On the road again...

We will be making our trip down to Texas beginning dark and early tomorrow morning...Go Huskers!! Hope it's worth our while...anyway, please think warm thoughts for us as we head down through the snow to Dallas and thanks again to the dog/house-sitters for helping us out!

"Angels & Demons"

On Sunday afternoon, as a close to our long holiday weekend, we decided to watch our newest DVD purchse, "Angels & Demons" on Blu-Ray. This movie is an adaptation of Dan Brown's book of the same name and the follow-up to "The DaVinci Code" by the same author.

This time, Professor Langdon (Tom Hanks, with much better hair than in "DaVinci") is back and summoned by the Vatican to help locate 4 kidnapped cardinals during conclave after the current pope's death, which later proves to have been murder. Langdon and company proceed to race across Italy following the Path of Illumination in an effort to stop the kidnapper before an antimatter bomb explodes, causing a "cataclysmic event."

While, not as good as the novel, "Angels & Demons" is a solid story and entertaining. I would even go so far as to say it is better than its predecessor, "The DaVinci Code," which failed to live up to the frenzy and hype that surrounded the book.

Run Time: 138 Minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 4

Join us next time, when we get back on track with our order...

Happy Thanksgiving

As the clock ticks down towards a long holiday weekend, we just wanted to tell everyone to have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!!

Big 12 Championship Game 2.0

Perhaps I spoke too soon in my last post...

As it turns out, we will now be traveling down to Texas with a number of other Husker faithful to see Nebraska battle the Longhorns on December 5th for the Big 12 CHAMPIONSHIP...WOO HOO!!

Thanks to the house/dog sitters again, for helping us out during our travels!!

Big 12 Championship Game

Congrats to the Huskers for locking-up the Big 12 North title before even playing their last regular season game!! On to Boulder and then Dallas Cowboys Stadium to meet Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game.

We scoured all of the ticket websites this morning when tix were supposed to be on sale and were unsuccessful in our bid for a pair. As it stand right now, looks like we will be watching the Huskers take on the Longhorns from the comfort of our own couch.

At any rate, it should be a good game and we are hoping that Texas' eyes are currently focused squarely on the national picture and over the heads of the Huskers (personally, we'd like to see the look on Colt McCoy's face should Texas overlook SUH and let him wrap his paws around the QB a time or two!!)...GO BIG RED!!

"Apollo 13"

So finally we got back to movie-watching last night with "Apollo 13," the based-on-a-true story tale of the ill-fated Apollo 13 moon mission. This movie features Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell, Bill Paxton as Fred Haise, Kevin Bacon as Jack Swigart and Gary Sinise as Ken Mattingly.

The movie tells the story of the follow-up mission to Apollo 12, which landed on the moon and gave the US its first astronaut to walk on the surface of the moon. From the get-go, various parties involved in the mission have reservations about the mission and the number 13, which has a predominate role in many aspects of the launch and mission.

Ultimately, things go terribly awry after the astronauts make it into space and an explosion kills their dream of landing on the moon. From that point forward it is a race against time and the elements to get the 3 men home safely, as issue after issue present themselves and the entire team in space and on earth work together to meet the challenges head on.

Made in 1995, this movie is still excellent and one of our favorites. It is highly recommended viewing, in our perspective!!

Run Time: 135 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 5

Join us next time when our movie will be the Disney animated film, "The Aristocats." I know Mike is super excited about this one...
*sarcasm alert!* ; )

"Animal House"

The fourth and final movie I am going to blog about tonight is "Animal House." The classic college frat movie that all followers strive to emulate. I have to think that had I been seeing this for the first time without seeing the others that have followed, I may have had more appreciation for the movie. As it was, I was mildly entertained and enjoyed seeing where such famous quotes, such as "Thank you sir, may I have another" stem from! Also, seeing younger versions of Donald Sutherland and Kevin Bacon was enjoyable.

