Inception was an amazingly well thought out, well constructed film. For all of its hype and expectation, the movie still manages to impress. In the back of my mind, I think that I probably would have enjoyed it even more than I had had I not known how high the rating was running, which says a lot, considering how much I loved Inception.

Part of the fun is peeling away the layers, so, without giving too much away, I’ll try to summarize it a bit, for those who may want to know what exactly Inception is about. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) heads a team of extractionists who have clients who hire them to steal information from subjects while in their subconscious. After a failed extraction, Saito (Ken Watanabe) hires them to do the opposite of extraction - to plant an idea so deep in the subject’s conscious they believe that the idea is their own. Cobb decides to take the opportunity, in exchange for his clearance to be able to return home, due to him being wanted by the United States for his capture. Due to his unstable situation and his desire to return home and see his children, his subconscious is plagued by haunting memories and in turn, affects whether or not their mission will be a successful one.

Inception is a bit like Matrix meets Paprika, in the sense that one starts to lose their sense of what is real and what is not real. There are many rules that Nolan throws at us to understand what must be done, how things have to be controlled when entering the dream of someone’s subconscious, that the audience mind continues to tick, unraveling the delicious gift that Nolan has set before us to discover. Many people will say that Inception may be too convoluted and confusing, but I think everything is explained in a way that will satisfy many movie goers, and they will not only understand most of what is happening, but appreciate it and find it rewarding, as I did.

This is not to say the movie is perfect; it’s not. Though some reviewers thought that everything was paced perfectly, I did feel that some of the scenes started to seem repetitive and stretched time out a bit, as in the scene with the van, the elevator and the snow dream where we were all waiting for the kick. I understand it was a gradual build up, but felt that part of it seemed to stretch just a tad too long. Even the beginning felt a bit long, though it was necessary, due to the context of the situation, as it is pertinent in future scenes.

The acting is decent, as would be expected from such a stellar cast. I don’t think any of them would warrant Oscar nominations (though maybe I’ll reevaluate by the end of the year), but everyone is believable in their roles. I normally don’t enjoy Ellen Page, but I liked her character here (as the architect, Ariadne). Same with Joseph Gordon Levitt who plays Arthur, whom I could never attach myself to, from 10 Things I Hate About You to 500 Days of Summer (in which he garnered critical acclaim). Here though, I liked seeing him in Inception. I felt Levitt suited the role very well as the smart, accomplished forger, and I immediately liked his portrayal.

At the heart of the story is the relationship between Dom Cobb and Mal (Marion Cotillard), his wife, which drives the emotion and the wonder of the film. Though people may feel as though the film is emotionally empty and barren, I don’t necessarily think this is the case. There is a great deal of depth explored in Inception - of perhaps, negative human emotion, not ones filled with fuzziness, but it is there and it is explored in great detail in Cobb’s subconscious. So I think it is wrong to describe it as lacking emotion, as there is a lot of it, and it is at the core of the film. Everything builds, the action, the tension, the mission, the emotion, up to this one moment. The beautiful yet complex soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer simply heightens this feeling, and the feeling doesn’t let go until the movie finishes.

The fact that Nolan takes these very complex ideas, adds a very interesting story and then wraps a fairly intense thriller around it, all the while managing to engage the audience is not without talent.The idea of entering another person’s dream and being able to manipulate them through the dream is not new, but with the rules of the dream world that Nolan creates, Inception feels refreshingly … mind blowing. After the last frame of the film disappeared, there were two thoughts that entered my mind. One, that I had to see the film again, and two, I felt that I had just finished watching one great big mind f*ck (pardon my french.) The attention to detail, and how almost every scene in the film was important to the story leaves me fully impressed. I’ve so far loved most of Nolan’s work, The Prestige and the Dark Knight being my favorites. Inception however, is in a league of its own, better than either of these two movies. I look forward to seeing more from Christopher Nolan, as the bar has been set incredibly high after Inception.

Inception is, no doubt, one of the best movies of this disappointing summer filled with remakes, reboots, films made from some other source such as book or comic. It leaves this movie goer hopeful for more future projects that are unique, well acted, and well directed, and hopeful that Hollywood may take more leaps of faith with the public if Inception does well at the box office. I love action thrillers, but to put it in a format that requires some audience investment, I love it even more. I say, see Inception this weekend. Otherwise, if you have kids, the Sorcerer’s Apprentice or Despicable Me should suffice.

