My Sister's Keeper really hit home for me as an adult child from a family in which someone had serious ongoing health problems, a former social worker and as a cancer survivor who beat an advanced form of the disease against some mighty big odds. The casting was very well done; the cinematography and the choreography enhance the quality of the picture. The acting was very convincing, too. The plot moves along at a good pace for the first half-hour or so but after that things do slow down; they could have cut a few minutes once or twice to truly make this a taut drama. That is a disappointment.

When the action starts, we meet the members of the Fitzgerald family who endure endless emotional angst and suffering because tragically one of the Fitzgerald children, Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) is very ill with cancer--yet again. Now that Kate's kidneys have failed her; Kate's life is in immediate jeopardy. We also meet Kate's sister Anna (Abigail Breslin) who was a tube baby created for the purpose of contributing one thing or another from her own body to save Kate's life repeatedly throughout the years. Cameron Diaz plays Sara Fitzgerald, a mother who bravely scraps her lucrative career as a lawyer to take care of her daughter Kate at any cost and there's Kate's father Brian (Jason Patric).

Although Anna has given blood, bone marrow and more in the past to keep her sister Kate alive, all of a sudden Anna throws the family into complete turmoil when she hires crackerjack lawyer Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin) to win medical emancipation from her parents. Sara and Brian are stunned, to say the least; Sara is furious with Anna, too. The ensuing court scenes with Judge De Salvo (Joan Cusack) are quite memorable.

But if the scenes with Judge De Salvo in the courtroom are memorable, the depiction we get of Kate's cancer is absolutely remarkable and generally rather accurate. As a cancer survivor myself, I saw some mild exaggeration of what a cancer patient goes through on chemotherapy (believe me, if the patient is throwing up THAT much, the doctor would at least try to switch chemo drugs); and although I was on Rituxan I have never heard of "Rituxan on the breath." However, the rest of Kate's cancer and its treatments are rather accurate. We do see what poor Kate has to endure and it can be just awful; although we do see Kate have a sweet, moving relationship with Taylor (Thomas Dekker), another young leukemia patient.

Of course, from here the plot can go anywhere. What will Anna eventually decide to do--will she drop her legal case for medical emancipation from her parents and give Kate the kidney she needs to live; or will Anna not want to risk the very real lifelong complications from a kidney surgery and stand firm, refusing to give up one of her kidneys? What about Sara and Brian Fitzgerald--how will they cope with Anna who wants to thwart them, her own parents, to go against their wishes and not help her sister Kate stay alive? What happens in the courtroom--what will Judge De Salvo ultimately decide? Is there any other reason why Anna won't give her kidney to Kate? No plot spoilers here, folks--watch the movie and find out!

My Sister's Keeper is not a bad movie at all; it pushed my buttons as a former social worker, a cancer survivor and an adult child of a family with a lot of health problems to handle. The movie is definitely a tearjerker; and it will stay in your mind for quite some while after you see it. The acting is wonderful as well. Admittedly, it could have been edited a little more to make it tighter after the first half-hour; and that's something of a disappointment. After all is said and done, however, I do recommend this film; it's a sensitive portrait of a family in crisis that has meaning and that's a big plus.

First of all, I think the other reviewers who gave this movie such a bad rating were maybe taking the movie too seriously or something. I thought it was very funny and I personally did not like the first one because I did not think it was nearly as funny.
Give the movie a shot. If you rent it and after watching it you hate it, then you are only out about $3.

When my twenty year old daughter came home from college, she went to the video store and came home with this film, a comedy with a fairly good cast. Neither I nor my daughter knew much about this movie. Well, were we in for a big surprise! The humor throughout was truly raunchy, ribald, and raw. It was also, at times, quite funny. If you are a fan of the Farrelly Brothers movies or enjoy crude comedies, then you may enjoy this. Instead of the guys being gross, however, it's the gals.

This movie revolves around three gal pals, Christina (Cameron Diaz), Courtney (Christine Applegate), and Jane (Selma Blair) and their close encounters with the male kind. The guys, however, definitely take a back seat to these three twenty something misses. I confess, it was a bit startling, though funny, to see these gals break into a song fit for a drunken stag party. Some of the scenes were done tongue and cheek. Check out the Dick and Jane scene. You will know the scene I mean, when you see it.

