My Watch List

Justin and Jill's Drunk History

2015-09-13T21:19:00.001-07:00

Title:Justin and Jill's Drunk History
Starring: Justin and Jill and their amazing friends
Category: Category

Drunk people are funny. How it hasn't been mined properly before this is a mystery. Comedy Central has done so but only in a roundabout way. Sure Tosh.0 featured tons of drunks found on YouTube. AtMidnight capitalised on it further. But this was someone else's material. Comedy Central did funny drunks like second-hand smoke.
Until Drunk History. Take a piece of history that in itself is really interesting and have it told by someone who is piss drunk. Then have A-Listers re-enact / act out the narration, complete with outakes and burps. This became a huge phenomena that it seems it is going to run out of material soon. Until people took the concept and made it their own. Enter Justin and Jill.

They took their history of them meeting up and made it into a drunk history video. It is so good that it is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. Helps that both are in the entertainment business.
To top it off, their next video, their wedding dance video is also equally amazing.

While You Were Sleeping: The Funny, Quirky Holiday Classic

2012-12-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman,
Category: Romantic Comedy
(Update: The BluRay release date is finally set for January 15, 2013.)
For some reason, I can't stop grinning watching this movie. It is probably one of the best romantic comedy movies of all time. Even after all these years, it still puts a smile on my face.

It's also a great holiday movie. Lucy is a Chicago Transit Authority ticket / token both operator who has a secret crush on one of her regulars. When he falls on the train tracks on Christmas day, she jumps on the tracks to save him. What ensues is a case of bad hearing / mistaken identity at the hospital that brings her into the Callaghan family. Peter Callaghan, the guy she was crushing on, is in a coma and the family channels their attention to her. Which is something that Lucy is longing for because she has no family to speak of. Confusion and commotion follow when she tries to right her wrongs and start falling for Peter's brother Jack.

What makes the movies work is Sandra. Sandra's Lucy sweet, nice but slightly quirky, the perfect (slightly damaged) girl-next-door. She can make frumpy work because her personality (and that smile) shines through whatever her wardrobe is. Her comedic timing is pitch perfect and she seems not too concerned about how silly she looks. Her acting was really convincing. She even makes Bill Pullman look better than he does in most of his other movies.

Lucy's building owner and his son.

The other big part of the movie is everybody else. There is not one wasted actor in the movie. Seems like no line is too small. The movie is filled with interesting characters, from Lucy's neighbors, the Callaghans, Lucy's boss and even the doorman at Peter's apartment. Played by both seasoned and up and coming actors, they bring real life to their characters. Most of my friends can point out characters that they can relate to or have relations with. Peter's elderly doctor in the emergency room? That's none other than Richard Cusack, father of Joan and John Cusack. The acting felt real and the movie felt real because the people in them wore and did what you and I would normally be doing in the holiday season. Their problems are totally relate-able.

Tying the movies together was a simple story that was well executed on a lot of levels. The introduction set the tone of the movie by having the right balance of romanticism and self-deprecation. Yet it tells of Lucy's heartbreak and special relationship she had with her father that later we learn led her to the where she is in her life.

Peppered throughout the movie are small interesting moments that tell their own rich stories but don't take anything away from the main story itself. Take Jack's new vocation and how it will affect his relationship with his father Ox. In two scenes, it tells the complicated story of a son torn between the past, responsibilities and his future. Then there are the slippery ice clues. Watch how many people slip on ice in the movie. I didn't figure this out for years after I first saw the movie. I thought it was just a mean trick played on the guy delivering the paper.

Cinematography presents Chicago as the other star of the movie. Beautiful vistas and wide shots of the town is normal when you are trying to sell that the story is taking place in Chicago. But it's also shot on location so there are great scenes shot at both iconic and not-so-famous locations that are recognizable to the Chicago native immediately. Having the CTA play a role also helps. The external scenes were really great. I could almost feel the cold as Lucy sat outside on the stoop.

The Adjustment Bureau: Adjust What You Think This Movie is About

2012-06-25T21:15:00.001-07:00

Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Terence Stamp
Category: Romantic Thriller
A really simple question with a big answer. How far would you go for the one you love? We have loved many people in our life. Whatever you may say, the love ebbs and flows over time. But what if you were given a glimpse of what might be, taste what it would feel like but ultimately denied it by forces you have never known before? How far would you go to have it back, to have that love back?
The Adjustment Bureau tells the story of shadowy organization that enforces "the plan". The plan is a document that is designed to keep humanity intact. The Adjustment Bureau ensures that it is followed by intervening in people's lives, either nudging them towards choices or triggering events that force a decision to be made in a certain way. In extreme cases, the Bureau intervenes directly and changes people's memories or thoughts so that they would act or do things "according to plan". The bureau has been around for a very long time. They may have great powers but seem to be as fallible as anybody else.

David Norris, who is running for a seat on the US Senate, finds himself at odds with the Bureau when he tried to start a relationship with Elise. He first meets her just before giving his concession speech after losing the Senate seat election. She inspires him to write a speech that makes him a favorite to win in the next election. However, she leaves quickly because she was being chased by the hotel security.

An Adjustment Bureau agent, Harry Mitchell, fails to spill coffee on David one morning. This causes him to make the bus and meet Elise again. They make a connection and she gives him her phone number. The Adjustment Bureau realizes that this has changed the course of future events and goes about forcefully re-aligning events and people so that it will follow the plan. David discovers them but is only stopped. Instead of having his memory changed like the people around him, he is told about the Bureau and warned not to contact or find Elise again. The phone number is confiscated and destroyed.
The rest of the movie is about an elaborate cat and mouse game between the David, and later Elise, with the Adjustment Bureau. It is explained why the bureau does what it does and give hints as to why David is special. David on the other hand refuses to give up on Elise and goes to great lengths to find her and be with her. At every turn, the Adjustment Bureau is waiting and thwarts their attempts, finally bringing in a specialist.
The movie is the story of one man's devotion and his unwillingness to accept what is given to him. He wants something that he sees as something better and make sacrifices to get it. In this case, the love of a woman whom he is attracted to. His attraction to her is more cerebral as she is from a different background than him and has a different outlook on life. He finds her refreshing because she is not impressed by what he does but rather who he is. David Norris realizes that Elise brings out the best in him and the best parts he never realized was there. For that, he was willing to risk every thing.
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Keith: Things are not often what they seem... but sometimes they are

