My aunt and cousin are currently sitting downstairs in the living room, talking about who knows what. I love my relatives; really, I do, but sometimes they overstay their welcome.

When you have a cousin that your mom insists you stick with, you kind of lose some privacy [and I value my privacy.]

Right now, I’m indulging in some precious alone time that may never come in a long, long time. So I’m gonna take this time to give you…movie reviews! “Movie reviews?” you might be thinking. Truth is, all I ever did these past three days was watch movies. So let’s start with where we left off in my last entry.

Ratatouille: is an animation worth watching. The graphics were superb, and although long, the movie was so engaging that I didn’t even notice its length. Overall, I thought the movie had stunning visuals, a decent plot, and some good laughs. However, the one thing that put me off a bit was the rat. Remy’s character was not as colorful as I expected him to be, and my attention was diverted instead to Linguini. Now I’m not sure if Linguini was supposed to be the main focus, but I still think that Remy’s character came out a bit bland and static. Go watch Ratatouille though. It’s definitely worth it.

Pan’s Labyrinth: was simply amazing. The movie was beautiful and wonderfully creative at the same time. Personally, it’s my new favorite movie. I loved how there would always be one scene which showed Ofelia’s “world” and another right after it that showed what was going on in the “real world” at the same time. The transition shows just how distant from the rest of the world Ofelia is. The [wonderful] ending could be interpreted in many different ways, and I won’t spoil it for you. Throughout the movie I kept thinking, “What’s going to happen?” Nothing disappointed me. Pan’s Labyrinth also had characters that were easy to relate to, whether or not you’ve been in such a situation before. I highly recommend that anyone see this movie [it's rated R for violence.]

1408: Now, usually, I try to avoid watching horror flicks as much as possible. My friend who dragged me to see 1408 is just the opposite. So I found myself sitting in the movie theater, expecting to be frightened out of my wits [I don't deal very well with scary movies], and I wasn’t disappointed. In this case, I think I was more chilled than frightened. 1408 is a thriller without the zombies, monsters, or demons. It plays with your mind instead [or rather, Mike's mind], and once you think it’s all over…it begins once again. I haven’t watched many horror movies, but 1408 is definitely one of the better ones.

So there you have it. My oh so interesting thoughts on Ratatouille, Pan’s Labyrinth, and 1408. I’ve stopped at least five times in the middle of writing this entry because my cousin was bothering me, but I’ve finally finished it. Dance camp starts tomorrow, which should provide you with more entertaining details of my adventures and encounters. Summer is so much fun!

That was sarcasm.