Fascinating to the very last scene - highly recommended. Enjoy the ride. 5 dreams / 5 dreams

Links:
IMDB

As a fan of Fantasia’s Mickey Mouse’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice, I was hoping on a good tale that would do Mickey Mouse justice. Truthfully, I don’t remember the original tale of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, so I can’t say if this movie is faithful to the story. Director John Turteltaub, who also directed the action adventure National Treasure, as well as the television series Jericho, comes back with Nicholas Cage for the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, as the Sorcerer Balthazar. The Apprentice, who stars the likeable star of Jay Baruchel (She’s Out of My League, but has the unfortunate trait of sounding like Christian Slater) is, in current day, the awkward brainiac nerd that loves physics.

Centuries ago, Merlin (yes, THAT wizard) had three apprentices - Veronica, Balthazar and Horvath, who protected Merlin from Morgana (the evil sorceress) and to prevent Morgana from raising the dead and take over the world. Unfortunately for Merlin, both Balthazar and Horvath fell in love with Veronica, causing a huge rift between Horvath and Balthazar as Veronica fell in love with Balthazar. With his apprentices out of harmony, Merlin is slain at the hand of Morgana with the help of Horvath. Veronica ends up taking Morgana’s soul into hers, but is not able to contain her. Balthazar, in his hopes in keeping Veronica alive, captures them both into the Grimhold (Russian like doll), locking them there until he is able to find the next Prime Merlinean who is able to defeat Morgana. Years pass, and he finds David Statter.

The film delivers on laughter, action and story, as one would hope from a Disney film. There is something about Jay Baruchel just makes him likeable. Here, as he did in She’s Out of My League, he plays the geek who is trying to find confidence in himself and his role in the world. Having had a crush on pretty little Becky when he was younger, he finds himself finding her once again, studying at NYU and again, crushing on him as he did when he was just a kid. Teresa Palmer, who plays Becki almost reminds me of Alice Eve in She’s Out of My League, perfect, and out of reach. This threw me off for a little bit, but I quickly readjusted my brain to the “magic frequency”. I quite liked the little homage to Fantasia, which, when you see it, will immediately recognize.

The little magic tricks that are used in the film are fun, and funny. When Dave first starts learning magic tricks, he has to pad himself to prevent himself from getting injured by the magic balls and flames that Balthazar throw at him, it garnered several laughs from me.

I don’t think it’s anywhere close to being as horrible as the critics have been saying. It’s much better than Avatar the Last Airbender, and I’d say I enjoyed it better than the earlier Percy Jackson and the Olympian Lightning Thief. I thought it was fun family fare. It could have been a lot better, but for what it was, I thought it was pretty good. Nicholas Cage as the kooky Balthazar seemed to fit perfectly, and the chemistry he had with Jay Baruchel was effective.

I would definitely recommend taking the family to seeing this one. Recommended! Fun Summer fare, 3 Rings / 5 Rings

Links:
IMDB

By now everyone knows the general critics consensus of this movie. A big fat D- to F grade.

I saw this film with a group of friends that were mixed in their knowledge of Avatar, the popular Nickelodean series. (Not to be confused with the blue people, as many people I mentioned to, gave me a strange look when I mentioned the title.) A few of my friends absolutely loved the Avatar tv series, and were very excited with the prospect of seeing the movie. I had only seen small parts of the popular anime, but did not know much about the story or who the Avatar was. My movie buddies had never even heard of the series. The consensus? Those who had watched the series - hated it. With a passion. I thought it was okay. My boyfriend liked it, and the opinion was split between one friend who really enjoyed it, and the other friend who didn’t like it at all.

