The Dilemma Movie Review ..

Since college, confirmed bachelor Ronny (Vince Vaughn) and happily married Nick (Kevin James) have been through thick and thin. Now partners in an auto design firm, the two pals are vying to land a dream project that would launch their company. With Ronny’s girlfriend, Beth (Jennifer Connelly), and Nick’s wife, Geneva (Winona Ryder), by their sides, they’re unbeatable. But Ronny’s world is turned upside down when he inadvertently sees Geneva out with another man and makes it his mission to get answers. As the amateur investigation dissolves his world into comic mayhem, he learns that Nick has a few secrets of his own. Now, with the clock ticking and pressure mounting on the biggest presentation of their careers, Ronny must decide how and when he will reveal the truth to his best friend.

I’ve gotten to the point where I just have to see the name “Kevin James” and my whole body goes into convulsions. Over the past five or so years, I think there may have been one decent movie that he stared in and the rest have been utter trash. So when I see the poster for The Dilemma, I can’t help but to write the entire movie off. Then I realize that it is directed by Ron Howard plus it co-stars Vince Vaughn, so I now have before me a paradox: I loathe Kevin James but I love Vince Vaughn and mostly enjoy Ron Howard. So the question I utter from my mouth at that moment is . . . “How bad can this movie be?”.

The answer to my utter dismay is that the Dilemma is a terrible mess of a film, which is quite strange that a director of such a high caliber as Ron Howard would let a film get so far out of control. But the mess that is The Dilemma is nothing compared to the complete lack of plot running through this film. The plot is basically two guys are best friends for life, one guy sees his friend’s wife kissing another man, and then the one guy has to figure out if he should tell the other guy. So in real life, this type of plot would be over in say, one five minute phone call, but as we all know, in Hollywood such situations take about 110 minutes to get out of control, dive headfirst into ridiculousness, and then gets solved as easily as it should have been in the first few minutes of the movie. After watching the film, I’m still trying to figure out if there actually was a script or simply made up on the fly.

In defense of the actors of The Dilemma, the performances throughout the film were actually a lot better than what I was expecting. Being that it is a “bromance”, there is great charisma between Vince Vaughn and Kevin James that may be the only saving grace of the film. Where it is James who I suppose plays the lead, it is Vince Vaughn that binds their performance together. It’s just too bad that Vaughn is forced to pretty much play the same character over and over again, but you really have to give Vaughn points for effort through. Even after playing the same role so many times, he could probably just phone it in, but he seems to work hard both at crafting funny dialogue and playing off his co-stars. Without the 110% that Vaughn puts into this film, I can’t see this film worth being made.

I can’t believe I am saying this, but the major issue with The Dilemma is actually director Ron Howard. It has been over eleven years since he has made his last non-drama film, How the Grinch stole Christmas (2000), and with his return to comedy, he can’t seem to figure out if what he is directing is a comedy or a drama. It’s just strange that there would be such great comedic charisma between the film’s lead actors, but then the rest of the film is allowed to become such a mess that it is completely indecipherable.

It seemed at times that this should have just been made into a drama because it would have made more sense and would have been less of a waste of talent in the form of Jennifer Connelly and Winona Ryder. But if it was a drama, then the writers would have had to actually write a script, and I suppose that just wasn’t something anyone wanted for this film. I sure hope this year has more in store for us then what The Dilemma has to offer because it is simply a waste of time. Avoid this movie, and your life will be that much better.

The Dilemma Movie Trailer

No Strings Attached Movie Review ..

Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) are life-long friends who almost ruin everything by having sex one morning. In order to protect their friendship, they make a pact to keep their relationship strictly “no strings attached.” “No strings” means no jealousy, no expectations, no fighting, no flowers, and no baby voices. It means they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, in whatever public place they want, as long as they don’t fall in love. The questions become, Can you have sex without love getting in the way? And can their friendship survive the constant test they are putting it through.

No Strings Attached is a film that has a lot of baggage when it came to the big screen. Its two lead actors couldn’t be further apart as far as acting ability goes: Natalie Portman fresh off her Oscar win for Black Swan and Ashton Kutcher who has yet to prove anything outside of That 70’s Show. The film’s director, Ivan Reitman, on the other hand is a solid director, however perhaps far too unknown, who has directed such films as Ghostbusters (1984), Stripes (1981), Dave (1993), I love You Man (2009), and many more great films over the past thirty years.

But on top of all that, the film is also a romantic comedy, a genre that has produced perhaps some of the worst flops in Hollywood cinema because they are a dime a dozen. With knowing all of this, I found myself being hopelessly cautious when going to check this film out because it has enough elements, at least on paper, that it could be a great flick, but it could just as easily be the exact opposite. In the end, what we get out of No Strings Attached is actually a pretty decent movie, and probably the first Ashton Kutcher film that will make you leave the theater with a smile on your face.