Run time: 109 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 3 1/2

Join us again next time when our movie will be the awesome "Apollo 13" with the fabulous Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon & Gary Sinise. And with a bit part for a "Mary Kate Schellhardt" as one of Tom Hanks' daughters. We don't know her, but think it's cool that our last name is in the credits of such a great movie!! : )

"The Amityville Horror" Remake

Our third movie was the 2005 remake of "The Amityville Horror." Based on a true story about the DaFeo family who was brutally murdered in their home on Long Island by their oldest son and then George and Kathy Lutz but the home a year later and experience similar issues as the DaFeo's.

While this remake is not as good as the original and frankly gets a bit gory and far-fetched towards the end, it is still a decent horror movie. I also think that having Josh Brolin as the lead role of George Lutz in this film after James Brolin starred in the same role in the original would have been a better choice than Ryan Reynolds, but maybe that's just me. : )

Run Time: 89 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 3

"An American Tail"

Our second film was the animated "An American Tale." This is the story of a family of mice that immigrate to America from Russia, but while on their seaward journey, lose their son Fievel.

Fievel goes on to find his way without his family running into all sorts of crazy characters from Omri the pigeon to Tiger a scary looking cat, who turns out to be a vegetarian. Tiger becomes one of Fievel's best friends and biggest allies as they fight back against the tyrant cats and eventually reunite Fievel with his family.

Run Time: 81 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 3

"American Psycho"

Over the last couple of weekends, we got an additional 4 films watched, but couldn't find the motivation to blog about them. The first such film was "American Psycho" starring Christian Bale as the classic Jekkyl and Hyde character.

A wall street yuppie by day and serial killer by night, Bale plays the classic "things are not always as they seem" role. While a bit gory for my taste, the movie was tolerable even if a bit campy, although, this may have been by design...

Run Time: 102 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 2 1/2

"American Wedding"

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Our last movie of the weekend and of the series was "American Wedding," where we join Jim and Michelle as they get engaged and plan their wedding. This movie includes jokes in many of the same veins as the first 2, sex-related, poop jokes and the ever-popular embarrassing personal situations.

While this is a funny movie, it tries at times to be romantic, which detracts from the overall feeling of these films. What made the original "American Pie" so great, was that they made no apologies and attempted to provide no moral overtones. It was just a comedy for comedy's sake.

Run Time: 104 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 3 1/4

Tune in again next time when your movie will be "American Psycho" with Christian Bale.

"American Pie 2"

Next we watched "American Pie 2." This movie continues one year after we left Jim, Michelle, Stiffler, Finch, Nadia, Oz, Heather, Kevin, Vicky and Jessica as they are completing their 1st year of college.

The premise of this movie is similar to the first with the quest for sex highly prevalent. In this movie we learn of the "rule of 3" and poor Jim again suffers more than anyone on his journey to realization that he is in love with band geek Michelle.

All in all an enjoyable movie, even if it is not as good as the first.

Run Time: 105 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 4

"American Pie"

Well, over the long Labor Day weekend, we ended up getting the "American Pie" trilogy watched. We spent the day on Saturday getting ready for and attending the first Husker game of the season...GO BIG RED!! And after all that, decided to spend a lazy Sunday evening at home watching movies.

The first movie was "American Pie." A classic tale of high schoolers and the quest to lose their virginity before graduation, with as many things going wrong as possible. Mike and I realized quite soon into the movie that we are not as young as we used to be, when our comments to each other were about how this movie does not set a very good example for high schoolers, what with the sex and drinking... : )

We also realized we were getting old when we chatted about how this was the movie that we rented for our first date nearly 10 years ago!! My how the time flies!!

