Super Size Me

The Super Size Me Official Site

Rating: B+

Super Size Me is a documentary about obesity and fast food. Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock demonstrates fast food's effect on obesity by eating only fast food three meals a day for 30 days. He also creates a set of rules for himself: he can only eat/drink food if its on McDonalds menu, must eat three meals a day, he has to eat everything on McDonald's menu at least once, and if asked, he must supersize his meal.

I found this movie to be very interesting and a must-see. I thought going in that it would just show him eating meal after meal at McDonalds, but the movie also details the causes and effects of obesity. It shows interviews of elementary school cafeteria workers, lobbyists, McDonalds employees, and obese teenagers, to name a few. I felt afterward that I got a good idea of how much obesity is sweeping the nation and what some causes may be, including fast food restaurants and their promotions toward children, cafeteria food, and America's increasing need for convenience. Here are some facts that I found especially interesting:

- Americans eat 40% of their meals out
- 1 bagel = 5 servings of bread, a regular parfait with yogurt worse for you than a regular sundae, and a premium girlled chicken salad with ranch has more calories than a Big Mac
- obesity is the 2nd leading cause of preventable death behind smoking
- if trends continue, 1/3 of babies born in 2000 will develop diabetes in life
- 1st graders were surveyed and more knew who Ronald McDonald and Wendy were than who Jesus Christ and George Washington were
- effect of McDonalds 3 meals/day for 30 days on Morgan Spurlock: difficulty breathing, heart palpatations, chest pain, possible kidney stones, very harmful to liver, much less energy, lethargic, gained 25 pounds, 2x risk of heart failure, massive headaches, mood swings, and heightened cholesterol

I definitely recommend this movie to everyone just to learn about obesity and give you incentive to stop eating fast food! Morgan Spurlock has a great sense of humor and made the movie very interesting and eye opening.

Watch the Super Size Me movie trailer
More facts about obesity
Play Burger Man: The Official Super Size Me Game

Buy Super Size me at Amazon.com:

2005 MTV Movie Award Nominees

I don't know about you, but I love MTV award shows. I always look forward to the MTV Video Music Awards and the MTV Movie Awards, because as opposed to many other awards shows, I've actually heard of the movies and music. Thanks to ComingSoon and The Movie Blog, here are the nominees for this year's MTV Movie Awards, which will air on June 9th at 8:30 PM. What are your picks? Mine are highlighted in bold, though I didn't give an opinion when I didn't see most of the movies in the category.

Best Movie
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Miramax Films)
Napoleon Dynamite (Fox Searchlight)
Spider-Man 2 (Sony Pictures)
Ray (Universal Pictures)
The Incredibles (Walt Disney Pictures)

Best Male Performance
Jamie Foxx -- Ray (Universal Pictures)
Will Smith -- Hitch (Sony Pictures)
Brad Pitt -- Troy (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Matt Damon -- The Bourne Supremacy (Universal Pictures)
Leonardo DiCaprio -- The Aviator (Miramax Films)

Best Female Performance
Uma Thurman -- Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Miramax Films)
Lindsay Lohan -- Mean Girls (Paramount Pictures)
Hilary Swank -- Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Rachel McAdams -- The Notebook (New Line Cinema)
Natalie Portman -- Garden State (Fox Searchlight)

Best Comedic Performance
Antonio Banderas -- Shrek 2 (DreamWorks SKG)
Dustin Hoffman -- Meet the Fockers (Universal Pictures)
Will Ferrell -- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (DreamWorks SKG)
Ben Stiller -- Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (20th Century Fox)
Will Smith -- Hitch (Sony Pictures)

