Is it a little odd I was SUPER attracted to Kevin Kline?

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Sophie's Choice

This movie is a brilliant reminder of how far film has come just over the past few decades. It also wonderfully raises the question of whether all that is for the better. The only thing I didn't care for in the film was the set up. The juxtaposition of drama to loving comedy was too mis-mashed for my taste and made the film that didnt' need to, feel like it was dragging.

Oh but the beauty of these performances. I grew up on older Meryl Streep but nothing compares to her early body of work. Her Sophie gave me chills and impressed me with her commitment to accent and the passion in her eyes. She is without a doubt a divine presence on screen now and forever. What I was most impressed with was Kevin Kline. First because he was kind of a dish back in the day and second because he is really just such a fine actor. His theater credits have long out shown his film roles but watching SC, which is in fact his first film debut, it is impossible to deny how his brilliance translates into any medium.

As much as this is obviously a movie about Sophie and her life, which are fantastic, I fell more in love with Sophie & Nathan's chemistry and Nathan's dangerously magnetic presence than the intended core of the storyline.

<3

Holy Sleep with the Lights on Batman.

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Paranormal Activity.

So I know this has been out for awhile and I actually saw it on Devil's Night way back before Halloween. But I just have to say it was so mind boggling fantastic that I needed time to digest it. People have said they don't think it is scary. Well they are probably cheaters and found spoiler alerts ahead of time OR they were in fact so scared their eyes were shut the whole time and they just are too lame to admit.

I was freaked right out of my mind. And I LOVED it!!!! This is the problem with the horror genre in modern cinema, there is nothing truly scary out there anymore. Thank goodness Paranormal Activity came around this year to save us all from a mindless, gore/whore fest that is Saw 1000301. In a throwback to B sci-fi horror movies, Hitchcock suspense and the great horror decade that was the last 70's early 80's Paranormal Activity feeds every hunger a good horror buff needs.

Unfortunately I don't want to be one of those spoilers because this is such a rare and brilliant movie that to talk it up more I would fear I might spill some bean(s) that would take away the scary as hell, mind blowing experience I had. Which so wouldn't be fair.

<3

Congratulations Mr. Gervais.

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The Invention of Lying.

This movie made me smile smile smile. Inside and out. For two hours straight. Surprisingly hard to do, but very worth it. It is really hard to come up with anything to criticize about this film. There were some minor things....like that Jonah Hill seems to have let himself go......the man in the sky allusions to God were a bit too obvious to act like they were supposed to be ignored.....but none of that bothered me for more than the brief second I initially noticed them. Which anyone who has read my reviews knows is quite impossible to do. Congratulations Mr. Gervais.

This movie is a beautiful meld of out right ridiculous humour, sweet ironic jokes, satire of modern romance and heart. I will even admit it. There is an absolutely gorgeous scene with Mark Bellison and his mother Martha that made me cry. Like a weepy little girl. Seriously I'm getting cloudy right now just thinking about it.....watch out!!!! And the heart just continues to grow in a way only the awkward yet lovable Ricky Gervais can make happen. I'm sorry it may be my British bias but he is by far the best comedian on either side of the pond right now.

Supporting cast is stunning. As my roommate and movie going partner commented, "I knew Jennifer Garner had a sense of humor but I didn't know she was SO funny!" Agreed, a true American sweetheart. All of the lovely little cameos by.....

SPOILER ALERT

Edward Norton

Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Jason Bateman

Christopher Guest

Stephen Merchant

etc.

Sigh. I already want to watch this film again. Incredibly sweet and all around wonderful. Literally exactly everything I want when I make the journey and purchase to watch a motion picture. Lovely.

<3>

Next week is no good....the Jonas Brothers are in town!

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The Hangover.

Oh goodness what a workout. It is difficult to watch this film without growing some abdominal muscles. There really isn't a lot to say about this film. It is comedic brilliance but only for those with ears for the humour in cursing & naughtiness, not afraid of small, naked Asian men, a favoritism to Mike Tyson & tigers and who are willing to consider the fact that Heather Graham is only ever a good actress when playing a stripper.

