This week we take a look down the rabbit hole with Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010).  The movie returns as the 19 year old Alice is running away from her betrothal announcement.  As with previous Burton films, including Corpse Bride (2005), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) the cast includes Johnny Depp (as the Mad Hatter) and Helena Bonham Carter (the Red Queen). Burton and Bonham Carter have been engaged since 2001 and have two children together. To add to the fun Depp and Burton have teamed up in three additional films, Sleepy Hollow (1999), Ed Wood (1994) and Edward Scissorhands (1990). You could almost predict there will be more films with this combination.  Listen in for our perspective of the view down the rabbit hole.

“I am Iron Man” the words that lead us into the next installment of the Iron Man movies. Tony Stark played by Robert Downey Jr fulfills the role as if it were meant to be played by him. The movie by Director Jon Favreau, who also directed Iron Man (2008) and plays the role of Hogan. Gwenyth Paltrow returns in her role as Pepper Potts. There are several more Marvelous characters who are brought into the mix with the sequel, including Whiplash/Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke). Rourke brings a raw quality to the role as he continues with his rise back to stardom. Also joining the cast is Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman/Black Widow, who I must say has a KICK-@&% action sequence. I could go on and on about the additional actors…Hammer is there and War Machine….but really isn’t it time to listen to the show and then GO see the movie, like you haven’t already. And stay for after the trailer…glimpses of movies to come.

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway “Jeanne and Mike’s Movie Bits”.

Let’s start by saying it was Jeanne’s turn to pick the movie…so there will be no car chases or bombs exploding this week.  Instead we decided to celebrate the holiday many love to hate…and see “Valentine’s Day”.  The movie follows the interwoven lives of several couples as they experience the day of love. Some of the couples are in the brand new shiny penny version of love, others are trying to figure out where they stand, some are facing hard times, others reconnecting. And the cast of this movie is A M A Z I N G.  The main character Reed Bennett (played by Ashton Kutcher) is followed through most of the movie, all the other characters are connected through him, either directly or through friends of a direct link.  It’s like six degrees of separation to Reed.  Anyway, there are some serious names in this movie, including: Jennifer Garner, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway, Kathy Bates, Shirley MacLaine, Julie Roberts, Patrick Dempsey, Topher Grace, Jessica Alba, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Jessica Biel, Queen Latifah and Hector Elizondo (who has apparently been 12 films by director Marshall) …whew my fingers are tired and that is just the surface…there are many more. The movie is directed by Garry Marshall, who brought us such favorites as Pretty Woman, A League of Their Own, The Princess Diaries and Beaches.  He had such talent to work with this movie must have been a blast to make.

Join us as we take a look at how small the world really is…and don’t forget to call the new voicemail hotline: 240-MOVIEBIT and tell us what you think, or recommend a movie…or enter the giveaway “Jeanne and Mike’s Movie Bits”.

And the winner is…Meryl Streep for the role of Julia Child in Julie and Julia (2009). So we decided to review the movie, cause we have seen almost all the other films nominated for the Golden Globes. Julie and Julie is based on the true stories of two woman, Julia Child, whom we know from her Cooking show, but this storyline follows her path to becoming the cookie legend. And the second person, Julie Powell (Amy Adams) who blogs her way through Child’s cookbook for a year. The story is interwoven between the two women’s lives. Brought to us by Nora Ephron, who directed and wrote the screenplay. She is known for her works on romantic comedies, including Sleepless in Seattle (1993) , You’ve Got Mail (1998) and When Harry Met Sally (1989). This is not the first time Streep and Ephron have collaborated on a project, they worked together in Heartburn (1986) for which Ephron wrote the book and screenplay. Join us as we review the film and don’t forget to call us with your “Movie Bits” responses.

This week we review the much anticipated James Cameron film… Aliens…I mean Terminator…no no that’s not right..it was Titanic. Actually, hard to believe, but Titanic was the last Big movie directed by Cameron.  Do I have your attention now?  I meant Avatar of course!!!  Written and directed by James Cameron, with a MONSTER budget of sources say anywhere from 280 million, plus marketing (Los Angles Times) to almost 500 million (The New York Times), but we will not know the real figures for months.  Regardless to say this is one of the highest costing films of our time.  With the director putting in some major capital to develop the technology that would make his dream of Avatar into a reality.  And 161 minute timestamp, they really wanted to get their monies worth.

