So, to continue the belated Valentine's Day theme from yesterday, I saw the movie Valentine's Day in the theaters this past weekend. When the commercials for this movie first came out, I was super excited. I love ensemble-cast movies. Some of my favorite movies ever are Love Actually and He's Just Not That Into You (both must-sees IMO). So, I figured this would be along the same lines. The movie also features one of my favorite actors - Bradley Cooper! ::swoon::
But, after the reviews came out, all I read were scathing and/or mediocre reviews and I got kinda bummed out. I decided to wait until after my vacation to see it, so that's why I didn't get around to it until this past weekend.
I must say that I really liked the movie. It definitely is not as good as Love Actually or HJNTIY, but it moved at a good pace and reminded me a lot of both movies. I was engaged the whole time -- trying to figure out who was going to have a happy ending, and who was going to have a sad ending. Like with any other movie, it is not all happy and full of heartwarming stories. It tries to be as "realistic" as possible with relationships. You see the couples who stay together through thick and thin and truly love each other. Then, you see those who just can't make it work no matter how hard they try (or don't try), and your heart kind of aches a little. I do have to say that the movie is highly predictable. There are several "twists," but I managed to figure out every one of them. The cast is amazing, but the one who really stood out to me and stole the show was Anne Hathaway. She plays a temporary secretary/struggling actress who moonlights as an "adult phone entertainer." She is absolutely HILARIOUS and I always looked forward to when she came on the screen.
One other thing I noticed in the movie that I thought was cute - in one scene, Jessica Biel's character is in her office having a mental breakdown. She ends up on the couch in her office, and in the background behind her head, I saw a stuffed elephant wearing a navy blue t-shirt that said "Tufts" on it. I instantly smiled :-) I'm not sure how many people know this, but Jessica Biel spent a few years at Tufts for college and that's where I went for undergrad. We actually overlapped one year and I used to see her around campus and in the gym a lot. During one gym session, we were actually doing crunches side-by-side on the stretching mats. I think that's the closest I've ever gotten to a celebrity in a random run-in situation. Anyway, I thought it was cute that she included a memento of her almost-alma mater in the movie.
If you have two hours to kill and want to see a cute, lighthearted movie, I highly suggest this one. Oh, and stay to watch the closing credits. They have some funny extra scenes at the end.
My rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Movie Review: Bruno
Okay, I am taking a break from nails today so that I can write a movie review :-)
This past weekend, I went to go see Bruno with my baby brother (well, he's 18, so not much of a baby anymore...) and two of his female friends. I've been seeing the movie previews and Bruno shenanigans for weeks now. I must admit that normally, I am not a big fan of mockumentaries like Bruno. I actually didn't watch Borat until well after it came out on DVD! But, my little brother has been dying to see it, so I went along.
The movie was..... OK. Don't continue reading if you don't want any spoilers, because the movie is hard to discuss without giving away some of the funnier bits.
Bruno is an Austrian television personality who hosts a fashion show. During an interview-gone-wrong, he ends up getting himself blackballed from the Austrian fashion world. Determined to become rich and famous, Bruno decides to move to LA, and his assistant's assistant, Lutz, goes along.
Bruno comes up with a plethora of ideas on how to become rich and famous -- he decides to interview celebrities to pitch a TV show (his interview with Paula Abdul ends up getting him blacklisted in Hollywood), and at the focus group screening of his TV show, we are entertained by his "interview" with Harrison Ford (which consists of Ford screaming "Fuck off!" to Bruno), and a lengthy scene that I can only describe as completely inappropriate for a Rated R movie (and maybe even an NC-17 movie). After his TV pitch becomes a project in massive FAIL, he comes up with a few other ideas to become famous -- make a sex tape with someone famous, start a charity, adopt a foreign baby, become straight, etc. The film follows him on these adventures, but they all predictably end up with the same result.
I'll give Bruno credit where it's due -- it's funny. It is not The Hangover funny, but it's funny. The humor relies more on the physical comedic genius of Sacha Baron Cohen and less on a well-written script and dialogue, which is what I usually prefer. I honestly have no idea how this movie escaped with only an R rating. There were parts of it that made me wince uncomfortably in my chair, and every time I looked over at the barely-legal teenagers sitting next to me, I was horrified at what their parents might think of me for letting their child see a movie like this. But, they were cracking up the whole time, so I guess it wasn't that bad.
It's definitely not something I would watch again in the theaters. I probably won't even own the DVD. But, it's a short movie that flows pretty well given the different situations, and it is pretty mindless, so if that is what you are looking for, go see it.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 2.5
This past weekend, I went to go see Bruno with my baby brother (well, he's 18, so not much of a baby anymore...) and two of his female friends. I've been seeing the movie previews and Bruno shenanigans for weeks now. I must admit that normally, I am not a big fan of mockumentaries like Bruno. I actually didn't watch Borat until well after it came out on DVD! But, my little brother has been dying to see it, so I went along.
The movie was..... OK. Don't continue reading if you don't want any spoilers, because the movie is hard to discuss without giving away some of the funnier bits.
Bruno is an Austrian television personality who hosts a fashion show. During an interview-gone-wrong, he ends up getting himself blackballed from the Austrian fashion world. Determined to become rich and famous, Bruno decides to move to LA, and his assistant's assistant, Lutz, goes along.
Bruno comes up with a plethora of ideas on how to become rich and famous -- he decides to interview celebrities to pitch a TV show (his interview with Paula Abdul ends up getting him blacklisted in Hollywood), and at the focus group screening of his TV show, we are entertained by his "interview" with Harrison Ford (which consists of Ford screaming "Fuck off!" to Bruno), and a lengthy scene that I can only describe as completely inappropriate for a Rated R movie (and maybe even an NC-17 movie). After his TV pitch becomes a project in massive FAIL, he comes up with a few other ideas to become famous -- make a sex tape with someone famous, start a charity, adopt a foreign baby, become straight, etc. The film follows him on these adventures, but they all predictably end up with the same result.
I'll give Bruno credit where it's due -- it's funny. It is not The Hangover funny, but it's funny. The humor relies more on the physical comedic genius of Sacha Baron Cohen and less on a well-written script and dialogue, which is what I usually prefer. I honestly have no idea how this movie escaped with only an R rating. There were parts of it that made me wince uncomfortably in my chair, and every time I looked over at the barely-legal teenagers sitting next to me, I was horrified at what their parents might think of me for letting their child see a movie like this. But, they were cracking up the whole time, so I guess it wasn't that bad.
It's definitely not something I would watch again in the theaters. I probably won't even own the DVD. But, it's a short movie that flows pretty well given the different situations, and it is pretty mindless, so if that is what you are looking for, go see it.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 2.5
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