Romance

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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The Rumors are True

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Rumor Has It…
  • IMDb: link

Rumor Has It...

What if you found out that a well known book and film were based off the real experiences of your family?  That’s what happens to Jennifer Aniston’s character as she realizes that, for her family, The Graduate may just have some added meaning.

Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston) is going through a crisis.  She’s unsure about her recent engagement to Jeff (Mark Ruffalo) and is traveling back home with him for her younger sister Anne’s (Mena Suvari) wedding.  All this anxiety is nothing compared to what will happen next.  A discussion with her grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) and her mother’s best friend (Kathy Bates) lead her to believe that the book and movie The Graduate was written about her family.  She travels to San Francisco to find the man who romanced both her mother and grandmother, Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner), looking for answers and wondering if this man could be her father and if not will she fall under the same spell as her mother and grandmother?

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We Are All Fools in Love

/ / Movie Reviews, Theme Week
  • Title: Pride & Prejudice
  • IMDb: link

Let me start out by saying I’m not a big Jane Austen fan and just the thought of reading a novel of hers makes me drowsy.  Joe Wright‘s new version of Pride & Prejudice is anything but dreary.  With a wonderful eye, energetic performances, and a droll since of humor and wit this piece of Austen’s work comes alive on screen and not only is fresh, inviting, and enjoyable it just happens to be one of the best movies of the year.

In England during the Georgian era Austen’s tale follows the lives of the Bennet women especially the headstrong Elizabeth (Keira Knightley).  The Bennet clan is headed by Mr. Bennet (Donald Sutherland) and lorded over by his wife (Brenda Blethyn) who spends all her time trying to wed off her five daughters and improve the family’s fortunes.  Into the picture arrives Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods) a wealthy suitor who takes a fancy in the eldest Bennet daughter Jane (Rosamund Pike) and his rather drab companion Mr. Darcy (Matthew McFadyen) who raises the ire of Elizabeth.  What follows is the tale of love found and lost and the consequences of choices made.

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