Tag Archives: 4/5 stars

Movie Review: Rango

RANGO (In Theaters)

“Rango is an ordinary chameleon who accidentally winds up in the town of Dirt, a lawless outpost in the Wild West in desperate need of a new sheriff.” (IMDb)

2011.  Starring Johnny Depp, Abigail Breslin, Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina and Bill Nighy

A Movie for Movie-Lovers… not necessarily kids

Yesterday, Peter, Trevor and I spent the afternoon/evening movie-hopping around Boston:  Rango, Battle: LA, and The Adjustment Bureau.  First on the list was Rango, and I definitely thought it was the best.  Rango is another one of those “grown-up” films in kid’s clothes.  While it looks like a kid’s film, it certainly is not.  That is not to say that kids wouldn’t enjoy the film (as everyone is complaining on IMDb.com boards), but they won’t love it like adults will.  The truly unfortunate thing about Rango was that it was made by Nickelodeon studios, and will therefore not get nearly as much press, attention or praise as a Pixar or Disney film would, even though it deserves it.

The biggest downfall of Rango is actually its first 10 minutes.  In spite of how much I ended up liking the film, at first I thought, “well this is a TOTAL waste of money.”  Rango begins with an odd Shakespearean theater routine acted out by this strange reptile and the plastic figurines in his cage and evolves into a sappy “who am I?” monologue.  Kids will be thinking “WTF?” (Or simply “what?”, since they’re children and I really HOPE they aren’t saying WTF just yet) and adults will be thinking “give us a break.”  Luckily Rango’s terrarium is suddenly launched from the back seat of his owner’s car and THAT is when the fun actually begins.  It goes from being a shitty meta-literary statement to a fun, quirky western.  It has everything you’d expect from a good western– rugged characters, accents, gunfights, snakes, bank robberies, pitiful townsfolk, a corrupt mayor and a out-of-towner turned sheriff, Rango.

Aside from a very compelling plot, my favorite aspect of Rango was simply the vast number of movie references.  Characters, plot lines, quotes, shots– I’m not sure anything in the movie was original, but that made it all the more awesome.  The filmmakers basically compiled favorite bits and pieces from dozens of classic and contemporary movies, especially westerns, which I appreciate, because I’ve been doing a lot of research on westerns for a new film I’m editing called Cowboy Café.

These are just a few of the COUNTLESS movie references in Rango. I’m sure I would have thought of many more had I written this right after seeing the film.

  • The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (Bill Nighy’s Rattlesnake character = Van Cleef, amongst other references)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean 1-3 (Rango’s dream sequence)
  • Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Rango flying onto Hunter S. Thompson’s windshield)
  • Chinatown (mayor character and plotline)
  • Star Wars (aerial bat fight sequence, Beans character = Jar Jar Binks)
  • The Lord of the Rings (tunneling with the cast of characters to find the origin of the water pipe, including the “evil eye”)
  • The Big Lebowski (there was a shot in the middle of the movie that WAS the opening shot of TBL)
  • Apocalypse Now (Flight of the Valkyries reference)
  • Maverick (Beans character)
  • Once Upon a Time in the West (Bar sequence)
  • It’s a Wonderful Life (1st meeting with the mayor)
  • Fistful of Dollars (and all other spaghetti westerns… for characters)
  • Holes (dried up lake with boat– where did all the water go?)
  • High Noon (gunfight sequence)
  • True Grit (might be too recent, but the little Abigail Breslin rat character was just like Mattie Ross).

The other cool thing about Rango is the way it was made.  Instead of having the actors simply stand in a sound booth and record their dialogue, they actually acted it out (like they did with Fantastic Mr. Fox).  But unlike FMF, they filmed the process and then the animators based their work on the actors’ live performances.  Check out this cool featurette on the making of Rango:

I hope all of you go see Rango, especially if you are movie lovers.  Help support Nickelodeon, since it doesn’t get the press / automatic viewership that Pixar or Disney does.

