I went to see this today with five boys, ages, 11, 10, 8, 8 and 6 and I have never heard so much gut laughing in my parenting life.  To say they loved this movie is an understatement.  And you know what?  I didn’t mind it either.

Now, I will say that I am a little embarrassed for the adult actors in this film because really?  You want Spy Kids on your IMDb?  They did a great job but I can’t help feeling like this wasn’t their first pick.  Definitely not Oscar material, you know?  But kids need parents and we need a bad guy to fight and apparently the voice of a dog?  Ricky Gervais is this really a good career move?  Brilliantly funny but a dog?  Anyway.

The kids loved it and I had no problem sitting through it so I would recommend this movie especially to young boys.  I swear it was made just for them.  Now I have never seen any of the other movies in the franchise so I probably missed some inside jokes but it’s not phasing me in the least.

Also, this movie is supposed to be 4D.  We saw it in 2 and that was enough D for us.  The 4thD is smell.  You’re supposed to get a card and when a number pops up on the screen you scratch and sniff the corresponding number on the card.  We did not get any cards so I can’t review that part of it but the numbers were kind of distracting and I really can’t see an adult movie asking you to stop looking at the million dollar picture on the screen and scratch a little card.  But you never know, I could be wrong.

Great family movie.  Go take the kids out to see it.

Spy Kids is in theaters now.

I had to wait to watch this movie until my husband was available because comic book movies are kind of our thing.  And you know what, I love that.  I’ll wait however long I need to to see a movie with him.

As far as comic book movies go, I really liked it.  I think the part that stands out the most (and you’ve seen it in the previews) is the way Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) looks before he turns into Captain America.  The guy is emaciated.  Only refugees and cancer patients look that skinny.  But it was totally believable.  I bought it.  It didn’t look CG at all to me.

Now, what stands out even more is after he goes through the process and the machine is opened and there he stands in all of his glory…  Hot.  Holy frickin hot.  When Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) reaches out her hand to touch him (also highly publicized) you just understand.  Of course she wants to touch him after that amazing transformation.  I would too.  Only I wouldn’t pull my hand away.  I would totally cop a feel.

I love Hugo Weaving.  He has the most amazing face and teeth.  I know that’s kind of weird to say but he does.  He’s a great Red Skull and he has the coolest toys.

Normally I don’t like Nazi’s.  As in, I don’t even want to talk or hear about them they disgust me so much and every time I think about them I think about the atrocities that they committed and it makes me sick.  But you know what?  There are Nazi’s in this movie but they are so far removed from reality that it was super easy to stomach.

This was not the best movie I have ever seen but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The story was great.  The super powers were awesome and believable.  The cast was spectacular.  I would definitely recommend grabbing your significant other and having a night out.  And stay until after the credits for an Avenger sneak peek. (Can’t wait for that to come out.)

Captain America is currently in theaters.

I am so pumped right now.  I have to admit right here and now that I’m a sucker for action movies.  Total sucker.  I just love them.  I love the suspense.  I love the dashing leading man and the gorgeous leading lady.  I love the enemy.  They’re cool to me.  And most of all I love crap just blowing up.  The more stuff blows up the better.  ”Oh look.  There’s a random car of there…better blow it up.”  Cool with me.

So Wild West meets Sci Fi isn’t that familiar to me.  I did follow Joss Whedon’s Firefly which is exactly Wild West meets Sci Fi but that’s all I have encountered. (Let me really quick say how much I love Joss Wedon’s shows.  I get so mad every time one gets cancelled.)

I loved the Wild West aspect of it.  Dirty and grimy and super gritty.  Daniel Craig, who is probably the hottest actor on the planet, is so believable as a super tough outlaw Jake Lonergan (he has his shirt off or open on several occasions.  Swoon).  I’m not a super big fan of Harrison Ford but he played a bad A, I’m running this town, get the crap out of my way western business man and he did it really well.  I super believed it.  And Olivia Wilde as Ella…breathtaking.  She makes me want to cover myself from neck to ankle just to look like her.  I mean if she can look sexy wearing so much clothing maybe I can too.

I’m not sure I’m a super fan of the aliens (remember, I like bad guys) but I believed the story, and I loved the way they snatched people up.  Maybe I’m just gullible (I’m a sucker) but I totally bought what this movie was selling.  It was suspenseful and frightening at times and I had an awesome time watching it.

I say, it’s totally worth seeing in the theater on the big screen.  I loved it.  Did anyone else see it?  What did you think?