This film is not for those with delicate sensibilities, as erect male sex organs, anal sex, oral copulation, and other usually taboo subjects are ripe for gags, many of which, while filthy, are often funny. If you do not like your jokes down and dirty, then this is not the film for you. If you are broader minded, then you may enjoy Nancy Pimental's screenplay and the silly cavorting of the delightful Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, and Selma Blair, once you get over your initial shock.

Knight & Day is about a rogue agent (Tom Cruise) that hides a powerful battery in a normal woman named June's (Cameron Diaz) carry on case at an airport. He thought that would be it and he'd never see her again, but he finds himself having to protect her from the people he used to work with.

The movie is just fun and it may be silly that Cruise and Diaz talk casually during shoot-outs but that's one of the things I enjoyed about the movie. The movie isn't meant to be taken seriously, just sit back and enjoy all the entertaining non-sense. Out of a so far lackluster summer season, Knight & Day is one of the better summer movies. Don't listen to the idiots on At the Movies, this is a fun flick and I highly doubt the Killers is a better movie like they said!

THE BOX is a masterpiece of ethical and moral dilemma masquerading as an ominous sci-fi suspense thriller. It may seem obscure and incomprehensible, but it's essentially just a story about the Golden Rule: What we do to others we do to ourselves.
The story is taken form an ironic little gem of a story by Richard Matheson (of TWILIGHT ZONE fame) called "Button, Button." The movie expands it into a Gordian Knot of obscure, seemingly unrelated events that inevitably, well... you'll see.
The central theme is altruism, which is basically the practical application of the Golden Rule (you know, do unto others as you would have them do unto you). The basic equation is that if enough people choose selfishness, eventually no one will be left. Yet I'm amazed by all the diverse interpretations and reviews, especially since the substance of the story is clearly stated at one point as the "altruism coefficient," that is, unless people learn to be altruistic they will either destroy each other or be destroyed by the mysterious extraterrestrials. A not uncommon sci-fi theme, but presented here as a brilliantly enigmatic and ominous fable that is never boring, but rather, perplexing and mesmerizing. It may have been more popular as a dark comedy, but then it would have lost much of its impact.
Unfortunately however, when a story is presented as enigmatically as this, people tend to see what they want to see, like the reviewer who totally misinterpreted it as a "scathing attack on altruism," quoting Ayn Rand's absurd, distorted definition of it. (Ayn Rand, the master of rationalization of the selfish and self-serving, nursed a lifelong disdain of altruism and empathy. Her books rationalize and justify selfishness, opportunism and exploitation, and still inspire those who exalt such traits....) But this movie is in fact a scathing indictment of selfishness.
Self-sacrifice and selflessness have been the most powerful themes in all of literature and art, including the ultimate story of self-sacrifice, that of Christ (though you'd hardly guess it judging by today's Christians).
Selfishness, on the other hand, is the primary characteristic of evil.
The quote by John Paul Sartre near the end of the movie sums it up beautifully.

For $10.00 per film you need to get this set. I find Blu-ray pricing to be a bit of a pain (on my budget that is!) But this set is priced as all Blu-rays should be. Ten bucks each! And for a great product.

The image quality is exceptional on my TV(Samsung LED). The detail and color in the films are just what you would expect from Dreamworks. Shrek never looked better. I watched the 1st Shrek movie again and was impressed. The other Shrek movies look better of course by default.

I don't need to review the films here since everyone knows you are getting three great films with one so-so film. For the price it is a must buy.

Again, I just want to vent here Studios: reduce the price of Blu-rays and we will buy more of them. The retail price on this set is $76.99 which is outrageous. Come on.

