If I had to choose one word to describe the latest Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz flick, Knight and Day, it would be BLAND. How can I enjoy a movie when there is no chemistry whatsoever between the leading characters? What was Director James Mangold thinking by pairing Cruise and Diaz together? The fact that the two leading characters had strong romantic feelings for each other was completely unbelievable because it felt like Cruise and Diaz were just being polite to each other throughout the movie. Both of them are good actors; however, I think it was the lack of chemistry between them that made the film so unexciting to watch.
When I go see an action flick, I want to see a complete package - an interesting story AND good action sequences. The action sequences in the movie were good but unfortunately, the story line was uninteresting and predictable. Wanna know the story? Just watch the trailer - it is much better than the film itself.
So in conclusion, $12 were yet again wasted. Perhaps I should have watched Grown Ups instead.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
The 3D Obsession
It seems like every animated or CGI movie that has come out after Avatar is in 3D. What is this obsession with 3D? And if you are going to make a film in 3D, why not use the right technology and make it like Avatar? Why rip off the viewers by not showing the movie in real 3D? Case in point: Alice in Wonderland and from what I hear, also Shrek Forever After and Toy Story 3. All three movies sucked in 3D! As it is, now theaters charge $12 for a movie. So on top of that, if I am going to pay $3 more, I want to have an amazing experience like I did with Avatar. But unfortunately, none of the 3D movies that have come out after Avatar have been able to give the viewers that kind of experience. And yes, 3D may be where's the technological world is heading towards, but don't show me fake 3D, show me the real thing!!! So folks, save your $3 and go watch movies in 2D and you'll definitely have a far better movie experience.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Better Late than Never!
After getting a lot of heat about not having watched Shrek Forever After yet, I finally gave in. And I can't believe that I didn't watch it when it first came out. What was I thinking? Well, since I don't get paid to watch movies like professional critics do and given that movies have become so expensive, I have to be selective in what I watch. Whom am I kidding? I love movies too much to be able to do that. Anyway, going back to this DreamWorks film - even though it appeared to be funny in the trailers, I guess I just wasn't too convinced because I am not a die-hard fan of the series. I know I am going to get a lot of heat about that too but hey, it's hard to watch green ogres kiss on the big screen but then again I didn't mind watching blue people in Avatar so I guess that's not a very good argument.
Anyhow, I'm glad I watched it because I really enjoyed this animated movie. It was really funny and the voice-overs were impeccable especially by Walt Dohrn, who did the voice-over for the main antagonist, Rumpelstiltskin. And it's still hard for me to believe that Mike Meyers does the voice-over for Shrek because he sounds completely different unlike Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Kathy Griffin, and Craig Robinson, who sound like themselves in the film.
The well-written script makes the story line interesting, whereby Shrek is tired of his daily routine as a married ogre and a father and wants to go back to being a regular ogre for one day. But his wish leads to him losing the most valuable things in his life - the love of his life and his friends. So will he be able to get them back? Watch and find out. The moral of the story is - be careful what you wish for and that we usually tend to take things for granted and don't realize the value of the most important people in our life until we lose them.
So those of you who are skeptical and still haven't watched it, I highly recommend it as it is indeed an entertaining film. No need to spend extra bucks on 3D though - the regular mode would be just fine.
I guess now I should go watch Toy Story 3 before I get heat about that. Who's with me?
Anyhow, I'm glad I watched it because I really enjoyed this animated movie. It was really funny and the voice-overs were impeccable especially by Walt Dohrn, who did the voice-over for the main antagonist, Rumpelstiltskin. And it's still hard for me to believe that Mike Meyers does the voice-over for Shrek because he sounds completely different unlike Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Kathy Griffin, and Craig Robinson, who sound like themselves in the film.
The well-written script makes the story line interesting, whereby Shrek is tired of his daily routine as a married ogre and a father and wants to go back to being a regular ogre for one day. But his wish leads to him losing the most valuable things in his life - the love of his life and his friends. So will he be able to get them back? Watch and find out. The moral of the story is - be careful what you wish for and that we usually tend to take things for granted and don't realize the value of the most important people in our life until we lose them.
So those of you who are skeptical and still haven't watched it, I highly recommend it as it is indeed an entertaining film. No need to spend extra bucks on 3D though - the regular mode would be just fine.
I guess now I should go watch Toy Story 3 before I get heat about that. Who's with me?
