It's Time for Another Movie Review Post

• The Taking of Pelham 123 - The premise and plot of this movie were interesting, but the language was awful! I don't think the movie ran more than 5 minutes, maybe 10, without hearing the f word. It was really bad in that respect, and the language was distracting. I wouldn't recommend this movie, mostly because of the language.


• Public Enemies - Honestly, the real reason I chose this movie was because parts of it were filmed in a town in WI that we sometimes drive through, and I thought we'd maybe recognize some things. Well, we did, but the movie wasn't real great. It was slow, and I fell asleep about 3/4 of the way through. Josh told me how it ended, and it doesn't sound like I missed anything worthwhile.


• Star Trek - I'm not a trekkie, and I don't know if I've ever seen a whole episode of the original series (although I have seen some of the subsequent ones). Josh isn't a trekkie either, but he's seen enough Star Trek episodes to get many of the references to the original tv series in this movie and explain them to me. However, even if Josh hadn't been there to share the allusions with me, I think I would have enjoyed this one. I didn't care for the love interest angle or Spock meeting himself, but other than that, it was pretty good.


• The Proposal - A predictable yet sometimes cute and funny movie. Mostly fluff rather than substance. Entertaining, but nothing special. Not for kids.

Harper's Island

My BIL C from TX is in WI for some meetings, and he stayed overnight at our house Thursday night. While he was here, he asked us if we'd seen the show Harper's Island. We hadn't because from the tv commercials, it looked to us like the show was similar to a Freddy or Jason slasher type film or a Stephen King horror movie, a genre neither of us likes.

However, I do like a good suspense film. In talking with C some more about Harper's Island, he told us that the show is not so much horror and blood and gore but is really suspenseful and is a good serial murder mystery along the lines of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians (which is also a movie, but I haven't seen the movie or read the book).

Harper's Island takes place on a fictional island of the same name located near Seattle. (Josh and I honeymooned in the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound, and if Harper's Island isn't actually filmed there, it's taped in a place that looks nearly identical.) The show's premise is a variation on a princess-marrying-a-pauper theme with a destination wedding in which the whole wedding party and guests spend the week before the wedding at a resort on Harper's Island. People start disappearing and turning up dead during the week pre-wedding.

The casting is great! I can't imagine anyone else playing the characters. Although the characters are somewhat cliched stereotypes, the actors and actresses play the roles superbly!

The night that C was here, I ended up going to the Harper's Island website and watching the first two episodes. Last night I watched the third one online, and tonight the fourth episode is on tv. I can't wait! I'm hooked!

I won't deny that Harper's Island has some blood and is gruesome at times, but the gore level seems to be about same as that of CSI. I admit that I covered my eyes and watched between my fingers at times, but the heart-stopping suspense lies in knowing what is happening even if you don't see it, or, in some cases, what you think is going to happen. However, I would suggest that viewers be about 16 years old or older. The show is definitely not for kids, but if you love suspense and/or mystery, you must give this show a try. Be sure to watch the previously aired episodes online first before watching the current episode on Saturdays at 8:00 pm. (That's central time. It's on at 9:00 pm eastern and pacific time.)