The movie follows our paraplegic Marine into the world of Pandora.  Where the locals are 10 feet tall and BLUE called the Na’vi.  This environment is hostile to humans but rich in unobtanium (Mike prefers to call it Plot-tonium since it moves the plot along), yeah I know, hard to believe they named it that.  The goal is to get to this rock which is worth Billions and the way there is BY FORCE or Peaceful relocation.  This is where our Marine, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) comes in, with the help of Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and Norm Spellmen (Joel Moore) they intergrate their minds with the human/Na’vi hybrid avatars.  This is a story on so many levels, listen as we tell our thoughts and take you to into the vivid imagination of James Cameron.

Yes you have missed us, we haven’t done a new show in a few weeks…and for that Mike apologizes, he really had no excuse.  Jeanne, however has been sick with pneumonia…so she has a really good reason for no podcast.

Anyways, thanks for coming back and rejoining us as we review The Proposal, a romantic comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock.  Remember the best way out of deportation is bribing your assistant to marry you….

And lets not forget Betty White as Grandma, a definite scene stealer.

Back in the mid 1980’s I remember this low budget cartoon that came on in the afternoons when I got out of my last class in college.   Since I didnt have cable, and satalite TV was for the rich back then, there were very few choices for a relaxing moment in front of the television at 3:30pm on a tuesday, and when the choice of watching a soap opera or GI Joe was made, lets just say that I didn’t care who Laura was going to marry, or if Stephano was about to be brought back form the dead yet again…thats right, for at least 2 semesters, GI Joe was there.  So 24 years later, hows the live action movie hold up?  Listen as Mike and Jeanne give you the straight scoop!

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He’s Just not that into you is a romantic comedy about life, and the pursuit of happyness, from the perspective a several different ongoing viewpoits.   No matter if you’re looking for love…like the Cookie Monster looks for Oreo Double Stuffs,  happy and content like Forrest Gump on a park bench, or letter your heart wander like just another Hollywood gosip tabloids favorite target…there is something in this movie for you.

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Rated PG-13

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Length 130 minutes (thats 2+ hours!)

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…Their war to exterminate mankind had raged for decades, but the final battle would not be fought in the future. It would be fought here, in our present. Tonight…

October 26th, 1984….thats when I first read those words on the opening screen of a new movie at the local AMC theater.  In the course of one week, I went to see it no fewer than 6 times, quite a feat for a college student.  The movie was in mono, the soundtrack was an over repetative synthisized mash of shrill tones and a driving beat.  The special effects ranged from passable to outragously amazing.  The movie was Terminator, and few movies since have had such a profound impact on how I view the cinematic experiance.  A while later we were given Terminator 2 Judgement Day, which became the sequal on which all others are judged.   A few year ago Terminator 3 Rise of the machines showed the world that the franchise is not without fault, and while not a complete disaster, it did not capture the magic of the previous movies.  Now we have Terminator Salvation, moving away from present day, and giving us an entire movie from the point of view of those who have survived judgement day…and the question is, can the spark rekindle the franchise?  This weeks movie review will answer that question, its time to see if this is a rebirth of greatness, or another nail in the coffin of a franchise.

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Of course we also have the Movie Bits givaway contest, and if you don’t win…you can still be styling in your very own Lets Watch Movies T-shirt, just like John.

WINNER!

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Star Trek is one of the most successful failures in television history. Today, over 30 years since its original television series, Star Trek is playing somewhere in the world, every hour of every day. With multiple spin off shows, and two decades worth of feature movies, its no surprise that another movie has been made, this movie marks a dramatic departure from all previous movies. Gone are the familiar cast, the so familiar look, and much of the baggage that came with it. This new Trek movie is a complete reboot for the franchise.

Staring Chris Pine as Catian Kirk, and Zachary Quinto and Mr Spock, this is a 2+ hour romp through an entire new universe for fans of the show.  Rated PG-13, the movie has a much more edgy style than previously seen, and director J.J. Abrams has given us a lot to talk about.  Listen as Mike and Jeanne review this latest venture into the United Federation of Planets, and the adventures within.