Midnight In Paris

              Nostalgia. It's quite something when you think about it. How something, such as a memory, object, or even a perception of something from the past can make you miss and want that time to happen again so badly. Think of a happy moment in your own life about anything at all. Does it make you happy? Do you wish you could perhaps live that moment again to feel that original happiness the moment brought you? If you could, would you? In Midnight In Paris, a man is given the opportunity to do just that as the undeniable yearning for the past we all get now and then over whatever it may be is the film's major theme.
              Midnight In Paris centers around Gil, played by Owen Wilson (How Do You Know?). Gil is a successful screenwriter, who is at a bit of a mid-life crisis as he tries to transition from screenwriting to novel writing. Or as he puts it, write something of actual artistic value. He is enamored with the era of the 1920s and the artists from it, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Gertrude Stein.
             The film begins with Gil and his fiancee Inez, played by Rachel McAdams, vacationing in Paris with her wealthy, conservative parents. While there they run into Inez's friend Paul (Michael Sheen of Frost/Nixon) and his wife. They spend some time together and while Inez adores him, Gil can't stand another minute of his company (Who can blame him? Paul is a pseudo-intellectual. Barf). To break off from their new found friends Gil decides to walk home one night. As he wanders the streets of Paris an old car drives up next to him at midnight and the people in it, all dressed in '20s clothing, invite to come along. Gil accepts and they go to a bar where it doesn't take long for him to notice that he has all of a sudden traveled back to the '20s. He is surrounded by the people and artist's he idolizes. From here Gil is off on a search of self discovery as he continues to visit the past and write his book.
             This movie has the potential to really connect to certain viewers, while perhaps shunning others. Fans of history (such as myself), or perhaps old writers and artists like Gil, will surely be intrigued and delighted by the constant cameos and drop ins of all the old well known artists that appear throughout the movie. I, myself highly enjoyed it, though I must admit I didn't know of everyone that popped up. Though I was constantly Googling names to learn about who I didn't know and I think that's another great affect this movie can have. You may not know all of the historical figures, but if you're interested than I can safely bet you'll probably be trying learn who they are.
            A huge piece to making this movie good goes to the acting of Owen Wilson. His enthusiasm and sincerity he brings to Gil's character is perfect in reflecting how excited he is to meet the people he idolizes, while also how confusing and complicating it's making the rest of his life. His Golden Globe nomination was well deserved, and in perhaps a lighter year with not so many strong candidates he could have scored an Oscar nod as well. But, if he had I don't think many critics would be saying anything against it.
            Rachel McAdams as always is charming and delightful in playing Inez, who though loves Gil, is just not on the same page with him in much of anything. Marion Cotillard (Inception) is wonderful as Adriana, a mistress of Picasso who begins to fall for Gil. Sheen is also perfect as Paul, who is just a tool. Though brief, the cameo roles are great as we get to see Kathy Bates (Revolutionary Road) play Gertrude Stein, and Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali, both of which just seem to fit perfectly.
            This review cannot be complete without mentioning Woody Allen. The great writer/director has done it again with this movie. The story idea is very fresh and original, not to mention well written and funny. Being shot on location in Paris makes it that much better as it really helps the audience get in with the feel of the city and connect with the characters more. It's no surprise this movie is up for 4 Oscars, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Director for Allen, as well as the biggie, Best Picture.
            Overall, I have to give this movie 3.5 out of 4 stars and a thumbs up. I believe it is a story many can enjoy, but can see others not connecting with it and thus not enjoying it as much. However, I recommend you all see it first before you judge. This movie is out on DVD and Blu-Ray now and is also available at your local Redbox. Enjoy!

Editor's Note:  My next movie will be on the Best Picture nominee The Descendants starring George Clooney and directed by Alexander Payne.