What’s great to see in romantic comedies is great chemistry between it’s, more often than now, beautiful lead characters. With the acting ability of Natalie Portman, her acting skills often come across as smug in romantic comedies, but in No Strings Attached, she creates a sharp leading lady that is perhaps a bit too neurotic for such a light romantic comedy. On the other hand, Ashton Kutcher seems to be in his element in the film and makes for a relaxed romantic comedy in a way that seem like the acting is effortless even though it is not.

When paired together, there is fantastic chemistry that makes their relationship appear more realistic seeing how both of their characters come from different walks of life: Natalie Portman’s character is a hard-working medical intern while Ashton Kutcher is an aspiring TV scriptwriter. There’s also a delightful array of supporting characters, including the wonderful Kevin Kline as Kutcher’s reprobate father (former sitcom star still cashing in on his trademark catchphrase), Greta Gerwig (Greenberg, The House of the Devil ) as Portman’s skeptical work colleague, plus Jake Johnson and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges magnificently playing Kutcher’s bantering best mates.

No Strings Attaches is one film that I never thought I would ever go see in my lifetime, but I am quite happy that I did. When I think of romantic comedies, I think of the same old story line being told ad nauseam with a different array of mediocre funny characters in different locations, but No Strings Attached is different. This is a film that is funny, sharp, and quite witty, but it also offers a nice array of dynamic characters that live and grow as the film progresses.

This may be partly due to the acting talents of Natalie Portman, but it seems like even Ashton Kutcher stepped up his game a little bit to meet Portman half way. But it also helps a lot to have a talented director working off of a great script, written by Elizabeth Meriwether, to aid in making a better than average romantic comedy about something that is always on our minds: Sex. For some of you keeners out there, you may find some resemblances to the classic romantic comedy When Harry met Sally (1989), which was perhaps one of the best films of the genre, because it shares a lot of the same themes that No Strings Attached has running through it.

While I may have snubbed this film prior to watching it, something I like to do for some reason, I can’t help but to recommend it because it is a pretty great romantic comedy considering some of the carp that has been regurgitated by Hollywood over the past twenty years.

No Strings Attached Movie Trailer

Just Go with It Movie Review …

A prominent plastic surgeon meets the woman of his dreams only to find their future thrown into jeopardy when his playboy past comes back to haunt him. Danny (Adam Sandler) has a unique approach to picking up women because in order to break the ice and gain their sympathy, he pretends to be stuck in an unhappy marriage. The instant he brandishes his wedding ring, the deal is all but cinched, but when Danny finally meets a woman (Brooklyn Decker) that he really would want to marry, he abandons his usual approach for something a bit more subtle.

Incredibly, it works, but when she discovers the wedding band that he used to use as a pick-up prop, Danny attempts to cover his tracks by falling back on his tried-and-true divorce line. Unfortunately for Danny, the plan backfires when his new girlfriend asks to meet his future ex as a way to back up his fictional story. Desperate, Danny recruits his office manager, Katherine (Jennifer Aniston), to validate his ruse by posing as his current wife. Before long, the lies are snowballing, and by the time Katherine’s kids get involved and everyone comes together for a trip to Hawaii, it’s only a matter of when Danny’s plans fall through.

Over the course of his movie career, Sandler has made his fair share of bad movies like Grownups (2010) and Little Nicky (2000), but made his career with great movies like The Wedding Singer (1998) and 50 First Dates (2004). The problem with Sandler is that his production company has been pumping out so many movies over the past five years that the quality has been drastically gone down.

Five years ago, I would have no issues with the title “Just Go with IT” because Sandler hadn’t let me down as often back then, but in recent years, a lot of people have been weary of Sandler’s films. On the plus side for Just Go with It, the film lies somewhere between the best and the worst of the Sandler films to date, and where it can be painful to watch at times, the film as a whole comes across as mostly charming in its comedic attempts. In a surprise turn of events, Jennifer Aniston has finally done a movie in which her character is believable, watchable, and does not resemble her old Rachel character from Friends.

The main problem with Just Go with It is that it is exactly like every other Sandler movie made to date, and although it is by all accounts a charming film, there isn’t anything new about it. Even the actual premise to the film, single guy pretending to be married to hook up with chicks, seems to be funny at first thought, but it really isn’t anything special. When I first read the premise, I instantly thought of The Wedding Crashers (2005) because instead of pretending to be family relatives to pick up chicks, Sandler makes up a different lie.

So basically what we need to know is that you have seen this movie before. Sure there are different actors, locations, ect., but it really is all the same. It’s really strange that Sandler keeps reverting to this type of film because Funny People (2010) was a great film, but it was followed up by Grownups. This is something that Critics absolutely hate about Sandler films, but for the fans of Sandler’s work, this is definitely a film you will easily enjoy.