4/5 stars

Movie Reviews: Biutiful y También La Lluvia

This week I dragged poor Trevor to two Spanish language films: Biutiful (on Tuesday) and También La Lluvia (on Friday).  Both were fantastic (and I’m not just saying that because I’m a Spanish major).

BIUTIFUL

Biutiful is a film I’ve been waiting a long time to see and I’m thrilled that I finally had the opportunity.  Prepare yo’self: just like all of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film’s, Biutiful is a dark-as-hell depressing-ass movie (how’s that for a description?)  In the tradition of Amores Perros (rent it!), 21 Grams (rent it!), and Babel (eh), Biutiful weaves together the stories of several different people from different cultural backgrounds in an elaborate tapestry of tragedy that doesn’t really become clear til the end.  This time, though, Iñárritu really gets it right.

Set in Barcelona, the film deals with three different groups of people: the Spaniards (Javier Bardem and his family), the Chinese (a group of exploited workers who make knock-off handbags in a basement), and the Africans (a group in trouble the police who sell the knock-off handbags on the street).  And as you can guess, if you’ve ever seen an Iñárritu film before, all of them are COMPLETELY f***ed.  There is very little hope for anyone.  There’s a lotta death, a lotta sorrow, a lotta family problems and a lotta desperation.

So why go see this sad-fest?  Because it is brilliantly done.  Javier Bardem is FANTASTIC.  In fact, he is the first actor to be nominated for an Oscar for a performance entirely in Spanish.  The cinematography and the production design is literally stunning.  (Go Rodrigo Prieto– one of my favorite cinematographers of all time.)  The name of this film is extremely appropriate to its visual style.  Every single shot is so vivid and so visceral.  It’s raw, it’s gritty, it’s depressing– but it really is a beautiful film.  In spite of all the darkness, it has its poignant moments that make the whole experience worth the watch.

And please, ladies, who doesn’t wanna watch Javier Bardem for two hours?  C’mon!

5/5 stars.  Phenomenal acting.  Stunning images.  A “biutiful” film.

TAMBIEN LA LLUVIA

Seeing También La Lluvia was a very interesting experience for me because my cannibalism class recently read the diary of Christopher Columbus (Cristobal Colón) from his first voyage.  While the class is titled “Cannibalism in Latin American Literature,” most of our discussions focus on the colonization of the “new world” and the relations between the natives and the Europeans. Cristobal Colón is the perfect example of a European oppressor in the 15th century, as we all know (especially if you grew in Colorado, where there are huge demonstrations against Columbus every year on Columbus day).

Half of the movie presents a director making a movie about Colón’s encounters with the natives, and half of the film presents the encounters between the native Bolivians and foreign companies that are trying to privatize water and increase the price 300%.  Of course these two halves mirror each other perfectly and show us that the injustices of the 15th century are still alive more than 500 years later.  One of the highlights of the movie was Luis Tosar’s character (who somehow becomes the protagonist midway through the film…) who, in a way, represents Bartolomé de las Casas.  Bartolomé de las Casas was the man who actually wrote the majority of Colón’s diary (not the most appropriate word then, “diary”).  Although Tosar’s character doesn’t initially see the light, he eventually becomes the primary advocate for the suffering “indigenas” (natives).  In real life, las Casas spent his years after the voyage as an advocate for the proper treatment of Indians.  He wrote of the injustices of slavery, which was clearly commonplace at the time, and noted that no man should be enslaved, whether he be black, Indian or otherwise.

Of course, if the historical aspect of this movie doesn’t interest you, the scenery is worth your ticket price.  All filming took place on location in Bolivia and it is STUNNING.  I’m considering moving to Bolivia after I graduate (Joking, parents).  I’m so jealous of the filmmakers that got to spend time in such a lush, breath-taking environment.  Just watching the footage made me extremely depressed about living in this concrete city.  Bolivia is beautiful.  Bottom line.

4/5 stars. Great story.  Good acting.  BEAUTIFUL locations.  This movie probably won’t be available in a theater near you, but don’t forget about it in your Netflix queue!