Brilliant brilliant cast. Bradley Cooper can do no wrong. Really. He just has to watch out for overexposure in the next year or so since his face has been the lead for many popular flicks this year and anticipated for the coming one. But his snarky turn in this one is comedic genius. Ed Helms reveals that he actually has serious comedic chops. He was lucky enough to strike such success and scene stealing in this off-beat comedy that his turn as rage-aholic/Capella singer Andy Bernard on The Office has become a principal character this season. Zach Galifianakis was innately creepy but irresistibly funny and stole absolutely every scene he was in. He is slowly working his magic on the comedy genre as one of the best character actors in the industry.

This comedic buddy romp will go down as a staple of Vegas history. Brill.

<3>

Edward Norton.....a fine wine.

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Pride & Glory.

The one thing I love to see is progress in art. Any art. Any progress. Often I feel our country is regressing in its culture and appreciation for the arts so I always find myself refreshed to find an actor growing or a film that celebrates true art.

Today's feature was Pride & Glory. Now I don't want to come off sounding too much like it was a fantastic movie in the sense that the story line blew me away or the plot twists were a-mazing. It was intriguing, it was tense, the acting was superb and the cinematography was brill. It was not a shoot-em-up action flick or a police drama it was a well crafted piece of art.

Edward Norton is one of the most understated and incredible actors of his time. Every new film I see him in I'm riveted by his performance. He is difficult to pin-point as far as his genre goes. I'd like to compare him to someone as a reference point but every time I do I come up short. He is one of those actors that stands alone in his craft and does so wonderfully and more importantly subtly. In acting especially it seems good acting must come with the grandeur of show, in the public perspective. One must be devastatingly good looking or a rock hard action hero or a raunchy comedy genius to last. Yet Norton is not one of those things. Nor is he all of those things. He has this indefinable talent which is perhaps why he just continues to get better with each film he puts out. P&G was no exception, he could have easily taken his role and made it stereotypical good cop or martyred hero but he makes Ray honest and believable.

I do also have to note Colin Farrell's gripping turn in this flick. Typically I would brush Farrell off as all talk and no snuff as far as his craft goes but P&G proved that if given the proper circumstances he does a very good job at being an actor.

The best performance in the piece though came from the un-taggable name, Noah Emmerich. Without his performance the movie could have floundered into a horribly overdone NYPD version of good cop/bad cop. The addition of this conflicted, tortured middle man was well played and acted perfectly. Furthermore the scenes between Fran and Abbey were just poignant. Plan and simple good writing, great setting, beautifully executed.

On a final note the angles, the camera work and the sound make this movie complete. Some of the shots used fascinated me and the utilization of song versus score versus silence should receive adequate recognition by someone higher up in the film industry than this avid film watcher/part-time amateur critic.

<3

Talk about rag-tag.

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Watchmen.

This film (now watchable, as I did, on DVD) is difficult to decide whether you like it or not. There are a laundry list of things that make it both "visionary" as the poster would suggest and annoying as hell.

Pros:

- Visual effects are stunning. This is not a comic book/graphic novel genre film in the sense of cinematography and special effects. It actually does an artistic and dare I say beautiful job of weaving in these fantastic special effects and imagery , with shots looking like any other typical drama and even throwing in some historical seeming footage.

- Unique story. Graphic novels making the leap to film have a tendency to be overly violent bordering on grotesque.....but Watchmen takes a stab at a legitimate story line that reaches out to an audience slightly broader than the "fan boys", perverts and barely pubescent men of all ages. Certainly (as I will be happily detailing later) there are plot holes, unnecessary subplots to be found I do have to applaud on the whole the efforts made to pitch the piece as an ensemble drama, about superheroes no less, with a pinch of action, a dash of gore and the zest of the graphic-novel-adaptation genre.