Having now watched about seven episodes of the anime, I have a better grasp as to why my friends did not like the movie. The humor is all but lacking in the film. First, let me explain the plot (which they kind of glaze over in the film.) The world that Avatar lives in are separated by the elements of fire, air, water and earth. Each element has an associated nation, of which some members of the nation have the power to use their associated element and bend it to their will. Avatar represents the world in human form that masters all elements, and is reborn if he or she dies. To learn more about Avatar and Aang: Avatar wikipedia (be careful, it spoils on Book One/Two/Three). When we enter Book One: Water, we are greeted by Katara and Sokku, members of the Water Nation. Katara and Sokku stumble upon the Avatar, Aang (played by newcomer Noah Ring), who, along with his flying bison friend, Appa, are stuck in a huge block of ice. Aang discovers that 100 years has passed since he froze Appa and himself in ice, and the Fire Nation is now engaging in war with the other nations and turning their heads back against the spirits. Aang, who has only mastered airbending, must master the other elements in time to protect the other nations from being invaded by the Fire Nation.

The series contains a lot of humor, mostly coming from Sokku (Jackson Rathbone of Twilight fame), which seems to be completely non existent in the script. Aang is also supposed to be very playful (as he is 12 year old), despite the fact that he carries the burden of being one of the last of his people alive.

There is a lot wrong with the film. First of all, the script is horrible. No amount of good acting can save the script. But, with the horrors of the script, the acting is also horrible. The inexperienced actors are wooden in their delivery, and make cheesy lines seem cheesier. The only few things I enjoyed was the cinematography, the sets, and the music. It’s a shame because the story is in itself, very interesting. But the lack of heart and time invested into the script (or so it seems) does a huge disservice to the television series. M. Night Shymalan did absolutely nothing in terms of character growth for the supporting characters of Katara or Sokku. By the film’s end, I wouldn’t have cared if they lived or died. There are a couple scenes involving Sokku and Princess Yue, who lives in the Water Nation, that were created to evoke emotion, but all I could do was sit there and roll my eyes. Noah Ringer did a decent job as Aang, but with such a weak script and supporting actors, he has to go down with the rest of them. Dev Patel as Prince Zuko, of Slumgdog Millionaire fame was, I thought, unbearable. Perhaps the words were to blame, but his desire to capture the Avatar due to being banished from the Fire Nation lacked, what I felt, depth. The one scene that showed us what had happened to cause his father, the King to banish him, evoked no emotion from me. I did not care.

What it comes down to, is that throughout the whole film, I felt I was watching two dimensional characters instead of three dimensional. There was nothing to make me feel for them, and it was the sad combination of acting and the script that is at fault here.

I don’t know how good the movie will do at the box office, but the series deserves its ending with Book Two and Book Three, minus M. Night Shymalan (or at the very least, he has got to stop with the writing, and let someone else do it). There was a time where I would have wanted to see any movie he directed, but disappointment after disappointment has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I did think the effects were, for the most part, decent, and the music (composed by James Newton Howard) terrific, and I can say once I got over the fact that I was going to be watching some terrible acting and listening to cheesy lines (much like George Lucas’), I enjoyed the overall story.

How would I recommend this? I would say, avoid if you are an Avatar television series fan. If you’re still curious, check it out. I’ve heard fairly mixed reviews, but I think if you are prepared and know what to expect after reading countless negative reviews, I think there is a slight possibility one might enjoy the film. Overall, I would wait for rental if you are wanting to see it.
2 Appas / 5 Appas

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0938283/

Several people asked me whether or not Grownups was very good after I had seen it. “It looks really dumb”, they claim.

Weeelll, I’m not here to write that Grownups is any good or any better. It’s a silly comedy, with a variance of witty remarks to slapstick comedy that we are now very used to from the very popular comedians we have come to know and love (or hate, for a few).

What I mean is that, every comedian has their own style of comedy. Rob Schneider has become known for his in your face, over the top silly comedy, such as in [ insert gigolo movie here], where his humor, is translated into Grownups, with his over-the-top singing and over-the-top hair. Kevin James (whom I adore), jokes about his weight and his love for eating (common in his comedy), using more physical comedy to deliver the laughs, and Adam Sandler jokes are more verbal and fairly unique. Because of those though, I felt the jokes are pretty uneven, and … all over the place.

However, there is nothing fairly special about the movie that makes it particularly memorable. The scenes are forgettable, as are the jokes. We’ve seen many of the jokes before. Young girl shows off her hotness. Old woman then shows her hotness. Hilarious, but nothing new or done particularly different.

