominees for best animation:
Ø 9
Ø Avatar
Ø The Tooth Fairy
Ø X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Ø Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

And the award goes to……….
Avatar
I would have gone with 9 but Avatar has shown us animation that can begin a new revolution of animated movies! I congratulate you again on your success.

Here are the nominees for best director:
Ø James Cameron ~ Avatar
Ø Shane Acker ~ 9
Ø Kenny Ortega ~ Michael Jackson’s- This is It
Ø Chris Columbus ~ Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Ø Mark Steven Johnson ~ When in Rome

And the award goes to……..
Shane Acker ~ 9
What can I say? This movie was quite good! I really liked the way that Shane created this short film into a fascinating world of wonder! I congratulate you on your success on this movie!

Thank you for attending this month’s awards! The next award will take place at the end of April. It will be over all the movies that I have blogged about for March – April. Thank you for tuning into my blog!!

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland
‎PG, 1hr 49min

BLOGGERS OPPINION: ‎‎ Directed by Tim Burton, this movie is wacky and full of wonder! I absolutely loved this movie. I thought it was witty, funny, wacky and wonderful. I think that Tim Burton made an incredible remake of Alice in Wonderland. I also would like to complement him on the incredible actors that he casted. It is absolutely impossible to think of anyone better to play the roles that these great people did. Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska were absolutely amazing! Also Helena Bonham Carter was quite good as well. I really liked the way that Tim Burton added things into the movie. The animations were so realalistic. I liked the unimaginable characters that Tim basically defined in this incredible movie. The only thing that would have made the movie better was if I were in 3-D. I would so suggest this movie to everyone.

SCALE FROM A+ - F: I would so give this movie an A+. I thought this movie was just awesome! Tim Burton did an amazing job, the actors did an amazing job and the animation is incredible. It was a completely new way to think of Alice in Wonderland. I personally think that it was better than the original. This is my must-see movie for the month! I would totally recommend this movie to everyone! :]

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
PG-13, 107 min.
BLOGGERS OPINION: Directed by Gavin Hood, this is the movie that defines all super-power movies. Now again I know that this movie has been out for awhile but it’s good to reflect on some of the older movies. This movie stars the awesome Hugh Jackman. He was quite good at his role of playing a “mutant” called Wolverine. This move also starts people like Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will i Am, and many other stars. This movie was full of suspense, mystery, betrayal and a huge amount of action (as well as some love scenes on the side). I could not get over how cool the special effects were. They literally blew me away. The 1 thing that would make this movie even cooler was if I were watching it in 3D. I also think that it was quite cool to see each “mutants” power. I really wasn’t sure how this movie was going to be, but I can honestly say that it was awesome! My favorite characters were Will i Am & Hugh Jackman. I liked the way Hugh just brought this dark side to him. He was humble in some scenes but he could really kick some butt if he needed to. I also liked Will i Am in this movie. I thought he had this humble yet aggressive side to him. He probably was my favorite character!

SCALE FROM A+ - F: I would give this movie a C. Don’t get me wrong the movie was great, but some of the special affects just weren’t that good and there were just too many bad guys. There were scenes that you could tell that they worked hard to make it look real. But there were other scenes were, ya, they might have worked hard on but they were definitely not as good as the rest. Also there were like, 3-4 main bad guys. Most of them just popped up out of the blue. One shows up at the end and another one turns good. It just seemed like a little too many bad guys. I would focus on 1 or 2 not 3 or 4. Finally I really didn’t like the ending. I know that this (I believe) is the 1st movie of the series, but the ending just didn’t grab my attention. From my perspective I thought it was sad and that the plot on the 2nd movie wouldn’t be that good because of the ending on the 1st movie (I don’t know if that statement even made sense to any of you but you would have to watch the movie in order to find out). But I would still recommend this movie to anyone. It came out May 1st, 2009. You may have to watch the other X-men movie in order to understand this one. I haven't seen the others so that may be why I didn't like this movie.
P.S. If you happen to rent this movie, there is a scene after the credits. Be sure to watch the credits or fast forward to after the credits because the scene may be useful in the plot of the 2nd movie!