Movie Reviews: The King’s Speech

THE KING’S SPEECH (In Theaters)

Based on the life of King George VI– The Young Duke of York (Colin Firth) must face his fears and overcome his severe stammer when his father King George V dies and his brother Edward abdicates the throne to him.  With the help of Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an untrained speech therapist, and his wife Elizabeth I (Helena Bonham Carter), George VI becomes the voice of Britain during the troubling times of World War II.

2010, Starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush, Directed by Tom Hooper.  Nominated for 7 Golden Globes.

Today I noticed that 3 out of the top movies of the year have to do with bodily troubles– in 127 Hours, a man must cut off his arm to save his life, in Black Swan, a ballerina is tortured psychologically by her transformation from white swan to black swan, and in The King’s Speech, a young prince must overcome his crippling stammer to lead a nation into war.

Though it was a very good movie, The King’s Speech is kind of exactly what you could expect from a period piece about 1930s British Royalty– very long and very slow.  The first act of the movie went by quickly– the dynamic between Firth and Carter & Firth and Rush is great and the audience can be easily amused by the My Fair Lady-like, laughable vocal training.  However, in the second act, the film really begins to lag, and that’s where I started checking the time on my phone.  Don’t get me wrong– Firth was excellent, Carter was excellent, Rush was excellent.  But the script and the cinematography left me unsatisfied.  Just when I thought the movie was coming to a triumphant end– SURPRISE!  20 more minutes.  Though it is only 1 hour 50 minutes, there is only so much you can do with a king who can’t speak right.

Nonetheless, my aim is not to turn you away from this movie.  The acting and the art direction are worth the price of your ticket, and if you like period pieces (I don’t), you will love this film.  While I don’t think Firth was better than other “Best Actor” nominees, I would be very pleased if Carter won “Best Supporting Actress” and Rush won “Best Supporting Actor.”  I am glad I saw The King’s Speech, but I can tell that it will be one of those good movies that I see once and never have the urge to see it again.

Bottom Line: Exactly what you would expect from a British period piece:  amazing acting, amazing art direction, but slow as hell.  4/5 stars.

Summer Movie Review!

Since I’ve been pretty bad about keeping up with this blog recently, I feel like I need to do justice to some of my favorite movies of the summer.  People have been complaining about the quality of the movies this summer and the drop in Box Office revenue.  Hello– maybe it’s because by May, theaters across the U.S. had already increased their ticket prices on average by 8%.  Maybe it’s not the movies that suck it’s the prices.  Regardless, there have been some awesome movies this summer, and that’s what I’m here to tell you about, so you can spend those hard-earned dollars on things like Inception (5 stars) and not The Other Guys (barely 2 stars).

Inception (2010): Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine and Cillian Murphey; Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan

If you haven’t seen Inception yet, drop everything you’re doing and get ready for the mind-trip of the century.  Having seen Inception in the theaters 4 times now (embarrassing, maybe, but worth it), I can safely say that it is probably the most intelligent movie I have ever seen, and certainly in my top five favorite movies of all time.  The concept is rather hard to explain to someone who hasn’t seen it– in fact, the first 1.5 hours of the movie are basically a training course for the audience just so you can understand the next 1.5 hours of the movie.  Come in more than 15 minutes late, and you will be super confused.  Before seeing the movie, I read that it took Christopher Nolan ten years to write the screenplay.  After seeing the movie, I totally get that.

Without saying too much, Inception is basically a heist movie that takes place in the dream world– hence the tagline, “Your Mind is the Scene of the Crime.”  Not a sci-fi fan?  Doesn’t matter.  This world is surprisingly not too far from our own.  And who could sit through a movie with such a smoking hot cast and NOT enjoy it?  Very few.  I also highly recommend seeing this one on the big screen– the special effects are astounding.  After you’ve seen the movie, message me about the soundtrack– the story behind it will ALSO blow your mind.  Seriously– need I convince you any more?  Go see this movie.  Right now.  And bring your 5 Hour Energy because you really need to stay awake for this one.

