New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve (2011)
Starring: Too many people to count
Directed by: Garry Marshall
SC=4 V=2 C=5
Grade: A

This is one of those ensemble movies and the "sequel" to Valentine's Day. This movie was good but it had SO many people in it that a lot of the characters didn't get the focus they should have gotten (especially Josh Duhamel). Michelle Pfeiffer and Zac Efron are Ingrid and Paul, a lonely record company worker and the young courier who delivers to her office. She receives tickets to the hottest party in town and promises them to Paul if he will help make all of her New Year's resolutions from last year come true. Paul's roommate is Randy (Ashton Kutcher), who hates New Year's Eve. He gets stuck in the elevator with Elise (Lea Michele), who is a backup singer for Jensen (Jon Bon Jovi). While Randy and Elise bond in the elevator, Jensen is trying to win back the heart of Laura (Katherine Heigl), whom he left before their wedding. She is catering the party that seems to connect everyone together (as these movies do). After his friends wedding and on his way to the party is Sam (Josh Duhamel), the son of the record company owner. After being in a car accident, he is forced to catch a ride into the city in an RV with the priest. While in the car, he tells the family the story of last New Year's Eve and the woman he met. The mysterious woman told him to meet her in the exact spot at the same time next New Year's, if he was still interested. Stan Harris (Robert De Nero) is dying in the hospital with only his doctor (Cary Elwes) and nurse (Halle Berry) to take care of him. He isn't interested in treatment or his family being contacted. He just wants to see the ball drop. Tess (Jessica Biel) and Griffin (Seth Meyers) Byrne are having a baby, which they decide has to be born that night because of a cash prize (which may or may not be $25,000) being offered to the first baby born in the New Year. The happiest night of their lives turns into a competition with another couple to win the money. Kim (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her daughter Hailey (Abigail Breslin) always spend the holidays together. But, for the first year, Hailey wants to spend New Year's Eve with her new crush (Jake T. Austin), kissing at midnight. When Kim won't let her do that, she leaves anyway, forcing Kim to chase after her. Finally, Claire Morgan (Hilary Swank) is the manager of the Times Square Alliance and in charge of making sure the ball drops. This is made difficult by a short in the ball, causing it not only to not light up all the way but not rise into the air. Now, she has to figure out how to fix the problem before it gets even more out of hand. Overall, good idea. I just think there was too many people and that took away from the stories that were really good. They should have just kept Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron and Michelle Pfeiffer, Ashton Kutcher and Lea Michele, and Sarah Jessica Parker and Abigail Breslin and it would have been a much better movie. Plus, the blooper reel at the end is one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

Instead of three pictures as usual, I'll put one of each pairing, because I couldn't pick the best.

No Reservations

No Reservations (2007)
Starring: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, and Abigail Breslin
Directed by: Scott Hicks
SC=3 V=4 C=3
Grade: A

I think Aaron Eckhart is a very underrated actor. He is great in everything he's in, as well as Abigail Breslin. Catherine Zeta-Jones is good, too. Kate (Zeta-Jones) is a chef in a New York restaurant, well known for being difficult to work with. When she gets a call from the hospital, saying that her sister and her niece were in a car accident, she is given custody of Zoe (Breslin). At first, they don't get along, Kate doesn't know what to do with a kid. When she's forced to take a few days off after a breakdown in the restaurant, a new chef is hired to help her. Nick (Eckhart) is the opposite of Kate in every way. When Kate starts bringing Zoe to the restaurant at night so she can watch her, the three bond over the restaurant. All three stars give very heartfelt performances, which is what makes this an enjoyable movie.

Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Starring: Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, and Paul Dano
Directed by: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
SC=7 V=5 C=9
Grade: A++

This movie has some very foul language, but it is absolutely adorable. Olive (Breslin) is a chubby little girl who was entered into a beauty pageant by her aunt. All she wants to do is be Miss America. So, when the winner of the pageant has to pull out and Olive qualifies for the Little Miss Sunshine pageant, her dysfunctional family decides to go. Richard (Kinnear) and Sheryl (Toni Collette), Olive's parents, decide they have to drive her all the way to California, because they can't afford a plane ticket on Sheryl's salary, because Richard is trying to sell a self-help technique. Olive's grandpa, Edwin (Alan Arkin), decides that she can't go without him (as he is her coach), which means they must bring Frank (Steve Carell), Olive's suicidal uncle, and Dwayne (Dano), Olive's brother who has been silent for a year. As the family sets off for California, they meet many, many obstacles, including the bus not starting unless they push it, Richard's rejection by the executive that promised to sell his plan, and the death of a family member. But everything will be worth it when they get there. Or will it?

Zombieland

Zombieland (2009)
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Tagline: Survival Rule #4: Don't be a hero.
Grade: A++

This movie is amazing...gross, but amazing. The world has been taken over by zombies. Columbus (Eisenberg) is searching for his family, who are from, hence the name, Columbus, Ohio. He is a shy and inexperienced college student who has only survived the zombie apocalypse by following his many rules, such as always look in the back seat, double tap (shoot the zombie twice), and avoid public restrooms. He meets up with Tallahassee, a "good-old boy" from Florida, who loves to hunt zombies. After a while of traveling on their own, they find con artist sisters Wichita and Little Rock. They join together to get to Pacific Playland, the place they believe to be the last place in the country that was zombie-free. They go to a lot of interesting places along the way, including the mansion of a famous actor...