Anyway, this is still a gut-wrenchingly funny movie which spawned a whole slew of catchphrases for our generation. I will never look at a flute the same way again!! ; )

Run Time: 96 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 4 1/2

"American Beauty"

Our third and final movie of the weekend was the Academy Award winning "American Beauty." If you have not seen this film, we highly recommend it. With an all-star cast including Annette Bening, Kevin Spacey, Chris Cooper & Allison Janney to name a few, this film takes a look at "normal" and provides insight into the charades played by various people throughout the film. It's difficult to describe the movie, so we will just end by saying that everyone should view it. Even while made in 1999, the content still resonates today and this movie remains one of our all-time favorites.

Run Time: 122 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 5

Stay tuned for next time when we begin our "American Pie" trilogy.

"Along Came Polly"

Our next movie of the weekend was "Along Came Polly" starring Ben Stiller as Reuben & Jennifer Aniston as Polly. This is a comedy romance as opposed to a romantic comedy. It is a twist on the classic "opposites attract" scenario with Reuben as a straight-laced risk assessor and Polly as a flighty, spontaneous waitress.

Reuben and Polly re-connect at an art gallery opening (they went to middle school together) after Reuben's wife, Lisa (Debra Messing) cheats on him on the first day of their honeymoon with Claude (Hank Azaria - WOW!!) the scuba instructor and comedy ensues. Ultimately, Reuben has to choose between Polly and Lisa. Philip Seymour Hoffman as Reuben's former child-star best friend Sandy, adds an additional layer of ego and grossness.

Run Time: 91 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 4

"Alice in Wonderland"

Our first movie over the weekend was Disney's "Alice in Wonderland." Re-watching this movie as an adult makes me wonder what kept me glued to the screen as a child, as the movie really does not make a lot of sense. My guess is the colors and songs.

While not one of my favorite Disney movies, I do remember also watching/recording on tape a live action mini-series version of "Alice." This live action version incorporated many more instances of Lewis Carroll's stories and poems, like the Jabberwocky. The live action version was much darker and scarier than the cartoon. (as it should be, I guess)

Anyway, my favorite character in this movie is the crazy Cheshire Cat and my favorite scene would probably be the "Unbirthday" tea party with the Mad Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse. As I watched, I can totally understand the appeal that this tale has for Tim Burton and am intrigued to see what he can do with the story when he brings it to life with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter.

Run Time: 75 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 2 3/4

"Alexander"

Not too much to say about this one...we fell asleep. From what we remember, it is the tale of the life of Alexander the Great. This movie stars Collin Farrell as Alexander and Angelina Jolie as his mom. That's about all we can say.

Even though we fell asleep, we are still counting this toward our goal b/c this movie is nearly 4 hours long and we don't want to watch it again!! : )

Run Time: 213 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 3 - based on the 1st time Mike watched it. (I fell asleep both times we attempted to view it.)

Up Next: "Alice in Wonderland"

"Aladdin"

For our second movie of the weekend, we watched "Aladdin." A classic tale of love conquers all, with a dash of everything is better when you "just be yourself" thrown in for good measure.

This is the first of our extensive collection of animated Disney movies. I (Lindz) am still a huge fan of anything Disney, even as I approach my 30's and "Aladdin" happens to be one of my all-time favorites. I love Robin Williams as the Genie, but could do without Gilbert Gottfried as Iago, the evil sorcerer Jafar's pet parrot. And to top it all off, you can't help but to dance a bit in your seat and want to sing along to all of the great songs in this movie.

While Mike may choose to use these type of movies as an opportunity to catch up on lost sleep, I on the other hand, remain glued to the screen, as I haven't seen many of these movies in their entirety for years. My feeling is that this was a great movie to end the weekend with!!

Run Time: 90 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 4 3/4

Next Showing: "Alexander," the epic tale of Alexander the Great starring Collin Farrell and Angelina Jolie.

"Airheads"

OK, we are at a loss as to why we even have this movie. I believe we were trying to round out a purchase at Blockbuster when there was a sale going on and thought this would make a good addition to our catalog. Boy, were we confused!