2012-02-25T08:58:00.003-08:00

Starring: Elisabeth Harnois,Jesse McCartney
Category: Teen Drama / Romance

Keith (Jesse McCartney) is what some people call trouble. He views his world with contempt and he knows that the adults around him are powerless to change him. He mocks them openly. He knows they are uncomfortable around him. So he uses their discomfort to make them do what he wants and get what he wants.
Keith decides to bring down school goody-two-shoes Natalie (Elisabeth Harnois). First, he makes their science teacher pair them together. He creates this elaborate persona, mysterious and challenging. He never bends to her basic requests and answers few questions as possible. He knows he can take advantage of her inquisitive personality this way. He makes her work even for the simplest things.
Keith wants to humiliate her. He starts by making her do things she wouldn't normally do. He thinks that it would bring her out of her comfort zone, making her more vulnerable. But he discovers instead someone who is closer to himself than he thought. When it comes to understanding their world around them, her view isn't too far off than his.
While Natalie does great in school, is involved in school activities and has an active social life, she understands that high school doesn't last. She puts the right amount of attention and importance to them. She avoids teen drama as much as she can. She knows about the pecking order and realizes she is at the top. She just doesn't care that much about it. She has a better grip on life and her reality than most of her friends.
She is popular and socializes in the right circles but has no qualms when it comes to making friends outside these circle. She knows exactly where all of these things stand in the big picture.
Natalie is really running in automatic most of the time anyway as her parents has planned her life in detail. However, they do leave space for her own activities. They don't try to stop her from being a teenager. Since she is good at school, she apparently has relaxed house rules. That and because she follows their plan.
She knows there is a world beyond hers but doesn't venture further than what she's used to. Not to say that she would feel uncomfortable with it, there was no reason to venture out further. She is not afraid of it. She simply has no reason to push her boundaries.
Until she meets Keith. Keith lures her further and further away from her comfort zone. He points out things in her life that makes her question her life and direction. But as he draws her away from her 'comfort zone', she finds she is not too uncomfortable with it all. She deals with it as she would anything else. It doesn't cause the damage he expects. She in turn, tries to be part of his life. This catches him by surprise. Instead he becomes uncomfortable. She want their relationship to grow but he doesn't.
The movie starts out promising and is romantic and touching. But it isn't great. The world of the movie is fairly realistic, though. High school cliches are avoided but it seems the producers and director were casting actors who looked older. If they were trying to make up for Elisabeth Harnois, they really didn't have to. She is much older than Jesse McCartney but looks no older than he is. What they ended up with is this weird group of teens in the popular group who look out of place from the rest of the school.
Keith starts the movie being arrogant. Being young comes with a sense of arrogance. A sense of rebellion. It comes with the absence of experience. It may even be a mechanism for dealing with a new-found realization of a world larger than what was known and comfortable with.
Either way, Hollywood has been tapping into this sense for a long time. Just look at the image of James Dean and Rebel Without A Cause. That, I think, is what the people behind this movie were aiming for. A rebel that could be looked up to, that continues in that great tradition of movie rebels. That was what they were aiming for in the character of Keith.
What they ended up with was an irredeemable jerk called Keith. Seriously, not a moment goes through the movie when you don't want to slap that smirk off his face. Which is just about the range of Jesse McCartney's acting in this movie. Be mysterious expression? Smirk. I don't care attitude? Smirk. Surprised expression? Smirk. CSI: Las Vegas did a stunt casting by having him on. Elisabeth Harnois is a regular on the series. He was mostly in the hospital bed barely making sense with a few lines at the end. That was I guess how much they trusted his acting.
Some people had problems with how Natalie fell for Keith. Really, there is no reason. But when is love reasonable? She felt an attraction, a kinship with his views on life. She felt challenged in the relationship and she liked it. They communicated at a different level. Both were wearing masks. Masks that worked in their social world around them but not to each other. They had to remove it to honestly communicate and within that they found something special. They found a form of comfort that one can only find in truth and dealing with it. Which is a rare thing for a teenager. This part of the movie worked but I think that it was because it was told from Natalie's point of view.

Find Love Twice: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend

2012-02-01T08:09:00.000-08:00

Starring: Alyssa Milano , Christopher Groham, Tom Lenk, Michael Landes
Category: Romantic Comedy

Do you think it's hard finding the right guy/girl? Well, what do you do if you find two of them at the same time?

This is Jesse's problem. Jesse (Alyssa Milano) meets Ethan (Christopher Groham) and Troy (Michael Landes) at the same time, literally within minutes of each other. Both men sweep her off her feet in their own ways. Ethan is a struggling writer who finds Jesse to be a source of inspiration. He is sweet, charming and funny. She feels comfortable enough with him to confide about her failed marriage. She is worried about how it will affect her relationships but Ethan doesn't care. She is the one right thing going on in his life. Despite of their awkwardness with each other, the difference between their personalities fills the other's life.

Troy, on the other hand is a successful advertising executive who understands the nature of his job but is quite grounded regardless. He is taken by Jesse's beauty and charms. He takes her on fantastic dates to impress her but find him impressed by her. at every turn. He is well off but realizes that Jesse is the true treasure in his life.
Jesse finds happiness in both men but she has a secret. She torn by it. Her brother reminds her to come clean with her boyfriend before it gets serious but it is too late. She is love. But with who? Who will she choose? That is the thrust of the movie. And the conceit/deceit of the movie. I'll get to that later.

This is an out and out romantic movie. There is some sharp and funny dialogue but that is to be expected when a writer tries to woo a girl above his station, at least in his eyes. This movie is funny naturally for once, invoking a smile and a chuckle. As opposed to other romantic comedies that are almost purely comedic and sitcom-ish with the romance thrown in the mix. These movies aim for the big laughs and either win or lose big. This movies aims to be easily funny and hits it right on every time.

All of the main characters are sweet and charming but with a small flaw. This makes them human and raise them above the standard Hollywood caricatures. Ethan's burden is the realization that he may have to abandon his dreams for a more stable future. Troy is the opposite, successful but realizes that his job is no longer his dream. Troy is hopelessly in love with Jesse and realizes that Jesse's the best thing in his life and something he cannot live without. And Jesse is carrying a burden that has stood in the way of relationships in the past and she is worried that it will affect her current relationship. That is probably the movies main 'villain' if there is any and the plot's central conceit, if you may.

However, that is where the movie starts to fall apart. Although Jesse's concern with her problem is there, it is not prominent nor focused on until the end. To movie's director, it is important to the movie's tension that Jesse's problem remain a secret. But in order for the audience to care for the secret problem, it has to affect a large part of the movie, which it doesn't. Jesse is often carefree and goes about with her dates as if nothing is happening. She also does not suffer guilt after the fact, which would emphasize her secret problem. It is hinted on briefly in the middle of the movie but then gets lost with everything else that is happening. The movie does not make us wonder what is going through her mind when it comes to dealing with her relationships and her problem. That is an opportunity lost.

The actors played their part well. Alyssa Milano can carry a movie, all she has to do is fight for the right one. This movie didn't challenge her range but neither has most of her past work. Her scenes with Christopher showed their unique chemistry. They brought out a believable sincerity in their characters. Both Christopher and Michael were good but the star was Alyssa. The actor who plays her bother is also good and his story line rounds out the movie well.

