{Movie Review} Double Feature

 

*Sigh* Johnny Depp!  

OK, I've gained my composure.... Johnny Depp reprises his role yet again as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 4- On Stranger Tides and just when one may think, OK this is the fourth movie, this is surely getting old....trust me, it is not.  Gone is Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, but filling the vacant spot of starring opposite Johnny is the beautiful and talented Penelope Cruz.  She stars as Angelica, a jilted former paramour of Jack who is also on the quest to find the Fountain of Youth.  

Without giving too much away, I can say this is another Disney hit.  But then again, can any production company go wrong when hiring the extremely versatile Johnny Depp?  (You can tell I am irrevocably in love with this man?). It is filled with action, laughs, suspense and mermaids!  A definite must see on the big screen.

Tip: It seems almost every movie is being toted in 3D as well.... I saw this in 3D because it was the only one showing at the time I went. There are certain movies where you want to be immersed completely into the action... for this one, it is definitely not necessary.  Save yourself the extra couple of dollars and watch it without the special specs.

The Wolfpack is back indeed!

This comedy has definitely earned it's $205 million worldwide. I admit, I went into this movie last weekend with Mr. Man expecting to come out mildly disappointed.  Let's face it, sequels generally don't go over well.  Especially when the sequel is using the exact same premise.  Three friends waking up with terrible hangovers, a friend missing, and no recollection of what happened during their night of bachelor partying.  In this case, two friends missing!  The guys retrace their steps to discover they literally took Bangkok by storm.

One word for this movie....Hilarious!

Like the first, it is jam packed with adult humor. It merits it's R rating, that's for sure. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galianakis have an undeniable chemistry together.  It literally leaves you wanting more.  Everyone has asked me, "Is it better than the first?"  My answer can only be, It is just as good.  It is hard for me to compare the two since the location and hijinx are so starkly different, but I can say this, If you enjoyed the first one, you will definitely love the second. 

{Movie Review} Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants is historical love story based on the bestselling book by Sara Gruen by the same name.  It stars a pair of Academy Award winning actors, Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds), Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line), and Robert Pattinson.

The story is based during the Depression and centers around Cornell veterinary student, Jacob Jankowski (played by Robert Pattinson), a young man on the verge of receiving his degree and license and poised to work alongside his father when his world falls apart.  He discovers after losing his parents in an automobile accident, that his parents wagered their whole life savings and home in order for him to go to college.  Penniless, and with nothing and no one to go home to, he decides to leave everything behind.  Jacob ends up hopping a train to a destination unknown. He soon discovers, the train he jumped on is a traveling circus train.

Jacob is introduced to to the ringmaster/head trainer of the circus, August Rosenbluth (played by Christoph Waltz), who, upon learning he is a trained vet, hires him to look after the animals.   Jacob also discovers August is also married to the star attraction, Marlena Rosenbluth (played by Reese Witherspoon), who he has become enchanted with.  He becomes painfully aware of August's ruthlessness and lack for civility to anyone and anything around him after witnessing how he treats those at the bottom of the totem pole and the beautiful gentle elephant he has acquired in one of his stops.

Francis Lawrence did an amazing job directing this movie.  Not only is the movie frontlined by two Academy Award Winning actors, but a slew of other exceptional winners have their hand on weaving and creating this magical story behind the scenes as well.  Having read this book three years ago, I was a bit afraid of being disappointed with the movie.  It is very difficult to write a 2 hour screenplay from a novel with such precise and vivid detailing.  As the audience, we know many scenes will be cut.  But, Richard LaGravanese, did a superb job of maintaining all the key elements which made this book touch the hearts of millions.

Water for Elephants transports the audience straight back to the 1930's.  The imagery, costumes, and sets, are all authentic to this era.  There is only one word to describe it.... breathtaking.

I can not rave more about the casting on this film.  Christoph convinces the audience to hate August as the villan of the story.  We can feel the pain and anguish Marlena is feeling when trying to decide what life she would like to live.  And Robert literally convinces you of the innocence and naivete, Jacob; a young man who is seeing the world beyond his home with wide eyed wonder for the very first time.