Best On-Screen Team
- Lindsay Lohan/Rachel McAdams/Lacey Chabert/Amanda Seyfried -- Mean Girls (Paramount Pictures)
- Craig T. Nelson/Holly Hunter/Spencer Fox/Sarah Vowell -- The Incredibles (Walt Disney Pictures)
- Will Ferrell/Paul Rudd/Fred Armisen/Steve Carell -- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (DreamWorks SKG)
- Vince Vaughn/Christine Taylor/Justin Long/Alan Tudyk/Stephen Root/Joel David Moore/Chris Williams -- Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (20th Century Fox)
- John Cho/Kal Penn -- Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (New Line Cinema)

Best Villain
Tom Cruise -- Collateral (DreamWorks SKG)
Ben Stiller -- Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (20th Century Fox)
Rachel McAdams -- Mean Girls (Paramount Pictures)
Jim Carrey -- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Paramount Pictures)
Alfred Molina -- Spider-Man 2 (Sony Pictures)

Breakthrough Male
Jon Heder -- Napoleon Dynamite (Fox Searchlight)
Tim McGraw -- Friday Night Lights (Universal Pictures)
Zach Braff -- Garden State (Fox Searchlight)
Freddie Highmore -- Finding Neverland (Miramax Films)
Tyler Perry -- Diary of a Mad Black Woman (Lions Gate Films)

Breakthrough Female
Rachel McAdams -- Mean Girls (Paramount Pictures)
Ashanti -- Coach Carter (Paramount Pictures)
Elisha Cuthbert -- The Girl Next Door (20th Century Fox)
Bryce Dallas Howard -- The Village (Touchstone Pictures)
Emmy Rossum -- The Day After Tomorrow (20th Century Fox)

Best Kiss
Rachel McAdams & Ryan Gosling -- The Notebook (New Line Cinema)
Natalie Portman & Zach Braff -- Garden State (Fox Searchlight)
Gwyneth Paltrow & Jude Law -- Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Paramount Pictures)
Jennifer Garner & Natassia Malthe -- Elektra (20th Century Fox)
Elisha Cuthbert & Emile Hirsch -- The Girl Next Door (20th Century Fox)

Best Action Sequence
Destruction of Los Angeles -- The Day After Tomorrow (20th Century Fox)
The Subway Battle -- Spider-Man 2 (Sony Pictures)
Beverly Hills Plane Crash -- The Aviator (Miramax Films)
The Moscow Car Chase -- The Bourne Supremacy (Universal Pictures)
The Desert Terrorist Assault -- Team America: World Police (Paramount Pictures)

Best Fight
The Battle of the News Teams -- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (DreamWorks SKG)
Daryl Hannah vs. Uma Thurman -- Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Miramax Films)
Brad Pitt vs. Eric Bana -- Troy (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Ziyi Zhang vs. The Emperor's Guards -- House of Flying Daggers (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best Musical Performance
Jennifer Garner & Mark Ruffalo -- 13 Going On 30 (Sony Pictures) -- "Thriller Dance"
Will Ferrell/Paul Rudd/Fred Armisen/Steve Carell -- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (DreamWorks SKG) -- "Afternoon Delight"
John Cho & Kal Penn -- Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (New Line Cinema) -- "Hold On"
Jon Heder -- Napoleon Dynamite (Fox Searchlight) -- "Election Dance"

Best Frightened Performance
Cary Elwes -- Saw (Lions Gate Films)
Sarah Michelle Gellar -- The Grudge (Sony Pictures)
Jennifer Tilly -- Seed of Chucky (Focus Features)
Mya -- Cursed (Miramax Films)
Dakota Fanning -- Hide and Seek (20th Century Fox)

Best Videogame based on a Movie
Spider-Man 2 (Activision)
Van Helsing (Vivendi Universal Games)
Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (Vivendi Universal Games)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (EA)
The Incredibles (THQ)

Rent Movies Online

With the growth of buying everything from groceries to concert tickets online, you can also rent movies online...cheap! At Movielink, you simply register, pay $1.99 to 4.99 to rent a movie for 24 hours, download the movie, and watch it on your PC, TV, or laptop. They also offer a free trial: go to the site and download a movie free without any obligation. It's a great way to rent a movie without even having to leave your room! And, it's legal. Don't believe me? Check out the Video Business Online article "Movielink Free to Plan Future Growth" for more information.

