Yes I’m aware this is like the 4th movie review in a row. We’ll work on that.

So I’m here to talk to you today about two great animated movies that I saw recently. They’ve been out of theaters for awhile but I missed both of their theater runs and have been meaning to check them out. If you’re like me, you love a funny animated movie (Toy Story is the bee’s knees).

First off is the movie UP. This movie has a fantastic story and was actually pretty emotionally moving for a funny little cartoon. The voices are fantastic and the character animation is quirky and painstakingly realistic (check out the shadows, absolutely unreal). This is actually worth purchasing if you ask me, and makes for  a great group movie. I won’t give anything away, but you will want a dog translator and a balloon house after watching this one.

Next is Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. This movie had the randomness of a Family Guy episode mixed with enough one liners and laugh out loud absurdity to make it nearly Shrek-worthy. Not as much depth of story as UP but definitely just as fun. Plus, MR. T does one of the voices.

Both of these movies get a “Rent It” since they aren’t in theaters, but pretend that it’s a “See It” and a “Rent It” combined.

So it’s not too late to decide on your approach for the new year.

There’s a pretty good blog article I just read that could be helpful for anyone that wants to set some goals and stick to them and is using New Years as a good excuse to have some motivation.

In college, it’s good to have more than just a goal of graduating. You’ve got to have goals to have a good time, to really enjoy your time here. College is a sanctuary of fun that exists in a crazy place between high school and real life.

At times you have to approach your college career like it is real life so that you can be prepared to face real life once you graduate. But don’t take it TOO seriously, because then your goals become chores.

But read this article, this guy has a much classier way of articulating what I’m trying to say.

HAVE FUN THIS YEAR.

OK, we’ve got an alien planet with big blue people, mind-controlled clones, and lots of political undertones. Oh, and of course it’s all 3-D.

Now I am personally a big fan of nerdy sci-fi alien stuff. So of course I was interested. More normal people my age were a bit confused about the whole premise of the movie (the blue aliens really throw some people for a loop apparently).

So to briefly summarize: this is an action-packed movie that takes place on another planet. The people who live there are blue. The planet is the only source of a valuable mineral. The blue people’s main house is built on the source. Humans want them to move. The blue people won’t move.

It’s basically equal parts war movie, alien movie, an old-school western (except the Indians are the good guys), and a dash of political metaphor (lots of popular criticisms of foreign war implied).

The plot is decent but not exactly mind-bending; but visually speaking, this is one of the coolest movies I’ve ever seen. The 3-D is worth the money and the trip to the theater. There were times when I just started laughing out loud because of how crazy all of the stuff looked.

So for that, I’ve got to say see it. You’re mind will be blown.

So this review may be a bit biased. I loved reading Sherlock Holmes growing up, so I was super excited when I heard they were making a movie (and that Iron Man was in it). But I’ll try to be objective.

The cinematography from Guy Ritchie movies is always visually stimulating (if you liked Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels then you won’t be disappointed here). Some of the trailers for this movie made me think they had turned Sherlock Holmes into Ed Norton from Fight Club. Luckily, that isn’t the case at all. It’s a solid and classic whodunit all the way through, with some fun fight scenes. They even kept it clean, which is rare for a movie from Ritchie.

All in all, it’s a great movie with witty, snappy dialogue that knows when to be funny and when to buckle down for a serious scene. Robert Downey, Jr. is my hero, and I can’t wait for a sequel. You won’t just want to see it once most likely, so I’ll have to say See It and then Rent It when it comes out on DVD.

So maybe you’re feeling a bit lazy and just want to start drinking without setting up a complicated game and explaining rules.
Try this:

1. Get a quarter and find a flat surface like a coffee table or a desk.

2. Half the people call heads and the other half gets tails (don’t recall after every turn, just stick with one or the other for a little while).

3. Have people take turns spinning the quarter. Just hold the quarter standing up, balanced with one finger on the top. Flick the quarter from underneath your finger
and watch it spin.

4. If it lands on tails, the people who got stuck with that have to drink. If it lands on heads, people who called heads have to drink. Have fun.

The End.