Angels and Demons

Angels and Demons
PG-13,139 min.
BLOGGERS OPPINION: Directed by Ron Howard, this movie is full of action and suspense. Now I know that this movie has been out for awhile, but I thought that I would blog about an older one. The release date was on May 15th 2009. “Angels and Demons” is a sequel to “The Da Vinci Code” which came to theaters in 2006. This movie had an incredible cast starring Tom Hanks from “The Da Vinci Code”, “The Polar Express”, etc. This movie was thrilling from beginning to end. It was so suspenseful that it really kept you on the edge of your seat. With all this suspense though, there were some bloody parts I have to admit. It does somewhat fit the name “Demons” though. But that doesn’t change the fact that this movie was good. It had a lot to do with the Vatican and the Catholic Church. I’m not for certain though if all the legends are true. But I’m getting of topic. There were many twists and leads in this movie. Also there were some frightening images but over this entire entire movie isn’t half bad. You don’t need to see the first movie to understand the second. The only thing you need to do is to watch the movie from beginning to end. If you start to watch in the middle of the movie, you will be completely confused.

SCALE FROM A+ - F: I would give this movie a solid B-. The story line was good, the acting was great, the twists were fantastic but the movie seemed very graphical. Some of the scenes were just way too much for me to handle. I was lucky that I didn’t eat anything before I watched this movie. But I must say that they kept it real and thrilling. I would recommend this to anyone who is wanting to watch a mystery/ thrilling / suspenseful movie!

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day
PG-13, 1hr 57min.
BLOGGERS OPPINION: Directed by Garry Marshall, this is the cutest movie of the year. It’s full of nonstop laughs and a bunch of love (hence its name). There are too many famous faces in this movie. For instance Ashton Cooper, Jessica Alba, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez and so much more. This is such a good movie. My favorite stars in this movie are Ashton Cooper and Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift was just too funny in the movie. Ashton was just too cool. The coolest thing though about the movie was that the focus wasn’t on just 1 couple it consisted on many couples. Also some way or another all of their stories connected. In order to understand what I’m saying, you’ll have to see the movie. Overall the plot was good, the stars were awesome and somehow all connected.

SCALE FROM F – A+: I would give this movie and A. Although this movie was good, there were just some creepy, nasty and awkward moments in the movie. But never the less, I would totally recommend this movie to anyone. This is full of laughs, drama and romance. ~ HAPPY VALETINES DAY! ~

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
PG, 120 min.
BLOGGERS OPPINION: Directed by Chris Columbus, this is a non-stop action adventure! I had a feeling that this movie would be great and let me tell you it was! The action was intense, the story line was good, and the casting was incredible. I can’t mention one part in this movie that the scene just dragged. Staring Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson), Brandon T. Jackson (Grover), and Alexandra Daddario (Annabeth); this is the type of cast anyone would want in their movie. The movie was based off of Rick Riordan series, which was a big hit. I just really can’t get over how amazing this movie is. It was funny, action packed, and mysterious. My favorite character in this movie would be Annabeth. She just has the courage and strength that a girl should defiantly show. I also like her battle moves. They’re just cool! 

SCALE FROM F – A+: I would give this movie an A+. There’s not really any mistake or flaws in this movie. The ending had a kind-off a twist to it. I like to see those types of things in movies. The only thing that probably wasn’t the best was that there was a bit of swearing here and there. I was a bit shocked that they rated it PG even though there was swearing. I usually thought they were getting a bit pickier about that. But that doesn’t mean that I will drop the grade. I would definitely recommend this to everyone! This is my must see movie of the month!

Michael Jackson's- This Is It

Michael Jackson’s- This Is It
PG, 111 min.
BLOGGERS OPPION: Directed by Kenny Ortega, this movie shows some of Michael Jackson’s finest, most dedicating moments. This movie is definitely as good as it sounds. One thing I like about this documentary is that they show spilt screens of different runs that they took on the same song. Also I like that they have the dancers, singers, and instrument players give their own opinion about how they feel when working with MJ. The coolest thing though was the clips that showed their digital plans for the concerts. I was neat to see how they would have turned out. Most of the songs always had some music video to it. The music videos were amazing! In my opinion the coolest songs that MJ sang were “Thriller” and “Smooth Criminal”. The music video for “Thriller” was basically a remake of the original video. The cool part was that they put Vincent Price saying “monster poems” to the vid, and his classical “villainous” laugh. The dancing was basically the same. The video to “Smooth Criminal” was like a black in white remake but instead of some other actor, MJ was the guy being chased. It looked like a 40’s-50’s remake. The dancing in that was basically the same to.