Generally, the movie works as a date movie. There hasn't been a movie with touching romantic scenes like those in this movie for a while now. Even the Nick Sparks movie of the year felt flat (I know it was a custom job for Miley Cyrus but the book offered so much potential). The romantic scenes were the movie's strong points, corny but in a good way. Not over the top nor too ironic.

Don't Fade Away: A Son's Journey

2011-12-13T10:37:00.000-08:00

Starring: Mischa Barton, Ryan Kwanten, Beau Bridges, Ja Rule
Category: Drama, Romance
This is a beautiful, powerful drama on life, love, friendship and the business of living. Jackson is a music executive losing his star client, survives a mugging and finds out that his father is dying. Already having lost his mother, Jackson realizes what is important in life and decides to do the right thing. He drops everything and goes home to Asheville, North Carolina (which according to IMDB has seen quite a number of movies made there). But Asheville is in the sticks and far removed from LA, where Jackson is calling home now.
He is at a crossroads in his life but decides that taking care of his father is more important than taking a fork in that road. He puts off his life and decides to face some of the history he has left behind. His father's mortality has him re-evaluating his life up to that point. Whatever doubts he expresses, his father has great faith in him and is proud of him nonetheless.
Jackson reluctantly reconnects with old friends and old wounds are re-opened. Jackson meets Kat, a girl who worked at his father's office and is drawn to her as she is to him. He can't understand why she would be interested in him other than having a common love for his father. But time ultimately draws them inevitably closer and soon he has to make a decision, to take one of the forks in the road of his life journey. I won't spoil the ending because for some people, they wished the movie would have just ended there. The director/writer has all right to end it any way he wishes. But the way he chooses to end it shows what the movie is or who it's for.
Acting was great all around. But Ryan Kwanten and Mischa Barton's really stood out. Ryan's acting signals clearly that he is leading-man material. His character showed genuine remorse and concern for his father. Always underneath whatever he was doing, was his concern about his job and his career. It surfaces and clashes with Kat's carefree but meaningful outlook on life and that is how they first connect. Kat, while seemingly carefree, carries her own burden. She realizes who she has become and feels powerless to stop it. Yet with Jackson, she finds a kindred spirit, someone who is also dealing with his demons that threaten to derail his life. Together they find solace and strength.
Supporting cast also didn't let the story down, living their characters as if they had been so all their lives.
The movie has two things going for it other than lead actors. First, it had an interesting story structure. It is a story of coming home to find oneself. But also is also a reflection of sorts into the past. There are flashbacks that seem strange and dream-like. As the movie progresses, it seems like the story is breaking apart at the seams and at the end it looks like it's taking a different turn. But the twist in the end ties it all up together. It's just not what the audience expects and hopes. Second, it features great music. Sometimes it would "bleed" into the story. You would think that the music is background music and suddenly the character would point it out or make a comment on it. It happens quite a few times that you become more aware of the music and songs.
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The Good Guy: Definitely Not

2011-10-11T05:32:00.000-07:00

Starring: Alexis Bledel, Scott Porter, Bryan Greenburg
Category: Drama
How would you market a movie about something that everybody hates? Find that redeeming quality and shine a light on it, darkening everything else? Focus on an angle that would make it appeal to the widest audience to get the most number of people through the door on opening day?
This movie is hard to like because it is about stockbrokers and the lives that they lead. It is harder to like because it came out after the crash of the market. What made it almost impossible to like is that it is about the type of people who would give themselves bonuses after being bailed out by the government because of a problem they created. Even if the movie was partly true, it would have made people upset. Problem is, it probably just scratched the surface because it focused on the traders lives, which are extravagant themselves, rather than their bosses.
Beth (Alexis Bledel) is in a relationship with Tommy, an experienced stockbroker. She is introduced to Daniel, an up and coming broker who Tommy has decided to take under his wing. Tommy wants Daniel to be one of the guys. Why? Maybe he saw a part of himself in Daniel. And wants to beat that part of out him.
Needless to say that the movie is really about Tommy. It begins with a seemingly heartfelt moment when he goes and begs for Beth. We then get to see the events leading to that moment. Needless to say, it is not what it seems to be. Tommy begins the movie as the Good Guy. He seems like it. He is nice to Beth. He vouches for Daniel. But he has an agenda. To understand what Daniel wants to be, you have to look at Cash, Tommy's boss and idol. He is on his way to becoming Cash.
The other characters were largely supporting and stereotypical. I will admit I watched this because of Alexis Bledel. Anna Chlumsky of My Girl is in it too. The movie tries hard to be one of those selling New York as a great place to live and work. What made the movie worst is that it literally shows us that New York is a great place to live and work if you got the cash. Which was Tommy's problem at the beginning/end of the movie.
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TV: Love Bites - The best replacement for Summer Romantic Movies

2011-08-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

Starring: Becki Newton, Greg Grunberg, Constance Zimmer and many others
Category: Romantic Comedy
It's summer, the season of loud, often over-promoted, multi-tie-in movies starring big stars (paid with big bucks) or starring big budget CGI. It's also the season for Romantic Comedies, counter-programming for the feminine side of the audience. Translated into: something to drag the masculine half to after the big robot / animation / comic-book conversion / sci-fi-fantasy movie he dragged the feminine half to.
Problem is there hasn't been a good romantic comedy (or even romance movie at that) lately in the theaters. That is where TV's Love Bites comes in.
Love Bites is the romantic comedy for the Twitter generation. It's short, straight-to-the-point plots does not deviate from the delivery of the punchline. It is as if the writers formula is:

Take a standard romantic comedy movie plot
Strip out the sub-plots and secondary characters.
Re-focus and innovate on the core theme.

Secondary characters and sub-plots are replaced by the series regulars Greg Grunberg as Judd and Becky Newton as Annie. They tie the various stories together through their relationships and friendships or merely exist to provide continuity or relevance of some kind. Each episode has three stories which either intersect, continue from one another or linked in some way, usually via Judd or Becky. At times, they are the main players of their story arc.

