So I totally blanked and forgot that I hadn't blogged. Sorry blogosphere.
1) Our Idiot Brother
So I am only child, which probably limited my understanding of this movie. Regardless I still thought it was pretty funny, and I definitely enjoyed it. Paul Rudd was great; he played this hippie bonehead who just was way too trusting and didn't understand what should and shouldn't be repeated. The family is uber dysfunctional, and I think everyone can relate to the characters. There's a lesbian sister, a workaholic single sister, and a too liberal for her own good sister who has a total d-bag for a husband. It was funny in an unconventional way and really made you think about those reject family members we all have. We all would be lucky to have a character like Paul Rudd in our family, simply because it would be entertaining as hell. If your family has a sense of humor and doesn't mind adult humor, I would definitely recommend this for the after thanksgiving movie.
2) The Help
Okay, so everyone should know by now that this movie is awesome. Its number 1 on the charts for the third week in a row and I absolutely loved it! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING THE BOOK! Whether its before or after you see the movie is unimportant, just so long as you read it. I loved Emma Stone (girl crush!) and I thought she did a wonderful job! The entire cast was amazing, and I think the casting directors did a really good job! The book adaptation was a little off, and I was disappointed my favorite quotes didn't make it in, but I guess I will allow it! It made me feel good, made me laugh, and made me cry. If you are living under a rock and still haven't seen this, then dust yourself off and get to the movie theatre! Do it. See it.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Throwback Thursday: Seriously Concerning Edition
So I had the pleasure to watch a lot of movies this week. All of them had serious psychological issues/impact, and some of them were definitely worth seeing. The newest one was "Animal Kingdom" out of Australia last year. Here it goes:
1) Twelve Monkeys
Okay, its been a few days and I'm still not sure what happened in this movie. Its early Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis from 1995. There isn't too much I can say about this because it is a super confusing and convoluted storyline, but basically Bruce Willis is a convict in a post death-to-humans era where everyone lives underground and is sent in a time machine to the past to get information on a terrorist/extremist group that was in charge of killing 5 billion people. It was really strange but really good, I never really knew what was coming next and even at the end I was going "wait what?". Its on demand as of now, and I would definitely recommend renting it either way!
2) Platoon
Okay, this one is way more well known, but none the less I had never seen it! It came out in 1986 and featured Charlie Sheen, Johhny Depp, Kevin Dillon (who was oddly attractive in his younger days) and Forrest Whitaker just to name a few famous faces on in this one. Chris Taylor (Sheen) is a rich kid who volunteers to go to Vietnam, and chronicles his time there. I was really impressed with this, and I think its fair to say it is one of the most gripping and moving portrayals of Vietnam that I've seen (much better than Apocalypse Now, if you ask me). I really like it, and definitely think it would be one to watch again! See it.
3) Animal Kingdom
Okay, as I said a film from last year from Australia. So strange. It really was. I had a really tough time understanding the dialog, but basically J's mom dies and he goes to live with his crime riddled rest of the family with an incredibly protective (and creepy) grandmother. I guess in theory the story line was strong and inventive, but I got caught up in the dry, slow movement of the film and the incredibly thick accents. I would recommend it, only if you've seen everything else in this post. It definitely freaked me out more in a "those people are insane" way than anything else.
4) Domino
Okay, why haven't I heard of this one before? 2005, Christopher Walken, Keira Knightley, Lucy Liu and Mickey Rourke are all key players in this one, and I really liked it. It is super dark and twisted, with strange lighting and retrospective storytelling. It was raunchy and gross, and moved really fast, but I thought it told a seriously twisted story. Domino (Knightley) is a newly established bad ass bounty hunter who had a famous actor for a dad. She and her bounty hunter team proceed to get caught up in an incredibly twisted act of capture, theft, and double-crossing. I really liked it, and would recommend it if you like serial thriller action flicks. But pay close attention, because it moves really quickly. Oh, and Keira Knightley is a total badass, I was impressed.