SCALE FROM F – A+: Honestly I didn’t know what to expect from this movie. I wasn’t so sure that it would be as good as people said it was. But I am now eating my words by giving this movie an A. This movie wasn’t so bad. Although it was really good, I felt like it was a bit too long and the music just seemed like it didn’t end. A few songs they kept on repeating the words over and over and over. I thought that they were have some contest on how long they could keep saying that sentence until they all go insane! But I would totally recommend this to anyone. This concert would have been amazing! Totally go rent or buy this movie. ~~~Michael Jackson R.I.P~~~

(In stores on DVD and Blu-Ray on January 26, 2010)

When In Rome

When In Rome
PG-13, 1hr 31min.
BLOOGERS OPPION: Directed by Mark Steven Johnson, this movie is funny, dramatic, romantic and such a fun movie. The stars are Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. They are so good in this movie. It’s hard to see any other actor doing a funny/romantic film like this. The plots easy to understand. It’s basically about a women (Kristen Bell) who is so focused on her job (and been hurt so many times) that she doesn’t find the time for love. When she goes to Rome for her sister’s wedding she meets a great guy. Wishing for love, she draws random coins out of “The Fountain of Love.” When coming back to New York, she finds herself stuck between several guys wanting to win her heart. The problem is, she doesn’t want all of them.

SCALE FROM F – A+: I would give this movie a B+. Although the movie was good, there were some unwanted parts and just some downright weird parts that I felt were unneeded. But I would definitely recommend this movie for a good laugh, date, or just a movie to see with friends!

The Tooth Fairy

The Tooth fairy
PG, 1hr 42min.
BLOGGERS OPINION: Directed by Michael Lembeck this is one of good family comedy. Of all of the movies that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is in this is one of my least favorites. Although this movie was funny, there seemed to be a little too much arguing. It’s simple to understand and the movie doesn’t drag (at parts). The comedy wasn’t cheesy and it’s a good see for the whole family. Dwayne Johnson was quite good as the macho, stubborn, dream killing hockey player. Julie Andrews also was exceptionally good at her part as the “head leader” of Fairy land.

SCALE FROM F – A+: I would have to give this movie a D. I flat out really did not like this movie at all. Ya there were funny parts but over all the story was just....dumb. And also the whole point of the movie was about him being a tooth fairy yet he only goes on like 3-4 missions. They really could have done better. But if you wish to see this movie, I'm not stopping you. After all, I'm only a blogger.

9

9
PG-13, 79 min.
BLOGGERS OPIONION: This is no shocker that this is a Tim Burton film. Produced by Tim Burton, Timur Bekmambetov, Jim Lemley and directed by Shane Acker; this movie is just another 1 of Tim’s amazing masterpieces. The movie was based off of Shane Ackers short “9” that was released in 2005. The short was nominated for an Academy Award for Animated Short Film. It lost, but many out there ranked it their #1 favorite short. This movie is full of suspense and action. It’s so easy to see that Tim Burton was a part of this film. The cast was perfect. It’s hard to think that anyone else could play the roles in this film. There were too many familiar faces in this movie. For instance Elijah Wood (9), Crispin Glover (6), Jennifer Connelly (7), and many others. This movie was unbelievable. The plot was simple to understand, the movie didn’t drag, and the scenes were fantastic! Also the robotic monsters in hear were very fascinating and frightening!

SCALE FROM F – A+: Believe it or not I would have to give it an A. Yes the movie was incredible but I thought the film could be just a bit longer and there could be maybe a bit more monsters involved. There was only about 4 monsters plus the “creator” of them all. But I think overall “9” is a must see movie! (It’s in stores on DVD and Blue-Ray)

For previews, trailers and info about "9" vistit this website listed below. http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/9/

Avatar

Avatar
PG-13, 162 min.