This movie wasn't one of our favorites. It's not even within any of the genres that we enjoy. It is essentially the tale of an unknown rock band who through various criminal acts end up getting a record contract. This movie has a lot of star power with Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler, David Arquette, Joe Mantegna & Michael Richards, but again, while this would be a great movie for a certain audience, it just wasn't our cup of tea.

Run time: 92 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 1

Up Next: "Aladdin"

"Air Force One"

What can be said about this movie? Featuring Glenn Close as the Vice President and made in 1997, it was a bit ahead of its time. However, as with most action movies, some farfetchedness is required. Like why are all of the guys with guns the absolute most terrible shots in the entire world?

Also, our feeling with watching a film where Air Force One is hijacked by Russian zealots, brought up some questions about why did we and do we continue to give these terrorist guys ideas? I mean, why don't we make a film to show ways to hijack planes? That sounds like an AWESOME idea!! Right? Wrong.

Anyway, we still enjoyed the movie and I loved watching Gary Oldman as the lead Russian and hearing his accent.

Run Time: 125 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 4 1/2

Join us again next time when our film will be "Airheads," which again we own, but have never watched.

"300"

Well, we finally got back to our movie project with the watching of the Blu-Ray disc "300." This was our first time viewing this movie, as it came free with the purchase of our DVD player more than a year ago. Can you tell we didn't expect it to be our cup of tea?

As it turns out, it wasn't as gory as I had heard it was. The CGI effects and the muted coloring of the film seemed to help. The movie essentially tells the story of King Leonidas and his "army" of 300 spartans that go to meet the army of millions of Xerxes.

All in all, the movie had a good pace and I (Lindz) can't complain about the constant stream of shirtless Spartans and their glistening 6-pack abs!!

Run Time: 116 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 3

Check out our next post as we finally move into the alphabet with the viewing of "Air Force One" with the Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and Glenn Close.

Denver Bound

Well, we are off to Denver for the weekend tomorrow, so it will be doubtful that any new movie posts will make their way onto the site.

Maybe on Sunday when we get back, but otherwise, hope everyone has a good weekend and stays cool!!

"102 Dalmations"

The second movie today was our first of many Disney movies, the un-animated "102 Dalmations," with Glenn Close, Ioan Gruffoad & Gerard Depardieu.

Not too much to say about the plot of this one, as it is strikingly similar to the original "101 Dalmations." However, with numerous dogs throughout the film, Mike and I were decently entertained by checking out all the different breeds represented.

Run time: 100 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 2

Join us again next time when we will be viewing "300" for the first time.

"88 Minutes"

This afternoon we enjoyed the first Blu-Ray movie in our collection, "88 Minutes." This is a thriller featuring Al Pacino as Dr. Jack Gramm, a forensic psychologist and professor who helped put away a serial rapist/murder 9 years previously...or so he thinks.

Throughout the movie, Dr. Gramm races the clock to prove a new series of murders are being committed by a copycat and to ensure his own life will continue. Tick tock, tick tock...

I noticed that Stephen Moyer, who is the lead vampire character in HBO's "True Blood" series is also in this movie as a creepy, stalker-esque character. I always find it interesting to see what present stars are in movies before they are household names.

We felt this movie was better the first time around, but that is typically the case with most thriller type movies, 'cuz once you know the ending, it's hard to get the same impact the next time around.

Run time: 107 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 3 1/4

Check out our next posting on "102 Dalmations."

"The 40-Year-Old Virgin"

We partook in the viewing of one more movie tonight, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." This is a film by Judd Apatow and is quite funny. There are various one-liners in this movie that you have to watch the movie again to catch. And of course, any movie that ends with the entire cast singing "Aquarius" and dancing around in hippie glory can't be bad!

This movie is undeniably designed for a certain audience, as the humor, while hilarious, is mostly low-brow and sex-related. It does deliver a poignant message at the end, that love conquers all, but of course with several diversions along the way. We are huge fans of Steve Carell and he delivers again in this movie, especially during the waxing scene. (OUCH!!) Seth Rogen, Romany Malco & Paul Rudd add to the mix and the character of Mooj is hysterical!!

