College Road Trip
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 |
Melanie is eagerly looking forward to taking her first big step towards independence when she plans a ‘girls only’ road trip to check out prospective universities. However, when her imposing police-chief dad insists on escorting her instead, she soon finds her dream trip turning into a nightmare full of misfortune and turmoil. Dad wants to assure total security and safety for his precious daughter, while Melanie has a 17-year-old’s need to become a grown woman and have her own sense of independence. Now, even as dad and daughter bicker, banter and careen from one disaster to the next on their journey, they are about to discover that, sometimes, going that extra mile to be together can forge a family bond so strong it can withstand anything–even wild curves ahead.
The movie opens in the fall where after three pregnancy tests in Rollo’s (Rainn Wilson) store, Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) discovers she is twelve weeks pregnant by her close friend Paulie (Michael Cera). She calls her best friend, Leah (Olivia Thirlby), and decides to schedule an abortion. In front of the clinic, Juno encounters a pro-life classmate protesting, but she enters the clinic nonetheless only to leave after being unnerved by the other patients’ nervous fingers. She returns home intent on carrying the pregnancy to term and to give the infant up for adoption. Juno and Leah look through the penny-saver magazine looking for couples seeking to adopt children and find an ad from a yuppie-couple, Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner). She breaks the news of her pregnancy to her father Mac MacGuff (J.K. Simmons) and her stepmother, Bren MacGuff (Allison Janney) who both support her decision. Juno and Mac visit the affluent Lorings in their hygienic suburban home where the high-strung and maternalistic Vanessa is put off by Juno’s diffidence and sarcasm but Juno and Mark form a bond over their shared musical interests. Mark reveals that he was once in a punk band but now writes commercial jingles; Juno teases him because Vanessa has restricted all his hobbies – Les Paul guitars, song writing, and comic books – to a single room in the house.
Fictional musician Dewey Cox skyrockets from humble beginnings in Springberry, Alabama and eventually gets caught up in the fame of rock and roll. He begins to hang out with the big time people such as Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Jenna Fischer plays his backup singer and second wife, Darlene. His was first married to his first wife Edith with whom he had many kids, but the marriage was over when she found Dewey about to have sex with Darlene. One of the pervasive themes of the movie is the fact that he accidentally cut his brother in half at the waist when he was a child (a reference to Johnny Cash’s older brother Jack, who was almost cut in half by a table saw and died from his injuries).
The movie begins long ago in a land far, far away with Mother Claus giving birth to a baby, with her husband and son in the background. As the baby is born, the midwife comments on how its the biggest baby shes ever seen. Within a few minutes of his birth, the baby starts giggling and saying, Ho, ho, ho! Mother Claus calls her other son, Fred, over to meet his new brother, who she has decided to name Nick. Mother Claus refers to the new baby as her little Saint Nick, while Fred promises to be the best big brother ever.
This year, Christmas with the whitfields ppromises to be one they will never forget. All the siblings have come home for the first time in years and they’ve bought plenty of baggage with them. As the christmast tree is trimmed and the lights are hung, secrets are revealed and family bonds are tested. As their lives converge, they join together anf help each other discover the true meaning of family
Nancy is a divorced mother of three who is so busy raising her children that she’s forgotten to take care of herself as well. With Christmas fast approaching, she decides to take her kids to the mall to meet Santa Claus, not knowing that her youngest daughter Emily has sensed her mother’s sadness and is determined to use her time with Santa to make her mom happy again. Just a few days prior, Emily heard her mom say that all she wanted for Christmas was a compliment from a man, so that’s exactly what she tells Santa. Ironically, Santa, as it turns out, is an office supply salesman and struggling songwriter Benjamin, who ends up giving Nancy just what she wants for Christmas, and much, much more
Giselle (Amy Adams) lives in the blissful animated world of Andalasia, where magical beings frolic freely, animals are talkative companions and musical interludes punctuate every interaction. She dreams of her true love and builds a statue wearing a blue jacket to represent him from her dream with the help of her chipmunk friend Pip and other forest animals. She sings about her true love’s kiss, and Prince Edward (James Marsden), a handsome and valiant but dimwitted prince who hears her voice in the forest and rescues her from a troll. Giselle and Edward get engaged, but her fate takes a turn for worse on her wedding day when his stepmother, the villainous Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon), throws her through a magic portal to a place where there is no happily ever after in order to keep her step son single and thus remain queen.
Alvin and Chipmunks, a global phenomenon to generations of fans, become a live action / CGI motion picture event with a contemporary comic sensibility. Songwriter Dave Seville transforms singing chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore into pop sensations — while the out-of-control trio lays waste to Dave’s home, wreaks havoc with his career, and turns Dave’s once-orderly life upside-down.