"FAME! Remember my name!" I have been anticipated this movie for awhile and had very high expectations! For the most part, they were lived up, but it was totally the opposite of what I had expected! This movie was a music filled drama, but felt a bit like a documentary! A good documentary though! It was only rated PG, but needed to be PG-13 for a few inappropriate elements. The only disappointment I had was that it didn't feature a performance of the song "Fame"! But other than that it was all good in the hood! (I had to say that since the film takes place in NYC)

Lydia's Rental of the Week - "Ghost"

Sam Wheat, a investment banker on the rise, is killed by what seems to be a random mugging, which in actuality was a premeditated act that got botched. The love for his girlfriend, Molly, and being out of sorts because of his untimely death, he doesn’t go on to heaven but instead stays behind as a ghost, lingering around Molly, frustrated that she can’t hear or see him. That is until he finds Oda Mae Brown, a scam-artist of a psychic who in fact learns herself that she really does have the gift after meeting Sam. Now, with Oda Mae’s help, Sam needs to protect Molly from the same people who killed him before it’s too late. This 1990 hit is a film with multi-layered genres, such as Comedy, Romance, Fantasy, Thriller and Drama. It’s also filled with multi-layered talent such as Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg and Tony Goldwyn. Whoopi won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal as Oda Mae Brown. And Patrick Swayze does an amazing performance in the lead role as Sam Wheat. Sadly, Patrick just passed away recently and it is a real loss. He will be dearly missed by so many and will always be remembered, especially in this role which catapulted his career to major stardom at the time!

Movie Mania- The Reel Deal: September Edition

We talk about Disney's latest "purchase" as well as look back on some of Patrick Swayze's greatest work! Oh and we also reveal what the name of the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie is going to be! Check out in this month's REEL DEAL!

September Movie Trailer Reel

At the beginning of each month we like to check out the trailers for movies coming out in that month! So here's the September Movie Trailer Reel!

"Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie" is the latest Disney Channel original film. After two seasons of a tv show, "Wizards of Waverly Place" has it's own movie! Okay, so first of all, the tv show has very low standards, in my opinion. It's a very silly comedy, but the movie is the total opposite! Originally, when I heard about the series in 2007, I had hoped it would be a serious tv series. The movie is everything I could have wanted for the series, and more! The movie, along with the series, stars Selena Gomez as Alex Russo, and average teen who happens to be wizard. She and her family own a sandwich shop in a new york city substation. Her older brother, Justin, played by David Henry, is the intelligent, responsible child. Max, her younger brother, played by Jake T. Austin, is just like any other immature tween, but can sometimes make sense of things. Now at first I wasn't sure why they needed a movie so early in the series, then, I heard about the plot! In the tv show, it's said that the three wizard siblings will one day have to battle in a wizard's tournament, for only one wizard of every family can keep their powers. And of course, the winner of the tournament get to keep their powers! Disney channel led us to believe that this was going to be a silly movie about a family of wizards who take a summer vacation to the place where the parents, Jerry and Theresa Russo, played by David Deliuse and Maria Canals Barrera, first met, a Caribbean Paradise. Of course a problem has to occur, Alex Russo, accidentally casts a spell wishing that her parents had never met. (This was after her mother wouldn't allow her to go to a beach party). The next thing you know, the parents have never met, nor do they remember any of the kids, and unless the three wizards can find a way to reverse the spell, the Russo family will never exist, and they'll disappear! Towards the end of the movie, after the wizards fail to get "The Stone of Dreams", they decide to head to battle in the Wizard Tournament that will give one of the full powers to reverse the spell. I was actually glad to see the movie was good for something... to find out which wizard get to keep their powers! I will say that one wizard does indeed win the competition, but nothing good lasts for long! I was very disappointed in the ending, but over all, this was probably my favorite Disney Channel movie of the year! If only the series were as good! It was silly, well, not as silly as the show, it had great special effects, well, better special effects than the show, and it had a nice moral about sticking together as a family!

"Bandslam"

Surprisingly, I'm recommending that you SEE "Bandslam"! The movie stars newcomer Gaelan Connell, who plays Will Burton, a music fanatic and a huge fan of David Bowie. Will lives a miserable life due to being ashamed of his father, who killed a child while driving drunk. Students even refer to Will as "Dewey" or "DWI" (Driving While Intoxicated)! Fortunately, Will's mother, Karen, played by Lisa Kudrow (Friends), finds a new job! The two pack up and move, leaving their old lives behind. At his new high school, the buzz is all about "Bandslam"- a "battle of the bands" competition in which the winning band gets a record contract. Will first meets a bookworm, Sa5m (the 5 is silent), played by Vanessa Hudgens(High School Musical) and they become awkward friends. But soon he meets the very attractive, Charlotte, played very well by Alyson Michalka (78Violet- formally Aly and AJ). She's a gifted singer/songwriter, who eventually asks Will to be her band's manager, due to his knowledge of music. Charlotte's plans are to beat out her ex-boyfriend's band in the "Bandslam" competition. Will takes the opportunity and turns the band into a fantastic group that he names "I Can't Go On, I'll Go On"! Do they have what it takes to win "Bandslam"? It's a little movie that made a big impression on me! At first, you think, oh Vanessa Hudgens, a music incorporated movie, just another HSM type film. Though the movie is appropriate for young high school musical fans, this film is on a whole other standared. Unlike the HSM movies, the film doesn't just stereotype high school students in a sense of jocks, brainiacs, and other nonsense that doesn't exactly exist as HSM portrays it. Vanessa Hudgens does a fantastic job as the character Sa5m, bypassing all her performances in the HSM movies. Gaelan Connell definately made a name for himself with his performance as Will. Lisa Kudrow from "Friends" was great as the mother that has a hard time parenting and being a friend to her son at the same time. Then there's Aly Michalka who blew me away as a young girl who is trying to please her sick father with a lifestyle that he approves of. I feel like most HSM fans of Vanessa Hudgens will come expecting what they won't get... a happy-go-lucky film with happy rainbows and sunshine! This is more of a movie that teens will enjoy because it's not like most movies about teens. It's clean, quick-witted, and great for anyone who knows what a good drama is! I give "Bandslam" a 4 out of 5 rating, for I enjoyed it, but a few parts were a bit predictable! Oh, and if I didn't mention it, there was a sneak-peak at "New Moon" before the movie began that should satisfy all "Twilight" fans!

Happy 15th Birthday to Whitt!