What’s the movie about? A close knit group of friends who had won the basketball championship when they were teens, come together for their old coach’s passing. Each person has their own lives and own families, but for a short little while, they come together and “become kids again”.

It’s a good family movie, and I think if you were to have a barbecue, this kind of movie would be best to have in the background. It’s light, it’s a lot of fun, and can be enjoyed by everybody. It’s not an Oscar movie, nor is it meant to be. I wouldn’t rush out and see it in the theatres though, and would just save it for rental for the next summer barbecue. There doesn’t seem to be any real plot, as it wanders a bit aimlessly without a purpose, but I suppose that’s not the point of the film. One would think with such an impressive cast, it might be more spectacular, but in reality, there doesn’t seem to be much to offer.

Wait for rental, but not entirely horrid if you enjoy a silly comedy. 2 toupees / 5 toupees.

IMDB

The DVD release for Remember Me comes out on the 22nd of June, and having missed the screening of it earlier in the year, I was happy to be able to watch this, since I heard a few good things from people who had seen it.

Let’s make this clear. I am not a Twilight fan (anyone who knows me can confirm this to the third degree). I am not a Robert Pattinson fan of any shape or form (though I did like his Cedric Diggory in the fourth and fifth movies of the Harry Potter films.) Having watched the first Twilight film and part of the second one, I find it now disappointing that Pattinson may be seen for a while, as “Twilight’s Edward”, because truthfully, he is much better than that.

Remember Me follows the life of Tyler Hawkins (played by Pattinson), but starts off introducing Ally Craig (Lost’s Emilie de Ravin) and the tragedy she experiences when she is young. Tyler is practically estranged from his dad (Pierce Brosnan) and has a sister Caroline Hawkins (Ruby Jerins) who yearns for her father’s presence. After getting into an incident with a cop played by Chris Cooper, Tyler becomes involved with Ally, and finds himself falling in love with her. Remember Me, at its heart, is about Tyler’s life and family, finding himself and making peace with the people around him and situations that he cannot control.

Most critics found Remember Me to be pure drivel. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect, given that I strongly dislike Twilight. But, having heard that many people liked it, including one of my friends who loves Twilight, I decided to give this a try. I’m very happy I did. Remember Me was very poignant, well written, and most importantly, powerful. The relationship he has with both his dad and especially his sister is extremely moving, and it is in due part to both Jerins and Pattinson. Tyler’s bond with his sister is that of a very protective older bother, who wishes Caroline can get her wish of being close with her dad, and that her classmates would accept her. Tyler also finds solace with Ally, as he falls in love with her.

The movie succeeds here due to Robert Pattinson’s acting. Unlike Edward in Twilight, where Pattinson is wooden, stiff, and unfeeling, here I feel he is the opposite (less vampire like, I suppose). He speaks clearly here where instead, he mumbles. He is not simply a vampire that sparkles in the sun and stalks a girl. As a viewer, I care about his predicament, and want him to find fulfillment and satisfaction in his life. I wanted him to reconnect with his father, and I wanted his sister to be happy. There were so many emotions in the film - laughter, tears, anger, and pain. He really is what makes the movie as beautiful as it was - wow, did I say that? Yes, I did. Of all the performances by these tremendous actors (Cooper, Brosnant, Lena Olin), it was his that stood out.

Remember Me is a beautiful film that stays with you after you have finished watching. Whether or not this is because of the ending or not, I’m not sure. I did not know the ending prior to watching the film, and was thoroughly enjoying myself even to that point. But the ending makes such an emotional impact that what I felt after watching remained with me for days after.

The soundtrack and the cinematography also added a great deal to the feel and atmosphere of the film. It had a light and airy feeling, yet at the very same time, serious. Images and settings were beautifully constructed, and the set of images seen in the ending made the film feel very complete. The hues of browns and yellows gave the film a warm glow, that, though they create the feeling of warmth, it also aided in the feeling of loneliness that you could feel radiate from Tyler.