I loved the first episode as it guest starred Jennifer Love Hewitt as herself offering a proposition to Judd many men wouldn't turn down. He finds himself next to Jennifer on a flight to a bachelor getaway of his friend Carter. Carter has to deal with his fiancee, Liz, his firing from his job and her new discovery. He finds himself competing for her attention with a machine. It was a gift given at her bachelorette party where Becki's friend cops to being a virgin to attract the attention of a guy. If that is a lot to take in, the pace doesn't let up in the following episodes.
I wasn't distracted by the number of characters. It was very busy and very intricate, which makes repeat viewing a must. Half the fun was following all the characters and their own stories. And it wasn't as if the plots were like in soap opera ridiculous territory. The characters felt real and often face real problems. Judd and Colleen feel like real people. Not everything is perfect but some how they are perfect together. Sometimes, you can see right through to which movie a particular story seems to rip off, only for the plot veer left, leaving you surprised at the conclusion. If I can put it in a way, the overall plot complexity didn't go up to the level of Lost but it was heading there. In a good way.
You can really enjoy it if you focus on each individual story separately. Don't worry how it all ties in or who these people are. Like I said before, you can take this as a replacement of those summer romantic comedies. Think of it as 3 movies in an hour. How cool is that? Not to mention cheaper.
Maybe because of the many characters, the people behind Love Bites decided to bring in familiar faces in familiar roles. You immediately recognize not only the stars but also their personalities they played in other TV series. Slightly immature womanizing doctor, insecure guy who has to live out a lie he created for his girlfriend, married-for-too-many-years odd couple consisting of ultra conservative husband and liberal wife to name a few. Watch and try figure out who I just described and where else they played the same character.
What did bother me was a few small things. The Jodie character was exactly the same as Cassie in the first episode, only played by a different actress. Constance Zimmer replaced Pamela Adlon who was Judd's wife Colleen in the first episode. So why couldn't the writers be honest and not change the characters name from Cassie to Jodie, even though they were essentially the same. Maybe they wanted to keep the door open for Krysten Ritter, who played Cassie, to return in some future episode.

Impossibly Romantic: Waiting for Forever

2011-05-26T06:12:00.000-07:00

Starring: Rachel Bilson, Tom Sturridge Category: Romance

This movie is from a rare breed, the romance movie. Not a romantic comedy. Because love can be serious and meaningful. Too often Hollywood tacks on comedy to romance thinking that is what people want. But like a good novel, a romance movie is at it's core and execution about love and the things we do for it. This movie is even more unconventional as is about love at the beginning of life and at the end of it. It is about love between parents and their children, between brothers and between two people who share the deepest meaning to each other.
Growing up, Emma and Will were best of friends. They shared everything and spent most of their time playing together. Most important of all Emma was there for him when his parents died. As he tried to make sense of it all and in an inspired moment, Emma gave him something so simple but special to Will. Something that made him cope with what was happening and hang on, something that he would carry with him forever.
Will used this as the center point of his reality. He put Emma and her gift at the center of his reality, in a harmless way really. While the rest of the world around him grew up, Will held on to his sense of innocence and his enduring love for Emma. Even though he moved away, one day he made a decision to be where Emma was. Not stalking her but being in the same places that made meeting her was a possibility.
Emma's father's illness leads them both back to their hometown. Now home, Willy's friends and family make Will face reality by facing Emma. Emma in turn, has to deal with her parents and their relationship facing death. Will decides to confess everything to Emma. This in the end is both good and bad. For the rest you have to watch the movie. Please. This movie needs all the support it can get. Watch it now on Amazon Instant Video.

This movie is hard to judge because it is unconventional. It has a very indie flavor to the story but visual-wise it is full-on hollywood. Everything is bright and shiny and clean. Everything is so well lit.. Which is why a lot of people mistake it for one. First of all, the movie is full of well-developed characters. Everybody has a back story and they shine in their brief moments. We can see the ailing husband trying to prepare his wife to lead a life without him, a brother who is resentful that he has to be the responsible one and two friends who grow up to be a family. I think it is a bit too busy. With the plot about Emma's boyfriend and his attempt to frame his mistake on Will, it become overloaded. I think less time should have been spent on it or it could have been dropped altogether. The plot tries very hard to avoid the cliches whenever possible. At points where it just can be maudlin or have 'cute' or 'redemption' moments, the movie chooses a more realistic path. This leads to a huge pay-off in the end. Be patient and it'll come.
A lot of people on IMDB have compared this to Benny and Joon. It does seem that the actor playing Will was channeling a young Johnny Depp. I don't agree because Benny and Joon is about a love between two special individuals. It is about their special situation, dealing with adversity together.
This movie reminds more of a small movie called Late for Dinner, starring Brian Wimmer, Peter Berg and Marcia Gay Harden. The movie plot is different but at the heart of both movies, is an undying love that refuses to give up. It is about a young family dealing with the tribulation of starting a family life. It is also about what choices can one make if they are frozen for 30 years and wake up to a world very different from when they first closed their eyes. I can't believe it's also on Amazon Instant Video. This movie is about a decent, loving husband who thinks of only what he can do for his family whatever life may throw at him. It is very romantic, especially when it comes to choices he makes with regard to his wife. The end sequence is very beautiful and you can't help being drawn in. Find it and it will be worth your time.

TV: A tale of two Cupids

2011-02-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

Starring: Jeremy Piven, Paula Marshall, Jeffery D. Sams
Category: Romance, Drama

What do you do if you were a TV network and you just cancelled a good show for poor ratings. Not just a good show. Those get cancelled all the time. But a show voted one of the top 10 shows that was cancelled before its time. Deny its existence? Bury it with a remake so bad that it was shown about the same time as another bad reality show with the same name?

What a fate for Cupid, a smart, beautifully-shot series with a slightly unconventional but challenging premise. It starred Jeremy Piven as Trevor, a recent resident of a mental asylum who thinks he is Cupid and Paula Marshall, as Dr. Claire Allen, the shrink assigned to monitor him. Trevor claims to be the banished Cupid, who can only return to Mt Olympus after he unites 100 couples. Dr. Claire Allen is a popular author who is looking for her next best-seller and runs a relationship-therapy session. Trevor thinks this is fertile grounds for him to find candidates for his quest. Most weeks there are basically two intertwining stories, Trevor working on uniting a couple, whether they want to or not and Claire and Trevor's relationship as a bickering patient-therapist to close friends to possibly something more. It sounds corny and with finding love a weekly theme, it always threatens to be so. But the series is filled with witty banter and intelligent dialogue. And you get to catch a pre-Entourage Piven doing what he does best.