Saturday, June 12, 2010
$12 Well-Spent
That is what you will be saying as you walk out of the theater after watching The A-Team. This action flick based on the TV series with the same name is a complete package: interesting plot, witty dialogues, excellent action sequences, and a little bit of romance. It is by far one of the best action flicks I have ever seen. It reminded me of the Mission Impossible films, which I absolutely loved.
The roles of Hannibal, Face, B.A., and Murdock, the four Army officials that make up the A-Team, are very well-portrayed by Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, and Sharlto Copley. I became a Neeson fan after watching him in the 2008 thriller, Taken (if you have not seen it yet, go rent the DVD). His portrayal of Hannibal is no exception to his exemplary acting skills. Cooper looks as HOT as ever and has remarkable on-screen chemistry with Jessica Biel, who plays the role of Captain Charisa Sosa and Face's love interest. You will not even hate the main villain, CIA Agent Lynch, because Patrick Wilson is just so good-looking AND a fine actor.
Hats off to Director Joe Carnahan for making an outstanding film. The screenplay was very well-written by Joe Carnahan, Brian Bloom (who also plays one of the villains - Pike in the film), and Skip Woods.
Girls, go watch the film for Bradley Cooper - do you need any other reason? Guys will wanna watch it for Jessica Biel. If you don't like either of them (what is wrong with you!?), I still highly recommend this excellent action flick as you will not regret it. WARNING: For those who start feeling dizzy due to too much simulation, some of the camera movements are shaky but hopefully you will still be able to enjoy the movie.
Do NOT wait for the DVD to come out. Go spend $12 as every penny spent is worth it. Wanna know the story - watch the trailer or even better, go watch the movie!
The roles of Hannibal, Face, B.A., and Murdock, the four Army officials that make up the A-Team, are very well-portrayed by Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, and Sharlto Copley. I became a Neeson fan after watching him in the 2008 thriller, Taken (if you have not seen it yet, go rent the DVD). His portrayal of Hannibal is no exception to his exemplary acting skills. Cooper looks as HOT as ever and has remarkable on-screen chemistry with Jessica Biel, who plays the role of Captain Charisa Sosa and Face's love interest. You will not even hate the main villain, CIA Agent Lynch, because Patrick Wilson is just so good-looking AND a fine actor.
Hats off to Director Joe Carnahan for making an outstanding film. The screenplay was very well-written by Joe Carnahan, Brian Bloom (who also plays one of the villains - Pike in the film), and Skip Woods.
Girls, go watch the film for Bradley Cooper - do you need any other reason? Guys will wanna watch it for Jessica Biel. If you don't like either of them (what is wrong with you!?), I still highly recommend this excellent action flick as you will not regret it. WARNING: For those who start feeling dizzy due to too much simulation, some of the camera movements are shaky but hopefully you will still be able to enjoy the movie.
Do NOT wait for the DVD to come out. Go spend $12 as every penny spent is worth it. Wanna know the story - watch the trailer or even better, go watch the movie!
Monday, June 7, 2010
First Guest Blog
As promised, here is the guest blog regarding SATC 2, written by my friend and mentor, Aliah Wright.
As a former entertainment editor and sometime music and film critic, I'm honored to be guest blogging about a movie I found absolutely, positively fabulous!
OK, so if you're a SATC fan then you'll have no complaints - or maybe just a few. I love the girls. Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and that other one - the one with the babies, what's her name? Oh, Charlotte. (Show's you how much SHE means to me). Anyway, the interesting thing about DEUX is how UNREALISTIC Carrie's view of marriage is. But let me not get ahead of myself.
As our sequel opens we're treated to an over-the-top wedding - Carrie's gay best friend, Stanford, and Charlotte's gay best friend, Anthony, are getting hitched. And who better to sing at a gay wedding (and officiate apparently) than Liza Minnelli! But people please, did 64-year-old Liza HAVE to sing Beyonce's "Single Ladies Put a Ring on It?" I thought she was going to keel over - especially from those high heels and tight showgirl outfit! (Breathe, Liza, Breathe)!
BIG tells Carrie he thinks they should take 'mini-breaks' from each other (much to her horror); Charlotte has a crisis of faith in her parenting/marital abilities after Samantha points out how unbelievable hot her Irish nanny is; 53-year-old Samantha begins swearing by the many pills she's taking to stave off the ravishing effects of age; and Miranda, well, Miranda's just still snarky Miranda.