5/5 stars

Toy Story 3 (2010): Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and a bunch of other awesome people…

Why are kids movies these days so damn sad?  If you want to cry for two hours straight, go rent Up.  It’s literally impossible not to start crying during that montage at the beginning.  Just hearing the soundtrack to that movie brings tears to my eyes.  And it takes a lot to make me cry in a movie.  And then there’s Despicable Me (below)– so touching that a story about cats drinking milk will make you tear up.  But the mother-load of emotion comes to us in the form of Toy Story 3.  Bring your tissues, people.  This coming of age story hits you in the heart like a 18-wheeler on fire.  And aside from all the emotion, this movie is a masterpiece of screenwriting, character development and especially 3D animation.  I kinda liked Toy Story 1 and 2, but this movie deserves a lot of recognition.  Seriously, Pixar, stop being so awesome.  You’re making me nauseous.

5/5 stars

Despicable Me (2010): Starring Steve Carell, Julie Andrews, Russell Brand, Will Arnett, Jason Segel and Kristen Wiig

Despicable Me is your classic “hooker with a heart of gold” story.  Gru, a criminal mastermind who is planning the ultimate crime– stealing the moon, finds his true calling in life when three orphaned girl scouts show up on his front porch selling cookies.  Cliche?  Perhaps.  Predictable?  Definitely.  Adorable, fun and totally worth your money?  Absolutely.  While Despicable Me isn’t quite as astounding of an achievement as Toy Story 3, this is another awesome animated movie that all adults will appreciate.  While Toy Story 3 was making me cry, Despicable Me was cracking me up.  All the adults in the audience were beside themselves laughing… and then crying… and then laughing again.  I really liked Despicable Me, but unlike Inception and Toy Story 3, I don’t feel like I’d be missing anything if I just watched it on DVD and not in the theaters.  So if Despicable Me has already left theaters in your area (which it probably has), throw it on that Netflix queue and wait for DVD.

4.5/5 stars

Going the Distance (2010): Starring Justin Long and Drew Barrymore

I had pretty low expectations for Going the Distance, but as a girl, it is my imperative to see basically every romantic comedy that hits theaters aside from those starting in “Pride” and ending in “Prejudice” (don’t even get me started on that one…).  However, despite misleading advertising, Going the Distance is more in the vein of popular “guy comedies” like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Role Models, or basically anything starring Seth Rogen or Paul Rudd.  If you can’t handle a lot of sexual guy humor, maybe this isn’t the movie for you.  However, I haven’t laughed so hard in such a long time.  The cast has a great dynamic and the comedic timing was spot on.  Christina Applegate’s character was, at times, over the top.  But aside from that, I have no complaints.  And for all you ladies out there– who could go wrong with Justin Long?  Seriously.  He’s the mac guy.  What can beat that?  Okay, well, Josh Holloway and Ben Affleck and Matt Damon– but!  that is another story.  My point is that if you’re looking for a great comedy that is good for both girls and guys, go see Going the Distance.  Watching Justin Long getting a spray tan is worth your money.

4/5 stars

Knight and Day (2010): Starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz

And here I thought Tom Cruise’s heyday was over years ago.  Wrong.  With his new action comedy Knight and Day, Tom Cruise proves he’s back in the game.  I only decided to go see the movie because it was filmed in Boston two summers ago and I feel like I need to support my beloved college town.  But much to my delight and surprise, it takes place in 3 cities which I have spent a lot of time in: Boston, Brooklyn and Sevilla, Spain.  Though I assume this movie has already left your theater, definitely throw it on the Netflix queue.  Plane crashes, car chases, and Tom Cruise being chased by bulls in Spain?  You can’t go wrong.  My favorite part of this movie was ridiculous (and yet amusing) device used several times– drug Cameron Diaz and she wakes up in a new city.  I love old Tom Cruise– Top Gun, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire, etc. but I was sure his career was over.  If he keeps making movies like Knight and Day, he will definitely make a come back.