As a whole, Just Go With It is a pretty decent start to the year for Adam Sandler, and since he has been relentlessly pumping out movies these past few years, I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least two more Sandler films being released this year. Of course one will be great, and one will be terrible, but his fans love every morsel. It’s got the good old crude Sandler humor filled with fart jokes and crotch shots, a protagonist schooled in debauchery, and all the other elements of past Sandler films.

The problem is that this is a more adult version of a Sandler film in a way that tones down the crudeness that made Sandler famous to begin with, but on the other hand, there is a charming affection circling the lead actors in this film, which in the very least makes the film watchable. Like all Adam Sandler films, you already know if you will like it, and if you don’t like Sandler films, this is one that you should avoid. The other warning I have to make is that despite the fact that there are children in this film, this is not a children’s movie. If you want a kid flick, go watch Bedtime Stories (2008), as it also stars Adam Sandler, and it is also a mediocre film. For what it is, Just go with it is a decent film for those in tune with the Sandler sense of humor.

Just go with It Movie Trailer

Cedar Rapids Movie Review …

To call insurance agent Tim Lippe (Ed Helms), “naïve” is a gross understatement. He’s never left his small hometown, he’s never stayed at a hotel, and he’s never experienced anything like Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In Cedar Rapids, Tim is sent to represent his company at the annual insurance convention in order to get the coveted “Two Diamond Award”, but prior to leaving, he is strictly warned to avoid one man, Dean Zeger.

As if unavoidable, Tim is soon entranced and distracted by not only Dean Zeger (John C. Riley), but two other convention veterans Joan Ostrowski-Fox (Anne Heche), and Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) who will show him the ropes and push his boundaries because for these three vets, Cedar Rapids is their own personal Las Vegas. For a guy who plays everything by the book, this convention will be anything but conventional.

If I know anything about people, I know that the second someone tells you not to do something, you just simply have to do it. When Tim’s boss tells him to avoid Dean Zeger, it makes him stand out of the crowd at the conference, and he quickly finds that is a magnet that draws Dean into his life. Being the straight laced and incredibly naïve person that he is, we are prepared for Tim to get out of control at the convention.

We expect him to get drunk, make a fool out of himself, get stoned out of his mind, embarrass himself in front of the top insurance official, and even mess around with a prostitute that wants to “party”. We expect it all, and it all happens in time to Tim, but the key to the entire film is the charming comedic character that is wonderfully portrayed by Ed Helms.

Although Tim isn’t exactly setting the world on fire career-wise, he’s a genuinely nice guy, and by all indications a serial monogamist. So when he lands in the title town and experiences it as if it were Las Vegas, we laugh with him as well as at him. It seems like forever ago that Ed Helms got his role on NBC’s The Office, but over the past couple years, Ed Helms has really been moving into the movie realm with great success. If The Hangover (2009) was his stepping stone, Cedar Rapids is the glue that cements him in place as a leading comedic actor.

Although Ed Helms is the heart of this film, it is the trio of experienced convention veterans that make the film absolutely great. In probably one of his biggest roles to date, Isiah Whitcock Jr., was a big surprise for me because he blows his role out of the water. The “apparent” straight-shooting insurance rep is hilarious in this standout role as the quiet guy that is secretly a “wild-man”.

Anne Heche as Tim’s red-haired convention fling is a fantastic role for Heche who is often overlooked in most films and television. But without a doubt, the character to look for in this film is the great John C. Riley. Although he is unable to turn down terrible roles, see The Vampire’s Assistant for one that he should have turned down, he is incredibly gifted in everything he does. For good reason, he seems to have moved to comedy fulltime, as he seems perfectly in place playing childlike adults especially because when he talks, his voice makes him sound constantly drunk and goofy even when he is not. I can think of no better team than these three to challenge everything Ed Helms’ character believes in.

This is a film that is really not getting a lot of television endorsements, and it is really too bad that most people will pass this film up for the other dribble being released right now. I also have to add that I love that nearly the entire cast has its roots in television including “The Office” (Helms), “The Wire” (Whitlock) “The State” (Lennon), “That ’70s Show” (Kurtwood Smith, as the insurance league president), “News Radio” (Root), “Arrested Development” (Alia Shawkat, as a lurking prostitute) and “The Daily Show” (Rob Corddry, as a rough local).

There was a time when television stars and movie stars were in completely separate leagues, but over the past five years, there has been and intermingling of actors moving from one media to another, and I think a lot of audiences are quite happy with this new trend. Even though Cedar Rapids is predictable throughout its linear plot, the great performances of the cast and the fantastic work of director Miguel Arteta makes it a great cinematic experience that will be loved by all of its audiences. This is one film you should not miss out on as I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Cedar Rapids Movie Trailer

Another Year Movie Review ..