Cowboys and Aliens is in theaters now.

So here we go.  We saw Smurfs yesterday.  We saw Zookeeper this morning.  I had problems with Smurfs but in the end enjoyed it for what it was.  I cannot say the same for Zookeeper.

My biggest litmus test for a kids comedy is how much my children laugh out loud.  Laugh without even realizing they are laughing.  My kids did not laugh once at Zookeeper.  And it was filled with all sorts of potty humor and slapstick comedy.  Not a single giggle, chuckle, nothing.  And believe me when I say I didn’t even come close to laughing.

There were two love triangles going on all with Kevin James in the middle.  I thought that was too much for a kids movie.  To much drama for a kids movie.  Sure there are a ton of lighter elements but when I watch a kids movie with my kids I watch it through their eyes and I am positive they could have cared less about Leslie Bibb’s Stephanie and who she loves.

My six year old said he loved it (but never laughed), my eight year old did not care for it and my ten year old said he liked it (though, again, he never laughed.)  I tried to ask them what they liked about the movie and they said everything.  Well, thanks for the help boys.

I will say I really, really loved Rosario Dawson as Kate.  I am a sucker for a hot, wicked smart girl.  She was the best part of the movie.  Kevin James is pretty adorable too.  Those two together with the animals were pretty fun but all of the other crap was just too much.  There was just too much going on in this movie for me.

I would say if you really want to see it, see it.  The kids will probably like it but I did not, and unless this comes on streaming from Netflix I will not pay for my kids to see this movie again.  There’s too much wonderful stuff out there.  But hey, I got to see two movies in one weekend.  That’s not bad at all.

Zookeeper is in theaters now.

Well, I love Neil Patrick Harris but I did not love this movie.  Now I have a super high threshold for what I’ll watch with my kids so this really bored me for me to say I didn’t like it.  I think my problem is I love Neil Patrick Harris too much in other roles.  I wanted him to be loud and have crazy gestures with his hands but he played a totally straight character and I didn’t like it.  I didn’t like boring, plain old  Patrick Winslow (Harris).  He even had a cool job creating ad campaigns for a high end make up/skin care line and even that was boring.

So what I’m saying here is not that Harris did a bad job, I just wanted him to be more like Barney from How I Met Your Mother or anything even close to that.  This is my problem not his.  If I didn’t go into it expecting Barney I might have liked it more.  Or even him at the Tony’s.  He’s so fun and energetic elsewhere I wanted him to be that so badly in the movie and the role just didn’t allow it I guess.

I also didn’t like the Smurfs very much.  They looked creepy to me.  Not cuddly and cute.  They had a weird texture to their skin that I didn’t like.

Now, I’m happy I took my kids to see this because they LOVED it.   They were cracking up all over the place.  This is definitely a kids movie with some kid potty humor and ridiculous comedy.

I say take your kids but this aint no Pixar for the whole family fun.  I love the going out to a movie experience and I love even more taking my kids out to movies so even though this wasn’t a great one for me it was totally worth it for my kids reaction to it.

Even as I’m sitting here I like it more because I realize I was the problem with the movie not the movie itself.  Smurfs are still creepy but the humans did a great job with what they were given.

Jayma Mays, Emma from Glee, is Harris’ wife in the movie.  Cute as ever.  Seriously, I just want to pick her up and put her on a shelf.  But that would be so boring for her.

I realize this is a mixed and confusing review but if you have the right expectations I think it might be cute.  And kids will love it.  And theres magic in it.  Gargamel has the most awesome wand at the end.

Smurfs is in theaters now.

I totally love Wallace and Gromit and really enjoyed The Chicken Run so I cannot wait to see this with my kids.  My husband found the trailer on Slashfilm the other day as well as a opening date of March 30, 2012.  That’s an awfully long time to wait for what looks like a hilarious and super fun movie.  I’m loving it already.

So first I want to say that I loved Part 1.  My husband did not.  He thought it was too boring, but for me, that’s how I remember the book.  The first bit was tedious and nothing happened and everyone was frustrated and fighting and them blammo it all starts and then it never stops.  So to me the two movies really held true to how I felt about the book.  Slow to begin with and then action packed until the end.

I know a lot was left out and even more was changed but when I go into these book adaptions now I have a totally open mind.  I know my favorite scenes are going to be different.  That’s just the nature of the beast.  That doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally get mad but then I let it go and enjoy what Hollywood gives me.