4/5 stars

Other summer movies I’ve seen:

8: The Mormon Proposition

The story of how the Mormon Church single-handedly destroyed gay marriage in California.  Very well researched.  Very well documented.  4/5 stars.  Available on Netflix

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

The third installment in the infamous Twilight series.  While it is much better than the first two, it is still corny and still girly.  Luckily there is more Jacob and less Edward in this one.  3/5 stars.

Please Give

An Indie hit about the relationship between a family and their dying neighbor.  Very hilarious, even though I don’t like Catherine Keener.  3.5/5 stars.

The Other Guys

A police action/comedy starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlburg.  Certainly not Ferrell’s best.  I slept through a good portion of it.  2/5 stars.

Mini Reviews: Food Inc.

FOOD INC.

Last night, I joined my professor and classmates at a special screening of the new documentary Food Inc. at the Director’s Guild of America.  Food Inc. tries to answer the basic question: where does our food come from?  It was nominated for an Oscar and is already one of the most successful documentaries of all time.

When I drove into the DGA parking lot the security guard asked me, “have you had your last meal yet?”  All the reviews of Food Inc. I’ve read made me think it would be the classic PETA-like video where we watch downer cows getting beaten up at slaughter houses and still breathing pigs getting sawed in half.  But from the time the lights when down to the time the credits rolled, I found myself thinking, “yep, that’s pretty much how it is.”  Maybe a cold dose of reality is what our agricultural-illiterate society needs, but having grown up in Colorado I wasn’t that surprised by anything.  Footage of cattle feedlots, massive chicken houses and mechanized slaughterhouses were thrown at the viewer right and left– and maybe it did have an impact on people who don’t know where their food comes from.  But overall, I think the documentary did what it set out to do and effectively conveyed the message about how ridiculous our food system has become.

However, having seen the movie in a diverse group of all ages and backgrounds, I was disappointed to see that most people completely missed the point.  The fault lies both on the documentarian and on the viewer.  Everyone was so grossed out by the slaughterhouse footage and the crowded hoards of cheeping chickens and squealing pigs that they didn’t really get it.  One of the major points of the movie was to show how ridiculous it is that something like 90% of the meat in the U.S. comes from 5 giant meat conglomerates who exploit their farmers and employees in unbelievable ways.  People were so distracted by “animal cruelty” that they couldn’t see the issue at hand– human cruelty.  For example, they discuss how the average chicken farmer is $500,000 in debt to the meat conglomerates from day one of business, but that they only make $17,000 a year.  The meat companies have a ridiculous amount of control over the lives of their farmers because they have the right to revoke their contract at any time.  But the audience was distracted from that fact by footage of the woman sifting through the masses of chickens and pulling out the dead ones.  During the section about Smithfield, the largest meat packing company in the U.S., people were so shocked by the footage of cute little pigs being killed that they missed what I consider to be the most important issue at hand– the terrible exploitation of illegal immigrants at the slaughterhouse.  Smithfield has a deal with the Immigration Department and they turn in their illegal employees 15 at a time so that the government won’t have one big raid– a raid that would scare employees and disrupt business– which is clearly the only thing Smithfield cares about.  People in the crowd were SHOCKED (and they expressed this shock in the Q&A afterwards) about the cow that had a plug in its rumen.  Big deal– welcome to agriculture.  And finally– a HUGE error on the part of the director / editor: In a scene where they were trying to show how small farms take better care of their animals and have better products, they interviewed the owner while they were were killing chickens in the shot.  Of course, everyone was squirming in their seats at the sight of the knife cutting the chicken’s throat, making him a villain in the eyes of the audience instead of glorifying his farm.

At any rate, my point is that it was a great documentary but to some extent, it will never achieve its goal in modern society.  The director said he just wanted to make people aware of where their food comes from– but most of the audience seemed to come away with that “ugh! see if I ever eat beef again!” feeling.  Awareness was replaced by under-disgust.  Of course, you can’t open the eyes of city folk to the hard-knock ways of the agriculture world all at once.  It’s kind of like telling your kid that Santa doesn’t exist.  You’ve been deceived so long that the truth seems impossible.

Bottom Line:  A great documentary.  Worth seeing regardless of your background.  4/5 stars.

