the movieGOOMBA

3 GOOMBAS

2.5 GOOMBAS

3 GOOMBAS

From a girl born and raised in Southern California who went to a university that didn't even have a football team, the art of stepping isn't something I get to see everyday, so it was really cool to experience it; even if it was through my television set.

Similar to other dance and sport movies, Stomp the Yard is about a young man who needs to prove himself by defeating the status quo step champions of Turth University. DJ moves from LA to Atlanta to go to college, and already having experience in hip hop battle dancing, he joins a fraternity that hasn't won the National Step Championship in years. It's your basic movie plot, and it isn't that great of a drama, but like Step It Up, it's an excellent dance movie.

Despite the predictability, it wasn't cheesy, which most movies of this caliber tend to be. Couple this refreshing quality with the ridiculously terrific dancing, and you've got yourself a pretty dang good movie. This is the perfect popcorn movie to watch when you just want to be entertained. It definitely isn't a waste of your time.

4.5 GOOMBAS

Okay, in case you're thinking "Dang, this girl gives out 4 GOOMBAS like water," it's not true! I'm actually a pretty harsh rater, but all the Oscar movies are coming to DVD now, so it's only natural that those would be better. Plus it might just be because there were so many terrible movies that came out in 2004 and 2005 that all the good ones are coming out now. But don't worry! I'll be sure to rate some more crummy movies like Because I Said So and Snakes on A Plane soon!

On to more serious things. Set in fascist Spain during World War II, Pan's Labyrinth is about Ofelia, a young girl who loves to read. In the 'real world,' Ofelia's mother takes Ofelia and her unborn half brother to live with her new husband, the Captain. The Captain is an evil man who only cares about power and his legacy. He has no love for his new wife or his new stepdaughter, and it is because of him that Ofelia's seeks sanctuary in a different world. She meets a faun who tells her that she is the reincarnated princess of the underworld, but in order to live her life as the princess along with her father, the King, she must complete three tasks to prove that she has not become a mortal.

Enigmatic, ominous, and extraordinary, Pan's Labyrinth is a film that feels heavily influenced by German Expressionism. The dark, almost foreboding feel in many of the fantasy scenes creates a world that is not your average fairy tale land, and I must warn that this film is not for the squirely. Its pretty damn intense.

The film begins in a lighter yet very serious tone, but as Ofelia delves deeper into the world that she believes she is a part of, the atmosphere begins taking a turn. In both worlds, things get more dark and sinister, and the need for Ofelia to complete her tasks becomes more urgent. This perfectly auteur-ed piece mixes fantasy with reality, and by the end of the film, both are so intricately woven that you wonder if it was real or if it was all Ofelia's imagination.

If it was Ofelia's imagination, is the whole movie just a tall tale; a commentary on life's despair and the longing for escape? Or is it something more than that? Is it the idea of a better place? With a Father who will wait for your return? And maybe you will get there, especially if you believe.

"A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world. She dreamed of blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine. One day, eluding her keepers, the Princess escaped. Once outside, the brightness blinded her and erased every trace of the past from her memory. She forgot who she was and where she came from. Her body suffered cold, sickness, and pain. Eventually, she died. However, her father, the King, always knew that the Princess' soul would return, perhaps in another body, in another place, at another time. And he would wait for her, until he drew his last breath, until the world stopped turning..."

1 GOOMBA

In five minutes, it was already terrible. In six minutes, I knew that there was no hope. I had heard that this movie was bad. A radio personality said it was like Diane Keaton went to her agent and said, "Look, I need to pay the bills. Star me in a movie with 3 other pretty young girls, and I'll play their mother." It was so bad I fast-forwarded through half of the movie, and the only reason why I fast-forwarded through it was because I wanted to see if Mandy Moore would end up with the cute guy (who I later found out did not look as cute when he took his hat off).

Because I Said So is about a nosy, nagging mother whose only goal in life is to meddle in her youngest daughter's love life. Her two eldest daughters, played by Lauren Graham and Piper Perabo, were already married and settled, so lucky Millie, played by Mandy Moore, got all her mother's attention when it came to her relationships. Mom decides to put a personal ad seeking a "mate for her daughter." Millie is unknowingly set up with tall, dark and handsome Architect, the name not important. Meanwhile, Millie finds herself a Musician, name also not important. Mom pushes for Architect. Millie finds out why. Horrible excuse for a movie. Doesn’t even deserve complete sentences.

