Movies & Thoughts

My Best Friend's Girl

2009-03-31T04:58:00.000-07:00

ImpAwards.com

Rating: R

Stars: 3 out of 5

Trailer:

trailerspy.com

Thoughts:
My Best Friend's Girl is what I refer to as a disposable movie. I dole out the 3.99 to rent it on iTunes and then after 24 hours it is never heard from again. Although it has the laughs and the entertainment value to keep me interested for two hours, there isn't anything particularly memorable about the film. The characters are underdeveloped and the plot builds up to a pretty unrealistic conclusion (spoiler: after the whole conflict semi-revolving around the fact that it is, obviously, his best friend's girl, the best friend calmly gives her up and the two share a man-hug).

Not a horrible movie, but the fact that I seem to have no strong feelings about it 5 minutes after watching it surely isn't a good sign either.

Then again, I don't really have strong feelings about anything right now. It's 5 a.m.

-Jackiiieee

PS- Sorry the trailer's all weird and cut off. I usually use traileraddict.com but their's was pretty bad quality for some reason.

I Love You, Man

2009-03-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

SPRING BREAK!!!!

YES.

Finally, spring break. Which means I got to go and watch a movie today! A real movie. One that recently came out, I Love You, Man.

ImpAwards.com

Rating: R

Stars: 4.5 out of 5

Trailer:

TrailerAddict.com

Thoughts:
It's almost like I Love You, Man was made with me in mind. It has awkward funniness, random air guitar moments, funny accents (leprechaun = jamaican?), touching bromantic moments, and some really great songs in the soundtrack (already hunting them down on itunes), as well as those cute little after-movie scenes they show during the credits.

I can definitely see how this movie isn't for everyone, though. Peter Klaven (the protagonist)'s awkwardness at every opportunity might be tiresome for some, although I personally loved it (because I'm an awkward person? Pshaw no.), and the slapstick humor, although just a few notches below over-the-top in my opinion, might be a little strong for others.

Funny movie, cute main actor (yay), and a plotline that spoofs romantic comedies for a bromance.

-Jackie

Sydney White (and the Seven Dorks)

2009-03-26T23:09:00.000-07:00

ImpAwards.com

Stars: 3.5 out of 5

Rating: PG-13

Trailer:

TrailerAddict.com

Thoughts:
If you saw the trailer for Sydney White (and you better have, considering I embedded it directly above for your convenience), then you may be expecting a cheesy, feel good, be-yourself-and-other-morals kind of movie. And you'd pretty much be right, but I loved it anyway. :D
What Sydney White lacks in depth or originality (based on the story of Snow White, Tyler Prince and Rachel Witchburn are hardly subtle character names) it more than makes up for in sheer charm and an escapist setting, where the geeks can overthrow mean sororities and charming frat boys (that volunteer in soup kitchens, no less) woo dorky girls by hiring out the school's a cappella group.
Good for some laughs, some aww's, and an overpowering desire to run for student body president (with the help of some lightsaber-wielding coolkats).

xoxo
Jackie

P.S - If you see the movie, watch for witty little Snow White references.

ie: "Things are looking grim, brothers."- Gurkin (Har har.)

"Hi ho. Bye ho." - The seven dorks

Zoolander

2009-03-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

impawards.com
Stars: 4 out of 5

Rating: PG-13

Trailer:

en.dtrailer.com

Thoughts:
Zoolander is probably one of the best movies for ending a long, stressful week. It follows the adventures of Derek Zoolander, male model extraordinaire, as he goes about his business building centers "for kids who can't read good" and attempting to thwart evil plans for the assasination of the Malaysian prime minister. Although it may not be the most intelligent of plots, it is chock-full of hilarious moments that will make you laugh out loud. My friend and I watched this movie two years ago together in advisory, and we still quote it to each other today.

Plus everyone loves Ben Stiller.

-J

The Hottie and the Nottie

2009-03-24T22:23:00.001-07:00

Yeah. It's Paris Hilton.

www.collider.com

Stars: 1 out of 5

Rating: PG-13

Trailer:

traileraddict.com
Thoughts:
No, really! Paris Hilton actually starred in a movie. It's called "The Hottie and the Nottie" and it came out only last year. I could pick at the minor details, and point out some of the flaws of this movie in general, but let's just be blunt.

Paris Hilton's acting is so bad, it's out of this reality.