Neville is a cute character to me.  He started out a little silly looking, got really awkward in the middle and now he’s grown in to a good looking young man.  It was nice to see him all grown up and tough.

And ewww, what’s with all the kissing?  Just kidding.  I loved it.  I did notice that when Ron and Hermione have their big moment that they don’t actually show it.  Hermione’s hair is covering the whole thing.  I wonder if they were super uncomfortable together?  Maybe Ron is a bad kisser?  Maybe Hermione kept slipping him the tongue and the director didn’t want us to think badly of her?  I don’t know, it just caught me off guard that the kiss wasn’t fully shown.

The special effects were incredible.  I just love what they’ve done with the magic.  With the explosions and the sparks and the crackling noises.  And I love when the Death Eaters fly around.  I know that’s been in other movies too, it’s not a new thing, but I still love it.  I pretty much love all the special effects magic in this movie.

It was so nice to see a young Snape and Lily getting to know each other.  I always was moved by that part in the book and I was so happy to see it up on the big screen.  It was magical.

I loved all of this movie.  I honestly don’t have one complaint.  What I really loved was seeing bits from all of the other movies find their way into this one.  Oh the memories.  Oh the journey first through books and then through movies that I have been on with Harry Potter.  Even the first two movies which are not that strong I look back on fondly.  In fact I love them merely because I can watch them with my kids. (They’re too young to see from 4 on.  Yeah, I’m that kind of mom.)

I think I might be in love with David Yates for the last four movies.  I have loved every single one of them.  You know my favorite though?  Number 3,  Prisoner of Azkaban.  I more identify with the dark, quirky style of Alfonso Cuaron.  That movie was incredible.

This one was incredible also, just not so quirky.  I say, throw all your preconceived notions out the window.  You love the book.  You love the characters.  Just leave it at that and go in your mind and heart wide open and just let the movie wash over you.  You’ll cry, you’ll laugh, you’ll hate Voldemort and Harry will triumph in the end.

btw.  Have I mentioned that I have a crush on Snape?  I just get goosebumps from the way Alan Rickman plays him.  I am seriously in love.  And do you know who I would be if I could choose any character?  Helena Bonham Carter’s, Bellatrice Lestrange.  She could not be more perfect with the snarling and the wicked manner.  Once again, I am in love.  And don’t even get me started on how awesome everything about Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort.  I am in awe of how he plays this character.  I believe it wholeheartedly.  I love all the good guys too but those three just stand out to me.

I want to see it again.  And again and again.  I want to see both Part One and Two back to back but I think I missed my chance.  I’ll have to look into it.  For me this was a perfect ending to a absolutely wonderful journey.  I heart Harry Potter and I even bigger heart J.K. Rowling from bringing him into my life.

I know a lot of you have seen this already.  What did you think?

Our whole family loved this movie.  I think knowing a little bit about it before seeing it helped.  It’s not your typical Pixar movie.  You’re not going to cry.  Your life is not going to change.  You’re not going to see the world differently (well, maybe alternative fuel you’ll see differently.)  This movie is pure fun.  And oh boy was it fun.  It’s like an action movie for kids.

Mater is the main character in this film which is of course way different than the first Cars.  McQueen takes Mater to Japan to be a part of his crew and Mater is mistaken for a secret agent.  Which means he is then involved in all sorts of under cover secret agent spy stuff.  Cool gadgets.  Disguises.  Karate.  High speed chases.  Explosions.  It’s seriously awesome.

So go into this with a really open mind that this will be spectacular fun.  My friend described it as eye candy and it really is.  I think this is just as good as any of the other Pixar films, just in a different category.  I can’t wait to watch this again.

I know Cars 2 has gotten mixed reviews so I’m wondering what you thought about it.  Did your kids love it?

I’m such a geek wannabe.  I mean really bad.  I want to have read all of these comic books.  I want to know the origins of each character and which ones they’ve reinvented and which ones have stayed the same.  I want to be so familiar with these characters that I’m on a first name basis with them.  But I am not.  I’m just a geek in training.  I go see all these comic book movies with my husband and listen to him tell me all the back story and details and wonder if I had read the comic books would I even remember half the magical stuff he remembers?

I really liked X-Men First Class.  I thought the casting was pretty awesome.  James McAvoy as Charles Xavier was great.  I loved that we get to see him before he’s old and super rigid.  We get to see Charles as a college student doing crap that college students do.  Then we see his relationship with Magneto and Mystique strengthen and then fall apart.  (I’m not spoiling anything if you’ve seen any of the other X-Men movies.  If you haven’t, so sorry.)