British filmmaker Mike Leigh delivers another emotionally honest portrait of ordinary people trying to make sense of their lives in this comedy drama. Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen) are a couple who are drifting past middle age into their sixties. He’s a geologist and she’s a psychotherapist. Tom and Gerri have a stable and happy marriage and a grown son, Joe (Oliver Maltman), an activist lawyer who hasn’t settled down yet, much to his mother’s disappointment.

One of Gerri’s co-workers and close friends is Mary (Lesley Manville), who puts up a facade of desperate good cheer despite the fact she’s been very lonely since her husband left her and has been drowning her anxieties in wine. Gerri has unsuccessfully tried to fix Mary up with Tom’s sloppy but good natured pal Ken (Peter Wight), and she’s startled when Mary begins openly flirting with Joe, more than 20 years her junior. Mary’s troubles only grow worse when she stops by Tom and Gerri’s place only to be introduced to Katie (Karina Fernandez), Joe’s new girlfriend.

The end of the calendar year is perhaps one of my favourite times for watching movies because it is in the last couple weeks of the year that most of the Oscar contenders come out to play. One such film is Another Year, which although a huge Academy award contender, isn’t the emotional weighty film that we have grown accustomed to in Oscar nominated films. In addition to thoughts of awards, this is also a British film, foreign films always have a warm spot in my heart and for those who love Hollywood blockbusters, you may be looking in the wrong direction.

Another Year can be best described as a bittersweet melancholy that is perhaps one of the most realistic films I have ever seen. The film details a year in the life of the long time married couple of Tom and Gerri as they move from their middle ages into their later-middle ages. But perhaps the highlight of the film is the aging couple’s grasp on the vague bohemian ideals of love and happiness, as we the audience watch their friends and relatives make far less successful stabs at it. Unlike most films we see today, the director and the cast is more interested in telling a fast paced story, but in Another Year, the focus of the film is the characters themselves.

Unlike every Hollywood movie I have seen this year, the main aspects of the films are complex plots with lots of twists, fancy camera work, and a lot of special effects. Not that I don’t love films that are being made today in North America, but for some reason, foreign films have mastered the art of subtlety. Another Year basically has no plot at all as the film is framed around the four seasons, there really is no fancy camera work to speak of, and there are no special effects.

Plus, as a special bonus to me, the film was not made in 3D. The majority of Another Year is handed to the cast, who provide excellent work by working a specific mood of diplomatic social pleasantries that are corrupted by alcohol and sadness. Broadbent and Sheen make for an extraordinarily comfortable couple, communicating a lifetime of kindness and security in mere looks and conversational timing. It’s not a nauseating depiction of split second domestic harmony, but rather a natural flow of life between two people who genuinely enjoy each other’s company. As Mary, Lesley Manville steals the show with her troubling role as she is asked to be the cancer of the story without making the character too pathetic or vicious. Manville depicts a jittery obsessive quality to the role that’s both hypnotic and repulsive at the same instant, which is the performance to look for while watching the film.

The problem with Another Year, and perhaps my only problem with the film, is that it was shown as a limited release, so that the chances of you actually finding the movie to watch, is next to impossible. So for most of you out there, Another Year will have to wait until it is released on DVD/Blue-Ray, but for those of you out there that have the chance to see this Oscar worth film, I highly recommend it for everyone. Unlike most films being made these days, Another Year is a realistic breath of fresh air from a director that loves to make good films.

For those who are not familiar with British filmmaker Mike Leigh, you will be quick to find that he has had a hugely successful career with films like High Hopes (1989), Topsy-Turvey (1999), and Happy-Go-Lucky (2008). But the most common element of his films is the stark realism and the excellent character development, and like the rest of the films he has already made, Another Year is another huge success. In today’s world, there are simply not enough films like this heart-warming yet bittersweet film, and watching it is its own reward.

Another Year Movie Trailer

I Love You Phillip Morris Movie Review ..

I Love You Phillip Morris is based on Steven Jay Russell and his real life story, in the movie Jim Carrey plays the role of Steven Russell a regular family guy with no hidden extras. Steven is a good father to his daughter, a good Christian and also a great husband he has everything, or so it would seem. Leslie Mann injects her normal deadpan humour into her performance of Steven’s wife, Debbie; who just happens to have deep religious beliefs, they both visit church regularly; she now has to face the fact that her husband is actually gay and leaving her to explore his new life.

I Love You Phillip Morris goes behind the charade as Steven is actually gay and discovers that being gay is really the true life he wants. When he is involved in a car accident the decision is made to come out of the closet and inform people that he is in fact gay. He spends his spare time in I Love You Phillip Morris searching for his true, biological mother who handed him over at birth, when he eventually locates her the outcome of their meeting persuades Steven to literally leave his old life and begin living his new life as the real Steven Russell.