BLOGGERS OPPINION: Avatar is the Blockbuster that we have been waiting for since the “Titanic” came out. Directed by James Cameron, this movie is probably 1 of the best movies of the year. It took about 12 years for the movie to be complete and won a Golden Globe for best movie. The casting was incredible. There were a few new faces like Sam Worthington’s (Jake Sully); but there were a few familiar ones like Sigourney Weaver (Dr. Grace Augustine) from “Aliens” and Zoe Saldana (Neytiri) from “Star Trek” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”. The animation was beyond INCREADABLE! Never have I seen a movie that you actually felt you were a part of it. The part that mostly caught my eye though was the suspenseful battle scene. You never know what to expect from Cameron and I have to say, these scenes were no exception.

PLOT: Its starts off with an ex- Marine (Jake Sully) who is assigned to a moon called Pandora. His mission is to help pry a natural resource from the Na’vi tribe. Everything goes as planned until he finds himself falling in love with his guide, Neytiri. Everything changes when his Marine friends find out his secrets.

SCALE FROM F - A+: I would give this movie an A+. I couldn’t really find 1 bad part about it. This is 1 of Cameron’s best movies yet! If you haven’t seen this widespread phenomenon, you are missing out on something good!

First semester portfolio- piece I’d like to revise

One of the pieces I would like to revise would be my cause-effect essay. It was about the day my dog knocked out my 2 front teeth. She jumped over a vacume while my head was hanging over the couch. The idea came to mind when I was thinking of the title of the essay and I looked at my dog and it just came to mind. One of the reasons I didn’t like it was because the topic wasn’t the best. It was difficult for me to write about the effects and the causes were because I had never before thought of the causes and effects of that story. Also the introduction was short and the conclusion didn’t make much sense. There were a few points in the story that were good but most of it was pathetic. The absolute problem with the whole story was that there was not enough events to fit into four paragraphs.



A real knock out!
Vroom! Vroom! The vacuum cleaner whooshed out and in, out and in as my dad was cleaning our living room. He smiled at me while I barked and jumped higher than the moon on my couch. My dog was scared out of her wit, like she always was when we vacuumed.
She was trying to doge the vacuum again. As a result of her dodging the vacuum, I got this wild idea that I as braver than her. My 6-year old imagination took over my logic as I started to bark furiously at the vacuum. "She’s such a scaredy cat!"I yelled at my dad over the vacuum. The vacuum swung near the piano, around the chair, and under the couch. At this time my dog’s tail was between her hind legs. Still believing that I was better than her, my head was hanging over the side of the couch.
I held my head up high and started to bark even louder. Suddenly out of the blue, Sissy jumped over the vacuum. Because she jumped over the vacuum, she hit my chin. It was so hard that you could hear my bottom jaw knock my top jaw. Consequently when she hit my chin, my two front teeth were knocked out. The worst part was that they were not ready to come out, so you can imagine the surge of pain that I felt. As a result, I started to cry.
Six months passed and my teeth still didn’t grow back. At Christmas time brother teased me saying "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth!" It really got on my nerves! My parents were getting worried, as was I. We went to the dentist which made me worry even more. When we told them the whole story, they mentioned "fake teeth". At this point I was completely terrified. The thought of fake teeth was crazy. About a month before our scheduled appointment, both of my sharp white teeth started to tear through my pink gums.
Although my teeth did grow back, it was a terribly long process to get them back. Since the day I lost my teeth, I've never been able to lean over when my dad is vacuuming again! But although I’ve tried to avoid being hit in the chin again, Sissy always manages to hit it again. It (in some weird way) actually taught me to be patient which I am terrible at. I now know that nothing can come back when you want it to. It takes time. All in all, I got my teeth back, and they’re healthier than ever!