1) Twelve Monkeys
Okay, its been a few days and I'm still not sure what happened in this movie. Its early Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis from 1995. There isn't too much I can say about this because it is a super confusing and convoluted storyline, but basically Bruce Willis is a convict in a post death-to-humans era where everyone lives underground and is sent in a time machine to the past to get information on a terrorist/extremist group that was in charge of killing 5 billion people. It was really strange but really good, I never really knew what was coming next and even at the end I was going "wait what?". Its on demand as of now, and I would definitely recommend renting it either way!
2) Platoon
Okay, this one is way more well known, but none the less I had never seen it! It came out in 1986 and featured Charlie Sheen, Johhny Depp, Kevin Dillon (who was oddly attractive in his younger days) and Forrest Whitaker just to name a few famous faces on in this one. Chris Taylor (Sheen) is a rich kid who volunteers to go to Vietnam, and chronicles his time there. I was really impressed with this, and I think its fair to say it is one of the most gripping and moving portrayals of Vietnam that I've seen (much better than Apocalypse Now, if you ask me). I really like it, and definitely think it would be one to watch again! See it.
3) Animal Kingdom
Okay, as I said a film from last year from Australia. So strange. It really was. I had a really tough time understanding the dialog, but basically J's mom dies and he goes to live with his crime riddled rest of the family with an incredibly protective (and creepy) grandmother. I guess in theory the story line was strong and inventive, but I got caught up in the dry, slow movement of the film and the incredibly thick accents. I would recommend it, only if you've seen everything else in this post. It definitely freaked me out more in a "those people are insane" way than anything else.
4) Domino
Okay, why haven't I heard of this one before? 2005, Christopher Walken, Keira Knightley, Lucy Liu and Mickey Rourke are all key players in this one, and I really liked it. It is super dark and twisted, with strange lighting and retrospective storytelling. It was raunchy and gross, and moved really fast, but I thought it told a seriously twisted story. Domino (Knightley) is a newly established bad ass bounty hunter who had a famous actor for a dad. She and her bounty hunter team proceed to get caught up in an incredibly twisted act of capture, theft, and double-crossing. I really liked it, and would recommend it if you like serial thriller action flicks. But pay close attention, because it moves really quickly. Oh, and Keira Knightley is a total badass, I was impressed.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
30 Minutes or Less
Every now and then, a really funny movie comes out and it takes a while for people to realize its out and hilarious. This is one of those movies. So, I'm doing my civic and moral duty and telling everyone I know that it is hilarious in order to expedite the process. This isn't ground breaking comedy, its just hilarious stupid comedy.
The cast: Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, and Jesse Eisenberg. All absolutely hilarious. After every movie Jesse Eisenberg is in, my opinion of him changes. In general I never know what to expect from him, and I don't think he is a very good actor, I just think he has an incredible agent/management team who picks roles that are his personality. That being said, he was still insanely funny in this, the writers were incredible. The plot basically goes as follows: Jesse Eisenberg's life sucks, and Danny McBride and Nick Swardson are absolute idiots. They kidnap Eisenberg and strap a bomb to him in order to force him to rob a bank. The movie is riddled with absurd and crude jokes and littered with racial slurs; and I LOVED it. People were howling throughout the entire theater, so I wasn't alone. Danny McBride is so ridiculous that if you don't laugh at him, you are an idiot. Don't take your kids to see it, because they won't understand what is so funny and you will have wasted $8.50 and polluted their minds. But, for the love of all things holy, take yourself to see it.
The cast: Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, and Jesse Eisenberg. All absolutely hilarious. After every movie Jesse Eisenberg is in, my opinion of him changes. In general I never know what to expect from him, and I don't think he is a very good actor, I just think he has an incredible agent/management team who picks roles that are his personality. That being said, he was still insanely funny in this, the writers were incredible. The plot basically goes as follows: Jesse Eisenberg's life sucks, and Danny McBride and Nick Swardson are absolute idiots. They kidnap Eisenberg and strap a bomb to him in order to force him to rob a bank. The movie is riddled with absurd and crude jokes and littered with racial slurs; and I LOVED it. People were howling throughout the entire theater, so I wasn't alone. Danny McBride is so ridiculous that if you don't laugh at him, you are an idiot. Don't take your kids to see it, because they won't understand what is so funny and you will have wasted $8.50 and polluted their minds. But, for the love of all things holy, take yourself to see it.
