Cruise is "Top" CIA Agent in Latest Popcorn Flick

The newest Cruise action movie “Knight and Day” is not breaking any new ground. The stunts are impressive, the locations sublime and both Cruise and Diaz seem to have successfully stopped the aging process. It is classic movie escapism in every sense of the word and if you go into it knowing that and expecting nothing more you won’t be disappointed.

It has long been my theory that in every Tom Cruise movie, he is the “top” something. There was Top Car (Days of Thunder), Top Wagon (Far and Away), Top Agent (Jerry Maguire) and of course the one that started it all… Top Gun. This movie is no exception. Tom plays Roy a seemingly rogue ex-CIA operative that on a plane ride from hell takes innocent bystander Diaz along for the ride. What’s a girl gotta do to get a date these days?? If you are Diaz’s June, the answer is crash land a plane, parachute another, ride a motorcycle ala Michelle Pfeiffer style in “Grease 2” and outrun more bullets than Antonio Banderas in “Desperado”.

The movie itself is predictable but fun to look at – in my book a movie deserves at least a half star more if I get to vacation vicariously by watching it. You’ll visit the tropics, Prague and South America in this outing, so for $10 it is cheaper than a real vacation.

The stars have chemistry; both which each other and charisma all their own, so as implausible as the movie is at times, they kept my attention and made the movie extremely watchable. There is a scene however towards the end (feeling long at 2 hrs, 23 minutes) where I couldn’t help but think “Give me a break!” but I’ll forgive them this for the satisfying ending.

Enjoy this for what it is – a summer blockbuster that you will soon forget but enjoy while it lasts.

2 ½ of out 4 Stars

The Shrek Franchise Ends on High Note

The last installment in the Shrek franchise is a welcome return to what made the first movie so endearing; Shrek’s unlikely friendship with donkey, his love for Princess Fiona and his true self showing underneath his gruff, “ogre” exterior like Simon Cowel on Idol.

The premise is straightforward and for a mother like myself, totally relatable. Shrek is now the father of triplets and is starting to tire of the monotony of everyday life.

A montage plays of his day to day routine and how one day runs into the next. At the triplets first birthday party, Shrek loses his cool and after hearing one little boy ask him time and again to “Do the Roar”, does just that before storming out of the party.

A new character is added in the way of Rumpelstiltskin – a bitter, angry little man who is still stewing over losing far, far away when Fiona’s parents no longer needed his help rescuing Fiona once Shrek helped her escape from the tower. Overhearing Shrek venting outside, he sees a chance for revenge and another chance at the kingdom.

The setup then becomes what would Shrek’s life have been like if he hadn’t been the one to rescue Fiona that day? In exchange for his day back to his mean pre-Fiona Ogre self, Rumpelstiltskin takes another day in return and picks… the day Shrek was born.

Its fun to see Fiona empowered after having to save herself in this version, as a strong, fearless warrior bent on stopping evil witches that now hunt Ogres down for Rumpelstiltskin. I liked falling in love with the characters all over again while Shrek did the same with Fiona.

The 3-D aspect isn’t needed, but its fun and adds a new element to a franchise that was showing its age. The extra $3.50 a ticket is steep though, and without effects to warrant the technology, felt like gouging.

I found myself tearing up at the end applying the premise to my own life and kids, but I will be happy if the creators still to their guns and make this the “final chapter”.

New Sex and the City Movie Jumps the Shark!!

Its official – the magic has left the Sex and the City franchise. As a long time fan of the series since the beginning as well as the first film, I was disappointed beyond words in the latest incarnation to the big screen.

The trailers for the movie made me nervous, but I was determined to keep an open mind. I just couldn’t wrap my head around our 4 big city gals in Abu Dhabi?? Why this seemed like a good idea to Michael Patrick King for even a moment is beyond me. It’s called Sex and the City for a reason, so if New York ain’t broke, why fix it? Admittedly the first movie did take us for a short while to Mexico, but there was a good reason for that trip and it fit into the storyline in a plausible, seamless way.

This trip feels forced and unnecessary and at two hours and 23 minutes, feels as long as that sounds. It is a painful movie to sit through, not only because of the surroundings and cringe worthy dialogue, but also the storylines. I don’t want to see Carrie have cold feet again about Big- this storyline should officially be retired, it feels lazy on the part of the writers. I would rather see Carrie deal with the good and bad of being married, not just the 20 minutes total they spend on it. I also don’t want to hear Miranda yell “Abu Dhabi Doo!” out a limo window, since when is she cheesy? It was so out of character that I suddenly knew this movie was in serious trouble. To lose your characters innate voice is a sad thing to behold.

I did like the opening montage of the girls in the 80’s just arriving in Manhattan and the storyline involving Charlotte’s struggles as the mom of two and also Miranda’s struggles with her boss at the firm because they were real and struck a chord with me. The rest of the movie was a slap in the face to any true fans of the series.

So, on that note, I will go back to watching my DVD’s of the series instead and remember the gals the way they should be; strong, beautiful, funny- flawed but relatable.