Sunday, June 27, 2010

From Paris with Love


A fun 90 minute action movie with little to recommend beyond the adrenaline rush it provides. It is relentlessly paced to the point that it can actually become a little exhausting. It also has a somewhat confusing story, although it isn't the focus of the movie and therefore it doesn't suffer a whole lot from it. Travolta is chewing on the scenery and loving it, providing the biggest joy the movie has to offer. Rhys-Meyers doesn't really do much beyond act surprised at what Travolta is doing, but they have an effective buddy relationship by the end of the film. From Paris with Love is nothing to get all that excited about, but if all you are looking for is 90 minutes of non-stop action that doesn't tax the brain and provides a few fun moments then this is for you.

Monday, June 21, 2010

When in Rome



Beth (Kristen Bell) is ready for love and what better place to find it than Rome? During her sister's wedding she comes across a fountain of love and decides she is going to take some coins from it. When all sorts of men unexpectedly start falling in love with her at the same time she begins a budding new romance she has to question... is it real or is it the fountain? I found this light romantic comedy pretty funny and enjoyed the chemistry between Bell and Josh Duhamel.

Leap Year


Amy Adams stars in this romantic comedy about a girl who is sick of waiting for her boyfriend to propose so decides it is time to take matters into her own hands. She decides to surprise her boyfriend in Ireland and follow the local tradition than a woman can propose to a man during leap year day. Of course the journey does not go as planned and she has to enlist the help of Declan (Matthew Goode) who makes her start questioning how she wants the journey to end. A corny but enjoyable chick flick taking place in gorgeous Ireland.

Letters to Juliet


I have to admit if you watched the previews for this movie than you pretty much know the whole story. A fairly common storyline where girl is engaged to the wrong guy meets Mr. Wonderful, and of course they fall in love and live happily ever after. I have to admit that I was much more interested in the Grandmother's love story than the young kids, but of course how can you not be when it involves Vanessa Redgrave. Overall a romantic-comedy that is extremely predictable but enjoyable. I am a sucker for a cheesy love story with a happy ending and now of course I would love to visit Verona, Italy.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Edge of Darkness


An incomprehensible story with a few strings of action attached to lots of dialogue. I was expecting more action than what I got. The movie is more of a conspiracy thriller (and I use the term "thriller" loosely). It works well enough when focusing on the revenge aspect of the story (and there's some pretty good action sequences), but as soon as the conspiracy theories and buckets of dialogue come in things grind to a halt. It should have went one way or the other, but instead we have a hybrid that doesn't work like it could have. Mel Gibson does fine in the role and shows he can still highlight a movie effectively, while the supporting cast is small, but decent. Ray Winstone's character is just shadowy enough that you never know whose side he is on and that's probably the most compelling thing about the movie. If you wanted an action thriller, you aren't getting it here. If you don't mind lots of dialogue in between your action, it's a decent, but unspectacular movie.

Valentine's Day


Despite being utterly predictable and cliche, the charm factor of Valentine's Day was enough to carry me through to the end with a smile on my face. It isn't a very good movie, but that's not always what matters. Sometimes you just want to be entertained and this film does the job. It is about 20-30 minutes to long and some of the plots get tiresome and too similar, but those are the only complaints I have. Taylor Swift was absolutely awful in this movie as well, but I have a feeling it was intentional and I thought it was hilarious how bad she was. The rest of the cast is competent. Valentine's Day is carried just enough by the charm of its cast to get by, although it's no "Love, Actually".

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus


A visually wondrous movie with a story that's all over the place and doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I'm sure Ledger dying in the middle altered the story somewhat, but I still think this is what Gilliam had in mind when he started. I really couldn't recall the story to anyone other than the absolute basics even after watching the movie 5 minutes ago, but I can recall how imaginative and creative Gilliam's film was. It has great production values with some decent performances. You watch it for the visual spectacle and to see Ledger's final performance. There's nothing else really to the film, but that's fine by me. It was 2 hours well spent.

Friday, June 4, 2010

The Road


A bleak, unsettling movie that might be too dark for some and doesn't have the emotional pull it thinks it does, but nonetheless provides 2 solid hours of material that will stick with you long after the credits roll. There isn't much story to speak of and they never go into the specifics of how Earth was annihilated. Instead it focuses on the bond between father and son and how far people are willing to go to survive, no matter the cost to our humanity. Strong performances from Mortensen and Mcphee help the movie coast along on the weight of their characters, before it ultimately unravels from the final 15 minutes where things just don't seem in place and don't make much sense in retrospect. Until then though, the movie does just enough to get a slight recommendation. It could have been better, but what's there is still quality cinema.

The Messenger


When it focuses on the job of these 2 men and the emotional trauma caused by it, I thought it was a compelling and thought-provoking film and I loved the first hour to death. Then it got more into the brotherly love with the 2 characters and how they go off the deep end and I wasn't as interested. It doesn't fall apart, but I thought the second hour was incredibly weak when compared to the first. The acting by Foster and Harrelson is superb, though. They carry the film on their shoulders well. That first hour is great enough that I'm still giving this a solid recommendation. You might like the second part more than me, but I like my movies more emotional than others do as long as it is handled well, which it was in this film.