The series had a lot going against it. First, it was up against Friends when they were at their best. They were also vying for the same group of audience which made it even harder. Second, it was an expensive series to produce because a lot of it was beautifully shot on location rather than on set (try to think of how little Friends was shot outside. Even street scenes were in a studio or a backlot). The cast was also larger than most. There were a few recurring guest characters but the story lines usually center around guest stars.
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She's Out of My League: Surprisingly Romantic

2010-12-28T04:23:00.000-08:00

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T.J. Miller, Mike Vogel
Category: Romantic Comedy
What drove me to watch this, I'm not sure. I had dismissed this as another run-of-the-mill romantic comedy with all the standard elements of the tried and tested formula. Disappointed too many times recently with romantic comedies that promised everything but either delivered weak performances or unbelievable stories, my hopes were not high. But it came up and I went and did not walk out disappointed.
This movie is refreshing amongst the gross-out comedies, sappy-angst vampire movies and computer effects laden mish-mash that is presented as movies. Although it treads a path well-trodden and tries to be funny by detour through gross-out-land, in the end it is a movie with heart and a beautiful story to boot.
Kirk and his friends work at the airport in Pittsburgh. He ends up dating Molly, a beautiful blonde he helps with a lost phone. Basically, that is the movie. Although Molly asks out and starts dating Kirk in the hope that he is a safe date and won't hurt her, she later sees in Kirk someone who is sweet, shares in her interests and can make her laugh. It's the starting point in a lot of relationships. Kirk can't figure out why she is giving him the time of day but considers himself lucky and goes along on the ride. The story swings between Kirk's insecurities and Molly's insecurities and their trials of couple-hood. Their problems are so believable, some of the grins of the people watching are from recognizing the problems Kirk and Molly are going through rather than finding the problems funny. While there are big moments in the relationship when it lurches forward or backwards, it is in the small, quite moments they share that you get a sense that what they are going through is real. This is where the story is beautiful.
What makes the film funny are the plots involving their friends and family. Both of them share a common problem in that they both have issues with their families. They support each other in their relationship with each other's families. Molly tolerates Kirk's bizzare family, while Kirk helps Molly get closer to hers. And both realize how important family is to each other as their relationship develops and the relationship with their families change.
Both Kirk and Molly get support from their friends but the movie gives more focus on Kirk's merry band of brothers, each with their own distinct, interesting personalities. Stainer is Kirk's best friend from childhood while Jack and Devon joined them throughout the years. And like all real friends, they mess with each other's lives, even the parts that they don't share. The other 'relationship' to this movie is Stainer and Patty, both of whom do not advocate their friends relationship. Although they hate each other, both do it because they truly care about their friend. Tina and Katie, Molly's sister, make up the rest of Molly's friends. Ultimately, it is these friendships that factor most to Molly and Kirk. They are better because of these friendship and not in spite of them. They see in Molly and Kirk something good happening even though the obvious physical difference between both. Isn't that a sign of a real relationship, to feel secure enough to show one's insecurities, safe in the knowledge the other person will accept you regardless. And that is there the movie has heart. If you haven't seen it, you should.

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500 Days of Summer: A breath of fresh air and reality in one go

2010-12-28T00:03:00.000-08:00

Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
Category: Independant Film

Some movies defy categorisation. By the way, what is the movie anyway? It's a medium to tell a story. It's visual and auditory. And the best movies can invoke an experience, which is more than the sum of what is shown on screen and heard in the theatre. While Hollywood seems to think that the only way to do this is pump up the volume and CGI everything, some times you don't need to shout to be heard.
500 Days of Summer works on so many levels. It invokes the feeling of being in love through so many ways. It invokes it through intimacy of the Tom and Summer, through Tom's musings of the 'little things' he loves about Summer, through a park song and dance number expressing Tom's elation in being in love with Summer. But he also invokes it through Tom's sadness of Summer leaving him, Tom's rants on the 'little things' he despises of Summer, the resentment of being demoted to 'best friend', that despite his anger and bitterness over Summer rejection of him, the negativity seems to only emphasize how much he loves her.
The director has made an unconventional movie about a love but the genius of it is rather than rely on Hollywood cliches and plot, he takes the whole load of the tools of the genre, like the meet-cute and narration, and uses them for other than what it was intended, like emphasizing points and moving the plot along. For example, narration. Narration even moved from the third person perspective to almost participatory. All of this ends in a "Hollywood ending" with a not so Hollywood message (e.g. Love conquers all, Hard work is always rewarded, etc).
Best of all, despite of all the use of the story telling tools, the emotions it evokes feels genuine. Tom and Summer's relationship felt and looked real. Raw and often frayed at the edges. This is on the same level as 'Once', another movie that just tears you apart.
Immersive and inventive. Brimming with real emotions and situations. A good watch on a rainy summer day.

Music was great. Definitely worth another listen.

How to Deal: Movie and Book Comparison

2007-01-17T10:01:00.000-08:00

How to Deal is based on two books by Sarah Dessen, That Summer and Someone Like You. Since the books share almost nothing material, the movie is an amalgam of both. Although, thinking of it now, Someone Like You's content made it more in the movie. Since the movie was based on the books, rather than having a 'based on screenplay' book or novel, the movie 'tie-in' is a compendium of both books. And being the cheapskate I am, I bought that rather than buying two separate books.
The hard thing about the books was that it was about two girls growing up and the changes, both to themselves and the people around them while in the movie it was only one girl . The books has a lot of internal dialogs that the lead characters expresses their feelings through. The standard mechanism for this would either be narration or a dairy where the feeling are taken down. But that does not translate well in movies, especially teen movies. Time and attention span is limited. So the decision was to make the two characters into one. However, in the book, both girls were different from each other. Sure, the story was about growing up and both girls did that but in different ways. That made the movie's character slightly muddled.

Transposed were too, the situations that both girls faced with their family and friends. The books deal with the girls' reactions to changes around them, in their own way. The movie keeps the situations that the family and friends, takes the reactions of both girls and give them to the central character in the movie. Which makes it harder to understand and relate to the character's reactions. While each set of reactions match to the given situation, when combined it makes the central character unstable. While not schizophrenia, it does sort come close. This ultimately sinks the movie.

If you do happen to see the How to Deal 'book' on the racks at the local bookstore and have read both books separately, browse through the author's introduction where the author put her 2cents worth on the movie. This is a rarity because most of the time writers are apologetic about the screenplay based on their books because a) they got paid to be nice and b)they pity the person who had to distill their multi-dimension, intellect stimulating writing to something people can sit still for an hour and a half.
And they get paid some. Not much though. To give you an idea, try and figure out why there is no Forrest Gump 2. In the introduction, Sarah is honest and offers her story as what they are: source materials.

So if you are either fan of the book or the movie, complete the experience by watching the other. Worth it.

The Lake House: Revisited

2006-12-12T09:12:00.000-08:00

Continued from the full review of the movie Lake House.
This movie is unique gem. It is deep. Deep in a very unique way. It is so because it requires you to accept it for what it is, for you to truly appreciate it. Analyzing it while watching it for the first time spoils the movie experience. Thinking about it after the movie only enhances the experience. It's like waiting for the other person to finish speaking before replying. An old custom we may have lost, in our desire to assert ourselves and our opinions.