Cons:

-Casting. I do not shy away from the fact that I feel Hollywood has gone beyond itself by not just making stars but making talent-less stars, it is depressing, infuriating, annoying and ruining a historically fabulous art medium all at the same time. So initially I was excited that Watchmen carried a C-list, possibly some B list actors on its roster. No cheesy attempts at allowing Bruce Willis to pretend he is still an action star (that is you Sin City) or taking mediocre, albeit visually interesting roles, and prematurely creating quote-unquote "the new star" (see Gerard Butler, 300). HOWEVER, when you actually get somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 way through the movie you realize that the casting directors failed the film horribly by picking a bad rag-tag cast. Malin Akerman makes a respectable turn in her barely treading credentials into this action/drama. Her portrayal falls quite short through as her sexy vixen with daddy (translating into romance) issues comes off as comical, and this is not a low rate Farley Brothers hot mess. Billy Crudup's Dr. Manhattan had an interesting story-line but the robotic performance left me wondering if the stiff, emotionless drone is all he is able to play (for reference see: all other Billy Crudup performances). Jackie Earle Haley's character was intriguing with his mask on but as soon as he de-masked and kept his creepy Little Children voice it was all ruined. I'm so sick of Patrick Wilson in film that I wish he would just jump off the B- list and just save us all the film squares. His character was one of his more compelling as far as plot line but even that doesn't help when you have a sap on hand who cannot act. Jeffery Dean Morgan was the only actor who really compelled me in the piece. His Comedian was a highlight in the piece, obviously not for moral fiber, but this was a new turn from his previous roles and I think it was well played. Too bad his character was on film way less than the other characters.

Length - 2.7 hours???? really necessary???? No. The beginning got me hooked then all the dramatic babble of the love triangle and reuniting the group bored me in the middle so by the time it started to pick back up in the end I'd forgotten (perhaps maybe it wasn't that interesting....hmmmm) or no longer cared about the loose ends they were trying to tidy up. Editors really need to start realizing that audience members have lives and they should stop wasting them. I'd take a powerful, memorable, dynamic 1.5 hour movie that a floundering 2.7 that picks up in the last 30 minutes. Thank you.

So unfortunately I have to leave this one up to the audience. I wasn't disappointed with Watchmen as a whole. That being said there were some significant flaws that I would hesitate before saying I liked it or recommending it to someone else.

<3>

False Advertising

Funny People.

Holy Hell Judd Apatow.....what were you thinking????



The only thing funny about this flick was the complete lack of comedy within it....and that is only in a non-ha-ha dark ironic kind of way. And while that is my sense of humor, I was not impressed.



At first I appreciated the fact that despite all of the bowel humor the movie had a more mature, dark edge to it. It always is refreshing to see an artist take their great formula but let it grow with them. Apatow and clan haven't matured well.

My major ongoing problem with the advertising world ruining the film industry has resurfaced again. Watch the trailer for Funny People. It made me laugh so much I really wanted to go see if when it opened in theatres. I rarely say that. No fast forward to me sitting in the movie theatre. Half of the funny jokes in the trailer are missing from the film. Not only that but they are replaced with terribly unfunny, immature, attempts at humor. Also there are some unnecessary gratuitous sex scenes for Mr. Sandler. I mean I wouldn't have wanted to see that when he was young and in his prime, like I want to see it when he is middle aged???? Oh and the preview gave away almost all of the first half of the movie but failed to get at the horrible third act that is just an infuriating waste of my time, money and patience. I mean good lord all the Yo Teach! things with Jason Schwartzman were like the funniest thing in the movie and its so trite AND cliche. Argh!!!!! I'm still angry at Apatow, clan and this whole movie. Even all of the cameos in the movie cannot save it. Because the cameo's alone prove what this movie is. As some of Apatow's favorite jokes in the film reference, this was a masturbatory act of film. This was an act of self indulgence, self-pleasure for director, writer, family, friends with not a single thought to the audience. The comedy is like just filming the after school romps of a bunch of teenagers and then they decided to market it and make obscene amounts of money so we'll wrap a lifetime style drama in the middle and call it kosher.

I haven't been this angry leaving the theatre since I got tricked into seeing the Dukes of Hazard. Ugh. Horrific. Carnage. Funny People was dead before it left the gate. <3

Scarlett Johansen can also play a sexy skank who is mentally unhinged....I forgot she has some range.

Match Point.

Why Why Why do I continue to watch Woody Allen movies????? They always do nothing but annoy me and kind of gross me out a bit.

so since I recently returned from an extended stay in the UK I was oddly drawn to Match Point (being set in London) on the video rack. Plus Jonathan Rhys Meyers right??? Could work.

No.

No.

No.