I Love You Phillip Morris follows Steven to Miami where he soon meets and falls in love with Jimmy a role played to perfection by the rather beautifully effeminate Rodrigo Santoro. The couple enjoy living the high life only to realise that desiring the finer things in life also equals a finer price tag! The only way Steven can afford his new flamboyant way of life in I Love You Phillip Morris is by becoming a conman; some of the funniest scenes throughout I Love You Phillip Morris involve watching Jim Carrey at his ultimate best. The funny man actor slips on cooking oil and hurls himself down an escalator all coupled with facial expressions and actions that only Carrey can pull off.

As with all good things though folks they must come to an end and in Steven Russell’s case the end is the law catching up with him and punishing him in I Love You Phillip Morris with a custodial sentence in the State Penitentiary. Thing is for Steven it ends up being anything but a punishment!
I Love You Phillip Morris has received a mix bag of comments so far amongst audiences, most found it funny but a small minority found if offensive; my advice is if the whole gay scene offends, upsets or angers you then don’t watch I Love You Phillip Morris and to be honest why isn’t this piece of advice obvious to those offended?!

Steven meets Phillip Morris in prison and you could say it’s love at first sight, Ewan McGregor is outstanding as Morris; a sensitive soul trying to go unnoticed in prison. The pair begin to communicate via notes from cell to cell until they eventually share a cell but their cosy little world is shattered when Steven is transferred and Phillip isn’t. I Love You Phillip Morris now allows Carrey to shine like the bright star that he really is with his plotting and scheming, prison breaks and downright lies.

The couple vowed they would stay together even though the odds seemed hopelessly stacked up against them so everything Steven does is done simply to be with Phillip. I Love You Phillip Morris is basically a love story told as any other love story would be, encountering the ups and downs of any relationship the big difference obviously is the main couple are both men. Steven, being the fraudster master that he is, poses as a lawyer and tells the prison that he has an early release order for Phillip.

Once they’re both together on the outside of prison they begin living an eccentric lifestyle with one another in I Love You Phillip Morris, however to afford this grand way of life to which they’ve both grown accustomed Steven still has to resort to his fraudulent ways once again. Steven lies and cheats his way to a top notch job and things trundle along nicely for both he and Phillip. The law is drawing closer though and it’s only a matter of time before they catch up with the pair.

I Love You Phillip Morris is an entertaining movie which has the ability of maintaining a good atmosphere throughout, there are some genuinely very funny moments, many of them shot in the prison, and fantastic performances especially from the two male leads, Carrey and McGregor. Leslie Mann is outstanding as Debbie and let’s not forget the wonderful Rodrigo Santoro as Steven’s boyfriend.

I Love You Phillip Morris Movie Trailer

How Do You Know Movie Review ..

How Do You Know stars Reese Witherspoon as professional softball player Lisa, which in itself is mind-boggling, who is past her professional prime at the age of 30. The problem isn’t that Lisa isn’t a good player, apparently she’s very good, but at her age she should be doing something more…appropriate.

Lisa does what any red-blooded woman looking to clear her head and find answers would do—take up two lovers. There’s Matty (Wilson), who is a professional pitcher with the salary to match. There’s also George (Rudd), a finance bigwig who works for his father Charles (Nicholson). The issue in How Do You Know is which guy will Lisa choose, nice guy George or two-timing Matty.

Of course Lisa should choose George, but in all fairness he does come with a lot of baggage. You see it’s quite possible that George will be indicted and sent to prison for some financial misdealings (it doesn’t really matter, it just matters that he “might” go away). In true ‘outta sight, outta mind’ fashion, Lisa decides to love the one who isn’t facing a looming indictment, which is Matty and his amazing penthouse.

Much of How Do You Know is about which man Lisa will choose, rather than what she will do with her life and I have no problem with that…in a better film. The problems in this film pop out at you almost from the beginning. Once you get past Reese Witherspoon as a professional softball player (obviously I still haven’t), you have to find a way to buy her and Paul Rudd as a couple anywhere other than Overnight Delivery.

Normally this is the part of the review of How Do You Know where I’d do a brief rundown of what happens in the film. Unfortunately everything in How Do You Know just kind of…happens. You don’t really get pulled into the story or feel invested in the outcome, which is a shame since How Do You Know came from the same director that gave us As Good As It Gets.

Rather than providing Lisa with an opportunity to find her footing in the world, the film just throws her right into two relationships: one that she would never consider if she weren’t so fragile (Matty), and one that could be sort of perfect if his life weren’t such a mess right now. Making Lisa another feckless woman makes for easy drama in a light and airy romantic comedy, but it doesn’t do justice to the perpetually perky Witherspoon.