First semester portfolio- favorite piece

My favorite piece that I created was a poem. This poem basically reflects on the ups and downs of life. You know that in life there are ups and downs. This poem is about that, but not entirely. When you read this, there is a part that is about a fork in the path. In this part, the character has a decision to make. It’s not one of those decisions where you have to choose whether you want ice cream of cake. It’s a tough decision that could change a person’s outlook on life (not try to be dramatic or anything to that degree). It could be whether to accept that cigarette that his/her friend gave them. Or whether to let go of a friend. Whatever the reason is they always find that voice. It might be a friend, or maybe it’s yours. Whoever it is be sure to listen. I like it because is like a reflection of my life as well as many others. It just makes you stop and think of if this is your life or not. The idea came to me when I was thinking about
the beginning of the year when our teacher read a poem to us. It was about a girl and her difficulties in life. She also took a path that was bumpy. Here is my poem. I hope you enjoy it. :)

I am the wander
I take this path, you see
I have taken this path all my life
I do not know where I will end
All I know is that the journey is long and tiring
I have full belief in this path, which is my life
It is sunny here and bright
The trees are alive full of happiness and wonder
They stand tall as if they were the mightiest king ruling a region
The flowers greet me with a happy wave of joy
They do not speak but I can sense them talking with the trees
Saying things that no one can understand except for them
The creatures sing a song as a walk right past them
They talk more than they frolic
They jump around my feet but I don’t notice
For my concentration is on something much bigger

There is a fork in my path
A small spacing that separates me from my palace of everlasting joy
I stop and stare at the unfamiliar gap for many seconds
In those seconds I see my life flash before
All the nightmares that were hidden when walking on my path
Seemed to appear when I walk to this strange fork
My curiosity is now running wild like a mustang on an open prairie
I wish so dearly to take the risk but there is a fear deep in my heart that resists the urge
Unexpectedly my curiosity takes the best of me and I have no choice but to take the path

I am a wanderer
I take this path, you see
I have taken this path all my life
I do not know where I will end
All I know is that the journey is long and tiring
My courage and faith in this path fades quickly
It is dark and cold here
The trees are bare and lifeless
And the animals that scurry do not sing but hiss
They hiss terrible things that deal with the horrid side of my past
The road is narrow and rocky
I cannot go back and there is no short-cut
I fear that this choice is one that I will regret
But I must take the path
I walk with nothing but what little belief is left in my bones
Every corner that I turn only leads to a narrower and darker place
I eventually stop and sit on a log
“Where am I”, I whisper to myself
“What is this path making me become?”
“It is not the path’s doing”, says a voice from the distance
but the wanderers.”
“Who are you and how am I supposed to get out of here?” I said in a panicky voice
He chuckled softly
“Trust yourself and you will see that you are destined to be on the path that you are taking.”
“I don’t understand” I said to him
“Trust yourself” said the voice as it drifted off into the distance
I sighed and gave a hopeless look
Then after a few moments I realized what he had said to me
I started to think about the happiest moments of my life
As I thought a light shined dimly in the distance
I stood up and started toward it slowly

I am the wander
I take this path, you see
I have taken this path all my life
I do not know where I will end
All I know is that the journey is not yet over
There is just more “forks” waiting for me
But with my faith in this path
I will conquer them all

First semester reflection

Language arts have thought me much this year. I’ve learned things that I hadn’t even heard of before. For instance an AWUBIS is a new type of grammar that I’ve used, but I just didn’t know I was. AWUBIS’ have really improved my writing. I think using those when I write a sentence and it’s so………blah. I’ve also learned many new smiley tricks like imagery, magic 3’s, dialogue, similes and metaphors, etc. Those have also improved my writing.

There were so many prefixes and suffixes. We learned (probably) them all. I like when we are taught all of them because I feel like it gives you a choice of what you can use for words when you write. Choosing a word when writing is 1 of the most important things to do. That’s why I like this class. One of the things that I’ve learned about myself is that I’m a better writer then I tough. No, I don’t think I’m the best; it’s just that my writing has definitely improved.

In this second semester, I think in order to succeed I should practice writing more often. As they say “practice makes perfect” and this is no exception. If I want to become a journalist when I get older (which I might) I must keep continuing my work. Although, I could never be a good writer without the help from my teachers.