With all the magical elements and imagery, this is definitely a movie to watch on the big screen and one you would walk away feeling like you spent 2 hours experiencing a time of great simplicity long gone.

{Movie Review} The Adjustment Bureau

Even though my weekend was a really busy one, Mr. Man and I carved out some time to take in a movie at the theater.  We were intrigued to watch The Adjustment Bureau by the suspenseful trailer.

The movie opens with David Norris making his last minute visits to the public (played by Matt Damon)the days leading up to Election Day. But on the morning of the big day, the unimaginable happens.  An indiscretional photo is published by the New York Post along with a story of him being involved in a bar fight, which makes the voters question whether or not they should be voting for the young Congressman.  His dreams for the Senate seats slip through his fingers as he realizes the two moments of poor judgement have come back to haunt him.  He goes to the men's restroom of the Waldorf Astoria to practice his concession speech.....without realizing that he is not alone in the room.  After listening to him for a while, Elise (played by Emily Blunt) decides to come out of hiding.  She gives him the courage to go out and face the public and give what would be the best concession speech in history, but before parting she gives him a kiss that blows him away.

The movie then moves forward a few weeks later....where we are introduced to a group of mysterious men wearing hats discussing the plan to make certain someone spill their coffee on themselves at 9:05am.  Harry, the youngest of the group, states he will be sure it happens as soon as he walks through the park.  However, Harry is snoozing on the bench and misses his opportunity.  Harry runs after M6 bus that David has just boarded. After paying his fare and turning to find a seat he is pleasantly surprised to see the beauty who kissed him in the men's room the evening of his Senate defeat.  They have a warm exchange and before she gets off the bus, David gets Elise's number.  When he arrives at work he stumbles upon a series of bizarre events he was never meant to witness.....

We are then treated to a multitude of plot  twists and great suspense.  You can't help but leave the movie wondering: Are events that go on in our own lives based on chance, fate, or coincidence?  Or have all of them been predetermined for us?   More importantly, this film enlightens the viewer to believe in the ever beautiful proverb.... "True Love is Always Worth Fighting For".

This is one movie I would say is definitely worth watching!

photo

{Movie Review} No Strings Attached

Natalie Portman stars as Emma in this romantic comedy opposite Ashton Kutcher as Adam.  The movie opens with a young version of Emma and Adam fifteen years ago at sleep away camp.  Emma is consoling Adam on a bench and he takes the opportunity to try to hook up with her. The two run into each other 10 years later, during a difficult time in Emma's life and then again 4 years later in a park where Emma meets Adam's girlfriend, Vanessa.  It is at this time that Adam works up the nerve to ask Emma for her phone number.  Fast forward another year and we meet up with Adam...the son of a television celebrity working for a show as an assistant, even though he has aspirations of becoming a script writer.  We learn he and Vanessa have broken up several months ago.  On a chance visit to his father we discover that Dad has started a relationship with Adam's ex.  Devastated, he gets insanely drunk and starts calling all the women on his contact list looking for the one who is willing to have a one night stand with him. He wakes up naked the next morning on Emma's couch, with no recollection to what happened the night before.The two of them end of having sex before Emma leaves to work at the hospital that morning and later come to an agreement that they would be "friends with benefits". 

Without giving away the rest of the movie, I have to say it was laugh out loud funny.  We've become so accustomed to seeing Natalie Portman in dramas that it was refreshing to see her doing another genre.  Ashton Kutcher didn't disappoint in this movie, which I didn't expect him to seeing that he is known for working in comedies.

From a scale of 1-5 Pennies for My Thoughts, 5 being amazingly good: It was pretty good.  It was filled with adult humor, laugh out loud situations, and of course, sex.  Would I pay full price to see this movie?  Maybe not. It is a great movie to take in as a matinee on a Sunday afternoon when you just want to have some great laughs with friends or cuddle with your boyfriend/husband/fiance/"friend with benefits".