A film packed with capable stars like How Do You Know should have so many layers to it. Even the always good if not a little snarky Jack Nicholson comes across as utterly unlikeable in this movie. Sure it’s difficult to make a manipulative tycoon likeable, but I’ve seen Nicholson do it time and again (As Good As It Gets, anyone?).

Wilson and Rudd do their best with the shell characters they portray, although it’s almost laughable to see Wilson as a pro baseball player. Wilson is the shining light in How Do You Know, playing the wealthy playboy with charm and ease. You know he’s feeding you a line, but he delivers it so well that you give him credit for being so ‘nice’. He’s oblivious to the emotions of others and has no clue how his decisions affect other people, you know the guy you’d want your daughter to choose.

Rudd is always likable and charming and funny and How Do You Know was no exception. All of the actors were likeable (save Nicholson), and charming, and pretty funny even, but there was something about How Do You Know that never felt quite right.

How Do You Know is a romantic comedy that as very little comedy, and practically no romance at all. You never quite feel as though anyone’s heart is ever on the line here, only that someone’s feelings may get hurt. Lisa is dead-set on defining herself through a man rather than baseball, yet never really seems quite aware of how much she’s lacking.

I wanted to like How Do You Know and I was even looking forward to it. I mean, what’s not to look forward to with Witherspoon, Rudd, and Wilson on-screen? But How Do You Know never lived up to my expectations. With so much big talent at such an easy time of year, it is truly unexplainable what happened to How Do You Know.

My suggestion for the next rom-com writer is to go where you think the audience doesn’t want you to go. We are sorely sick of the same tired tales passing for original, especially with $14 movie tickets! The next time you assemble a cast like this Mr. Brooks, please take more time and allow the movie to develop.

How Do You Know Movie Trailer

The Men Who Stare At Goats Movie Review ..

Once in awhile a movie comes along which makes you laugh and I don’t mean the sort of polite, sniggering laugh I mean the real genuine rip-roaring type of laughter, The Men Who Stare At Goats was this ‘movie’ for me and judging by the noise coming from the group watching it with me they shared the same opinion!

Our madcap journey commences with Bob Wilton, Ewan McGregor, Bob is a reporter for his local newspaper in The Men Who Stare At Goats, his personal life’s not working out the way he hoped it would as his wife has just left him for the newspaper’s editor. Bob’s story starts though when he interviewed a guy called Gus Lacey, Stephen Root, Gus claims that he’s part of some secretive government initiative and Bob’s fascinated. He meets Gus and is informed that the government use psychic spies and that he himself actually killed his pet hamster with the power of only his mind!

The Men Who Stare At Goats then allows us to watch a video recording of the said event so we observe with baited breath awaiting the time that the hamster collapses; the tape shows the cute, furry hamster staring intently at its wheel and then, as said, keeling over on its side. Don’t panic though animal lovers as no animals were harmed during the making of The Men Who Stare At Goats.

Gus then proceeds to tell Bob that all the people in his particular unit possessed different ways and that the ultimately strongest psychic ‘warrior’ was called Lyn Cassady, George Clooney. Time passes and the upshot is that Bob decides to prove to both himself and his ex-wife that he’s a man and can handle going to Iraq. The Men Who Stare At Goats follows Bob to the Middle East, he can’t actually get into Iraq so has to pass time in the hotel where he meets Lyn Cassady. Following Lyn’s initial caution regarding Bob’s identity Lyn begins telling him about the New Earth Army; how it was founded by Bill Django played by Jeff Bridges in The Men Who Stare At Goats; basically he developed psychic soldiers/warriors which became Jedi.

Lyn agrees to take Bob into Iraq with him in The Men Who Stare At Goats and this is really where the adventure starts. There are some hilarious scenes to follow including Lyn crashing the car as he perfects his art of ‘cloud-bursting’, the car crashes into a rock to which Bob says, ‘jeez you had like the whole desert to drive in Lyn.’ Then there’s Bill Django jumping off a roof, Brigadier General Dean Hopgood, played by Stephen Lang in The Men Who Stare At Goats attempting to run through a solid door and one of the funniest moments for me personally is when Lyn and Bob are driving after a guy they’re trying to help but it doesn’t quite go to plan.

The Men Who Stare At Goats is action packed and crammed full of acting talent who all put in fantastic performances. Kevin Spacey stars in The Men Who Stare At Goats as Larry Hooper, a psychic who desperately strived to be the number one psychic of them all but Lyn happened to come along and ruin his plans for that slot. Lyn continuously kept beating Hooper hands down in every single test, Spacey is truly at his best in the role of Larry as he’s slightly mad which suits him perfectly!