The way the movie progresses is also unique. The movie's timeline is not chronological (that is, it follows the progression of time) nor is it sequential but in a way 'consequential' - it is a series of events that is affected by the result of the events shown before it. In that way, it is very interesting. Things happen within Alex's and Kate's realm of experience. The relationship develops through the series of events they both live through in their own seperate times. While similar movies that deal with twisted timelines like the Twelve Monkeys creates a loop, at the end, this movie breaks it. In the movie Twelve Monkeys starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, Bruce is set back in time to prevent a disaster. He soon realizes that he unwillingly plays a part in the formation of the disaster and at the end doesn't know whether he was sent back to prevent it or rather ensure things went the way they were supposed to, thereby creating a loop in the chronology of events. The Lake House ends with Kate breaking the loop. But wait, doesn't that cancel off what happens for most of the movie? Interesting though but really, it doesn't matter becuase it is their experience that they are living through. If you thought of things from the other people's point of view, it does get convoluted, especially for Alex's brother. But of course, the story isn't about him.
I have a theory that what Ben would say to Kate changes, that his brother Alex suddenly leaves on Valentine's Day 2006 and has not been heard since until the end of the movie. And like I said in the other post, if you could bend time and space, why not do it for love?

Critial of critics

I got online to read what other people are thinking about the movie and I read a lot reviews by the film critics. I don't do this much because I am very critical of critics. Some of the critics' reviews makes me mad because they didn't understand. They didn't even try to understand.. and yet they passed judgement. Is it fair to pass judgement on something you don't quite understand? Is it honest. If you are going to pass jugdement on something you don't understand, at least admit so.
I'll admit I may have missed some stuff but I think I got a good handle on the movie. It may not have been what the writer or director intended to convery but art has a way of becoming more than what is presented. So these are my takes on some of the confusion and critiques on the movie.

1. Why doesn't Kate (2006) just look Alex up on the Internet?
Let's say on the way to work, you meet someone at a park bench and strike up a conversation. You meet again, not necesarily the same day, but at the same bench and talk a bit more. This repeats itself a couple of times. You find yourself enjoying the converstation and later, the company, even if it was brief. What do you do next? Secretly follow that someone? Look them up to see they are who they say they are? If so, you do need help. Seriously. What if the other person did that to you? And you found out?
Kate and Alex did what most people would be doing, be polite. They enjoy the conversation, so why mess it up? Why mess up a good thing?

2. Why doesn't Alex make a move on Kate when met at her birthday party?
This is where Keanu's acting shines. The hesistation and uncertainty. The desire to connect (hence, mentioning the Jane Austen novel). He was not sure about dancing, Kate asked him for a dance. You see, Alex doesn't want just Kate. He wants 2006's Kate. 2004's Kate may not be ready or right for him. It not only has to be 'the right person' but also 'at the right time' for him. Also, I thought Alex would consider it rude, trying to steal someone's girlfriend.

3. Alex and Kate are shown talking or having a converstation across time. This is wrong?
Have a little imagination. Early the movies shows that it could be done literally, through short notes via the mail box. At times it is an abbreviation of sorts. Rather than being rigid and sticking to what is actually written on the notes, the story is told visually. Torwards the end, they know each other enought to be able to anticipate what the other would say and write their responses before hand. Some of these coversations, each side can stand on it's own but taken together they form a true converstation.

A circle of events

For those who are analyzing the movie logically, I am surprised that very few people picked the circular events that occur in the movie. This circle of events is key in their relationship. In fact, this where the impossibility of the story comes in, if you view time as a single strand or one series of events only. Let me recap.

Kate and Alex begin their correspondence after she returns to the lake house. Her return is prompted by her anguish in failing to save Alex (she didn't know who it was then). But at the end of the story, upon learning that Alex died at the accident at Dealey Plaza, it made Kate realize suddenly, just as she said earlier, that life can be over in a moment. She realizes that she has lost someone she holds dear permanently. This sense of loss, one that she has put at an arm's length away (being a doctor and all), becomes very real. For once, she feels the loss of a life. The realisation that she is not be able to talk to this person again made her realize what she really felt for him. So she sends him a message asking him to wait 2 years and not go and see her at Dealy Plaza. So, if Alex didn't met the accident and died, Kate wouldn't have gone back to the lake house and begun her correspondence. (Having said that, I think she would have gone back eventually so their meeting was.. a matter of time)
Kate's decision to move on with her life without Alex, prompts him to reasses his life and leads him to the decision to start Visionary Vanguard , a dream project he has with his brother. He leaves the lake house and rents it out to Kate (via her then boyfriend). She in turns falls in love with the house. Alex had to move out of the lake house for Kate to move in and appreciate it and later she would come back to it as a source of comfort. If she didn't set off the change, Alex wouldn't have left the lake house.
Following that, it was at Visionary Vanguard that Kate found out what happened to Alex. Alex had to leave the lake house to begin Visionart Vanguard. If he hadn't started Visionary Vanguard, Kate wouldn't have gone there and met Alex's borther and would have gone on thinking she could still meet Alex someday.

This movie can so offer much more. I wonder if there is a novel of the screenplay. It would be interesting to actually read some of the notes they pass. It would certainly add more depth to the story. Or perhaps I should take a lesson from the story, that sometimes it better to be longing for something rather than have it available right away.

Update: The movie is based on a Korean movie, "Il Mare".

The Lake House: When Romance Transcends Time

2006-12-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reaves
Category: Romance

If you could find yourself talking to a person from the past, would you ask them to change the future? In this movie two people, Kate, a new doctor in Chicago and Alex, an architect returning to Chicago, communicate across time to find each other and themselves. Kate lives in 2006 while Alex is still in 2004. Their connection is a lake house that Kate used to live in and Alex is moving in, according to the narrative timeline. In real time, however, Alex will be moving out so that Kate can move in. An interesting thing about the movie is how the future affect the past. Things Kate mentions is puzzling at first to Alex but becomes clear when it is the result of his actions, she is describing.
One question people ask is, how do they accept what is happening to them, their way of communicating? I think, like most other things people accept, is that they don't think about it, they don't analyze it. It just is. After the initial confusion, they both settle in to the fact that they can communicate and that they like each other's letters. Both of them look forward to putting in the next message. There is a certain romanticism to letters. E-mail is ok but nothing beats putting pen to paper and the ability to take it and read it anywhere.

Like most other things.. it just is

What is it with Sandra Bullock, Chicago and romantic movies? A match made in heaven. The variety of roles that she has been trying in the past movies have almost come full circle. I am talking about the other Chicago movie, While You Were Sleeping. In both movies, she plays someone caught up in a situation that is out of her control but accepts it and makes the best of it. The characters are lonely women, stuck somewhere in their lives and not moving ahead or making more out of it. Like herself since she played Lucy, Sandra's Kate is more mature and has worked hard to get where she is. But like Sandra's Lucy in the other movie, she lacks a real emotional connection with the people around her.
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Commentary: Movie Trailers and their evil existence

2005-08-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

Trailers are supposed to entice the public to see the movie. Have you ever noticed that trailers are always uncredited? Often, it's not the moviemaker who creates the trailers. Sometimes they don't even have a say as to what goes in it. Yet the success, financially at least, of a movie rests in part on trailers and the buzz they generate. So the reason for a trailer's existence is to make people want to see the movie, regardless of anything else. Even if it means including scenes that never make it into the movie. Even it it means showing scene from the ending. Whatever it takes to make moviegoers want to see the move and go to see the movie. Given this nature of which trailers are born and the controversy it stirs up with the moviemakers, the trailer-makers would probably prefer to remain anonymous.