She has only one facial expression, she always speaks at the same pitch and volume, and you can never tell where she's looking for some reason. Her performance is so unbelievable, it actually reminds me of the spoof-y acting in films like Scary Movie. One wonders if this is actually a fair representation of her acting ability (frightening thought) or just how she normally is (even more frightening thought).

About the actual movie, it's a fairly predictable plot, some funny moments, and some gross-ly weird ones. Kind of like a cross between a chick flick and a Step Brothers type movie. Even with a stronger actress than Hilton, it probably would have only gotten about 3 stars from me.
xoxo
-J

Heh. Oops.

2009-03-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

So..the chick flick marathon thing didn't really work out. I'm sure the broken promise of funny, unrealistically romantic movie blurbs ruined the last three days for everybody, but fear not! Tonight's movie: 50 First Dates

Stars: 4 out of 5

Rating: PG-13

www.pooler-georgia-homepage.com

Trailer:

traileraddict.com
Thoughts:

The only movie that made Adam Sandler look kind of romantic. 50 First Dates is a refreshing twist on the worn out rom-com formula. They meet. He falls. He woos. She falls. Except in this case, it's: They meet. He falls. He woos. She falls. Repeat Process.

It has enough funny moments to keep even the un-romantic of people satisfied, but enough tear-jerking moments (from Adam Sandler, no less) and mushy scenes to have the little girl in all of us reaching for chocolates and tissues.

xoxo
Jackie

Down With Love

2009-03-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

I'm going to New York tomorrow! Eek. While I'm there, I decided that it's going to be reviewing a chick flick a day. In honor of this, I chose a cute movie set in New York, and figured why not start early with the chick flick marathon. Today's movie: Down With Love

Poster from impawards.com

Stars: 3.5 out of 5

Rating: PG-13

Trailer:

trailer from traileraddict.com

Thoughts: Down With Love is an old-school style chick flick that takes place in 1960's New York. It stars Renée Zellwegger as Barbara Novak, a strong businesswoman and author that writes a book detailing how women don't need men and shouldn't fall in love. Catcher Block, the protagonist player, does all he can to try and sabatoge Novak's career by manipulating her to fall in love with him, but accidentally falls for her himself. :)

RETURN OF THE LISTS!

Reasons this Movie is a Great Chick Flick:
1. Ewan Mcgregor
2. Ewan Mcgregor with a British AND southern accent
3. The cute retro vibe
4. The ending song that the main characters sing
5. Frank Sinatra love songs

Cute and fluffy enough to watch for a girls' night in but with enough plot to keep you interested
in more than just the lovey-dovey stuff, Down With Love rightfully earns a place in my Awesome-Possum Chick Flick Marathon.

xoxo
J

Step Brothers

2009-03-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

Stars: 2 out of 5

Rating: R

Trailer:

Trailer from traileraddict.com

What I thought:

In my opinion, a good slapstick movie once in a while is beneficial to everybody's health. Because sometimes, all you need is to sit down and laugh at stupid things for an hour and a half.
After watching the trailer, Step Brothers seemed perfect for some mindless humor. Turns out, all the funny parts were in the trailer and all I got out of watching it were a couple hundred dead brain cells.

I know there are definitely a lot of people who think this movie is really funny, but watching one hundred minutes of every possible laugh being squeezed out of one joke was just painful.

Also, this was one of those movies where every character is kind of vile. I'm pretty sure a movie has failed when, half an hour in, the audience realizes that they hate everybody except for the blind guy next door, who has a cool dog.

Don't watch it. If you already have, I'm sending you healing thoughts.

-J

Kiwi!

2009-03-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

Stars: 4 out of 5

Rating: Er.. I'm guessing PG

Ok guys. Today's movie is Kiwi!. A three minute eight second long Youtube sensation (over 21 million views) that, although short, has more depth than most movies two hours long.

But wait Jackie, that's not a movie. It's only three minutes long! It's just a video. You can't post a video on your movie blog! You're a failure!

Well guess what.

From wordnetweb.princeton.edu:

movie: a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement

Entertaining? Check. Enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement? Check-ity check check.

So I'm NOT a failure. Take that, imaginary voice.

^ Video from revver.com

Warning: slightly depressing

xoxo
-J

Lars and the Real Girl

2009-03-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

Poster Credit to: ImpAwards.com

Trailer (yay):
Trailer embedded from: traileraddict.com

Stars: 4.5 out of 5

Rating: PG-13

Review:
This is one of my favorite movies of all time.