Oh my. Where to start with this piece??? Oh yeah okay first I guess it is supposed to have all this passion and steaminess.......no Scarlett Johansen being a skank and Jonathan Rhys Meyers being her male mirror, or a man skank. No gross. They they are both so dull and droll that I thought I might scream about halfway through. When the big pregnancy/marriage/death/whatever "twist" came about well I couldn't give two shakes what happened to either one of them. Or the wifey and her family at that point either.....all her meddling was just obnoxious.

I have to admit the only thing intriguing in this piece was the whole murder plot. I mean the is he isn't he going to get caught for such a sloppy set up did make me wake up for the whole half hour that took. But well then I remembered I really didn't care what happened to him and snoozed on til the end credits.

Gosh Woody Allen....I mean your quirkiness can be honest but sometimes its just beyond lame. Like in Match Point. Sometimes if an idea pops in your head you should just say no. Especially because you keep reusing your muse Miss Scarlett. Maybe if you got back to someone with talent, a la a young Diane Keaton....you could salvage your career. Or maybe not.

Sometimes I can't get jiggy with Will Smith

7 Pounds.

I may have snored at some point in this movie. But well it was so boring that I couldn't even remember when. Was it when you could figure out the obvious foreshadowing? (Jellyfish - everyone needs an organ donation - Ben whats-his-face is OBVIOUSLY trying to prove something.....c'mon) Was it the casting of Rosario Dawson who I'm not completely convinced has no business being in the film industry, as an actress........I mean she isn't even like a Megan Fox who has no talent but is stereotypically porn star beautiful.....?

I did very much enjoy the scene where Smith's droll character helps out the elderly lady. That was poignant. But I faded fast somewhere after that, as did the suspense and intrigue of the film. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing exciting. Nothing NEEDED to be seen.

Leooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Revolutionary Road.

O-M-G. How brill was this film? It was genius.

Now I would highly recommend Richard Yate's novel first because the novel is more in-depth, quality and detailed, as is usually the case with an adaptation. People talk of works like Miller's Death of a Salesman etc. being the books that outline the disillusionment of the "American Dream" but I think Yate's does the best job. Not only does he tackle the horrible falsity of the quote-unquote American dream but he takes it one step further to look at how there is the falsity of everlasting love and adventure in relationships. Its haunting and hard to think about at points but its absolute perfection.

Fast forward to the film adaptation. Sam Mendes is a genius at filming a relationship in all of its honesty. The film is parred down from the book. Pieces like Frank's affair are whittled from a awkwardly entertaining look at "the other woman" to a blip just so you know he was unfaithful. That being said the acting is absolutely amazing. Kate Winslet NEVER gives a poor performance and she took a great turn as the depressed, dissatisfied and malicious housewife, April Wheeler. Usually she brings some charm to her roles but it was delicious to see her just balls out be the bad girl, pretending to be good. It was beautiful to watch her just break down and embody that character. And Leonardo Dicaprio. It is not a secret that I adore him but I sincerely believe he is the best actor of his generation as well. RR was his crowning dramatic glory to date. His Frank Wheeler was smooth, charismatic, devilishly handsome but unsure, faltering and worried underneath it all. Chill worthy performance.

The real power of this movie lies in Micheal Shannon's portrayal of John Givings. He is only in about two scenes but he steals the movie. Givings is a brilliant character in itself, showing that perhaps he is the only sane character in the piece (I'll leave you to watch/read to figure out why that is so dramatic) but Shannon just blew my mind. Where Winslet/DiCaprio's portrayals were exact and perfect embodiments of Shannon takes the his character and breaths this new life and perspective into it. I'm literally getting chills just thinking about it.

This is not a happy movie but it is an honest movie. Beautifully set and shot. Chilling acting and fantastic adaptation. A have-to-see.

<3

Coming to America

Movies I enjoyed on a flight from London to Atlanta:

17 Again.
Cutesy. But Fun. Not stereotypical remake of BIG or anything like that. Unique little twists and the humor was fun. Effron was surprisingly good at acting, not just goofing in the flick and the supporting cast was a nice support. I enjoyed it a nice flick for families with teenage/above kids or just to watch for giggles.

