Friends With Benefits

             Awww relationships, are they ever easy? Do they ever not get complicated? The complexity that is a romantic relationship has developed so many questions and answers and variable solutions that a whole industry has been created. Men trying to understand women and vice versa. The movie industry is no newbie to playing to this facet of human life either.
            Does that paragraph seem oddly too familiar for some reason? Let's be real, probably not because who's going to remember something that lacks any importance. But if it somehow does it's because that's how I started my review for No Strings Attached. Since I'm reviewing a movie with essentially the exact same premise why not cut a few corners right? Don't worry, I'm not going to do that. However, I can't say I wasn't a bit skeptical going into this movie since the former had come out about 5 months before it. I told you Hollywood is no newbie to playing off of the same idea over and over.
           Any who, Friends With Benefits is a movie about exactly what its title says. Justin Timberlake plays Dylan Harper an art director for a small internet company in Los Angeles. Mila Kunis (Black Swan) plays Jamie Rellis, a head hunter for a job agency in New York City, who recruits Dylan for a job at GQ Magazine. She is able to convince Dylan to take the job after his interview by spending the night taking him all around town showing him the sites, and thus sparking their friendship. Things become more intimate down the road when the two decide to take out their sexual frustration on each other. Having both just gotten out of relationships not long before and agreeing they're not ready for a new one, they decide what better way to answer their sexual needs without getting tied down. They set up rules so as to keep themselves from becoming emotionally attached. From here we watch as the two characters both seem to be falling for each other, but are far to afraid to admit it to each other or themselves.
           As I said above I was a bit skeptical going into this movie, but I had heard good things so I figured I should check it out. I'm glad I did because quite frankly, it's hilarious. Most of this is due to the fact it's aimed directly at my generation, from its plot focus to its humor. They even make fun of themselves and the type of movie they're making which I always think is great. As for the actors, Kunis has always been able to be funny going back to her work on That 70s Show and Family Guy, while we all know Timberlake can bring it thanks to his great skits on SNL. Plus, I must admit he's becoming someone I'm enjoying watch act as he's doing a really good job in both comedic and dramatic roles. That bastard, what can't he do?
           This movie has a great little cast of supporting characters around it too. Woody Harrelson (Zombieland) is probably the funniest character in the movie as he plays the gay sports director at GQ alongside Timberlake. It's really too bad he isn't in the movie more. Fair warning, he is vulgar as hell, which was completely unexpected, yet hysterical.  Then there's also Patricia Clarkson (Easy A, One Day) as Jamie's wild promiscuous mom, and Richard Jenkins (Step Brothers) and Jenna Elfman (Dharma and Greg) as Dylan's dad and sister. There's also a great little cameo by Shaun White.
            Overall, I thought this movie nailed it in what it was trying to produce. It delivered strongly on the comedy side, which was its main intent, with jokes that appealed to a mass audience, but struck hard with its target. Then when it needed its romance points it played into those well, whether gimmicky or not, and all the while didn't lose site of what the movie really was and had fun teasing themselves about it.
             I give this film a thumbs up and 3 out of 4 stars. Like I said I believe most people will enjoy this movie but anyone in the young adult range will relate to it more. It's a good date movie as it works great for both sexes. It even has a partial nudity scene of each main character to please each party so you can't go wrong. You can buy this movie on DVD or Blu-Ray now as well as rent it at your local Redbox. Enjoy!

Editor's Note:  My next review will be on the romantic comedy (once again, I know) Crazy, Stupid, Love starring Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone. Also, the Oscar nominations are being announced tomorrow so be on the lookout for those as well!!!