So, would I recommend this? With a resounding yes. I don’t know what the critics at Rotten Tomatoes were smoking. Perhaps because they couldn’t easily categorize the film, they decided to give it a fail. This is not a film that operates on technical details. Some didn’t like the ending - well, to them, I say, it’s happened to someone. As can be seen by the huge discrepancy between the RT Community and the critic community, I’d say this film is worth seeing, and this is from someone who hates Twilight.

Moving. 4 trains / 5 trains

Links:
IMDB

Site Update: I’m falling further and further behind on my reviews. But, having returned from vacation recently, and being dried of any movie watching, I’m hoping to be back on the ball. I forget to also review old movies I’ve seen recently.

Onto Jonah Hex. I saw the Jonah Hex preview at the Warner Brothers panel when they were at Comic-con last year, in which it debuted to a fairly lukewarm audience. At the time I was disgusted by the number of useless and not very interesting questions directed at Megan Fox, and nothing really about the comic or the movie itself. What little I did see of the previews (and they were not even very clear as to what Jonah Hex was to be about) I was not very impressed.

Because of this, and all the not-so-very-interesting trailers of the movie, my expectations going into the film were very low. Usually, when I have low expectations going into a film, I’m usually pleasantly surprised. Not so here.

So, what is the story about? Jonah Hex is based on the DC Comics of the same name. Without having read the comic, Jonah Hex is a bounty hunter, an anti-hero, that protects and avenges the innocent. Due to a disagreement of whether or not to take a course of action that to him, was immorally wrong, Jonah kills his best friend Jeb Turnbull, which in turn, makes Jeb’s father Quentin (who was a general at the time) very angry. Quentin takes it upon himself to kill Jonah’s family and kills them in front of Jonah. Years pass, and Quentin supposedly dies. Jonah, after years of acting under his own rules, is hired by the US government to track down and kill Quentin, who is now found to be alive and also a terrorist to the USA. Jonah, happy to take revenge for his family, attempts to track down Quentin.

Because Jonah Hex is based on a comic, there are a few liberties that the film takes that brings the story out of reality into fantasy. The plot is not well fleshed out, and even though there are a few funny wry one liners delivered by Josh Brolin, it was not enough to interest me or even care. As a revenge film, it is very weak. Two better ones come immediately to mind. The recent Edge of Darkness, and my all time favorite revenge film - Oldboy. Next to Oldboy, Jonah Hex is a deflated balloon, lifeless, buoyed by … nothing. Not even the likes of Jeffrey Dean Morgan or John Malkovich could save this script. The chemistry between Megan Fox and Josh Brolin seemed non existant, and though Megan Fox’s character was brought in to establish that Jonah did indeed care about someone, one scene does not make the relationship between the two characters believable.

The story could have been more more dramatic, or, more stylistic if that was what they were aiming for with the dry one line humor. Instead, they majorly failed. I would avoid this movie and wait for a Netflix download if you really are wanting to see this. The biggest problem here, is the screenplay. Even with the best actors, Jonah Hex would have fallen flat. The script is unbelievable, none of the characters are relatable. It’s hard to feel for Jonah Hex’s predicament when we barely know anything about him. Yes, it sucks that his wife and child are killed, but besides the normal reaction to human pain, why should we care about HIM? Due to this major problem, an 80 minute movie felt almost two times long.

As such, I will not recommend the movie, unless you have to catch Megan Fox scantily clad in her tight Barbie fitting attire (and I must say, I was flabbergasted at how hourglass like her figure is, with her waist looking like it was 13 inches in one of the scenes). I was also pleased to see the cameos done by the seemingly-always-likes-to-play-dead characters Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Denny from Greys Anatomy, Clay from the Losers) and Lance Reddick (Agent Broyles from the excellent Fox series Fringe), but disappointed at the same time that it was for such an awful movie.

Avoid. 1 terroristas / 5 terroristas
Links:
IMDB

When I first heard this movie was to star Jake Gyllenhaal, I was immediately taken back. How can somebody so… white … play this role? He just looks so American, how could it work? Well, after watching the movie, not only did I continue to have the same reaction to all the other actors, it really didn’t take away from the movie as a whole. It would have been a better had they actually gotten Persians, or at the very least, darker skinned actors to play their respective roles, but it didn’t make me enjoy the film any less. After all, Prince of Persia IS a Disney film. I did however, find it quite amusing that everyone had an english accent. I had no idea that Persians had an english accent … yeah…

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this - as I was hoping that it would be more dramatic. Once I saw the Disney logo come up, I realized that I would not get dramatic, but instead, probably a good adventure. And an adventure is what I received. I probably would have liked it to have been a bit more serious, but for what it was, it was fun.