In Theaters NOW!
I'm actually almost timely for once!
1) Horrible Bosses
SO FUNNY! GO SEE IT! Again, I'm obsessed with Jason Sudeikis (I'm a sucker for good hair and weird last names, obviously) and he was so freaking funny in this. I want to see it again because there are definitely some awesome one liners, and it was just really funny. Charlie Day is awesome, I'm excited to see what else he does. GO SEE IT!
2) Captain America
This was absolutely amazing. If they don't win an Oscar for sound-mixing, the Academy is on crack. The movie was really well done, and the acting was incredible. It was a bit cheese ball in the beginning because Chris Evans is just so scrawny and desperate to be a hero, but it gets better as it goes on. By far one of my favorite from the MARVEL team, and I'm really excited for their next project The Avengers (looks amazinggg). I am continually impressed at this studio's ability to make traditional comics incredibly interesting, succinct, and fun. Good job, keep it up. Chris Evans did an incredible job, I loved his transformation and the story line relating it to actual events at that time was great. It was just great, I liked it a lot. Go see it; be an American.
3) Cowboys and Aliens
This was great! I didn't really know what to expect going in, if it was going to be serious or just a big fat joke. It was really well done, and I loved Daniel Craig in it-playing a bad ass as usual. Harrison Ford was excellent too, and the rest of the cast did a great job. The storyline was incredibly inventive and well thought out, and not even that hard to believe. Made perfect sense to me. It was a little scary at times, and a little strange, but it really was good. I liked it a lot. People clapped at the end, which is always a good sign.
4) Smurfs
I was pleasantly surprised by this, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The smurfs actually were pretty cute and funny, and I am starting to really like Neil Patrick Harris. It was a pretty predictable story line; except for them being super mean to the poor clumsy one. Not even fair; its not his fault! The acting was mediocre, but it had to be incredibly hard to act and interact with nonexistent costars. I wouldn't pay $11.50 or whatever for this one, wait for RedBox.
1) Horrible Bosses
SO FUNNY! GO SEE IT! Again, I'm obsessed with Jason Sudeikis (I'm a sucker for good hair and weird last names, obviously) and he was so freaking funny in this. I want to see it again because there are definitely some awesome one liners, and it was just really funny. Charlie Day is awesome, I'm excited to see what else he does. GO SEE IT!
2) Captain America
This was absolutely amazing. If they don't win an Oscar for sound-mixing, the Academy is on crack. The movie was really well done, and the acting was incredible. It was a bit cheese ball in the beginning because Chris Evans is just so scrawny and desperate to be a hero, but it gets better as it goes on. By far one of my favorite from the MARVEL team, and I'm really excited for their next project The Avengers (looks amazinggg). I am continually impressed at this studio's ability to make traditional comics incredibly interesting, succinct, and fun. Good job, keep it up. Chris Evans did an incredible job, I loved his transformation and the story line relating it to actual events at that time was great. It was just great, I liked it a lot. Go see it; be an American.
3) Cowboys and Aliens
This was great! I didn't really know what to expect going in, if it was going to be serious or just a big fat joke. It was really well done, and I loved Daniel Craig in it-playing a bad ass as usual. Harrison Ford was excellent too, and the rest of the cast did a great job. The storyline was incredibly inventive and well thought out, and not even that hard to believe. Made perfect sense to me. It was a little scary at times, and a little strange, but it really was good. I liked it a lot. People clapped at the end, which is always a good sign.
4) Smurfs
I was pleasantly surprised by this, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The smurfs actually were pretty cute and funny, and I am starting to really like Neil Patrick Harris. It was a pretty predictable story line; except for them being super mean to the poor clumsy one. Not even fair; its not his fault! The acting was mediocre, but it had to be incredibly hard to act and interact with nonexistent costars. I wouldn't pay $11.50 or whatever for this one, wait for RedBox.