Run Time: 133 minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 4

Please check in again next time when our movie will be drastically different from this one in the form of "88 Minutes" with Al Pacino.

"27 Dresses"

Our first film today was "27 Dresses," which also happens to be our first romantic comedy/chick flick. This project is the best excuse that I have had in awhile to get Mike to watch these types of movies with me. I secretly think he enjoys them, but that could just be me trying to make myself feel better for forcing him to watch with me!!

Of course as is the case with all romantic comedies, you have the penultimate single girl, in this case, Jane, who has yet to find the "right one." In this instance, Jane is the epitome of the "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" adage...literally. In this movie, Jane has been a bridesmaid 27 times, hence the number of dresses in the title.

This is one of my (Lindsay) favorite romantic comedies, as it combines romance and comedy (DUH!) with weddings and hideous dresses. The best of the worst is the sari that Jane has to wear to the Hindu/Jewish wedding. The worst of the worst is the underwater wedding outfit, consisting of bathing suit with tulle overlay, pink flippers, snorkel and yes, you guessed it, flower decorated swim cap. Of course in the end, girl gets the boy and everyone lives happily ever after and Jane's 27 bridesmaid dresses make a special appearance at her own wedding...sigh.

Run Time: 111 Minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 4 1/2

Keep checking in, as our next movie is "(The) 40-Year-Old Virgin" featuring the always funny Steve Carell, Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd.

"21 Grams"

Well, we finally got around to the 2nd movie in our collection tonight, which was "21 Grams." This marks the first movie in our collection from the Focus Features studio.

For anyone familiar (or not) with Focus Features, it seems the goal is to make their movies as disjointed and confusing as possible, until the end when all of the flashback-y scenes fall into place and paint the larger picture. Sometimes, I have to admit, even after watching the entire film, the larger picture is still just out of reach. We really enjoy these kinds of movies (especially the 2nd or 3rd time around) as it is gratifying to figure out what has been right in front of your face for the entire movie.

We won't go into details about the plot of "21 Grams", as we don't want to spoil the experience of a good Focus Features film for anyone, but will let you in on the fact that 21 grams is the purported weight of the human soul...we'll let you discover the rest for yourselves.

Run Time: 125 Minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 3 1/2

Stay tuned for next time when our film will be lighter fare in the form of "27 Dresses."

"21"

Our first foray into DVD watching mania was "21," which we viewed on Sunday, July 26th. (before we decided to make this experiment into a blog)

For those of you unfamiliar with the plot of this movie, it is a "based on a true story" tale of a professor at MIT that assembles a team of bright young minds and teaches them to use their considerable skills to beat the casinos at Black Jack by counting cards...which is "not illegal," just frowned upon.

What was the best part of this movie? The fact that the location is fabulous Las Vegas!! Hmmm...perhaps trip #5 is on the agenda. October it is, let's just hope that Mike doesn't get any ideas!!

Run Time: 123 Minutes

Schellhardt Stars: 4 1/4

All in all a great option to start us on our way! Stay tuned for next time when our DVD will be "21 Grams."

Our Goal

The goal of this project is to watch, in alphabetical order, the entire DVD library that we own, which is an estimated 500 discs.

Not only do we want to see how varied and (at times) crazy our taste in DVDs is, we also want to see how long it will take to complete this project.

Beginning with "21" and ending with "Zoolander," we hope you will join us for the ride!!

First things first: Flat screen LCD TV? Check. Bose surround sound system? Check. Blu-Ray DVD player? Check. Comfy seats on the couch? Check!!!

Looks like we are ready to roll. And......ACTION!!

**Disclaimer - Contrary to what you may think from our project goal, we do have lives!! Therefore, there will be fluctuations in how many discs we make it through each day/week/month...stay tuned!!