Enchanted (2007, U.S.)

I wasn't expecting too much from this one, but I actually ended up liking it. A mixed live action and animated film is always risky, but I think it worked in this case. Amy Adams is a fairytale princess who is sent to New York City in the real world by an evil queen. Princess Giselle begins to change her views on life and love after meeting a handsome lawyer played by Patrick Dempsey.

Patrick Dempsey was just an unfortunate casting choice. The man is not a great actor, or even that attractive. Thankfully, Amy Adams is so vivacious she takes over the screen, and everyone else pales in comparison anyway. (Also, casting Idina Menzel in a minor, non-singing sort of role is really unfortunate.) Anyway, plus Susan Sarandon as the evil witch, and this was pretty engaging for a kids' flick.

As for music, wow. This was Disney at its best, especially Princess Giselle's house cleaning song. I was almost tempted to download the soundtrack!

Rating: 3.5

X-Men (2000, U.S.)

I can't lie, I was confused for most of this movie. Partially because I was talking to Jeff through most of it, and partially because I never read or watched X-Men as a kid. Mostly I wanted to watch the trilogy so that I could watch and understand Wolverine because a) I have become a Hugh Jackman fan (especially since he hosted the Oscars) and b) Aaron Jeffrey is in it!

Still, I thought it was pretty sweet. For starters, the aforementioned Mr. Jackman was awesome, and the rest of the cast was great too. The special effects were really believable, which is sometimes all one can ask of a movie like this. One thing that did really bother me was when the script obviously dropped the ball. For instance, Storm is letting herself (and everyone else) get beat up, and I assumed she just couldn't use her powers inside. Then five minutes later, she uses her powers to save the day. Why couldn't she do this earlier? I don't know.

So yeah. Good casting, good special effects. That pretty much sums it up.

Rating: 3.5