Bridge to Terabithia

I saw this show in a matinee with my mom. We sat in the middle of a crowd of children who were all seeing how fast they could down a bag of popcorn in fear that their siblings might get a few pieces more than they would. I felt uncomfortable and was a bit biased against this movie before the lights even went out. Maybe it was because of this that I was pleasently surprised.

The best part of the show was the little blonde girl that played Natalie. She did a great job of acting and it was refreshing to know that there is a little blonde girl out there that can act, besides Dakota Fanning. Her magnetic personality made it real to miss her in the end. I have to admit, I spent most of the movie trying to remember what other movie I had seen her in and it wasn't until I was driving home that I remembered. She was the blue berry in the latest Chocolate Factory movie. There were two others in the show that kept making me think of past shows they had been in. The first was the substitute teacher, who was in one of my favorite movies ever (Almost Famous). I ended up watching it that night. And I kept expecting the father of the family to turn into the T1000 from Terminator 2. It would have been worth a few frames to see his finger turn into an iron spike.

Another good part of the show was the computer animation, or the lack thereof. Most movies overdue the computer animation, but this show did just enough to make us adults remember what it was like to play make believe as a child. It was a bit overdone in the final scene, but I can forgive the urge for a grand finale. Not only that, but I had similar places as the tree house in the forest where I played make believe when I was a kid and similar friends as the little blonde girl who would drag me into their made up worlds. This was one of those shows that takes you back to your childhood and I don't remember seeing one that did it this well since I watched Sandlot.

I went into the show expecting another movie trying to piggy back off of the Lord of the Rings success, such as Narnia, but it was actually pretty good. In a time of computer games, movies, and scooters that push themselves, its nice to remember what it was like to play make believe.

3 Stars

Ghostrider

Parodies are kind of funny sometimes, when the movie is meant to be a parody, but even most parodies are just dumb. What is even worse is when a movie is meant to be serious and it comes across as a parody. And what takes the cake is when the parody is made out of a story line with as cool of a premise as Ghost Rider.

The movie starts out okay. Ghost Rider was tricked into selling his soul to the devil when he was a teenager and was warned not to get too close to anyone or anything, because one day the devil would come calling. The boy Ghost Rider heeds his warning and leaves his girl friend and dead father who he thought the devil would save. And for a moment as he rides his motorcycle away from them in the rain you can almost feel his sadness. But flash forward to the adult Ghost Rider and we learn that he is living a rock and roll lifestyle as Johnny Blaze, the most successful stuntman of all time. And as beautiful women scream and reach for his attention, you can almost feel his depression as he drowns his sorrow in a cocktail glass of jelly beans. Please, give me a break. Whoever made this movie should have watched Constantine and The Punisher to learn how to depict depression, with John Constantine killing himself with cigarettes, and The Punisher doing the same with alcohol, both of whom live in complete isolation, not in the spot light of fame and fortune.

Sure enough, the devil then comes calling and starts to use and abuse Ghost Rider into being the devil's bounty hunter to hunt down the devil's own children while riding a bike with flaming tires and having a flaming skull for a head. What a sweet story line. It's really too bad it didn't come across that way. I mean seriously, how do you screw that one up? The first way is the devil himself, who didn't seem evil at all. Some computer animation and a growl doesn't make someone evil. The second is the devil's children, who likewise were pretty much a bunch of nancies, who weren't even as evil as Scorpion from Mortal Combat. Lastly, was Ghost Rider himself. Nicholas Cage is a great actor, but he was written and directed into feeling somewhat soft. Somehow a bunch of quirky one liners came across as being apologetic for being a hardass. If you want to be a badass, which is what the devil's bounty hunter should be, then just be one.

Having said all of that, I will most likely end up watching this movie again, because of Eva Mendez. She is unbelievably beautiful. This point would be an excellent time for a growl, rather than when the devil whispers to the young Ghost Rider. If you want to see a show that depicts evil, watch Constantine. If you want to see a show with a real hardass, watch the Punisher. If you want to see a beautiful girl, watch Eva Mendez in Ghost Rider.

1 Star