Little Fockers

            As I said in my last review, Hollywood will make a sequel to anything as long as they believe a profit can be made and they don't care how good or bad it turns out. It always comes down to the money. Sometimes though I wish they'd just put the viewer first and decide, "You know what? This isn't needed." Instead that decision, if made, usually comes down to the actors deciding they don't want to play the same character again, and even then the studios sometimes go on without them.
            However, if it seems as if I'm getting all riled up to absolutely trash this movie I'm not. The movie wasn't great though either. The thing when it comes to sequels is that to make them good there are a bunch of things to do and not do. Unfortunately, with Little Fockers they do to many of the don'ts. One of the big don'ts is to not use your predecessors as a crutch and Little Fockers relies on the two movies before it heavily. No thought is put into the plot as it fully relies on continuity from the previous movies.
            In Little Fockers, Greg (Ben Stiller) and Pam (Teri Polo) have twins (little Fockers haha get it?) now. With the twins' birthday approaching the whole family is coming to town to celebrate. From both sets of grandparents to even Pam's ex love Kevin (Owen Wilson). Due to all of these expenses cash strapped Greg begins moonlighting for a pharmaceutical company thanks in large part to the sexy sales rep Andi (Jessica Alba). This causes some familiar problems between Greg and Jack (Robert De Niro), as Jack is looking for a successor to the Byrnes' family legacy. Jack begins to feel he can't trust Greg, thus causing for friction and mayhem between the two.
            As I stated above the plot is weak and relies heavily on the formula from the previous movies, especially the first, just with the necessary upgrades. It is nice they were able to get all of the same actors to come back. Blythe Danner is back as Pam's mom Dina, while Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand reprise their roles as Greg's parents Bernie and Roz. Though that is nice, you don't always have to bring back every single character from previous movies. It gets to crowded trying to fit them all in and that's one of the problems here.
           Overall, with its problems Little Fockers could have been much worse than it was. Though some of its jokes and gags are recycled there's enough fresh or seemingly fresh material throughout to keep you from being terribly upset. In the end, this movie wasn't necessary and they should've stopped after the second one.
           Though through all of my negativity I'm going to give this movie a thumbs down, yet 2 out of 4 stars. I still laughed enough throughout to be able to look past the obvious errors and weak storyline. If you liked the first two movies as I did, I say feel free to give this one a whirl. You'll probably enjoy it enough and if you go to Redbox it's only a buck. You can also get this movie via Netflix or OnDemand on Xfinity. Enjoy!

Editor's Note: Alright I finally got around to Little Fockers. However, now I'm not to sure what to review next so you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know and comment below. I do have one request for the animated movie Surf's Up so that could be next.

How Do You Know ---Know what? When to turn it off?

            My review today falls on the romantic comedy "How Do You Know" from James L. Brooks (The Simpsons, As Good as it Gets). This movie came out just a few months ago in December and I hope that none of you out there went to the theaters and paid for a ticket to this garbage. I had high hopes for this movie going into it as it is a James L. Brooks film and seemed like it could be funny. Instead, I was greeted by a complete mess of a movie that I forced myself to stick with until the end just hoping it would get better.
             The movie is about Lisa (Reese Witherspoon), a softball player for the USA national team who gets cut and is stuck suddenly having to reevaluate her entire life. Of course during this life crisis she gets herself into a love triangle with Matty (Owen Wilson), an immature playboy and pitcher for the Washington Nationals, and George (Paul Rudd), a business man about to be indicted by the federal government. The plot though a bit far fetched isn't what ruined this movie. It's how little structure there was too it as the story just bounced around back and forth. George's life is just as bad a mess as Lisa's as his father (Jack Nicholson) is his boss and part player in the legal troubles. Therefore, the story bounces between George's and Lisa's lives and their similarities, but the problem with that was the crappy dialogue and lack of comedy put into it.
              The funniest person in the movie is probably Matty, but even he wears on you and his bright spots are too and far between to keep anyone from being upset with what they're watching. Jack Nicholson's character Charles wasn't too bad either, but he's not important enough in the story to show up a lot. All in all the dialogue and story arc make the movie and viewer feel awkward. That's the best to describe it. The ending doesn't help as it not only lacked feeling, but also the humor they tried to produce out of it.
               As for the acting, I don't think anyone really did a terrible job. I'm more inclined to go along the lines they did the best they could with a crappy script. Jack Nicholson and Owen Wilson were the bright spots along with George's assistant Annie played by Kathryn Hahn (Step Brothers). Paul Rudd and Reese Witherspoon just got annoying pretty quickly.
               In the end, if you can't tell by now, do not, I repeat, DO NOT see this movie! You'll just be upset after wards that you spent that dollar at Redbox for that awful thing called a movie and feel you should somehow be refunded that whole meezly dollar.
               So, my grade is a big thumbs down and one whole star out of four and it's kind of lucky to get that. Very disappointing film.

Look for my next review which will be of the family friendly animated feature "Despicable Me"