Mini Review: Desperate Housewives

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

I never envisioned myself as a Desperate Housewives viewer.  But then again, I never envisioned myself as a Sex and the City viewer, and now I own all six seasons and the movie.  Goddamn.  Apparently I do fall into that target female demographic that I’ve tried so hard to avoid.  I’m doing my best not to watch Gossip Girl and I’ve honestly never seen an episode of The Hills or Gilmore Girls, so at least I won’t be wrangled into the teenage female group– I like to think I’m far to intelligent for that (joke).

A few months ago Sabrina Wind, executive producer of Desperate Housewives and BU alum, came to talk to us about the show.  “Well, I guess I better watch an episode since I’ve never seen the show before and want to know what she’s talking about.”  “Meh,” I thought, after I finished it (Season 1 is free on Hulu), “I guess that’s that.”  Well, Sabrina was just so damn interesting that after being totally enraptured by her tales of working on Desperate Housewives, I went home after class and watched episode 2… and then episode 3… and a couple months later, I just finished watching Season 2.

But let me tell you (if you haven’t seen it)– it’s not half bad.  In fact, it’s a pretty intelligent show.  At first I was turned off by the concept.  I’m a strong believer in the working woman– none of this “1950s stay home and tend to the garden, wash the dishes and have a cocktail ready for your husband when he gets home from the office” crap.  So I find it hard to support the modern “Prada by the pool” lifestyle that all the main characters embody.  The only exception may be Lynette, who actually does have a job and four kids and is the closest any of the characters get to being a typical American middle-aged woman.

At the very least, the show is very amusing.  The pilot starts out with one of the neighborhood housewives shooting herself in the head.  And it’s all downhill from there– everyone on the show is riddled in scandal and mystery.  Murder, mistaken identity, forbidden romance, infidelity, suicide, love, lust, gorgeous women, sexy men, trickery, blackmailing, gambling, drinking, driving, drinking and driving– the list goes on. It’s an escape.  I probably won’t get through all the seasons, but for now, it’s fun.

Bottom Line: If you’re looking for something new or have some spare time, try out Desperate Housewives.  I wouldn’t call it a must-see (like 30 Rock or Glee), but it’s definitely fun.  4/5 stars.

Mini Reviews: The Blind Side

THE BLIND SIDE (in theaters)

A rich white Southern woman opens her home to a homeless black high school student.  Soon they discover his talent for football and help him on his way to college.  Based on the true story of All-American NFL offensive left tackle Michael Oher.

2009, Starring Sandra Bullock, nominated for a Golden Globes.

Okay Sandra, I Trust You Again

A few weeks ago, I wrote a scathing review of The Proposal and how I was getting really tired of Sandra Bullock.  I said I’d give her one more shot in The Blind Side—well, she’s regained my support.

Like I mentioned in my review of Invictus, there are few things more satisfying than a good underdog story.  Though there are hundreds of underdog sports stories out there, these two are particularly great, especially because they are true!

It’s a shame there isn’t an Oscar or Globe for “Best Casting”—because this film deserves it!  Sandra Bullock’s portrayal of a well-off Southern woman was priceless and I can’t think of any performance better suited to win a Golden Globe or Oscar.  This really is the role of her lifetime!  Everyone in the family, including Michael, was perfectly cast.  I can’t think of a better-cast movie in the last year.

Bottom Line: If you’re in the mood for another tearjerker, this is it.  I’m not a big football person, but I still greatly enjoyed it!  4/5 stars.

CHI-TOWN! The Museum of Science and Industry and Millennium Park

THE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY: I seriously debated whether or not I should go to this museum, since I’d already scienced-myself-out on Friday, and the Museum of Science and Industry is much further from my hotel than the rest of the museums.  However, I was extremely glad I did end up going and I spent the whole day there.  No wonder they call it one of the “7 Wonders of Chicago!”  It was probably the most impressive sciencey museum I’ve ever been to!