Gran Torino.
Could Clint Eastwood be anymore bad ass? One would think not but the man will be hitting 80 next year and he is still the greatest force in the American film industry. Gran Torino shows how he is quite seriously getting better with age. His snarling, his character arch, his choice in locations/cars. Brilliant. Not to mention he is not only an actor but a director and mentor to all young films everywhere. Young Hollywood needs to take notice. It is not a get rich and famous quick scheme it is about the art. Even if you are good at your art, as Eastwood has proven to be the masterpiece maker of American film, you would pray you would have 1/8th of the career Eastwood has had. This is an unmissable film as are almost all of Eastwood's other works. If you miss this film you are missing one of the best dramas put out in the past few years.

2 Lovers.
Okay I didn't really enjoy this one but I was out of options for ones I haven't seen before so I had no choice but to sit through it. And it is a challenge to sit through it. Pheonix is fading fast and with this being his last film before his "retirement" from film and maybe this is why. Because the movie is goofy. Unentertaining, the characters are unrelatable. It is listed as a drama but that is just because there is no category in the video store for horrible-crap-waste-of-film movies. There really should be.

<3

'Arry Potter conjures his hormones....

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

This is one of my favorite of the Potters. Granted there are major plot holes compared the the beloved book but if you figure that they have to get it in the 2 hour mark they did an excellent job. In addition I think it is ridiculous to assume that the film will just an acting out as if the book were a script. That is the problem with film adaptations and the modern audience. I mean personally I already took the time to read the 1000 page book so why would I pay 8-12 dollars to just watch a page by page reenactment.

I will agree that the big giant depressing event that takes place was underplayed in the film than in the book BUT if we give artistic license (as we should) to the script adaptor and the director then as a film itself alone it was a well played piece.

There was a brilliant mix of adolescent humor and hormones with the dark, magical world of HP. If you evaluate your ticket price for the film you saw then Half Blood Price was top notch. Forget Transformers this summer, this was your blockbuster for everyone. If you want to compare the text to the film then yes there are some issues. But I think you would have a hard time arguing that this is not the most entertaining, mature, fun, silly and visually stimulating.

In my opinion, best/my favorite Potter film yet. Brill.

British Movie List

I ventured to London for the summer so here are the flicks I've been checking out while I've been here!

Last Chance Harvey.

Overall this movie wasn't anything spectacular. Yet that is exactly what I liked about it. The story, the acting none of it was trying too hard. It was very honest and didn't need to get lost in lengthy melodrama. The poignant pieces like when Harvey buys a new suit for his estranged daughters rehearsal dinner but the security tag gets left on, or when he joyously declared "I'm going to dance your socks off!" you can't help but smirk. Its these brief moments that make the film believable, and therefore for many a bore. I think its a short and sweet little movie that looks honestly into the effects of middle age and beyond.


Star Trek.
Saw this at the London IMAX which is the biggest screen in Great Britain. Wonderful. Had a really nice blend of action and plot. An excellent start to a new age of the franchise. Casting was perfect with youthful, on the cusp of fame actors who brought a new life to a classic favorite. Made a trekkie out of me and I'll be very interested to see what they do with the obvious upcoming sequels.


Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
Why is it that the second is never as good as the first? It didn't come close to surpassing the first but after the horrid reviews it received in the papers it was much more than I had expected. I thought they really let the lead couple-ship of Michaela and Sam fizzle. I was more annoyed with the 2 of them at the end than anything with the whole "i love you" "do I love you?" "you say it first" bullcrap. That was a cheap way around writing emotional dialogue or content. I mean there is more love between Bumblebee and Sam when they are briefly on screen together. In my opinion the second sequel in a series always fails because instead of putting the same characters in better situations you try and introduce too many new characters to a tired situation. I mean we are in the middle east desert again???? Highlights were the twins, the fabulous old British autobot/decepticon and Michaela's pet deceptacon. Other than that though I couldn't keep track of all the new characters. Like why on earth was Sam's roommate there. . .it made sense at first but then I just wished we'd lost track of him. Why did Sam get a new dog who his old dog humped?? unnecessary. What happened to the deceptacon in human form (yeah what even was that?!?!)???? Where DID Michaela's pet deceptacon go????
I mean I still loved it because its Transformers. Its larger than life (literally, again I saw this at the IMAX) and the action is just impeccably set up. Bay is a master of action so I wish he had stopped beating us over the head with that fact since we didn't dispute it. Instead if he had infused more genuine emotion and humor into his story as in the first he would have hit a grand slam. Instead he took up from his home run first film to leaving us in a pickle between this double at times triple hit.
Worth a look but I won't be watching this one multiple times like I always find myself wanting to do with the first.

