I greet you, dear reader, with exceptionally late Christmas/New Year's tidings.

Title just 'bout says it. Wow, I haven't posted since last year. We have a lot of catching up to do, don't we?

Let us start with the movie titles I left you with, and perhaps the others I saw after I left you for two odd months as well:

Walk the Line: A-
Why?: Overall chick flick. They touched on general Cash problems- alchol, drugs, infidelity, and hopeless infatuation with June Carter. The main focus was, of course, the relationship development of June Carter and Johnny Cash. The fact that Jaquin Pheonix and Reese Witherspoon did their own vocals makes up for it, no matter how little they sounded like the originals.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: C-
Why: While it may entertain avid Potter watchers, it had nothing for the dedicated readers to hold on to. The beginning's editing was disturbingly rough, acting as reminders to the reader and keeping ADD viewers in their seats. The acting has developed nicely, but the script plays too much to the fact that the characters are growing up (acne, dating, etc.) and not enough to slightly more pressing matters (muggle hunting, people dying, Dark Lord getting a body by sacrifice, etc.) All in all, I was disappointed.

King Kong: F
Why: All I read or heard was how important this movie was to Peter Jackson, and how it was his dream as a kid to remake it. Entertainment Weekly gave it an A. I really don't understand why; dad, who is in no form a movie critic, agreed that is was terribly made. The dinosaurs and pole-vaulting natives weren't convincing, Jack Black was predictable, sub plots were presented and left to dry, scenes was indecisive, and the gorilla himself almost became annoying. In one section, Ann (the blonde chick) is running, as many damsels in distress do, away from the horrors that are giant monkeys, prehistoric reptiles and massive cetipedes. She runs and she runs, and hides in a log, and then runs some more, and hangs from a branch, then runs again, gets tangled in vines, and then runs yet again, only to be carried back to the same place she ran off from to begin with. It was like the script had several options and couldn't decide on what form of terror would be more fun. I suppose most of my criticism on this movie is from unexpected disappointment. Perhaps Jackson should have taken a longer break from movie making since the Rings trilogy.

The Chronicles of Narnia: A-

Why: It has been awhile since I was last entraced with a film. Narnia not only had wonderful directing, but amazing acting talent as well. The children depicting Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy captured the magic of a new land with perfect looks of utter astonishment. I was especially pleased with Skandar Keynes' performance as the traitor Edmund. (or perhaps I was partial because he looked like a cousin of mine...) The soundtrack is brilliant; the theme fit perfectly and the Lullaby was as entracing as it was meant to be. I only took points off for two things.

1) The goblins, trolls, etc. reminded me of the same orcs and goblins found in Lord of the Rings.

2) The digital seams on Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Fox, etc, were slightly irking my eye.

However, considering how picky I am, and that these were the only threads I found to pick at, I still give it five stars.

Memoirs of a Geisha: A-

Why: Let's face it, Japanese flick will always be good. The cinematography is beautiful, the stories are capturingly sad, and almost all of them include Ziyi Zhang. Based on Arthur Golden's eastern Cinderella story, Gong Li, Ziyi Zhang, and Michelle Yeoh do wonderfully. Some lines are corny, but in a charming way ("I have lived my life only to bring myself closer to you." (or something to that effect)) and the pity you feel for the characters (even Gong Li's cruel Hatsumomo) makes you dismiss the quotes as necessary. A beautiful movie I am surely going to purchase.