One Day

              The thing about book adaptations into movies is the movie is never as good as the book. To be fair, the movie never really has a shot at being better. A book will always win due to the fact it doesn't have a limit on information its able to give the audience. With a movie you're usually looking at about a 90-120 minute running time to condense a book into. This book can be anywhere from 200-1000 pages, and within those pages pack in many more details, subplots, etc. that can all help develop the story. For example, look at the Harry Potter series. With all of this it makes it harder on the screenwriter to try and cut information that has little or no relevance to the main story line, or perhaps change things so that it fits and flows better when in a movie.
             With all of this said, some movie adaptations are awful and some can be quite good. Again, look at the Harry Potter series for an example of success. Where One Day falls on this scale would have to be on the good side, though like I said above, it's not as good as the book; which yes I have read as well. One Day is based on the book of the same name by David Nicholls, who also wrote the screenplay, which I believe is big part of why it was adapted well. Now this is a love story through and through, but what makes this stand out against other ones is its completely original way in which it is told.
              In One Day, Dexter Mayhew, played by Jim Sturgess (21, Across the Universe), and Emma Morley, played by Anne Hathaway (Love and Other Drugs), meet on July 15th, 1988 after their graduation from university. They spend the night together, but nothing really happens between them and thus they decide it'd be better off if they just be friends. From this point on, the only time and interaction we see of the two is what happens on that "one day," July 15th, of every year. From this unique perspective the audience is taken through these two peoples' lives as they go through many of the hardships many people face in their own lives. Figuring out their careers, relationships, and just straight evolving as a person. All the while doing this trying to remain friends with someone as distance, people, and each other stand in the way.
            Jim Sturgess does a great job at playing Dexter as he's able to portray and transition the character from his 20s to his 40s. From the smug, cocky, self obsessed, hard partying young man all the way into a more reserved, humbler, middle aged guy with flashes of his younger self. Anne Hathaway was an interesting choice for Emma, since one she isn't British, but I think she does a decent enough job with her accent that I for one was able to forget that fact. Plus, she herself does a great job with Emma's character as she goes from a nerdy, bookworm, harsh self critic when she's younger to an ambitious, more forgiving and accepting, yet still bookworm type adult.
            The great thing about the way this story is told, for a movie's perspective, is how you're able to tell the two character's whole life stories together in such a shortened period of time. Though David Nicholls is forced to cut a lot of detail of the two characters' lives and interaction between them, he is still able to keep much of the key components of the story without affecting too much. Though this is where people who have read the book will have an issue with the movie. The forced cuts do affect getting a better, fuller understanding of the complex relationship between Dexter and Emma and how their relationship with each other affects their relationships with other people. But again, this is just something the freedom of a book allows you to do.
           However, this is something that may be not noticed at all by viewers who haven't read the book and are enjoying this story for the first time. And in either case, the story is quite good outside of just the way its told. There's a few plot twists that are quite unexpected and will most likely surprise first time viewers.
            Overall, I have to give this movie a thumbs up and 2 1/2 out of 4 stars. It's close to three and I really did enjoy it. But for me, the fact I read the book already did knock it down just a little bit. I do believe many will enjoy this movie either way, and will be happy with its outcome even if they have read the book. This movie is available now on DVD and Blu-Ray, as well as at your local Redbox. Enjoy!

Editor's Note:  The next movie I will be reviewing will be Friends With Benefits starring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake

Oscars!

Alright everyone, since this is a movie blog the Oscars are bit of a big deal and the nominations are being revealed two weeks from today. Last year I watched all ten of the Best Picture nominees and that's what ended up causing me to start this blog. So this year I plan to do the same thing with however many nominees there are (it can be anywhere from 5-10). I plan to review each one of these and probably give my own Oscar predictions once I'm done. We'll see if I'm smart and kind of know what I'm talking about or if I'm perhaps completely full of crap! Either way that's something to look forward to over the next month and a half. Stay tuned!

Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows

           Having never read any of the original Sherlock Holmes stories myself, it's hard for me to cast any sort of judgement of comparison between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation and Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal. Though I believe it is safe to say the two don't add up to closely, and the same can probably go for the original stories and the movies. However, with such an iconic character as Holmes, to continue to retell and/or create new stories about him means people must be willing to change and adapt the character so it can seem fresh and new. Plus, the audience must be willing to accept this as well. The BBC did this just this past year with a mini series that placed Holmes as a detective in today's world and not the 1800s. This was a fresh new look and I'm glad to say that Director Guy Ritchie's version, though still in the 1800s, is still just as fun and fresh as the one we watched two years ago.
            Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows kicks off pretty much where we left off when the first one ended. Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) is finished helping Holmes solve cases as he is preparing to marry his fiance Mary. Holmes is as eccentric as ever as he's working on a new case. A case that if not solved could lead to the outbreak of World War I, only 25 years ahead of time. Holmes suspects well renowned Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris of Mad Men) to be behind all of it, which naturally no one else can seem to believe as it looks implausible. Of course Holmes doesn't take no for an answer, and sets out to stop Moriarty. Along the way he tricks Watson in to doing this one last case with him, all the while picking up the help of a gypsy woman named Madam Simza Heron (Noomi Rapace, who you might recognize as Lisbeth Salander from the original Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), whose brother seems to be mixed up in the situation. Unlike in the first movie which stayed in London, this story takes the trio outside of England into France, Germany, and Switzerland as they race against time to try and prevent the outbreak of war.
            A Game of Shadows is nothing short of what you should expect from the Holmes sequel. With Guy Ritchie at the helm again as director you get the same kind of style, camera work and story telling that we received from the first one, as well as many of his other movies. For example, the great decision making on when to use his patented sudden slow motion in the middle of an action sequence that then quickly speeds up to the high speed action it was just in. The writers do a good job of keeping the personalities of the Holmes and Watson portrayed in the first movie the same, and thus allowing the back and forth done by Downey and Law to do most of the comedic work.
            Law is great again as Watson, the upper class doctor, but with an itch for danger and adventure that he just has a hard time staying away from, especially with Holmes around. Enough can't be said however about Downey's portrayal of Holmes. Yes, he's eccentric and self centered, but he's also hilarious and a bit of a bad ass as he is able to fight. Not many, if any other versions of Holmes go around having to fight their way out of jams when solving cases.
            Plenty of people reprise their roles from the first film in this installment, though most in a limited capacity. One such being Rachel McAdams' character Irene Adler whom sadly isn't seen enough. But that's just the way of the story and thus does no harm to the movie. In this film we also meet Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's brother, who is played by Stephen Fry (Known more for his voice work such as the Cheshire Cat in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland).
            Overall, this movie had a lot of the same elements that were fun and enjoyable in the first movie. Thankfully, they didn't rely on just this as the plot was new and clever on its own and would have made for just as an enjoyable movie if it was the first one and not a sequel. Plus, as far as I'm concerned whenever you can go into a sequel and its just as good as the first, then you have a winner.
             I give this movie 3 out of 4 stars and a thumbs up. This movie is still out in theaters now and I recommend you go see it there as it's probably one of the few out there worth spending ten dollars on. With the action and quality you can't go wrong. Enjoy!

Editor's Note:  Sorry for being out of the loop the last couple months. It's just been pretty crazy plus didn't really have much to review. Anyways, my next movie will be One Day, based on the book of the same name, starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.

Buried

         Is it possible to make a movie that is entertaining, all while being set in the same location for the entire duration? Most of the time the answer to this question is no. Heck, some of you out there may even think no would be the answer in the case of the movie Buried. However, I would be highly inclined to disagree with you and here is why.
         Buried is an independent suspense thriller directed by Rodrigo Cortes and starring Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds plays Paul Conroy, a US citizen who is in Iraq working as a truck driver delivering goods and materials. The film opens with Conroy waking up in a wooden coffin buried six feet under ground. All he has on him is a Zippo lighter and a Blackberry. We come to learn Paul is being held hostage by insurgents who attacked him and his fellow drivers earlier. He has an hour and a half to come up with ransom money or he will be left to die. From here Cortes takes the viewer on a suspenseful journey for 90 minutes as we watch Paul do everything within his power to try and break free from his prison in the ground.
          Creating a movie where there is one actor in one set location for an entire film is a very daunting task to ask of a director. Cortes however does about as good a job as any could ask. First, the movie is kept to a 95 minute running time which is about as long as one could make a movie like this and still keep the viewers full attention. Second, Cortes uses multiple camera angles and shots to help play on the events, struggles, and emotions portrayed by Reynolds. This is quite helpful in keeping the viewer's eye from getting tired of a repetitive view, and from getting frustrated with the lack of different scene locations.
          Though creating such a film with this uniqueness is difficult, so is trying to act and portray a good enough performance in order to keep an audience's attention throughout. Again, Ryan Reynolds doe as a good a job as most actors could do. Yes, he's working off a well written script, but he must portray countless different emotions, while going through many ups and downs with them. From being completely hysterical, to desperate, angry, hopeless. It is a lot to ask of someone and Reynolds' success with many of these helps create and sustain, along with the directing, the suspense that is delivered throughout the entirety of the film.
          How this movie can really get to a person is its ability to play with every persons' emotions while you watch. You start to imagine what if this happened to me? How would I react? Probably the same way mostly. If you're a claustrophobic person already just watching this could bother you. But in the end it just comes down to feeling very real. Every action Conroy takes throughout, whether to help himself get out, or perhaps accept a deadly fate closing in, just helps create the human to human connection that allows the viewer to feel for this fictional person you are watching.
          Overall, I give this movie a thumbs up and 3 out of 4 stars. I would not necessarily recommend watching this late at night, as it did make me a bit nervous I would have a nightmare about the exact situation. But who knows maybe that's just me. You can get this movie on Blu-Ray or DVD, or through Netflix as either DVD or streaming instantly. Enjoy!