Also, according to The Movie Blog, UK firm Wippit plans on offering movies for download that users can keep starting this summer for only 99p per movie . And, it will be legal! We'll see if it does launch this summer and if U.S. companies also provide a similar service. More information on Wippit can be found on BBC News.

The Interpreter

The Interpreter Official Site

Rating: B

The Interpreter tells the story of an Africon-born interpreter, Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman), mistakenly overhears a death threat for an Aftican head of state in a language her and only a few other people know. She then becomes the target of those who made the threat, leading Tobin Keller (Sean Penn), a federal agent, to be assigned to protect her and determine if she is telling the truth or if she is involved in the threats.

I actually had pretty high expectations for this movie, since the previews really interested me, but I left feeling slightly disappointed. I thought the movie had an interesting plot, but at times it was too political and it seemed long. I wouldn't call it too suspenseful and at times it was so political that it was over my head, but I did find parts interesting. For instance, the movie centers around an African tradiation that if your family member/close friend is murdered, the murderer is placed into a body of water to drown. You, as the family or close friend of the victim, have the opportunity to save him or let him drown. If you save him, you will be able to know that life isn't fair and move on. If you leave him to drown, justice will be done but you will live your life in a state of unhappiness and without closure. I thought that was really interesting. And, this was the first movie ever that was actually filmed at the U.N. headquarters in N.Y. Also, I thought the characters were well developed and Sean Penn did a fantastic job. I think he made the movie for me, since he really drew me into the character he played. Overall, a decent movie for those of us who like something different, but not one that is a must see.

Trailers for The Interpreter
The Interpreter on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
The Interpreter Movie Times

Two Ways to Spoil a Movie

Though it's not something I use, I know people who swear by movie spoiler sites. For those of you who don't want to spend almost ten bucks on a movie without knowing that it will be good, or for those of you who were unable to see a movie in theaters but are dying to know what happened, this may be for you. Visit http://www.moviespoilers.net or http://www.themoviespoiler.com to read everything about a movie, including the ending! I think the reason I like these sites is at those times when I see a horror movie that looks really interesting, but I know it would scare me to death. I get more sleep this way!

Ray

The Ray Movie Official Site

Rating: B+

Ray is about the life and trials of Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx). It describes his regrets, how he became blind, his music, and his struggles. Not knowing anything about Ray Charles going into the movie except that I liked his music, this showed me a lot about the man behind the music. Ray Charles clearly dealt with more than most in his life, including the death of his brother, a drug addiction, struggles with adultery, and of course his blindness. However, he was able to overcome his regret, addiction, and was able to be a man that did more than those with eyes to see. It's amazing to me to see people with physical disabilities make such a difference, in Ray's case through music, that it's an encouragement and motivator for those of us who aren't. I thought this movie depicted his life very well, not just showing the highlights but also his faults which made it more realistic. He played a large part in producing it which makes it even more honest. I did feel that the movie was long at times, but overall I really enjoyed it. It made me respect Ray Charles even more than I did before. Even if you aren't a fan of his music, check it out because it is a story about a normal man who did extraordinary things. As stated in www.IMDB.com, " The only thing more extraordinary than the music is the man behind it: Ray Charles."

Academy Award Winner: Best Actor (Jamie Fox), Best Sound Mixing
Ray Charles Online: The Official Site
Ray on Yahoo! Movies
Ray on the Internet Movie Database

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Buy the movie and soundtrack on amazon.com:

Trailers at your convenience

Have you ever been in the situation where your friend wanted to see a movie and you never heard of it? Well, at http://www.apple.com/trailers/ you can view trailers for many new movies and a number of older movies. It's great for those of us who don't feel like a movie summary is as good as watching a preview. Check it out :)