More movies

Since my workload has decreased...Let the movie watching begin! Oh, wait, I've already put in 6 movies this week (thank you RedBox). At $1.09 (including tax) for 24 hours, it's not a bad deal. I put in 6xs the movie for less than it costs to go to a matinee movie. Sweet!

Anyway...movies!

The Next Three Days (Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks) - This is an overly looong movie and the exciting stuff doesn't happen till the last 45 minutes. It's about Crowe's character trying to break his wife out of county jail before she's sent to prison for a murder (he strongly, strongly believes) that she did not commit; however, the evidence pointed to her and she was life-in-prison. Olivia Wilde plays an odd role, which you think she will have a bigger part and she doesn't. Anyway, it's an action film, but for only the latter part. The story was okay. You could poke fun of it at times and I think the cops were made to be a little (very minute) stupid than you normally see in movies to make Crowe's character look so much smarter. Or, maybe that's just what my impression. Anyway, if it wasn't so long, perhaps I would have liked it better. Grade: C

The Switch (Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman) - One of the better Aniston films. Unfortunately, considering her movie role resume, that's not saying a whole lot. It's a rom-com, but takes place from Bateman's point of view and not Aniston's. It was cute and Bateman's connection to the kid was also nice (even Aniston at points). The kid was cute too. Aniston's character got a little annoying at times, but it also wasn't from her POV. It was okay in the way of rom-coms, but it won't turn into a movie you see on TV. Grade: C

Morning Glory (Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton) - I enjoyed this. It's not really a rom-com, but it has the feel of a rom-com. The two main characters are McAdams and Ford so it couldn't end up as a rom-com, but McAdams does find her guy (that's her age) that takes a side story role. I think all three main actors were very good with each other. Keaton and Ford are the older ones and they worked as co-anchors on Daybreak. It also nice seeing McAdams come into her own as an executive producer of a TV show. Overall, I enjoyed its story, funny moments, and touching moments. If you buy almost every rom-com you see, this one would be a buyer. Not quite enough for me, though. Grade: B

Life as We Know It (Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel) - You're typical Heigl rom-com. You knew from the beginning what was going to happen. In comparison to her others, I like 27 Dresses better, but I'd say it's on par with Knocked Up. The end with the Child Protection Service was pretty funny and the CPS person ends up being a ruse for some comic moments. She makes some good points, but it's the manner in which she arrives (always at the bad moment for Heigl and Duhamel) and how she portrays herself. It's an interesting concept for a rom-com (lots of expectantly becoming a family in odd circumstances and also friends-with-benefits movies of late...), but it's just your average rom-com in the end. Grade: B-/C+

Chris and I are seeing Limitless (Bradley Cooper) in an hourish and tomorrow is Santa Anita! Which it's forecasted to be raining tomorrow. Joy. Next week will be renting Due Date and The Tourist since they both come out on Tues for RedBox (RedBox is a month behind the DVD release of Due Date).

Grades are not as exciting as I'd like...A- in conservation planning (knew that), A- in coastal zone law (knew that), and B+ in enviro institutions (totally not happy about that...Gosh dang it, I had like a 89%. Give me the A- for effort since he knew I struggled with his assignments!). I am destined to have at least one B+ every quarter and I don't like B+'s. I like A's and A-'s much more. Oh well. Still waiting to hear about GP and international law. I'm hoping I'll get an A in both of those, especially since GP is 8 units (two quarters) of the same grade. If I get an A in GP, last quarter (Fall 2010) will be my one-and-only B+ free quarter! At least I manage to always get B+'s over B's.

With that, gotta get ready for the movie. It's at 1:10.