The Other Guys

Last night I went with two friends to see "The Other Guys" starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. Get ready for this...IT HAD A PLOT. I know, it was actually more than Will Ferrell making butt jokes! There were some of the typical guy movie jokes but it was actually really funny, and made fun of itself as well. You definitely laugh in this movie. Mark Wahlberg is actually really good in the movie, although I expected at any moment he was going to say "Say hi to your mother for me". The opening sequence with the Rock and Samuel L Jackson is hilarious. Worth it just for that.

"I See You" too

So last night I finally broke down and saw Avatar - gotta keep up with pop culture right? So I was not into seeing it for a long time - the trailers did nothing for me. After having seen it though it was not so painful to sit through (although 3 hrs is a long movie) and better than I expected. The Blue people didn't bug me as much as I thought (you get used to it) and even though there were parts that were cheesy or that didn't make sense I didn't hate it. A lot of thought and imagination went into it which I appreciated. There were points when I was scared or tense and sad. Also, why did all the animal/creatures look like fish/dragons? Those monkey things I named Finkeys. I finally understand the tail hooking reference from the Laser Cats skit on SNL. Jim you know how to make movies that make LOTS of money.  

Rating: 4 out of 5

100% Truth is Weird

Last night we rented the Invention of Lying staring Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner. This movie was weird. I hadn't read reviews or anything really for it, but after seeing Ricky Gervais host the Golden Globes I decided to give it a chance. So it was weird kinda of like how Stranger Than Fiction was weird. Not bad but different. Like not only could the characters only tell the truth (they had no word for "lying" and couldn't conceive the idea) they had to say whatever was on their mind. Like if they walked by an ugly person they couldn't just walk by, they had to say "I think you are unattractive". It's basically about a guy who is a "loser" who figures out how to lie and that it can get you whatever you want and make you not a loser - that's not the lesson that you're exactly left with but close enough. I was surprised at how many well known actors were in it though, like Tina Fey, Rob Lowe and Jonah Hill. I didn't like some aspects of it, but it was okay. I found myself wanting it to end though, so I guess that's not a good sign.

Rating: 2.5/5

An Education

So, along with two friends, I went to Guleph monday night to see An Education at the Bookstore. (As a side note we went to the Red Brick Cafe beforehand and it was really cool. We did the wine sampling for $8 - such a deal. I would definitely go back). The movie takes place in a suburb of London during the early 1960's. The main character is this really smart girl whose goal (as determined by her parents) is to go to Oxford to study English. She meets an older man one rainy day and an emotional affair begins. Very deep and twisty (not in a weirdo way though). I don't want to spoil the movie so I won't say more. The male lead Peter Saarsgaard is not British but you'd never know it (my friend actually found that the cast was all English except for him). I was pleasantly surprised to see Dominic Cooper as well. The blond is from Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightly version). The costuming is awesome and it makes you want to go live in that time, even if just for a bit.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Movie Weekend

Last weekend I saw three movies. Here is what I saw and what I thought:

Public Enemy - Some parts were slow, you had to pay attention to follow the story and keep the characters straight. As usual Johnny Depp did a good job "becoming" the character. 3.5/5

Julie & Julia - This one was really good. I loved the parts between Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep. Amy Adams wasn't my favourite part of the movie surprisingly. I thought it was really good and I really like the actor who played Julie's husband - he was in Away We Go. Pretty sure I'll buy this one - even if it DID make me want to eat after. 4/5

Brothers - Very intense emotionally, like I didn't cry but you definitely have strong feelings for the characters. The little girls in the movie are amazing. It's shocking and I would definitely recommend it. Some critics panned it for the "war" themes but put that aside and it's a decent movie. My one friend said the only thing missing was Jake Gyllenhaal topless. 4/5

Movie Review - "The September Issue"

I wouldn't recommend this everyone, in fact I would probably only recommend it those who read Vogue, have an appreciation for fashion and who want to see behind the scenes of an often mocked industry. The premise looks at the creation of the September 2007 issue of Vogue (the September issue is their largest each year). It also looked at Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington the two that really make the magazine happen. I definitely learned a lot about these women. The movie was like candy for your eyes, with shots of Paris, Rome and New York. You see just how much work goes into a spread and at what an art it really is, while still being a business for sure. You learn to respect Anna, even though she seems like a nightmare at times. I laughed, I was shocked and, well no I didn't cry. If you like this you must see Valentino: The Last Emperor, I DID cry at the end of that.

My rating: 4 out of 5

The flavours of Extract

Saturday night after the Paris Fair we decided to go see a movie. After browsing Chapters and grabbing some Starbizzle we decided on Extract. I had seen the trailers and thought they looked funny. The movie is directed by Mike Judge of Office Space fame. I knew that Ben Affleck, J.K Simmons, Kristen Wiig and Jason Bateman were in it so I was expecting it to be pretty funny. Maybe because my expectations were so high this movie fell short. Don't get me wrong, there were funny moments but I doubt it will reach cult status as Office Space did.

Aye Scotland

Last night I watched Stone of Destiny. It's based on a true story of how a group of Scotish university students plotted and went to Westminster Abbey in London to "steal" back this giant stone that was a symbolic emblem for Scotland. It happened in 1950 so that added another cool element to the movie. The acting was good as was the casting, gotta love those accents (some of them were fake but I couldn't tell). It entertained me and I learned something so I'm giving it a 3.5 out of 5.

I was questioning their use of alcohol at this point...

Sunshine Cleaning - What a Mess

Don't let the title fool you, it was actually pretty good. From the makers of Little Miss Sunshine, this movie too was dark at times, but it had its funny moments too. Casting was good, love Amy Adams. It was really interesting because you don't normally think of what happens after the crime, to clean it up. The way the plot developed and the story unfolded was interesting as well. My rating is 2.5 out of 5.