There’s so much going on in The Men Who Stare At Goats and I don’t wish to ruin the movie so I won’t mention too much here, if you like dark, dry humour and watching the bigger names in the acting world playing the fool and basically having a good time in their role then The Men Who Stare At Goats will entertain you nicely. If you are searching for a serious movie then give The Men Who Stare At Goats a wide berth as it is anything but serious, having said that though you’ll be amazed at how much of the movie is actually based on true events. George Clooney’s character is an assortment of true life psychics and Ewan McGregor’s role is based on the real life investigative journalist called Jon Ronson who did actually discover the strange and bizarre truth of psychic spies.

The Men Who Stare At Goats has so many brilliant performances that it’s hard to select some favourites but I think I would go with Clooney, McGregor and Bridges if I had to choose. Any faults? One small annoying thing for me was McGregor’s American accent as it sounded a bit too put on, other than that The Men Who Stare At Goats is faultless!

The Men Who Stare At Goats Movie Trailer

Love & Other Drugs Movie Review ..

I’ve never really thought of Anne Hathaway as an actress. I mean of course she acts and I’ve loved her in a bunch of movies, but I never considered her as one with acting chops until I saw Love & Other Drugs. What should have just been another rom-com notch on Hathaway’s belt has become a truly romantic love story that is also kind of funny.

Love & Other Drugs introduces use to Jamie (Gyllenhaal), a charming pharmaceutical sales representative with visions of grandeur in his head. Whether it’s Zoloft, Viagra, or love Jamie sells it like, well like it’s his business. Jamie’s current goal is to leave behind Ohio for a more exciting and sales worthy adventure in Chicago.

In an effort to fulfill his goal, Jamie makes nice with doctors, goes undercover in hospitals, and even sabotages his biggest rival. Love & Other Drugs makes it clear that Jamie and his rival Trey (Macht) sell without regard to the effectiveness of the drugs, and that’s just fine. This is supposed to be a good time at the movies and I’m glad the director stayed away from mid-90’s social commentary about the pharmaceutical industry.

Aside from my above comments, it is important to note that during the 1990’s a fierce battle was waged between Zoloft and Prozac, each trying to out-prescribe the other. In order for Jamie and his sales partner Bruce (Platt) to make it to Chicago, they target Dr. Knight (Azaria). After several failed attempts to speak with the good doctor, Jamie falls back on his reliable assets—charm and boyish good looks to sneak into the office and steal all the Prozac samples.

When all else fails Jamie resorts to old-fashioned bribery, and pays Dr. Knight to allow him the privilege of following him around all day and extolling the benefits of Zoloft. It is on this ‘shadow day’ that we finally meet Maggie (Hathaway), who is a patient of Dr. Knight’s. Maggie has Parkinson’s (yes that Parkinson’s) and someone has stolen all of her medication. She gives Jamie a list of refills she needs replaced and asks him to look into a strange lump on her breast, which he happily does. The strange “lump” is a harmless spider bite, but Jamie’s intern cover is blown.

In the parking lot, Love & Other Drugs becomes…predictable. Maggie hits Jamie in the face with her bag for obvious reasons, and walks off in a huff. Even after he tracks down her number, Maggie must play hard to get or else the story isn’t as believable I guess. She turns down his offer of a date, only to accept it and start sleeping with him! Her only saving grace is that she’s totally on to him, but she’s sick and he’s hot, so who cares?

They begin a sexual relationship which consists of Maggie calling and Jamie coming—no pun intended. But where Love & Other Drugs really took my breath away was with the love story between Jamie and Maggie. Sure at first it seems like every other romantic comedy on the planet, but then even the audience can tell that Jamie & Maggie are awfully fond of each other.

Love & Other Drugs takes on a heavier tone when Maggie accepts Jamie’s invitation to a conference in Chicago. There, Maggie goes to a convention on Parkinson’s disease where she meets many others who share their tales of illness and death. When a man at the convention suggests that Jamie run like hell from Maggie and her illness, Jamie instead begins researching information on Parkinson’s and looking for specialists who can help Maggie.

What I liked most about Love & Other Drugs is the way Maggie and Jamie dealt head-on with her illness, instead of allowing it to pop up from nowhere for maximum emotional effect. The characters are surprisingly adult about the subject when their emotions aren’t getting in the way.

Gyllenhaal and Hathaway have amazing chemistry in Love & Other Drugs. His boyish face and handsome features play the career-obsessed playboy to perfection. At the same time Gyllenhall has consistently shown the depth and diversity he’s capable of and in Love & Other Drugs he proves that he is this generation’s next Leading Man.

Hathaway stands out too in her own right too, making Maggie a realistic and admirable blend of tough and tender. You honestly feel her hopelessness and refusal to give up as a deathly ill waitress without health insurance, which is another issue I’m grateful Love & Other Drugs avoided. It would’ve been easy and I’m sure it was enticing to throw a jab at American healthy care (or lack thereof), but this film was too good for that and the director knew it.