From the various DVD commentaries and interviews I've heard, what usually happens is that after principal shooting is over and the editing process begins, the marketing people look over all the raw footage and choose what "works" or what might interest people. Damn story or any sense. That's why in trailers you'd see things that either do not make it into the final cut (nor in some cases even the extended cuts) and things that are right at the end of the movie, giving it away.

Not all trailers are like that. There are teasers. These just give glimpses of what the movie will be. It may not even contain any actual part of the move. Just look at the Harry Potter movie teasers or the Terminator 3's teaser's. The best of these are Pixar's. Their teasers tell something about the movie but doesn't contain any scenes from the movies. In fact, it is accepted fact that Pixar's teaser scenes will not make it into the movie. Yet, it does what it's supposed to do: make people want to watch the movie.

I think that there is a hidden code in trailers put in by trailer-makers that goes something like this, "If the movie is bad or I don't like it, the trailer will include a scene from the end of the movie or close to it or include something that'll give the movie away." Maybe it's a way of telling other trailer makers what they think about the movie without breaking confidentiality agreements. Perhaps some trailer-makers think they are doing a public service by doing so. That way, when you get close to the ending, you go, "Hey, I've seen this already. He'll do this and she'll do this. What the..? The ending is given away in the trailers". Those who understand this will pass it along... and the result is the movie not liked and watched by few.

But this has become a trend in trailers that even good movies suffer. I have watched movies and liked it while watching it only to be disappointed to see that the ending was shown already in the trailers. I understand it if the movie was a 'ride' movie, something that you get on and know what the end of the ride is going to be. However, this 'format' of trailer making is the norm now. It has come to a point that I don't even watch trailers anymore, fearing it might spoil my movie-going experience.

So the thing that was created to garner interest has done exactly the opposite. What a shame. I used to really enjoy trailers. The movie might be months away but by the time it comes, I really want to watch it, having watched the trailer for the upteenth time. Now, I don't bother. And I am not alone. If those marketing types have detected this trend, they are not flinching. They keep on following the same format. Doing otherwise would be an admission of guilt.

If Only: Lost Opportunity

2005-07-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Paul Nicholls
Category: Drama, Romance

Another movie about second chances? Do you think you've seen this before in movies like 'Groundhog Day'? Ready to dismiss this as a failed Jennifer Love Hewitt vehicle? If so, don't read on because if there is one thing I can't do, I can't convert the jaded.
First off, this is not a easy movie to find. Not the opposite of "an easy movie to watch". I mean this literally. If you've seen it, most likely it's on DVD. A Korean DVD. But true fans will find it and it's worth the hunt.
Like it says above, this movie is about romance. Ian, a corporate ladder-climbing Englishman is living with his American girlfriend. She studying music in London, finds him attractive and falls in love. He, however, is past the love-dovey stage too quickly and is settling into a routine, putting her in a special place in his life but not necessarily the center. She loves him regardless because she simply does. He plods on with life, taking her for granted. Until, of course, he finds himself without her. Then a magical second chance is offered. He decides to take it and try to fix his relationship with her. But is it really the relationship that needs fixing?

Rather than focusing on the second chance as a gimmick, the 'previous day' is quickly dismissed as a dream. Then the movie shows it's true colors. There are surprises and nothing goes along as expected because the events in the 'dream' don't happen the same way in real life. It confuses Ian, but he has already come to the realization of how much she really loves him. He find that although he wants to love her back the same way, he first has change, to go to a different place, a place where he can love her back in the same way, the same intensity. Because only then he will be ready to make the decision to stay or to go on and realize how that decision will mean for her.

A Walk to Remember: Movie and Book Comparison

2005-07-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

A Walk To Remember book vs. Movie. My review of the movie Walk to Remember.
I decided to read the book after watching the movie. I had no expectations, knowing well that the book's storylines could be mutually exclusive.
All I can say is that the movie carries the spirit of the book superbly. A lot can be said about the decision to make the story contemporary rather than historically like in the book. But I think it was both for the better and it really didn't matter too much. Looking at the movie, only tell-tale signs were put in, somewhat as a reminder that movie is set today. Landon's CD player, the music from the radio, the high school kid's clothes, the cars. Other than that, the movie seemed set in a timeless period.
Now to the big question: What was really different?

Some of the characters changed from the book to the movie. In some cases, they were in appearances mostly. Ms. Garber isn't fat or wear glasses like in the book. But the book does go into her character a bit which sorta explains the way she was in the movie. And in the movie, nobody never mentions the reverand's name, Hegbert. But you listen to the DVD commentary track, the author, Nicholas Sparks, calls him only by that name.
Some events went missing and they weren't replaced. A lot was summarized. In the book Jamie shows kindness to even those that look down on her. That was, I think replaced by her 'thank you' reply when the cool kids commented on her only sweater.
I think eveyone who loves this movie should read the book. Reading the book brings new light to the stroy while being an experience on it's own.

A Walk to Remember: Not Your Average Teen Romance

2005-06-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

Starring: Mandy Moore, Shane West
Category: Romance For the movie and book comparison, click here.

For some reason or the other, this is one of those movies that I have been putting off seeing for some reason or the other. Maybe because I thought it was just a shallow vehicle for pop star Mandy Moore. Maybe because I didn't like Shane West's acting, having sufferred through his performance in Get Over It. Maybe because I thought it was just another teen movie.
Apparently, I was wrong (again). A Walk To Remember is a heartfelt, emotional movie about growing up, finding yourself and finding that special someone. And dealing with the notion that time here on Earth is limited and that time should be used wisely.
Jamie Sullivan and Landon Carter are like in most teen movies, worlds apart. While serving his sentence for getting into trouble, he crosses paths with her. In two ways, while teaching under privelidged kids and in the school play. I think what struck him about her was that she didn't care who he was. She was determined to treat him the same as everyone else. Which means that she will be kind and compassiontate with him regardless of how he treats her.

Jamie does have a slight mean streak when it came to dealing with Landon and his friends as evident in her comebacks / retorts and when she taught Landon about how to ask help from her. On second thought, it may have been her self-defense mechanism, to keep everyone or just boys, at bay. She seemed to be friendly to everyone but has no circle of friends of her own.
Suffice to say, the school play draws them together. Landons is struck by how beautiful she is at the play and impromptu kiss from him awakens something in her. She hides it at first but a series of events brings them closer and leads to a full-blown romance. An adult romance, where it is not about infatuation but accepting the reality of one another. And reality soon hits home hard. I don't want to spoil things just in case you are like me and have put off seeing this. But it is pretty safe to say, as in any Nicholas Sparks books/movies, someone dies in the end.