Ryan Gosling (from The Notebook!!!!) is Lars Lindstrom: an endearingly (but cripplingly) introverted young man and the protagonist of this movie. Although he has trouble talking to and connecting with people, it is revealed early on in the movie that despite his aversion to human contact, Lars really does want someone he can be comfortable around, and love. The solution? A life-sized female doll he ordered off the internet, named Bianca. And yes, that kind of doll.

Their relationship is, however, completely innocent. He talks to her, walks with her (or rather, pushes her around on her wheelchair), tucks her into bed every night, and lovingly introduces her as his girlfriend. After Lars' brother and sister-in-law consult a therapist, they find out that Bianca is part of Lars's delusion: a crutch that Lars is using to cope with the world. The best thing they can do is humor him until he no longer needs it.

Lars and the Real Girl is a heartfelt comedy with a bit of weight, and although not sad, is just touching enough that it might require a box of tissues.

For those too lazy to read the above: It is every bit as sincere and enjoyable as the trailer makes it out to be.

xoxo
-J

Twilight

2009-03-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

Poster from HushGossip.com

On a side note: What is going on with the "g" in the title?? It's like it never ends...

Stars: 2 out of 5

Rating: PG-13

Block of text:
I didn't actually even want to see this movie (I liked the book though, so Twilight fans please don't rip me apart) since, even though the trailer was quite appealing, I pretty much expected the worst out of it. But Robert Pattinson is pretty and I'm weak, so I ended up going with my friends anyway.

From the moment the lights dimmed I knew that it was going to be a bad night. I could hear the girl behind me hyperventilating. As the movie began, several excited fans shrieked involuntarily. The first time Edward Cullen (the vampire heartthrob himself) appeared on the screen, a collective swoon went through the audience.

I'm not saying I'm immune to his charms. I admit I could definitely watch Edward (and his perfectly styled hair) for a pretty long time, but after the third conversation he had with Bella, I decided that the camera rapidly switching back and forth between über zoomed-in faces
just wasn't worth the eye candy.

YAY FOR LISTS!

Other Problems I had with this movie:

1. Spider-monkey. No. Just no.
2. Edward driving past (his rival) Jacob. Both cars slow down as they pass each other and glare through their conveniently open windows. Cowboy duel music might as well have been playing.
3. So much white make-up for vampires that I saw black spots after the movie ended.
4. Edward looking like smeared glitter glue over half his face when he stepped out into the sun.

The movie did, however, score major points back with the scene in which Robert Pattinson wore Ray-Bans. :D

Overall message for those too lazy to read all of the above: If you don't really, really, really love Twilight, you'll hate the movie.

xoxo
-J

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

2009-03-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

Poster from mimifroufrou.com

Stars: 4 out of 5

Rating: R

Long, boring block of text: Usually, I have a very strict no horror movie policy. I scare easy. Since the name of the movie includes the word murderer, I barely even had the guts to watch it. But since it also had the word perfume in it, I was curious enough to be brave, and blindly gave it a try (read: I checked it out on Wikipedia first to make sure it wasn't too frightening).

Turns out once I started watching it I couldn't have stopped if I wanted to. The main character is a guy named Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with an incredible sense of smell. So incredible, that in one scene, he lies down next to a pond and mutters to himself about how he can smell frog eggs two feet under the water. Nice.

But weirdly enough, even with Grenouille's total lack of social skills (the other kids at the orphanage throw stuff at him while he sniffs dead things) and creepy demeanor, it's hard not to feel a bit sympathetic towards him. He doesn't talk much, and has no friends. His first murder was even by accident!

The movie has an intriguingly creepy plot that, refreshingly, involves no sawing of limbs, psychos in masks, or missed calls. Definitely worth watching.. the ending will leave you dumbfounded.

xoxo
-J

The Plan

2009-03-09T16:52:00.000-07:00

Hello

This is my blog.

It's actually a project for my journalism class. Everyone is starting a blog and they are required to post in it once every day for a month. I decided that I would make my blog about movies and what I think about them. This includes all movies, whether they're old, new, good or bad.

Hopefully these posts will make it a little easier next time someone's bored to death some night and can't pick a movie to watch. Or at least help them avoid the pain that comes with spending $2.99 to rent a movie on iTunes (or wasting one hour illegally downloading it for free) only to find out that it's horrible, since I will have suffered through it first and warned the world on my blog!
So..I'm kind of a hero.

xoxo
-Jackie