Wendy and Lucy.
This is a beautifully sad movie. Most people unfortunately miss how fantastic an actress Michelle Williams is because she only does small art house pieces like this. However, this look at the lower working class and the trials of being alone with no where to go are heart rendering and fantastically shot. Worth a watch if you are willing to be adventurous enough to leave the mainstream.

<3

Tricky Dick's 6 Degrees from Kevin Bacon.

Frost/Nixon.

Oh Frank Langella. I love you. This movie is a dramatic darling. A brilliant play on a theatrical piece and a historical landmark. There isn't anything horrible or snark I can say about this movie. Granted since we all know how it goes down its not anything earth shattering but the deft cinematography, the superb acting all around and the little dash of Ron Howard directorial magic make this a fantastically taunt film.

<3

Un-EX-pectedly poor use of casting.

The Ex.

On paper there is a laundry lists of things that should make this movie excellent:

Jason Bateman: the current reigning king of character acting. Hands down the best of this generation of actors.

Amanda Peet: the understated darling of cinema. Funny and dramatic, beautiful and girl-next-door.

Zach Braff: TV funny man, adorable indie lead. Yummy and seemingly talented.

Amy Poehler: One of the industries funniest women at the moment. Always manages to be perfect no matter how big or small her role.

If you mix these elements together you should have a knock-it-out-of-the-park grand slam of a comedy.

Yet someone The Ex manages to strike out in every scene. Braff is adorable and lovable as the aimless loser Tom. Still when no one believes what Chip Sanders is doing to try and destroy him, Tom's sad attempts to finally prove himself are childish and annoying. Peet is a nice balance in this flick. Her portrayal of the woman in the middle, who doesn't know she is in the middle, was a believable core for the movie. Somehow she was still underutilized and her lack of camera time is one of the many things seriously hurting this movie. Poehler was completely miscast. I don't even know why they would waster her immense talent on her mere three scenes and handful of lines. Pointless and frustrating. Most disappointing though is Bateman. As always he assimilates into the annoying, undermining, conniving Chip Sanders, just beautifully. Still perhaps it was the script or general concept but his character was still not at all satisfying. Even throwing in great big name surprises like Amy Adam and Paul Rudd could not save this sunken ship. It's hard to pinpoint where The Ex goes wrong but I can tell you where it goes right: no where.

Skip Skip Skip.

<3

Great Scott

Trainspotting.

I get this movie is a classic. I get it. Its so UK its scary. The language, the dress, the ridiculousness. So while I say I get it I can also then say I don't like it. I mean seriously I can respect it as a work of film but people who idolize this film they way they do....mmmm hmmmm child they need to get their heads examined. I love the big long speech about what you do and don't want from life and can appreciate how you don't want to get stuck in the stereotypical mode of growing up and modern life. I mean I don't' want to get stuck in such a way either.....but I mean is the only other option heroin addiction???? Mmmmm no.

Sometimes funny. More times gross. Slightly philosophical. Weird as hell.

<3

A Slowly Satisfying State of Affairs

State of Play.

Advertisements around award seasons often say things like "a sleeper hit", "surprise smash", "amazing ensemble" etc. State of Play manages to be all those things but also is a kick in the pants at the same time. In other words it was wonderfully fantastic.

Very few pieces I've ever shelled out cash (or in this case allowed my handsome escort for the night to dish out for) have ever intrigued me as much as State of Play. I hadn't heard too much about it other than some blurbs on the cast. And thank goodness because it was one of those great cinematic moments where you experience the film as it happens. My major issue with film today isn't necessarily the overused plots, overpaid/under-talented talent or focus on quality of computer graphics over content. No really what I think is slowly spoiling films as a whole is the press junkets, reveal all previews and dead horse beating round of interviews on both morning and late talk shows the weeks following a premiere. It is these things that start to suck the magic marrow right out of the film tin.