Although Love & Other Drugs is billed as a romantic comedy, it is truly a love story. The first half of the film has moments of humor and frivolity, but that all becomes irrelevant as the relationship and story of Love & Other Drugs unfolds. It is exactly what you’d expect from a romantic movie, but it’s far more than we’ve come to expect from romantic movies and Gyllenhall and Hathaway deserve all the credit.
Love & Other Drugs has an emotional depth that so many films are missing and that alone makes it a real stand out film.

Love & Other Drugs Movie Trailer

I’m Still Here Movie Review ..

Walt Disney Pictures presents “Tangled,” one of the most hilarious, hair-raising tales ever told. When the kingdom’s most wanted-and most… Oscar-nominated Walk the Line star Joaquin Phoenix announces that he’s retiring from acting to launch a hip-hop career as his brother-in-law Casey Affleck captures the curious transition on camera in the film some are labelling an elaborate Andy Kaufman-style prank.

In the fall of 2008, Phoenix shocked his fans with the announcement that he would no longer be appearing in features, but instead trying his hand in the music business. In the wake of a particularly bizarre appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, everyone began to wonder if the eccentric actor had finally fallen off the deep end. In this film, Affleck follows Phoenix as he attempts to convince Sean “Diddy” Combs to produce his debut album, and responds to a request by Ben Stiller to appear in director Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg with casual indifference.

What the hell is going on? That about sums up the entire film in a nut shell. Before even trying to write a review about this film, you have to first figure out what it is. Is it an actual documentary about the downward spiral of Joaquin Phoenix as he attempts the transition between actor and hip-hop singer? Is this a mockumentary about a fictitious version of Joaquin Phoenix that is supposed to be something of a social commentary about famous actors? The problem is that no one really knows what the hell is going on.

The issue people are having is that this “act” that Joaquin Phoenix is putting on started a year or two before the film was released, which raises the question of whether he was living the role like a method actor, or if it is in fact real. Although no one truly knows, the general consensus is that it in actually just an act for a film. IF this is the case, this film was a huge risk for one of the best actors of this generation, but more importantly, it is easily one of the best performances of the year. But of course if it is the other way around, basically a snap shot of his life, it is an absolute career suicide. Throughout the film, Phoenix acts like a narcissistic jerk in meltdown mode.

He curses and berates people mercilessly. He rants and raves in sudden fits of temper, and he rambles aimlessly, mumbling and shuffling lethargically. He laughs and fidgets maniacally. He becomes dishevelled, bloated, and unkempt, which you can tell from the movie poster. He takes various drugs, and he vomits in the middle of a rap concert in Miami after attacking a heckler. Like I said, career suicide. And even by the end, where you’d expect to find answers, you will go home empty handed.

The other issue with the film falls on the shoulder of Casey Affleck. Younger brother of actor Ben Affleck who has starred in a long list of films that have included Gone Baby Gone, Ocean’s Eleven, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. But the issue with Affleck’s involvement with the film is that he is the director of the movie, which would mean that the film is a mockumentary because it has a director, right? Not quite I’m afraid. According to J.P., the name Joaquin Phoenix prefers to go by, he asked Affleck to film his progress as he transitions from actor to hip-hop artist because Affleck is his actual brother-in-law.

This raises so many morality issues that my brain is about to explode. If Affleck was his brother-in-law and friend, which he is both, should he not have put the camera down to get J.P. the help that he apparently needed? And thus we are back to the idea of whether or not this is real again, which is perhaps the entire point of the film. I think the film is suggesting that the world is more concerned with watching from a safe distance rather than acting on something that they actually know they should act on. Rather than help, the world sits back, openly mocks the troubled individual, and then moves on with their life without looking back. Joaquin Phoenix is nothing more than a pawn in this entire film, but again, that explanation only works if this is a mockumentary.

This is probably one of the strangest films I have seen for quite awhile, and I am almost certain that the majority of people out there will not like this film. It’s not that it’s a bad film, but it’s just so strange that there seems to be no point to the thing at all. The fact is though that, if you assume that it is a mockumentary like I do, the film is nothing more that the examination of a being in transition. Even the title of the film I’m Still Here speaks to the shifting identity of Joaquin Phoenix, or J.P. if that’s what he is called these days.

I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling that somewhere out there, Andy Kaufman is smiling because this is perhaps one of the best stunts that has ever been pulled off, even during Kaufman’s own career. Plus if this is actually a fictitious film, like many of us out there suspect it to be, it is easily one of the best performances of the year, and I truly hope there is an Oscar nomination out there with J.P.’s name on it. On the other side though, if it was a real documentary then all I can say is good riddance because the film made him look like a terrible human being.

I’m Still Here Movie Trailer