Gyllenhaal plays the Prince of Persia, name Dastan, taken in by the King from off the streets, and raised as though he was one of their own. Fast forward about 20 years and the Prince is much older, and we are introduced to his brothers Garsiv (Toby Kebbell) and Tus (Richard Coyle). They are about to invade the city of Alamut, to seize weapons that might be of threat to the Persians, as told to them by their Uncle Nizam (played by the talented Ben Kingsley). After the invasion, Dastan comes upon a unique dagger that he discovers to have magical powers of time. The princess of Alamut, Tamina (Gemma Arterton), who notices that Dastan is in possession of this dagger agrees to the marriage of her and Tus in order to try and recover the dagger.

I am not that familiar with the story of the Prince of Persia, or its video game, but I think Disney has successfully made an entertaining action adventure story that would satisfy most movie goers. It was not as epic of a battle or story as I had anticipated, nor was I that floored with Jake Gyllenhaal or Gemma Arterton’s portrayal of Tamina, but it was satisfying enough. Alfred Molina as Shiek Amar is the source of the humour in the movie. In addition, Jake creates a light hearted hero, though I did find the chemistry between Gemma and Jake almost … annoying. This is mainly due to the moments that the script stopped in time to allow these two to share romantic scenes … that didn’t make sense, in the middle of battle.

I’m a fan of most Jerry Bruckheimer productions, and this is no different. Directed by Mike Newell, of which I am most familiar having filmed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I sure enjoyed this a great deal more than that movie. Looking down at his biography, he filmed one of my favorite gem of a movie Enchanted April, almost a night and day difference of that from Prince of Persia.

Don’t expect the movie to be super exciting, deep, dramatic, but in true Disney fashion, Prince of Persia offers what Disney seems to create successfully - fun action adventure movies. Not much substance, but definitely a good popcorn flick. Some parts of the film were slow moving, and though I wasn’t that clear as to what the purpose of the story was for Shiek Amar (not sure if he is a character in the video games), I enjoyed the moments that Molina was on the screen.

The main verdict: A great and entertaining popcorn flick. Expect nothing more or less.
Recommended. 2.5 hourglass / 5 hourglass

Note: I wrote this a long time ago, but I feel that even though the movie has already been released, perhaps one can decide if they want to watch it on the big screen or on DVD. I feel it is nice to write about movies - old or new.

What a shame. Three wonderful actors and what results in this almost hilarious film is a failure.

Why? Well, let me first tell you the premise. Ben Talbot, brother of Lawrence Talbot (Benecio del Toro), husband of Solana Talbot (Emily Blunt) and son of John Talbot (Anthony Hopkins) is viciously attacked and torn apart by a werewolf. Solana sends a letter to Lawrence, who is now an American actor but currently performing in a play in London. She asks Lawrence to return home to find his brother. By the time he returns, Ben has been found dead and left in the ditches. Lawrence then decides that he will stay until he finds what happens to his brother. However, upon his investigation, he has the most unfortunate fate of getting bitten by the werewolf, cursing him to a horrible fate of turning into a werewolf himself.

There are so many things wrong with The Wolfman that I don’t know where to begin. The werewolf that we are first introduced to is quick, limber, almost ghostly in his kills. As the movie progresses, it seems as though the werewolf and Benecio del Toro’s werewolf suddenly slows down. It seems very inconsistent and turns me off. The worst part of the film is the makeup and costume of the werewolves. Instead of the awesome look of the Lycans in Underworld, the werewolves in The Wolfman looked straight out of a werewolf comedy.

I feel honestly bad for writing this as I have a great deal of respect for all three actors, but throughout the entire movie I had trouble not making fun of the various scenes purposely done to make the viewer jump, the “rawr” moments that seemed something out of a comic book. One thing I do give this - this movie is great for people to gather around and make fun of together. Given the material that they were given, they did a pretty good job, but there didn’t seem anything to the film.