Thank You In-Flight Entertainment.
I recently traveled abroad, and had the glorious opportunity to sit undisturbed for 10 hours each way and watch movies. I don't really understand why people complain about traveling, it was awesome. A nice lady brought me snacks and drinks, I got to snuggle and watch movies for the bargain price of like $1,000. It was great.
1) Arthur
Russell Brand is one of those people you either hate or love. I personally love him, and adding Helen Mirren to him was freaking genius. This was actually pretty good, and had some hilarious one-liners. It was also really cool to think about what you piss away money on if you had $900million. It was a pretty traditional story line; rich brat is forced to do something in order to keep his money, and falls in love with the incorrect target. However, the quirkiness of Brand's character and the strange girl he falls for was clever and cute. I'm concerned about their affinity for Looney Tunes though, that just didn't seem right.
2) Hall Pass
This was funny. A bit twisted, and probably funnier if you are married/hating life, but it was funny. It helped that I have a GIANT crush on Jason Sudeikis and got to just straight up oggle at him for two hours. I have a thing for a good head of hair, I'll admit. It was good to see Owen Wilson be funny after that whole "i'm going to kill myself" thing a few years ago. The best part comes close to the end when the two free men finally make it to a club, and take advice from their super creepy "ladies man" friend. The best part is that what he is saying is completely true, and if you have ever been to a club you know exactly what he is talking about it. I would definitely recommend this one.
3) Gnomeo and Juliet
Omigod this was cute. I really liked it, got concerned there was going to be a gnome double suicide at the end, but now I wouldn't want to be a spoiler. Great animation, awesome concept of gnomes that come alive, and there is a yard flamingo that is to die for. There are some deaths and they were kind of upsetting, because for a gnome to die they have to get smashed. Its scarring to say the least. So cute, definitely see this one!
4) Life As We Know It
Dear LORD this was sad. Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel (so hott) are the best friends of a couple, but they hate each other. The couple dies and leaves them in custody of their baby. Now, I dislike babies. But this made me so sad! Heigl has a scene where she freaks out and explains that she doesn't know what she is doing and the one person that she would call and tell/ask for advice is dead and put her in that situation. omigod sad!! It made me cry and laugh, it was a super cute and cheesy movie, but had good stuff in it. Girls, go see it. and for the love of all things holy, tell your friends if you are planning on leaving them a baby in case of an untimely death.
5) How Do You Know
this movie was absolutely TERRIBLE. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. I love the cast (Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson) but oh dear it was bad. Paul Rudd's character could have been charming and neurotic, but he was just a lunatic. It was just blahhhhh.
1) Arthur
Russell Brand is one of those people you either hate or love. I personally love him, and adding Helen Mirren to him was freaking genius. This was actually pretty good, and had some hilarious one-liners. It was also really cool to think about what you piss away money on if you had $900million. It was a pretty traditional story line; rich brat is forced to do something in order to keep his money, and falls in love with the incorrect target. However, the quirkiness of Brand's character and the strange girl he falls for was clever and cute. I'm concerned about their affinity for Looney Tunes though, that just didn't seem right.
2) Hall Pass
This was funny. A bit twisted, and probably funnier if you are married/hating life, but it was funny. It helped that I have a GIANT crush on Jason Sudeikis and got to just straight up oggle at him for two hours. I have a thing for a good head of hair, I'll admit. It was good to see Owen Wilson be funny after that whole "i'm going to kill myself" thing a few years ago. The best part comes close to the end when the two free men finally make it to a club, and take advice from their super creepy "ladies man" friend. The best part is that what he is saying is completely true, and if you have ever been to a club you know exactly what he is talking about it. I would definitely recommend this one.
3) Gnomeo and Juliet
Omigod this was cute. I really liked it, got concerned there was going to be a gnome double suicide at the end, but now I wouldn't want to be a spoiler. Great animation, awesome concept of gnomes that come alive, and there is a yard flamingo that is to die for. There are some deaths and they were kind of upsetting, because for a gnome to die they have to get smashed. Its scarring to say the least. So cute, definitely see this one!