To call it “The Museum of Science and Industry” is a huge understatement and pretty misleading—instead, if they had more space on their building, they should’ve called it “The Museum of Science, Industry, Transportation, History, Models, and Everything Else on Earth except for Fine Arts.”  This museum literally had it all.  So here are some of my favorite exhibits:

1) The German U-Boat:  Deep under the ground, the museum had a huge exhibit on the Navy in World War II (see—more history-ey than sciencey), which included a real German U-Boat captured by the Allies in World War Two.  Tickets to tour the U-Boat were an extra $8 but it was totally worth it.  Our tour guide was very informative, and it was great to learn more about the history of the Hunter-Killer Groups that fought in World War II.  I toured a WWII submarine when I went to Pearl Harbor in 2006, but this exhibit was much, much more interesting and well designed.

2) The Farm Exhibit:  Having lived in a rural area most of my life, you would think I wouldn’t appreciate a farm industry exhibit designed for city-slickers, but this was actually quite cool.  They had freshly hatched chicks and exhibits on cows, pigs, soy, corn and much more.  They replaced the metal panels on a combine with clear glass in the corn exhibit so you could see how it worked inside, which was very cool as well.

The Chicago part of the train model, as seen from above

3) The Train Exhibit: The Museum of Science and Industry has the coolest model train set I have ever—and probably will ever—see.  It shows the train trip from Seattle to Chicago and is larger than a commercial 727 jet plane—not joking.  I know this because the model train set is underneath the plane exhibit.  Each city has all of its proper skyscrapers and city highlights with farm towns between the two.  Even cooler—every five minutes or so, the lights dim in the area and the little tiny street lights light up on the model as if it were night-time.  So cool!  I sat there like a kid for 30 minutes watching it and looking at all the amazing detail.

The Seattle part of the train model

4) The Coal Mine Exhibit: By the time I’d seen several exhibits at the museum, I was convinced that the museum went a mile underground.  The U-Boat exhibit is at least 3, maybe 4 stories underground.  The Coal Mine starts on the ground floor and then they take you into a fake mine-elevator and go underground even further into a fake coalmine.  From there, you take a little train around to different “parts of the mine” to see various different methods of mining.  I learned so much!  For example, did you know that the most common method of mining requires a $16 million dollar machine that can only be used once?  That’s a lot of money for a disposable item—but I’m sure they are making so much more off the coal that $16 million is a drop in the bucket.

5)  The Christmas Tree Exhibit:  This exhibit was only up for a day after I left, but if you go to Chicago at Christmas time, this is an excellent one.  The main hall of the museum had about 50-100 Christmas Trees each decorated for a different country.  So beautiful.

These were just a few of the exhibits that I enjoyed—they also have a real toy factor where kids can make their own toys, a 60-foot long model to scale of the White House, a plane exhibit, a chemistry exhibit, part of the BodyWorlds exhibit, an exhibit of cars from the Model T to present-day, models of all the major skyscrapers in the U.S.—made out of Legos, an Omnimax Theater (I saw the Human Body show—very cool except for the part where they popped a zit… in close up… on an Imax-sized screen.  Terrifying.  Absolutely Terrifying), a life-sized model of a street 100 years ago with stores that you can go into, and so much more.  I was there all day, and yet I was only able to see a fraction of the museum!

Bottom Line: One of the coolest museums I’ve ever been to.  Appropriate and fun for all ages and not just for science people!  5/5 stars.

MILLENNIUM PARK: Millennium Park was my last stop in Chicago and well worth the time.  If you like public art, jelly beans or shiny things, this is the park for you!  Millennium has a great collection of public works—the most famous of which is “Cloud Gate” – a giant shiny bean that offers a unique perspective of the city.  Another plus—free ice skating!

Bottom Line: Fun, free and located conveniently downtown.  Don’t miss it!  4/5 stars.

On the whole, I really enjoyed my trip to Chicago and hope to go there again soon.  Next time, I’ll make a point of visiting the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Frank Lloyd Wright house, the John Hancock building, a Chicago Architectural Society tour and the Museum of Mexican Art.  There is so much to do in Chicago and I just didn’t have enough time.  Can’t wait!

