Romance

A Shared Moment

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Chasing Amy
  • IMDb: link

chasing-amy-poster

I came into the View Askew Universe in the middle.  I hadn’t seen Clerks or Mallrats and didn’t even really know much about this filmmaker named Kevin Smith.  I was in college and over winter break a friend had recommended this film called Chasing Amy to me (thanks Mary!!).  She wouldn’t tell me much about it except that it was something she wouldn’t recommend to everyone but thought it was something I might like.

Back at school a month or two later I discovered that for two nights the university movie theater was showing that same film.  Remembering the recommendation and with nothing better to do I went and I went back the next night to see it again.  I can’t remember a film that touched me on so many levels and I’ve been a supporter of Kevin Smith ever since hoping one day he’ll find the magic he weaved in this film.  Over the years I’ve been entertained by Smith’s later work and enjoyed his two previous films but sadly none would measure up to the one so dear to my heart.

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Oh Just Break-Up Already!

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Break-Up
  • IMDb: link

The Break-Up

What happened here?  The ingredients are here for a good film, but nothing happens.  Aniston’s second disappointment of the year is even worse than the first (Friends with Money – read that review here).  Guys if your girl wants to see this find an excuse, any will do even if you have to cause yourself some physical pain (it will be less than viewing this flick trust me), to stay away.

Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) the sexy art dealer and Gary (Vince Vaughn) the tour bus director met cute at a Cubs/Sox game and have been together ever since.  Brooke feels Vince isn’t putting enough into the relationship and decides to break-up with him not because she wants to break-up but because she thinks it will make him love her more and admit he is wrong.  Such twisted-movie-female-logic is the stuff this film is made of.

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Art School Confidential

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Art School Confidential
  • IMDb: link

Have you or anyone you’ve known gone to art school?  If the answer is yes than this deliciously on-the-nose look will have you chuckling from the get-go.  Not the funniest or most complete film of director Terry Zwigoff‘s career, but it has more than enough worth seeing to make me recommend it to you.

Jerome (Max Minghella) is the sensitive shy artist you knew in high school always sketching something on his pad.  Of course this means he got beat up quite a lot as the film aptly presents.  More than anything he wants to become a great artist. 

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With Friends Like These…

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Friends with Money
  • IMDb: link

Friends with Money

I wish Jennifer Aniston would get a new agent.  She stars in some really horrendous films and yet finds nice supporting roles in films like She’s the One and Office Space.  Then last year she finally hit paydirt in starring in one of the better films of the year in Rumor Has It, but it seems things are back to normal with the regrettable The Break-Up and Friends with Money as well providing yet more disappointment for fans of the girl we fell for as Rachel Green.

The film centers around three married women (Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener) and their single friend Olivia (Jennifer Aniston).  The women are all well off even if they live somewhat scattered lives.  Jane (McDormand) is married to a loving husband (Simon McBurney) whom everyone believes is gay.  Franny (Cusack) is married to a loving husband (Greg Germann) with more money than they know what to do with.  Christine (Keener) is stuck in a marriage and professional partnership with an emotionally distant man (Jason Isaacs).  And then there’s Olivia who quit her job teaching in order to become a maid.

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Criminally Contrived Cinema

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Failure to Launch
  • IMDb: link

A man meets a woman through a wager, bet, or dare or has some secret that can’t be shared.  The two actually do fall for each other (these contrived film couples somehow always have 100% compatibility) but just as they are expressing their true love the reality of the bet, dare, or secret is exposed and the characters are forced to part for about 20 minutes of screen time when their mutual friends come up with a plan to trick them into getting back together.  It always works and the couple lives happily ever after.

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