".. an adult romance.. accepting the reality of one another."

The movie tends to drift into a mellowdrama at times but I guess only when necessary. I mean you can't face death without being mellowdramatic. Watching it a couple times, I found the plot holes quite gaping and that some dialogue didn't make sense. Some of it is explained in the commentary with the director, Adam Sullivan and the two leads and most are legitimate due to cutting and time restrictions.
But some are quite serious. Like we know that the flyer incident brought Landon and Jamie closer, especially when he stood up for her. But before that when he approaches her at school after the play and says that he misses being with her, I went 'Huh?'. All we see is Landon going to her house once to read their lines. And then all the rehersal scenes are with someone else or those that he has little direct contact. We don't see them connect. We don't see them share moments together. We don't see them communicate. There were several things that alluded to it, like Landon listening to songs given by Jamie and the other kids referencing to how close they were getting. But we never see it. It was all sorta left out or glossed over. A scene showing them reading lines together could have done the trick.
Alright. When he said that he missed being with her, it could have been just a line. After all it was Landon that went after her. And he totally called on her about her attitude of keeping people at a distance. I'm just saying that I didn't see what made Landon had feelings for Jamie to begin with. Maybe he was stunned by how good she looked at the play, thus the kiss. But that was it.

Jersey Girl

2005-06-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

Starring: Ben Affleck, Geogre Carlin, Liv Tyler, Raquel Castro
Category: Humor, Drama, Feel-good

This movie suffered from the fallout of both Gigli and Benniffer Affair. But it really is a good movie. Think of it as a Father's Day movie for adults of this generation. It has all the ingredients of a standard Father's Day movie: a sympathetic father, a precocious kid / daughter, a grandfather, a tragedy, generational conflict. But it's a Kevin Smith movie; unconventional most of the time, strong characters, interesting bit players, dick and fart jokes, cameos by people who have appeared in other ViewAskew movies and so on. So how does it mix? Very well, thank you.

A Father's Day movie for adults of this generation

Ben Affleck plays the father who looses the mother and ends up with the first daughter. First-time father looses his job in process of not being able to handle being a father and lands him back the at his grandfather's place. Taking it all in, he decides to put his daughter number one on his list and life, even if it means working in lower paying jobs, away from what he was used to. And then the movie begins. Or where a normal movie would begin. You see, OtherDirectors would cram all that up in 15 minutes, pausing only long enough to drag the melodrama of losing the deified wife. But this not about that. What director Kevin Smith does it put a character for each of those faces. Everyone is a human not a caricature. I was taken aback at first but showing that the mother was an actual person created more of an impact than just showing flashbacks or adding more "fun, romantic moments" in the first part. But then OtherDirectors, would reach up to that point too quickly and end having to pad the remainder of the movie.
At this point, I fee like I am going to expose more plot and ruin the experience of anybody thinking of watching it. There is nothing more to think about. Just go out and rent or buy it and watch it. Fresh, with no expectation other than to enjoy a story. Plus it has George Carlin as an grumpy father figure. Who would have thunk?
As with most of Kevin Smith's movies, if you do get the DVD, the commentary tracks are great. Listen for a good time not only about the movie but about the people themselves. Interesting conversation to listen to.

13 Going on 30

2004-12-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

Starring: Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo
Category: Romantic Comedy

This movie does a slight variation of the 'What if you were given the opportunity to do things over again, would you have done anything different?' theme. Instead of looking back, it looks forward. The movie asks, 'If you could live the future today, would do something different now?' Semantics but still meaningful. The movies follows the life of 13 year old Jenna, who after a wish, finds herself at 30. She finds that she has gotten what she wished for and then some. She finds out that she made some changes to herself after that wish and that was what largely got her there. Of course, with change comes a price and the more she finds out about her life between 13 and 30, the more she questions whether it was worth it.

This movie grows on you. Each time I watch it or it comes on TV, I become more and more enamored with Jenna, Jennifer Garner's character who gets to be older with a wish at 13 to become, thirty, flirty and free. At first, it does come across as a bit awkward. Then, I realized that it was because it was probably awkward to find yourself 30 years old with the smarts (and the life experience) of a 13 year old. The energy Jennifer Garner brings to her character carries the movie and made it believable.

The supporting cast was good too. Although Mark Ruffalo did seem to be underwhelmed by the whole thing. Judging by what he has done in the past, I can't really blame him. It was also a bit jarring to watch Andy Serkis as Jenna's boss. But I guess as an actor, he needed to do something that didn't require white balls being stuck to him, as in Lord of the Rings and King Kong.

The commentary was very informative too. For some reason, the director in his commentary seems to be apologizing for a lot of things. One of the themes of the movie seems to be 'be careful of what you wish for' and it does seem so in the director's case too. As his first major mainstream studio film after several smaller movies, he too is in a transitional process from one realm (of movie-making) to another. Though he does not say it, one does feel his contemplation of whether he has 'sold out'. Or maybe because he was a producer for so many other movies and that he (the director) was just talking to himself (the producer).

There is a whole lot of pointing fingers at the inaccuracy in the time-line at IMDB. Not a major flaw. It was probably due to how long the movie took from script to celluloid. Minus the years it took and you'd get to the time when the script was written. Minus 17 years from that and you know why the whole Thriller thing was in the movie.

All in all a good movie to watch and keep for a rainy day.

The Prince and Me: Charmingly Disarming

2004-08-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Starring: Julia Stiles, Luke Mably
Category: Romantic Comedy, Romance

Let's get one thing straight. This is light material. This is eye candy. And romance at it's most romantic. Which girl never dreamt about her own prince charming? And to have the boy that you are in love with turn into one is a bonus. Big time. Plus he wasn't a frog to begin with.
Julia Stiles is amazing and beautiful in her own wonderful way. She is totally believable as Paige Morgan, the driven country girl out to be the doctor she wants to be. In fact, Julia's beauty is that she can be plain jane and beautiful at the same time. Luke does an ok job overall but did his best work when he was in the meeting with labor reps and business heads.

However it is unfortunate several things happened that failed to lift this movie from run-of-the-mill to a classic. Let's run through them.

First. Poor secondary character development. Neither Paige's friends nor Zoren is properly developed. Zoren had the most opportunity but only showed flashes of it in the scene where he describes how the palace caught fire. Paige's friends also had potential and were probably well developed, character-wise in pre-production. They just wasn't used.

Since this is not a high-minded movie, let's not pretend that it is. Realism here will not help, espcially when there is a prince involved. So, let's take Pretty Woman as an example. Very good secondary charaters. Even when they have limited screen time. Everybody remembers the store manager that tried to suck up to Richard Gere's Edward. And who can forget Laura San Giacomo's Kit, the best friend to Julia Robert's character. Maybe there were too many and there wasn't time to develop them.