Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen's newest film is about an engaged couple in Paris. He (Owen Wilson) falls in love with the city, while she (Rachel McAdams) thinks he's crazy.

At the stroke of midnight each night a car picks up Gil (Wilson) and transports him to the 1920's, we learn that Paris in the 20's is what Gil considers to be the ideal time to live in. He meets the great minds of that time including Hemingway, Picasso, and Dali. The plot is kind of whimsical in that it poses the question of: what would it be like to live in a different time? And, would it be better than our own? But harkening back to the 1920's, I find that it starts to become a little gimmicky. For example, Gertrude (Kathy Bates) wonders if 500 francs is a reasonable price for a Matisse, in hindsight, of course it is, and Gil wonders if he can buy 6 or 7. It's moments like that I think are supposed to be cute or funny or inside jokes, but it starts to come off as a little easy.

Another side to consider is that I did not get all the inside jokes. So while I got the one about the Matisse, I did not get the one about Dali and the rhinoceros. I'm not saying that I'm bitter because the movie made me feel stupid, but I think I could have enjoyed the movie more if I understood some more of the references (or maybe I just would have complained more about the gimmickyness of them)... (or maybe I just think they are gimmicky because I don't fully get them). Full disclosure here.

I certainly could have enjoyed this movie more if I had brushed up on my American lit beforehand, but as is, I liked it. Owen Wilson is well-cast in his enthusiasm and wonder, Rachael McAdams pulls from her Mean Girls repertoire towards the end, and Kathy Bates, Marion Cotillard, and Adrian Brody are always a pleasure. I'm not going to say this movie is for everyone, but for those who get it, they will enjoy it thoroughly. And for those who don't, there's enough of the in between stuff so you won't be totally lost.

Super 8

Super 8 is the story of a group of kids that witness a crazy train crash while filming a movie. Mystery and monsters follow.

So this movie was brought to you by Steven Speilberg and J.J. Abrams. Abrams is the guy behind Lost, and while I was a HUGE fan of the show, Super 8 suffers from some of the flaws of Lost. Super 8 (like Lost) takes on too much, in an effort to be mysterious and supernatural, it leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Like, why were those people hanging upside down? And if he could do that magnetic thing to get his Legoes back, why didn't he do it sooner? Why would Alice's dad have a problem with Joe? How could a pickup truck derail a train so violently? I had way more questions, but I don't remember them, but you get the idea. Also like Lost, the monster makes the same clicking noise as Smokie did from Lost, I thought that was a little too lazy, and an obvious connection

I haven't seen Cloverfield, but I did see the trailer for it, and I got sort of that same mysterious monster vibe from Super 8 (I think Abrams did Cloverfield too, try a different genre, buddy!) I also got a Stand By Me vibe for the first little bit, which I really enjoyed. A group of boys, 12 or 13 having an adventure, set a couple decades ago. Classic. The group dynamics are successful, and each are memorable in their own way. Elle Fanning (Dakota's sister) plays the love interest, and there is something fascinating about her. There also seems to be some remnants of early Spielberg movies, like ET, kids getting into trouble while the adults try to cover it up. These associations to older films kind of creates a nostalgia for that type of story and film making and I liked it.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this movie, I was pretty sure I thought it was a scary one, but it's more of a suspense, and it is so nice to once in a while be on the edge of your seat while watching a movie, wondering what will happen next, and only slowly have pieces of the puzzle be revealed. For all the holes and unbelievable parts (not to mention a little bit of an obscure monster) Super 8 ticks right along and delivers an interesting movie filled with action, drama, emotion, and suspense.

A little bit of this and that

So there are three movies that I've watched in the last week or so that I would like to review, and feel like the movies are piling up and I won't be able to do them justice because there are so many movie reviews swirling around in my head. So I will do them all at once here, and see what I can remember.

Cars 2
I did see the first one, but for some reason I don't remember thinking too highly of it. Cars 2 was really cute, Mater was great, maybe that's why I liked this one, because Mater was the main guy and not Lightening McQueen. Anyways, his obliviousness is adorable, and all the ways in which cars are personified are clever and cute. The scene where Mater was in the Japanese washroom was actually hilarious. People who are car fans should also enjoy this movie because it talks about actual brands of cars. I was in a parking lot once and noticed a strange looking car that looked kind of 70's, the emblem was of some weird little Buddha guy. I mentioned this to my dad, and he said it was a Gremlin, and that you don't see them around often. The moral of the story is that there were Gremlins in Cars 2, and I thought it was pretty funny.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I haven't seen any versions of The Planet of the Apes, but we all should know that Apes rule the world in it. I was excited that this movie was going to tackle how that happened. James Franco was the main guy, and I know that I said previously that I seem to like him in movies, but in this one I just felt like he was miscast. He was alright, but I think someone else could've done better (but don't ask me who). And Freida Pinto is beautiful, but they just don't have much chemsitry. Andy Serkis does his thing (a la Gollum and King Kong) as Caesar, the ape. There is buzz that Fox is trying to get Serkis nominated for an Oscar, which would really challenge what it is to be considered an "actor". The technology was amazing, the story interesting, John Lithgow was delightful. But the movie just seemed unfinished. See, in Captain America the movie ended, and you know that it's setting things up for a sequel, but it's ok, because the movie can pretty much stand as a whole, complete movie. The ending of this one though, still leaves questions unanswered and plot lines unfinished, it's more of a part 1 of 2, so yes, I am looking forward to part 2, but still feel a little short-changed.