And let’s talk for a second about Michael Fassbender who plays Eric/Magneto.  That guy is freaking hot.  He looks like he could be Ewan McGregors  younger brother.  I hate his story.  But of course I love the character.  But seriously, you will see how Eric could turn out as Magneto.  Stupid Nazi’s.

It is kind of silly that the mutants are involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis and that President Kennedy clips are shown in this movie but I’m willing to buy it.  I really had fun going to see this movie.  I love that my husband lets me tag along with him to all of these great (and some not so great) comic book movies.

I will tell you that I did not enjoy the character Emma Frost.  I think she was perfect for the time period of the movie but I don’t like that Texas beauty pageant look.  Never have, probably never will.  It’s such a small complaint but her appearance drove me nuts.  And she had the audacity to wear tight leather pants when she has NO butt.  No butt.  Just flat back there.  Don’t they have fake butts they can attach to you?  In that outfit she should have looked into that.  Such a small thing but it drove me nuts.  (No pun intended.)

Oh, I almost forgot.  Kevin Bacon is the bad guy!!!!  What the what?!  And he’s a great as the bad guy.  I loved how his character evolved.  How he was like  a super villain.  Awesome.

I say, grab your best boy friend, or even better, geek girl friend, and go see this movie.

I know we’re probably the last family on earth to see this movie but I have three boys ranging in age from 9-6.  I tried to take them to the movie theater and they refused.  I thought of going by myself but the time never presented itself so here I am watching Tangled on a borrowed DVD from a neighbor.  We leant them Kung Fu Panda (love this movie) and they lent us Tangled.

Pixar I love.  Disney I half love so I didn’t have very high hopes for this movie.  I should have know though with John Lasseter at the wheel it would be amazing.  I didn’t feel like it was quite Pixar quality but man did I love this movie.

I love the idea of Rapunzel being a princess and being imbued with magic powers from the flower the mother drank in pregnancy.  Because you know what, I love magic.  I love that the witch grew young from the magic in Rapunzel’s hair.  So creative.

I may have cried when all the lanterns were released towards the end of the movie.  Maybe, just maybe.

One thing that bothered me a little was the music.  I didn’t feel like it was magical and moving.  In fact, I didn’t feel like it really moved the story along.   It was OK, but not fantastic.  Not Beauty and the Beast or the Lion King.

So I loved the movie but you know what’s an even better recommendation?  All three of my boys liked the movie.  And my husband did too.  Our entire non-girly family liked the movie.  I say if you haven’t seen it yet, go out and get it.  It’s super fun.

Oh, and using a frying pan as a weapon.  Genius.

I really don’t like Tom Cruise (I know, what a shocker) so I’ve been putting off watching this movie for a while now.  The poor Netflix DVD has been sitting on my dresser just waiting and waiting to fulfill it’s destiny and be played.  Finally this weekend my husband talked me into watching it categorizing it as a “popcorn” movie.  Now I don’t know about you but I think Clueless is a popcorn movie. Sleepless in Seattle is a popcorn movie.  Let me tell you right now, Valkyrie is NOT a popcorn movie.

I pretty much knew the story and what was going to happen but because of my husbands description I had myself thinking it was going to be some lighthearted parody.  Oh boy, it was not.  It’s a true to the times, gritty, no holds barred telling of a time when some German soldiers tried to take over the government from Hitler with a botched assassination attempt and everything.

Now, before you get the feeling that I didn’t like this movie, let me make it clear that it was beautiful and telling and spectacular.  The casting was amazing.  I couldn’t believe how many big names I saw.  The sets were spectacular.  The FÜhrer himself was spot on.  It was a very moving, and incredibly unbelievable story.  If you don’t know the story from history this is a spoiler alert.  I sat there watching this movie unfold and this spectacular plot to take back Germany and every time something unravelled in our heroes plot I just died a little inside.  Just seeing how close they were to victory and taking back their country and having it just slip through their fingers.  It was heart breaking.

I wholeheartedly recommend this movie, but please go into it knowing it is a tragedy.  It is not a “popcorn” movie.  This is a serious drama and well worth your time.

We’ve had a movie filled weekend catching up on some movies we have wanted to see for a while.  If you know me you know I like action and adventure.  I like stuff blowing up and high speed chases.  So even though The A-Team has gotten the worst reviews I wanted to watch it anyways.  For goodness sake it’s got Liam Neeson in it.  How bad could it be?

