"Inception"

This movie is great if you like high action, high suspense, and a great plot. If you don't like violence you will not like this movie.

Christopher Nolan { writer, director } has put together the best written and directed movie I have ever seen. And the acting is also superb. The Movie is VERY hard to follow and you will probably have to watch it a few times to get it all.

So what is "Inception?" It's planting an idea in someone's mind through his dream without leaving any trace of the planter. To accomplish that goal the planter must get into his dream- within a dream- within another dream. Like I said it's hard.

Now I would've given this movie at least 4 1/2 stars, but it has a lot of language. { explosive in some parts} There is some immodesty mostly in the main character's { Dominick Cobb played by Leonardo DiCaprio } wife. There is some suggestive material in the film as well as a lot of intense violence and some blood, not really a movie for younger people.

So I give the intense, well written though rather questionable "Inception" 4 stars.

The New Chronicles - "The Voyage of The Dawn Treader"

Now I must start by saying that I was disappointed by the last movie in the Chronicles of Narnia because it did not stay close to the book, although I must admit that the graphics and battle scenes were very well done.

However the latest movie, The Voyage of The Dawn Treader, pleasantly surprised me. Disney { the makers of the last two films } handed the making of any future films off to 20th Century Fox.

The movie stays at least close to the C.S Lewis book, although they do give twists to the original story line. The "twists" are done very well however and it makes the movie exciting almost all the way through. The acting is admirable and they represent their characters as they were in the book. On the other hand, there is not a lot of deep dialogue in the movie and it doesn't have the greatest theology.

There is, of course, the lovable "Reepacheep" that every person will enjoy watching. {Unless you're afraid of mice}

The only warning I will give is that some parts in the film would be scary for little kids and there is a good amount of violence throughout the film. There is also a lot of magical content at which some people might take offense.

Over all I enjoyed the movie all the way through and the fighting scenes and graphics are great. So I give 3 1/2 stars for the rather inaccurate, but enjoyable "Voyage Of The Dawn Treader."

"Little Dorrit"- The book

" Little Dorrit"- by Charles Dickens is a long, as well as hard, interesting read. It comes complete with the typical Dickens' creepy characters along with the endearing characters that you will come to love as the story progresses.

The story revolves around a young woman named Amy Dorrit { called little Dorrit } who has been born and raised in the Marshalsea { Debtors Prison } and how her life is changed when she meets a man by the name of Arthur Clennem.

The story line(s) goes all over the place which makes the book hard to follow. A Dickens' book would also not be complete without multiple twists and turns through-out. It is a rather challenging book to read because of his very wide reservoir of words and it is a challenging 787 pages long.

Warnings: There is some overly detailed description of Mrs. Merdle dress style and some swearing throughout the book.

I enjoyed the book and will probably read it again in future years. I give " Little Dorrit " 4 1/2 stars

We also watched the BBC Mini series " Little Dorrit " which stays very close to the book and has very good acting and is also well done, but it does have some questionable and sometimes offensive content.

Movie - "Gettysburg"

"Gettysburg," a town in Pennsylvania where the most deadly American battle was fought. This was a war fought between brothers, fathers, sons, and friends. This movie produced by Ted Turner captures this idea beautifully in "Gettysburg."

This movie not only captures the four days of fighting very well, but also the different reasons men fought on both sides, and yes, there was a lot more than just the issue of slavery at stake during the Civil War. This movie is very historically accurate, and you will learn things you never knew before when you watch it.

Now this movie was based off the book by Michael Shaara, "The Killer Angels," which General H. Norman Schwarzkopf says is " The best and most realistic historical novel about war I have ever read."

Warnings: There is a lot of swearing in this movie as well as some blood and gore, { There is one part in the movie that we fast-forward because this guy swears so much}, so probably not for the younger members of the family.

One of my favorite parts is when Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain has to order a bayonet charge down Little Round Top because they have run out of ammunition.

I enjoy this movie very much every time I watch it, so I give "Gettysburg" 4 stars.

Million Dollar Babies

I've always had a fascination with any information on the great depression and this movie is set during that time period. However, the focus is not on the depression at all. Does the Dionne Quintuplets ring a bell? This is a movie depicting their life story, almost unbelievable at times.
The Dionne quintuplets as I've said were born around the great depression so it gave people something to think and talk about. They were born to a young couple who already had 5 children; the young mother was just 25. This couple was poor, but happy and the children loved and cared for.
In steps the powers that be: The family doctor who delivered these preemies(2 lbs each and they came 2 months early)gets in cahoots with the Canadian government to get these babies away from their parents siting they cannot properly care for these children. A special sterile nursery with full time medical care is built for these children who are promptly removed from their own home. The mother is not allowed to hold/care for these children, but is told she may visit any time.
For five years, these children are kept in this environment and call the doctor Papa. But you've heard nothing yet!
The government/doctor get the bright idea that parading these little girls out into the public to be observed twice a day would be good pr, not to mention raise a little dough on the side. Sponsors began to contact the doctor to have these quints endorse various products and everyday, people would come from all over and line up outside a screened in area to view these little girls playing, etc. They built a little area around the hospital/nursery called "Quintland" with little sideshow presentations. I'll leave the rest for you to see.
While we were watching this movie, we kept saying this can't be true~Hollywood must really be adding some stuff here to over-dramatize the plot. Actually, the doctor is played by Beau Bridges and when he was handed the script, he said people will never believe this and then he found out it WAS true! If you watch the movie, be sure to see the documentary at the end where the producer talks with three of the quintuplets who are still alive; they also share real photos of Quintland.
As a mother, my heart was in agony for the mother in this story. She was a woman who loved her children and wanted the best for them. It is so sad that a government robbed her of knowing her babies and loving them as they grew up.
I recommend this movie and give it 3 stars. There are a couple scenes we fast forwarded where a vaudeville style show is shown when the doctor visits New York.
Reviewed by Rhonda Devine