This movie is the 1941 remake of the movie of the same name written by Carl Siodmak. I have never seen the original, and I would be willing to believe that it had more substance than the remake. Though I could understand the underlying message to The Wolfman - the monster/beast in us all, what is the difference between beast and man… what does it mean to kill a beast that is also a man - it was not delivered in a subtle manner.

So what would I say? Wait until this movie ends up being shown on cable television, or on premium if you have any of those channels. Because, it’s really not worth the price of admission or a rental. However, if you need a fun/scary movie to make fun of, maybe on Hallowe’en, this is a perfect movie for that purpose.

Not recommended. 1.5 moons / 5 moons (mostly for effort and the beautiful scenes and cinematography)

So, I’m slightly behind. I’m trying to catch up with the movies I have seen, so here I go, with the movies yet to be released. (No one wants to hear about the movies that have already been released, do they?

Letters to Juliet is your typical romantic comedy. Girl is with boy, meets another boy, falls in love with another boy. Nothing about this movie is unpredictable, which is not at all surprising. The movie however, is surprisingly delightful, once you can get over how cliche everything is.

Amanda Seyfried stars as Sophie, the main character of the film. She’s a fact checker for The New Yorker, who aspires to be a journalist one day. She is engaged to a soon to be restaurant chef Spaniard Victor, who is extremely busy with his restaurant opening that before his restaurant opens, they decide to take a “pre-honeymoon” off to Verona, Italy. After arriving in Verona and being whisked from one winery, or factory, or plantation to another by Victor in order to pick the best ingredients for his restaurant, Sophie decides she wants to stay behind while he meets with potential clients.

One day, as she goes exploring around the city, she discovers this wall where people leave notes for Juliet Capulet, the main female character in Shakespeare’s famed “Romeo and Juliet”. She soon discovers a group of woman who actually take the time to reply back to every letter, acting as Juliet’s secretaries, and while doing so, she stumbles over a letter written to Juliet 50 years ago, by a woman named Claire Wyman (played by the graceful Claire Wyman). Sophie then decides to reply to Claire, which unknowingly to her, starts an adventure that changes her life.

After receiving Sophie’s letter, Claire decides to meet Sophie, along with her very handsome grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan), who is belligerent about Claire’s quest to find her true love Lorenzo Bartolini that she ran away from. Sophie and Charlie get off on the wrong foot, but things begin to change as their quest to find Lorenzo continues.

The simple existence of Vanessa Redgrave gracing the screen elevated what would have been an okay romantic comedy and added a classic feel to it. As my boyfriend mentioned, it was a movie that reminded him of “Under the Tuscan Sun”, which he also had enjoyed. I feel this one was more enjoyable, mainly because Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, and Christopher Egan are all equally talented and comfortable to the eyes. The trio had really good chemistry, and Christopher Egan and Vanessa Redgrave are amusing with their banter. Egan’s Englishman is perfect, one which would make you think he had some sort of stiff upper lip. Amanda Seyfried, as expected, was very effective as her role as Sophie. Had this been any other actress, I’m not sure if it would have been as successful. Her career has taken off ever since Mamma Mia! (though I fondly remember her playing Veronica’s best friend Lily from Veronica Mars). Another interesting story is between the actor who plays Lorenzo - Franco Nero, and his wait for his real life love, Vanessa Redgrave.

One of the highlights that could be considered a character, would be the sights of Italy - specifically Siena, Soave, and Verona. It made me want to travel to Tuscany. When Sophie and Charlie were having their gelato cones, it made me want to take a bite out of their ice cream!

Letters to Juliet is simply charming. I can’t really recall any other movie that has the same underlying plot as this film, but of course the romance was fairly typical. You watch this movie because you want a feel good film with a few laughs. Don’t expect a shocker, or a twist ending. The ending was a bit *too* cliche for me (I’ll save everyone from spoiling it), but it was really quite enjoyable and not overly cheesy up to that point.