I would give it 3 and a half Pennies for My Thoughts.

photo

Monday Movie Review: Black Swan

I am a huge Natalie Portman fan....since the very first time I saw her performance in The Professional at the tender age of 11.  So it was no surprise I wanted to see her performance in The Black Swan.  An added bonus, the movie is about the world of ballet. 

There is only word to describe what I thought of the movie.....Riveting!

Just when you think Natalie Portman has shown us what she is made of in her prior movies, she once again shocks us with what else she has in her arsenal.  In interviews she states she trained a full year prior to filming the movie, so who you see dancing is not a stunt double, but Miss Natalie Portman.


The storyline, a well disciplined, dedicated dancer who dreams of becoming the lead ballerina in the company's gripping performance of Swan Lake, takes you through the many experiences a dancer goes through when competing for the top spot.  They worry about weight gain, battle anorexia, constantly work on their technique and deal with jealousy from fellow company members.  These experiences are enough to push some ballerinas over the edge.....and Darren Aronofsky seamlessly displays this in such a way that you feel you are standing right beside Nina (Natalie Portman's character) as she spirals out of control.  Natalie Portman delivers such a believable performance that you forget this is a character she is portraying, not real life.

I would be shockingly surprised if Natalie does not receive the Oscar for this performance.  The acclaim the film has been receiving thus far is incredibly well deserved.  It is definitely worth watching.

Movie Review: The Tourist

Firstly, I must post a disclaimer....

I am, and have always been, irrevocably in love with Johnny Depp.  Given that little tidbit of information you can rest assured, you will always see a movie review pertaining to any film directly connected with Johnny.

Now that that is out of the way....

The Tourist, starring THE Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie takes place is breathtaking Venice, Italy.  It begins with Angelina's character, Elise Ward, being followed by members of the police department conducting a sting operation in the hopes of being led to the elusive Alexander Pierce. Pierce is a criminal wanted in 14 countries, and is wanted by the British government for tax evasion.  He is also wanted by gangster, Reginald Shaw, (played by Steven Berkoff) who he has also stolen billions from.  Elise is given instructions via a note from Pierce to get on a train to Venice, and find a man on the train who fits his height and build and make the agents following her believe it is him. The man she chooses is Depp's character, Frank Tupelo, an American school teacher visiting Venice as a tourist.

My thoughts on the movie?  Without giving too much away, Jolie and Depp played their characters extremely well. The storyline was smooth and entertaining.  My complaints? The movie is marketed as an Action, Drama, Thriller.  I would most definitely drop the thriller part and replace it with Comedy.  The police tailing Elise made it painfully obvious they were following her. There is no indication in the movie to the date in which the actions are taking place.  So as a moviegoer you are assuming it's present day. (They did have small cell phones so we know it isn't taking place too long ago) If that is the case, the technology the agents are using are extremely dated. I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud when the agents communicated to each other by talking into the microphone on their wrists.  Safe to say, these actions made it rather amusing.

Would I recommend this movie to be seen in the movie theater? If you are a Depp and/or a Jolie fan, yes. If you are a fan of beautiful location cinematography, yes. If you are a fashionista,yes (I am dying to know who is the designer of the dress Angelina wears in the opening scene and at the ball!)  There is action, there is drama....very little thriller, but lots of laughs.  They both deliver their lines convincingly with ease.  I don't regret paying to see it in the movie theater, and I would recommend it to anyone who is not expecting to see a true drama/thriller.

Movie Review: Love & Other Drugs

I have to confess, when I went to the box office attendant, I said "Please give me one for Sex & Other Drugs".  I suppose subconsciously I knew that was the true title for the movie, but I in order to market it properly they needed to give it a more "politically correct" title.