CHI-TOWN! Sears Tower and the Navy Pier

More sight-seeing in Chicago!

SEARS TOWER: At 103 stories, the view from the Sears (Willis) Tower was great!  It offers no more than your typical skyscraper view, but one thing that makes it better than the Empire State Building is that you are looking out windows instead of over guardrails, so you aren’t freezing to death and your view is not obstructed by thick rails.  One downfall—with the nasty Chicago weather, you could only see for about 1.5-2 miles.  Still—pretty cool.  For all of you out there who are afraid of heights, be warned—they have recently attached these little glass boxes (about the size of an elevator) to the sides of the tower so you can walk out on the glass and see nothing but the 103 story drop below you.  So cool!  Unless you are afraid of heights, I imagine.

Bottom Line: Nothing that unique on the skyscraper front, but a cool view of Chicago.  4/5 stars.

NAVY PIER: Chicago’s Navy Pier is the equivalent of Faneuil Hall in Boston or South Street Seaport in New York City—a cool building by the water with tons of touristy shops and good restaurants.  What is unique about the Navy Pier is a) the huge Ferris Wheel, b) the Imax theater c) the display of Tiffany stained glass and d) the magnificent early-1900s ballroom.  To get to the ballroom, you just have to be persistent in finding unlocked doors until you reach the end of the pier.  Boy, was it worth it.  The ballroom was breath-taking and the view from the end of the pier was almost as cool as the view from the Planetarium.

Bottom Line: A fun place to hang out and get dinner.  3.5/5 stars.

CHI-TOWN! Museum Campus: Aquarium, Field Museum and Planetarium

On Friday, I spent most of my day on Chicago’s museum campus.  All three admissions were included in my Chicago City Pass.  On to the reviews!

SHEDD AQUARIUM: As far as non-Seaworld aquariums go, Shedd is tops.  Shedd has very extensive collections of fish and aquatic mammals, including several cute otters and sea lions.  The best part of the aquarium—and what makes it more like Seaworld (which I love!)  is the “Fantasea” show—showcasing dolphins, beluga whales, sea lions, penguins and hawks.  An excellent show!  They let the penguins roam around the audience, which was definitely a kid-favorite.

Bottom Line: A fantastic aquarium experience; well worth the price of admission!  4/5 stars.

THE FIELD MUSEUM: Yawn, it’s just another natural history museum.  The field museum had some cool stuff, but nothing I haven’t seen before (other than Sue- the most complete T-rex skeleton ever found).  The museum has a very extensive collection of dead-animal dioramas, like all other natural history museums, but having just seen live animals at the aquarium, it was kind of depressing.  Of course, the museum has the typical collection of mummies, dinosaurs and artifacts from Native American cultures.

One unique thing—a temporary exhibit about diamonds and diamond mining.  However, what made this exhibit cool for me was not the science behind it, but my girlish desire to stare at shiny things encased in silver and gold.  Realistically, I could have saved myself the extra admission to see the exhibit and just walked down the street to Tiffany’s for free.

Bottom Line: Nothing I haven’t seen before.  Instead, spend your time and money on Chicago’s Museum of Nature and Science.  2/5 stars.

ADLER PLANETARIUM: On the whole, I couldn’t care less about the science behind anything non-terrestrial.  I am terrible with math, terrible with physics, and terrible with chemistry, which basically rules out astronomy as an interest for me.  However, I really enjoyed the Adler Planetarium.  It is the first planetarium built in the Western Hemisphere and has an excellent collection of exhibits.  I learned so many interesting things about our universe!  They had a great exhibit on the Apollo program, including all sorts of real space-gear donated by the Apollo astronauts.  I also went to the Planetarium’s Night Sky Live show and really enjoyed learning about the constellations of the night sky and the galaxy we live in.

Bottom Line: Worth a look, especially if you normally wouldn’t be thrilled with the idea of going to a Planetarium (yes, that was me).  I’ve been converted!  Bring on some more Planetariums!  4/5 stars.