So, if your significant other is a romantic, they might enjoy this one. As usual, I think for anyone who enjoys a really good chick flick and enjoy the sights and sounds of Italy, Letters to Juliet is for you. It’s hard to criticize a film when all the actors are terrific in it, and the surroundings are just so beautiful. On the other hand, there isn’t exactly anything special about it except for the fact that Vanessa Redgrave certainly elevates it from the standard romance to a really enjoyable one.

For an enjoyable night at home, with your girlfriends, or the perfect date. I personally, thoroughly enjoyed it. 3.5 Letters / 5 Letters

I was a bit spoiled entering the theatre by reading the synopsis to the film, so I think I will give everyone fair warning that THERE WILL BE SPOILERS in this review - starting NOW.

The Joneses are moving into a beautiful large home in a small town. The Joneses consist of Kate (Demi Moore), Steven (David Duchovny), and kids Jenn (Amber Heard) and Mick (Ben Hollingsworth). They’ve decorated their new home in amazingly beautiful and current furniture, dressed in the latest clothes and holding the newest gadgets, enough to make any neighbour enviable. But they aren’t the core unit and happy bubbly family they seem to be. They’ve in fact been hired by a company to self market a specific number of products by their clients and make their neighbours, their new friends and schoolmates want what they’ve got. Steve is the rookie of the unit, constantly knawed by his conscious and being fully aware that he is pretending being someone he’s not. He tries to make a connection with his pretend kids and pretend wife, but find that they have no interest in getting to know him. The kids, even pretend, are not without their problems. Jenn has a thing for older men, and Mick can’t figure out what’s wrong with himself.

On the larger front, their next door neighbours Larry (Gary Cole who has done numerous hilarious comedies. The best being Office Space) and Summer (Glenne Headly), look enviously towards the Jones, while befriending them. Larry starts to believe everything Steve is telling him - that if he buys it for his wife, it will make Summer happy.

I liked The Joneses, but felt something was lacking from it to make it truly successful. Somewhere in it all, the moral of the story got muddled with the love story. What should have become background became foreground, and I felt that it got all a bit lost in telling its tale. Having had The Joneses’ producer answer a few questions after the movie helped clear up the ending — as there was an original ending, and the ending they are now showing in theatres.

Though the idea of consuming out of their means is certainly explored, in the case of Larry, I’m not sure they went into this in enough detail, which made me confused as to what the focus of the film really was. Was it the love story, and the main focus a character study on Steve and Kate, or something more? I’m not sure if Kate ever really understood there was a problem with what she chose as a career. But then again, as I said, maybe I missed the point of the movie, and it was simply a journey.

The acting was terrific by all actors (as expected). The movie was filmed in a matter of 29 days, according to the producer. The charming yet lonely persona exuded from David Duchovny, all the while you could feel that he was never sure that what he was doing was what he really wanted to do.

The film is, at times, very funny, filled with satire, with the strange (but familiar) world of people being amazed by new products, whether it be the newest HTC, the Audi R8, the newest suede workout outfit, or by some new food products. In the end, people admired Kate, loved Jenn’s style, they wanted to emulate them so badly they bought the products that they “owned” and “used”. Is it deceptive? Yes. Is it illegal? No. This is marketing to the highest level. The arguments that could be made is that “no one is making you buy it.” No, but they sure are marketing it in such a way that they want to make the buyer feel they will be a better person, look better, as long as they have something. Marketing is at its most evil when it can get under you, and you buy into the whole “image”. Consumerism is one of my favorite topics, and this movie played perfectly into that subject, but I wish it explored the idea a bit more than instead fleshing out the love story (in which more scenes were added to make the love story actually become more plausible between Kate and Steve.)

However, guiltily, the scenes in which the Joneses play up the perfect family with the perfect lifestyle, are a delight and fun to watch, and is the movie at its best. However, the movie starts to lose its shine as things start to unravel (as expected).

The acting is worth the price of admission, especially David Duchovny. So, would I recommend it? Tentatively, yes. I think it’s an amusing little film that deserves to be seen, but it may not be a pleaser for everyone. This week definitely has something for everyone. Out of the four movies released this week, I’d say the only dud would be Death at a Funeral.

Good, entertaining, but not terrific. A solid 3 audis / 5 audis

Links:
IMDB