Bad.  Very bad.  And I just don’t get why.  The premise is a good one.  The actors are all well  cast.  How did they screw this one up?  I’ll tell you one thing.  It was totally cheesy.  And not in a funny or endearing way, in a what the crap was that all about kind of way.  My husband said it was too comic booky and not enough Jason Bourney.  And I whole heartedly agree.  Give me some grit.  Something to sink my teeth into.  Instead it was just a lame Summer blockbuster.

And let me tell you what drove me nuts more than anything.  The storyline with BA Baracus.  He’s the bad A with the mohawk and the van.  He goes to prison, finds God, decides not to kill anymore and then spoiler alert, Liam Neeson’s character talks him into being a bad A again and killing.  What kind of a plot line is that?  A messed up one that’s what.  You don’t turn someone good and then turn them into a killing machine again!  Leave him bad A the whole time but don’t give him a life changing spiritual experience and then have him back out of it.  That drove me nuts.

I wish I had some kind of rating system to give movies.  Two thumbs down or one star.  I guess I’ll just have to say, even if you love yourself some action and adventure.  Even if you were a big fan of The A-Team back in the day.  Even if you think Liam Neeson can’t go wrong.  Skip this movie this Summer.  It’s not worth the time.

I simply loved this movie.  I happened across it in my “recommended for you” section of Netflix, and I’m so glad I gave it a shot.  It’s a movie about an unlikely friendship between two women of different faiths.  Completely reminded me of what binds my own friendships together- and what really matters.  It is unrated- but I would say it falls in the PG section. It’s a really heartwarming, faith promoting, good feeling movie- that you’ll feel better after watching.  Currently streaming on Netflix.

I went with my husband to see Red Riding Hood a few nights ago.  It stars Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman.  From the previews, we were expecting a medieval werewolf movie, and we weren’t disappointed. As always, we tried to guess the ending.  Who would the wolf be?  The wood cutter?  The grandma?  Red Riding herself?

The movie kept us guessing.  Along with suspense, there was drama and romance that added to the story.  And of course it was an actual werewolf movie, a fact that my husband greatly appreciated.  (He’s not as big of  a Twilight fan as I am.)  I honestly didn’t know until the wolf was revealed who it would be, and my husband hadn’t guessed, either.  He can normally guess the endings of movies from the beginning, but the director didn’t give it away too early.

Incidentally, the director was Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the first Twilight movie.    Now, I love me some Twilight, but Red Riding Hood was a much better movie.  A few of the actors were better at looking good than they were at acting, but for the most part, I really liked it.

Four out of five stars.

Well, I will say that I’m not as into the Twilight Series as I used to be.  I know.  Major shocker.  I’m not saying that I don’t still love it and cherish all of my Twilight related memories, I’m just not gaga over it right now.  That’s not to say I can’t be again in the future.  I’m telling you this so you understand my perspective coming into the movie this time.

Even being so neutral about it I loved it.  Did I think it was the best movie of the year, no.  Not by a long shot.  But did it tell my story in a way that was both visually and emotionally pleasing?  Absolutely.  New Moon is my favorite out of all of the books and while I didn’t feel as much hurt and pain at Edward going away as I wanted to I still felt a lot of it.

I loved that we heard Bella’s voice more this time in her letters to Alice.  I didn’t feel like we got that in Twilight the movie and I really  missed it.

I didn’t like my first view of the werewolves when Sam was coming out of the forest.  It just looked stupid to me but every other scene with the werewolves was fantastic.

And the Volturri were great too though not as beautiful as I imagined them.  But how could they possibly be that beautiful?  The makeup only detracts from their beauty.  I know they need to be pale but I wish they let up on that detail a little bit.

All in all, I love this new movie and I will probably even see it again.  Was this the New Moon you imagined?

New Moon is in theaters now.

A few of us were trying to go and see “Bright Star” this past Saturday, only to find out it had been pulled from the theater already.  Staring at a screen full of independent titles, I only knew movies I didn’t want to see.  Liz suggested “The Boys are Back”- her only assertion being that Clive Owens was in it, and he’s hot.  It’s been a while since I walked into a movie, knowing absolutely nothing about what I’m going to see.

The movie revolves around a husband desperately trying to come to terms with the death of his second wife, while caring for a young son he doesn’t really know.

If I wasn’t crying, I was laughing.  I wish I had brought more tissues.