Nancy Meyers' "The Holiday" has been seriously dissed by most of America's film critics--including one who suggested that any man who goes to see it should be forced to pay with a crucial part of his anatomy instead of money. "The Holiday" is indeed a prime example of what is condecendingly known as a "chick flick," and it's not a movie you can make great claims for. But "The Holiday" succeeds outstandingly in living up to its title; it provides an audience with a two-hour vacation filled with charming, likable actors playing charming, likable characters. The movie is set during the Christmas holidays in which two women with man problems--Iris (Kate Winslet), an English journalist, and Amanda (Cameron Diaz), an L.A. producer of film trailers--meet over the Internet. On a whim, they decide to switch houses for Christmas; Amanda ends up in Iris's picture-postcard-pretty cottage in Surrey, Iris in Amanda's luxurious, gated mansion in Beverly Hills. There, they discover new romantic complications: Amanda with Iris's brother Graham (Jude Law) and Iris with a film composer named Miles (Jack Black). There's also a subplot about the friendship that develops between Iris and an elderly screenwriter played by the venerable Eli Wallach. Nothing that happens in the movie is at all original or consequential. I could even quibble about an inaccuracy or two in Meyers' screenplay (Cary Grant was from Bristol in Gloucestershire, not Surrey). But seeing "The Holiday" makes you feel happy and light of heart, which is all it sets out to do. While the film's appeal is necessarily greater for women, I also think most men will find this a more-than-serviceable date movie. Sometimes you want a movie that's rich, gooey and sweet, that contains no sharp edges and requires no sharp utensils for its consumption.... In an increasingly abrasive world, the need for cinematic confections is greater than ever, and "The Holiday" fills that bill.

"Shrek The Third" might lack the originality of the original film, but it's still a very good movie. Shrek is once again put into an uncomfortable position, except this time around he isn't trying to win Fiona's heart or impress her parents. This time he's been chosen to replace his father-in-law as the king of Far Far Away. He quickly finds out that there is one other potential heir to the throne called Arthur. Once he figures out where Arthur is located, Shrek, Donkey, and Puss set out to find the boy and convince him that he should be king. Before leaving, however, Shrek is weighed down with more pressure when he finds out that he'll soon be a dad. While Shrek's away, Charming gathers up all of fairytale-dom's meanest villains (including Captain Hook and the Wicked Witch from "Snow White") and stages a successful coup to become ruler of Far Far Away. Using Fiona and her friends as bait, Charming awaits Shrek's return in order to finish him off and become the rightful king.

I think the reason that many people dislike this film so much is that the spotlight shines considerably less on Shrek, Donkey, and Puss than it did it the previous films. Fiona, Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty (of "Beauty and the Beast"), Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty all get a decent amount of camera time. Lesser sidekicks like Pinocchio and Gingey also take the camera off of Shrek. Even Charming gets ample screentime along with his fellow villains. Does this make the film any better or worse than the others? Not in my opinion. In fact, the princesses add quite a bit of humor to the film (not to mention a sweet action sequence set to a cover of Heart's "Barracuda"). Charming and his companions also offer some fun moments.... The addition of two other characters, Arthur and Merlin, also give the viewer more to laugh at.

I'll agree with others who stated that the fart jokes and other sophomoric humor can be excessive, but no more than in the other films. In fact, jokes like that got the children laughing more than in the other two films which, in my opinion, had more humor for the adults than this sequel.

All of the original voice talents make it back for the film, and a few new voices are added as well. These include Justin Timberlake, Eric Idle, and a few old SNLers. It's nice to see that SNL's castmates stick so close together.

Overall, this film is better suited for the youngsters when compared to the other films. However, that doesn't mean that the adults in the audience miss out on any of the fun. This will be a definite purchase when it rolls out on DVD. I recommend it as a buy.

For $10.00 per film you need to get this set. I find Blu-ray pricing to be a bit of a pain (on my budget that is!) But this set is priced as all Blu-rays should be. Ten bucks each! And for a great product.

The image quality is exceptional on my TV(Samsung LED). The detail and color in the films are just what you would expect from Dreamworks. Shrek never looked better. I watched the 1st Shrek movie again and was impressed. The other Shrek movies look better of course by default.

I don't need to review the films here since everyone knows you are getting three great films with one so-so film. For the price it is a must buy.

Again, I just want to vent here Studios: reduce the price of Blu-rays and we will buy more of them. The retail price on this set is $76.99 which is outrageous. Come on.