Romance

A Movie for Dog Lovers

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Marley & Me
  • IMDB: link

Before we begin let me be honest and admit I’m more of a cat person.  That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy dog movies (when they’re good), but it does mean I’m not likely to give a pass on a film, or go easy on it, just because it has a cute four-legged star.  Based the semi-autobiographical experiences of columnist John Grogan the film tells the story of how a dog changes the lives of a young couple.  If you can get over the cute factor (and the length which, at two-hours, is a problem) you might have an enjoyable enough time.

Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston star as John and Jennifer Grogan.  She’s a well-known feature writer, while he tackles the small local stories which barely earn him a byline.

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Vicky Christina Barcelona

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Vicky Christina Barcelona
  • IMDB: link

“I was in love with the most incredible woman, and she put a knife into me.”
“That’s terrible!”
“Well, maybe you did something to deserve it.”

Two American women find themselves in Barcelona for the summer with friends (Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Dunn).  Our leading ladies, as our narrator (Christopher Evan Welch) informs us, are as different as friends can be.

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is responsible and rational, always making the smart call and against silly flights of fancy or taking chances.  She is engaged to be married to a nice stable man (Chris Messina) back home in the States.

Christina (Scarlett Johansson) is a free spirit and dreamer unsure about life or her career (she recently wrote, directed, and starred in a a short film about the meaning of love which, by the time she finished, she hated).

One night the pair are approached by a local artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), still in love with his unstable ex-wife (Penélope Cruz), who propositions them both.  Although Vicky balks at his offer Christina finds him charming and accepts.  Separately both women’s lives will be turned upside down by Juan Antonio as they begin to look at life and love in an entirely new way.

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Four Christmases

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Four Christmases
  • IMDB: link

Seriously I wanted to laugh. I really wanted to laugh, but for some reason where scenes should have been funny, just ended up lying there like a dead stinky fish. Vince Vaughn’s ability to act completely stupid is innate, but it gets a little exhausting and Reese is just too adorable, but who hasn’t seen her perfectly put together and adorable. I must say the clever combo of Robert Duvall, Tim McGraw and Jon Favreau as father and sons, was absolutely brilliant. They made most of the trip worthwhile.

Four Christmases will be entertaining enough for the brain dead moviegoers who drool a bit and find humor in every slapstick remark perfectly placed. I think there are a certain few that’s totally going to get the Spam casserole and backyard YouTubing body slam wrestling matches, the rest of us might sit there in awe that these things actually do happen.

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Sex Drive

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Sex Drive
  • IMDB: link

“What smells like jizz?”

Ian (Josh Zuckerman) is a senior in high school and still a virgin much to the dismay of his best bud Lance (Clark Duke) and his over-agressive brother Chet, I mean Rex (James Marsden doing a spot-on imitation of Bill Paxton from Weird Science).

Ian’s life is complicated in his hidden feelings for his best friend Felicia (Amanda Crew) who has a crush on Lance.  The threesome pile in Chet’s car for a road trip together to get Ian hooked up with a girl he met online (Katrina Bowden) and hilarity, or vague resemblance to it, ensues.

The film is exactly what you expect it to be, no more and no less.  It’s a braindead teenage love story filled with odd humor (Ian dressed up as a donut), the inevitable trip to jail, embarrassing situations, some hot chicks (Alice Greczyn, Jessica Just), crazy people met on the road (David Koeschner, Dave Sheridan, Seth Green), and a slow realization from all the characters about who they are and who they truly belong with.  Awwww…

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Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
  • IMDB: link

“Where’s Fluffy?”

The film is about Nick (Michael Cera), the only straight guy in an all gay band who was recently dumped by his longtime girlfriend Tris (Alexis Dziena), and Norah (Kat Dennings), a straight-edge alternative girl with a good taste in music and a a bad taste in guys(Jay Baruchel), a dislike for Tris and a crush on her unknown former boyfriend.

Through circumstances you will only find in movies like this Nick and Norah pretend to be boyfriend/girlfriend in an attempt to keep Tris of their backs for five seconds.  A quick kiss, for Tris’ benefit, immediately shows sparks between the two, who spend the night together and apart all over the city.

Although a bit contrived the set-up here works well enough to get these two young actors together on the streets of Manhattan.  The possibility of a teen Before Sunrise (read that review) is lost however as the love story is constantly derailed by the script.

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