Yowazzup: A Directory of Happening Things

Old Dogs is a movie about two friends and business partners who find their lives turned upside down when strange circumstances lead to them being placed in the care of 7-year-old twins. Starring John Travolta, Robin Williams, Seth Green, Old Dogs opens November 25, 2009.

Popularity: 1%

City of Ember is a 2008 movie based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Jeanne Duprau. The movie was released on October 10, 2008 in the United States and March 12, 2009 in Malaysia.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Saoirse Ronan and Harry Treadaway in "City of Ember"

A group of professionals known as The Builders acknowledges that the world is doomed due and announces their plan to build a fully-contained underground city to house a human community for 200 years in order to shelter the human race from an unspecified disaster. And that’s why the City of Ember is born.

A box has been given by the Builders to the mayors of Embers for generation after generation. The box contains instruction and a key to return to the surface of the earth. But the seventh mayor collapsed and the passing on of the box becomes unnoticed.

After 200 years has passed, the city becomes depleted of its resources — food supplies and especially the electricity. Ember often experience longer blackouts and more frequent as the generator that powers the city has deteriorated. Two friends, Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan) and Doon Harrow (Harry Treadway) are graduating from school. While Lina is assigned to work as a pipeworker but she trades with Doon since Doon also doesn’t like his job as a messenger. They begin their jobs and soon, they learn that the city is in danger and may suffer total darkness when the generator stops working one day.

While the city is deprived of food supplies, Mayor Cole (Bill Murray) has been stockpiling food with the help of Looper (Mackenzie Crook) in a secret bunker. When Lina discovers the bunker, she tries to report him but instead she and Doon are ordered by the mayor to be arrested.

Lina and Doon together with Poppy (Amy Quinn & Catherine Quinn) escapes into the sewer of the city and tries to find a way out of the city with the instructions left in the box. Doon’s mentor Sul (Martin Landau) also lends a hand with his knowledge in pipeworks. When the generator shows signs of failing, Mayor Cole escapes into his secret bunker and leave Looper, breaking their initial deal. But, Mayor Cole doesn’t know a giant star-nosed Mole is waiting for him in his bunker and thus, get killed by the Mole.

When they arrive at the surface, Lina is utterly disappointed that it is dark as well but as the sun rises, they realize the planet has healed and they can even see Ember through a huge hole. Lina and Doon send a message tied to a rock and it is found by Doon’s father, Foris Harrow (Tim Robbins).

Overall, it is an indeed unique movie and brilliant performance by Saoirse Ronan, the 15-year-old actress whom also excelled in Atonement, a 2007 movie starring Keira Knightley. Once again, the movie theaters are dominated by young children whom are already beginning to take over major roles in the acting world. Amazing storyline, beautiful cinematography and a very well-played science-fiction adventure film.

My ratings: 7 out of 10.

Popularity: 1%

Marley & Me is a movie based on the book of the same name by John Grogan. The film was released in the United States and Canada on Christmas 2008 and the rest of the world in year 2009.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston in "Marley & Me"

John Grogan (Owen Wilson) and Jenny Grogan (Jennifer Aniston) are a happily married couple whom escape the cold Michigan to southern Florida where both of them are hired as reporters for two different newspapers. While John works as a news reporter covering mundane stories in South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Jenny works as a columnist at The Palm Beach Post.

When Jenny is hinting John that she wants to have a baby, John’s friend and colleague, Sebastien Tunney (Eric Dane) suggests to John to adopt a dog in order to take Jenny’s focus away from thinking to have a baby. John then surprises Jenny by bringing her to buy a yellow Labrador retriever and John names him Marley.

Marley is the world’s worse ever dog as he grows up — he eats furniture, answering machine, floor. When John and Jenny realizes they are able to cope with Marley, they attempt to get a baby. When Jenny becomes pregnant, she loses her baby in her first trimester and John suggests that they both go for a belated honeymoon in Ireland leaving Marley to a caretaker. When they return, Jenny discovers she is pregnant again and this time around, she delivers a healthy baby boy named Patrick. Before long, Jenny has a second child, Connor and she chooses to become a full-time mother while John gets a promotion at work earning double of what he earned previously as a full-time columnist. They also move to a larger house in a safer neighborhood called Boca Raton.

The couple welcomes a daughter, Colleen to their family when Jenny suddenly shows signs of postpartum depression even though she denies it. She even wants Marley and John out of the house. When she realizes how important Marley and John is to the family, she agrees they can stay.

When John turns 40, he realizes how mundane his job has become and accepts a job offer from The Philadephia Inquirer instead and they move into a rural farm house. Marley grows old and starts to slow down until the day John and his family has to live without Marley.

Overall, Marley & Me is a movie about the life of John Grogan and his beloved dog, Marley. Nothing’s too special about the movie except that it shows life can be mundane, dogs can be irritating, and it’s not easy raising a family. However, if we can embrace ourselves and learn to live better without giving ourselves too much expectations, life can be a lot easier.

My ratings: 7 out of 10.

Popularity: 1%

Bedtime Stories is a family comedy about Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler) whose life changes when the lavish bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to magically come true.

Popularity: 1%