What's Your Number?

          Okay, so first off for all of you that are beginning to read this review. I would like all of you to scroll to the bottom of the page and check out the trailer for this movie first, before you read the rest of this. Go ahead. I'll wait the couple of minutes, I don't mind......................alright you back? Great. So after viewing that what's your first impression of the movie? If you're like me then you must of thought here comes another cheesy romantic comedy with Anna Faris in her typical comedic role. Fortunately, this assumption is not entirely correct.
          What's Your Number? is a romantic comedy with a lot of the same sort of garbage Hollywood has been throwing out at us viewers for years. A girl unlucky in love and down in the dumps goes searching for the man of her dreams all the while missing the guy that's right under her nose. However, I do think the angle this movie takes is a funnier and bit fresher view.
           In this film Anna Faris plays Ally Darling, a girl who just became jobless and single. While depressed already, things get worse when she reads a magazine article stating women who have slept with more than 20 guys have a hard time finding a husband. Since she is already at 20 she decides to sift through her exes and find "the one" thus in order preventing herself from surpassing the magic number of 20. Realizing she can't do it alone she enlists her playboy neighbor, Colin Shea (Chris Evans of Captain America), to help her find all of these men. I give the writer's credit here for not allowing this to be a plot hole and explaining Colin has a knack for digging up dirt thanks to his dad being a cop and taking him on stakeouts. It's not an ideal explanation, but it'll do and who really cares enough to look at that deeper? Anyways, in exchange for his services she allows him to hide out in her apartment whenever he's trying to lose a girl from the previous night without confrontation.  All the while, Ally has to deal with her all too perfect sister who is getting married and her over bearing mother (Blythe Danner of Little Fockers) who wants the exact same thing for her.
           The writing is on the wall the entire movie, though at least with me, I had come to expect that and thus tried to look past it and enjoy what I was watching at the time. Thankfully, I was able to do this at times as this movie did seem to have more to it than others with the same amount of cliche garbage. It was funnier than I had expected to be and Chris Evans was good in his strictly comedic role. Anna Faris, though in a very similar role to the others she has played, seemed more comfortable and natural in this one and thus made her comedic performance better as well. Perhaps the fact she was an executive producer allowed her more freedom. Either way this is much better than her movie "The House Bunny." That was just plain awful.
           Overall, as usual with this type of flick, most girls will enjoy it much more than guys will. It helps there are more jokes generated towards women than men, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. I give this movie a thumb in the middle and a solid 2 out of 4 stars. It's nothing great, but its a fun different take on this cliched plot. Plus, it was just straight better than I expected. It's in theaters now so check it out there or wait for it on DVD. Enjoy!

Editor's Note:  Ok ok, I know I'm a big liar. But once again, I saw a movie in theaters before writing my review for Last Night soooo, therefore it of course gets top priority. Barring this happening again look for Last Night starring Eva Mendes, Sam Worthington, and Kiera Knightley to be next up.

The Avengers - First Full Trailer

Well here it is! There's been a lot of hype about the upcoming The Avengers movie and we finally have our first real look at what we can expect. I think it looks like it can be a lot of fun. I do wonder how much on screen time each hero will get though as The Hulk is very limited in this trailer. But then again it is a trailer and you can never be too sure. What do you guys think?