Reasons why you don't need to see this film:
- Mandy Moore sings, as she does in every one of her stinking movies.
- Lauren Graham's character is exactly like Loreli Gilmore, just watch her show. It's 100 times better.
- Diane Keaton's signature bangs and "I'll-cover-up-every-inch-of-my-skin-up-except-for-my-cheeks-and-mouth-even-though-I-live-in-Venice-Beach" fashion statement.
- Diane Keaton getting it on
- The men aren't cute enough to be worth it

Please, please spare yourselves. DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE! Why? Because I said so. Hahahaha. Believe it for not, that line was better than the movie was.

4 GOOMBAS

I don't normally enjoy musicals on the silver screen. To me, musicals are meant to be left on stage. I know Grease-Travolta fans may be ready to throw stones at me for saying anything as blasphemous as that, but hear me out. Its kind of like a book becoming a movie. Sometimes its a hit or miss. With a musical, all the lines are already written out. There's already a script, and since there's already a script, it usually means that a script that was originally meant for the Broadway stage is going to attempt to orchestrate itself on film. A lot of times, it doesn't work. Not to mention that I find it really hard to get use to the singing.

Sidenote: In college, I was in class and the professor insisted on showing us a film clip to relate it to her lecture on "a hero's journey." So the room goes dark, she cues up the tape, and we see a pretty boy knight with a 1970's haircut in the woods talking to himself, and all of a sudden he breaks into song. Meanwhile, the entire class breaks into unanimous laughter. Nothing was comical about his song or even the way he sang it. We just hadn't been properly warned.

Anyway, on to Dreamgirls. Dreamgirls is about a fictitious girl group in the 1960's named the Dreamettes who hope of becoming huge stars. Curtis Taylor, played by Jamie Foxx, is their manager who proves that snakes also walk on two legs. Curtis launches the girls into stardom by having the Dreams sing back up for James "Thunder" Early, played by Eddie Murphy. Slowly the girls become more and more popular, and when it is time for the girls to open their own show,
***************SPOILER WARNING****************
Effie White, Jennifer Hudson's character, is demoted while Deena Jones, Beyonce's character, sings lead.
******************SPOILER END******************
Obviously, this throws a schism in the group that changes everyone.

I thought that is movie was HIGHLY entertaining, but after letting the film marinate on me for a bit, I realized that it may not have been a 4 GOOMBA caliber movie. I've never seen this musical on stage, so my opinion is strictly based on what I saw on my TV. The songs were powerful and ridiculous in a fantastic way, but the story that they told just didn't inspire me. The relationship between Effie and Curtis was never really developed, and I was never quite sure what Effie saw in him. Especially after she sang that song, "And I'm Telling you I'm Not Going." Also, when the heck did Deena stop being a goody goody and start affair-ing behind Effie's back? The change in Deena's character was so abrupt that when Effie's accusation toward Deena was said out loud, I wasn't sure if there was truth behind it or if it was Effie being Effie. I very was surprised by the answered.

4 GOOMBAS

Now I don't know if it was because it already had the classic story going for them or because I thought I was in for a terrible rendition of our favorite pig (low expectations always help a good movie look even better). Either way, I was pleasantly surprised.

A young girl named Fern walks in to find her father about to slay a piglet. As the runt of the litter, the father explains that the pig doesn't have a chance of survival, so he'll just speed up the process. Even as a child, she insists on the injustice of it all and refuses to let her father kill the animal. She becomes its surrogate mother and named the pig Wilbur. After he is too large to keep in the house, Wilbur, innocent and optimistic, moves into the barn where he makes friends with Charlotte, a spider. Their unlikely friendship and their loyalty to one another share a powerful message about seeing extraordinary things in seemingly ordinary places.

The innocence and true blue tone that this movie creates is so moving, and you can't help but wish the world really worked this way. While the other barn animals shuddered at the sight of Charlotte, Wilbur calls her beautiful. When Charlotte makes a promise to keep Wilbur alive, she does not break it, despite the hardships that she must face in order to accomplish her goal. Wilbur loves Charlotte as much as she loves him, and like any great friendship, they'd even give their life for them.

Charlotte's Web, the movie, was capable of capturing the idyllic childhood that some longed for and others were blessed to have. This is a great movie that teaches kids so many things about life, the ideals that adults may come to forget, and the difference a friendship can make. Watch it, and I know you'll fawn over Wilbur as much as I did.

2 GOOMBAS

4 GOOMBAS