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Monday:
Mean Girls (2004)

...stereotypical...

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Lohan plays the clueless Cady Heron, a girl who was home schooled in Africa by her zoologist parents. Cady soon realizes how different the 'burbs of Chicago are from her former home in the wilderness. Sooner than later, the "mean" girls(also known as the "Plastics") of the movie trap her in their very exclusive cliche and dictate what she wears, who she is friends with, etc.

Then there are her other friends, Damian and Janis. They are in the "out crowd". After finding out about Regina's plan to walk all over Cady, the three of them hatch a plan to turn the entire school against her. That is until she realizes she has become a mean girl herself. This is where the best part of the movie comes in. Besides the hilarious talent show, this was the most enjoyable part of the film. The Plastics are constantly being pranked. For example, Cady tricks Regina into eating a "nutrition" bar that actually makes you gain weight. You can imagine how the self-conscious Plastic felt about that.

Mean Girls does have some issues though. Some of the jokes fall flat and most of the characters have very little depth. The ending was quite disappointing. It was just about as stereotypical as they come for chick flicks: apologize, give an inspirational speech, and become friends with everyone (except Regina). This should definitely be your next rental, but I would wait and see if you think it is worth purchase.

My Rating =

Rent

Wednesday:
Eragon (2006)

...bad acting...

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Eragon chronicles the first part of a young farm boy's journey with his newly hatched dragon, Saphira. His dragon chooses him to be the next rider and defeat the evil King Galbatorix. The ultimate goal(of the first movie at least) is to reach the Varden(the last place of resistance). On his way he is escorted by a former rider, an elven princess, and the son of a former man loyal to the king. Among killing a Shade, learning magic, and improving his combat, he must take part in a war that is fought right inside the once safe Varden.

One of the only things they did right was the flying. Whenever Eragon jumps on Saphira's back you know you are in for some beautiful effects(this applies to the fight scenes as well). I also must commend them for choosing one of the most beautiful set locations I've seen on film to shoot this movie. Unfortunately, there is some fairly bad acting and most of what made the book so great was cut from the film. Also, I thought I should point out that Eragon looks like a dweeb. That deserves at least half of a star taken away.

This won't win any awards and it most likely won't find itself on your movie shelf any time soon, but if you like the Lord of the Ring type movies you may enjoy this. Actually, it is almost exactly Lord of the Rings...maybe that is why it felt so familiar. I suggest reading the book first(as always) so you will have a greater understanding of the movie.

My Rating =

Rent

Friday:
28 Days Later (2002)
...plot couldn't be better.

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A small group of people in London escape an incurable virus that has wiped out most of the earth's population. The virus was accidentally let out by an animal-rights-group. Once exposed, you turn into zombie-like creatures that are locked in a permanent murderous rage.

Jim, who has been in a coma, wakes up in a hospital only to find that the streets of London have been destroyed. Everything is deserted. Soon he finds that he is not alone. An uninfected human finds him and explains that a blood-born virus has infected most of the world's population over a period of 28 days. He and his companions head for Manchester where they hear there is a safe haven for those who are not infected. Their trip ends up being more difficult than what was once expected.

The constant running begins to get monotonous, but occasionally the sight of a slightly (slightly as in completely) deformed zombie eating someone's arm will spice it up a little. The acting is pretty good and the style of the director is very different, but in a good way. All of the zombie make-up is well done and the plot couldn't be better.