Thankfully State of Play indeed played its cards right by keeping itself just under the radar. The casting is a wet dream for anyone seriously into good acting. They managed to draw enough talent to put the bottoms in the seats. Russell Crowe brings the drama and intrigue, Helen Mirren gets you your Oscar crowd and older brackett, Rachel McAdams gets you all of your young men and serious admiring film women, Ben Affleck gets you those former Bennifer lovers and those intrigued if he can do anything other than mediocre rom-coms. Then you toss in a mix of the great B to A list character actors of the day, Viola Davis, Jeff Daniels, Jason Bateman and Robin Wright Penn. Could it get any better? Oh yes, my film darlings it can. Not only does the casting do wonders but the script has more brilliant tension and twists than well any other cliche I could put on the end of this sentence. It's only fault I can find is that it is not an original script. But if you are going to adapt anything you might as well adapt from the BBC because its hard to go wrong there. But considering Brad Pitt was first choice to be the lead.....that fault is overlooked by the wonderful recasting!

If you fail to see this movie I assure you that you fail to see one of the handful of truly excellent dramas for the 2000's.

Ruining Trips to Mexico as much as the Swine Flu

The Ruins.

This young indie/B list cast and the mysterious terror in the trailer looked interesting enough to see. All in all I didn't find the film too disappointing. I was not aware it was a book til after I watched it and I feel the book perhaps goes into more detail on the plot and is possibly then more satisfying. . .?
It had bumps and jumps and plenty of drama. The concept of that is lurking in the ruins is very interesting and shot well enough to actually hold some suspense. The acting was good enough to pass, its one of those situations where you are pretty sure you would be hysterical too so you can let some of the melodramatics slide. I'm still not really sure what exactly its supposed to be though. The ending was interesting and not exactly what I expected yet not fully satisfying as the body of work had been.

Worth a look if you haven't seen the book. From what I've since heard the book actually has a different plot unfolding than the film so that would be worth a read too!

<3

Shake 'em hips Effron, Shake 'em!!!!!!!!

High School Musical 3.

Cheesy. Not the best musical. Perhaps some of the most sorry teenage acting in awhile. Deeply watchable.

After completing the now epic trilogy that is High School Musical 1-3 I still cannot get what makes them so appealing under my thumb. Part of me wants to think they are just well made, realistic portrayals of teenage-ism today. Yet its not really that. Another part of me wants to think its because they feel like a throwback to movies like Greece etc. that I used to watch growing up. But its certainly more wholesome than that. Still it might be the up-and-coming young talents ability to sing and dance into my heart. But if I'm being objective it really could not be that either.

Still despite all of the weaknesses in the acting, singing and storytelling that is HSM3 I find myself tapping my foot and on the edge of my seat wondering how Gabriella is going to make it back in time for the senior musical! I honestly could not tell you even three things I think that make HSM series so enjoyable. All I know is that somehow it melts away part of my cynical twenty-something heart and I really have a great time watching them and getting the songs stuck in my head for weeks. And I'm still not sure whether that is a good or bad thing yet!!!!!

<3

Antics as Trite as the American Wedding Cliche.

Bride Wars.

I know this was supposed to be a killer sister comedy but it really just left me feeling sad. Emma and Liv are supposed best friends forever, something seemingly rare in the Western, right-here-right-now-every-man-and-woman-for-themselves mindset. Yet when the highly highly contrived situation that both their weddings are booked on the same day at the Plaza occurs, they have that all fall apart. What I found so disheartening about this situation is that the actors and the writers and everyone who agreed to this movie, found this trite look at weddings in America to be okay.

Now certainly I'll give consideration to the fact that this is supposed to be a comedy and therefor the limits for reality may be stretched for the laugh. Yet the fact that this situation may not be so far from reality for some grown women in our country is what made it almost disturbing to me. That women are willing to give up all notions of romance, their independence, they friendships, their money, their bodies, their sanity, their future marriage JUST for their wedding day is truly not funny. Especially if you look at the divorce rate side-by-side. Correlation? Perhaps. Perhaps it just simply was not that entertaining and gave me more time to come up with my conspiracy theories on life. Maybe we will never know.