4) Life As We Know It
Dear LORD this was sad. Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel (so hott) are the best friends of a couple, but they hate each other. The couple dies and leaves them in custody of their baby. Now, I dislike babies. But this made me so sad! Heigl has a scene where she freaks out and explains that she doesn't know what she is doing and the one person that she would call and tell/ask for advice is dead and put her in that situation. omigod sad!! It made me cry and laugh, it was a super cute and cheesy movie, but had good stuff in it. Girls, go see it. and for the love of all things holy, tell your friends if you are planning on leaving them a baby in case of an untimely death.
5) How Do You Know
this movie was absolutely TERRIBLE. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. I love the cast (Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson) but oh dear it was bad. Paul Rudd's character could have been charming and neurotic, but he was just a lunatic. It was just blahhhhh.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Hipster Phase.
I feel as though I have to warn you. I'm going through a hipster phase. Listening to unknown music, wearing weird clothes, and dropping showers in priority on the to-do list. This will no doubt affect my movie choices. Consider yourself warned.
Holy Rollers
A little known movie with everyone's favorite emotional flatline Jesse Eisenberg and Doug. Wait, I mean Justin Bartha. The plot line is that both of them are Hasidic Jews, who get caught up in a drug smuggling ring. Apparently it is based on a true story (see the story here: http://articles.nydailynews.com/1999-08-01/news/18111101_1_couriers-sean-erez-ecstasy)
and either way it was genius and extremely interesting. Jesse Eisenberg was surprisingly convincing, and it was really interesting to watch a super conservative Jewish reaction to the drug world. Justin Bartha was awesome, and his character progression throughout the movie was stellar. I would definitely recommend it, but wouldn't make it a priority.
Micmacs
This is a French film that came out last year, and I ventured into it without knowing much. There is a sad little boy who's father is killed by an IED, and through a series of unfortunate events he gets shot in the head and survives. He becomes homeless and is taken in by a group of misfits. They launch a plan to get back at the people who created the bullet in his brain and the device that killed his father. The plan that ensues is actually really funny and quirky, you just have to pay attention to the subtitles. The characters are hilarious and original, and very very strange. Micmacs, in french, is like slang for carrying-on and cavorting. Its supposedly derogatory, which makes it even funnier. A very tounge-in-cheek comedy that relies on an understanding of what Europeans think is funny. Its on Cinemax or HBO on demand, which makes it much easier to watch. Do it, if you want to be awesome, hip, cultured, and trendy like me.
Beginners
Big thanks to my friend for Shelbie for going to this with me. It was a Saturday night and very crowded, which could lead to mad awkwardness; only thing was that it was a predominately gay crowd, so we looked like "really good" friends. hah.
Beginners is Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer's new indie flick about McGregor's newly out gay dad, his death, and his failed relationships. It was extremely dry, and rather slow moving. I really didn't like it that much. Other people seemed to really like it, which is awesome for them. I thought the little dog was the best character, which is rather concerning. Plummer did a great job, and I enjoyed his performance. Ewan McGregor was just a bit too angst-y and psychologically defunct for my taste. Just a bit too much dry emotion and tortured souls. And I didn't buy that he was some moody illustrator and managed to pick up a hottie foreign model who managed to have the exact same issues as he did.
Holy Rollers
A little known movie with everyone's favorite emotional flatline Jesse Eisenberg and Doug. Wait, I mean Justin Bartha. The plot line is that both of them are Hasidic Jews, who get caught up in a drug smuggling ring. Apparently it is based on a true story (see the story here: http://articles.nydailynews.com/1999-08-01/news/18111101_1_couriers-sean-erez-ecstasy)
and either way it was genius and extremely interesting. Jesse Eisenberg was surprisingly convincing, and it was really interesting to watch a super conservative Jewish reaction to the drug world. Justin Bartha was awesome, and his character progression throughout the movie was stellar. I would definitely recommend it, but wouldn't make it a priority.