It reminded me of a good book club discussion- this is a movie to see with some good friends, and then go to dinner afterwords and hash it all out.  It’s not one I would actually take my husband too- but one I definitely related to my own life, and then found deeper appreciation in my relationships with my own parents, my husband, and children.  It was a real Oprah moment.

The Boys are Back, is already out in theaters.

A couple of us saw this the other night for a special girl’s night and we loved it.  I mean I would go back and see it again, loved it.  I will buy this movie when it comes out on DVD, loved it.  It’s a story of a girl, Bliss,  who’s trying to find herself in a world of pageants that she just can’t seem to get into.  Then in a hilarious scene she stumbles across a flyer for roller derby and the insanity ensues.  She meets a boy she makes new friends, gets into trouble.  Absolutely amazing.

If you’re afraid to watch the movie because you don’t know about roller derby don’t worry.  They explain everything.  And they even give you little reminders throughout the movie.

We didn’t have any guys with us so I can’t say if the average guy would like this movie but all of us girls loved it.  Get your girlfriends together and go see Whip It this weekend.  Anyone catch it already?

Whip It is in theaters now.

That’s right.  My husband forwarded over an article today from /film stating that Stephenie Meyer’s novel The Host will be made into a movie.  I can’t believe this is happening for Stephenie.  Five books made into movies.  She’s never going to have to write again unless she wants to.  This is absolutely incredible.

The Host follows Wanderer, a Soul (what the aliens call themselves) and her host body Melanie.  It’s been so long since I read the books that I don’t remember details but I remember Melanie fights to keep herself alive against Wanderers influence to take over her body.  I remember the humans are fighting against the alien invasion and it sure seems to be a losing battle.  I remember loving this book in the end and I still think about it sometimes with fondness.  Here’s my original review of the book but it really isn’t that helpful.  Sorry.

Check out /films article for more information on the director and a better synopsis of the book.  I cannot wait for this movie.  Are you guys excited too?

My husband just sent this over to me and I am once again totally giddy about this movie coming out.  I know I’m on the older side for this series but up until this point it hadn’t actually hit me how old I am.  All these teenage boys running around with sculpted chests.  Oh my.  I guess I’m more than halfway to becoming a cougar at this point.  You know what, I don’t care.  I love this series and I’m actually excited now about the New Moon movie.

I also love a look at the vampires. Can’t wait to see them on the big screen.

What do you guys think.  Can’t believe how Lauter filled out?  Neither can I.

Elaine and I went to see this over the weekend, and let me tell you, thank goodness I took another hormonally challenged pregnant women with me.  By the time we both walked out of the theater we were blubbering messes.  I honestly would have been better off waiting for this to come out on dvd so I could sniffle in private over a large container of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia.  I’ve read the book but it was so long ago, all I could remember was that I cried, there was a lot of nudity, and it was really good- which just about sums up the movie perfectly as well (except the nudity part is extremely tasteful).  Elaine will give you a little better review of the differences between the two.  For my own part I enjoyed the movie, it’s just not very light hearted fair- so go in with some tissues handy.

OK, Elaine writing now. I appreciate Laura’s thoughts, because as a whole, that sums up the movie. It was sweet, sad at parts, had some occasional comic relief, followed the book fairly well, and if you like a tear-jerking movie, you’ll probably enjoy it.

Now, on to my critique. I’ve read a lot of books-turned-to-movies, and seen the movies as well. Harry Potter, Twilight, The Bourne Identity, Da Vinci Code, The Green Mile, etc. And generally, I’ve been pretty pleased. However, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book so close to seeing the movie. I’ve either had a few months (or years) in between, or I’ve read an entire series before seeing the movie associated with the first book. So, never has a book been so fresh in my mind as I watched “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” And, for me, that was a problem. I remembered every detail, and found myself analyzing every change. Because time-traveling is such a unique topic, you can show things in whatever order… either from the perspective of the traveler, or the travelee. (Yes, I just made up that word.) Basically, I found that the movie showed things in a different order than the book. I was possibly a little easier to follow than the book, but it still bothered me a little.

The only other critique I have is just that of not being able to show/tell every detail in the book. And some seemed more significant than others. It’s not that the movie didn’t make sense- it totally did- but I felt it would have been more complete with a few extra background details I had remembered in my mind.

Ultimately, I really liked the movie. But, had I seen it before I read the book, or at least waited a few months in between, I would have loved it! My recommendation is to go see the movie- and then go read the book. I think you’ll get to enjoy both equally. And you can choose which ending you prefer! I couldn’t believe they changed the ending! (I still haven’t decided… both were equally good.)