Smith Jared, Samantha's impossibly hot ex (who is not in the movie long enough in my opinion), invites Sam and Carrie to his movie premiere, shot on location in Abu Dhabi (where all the girls wind up a third of the way into the movie thanks to a hookup Samantha gets). At the premiere, which Carrie has to drag BIG to, she discovers that marriage isn't all wine and roses and partying until you drop. (Note to Carrie: Dating is MUCH more fun and THIS is why writers don't marry people until the END of the story because NO ONE likes to see Prince Charming and Cinderella sitting on the couch eating takeout! But reality check: THAT IS what marriage IS - once you walk down the aisle the chase is over! The cow's in the barn! The cow doesn't come out of the barn, put on Jimmy Choos and dance all over New York City! Get a grip!) It is her unrealistic expectation that Happily Ever After means 'Party Over Here' every single night once the noose, er, I mean ring, is on your finger!
So Carrie and the girls head to Abu Dhabi, where Charlotte and Miranda bond over how hard it is to parent ("I don't know HOW stay-at-home moms WITHOUT Nannies do it!" Charlotte cries); Samantha proves that you can't have Sex in Every City without consequences, and Carrie runs into Aidan - who is now married with three kids (Wait, how did THAT Happen? Wasn't he supposed to be in Limbo waiting for Carrie to come to her senses and come back to him???) But I digress.
SPOILER ALERT!!! Carrie kisses Aidan, has a crisis of faith in her love for BIG, who DARED to buy the mistress- of-shoes a flat screen in the bedroom as an anniversary gift, (guess he missed the memo on NOT giving your woman anything shiny and electronic as a present)! And he responds by forgiving her for that kiss (after all, it was JUST a kiss) and giving her a rock big enough to choke on and promising her they won't wind up on the couch watching TV (like every other boring married couple on the planet- yeah, we'll see how long THAT lasts).
Seriously, though, the movie was phenomenal. The girls still have lots of sex; the clothes and shoes are to die for (even during the 80's flashback when Miranda had on sneakers with her too tight power suit); and the City, well, it never looked better!
As a former entertainment editor and sometime music and film critic, I'm honored to be guest blogging about a movie I found absolutely, positively fabulous!
OK, so if you're a SATC fan then you'll have no complaints - or maybe just a few. I love the girls. Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and that other one - the one with the babies, what's her name? Oh, Charlotte. (Show's you how much SHE means to me). Anyway, the interesting thing about DEUX is how UNREALISTIC Carrie's view of marriage is. But let me not get ahead of myself.
As our sequel opens we're treated to an over-the-top wedding - Carrie's gay best friend, Stanford, and Charlotte's gay best friend, Anthony, are getting hitched. And who better to sing at a gay wedding (and officiate apparently) than Liza Minnelli! But people please, did 64-year-old Liza HAVE to sing Beyonce's "Single Ladies Put a Ring on It?" I thought she was going to keel over - especially from those high heels and tight showgirl outfit! (Breathe, Liza, Breathe)!
BIG tells Carrie he thinks they should take 'mini-breaks' from each other (much to her horror); Charlotte has a crisis of faith in her parenting/marital abilities after Samantha points out how unbelievable hot her Irish nanny is; 53-year-old Samantha begins swearing by the many pills she's taking to stave off the ravishing effects of age; and Miranda, well, Miranda's just still snarky Miranda.
Smith Jared, Samantha's impossibly hot ex (who is not in the movie long enough in my opinion), invites Sam and Carrie to his movie premiere, shot on location in Abu Dhabi (where all the girls wind up a third of the way into the movie thanks to a hookup Samantha gets). At the premiere, which Carrie has to drag BIG to, she discovers that marriage isn't all wine and roses and partying until you drop. (Note to Carrie: Dating is MUCH more fun and THIS is why writers don't marry people until the END of the story because NO ONE likes to see Prince Charming and Cinderella sitting on the couch eating takeout! But reality check: THAT IS what marriage IS - once you walk down the aisle the chase is over! The cow's in the barn! The cow doesn't come out of the barn, put on Jimmy Choos and dance all over New York City! Get a grip!) It is her unrealistic expectation that Happily Ever After means 'Party Over Here' every single night once the noose, er, I mean ring, is on your finger!
So Carrie and the girls head to Abu Dhabi, where Charlotte and Miranda bond over how hard it is to parent ("I don't know HOW stay-at-home moms WITHOUT Nannies do it!" Charlotte cries); Samantha proves that you can't have Sex in Every City without consequences, and Carrie runs into Aidan - who is now married with three kids (Wait, how did THAT Happen? Wasn't he supposed to be in Limbo waiting for Carrie to come to her senses and come back to him???) But I digress.