Perfect for the lovers of cookie-cutter comedies or the wedding sap. Sub-par for anyone else.

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Heartwrenching Heroics from Disney.

8 Below.

Typically I try to steer clear of watching movies playing on television thanks to their edited content and general out-of-date feel. Yet Disney's "inspired by a true" flick caught me within the first few moments. What really gives this film its appeal is not the B list, typical action star, Paul Walker. Instead it is the simple fact that this allegedly is as close to the true story as possible. Certainly not all portions could be known by man but the writing department obviously did a good job of improvising because I found it seemed to flow together well and was quite interesting. The dogs used were gorgeous and while the mild peril seemed intense, its PG rating makes it an excellent family movie, no matter the age frame.

A very surprising yet enjoyable movie!
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Who isn't a sucker for canine comedy?

Hotel for Dogs.

Was this movie completely predictable? Was the humor a little obvious even for a kids movie? Was some of the drama a little heavy for a kids movie?

The answer is yes to all 3. Still despite sounding like a formula for disaster Hotel for Dogs manages to maintain its cute and watchable factor thanks to its many canine co-stars. Even for someone typically as critical about things, like cinema, I could not help but escape the inevitable heart-string pull coming from these 4 legged (and sometime 3!) strays.

Despite at times going a little too far with the heavy drama and then quickly a little too light with the humor the pooches in this picture manage to strike the balance that makes it enjoyable bordering on delightful. Plus bonus points were also given for Kevin Dillion and Lisa Kudrow's wonderfully weird work as hard rockin' foster parents The Scudders!

Surprisingly watchable unless you are only a cat person!
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International Travel Illegalities

The Visitor.

What makes this film so enjoyable is its endearing qualities. For instance there is the issue that this is a sort of genre-less piece. Its a little dramatic, a little funny with a little romance thrown in at the end. Yet it isn't any one of those things to a point to declare it a genre.

There were some uneven point to it, the little odd love affair between the captor's mother and his friend put a slightly bad taste in my mouth. Still the rest of it was so sweetly satisfying I can excuse it. A tasteful political statement on a hot button issue. Yet it took a nice twist and chose to focus on the issue of illegal immigration in a way not typically seen in the media. Very very interesting. I'd love to see it again. Just writing about it is making me think all about it all over again....as any quality piece of film should.

Oh and the soundtrack. Wonderful music weaved through. sigh.

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McConauhey is certainly a fool....Hudson is certainly golden.

Fool's Gold.

Oh McConauhey. Shirtless. Bronzed. Shaggy. With Hudson. I thought this would be a cheesy mix but in fact it was delicious.

Certainly this has all of the components of a pop culture romantic-comedy. Hot guy, gorgeous girl, fabulous setting and a decent mix of comedy.

What I enjoyed about this one most was introducing this element of action and intelligent information. The treasure hunt was quite fun actually in a modern sort of way. Plus adding Donald Sutherland was a very endearing way to add credibility and charm.

I will admit these things do not make it some intelligent, critical work of cinema. However, in the line of romps this one ranked in the high end.

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Why no one cared when Rachel got married.

Rachel Getting Married.

There is something very interesting about this movie. It is not the things that the film is known for like Anne Hathaway's dramatic turn or the plot line. In fact these were the details that I found to be the least enjoyable in the film.

Plot-wise in this piece the immediate plot was not the best. I was actually more fascinated by the back stories of most of these characters. Kym in person wasn't interesting until she started opening up about the past. Even then only when all of the components of the families back stories came together (i.e. mom-daughter brawl) was it actually fabulous. Therefore the actual plot points like the strange hook-up/relationship (???) between maid-of-honor and best man. Or the best friend, sister to sister love/friendship triangle. Weird.

Now I do like seeing Anne Hathaway stretching her acting legs and not becoming the stereotypical all-American girl, a la The Princess Diaries. Never-the-less I'm surprised that this was Oscar-nominated because it just didn't have the pizazz to back up all of the hype.

Overall this was more like watching a character sketch or a rough draft to a real movie. Like reading a short story that is in the stages of being expanded to a novel. It seemed incomplete in the plot and development, which lead to the acting to seem out of place, hurting the inter-character relationships and so it goes. . .

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