Our Idiot Brother
My own brother sent me an email pointing out the poster and release date for this movie, it was August 26th, his birthday. I laughed at how ironic it was that a movie called "Our Idiot Brother" was being released on my own brother's birthday. But my brother isn't an idiot, and neither is Paul Rudd's Ned - the idealist hippie who shakes up the lives of his three sisters. I really enjoyed this movie, the characters are all very different and well-developed. Paul Rudd is perfect. We are usually used to him being the clean cut, business-y character, but this bearded guy is so honest and sincere and optimistic, you can't help but like him. Funny and heartwarming, but not sticky-sweet.

The Change-Up

A married father (Jason Bateman) and his slacker playboy best friend (Ryan Reynolds) magically switch bodies.

When this movie first came out a couple of months ago, I remember reading Ebert's review of it, and he didn't have many nice things to say. So I watched it without any expectations. After the first few minutes with a poopy baby scene I knew what Ebert was talking about when he called the movie "vulgar" and "offensive". But I pressed on, and the movie wasn't THAT bad. Hard to believe? Sure. Stupid? Of course. But it has it's funny moments, Bateman and Reynolds are fun to watch (not to mention Leslie Mann and Olivia Wilde), and every one learns the lessons that they need to.

The opening paragraph of Ebert's review reads: "The Change-Up" is one of the dirtiest-minded mainstream releases in history. It has a low opinion of men, a lower opinion of women, and the lowest opinion of the intelligence of its audience. It is obscene, foulmouthed, scatological, creepy and perverted. As a bonus, it has the shabbiest low-rent main titles I've seen this side of YouTube.

Now that is pretty harsh. I agree with the part about the title, but the rest is a little mean, maybe Rog was having a bad day. This movie isn't super fantastic, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was nominated for a Razzie, but it fills the stupid comedy hole that you sometimes get.

Horrible Bosses

Three guys have horrible bosses (hence the title) and decide to kill each other's bosses because for one reason or another, quitting is not an option and these people are ruining their lives. The guys are Jason Bateman, some other Jason from SNL, and some other guy with a chipmunk voice.

This movie was pretty darn funny. Outrageous and unbelievable? Absolutely. But funny nonetheless. The bosses were really well cast, and include: Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrel, and Jennifer Aniston. While I am ambivalent towards Spacey in general, if anything, he comes off as a bit of a creeper (American Beauty?), but it is undeniable that he is a great actor, and he pulls off being a very horrible boss (and person). Colin Farrel was quite the surprise as the balding Bobby Pellitt - coke-addict, and all-round tool. Farrel will always first and foremost be a heart-throb in my mind. He's a good looking guy, has a dreamy accent, and has a kid with a disability that he is so proud of = swoonworthy. On the complete flip side, he is a spot-on tool in this movie, and it's great. Jennifer Aniston makes an admirable effort at the maneater character, it's nice to see her try something that's not the love interest, but her story line was missing something. Spacey's Harken has his cheating wife, Pellitt has his coke, and karate, and ladies, but we don't have a lot of back info on Aniston's Julia, why is she like this?!

I also had some issue with Jamie Fox's character - I wasn't too fussy on him. He was just silly, when the rest of the movie was funny. But on a positive note, I am always happy to see Donald Sutherland, especially in such a loveable (but small) roll.

While this movie is about planning three murders, it never wanders into the dark comedy genre, it is always just comedy, which is fine. You know the guys aren't going to be able to kill their bosses in the end, but everything will turn out fine. Watching what drives them to consider killing, and the subsequent planning, is good and hilarious times. The sale on peanuts and the peeing in the park were some of my favourite parts.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Cal (Steve Carell) has grown complacent in his relationship with Emily (Julianne Moore). When she asks for a divorce, he agrees to sign anything he wants as long as she'll stop talking about it. Cal meets Jacob (Ryan Gosling) at an upscale bar, Jacob is a smooth operator and takes pity on Cal and offers to give him some tips to pick up ladies. Jacob eventually falls in love with Hannah (Emma Stone), and Cal's son Robbie is in love with his 17 year old babysitter, who is in love with Cal.


So that about sums up the foundation for this movie. I really liked Crazy, Stupid, Love. You may remember that the last movie I watched with Steve Carrel was Dinner for Schmucks, and I thought he and the movie were incredibly annoying, but I liked him in this one. His humour was dead-pan, observational, and sarcastic and I thought his character was likeable and relateable, and you really kind of care about his life. And that's what makes this movie more than a comedy, or romance, or drama. It doesn't do ridiculous things for laughs (except maybe Marissa Tomei's character - she was a little over the top). And while the movie is about love, there isn't a whole lot of romance, and it's just too funny to be a drama. It has a wonderful balance that allows for characters to be developed and the story to be told.  On top of that, everyone has good intentions, there is no malicious character - everyone is allowed to figure things out on their own. Kevin Bacon has a small roll as the man Emily cheated on Cal with, and while he has feelings for Emily, he doesn't try to sabotage anything, which is nice for a change. I did have some issue with the chemistry between Stone and Gosling, but the scene where they spend the night together is just really well done, that you kind of forget about the odd pairing. I am struggling to classify this movie as a chick-flick or not, it's definitely approaching it, but I think that even guys will enjoy the humour and the relationship between Cal and Jacob.

A funny, heartwarming, realistic, serious movie.


And Ryan Gosling is just really attractive in this movie, and with me being Canadian and him being Canadian, it's like I actually have a shot, right?