Saturday, January 30, 2010

When In Rome

An ambitious young New Yorker (Kristen Bell), disillusioned with romance, takes a whirlwind trip to Rome where she defiantly plucks magic coins from a fountain of love, inexplicably igniting the passion of those who threw them in: a sausage magnate (Danny DeVito), a street magician (Jon Heder), an adoring painter and a self-admiring model. But when a charming reporter (Josh Duhamel) pursues her with equal zest, she finds out if the love is real.

My Review: When In Rome is one of those feel-good romcoms that charms you, yet leaves you with an unpleasant taste in your mouth. From the start of the movie, I felt that the dialogue seemed forced and the script and overall story was a tad immature. It felt like one of those projects from the third grade where the student realizes that the project is due on the next day and put odds and ends together to create something sub-par. This is what the movie felt like. If it wasn't for the charm of the two stars, the entire film would be impossible. It definitely was not a great way to kick off 2010 in film, but in a way, it was. The awkwardness of the story was able to be overlooked when the stars charmed their way through the hour and a half. 1 and a half out of 4 stars.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Avatar 3D

In Avatar, a reluctant hero embarks on an epic adventure, ultimately fighting to save the alien world he has learned to call home. James Cameron, the Oscar-winning director of “Titanic,” first conceived the film 15 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not exist yet. Now, after four years of production, Avatar, a live action film with a new generation of special effects, delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story.

My Review: Avatar was not worth seeing 2, 3, 4, etc. times and certainly not best movie of the decade... in my opinion, that is. I'm going to assume that the people who think it deserves the Oscar for Best Picture were to caught up in the special effects and not paying enough attention to the weak story and not to mention the cheesy conclusion. What a predictable Hollywood ending too. On a lighter note, it doesn't take away from the energized pace and action and explosions. That was all great! It will probably take all the technical categories, which it deserves. After all that has been said, I am going to completely contradict my whole review and say that Avatar excels at providing visual stimuli and grabs you for the majority of the 2.5 hours. Time flies when you are watching a James Cameron flick! 3 out of 4 stars.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Golden Globe PREDICTIONS Pt. 2

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA-Avatar

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA-Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA- Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL- It's Complicated

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL-Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL- Matt Damon  (The Informant)

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Golden Globe PREDICTIONS Pt. 1

BEST DIRECTOR- Jason Reitman (Up In The Air)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE- Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE- MO’NIQUE (Precious)

BEST FOREIGN FILM- Broken Embraces (Spain)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM- Up