Micmacs
This is a French film that came out last year, and I ventured into it without knowing much. There is a sad little boy who's father is killed by an IED, and through a series of unfortunate events he gets shot in the head and survives. He becomes homeless and is taken in by a group of misfits. They launch a plan to get back at the people who created the bullet in his brain and the device that killed his father. The plan that ensues is actually really funny and quirky, you just have to pay attention to the subtitles. The characters are hilarious and original, and very very strange. Micmacs, in french, is like slang for carrying-on and cavorting. Its supposedly derogatory, which makes it even funnier. A very tounge-in-cheek comedy that relies on an understanding of what Europeans think is funny. Its on Cinemax or HBO on demand, which makes it much easier to watch. Do it, if you want to be awesome, hip, cultured, and trendy like me.
Beginners
Big thanks to my friend for Shelbie for going to this with me. It was a Saturday night and very crowded, which could lead to mad awkwardness; only thing was that it was a predominately gay crowd, so we looked like "really good" friends. hah.
Beginners is Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer's new indie flick about McGregor's newly out gay dad, his death, and his failed relationships. It was extremely dry, and rather slow moving. I really didn't like it that much. Other people seemed to really like it, which is awesome for them. I thought the little dog was the best character, which is rather concerning. Plummer did a great job, and I enjoyed his performance. Ewan McGregor was just a bit too angst-y and psychologically defunct for my taste. Just a bit too much dry emotion and tortured souls. And I didn't buy that he was some moody illustrator and managed to pick up a hottie foreign model who managed to have the exact same issues as he did.
New Kids Movies (on the block)
Sometimes I even amaze myself with my wittiness and charm.
First Up...
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Okay, I really didn't want to see this movie. I'm not a very big fan of Jim Carrey, and I just in general thought this would be super dumb. I admit, I was wrong. It was actually super cute! I'm a little worried about Jim's personal life though; he seems to frequently play the negligent dad who's kids don't really like him that much, so he takes on something drastic in order to win his family back. Just Sayin. I loved the little penguins, they weren't nearly as computer generated as I expected, and his assistant Poppy was positively precious! I would go see it if you get a chance, and if not, add it to the list of movies for christmas or some such family gathering time.
Next,
Zookeeper
I guess I just have a melancholy outlook on life that I expect all of these movies to be terrible. It was, in fact, not terrible. The animals were super cute, and I seriously felt for Kevin James' character. Chubby, not well paid zookeeper looking for love in all the wrong places (adult spin-off possibly) and always falling for the money-hungry shallow lady. I loved that the monkey looked exactly like the monkey (probably the same one) from Hangover 2. Maya Rudolph's voice as the giraffe was awesome and all of the characters were really well done, and funny as zoo animals. I also loved that Griffin (James) takes Bernie the Gorilla to a TGIFridays. Hilarious. Go see it, you know you love talking animals.
First Up...
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Okay, I really didn't want to see this movie. I'm not a very big fan of Jim Carrey, and I just in general thought this would be super dumb. I admit, I was wrong. It was actually super cute! I'm a little worried about Jim's personal life though; he seems to frequently play the negligent dad who's kids don't really like him that much, so he takes on something drastic in order to win his family back. Just Sayin. I loved the little penguins, they weren't nearly as computer generated as I expected, and his assistant Poppy was positively precious! I would go see it if you get a chance, and if not, add it to the list of movies for christmas or some such family gathering time.
Next,
Zookeeper
I guess I just have a melancholy outlook on life that I expect all of these movies to be terrible. It was, in fact, not terrible. The animals were super cute, and I seriously felt for Kevin James' character. Chubby, not well paid zookeeper looking for love in all the wrong places (adult spin-off possibly) and always falling for the money-hungry shallow lady. I loved that the monkey looked exactly like the monkey (probably the same one) from Hangover 2. Maya Rudolph's voice as the giraffe was awesome and all of the characters were really well done, and funny as zoo animals. I also loved that Griffin (James) takes Bernie the Gorilla to a TGIFridays. Hilarious. Go see it, you know you love talking animals.
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