They say that the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach...well that is absolutely true and after watching this movie it's even more so. I guess the best way to describe Julie & Julia is that it was cute. We have the always amazing Meryl Streep playing the obnoxious real life cook, Julia Child and Amy Adams playing a woman by the name of Julie Powell. Julia Child wrote a book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and Julie Powell cooked every receipt in that book...and there lies the premise of the movie. We got to see how Julia Child's rise to fame as a popular chef and how her book came to fruition and we saw from Julie Powell the rigor of cooking those 524 receipts in 365 days. The 2 stories were going on concurrently, one with each character, and they flipped back and forth for the two hour run time but something was ultimately missing for me.
I don't know if I just didn't get the movie or if I didn't understand the character of Julia Child but I found myself becoming very annoyed with Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia Child. I know in real life she was a rather eccentric lady but man o man was she annoying. The supporting characters were very lackluster, the ending was extremely anticlimactic, and the movie seemed to go on for days and days and days. I love food so in that respect the movie was great but I don't think I would subject myself to seeing it again and for that reason I would give Julie & Julia a C.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Hasbro brings their Real American Heroes to the big screen in GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra. I remember back when I was a child; I had the entire lineup on my dresser and put little parachutes on them and threw them out of my bedroom window. If I had this movie on DVD I would do the same thing except without the parachute.
In this story we have a group of special operatives, known as Joes, who, of course, try and take down the villians who are planning to destroy the planet by using a super sophisticated futuristic weapon involving nanotechnology. This weapon is a liquid looking substance that needs to be activated and consist of teeny tiny little nanorobots. These little buggers devour and destroy everything in their path until nothing exists. Believe it or not they are being launched towards a few major cities across the world, one of which is Washington DC so Cobra can take over the planet...could they be anymore original. The Joes get to use their nifty toys and fly jets that move faster than mach 1000 or whatever they say and save the day like the heroes they are.
Bottom line, this movie was stupid. The plot was lame, the acting was worse, and one of the main stars was Marlon Wayans (need I say more?). There was a lot of grandier, explosions, and special effects but at the end of the day this movie was really bad. I could not in good faith recommend this movie unless you are really just looking for some cheesy entertainment and a way to pass the time. Even though it was a crappy movie there was some entertainment value so with that said I would give it a D+.
In this story we have a group of special operatives, known as Joes, who, of course, try and take down the villians who are planning to destroy the planet by using a super sophisticated futuristic weapon involving nanotechnology. This weapon is a liquid looking substance that needs to be activated and consist of teeny tiny little nanorobots. These little buggers devour and destroy everything in their path until nothing exists. Believe it or not they are being launched towards a few major cities across the world, one of which is Washington DC so Cobra can take over the planet...could they be anymore original. The Joes get to use their nifty toys and fly jets that move faster than mach 1000 or whatever they say and save the day like the heroes they are.
Bottom line, this movie was stupid. The plot was lame, the acting was worse, and one of the main stars was Marlon Wayans (need I say more?). There was a lot of grandier, explosions, and special effects but at the end of the day this movie was really bad. I could not in good faith recommend this movie unless you are really just looking for some cheesy entertainment and a way to pass the time. Even though it was a crappy movie there was some entertainment value so with that said I would give it a D+.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
The Hurt Locker
If I had to describe this movie in one word it would be intense. We have an Army bomb squad of 3 men who are in the heart of Iraq during the peak of the conflict defusing some pretty complex bombs. Not only are they taking apart bombs that are designed to kill them but everybody around them are potential terrorists looking to do the same thing. There is only one thing that keeps these guys together and in one piece and that is eachother...and even that become difficult at times.
Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty possess three different and clearly distinct personalities; a gun-ho pro army badass, the everyday soldier and a guy who can't handle the affects of war. All 3 delivered performances that were impecable and, more importantly, memorable. I truly felt as though I was witnessing first hand what happens on the battlefield in an Iraqi city. Not only was this the best film of the year and one of my personal favorites but this movie was a success in every respect; acting, direction, script, plot, etc. It is incredibly hard to put into words how tremendous this film was so I give The Hurt Locker the highest possible A just barely missing an A+.
Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty possess three different and clearly distinct personalities; a gun-ho pro army badass, the everyday soldier and a guy who can't handle the affects of war. All 3 delivered performances that were impecable and, more importantly, memorable. I truly felt as though I was witnessing first hand what happens on the battlefield in an Iraqi city. Not only was this the best film of the year and one of my personal favorites but this movie was a success in every respect; acting, direction, script, plot, etc. It is incredibly hard to put into words how tremendous this film was so I give The Hurt Locker the highest possible A just barely missing an A+.
(500) Days of Summer
Opening Line: "This is not a love story." When I hear those words I immediately think it is going to be just that, a love story, but the ending wasn't what I thought it would be. This is a story of boy meets girl and falls in love but what Tom Hansen doesn't realize is that feelings aren't always reciprocated. He will soon be introduced to Summer Finn and the roller coaster of emotions that commonly follow most relationships for the duration of...you guessed it...500 days.
There were a few aspects of this movie that I absolutely loved. First, the acting. Joesph Gordon-Levitt delivered in every scene he was in and really connected with the audience. When he was depressed my heart ached and when he was happy I couldn't help but smile. I think any person who has been in some form of relationship could relate to him (some more than others). Second, the timeline. We may have opened with day 1 but five minutes into the the movie we may have seen day 488 or day 241. The entire movie bounced around, usually with a change in emotional state each time, but it flowed very well and always kept me guessing. Third, the script. Not only was this film well acted but also well written. It had such a great balance of comedy and drama, there were times I almost died of laughter and there were times when I wanted to weep like a baby.
At the end of the day I was, of course, rooting for Tom and Summer to live happily ever after (you'll have to see it to know if that happens) but found myself pleasantly surprised with how the story ended. If a sequel was made, and I can see that happening, it would be a definate must see. For that reason I give 500 Days of Summer a B+.
There were a few aspects of this movie that I absolutely loved. First, the acting. Joesph Gordon-Levitt delivered in every scene he was in and really connected with the audience. When he was depressed my heart ached and when he was happy I couldn't help but smile. I think any person who has been in some form of relationship could relate to him (some more than others). Second, the timeline. We may have opened with day 1 but five minutes into the the movie we may have seen day 488 or day 241. The entire movie bounced around, usually with a change in emotional state each time, but it flowed very well and always kept me guessing. Third, the script. Not only was this film well acted but also well written. It had such a great balance of comedy and drama, there were times I almost died of laughter and there were times when I wanted to weep like a baby.
At the end of the day I was, of course, rooting for Tom and Summer to live happily ever after (you'll have to see it to know if that happens) but found myself pleasantly surprised with how the story ended. If a sequel was made, and I can see that happening, it would be a definate must see. For that reason I give 500 Days of Summer a B+.
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