July is nearly finshed, as August begins to knock on our door. It all started back on May 4th, when Spider-Man swung into theaters for his third time around. Nearly $335 million dollars later, the film is kind of viewed as a failure, due to its mixed reviews and slightly less than average box office for the series. But it's still the #1 grossing film for the year so far, and will most likely stay that way, despite the fact that the major blockbusters like Harry Potter and Transformers have been very successful.

Will 2007 hold the same issues for filmgoers? We'll just have to wait and see.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
DRAWING RESTRAINT 9
THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE
A SCANNER DARKLY
THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON
TRISTRAM SHANDY : A COCK AND BULL STORY
V FOR VENDETTA
SNAKES ON A PLANE
LITTLE CHILDREN
ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL
DIXIE CHICKS - SHUT UP AND SING

Children of Men, based upon the novel by P.D. James, is a movie that will someday be watched by high school and college students- to be examined for its principles, examples, context, and above all, intent. It's not a perfect film (I'd give it a solid 8/10), but it's definitely an important film, and can strongly recommend it more than anything else released in the previous year. And even with my love and slight biases for Director Alfonso Cuaron, I feel safe enough endorsing this movie for reasons beyond his obviously skilled craft. So drop what you're doing, and go see this mature, thought-provoking motion picture.
In my own opinion, I feel that it should be nominated for Best Picture in any awards ceremony that it hasn't already- but will this happen? I really doubt it- do one better and put your dollar towards a movie that couldn't be more relevant at a time like this in our own world.

DIS-HONORABLE MENTIONS
Basic Instinct 2
Blood Diamond
Bobby
The Break-Up
For Your Consideration
Little Miss Sunshine
Mission: Impossible III
The Oh! in Ohio
Stick It!

Okay, first off, I have a question to those who are registered readers :
(I say this because I know there are some who view and do not comment)-

Should I add ratings to my reviews?
I've strayed from doing so because I sometimes feel like I cannot chose a specific numerical/star/alphabetical, etc, ratings system that I'm comfortable with.
But if you feel it's something I should do, a bit of input will be enough to persuade me.

Also, what is WITH this rash of spam comments?!
Mostly, they're silly entertainment news, but there are the abstract adfnaudkfnasudf versions.

Anyways, give me some input if you like... and take care of yourself, since it's almost the Holidays and life can be chaotic this time of year. Enjoy life -and go see a good movie or two between the turkey and the gift-giving.

--- Mallory

Yes, I did see this movie called Little Children, and while I did enjoy it very much so, it's kind of hard for me to make a general statement about it, since I didn't come to realize its true meaning until I had come home an hour after viewing the picture. It's one of those films that, if you watch it straight without thinking much at all, you'll think its simplistic, probably dull, and pointless. But if you watch it taking all factors into mind, you might just see something else.

Let me give you my perspective- I didn't even know the main plot of this movie before I viewed it- I figured that the plot would revolve around parenting. These parents doing not-so-good things, but it was so much more than that. I find it so much more affective when, thanks to the trailer, not much is given away, yet so much is said. I also didn't know what the poster for this film looked like, thankfully, because that was a major spoiler, even after the fact.
Although I had wanted to see this movie for a while now, knew that it was based upon a novel, written originally by Tom Perrotta. and am very familiar with Director Todd Field, it was as if I myself was a child, experiencing this movie with fresh eyes, and open ears, taking in all the elements to examine them for myself. I almost don't want to spoil or even talk about it for the sake of others, since I know that the movie isn't playing currently in the NH Seacoast. In my opinion the best way to experience the subtle complexities of the film would be with fresh senses.

If you don't want to know anything about this film before you see it (I strongly suggest doing so), do not click below for the rest of my review.