You all have probably seen The Dark Knight – who hasn’t, right? I just read an article from Popwatch, written by Mike Bruno, which highlights how disappointed the writer was with the movie. Apparently, he only saw the movie over the weekend due to a busy schedule. His main message is this: he thinks that all the hype ruined the movie for him. He writes:

Looking for a good “feel bad then feel good” movie? I know that sounds kinda wrong but you know what I mean…movies that are about the hard times in life…at the end of the day, despite the grimness of these movies, you tend to feel a glimmer of hope. This could be due to the fact that you know that somehow, some way, there will be a rainbow at the end of the road. Whatever the reason, I think that this would be a good time to watch one of these movies – and then celebrate your life afterwards.

While we’re at it, why don’t we take a look at “the other” movie that caught the attention of movie goers on its Christmas release? While Jennifer Aniston came up with a comedy that managed to elicit some tears at the same time, her ex-husband Brad Pitt had a movie that belongs to a class of its own.

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is actually based – albeit very very loosely – on a short story by Scott Fitzgerald. The whole story revolves around the “curious case” of the main character, Benjamin Button who, instead of growing old, became younger as the years went by. That in itself is a curiosity, don’t you think?

Since I started talking about Marley & Me in the previous post, I thought that I might as well review it for this post. After all, the movie outgrossed a Brad Pitt movie on its day of release – there must be something to it, right? If you do not know it yet, the movie is based on the book written by John Grogan, a journalist who wrote about real life “adventures” with his family and dog named – you guessed it – Marley.

While many would argue that the issue is all about the films in question and not the marital affairs (or lack thereof) of the actors involved, there is no doubt that the two ideas cannot be separated in the case of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt. These two had a highly publicized falling out when Brad Pitt wandered and ended up with Angelina Jolie. Jennifer Aniston was recently quoted as saying some not so happy things about the current couple.

This post is not about a new movie or an old one. In fact, it is not really about a particular movie at all. It is simply a piece of news that I find amazing. Did you know that showing movies publicly in Saudi Arabia had been banned decades ago? Forgive my ignorance but I really did not know that! Hence, when I read the news that the people in Saudi Arabia were rejoicing and queuing up like anything just to watch a movie in the theatre, I was surprised – and that is an understatement! Here is a report by AFP:

Yeah, I know, it’s called Down Under but I just could not resist the pun. It may not be the most brilliant of lines but I have to say that neither is this movie. I was really eager to watch it simple because I like Nicole Kidman and I think Hugh Jackman is hot. These things aside, I really didn’t find myself that happy after watching the movie. It has been out for several weeks now but I am not surprised that it has been getting a lot of flak from critics and – if they are to be believed – it is also not a surprise that cinemas showing Australia are not crowded.

And indeed, it is going to be something totally new – at least if the rumor mill is to be believed. According to what’s been circulating on the grapevine, Tom Clancy’s character Jack Ryan is going to be revived but this time, with a different twist. In fact, some are saying that his character will be nothing like the Jack Ryan that we have all come to love.

For starters, the franchise has gotten a new writer in the person of Hossein Amini. Empire Online has this story:

In spite of the fact that Tom Cruise’s credibility has suffered from some serious blows (yeah, who can forget his sofa-jumping episode at Oprah?), we cannot discount his talent as an actor. This is the man who brought Jerry Maguire – among many other movie characters - to life.

Come Christmas Day, I find myself looking forward to seeing Valkyrie, Tom Cruise’s newest movie. It is actually more than a good movie – as many critics are already saying – as this year marks his 25th year since Risky Business, the film that many say made Tom Cruise into what he is today.

That is, with respect to style. For many people, style is everything. What they wear, how they wear it, and when they wear it – these are very important factors. And what better inspiration than the movies? How many times have you walked away from a movie thinking, “Wow, I should try to emulate the style of so and so!” I be that you have experienced this more than once – and you are not alone.