Mixed Reviews

I titled this Mixed Reviews not because I have mixed feelings about the movies I am about to review, but because I am mixed racially and I like to point that out whenever possible. Also, these movies aren't brand spanking new and you have probably already seen them, but this is just what I thought of them...

Meet the Fockers

The first one didn't sit well with me- I thought it was hilarious, but a couple of times I thought it went a little too far and I felt a little sad for Ben Stiller - the poor guy couldn't catch a break. In this second installment I thought the acting was better, the story line was less predictable, and it definitely generated more laughs. A friend of mine commented that it had a lot of sexual references, but since Stillers mom played by Barbara Streisand was indeed a sex therapist then you had to expect that. And, the sex that was being had was by two married adults- something that is often lacking in movies- (sex between married people as opposed to just free for all sex.)

I give it 4 out of 5 possible stars.

Oceans Twelve

I remember renting the first Oceans Eleven- the original with Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra and thinking, "When is this movie going to get good?" It was horribly boring and so when I did see the remake with Clooney and Pitt I really enjoyed it. It was so much better.

In the sequel Ocean's Twelve- I thought a couple of times that I was going to be as bored as I was in the first one. So much happens in the movie that you don't see that it becomes one big "Fill-in-the-Blank" sketch, like some sort of quirkly mad lib. Then later they try to fill you in on what happened an hour earlier and by that point you don't even care, you just want to end the madness. It's not that the movie isn't entertaining, its just that its like an all-you-can-eat buffet- you gorge yourself on so much that when you leave you are more miserable than you are satisfied.

I give it 2.5 out of 5 possible stars.

I also wanted to see Phantom of the Opera. I poked my head in before Ocean's Twelve started and I watched about 10 minutes of it. I don't really know what was going on, but it looked like the movie was a snore fest- and I had hoped that it was going to be good. I plan to rent it eventually, that way if I do fall asleep it will be in the confines of my casa.

Mucho Amor