A little bit of this and that

So there are three movies that I've watched in the last week or so that I would like to review, and feel like the movies are piling up and I won't be able to do them justice because there are so many movie reviews swirling around in my head. So I will do them all at once here, and see what I can remember.

Cars 2
I did see the first one, but for some reason I don't remember thinking too highly of it. Cars 2 was really cute, Mater was great, maybe that's why I liked this one, because Mater was the main guy and not Lightening McQueen. Anyways, his obliviousness is adorable, and all the ways in which cars are personified are clever and cute. The scene where Mater was in the Japanese washroom was actually hilarious. People who are car fans should also enjoy this movie because it talks about actual brands of cars. I was in a parking lot once and noticed a strange looking car that looked kind of 70's, the emblem was of some weird little Buddha guy. I mentioned this to my dad, and he said it was a Gremlin, and that you don't see them around often. The moral of the story is that there were Gremlins in Cars 2, and I thought it was pretty funny.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I haven't seen any versions of The Planet of the Apes, but we all should know that Apes rule the world in it. I was excited that this movie was going to tackle how that happened. James Franco was the main guy, and I know that I said previously that I seem to like him in movies, but in this one I just felt like he was miscast. He was alright, but I think someone else could've done better (but don't ask me who). And Freida Pinto is beautiful, but they just don't have much chemsitry. Andy Serkis does his thing (a la Gollum and King Kong) as Caesar, the ape. There is buzz that Fox is trying to get Serkis nominated for an Oscar, which would really challenge what it is to be considered an "actor". The technology was amazing, the story interesting, John Lithgow was delightful. But the movie just seemed unfinished. See, in Captain America the movie ended, and you know that it's setting things up for a sequel, but it's ok, because the movie can pretty much stand as a whole, complete movie. The ending of this one though, still leaves questions unanswered and plot lines unfinished, it's more of a part 1 of 2, so yes, I am looking forward to part 2, but still feel a little short-changed.

Our Idiot Brother
My own brother sent me an email pointing out the poster and release date for this movie, it was August 26th, his birthday. I laughed at how ironic it was that a movie called "Our Idiot Brother" was being released on my own brother's birthday. But my brother isn't an idiot, and neither is Paul Rudd's Ned - the idealist hippie who shakes up the lives of his three sisters. I really enjoyed this movie, the characters are all very different and well-developed. Paul Rudd is perfect. We are usually used to him being the clean cut, business-y character, but this bearded guy is so honest and sincere and optimistic, you can't help but like him. Funny and heartwarming, but not sticky-sweet.