Joan Cusack Archives - Entertainment Ave!

MPAA Rated – PG
It’s 1:45 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Confessions of a Shopaholic Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	Isla Fisher, Krysten Ritter, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, John Lithgow, Kristin Scott Thomas, Fred Armisen, Leslie Bibb, Lynn Redgrave
MPAA Rated:	PG
Released By:	Touchstone Home Entertainment
Release Date:	2009
Kiddie Movie:	Good for tween girls.
Date Movie:	My BFF didn’t care for it that much.
Gratuitous Sex:	Nah.
Gratuitous Violence:	Nah.
Action:	Nah.
Laughs:	Some cute moments.
Memorable Scene:	Nothing stands out.
Memorable Quote:	Nah.
Directed By:	PJ Hogan
Cool Things About the Blu-ray:	There are some “nothing special” leftovers in the blooper and deleted scene areas. Other than that, the Blu-ray specials mostly are devoted to the fashion stuff with a look at Patricia Field and the green scarf.

I do my best to be objective when watching movies that really aren’t meant for me, so instead of watching “Confessions of a Shopaholic” by myself, I snuggled with my BFF on the couch to get a woman’s opinion while watching the DVD, especially since she likes shopping. I guess to start this review the easiest thing to say is the movie wasn’t really meant for her, either. Let’s get to the story…

Isla Fisher is Becky Bloomwood. She likes to shop. Now I don’t just mean she goes “La, la, la. That looks nice, I think I’ll buy it!”, nope, I’m talking obsessive, must get the best, must get the first, must use up every ounce of credit card I have to the point I can’t pay the bills but still want to shop, shop. Becky, by chance, is also a writer, and she would really like to write for a fashion magazine, but instead she finds herself writing about finance, brought on by her love, and need for possession, of this green scarf.

So now Becky has money troubles because of her addiction to shopping, she is constantly being hounded by a collection dude, she isn’t really writing for the magazine she wants to but loves the attention, and wouldn’t you know it, she also falls in love with her boss at the finance magazine place. Ah, life is so complicated!

Alas, “Confessions of a Shopaholic” is a romantic comedy, so you know what that means? Yup, romance and comedy, only for this movie most of it is on the PG level, hence the PG rating, so really, in my adult realm, I found the movie mostly in the cute category, nothing to write home about, and really nothing to snuggle for with my BFF as we watched it, and we both kind of agreed that this movie is probably better suited for the teen girl crowd, who likes to look at fashion, wishes she could buy it, and would find Hugh Dancy, Becky’s boss, dreamy.

Look, I know I’m not the target audience anyway, but the movie sticks a little too much to the cutesy script, which I guess is okay for the tween girls, but as adorable and as funny as Isla Fisher can be, the movie just fell flat for both me and my BFF most of the time. As such, I can’t give it more than 2 stars out of 5, but for your tween girl who dreams about high fashion, she might find it fun.

As far as the Blu-ray DVD, I wish I could say the extras were another reason to get the Blu-ray, but unless you are a total fashion obsessed person, or what some music videos there isn’t a reason for the Blu-ray other than the picture. I mean, you get a little insight into the fashion sense of Patricia Field, some analysis of the green scarf that plays a big role in the movie, and some music videos, but even the standard DVD extras, the bloopers and deleted scenes, just seem to be thrown in for good measure.

Get it for your teenage daughter who likes fashion and impress on her the fact that yes, you can spend too much money on clothes, otherwise, the movie leaves a lot to be desired.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

MPAA Rated – G
It’s 1:17 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Chicken Little Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	The voices of: Zach Braff, Joan Cusack, Don Knotts, Garry Marshall, Steve Zahn
MPAA Rated:	G
Released By:	Disney Pictures
Release Date:	2005
Kiddie Movie:	They’re the only ones this movie is geared for.
Date Movie:	Only if she’s your kid’s mom or stepmom.
Gratuitous Sex:	Um, no.
Gratuitous Violence:	Various animals do get obliterated by the aliens, but don’t worry, all will be well in the end.
Action:	Some chasing and stuff.
Laughs:	Only the fact that the filmmaker folks can’t decide if Runt is supposed to be gay or not.
Memorable Scene:	The animation is pretty good.
Memorable Quote:	Nothing.
Directed By:	Mark Dindal

So Disney is now trying to enter the 3D animation universe since it appears its relationship with Pixar will be coming to an end. And what do they give us to anticipate if they can dominate? They give us “Chicken Little.” Animation-wise, Disney is on par with the Pixar folks, but story-wise, well, let’s start with the story.

Most of us know the story of Chicken Little. He’s a chicken who scares the crap out of people by saying the sky is falling, only it isn’t. But that’s not enough for a major motion picture, is it? So the Disney folks expand the story to this. Chicken Little starts the movie, ringing a bell at the school and causing a ruckus, announcing the end of the world, because, well, the sky is falling. As everyone calms down, Chicken explains he was under the oak tree when this blue thing shaped like a stop sign hit him on the head. No one believes him, least of all his dad, and Chicken is now the laughing-stock of the town. Fast forward a year later, and Chicken still can’t get his dad’s respect, thinking he needs to do something big to impress his dad and get the town to forget the whole sky is falling thing, much to his friend’s dismay, Abby Mallard, known better as the Ugly Duckling. She thinks Chicken should just have a sit-down with dad so they can get some closure.

With things still not going well, Chicken joins the baseball team. Dad was a hero on the baseball team, so, of course, Chicken thinks he can be a hero, too, and get Dad to like him. Sure enough, Chicken becomes a baseball hero, dad loves him again, and all is well until, go figure, Chicken gets hit on the head, again, by a blue thing that looks like a stop sign. Enter the alien invasion. It seems Chicken has stumbled upon a piece of a spaceship, his friends help him, track down the mothership, they think an invasion is coming, Chicken rings the bell again, the townsfolk run with Chicken to the ball field to see the ship, but, of course, the ship is gone, and Chicken still looks like a dork.

Ah, but the story can’t end there. So, alas, the aliens come back to retrieve something left behind, and of course Chicken’s dad realizes his son isn’t a liar, they make up, and they save the day. Blah, blah, blah…

Look, I know I gave you a lot of the story, but it really doesn’t matter because the Disney folks just don’t have the story magic in this one to make a great 3-D animated flick, and I think they are missing one other thing the Pixar folks do brilliantly – Pixar’s animated characters are easily identified, actually look like what we expect them to look like, and are generally likable. For “Chicken Little” we get a chick that doesn’t look like a chicken, hell, even dad the adult chicken doesn’t look like a chicken. Runt, whom I’m assuming is supposed to be a pig, doesn’t really look like one, and the cutest character in the movie simply called Fish, and it’s a goldfish that has a helmet on (it holds the water to the fish can breathe).

In the end, the little boy sitting next to me in the theater, I’m guessing about three or four, totally expressed my sentiment about the movie as he kept telling his mom, “I don’t like this movie,” and asking “Can we go home soon?” Little Skippy, I felt the same way. Maybe your kid will like this movie, but little Skippy didn’t, and neither did I. For me, it’s 1 ½ star out of 5. The animation looked fine, but the thing the Pixar folks, and for that matter the Dreamworks folks are also doing better, is developing stories both enjoyable for the kids, and the adults can like, too.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!