SPOILER ALERT!!! Carrie kisses Aidan, has a crisis of faith in her love for BIG, who DARED to buy the mistress- of-shoes a flat screen in the bedroom as an anniversary gift, (guess he missed the memo on NOT giving your woman anything shiny and electronic as a present)! And he responds by forgiving her for that kiss (after all, it was JUST a kiss) and giving her a rock big enough to choke on and promising her they won't wind up on the couch watching TV (like every other boring married couple on the planet- yeah, we'll see how long THAT lasts).
Seriously, though, the movie was phenomenal. The girls still have lots of sex; the clothes and shoes are to die for (even during the 80's flashback when Miranda had on sneakers with her too tight power suit); and the City, well, it never looked better!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Why Did I Waste $12?
That is what you will be saying if you watch Killers. This latest directorial venture of Robert Luketic, whose resume includes excellent movies like 21, The Ugly Truth, and Legally Blonde, is disappointing to say the least. The movie is supposed to be an action comedy but it is mostly an action film because it is not very funny.
Don't be deceived by the trailer - the plot may seem interesting but it does not come together very well on the big screen due to the poorly written screenplay by Bob DeRosa and Ted Griffin. The story is flawed and the ending is stupid. The leading cast may consist of the gorgeous Ashton Kutcher and the charming Katherine Heigl but unfortunately, they do not have good on-screen chemistry.
Overall, the movie falls short of expectations. Save your $12 and go have a nice meal instead. Don't even bother watching it on DVD as it is not worth wasting your time.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Two Thumbs Up!
Just like the show Friends, no matter how many times I watch an episode of Sex and the City, it never gets old. So I was obviously thrilled when I heard that a movie based on the show was coming out and absolutely loved it! I was a little skeptical about the sequel because I felt the first film ended on a perfect note and I couldn't imagine how the story could be prolonged any further. However, Michael Patrick King, who directed, produced, and wrote the screenplay, did not disappoint me in Sex and the City 2. Even after two and half hours, which is the length of the movie, I wanted to see more of Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha!
Yes, the first one was better; nonetheless, the sequel was funny and entertaining. Yet again, I'm sure a lot of women will be able to relate to the lives of the four best friends; whether it's Carrie's fear of becoming an old and boring married couple, Miranda's career issues caused by her gender, Charlotte's challenges as the mother of two kids, or Samantha's aging woes.
In addition to the stunning dresses, the highlight of the movie was an insight into the culture of Abu Dhabi and the depiction of the clash between American culture vs. Middle Eastern culture. I was definitely awed by the beautiful scenic view of Abu Dhabi; however, it was sad to see that the Muslim male population in the city can be so hypocritical. On one hand, they don't let the women come out without covering themselves, even their faces and on the other hand, they serve alcohol, which is also forbidden in Islam.
Anyhow, the only disappointing part of the sequel was that besides Mr. Big, the other male leads did not have prominent roles as they did in the first film.
I'm sure the question on everybody's mind is whether something happens between Carrie and Aidan or not. Well, you will just have to watch the sequel and find out!
NOTE: Since I'm sure you can't get enough of Sex and the City 2, look out for a Guest Blog regarding the sequel coming up soon!
Yes, the first one was better; nonetheless, the sequel was funny and entertaining. Yet again, I'm sure a lot of women will be able to relate to the lives of the four best friends; whether it's Carrie's fear of becoming an old and boring married couple, Miranda's career issues caused by her gender, Charlotte's challenges as the mother of two kids, or Samantha's aging woes.
In addition to the stunning dresses, the highlight of the movie was an insight into the culture of Abu Dhabi and the depiction of the clash between American culture vs. Middle Eastern culture. I was definitely awed by the beautiful scenic view of Abu Dhabi; however, it was sad to see that the Muslim male population in the city can be so hypocritical. On one hand, they don't let the women come out without covering themselves, even their faces and on the other hand, they serve alcohol, which is also forbidden in Islam.
Anyhow, the only disappointing part of the sequel was that besides Mr. Big, the other male leads did not have prominent roles as they did in the first film.
I'm sure the question on everybody's mind is whether something happens between Carrie and Aidan or not. Well, you will just have to watch the sequel and find out!
NOTE: Since I'm sure you can't get enough of Sex and the City 2, look out for a Guest Blog regarding the sequel coming up soon!
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