Inkheart, 2008

There is a soft-spot in my heart for Brendan Fraser. Despite the fact that he almost always stars in B movies. Inkheart is no exception. Fraser stars as Mo 'Silvertongue' Folchart, a man who has the ability to "read" characters out of books and into real life.



Based on the book by Cornelia Funke, this film had enormous potential but the extreme over-acting (directed by Iain Softley) and annoying script (really, you really think the characters would talk that way? really?) by David Lindsay-Abaire, made this film almost painful to watch.

Oh, also why do all the characters have English accents except for Fraser? I guess on the upside, at least he wasn't trying to use one...

Melody's Stars: *


Rating System:
*****=Worth Buying
****=Worth Seeing in Theaters
***=Worth Renting
**=Worth Watching on TV
*=Worth Watching if also cleaning house or doing paperwork
0=Total waste of time
Fail=So bad it doesn't even make the rating system

Bolt, 2008

Cute movie about an Action Hero dog, Bolt (voice of John Travolta), who doesn't know he's actually just a TV actor. When producers decide to add some drama to his show by "kidnapping" Bolt's human, Penny (voice of Miley Cyrus), things go horribly wrong when Bolt leaves the set for the first time ever in his attempt to save her.

Think The Truman Show for a younger audience.
However, older audiences will enjoy it too.



There are some confusing messages as well as some dramatic chase scenes, so not for young children who scare easily.

Directed by Byron Howard and Chris Williams.
Screenplay by Dan Fogelman and Chris Williams.

Melody's Stars: * * *

Rating System:
*****=Worth Buying
****=Worth Seeing in Theaters
***=Worth Renting
**=Worth Watching on TV
*=Worth Watching if also cleaning house or doing paperwork
0=Total waste of time
Fail=So bad it doesn't even make the rating system

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, 2008

Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1921 short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is anything but short. Almost three hours long, it follows the life of Benjamin (Brad Pitt) who was born old and died young. Along the way he falls in love with a girl named Daisy (Cate Blanchett). While most of the time their love seems creepy, for a few years in their 40s their outward ages "meet in the middle."



The makeup, visual effects, special effects and art direction were all quite good.
Directed by David Fincher.
The screenplay by Eric Roth, who is probably best known for his Oscar winning screenplay Forrest Gump.

When you have a formula that works, why mess with it?

Melody's Stars: * * *

Rating System:
*****=Worth Buying
****=Worth Seeing in Theaters
***=Worth Renting
**=Worth Watching on TV
*=Worth Watching if also cleaning house or doing paperwork
0=Total waste of time
Fail=So bad it doesn't even make the rating system