I am a big fan of Anne Hathaway, and lets face it, what's not to love about Jake Gyllenhaal.  Anne plays a young artist suffering from early onset Parkinson's disease named Maggie Murdock and Jake plays a new pharmaceutical salesman named Jaime Randall.  Maggie meets Jaime in her doctor's examination room where she is led to believe he is a new "intern".  That is until she sees him opening the trunk of car and notices the cases upon cases of the Pfizer drugs he is trying to pedal to the well known doctor.  After an exchange of words, Jaime using his charm to get Maggie's phone number from the ever impressionable doctor's receptionist he happens to be having sex, he manages to convince Maggie to go on a coffee date with him.  And there begins the start of a very active sexual relationship between the two.

There is more to this storyline than plenty of fornication.  Maggie meets a man who truly cares for her and is willing to learn everything there is to know about her condition and stand by her side even during the rough times.  And Jaime meets a woman who sees beyond his competitive nature and extreme sexual urges.  She sees a man who, even though given the opportunities to excel in the medical field like his family, has fiercely tried to make a life directly opposite of what they all expect.  They believe he cares about nothing, and Maggie sees a passionate, caring, smart individual.

I am so glad I didn't listen to the mixed reviews given for this movie.  The movie was chock full of belly laugh funny scenes as well as very emotional ones.  These two are class act thespians and the chemistry between the two was undeniable.  Seeing Jake in the buff was an added bonus! I would definitely recommend it.

{Movie Review} Hereafter

After much deliberating, hubby and I decided to take in Hereafter once we were done with our combination celebratory birthday lunch of shumai, sushi, and tempura ice cream dessert (which, by the way, was absolutely delicious, as always).  Unfortunately we didn't have much options since we are a few weeks shy of the major box office movie release date known as Thanksgiving weekend.

Hereafter was directed by Clint Eastwood and staring Matt Damon as a blue collar worker with special abilities to communicate with people in the afterlife.  It also follows a French journalist, Marie Lelay who escapes death from a tsunami; and a young British boy named Marcus, who is grieving the loss of his twin brother.  The three of their lives intertwine as they search for answers.

I have to be brutally honest....the movie was a bit slow.  There were some good scenes, especially the interaction between Matt Damon's character, George, and Melanie (played by Bryce Dallas Howard), George's culinary class partner.  Without giving away much, there was a scene performed by George and Frankie McLaren that moved both, Mr. Man and I to tears.  These two young boys are very talented and ones to watch out for.

My final thoughts?  This is a movie that you can wait for on video.  The storyline was one many of us ponder....Is there life after death?  But it is definitely a 2 hour movie that is best to watch at home on a rainy day.

Movie Review: The Town

Since the Lil Diva had performances all weekend, Mr. Man and I decided to take in a movie.  If I left it up to his accord, he would've selected Wall Street.  Not my kind of movie. So I decided to select one with an interesting storyline and action.  The former for me, the latter for Mr. Man.

Let me just say, this movie starts with edge of your seat action, right from the very beginning.  It weaves you in and out of the dual lives Doug (played by Ben Affleck) has unexpectedly created for himself. I don't want to give too much away, but the star studded cast was amazing.  One actress who blew me away with her performance....Blake Lively.  You get so used to seeing her play Serena in Gossip Girl, you don't picture her playing anything else.  Her character, Krista, is a far cry from Serena van de Woodsen.

My rating for "The Town" is 5 Stars.  Stellar screenplay, brilliantly directed, and a must see.

Black Widow

Ever since I was a wee little girl, I have been fascinated by movies.  Not only the story, but what it takes to make a movie.  Screen writing, blocking, lighting, scene development, hair and makeup, etc.  All the things that help us, the audience, believe we have been whisked away into a different time and place for roughly two hours.

This weekend we went to the theater and watched Iron Man 2.  I was especially excited to see this movie because it also featured Scarlett Johansson.  I am a huge fan of hers.  Not only is she amazingly beautiful and married to one Hollywood's most gorgeous leading men, but she is intelligent, extremely talented, and dedicated to her craft.  So much, that when she was shown the spandex, fit like a glove outfit she was to wear as "The Black Widow", she put herself on a rigorous health & fitness regime in order to do the costume justice.

Her results proved to be nothing short of Amazing!  The movie, I would say, was almost as good as the first one.  Hope Scarlett gets to reprise her role in the future.