This Means War

This Means War

Release Date:
February 17th, 2012

Starring:
Reese Witherspoon
Chris Pine
Tom Hardy

Director:
McG










Plot Summary:

Two top CIA operatives wage an epic battle against one another after they discover they are dating the same woman. (imdb.com)

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I actually got the chance to screen this movie before it was released at my theater and I instantly regretted staying up until 3 a.m. to watch this. When my theater initially got the standee and promotional material for this movie I thought the name of the movie was Spy vs Spy and the tagline was This Means War rather than the other way around. To say the least I was excited to see how they were able to turn a MadTV sketch into a romantic comedy. Sadly, I was disappointed.

Even though it wasn't a spin off of MadTV I was still looking forward to Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) going against Bane (Tom Hardy) but I really don't know if Reese Witherspoon is a worthy enough prize. I don't know.

The plot was lackluster, there was little to no character development and for some reason they threw in Chelsea Handler for comic relief. They tried to make it an action film as well so the men who were dragged to see it were not bored but it really wasn't that impressive. Even the sex scene was anticlimactic. (Get it?)

The one part of the movie that got me especially angry was the part when Reese Witherspoon's character finds out that Chris Pine and Tom Hardy's character are friends and somehow she turns around on them. Even though she is dating both of them and "allegedly" sleeping with both of them, her trust is broken because they failed to mention that they know each other. Even though the other is never brought up when they are on dates.

Honestly how does she expect them to tell her? "Oh yeah babe, you know that other guy you are dating behind my back? Well he is my biffle." It just isn't realistic.

There really isn't any spoilers for this movie because everything is shown in the trailer.

Rate this movie:

Bane in the Dark Knight Rises teaser made more sense and was more entertaining than this movie. Not worth it at all.

She's Out of My League

She's Out of My League

Release Date:
March 12th

Starring:
Jay Baruchel
Alice Eve

Director:
Jim Field Smith











Plot Summary:

An average Joe meets the perfect woman, but his lack of confidence and the influence of his friends and family begin to pick away at the relationship. (imdb.com)

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For once, I really wasn't looking forward to see this movie but I saw it for the fact that it looked funny.

The plot of this movie is really predictable and the characters are very static and melodramatic. Right away you know who the good guys are and who the bad ones are.

People are really able to relate to the characters and the situation that Kirk, the main character, is put in. The jokes are decent and the movie is overall good for a couple of laughs.

I really can't find much to say about this movie because it was super straight forward and if I say anything about it, it will be a spoiler.

Rate this movie:

Good for some laughs but it's not really worth the money.

Throwback: Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction

Release Date:
October 14th 1994

Starring:
Samuel L. Jackson
John Travolta

Director:
Quentin Tarantino









Plot Summary:

Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega are two hitmen who are out to retrieve a suitcase stolen from their employer, mob boss Marsellus Wallace. Wallace has also asked Vincent to take his wife Mia out a few days later when Wallace himself will be out of town. Butch Coolidge is an aging boxer who is paid by Wallace to lose his next fight. The lives of these seemingly unrelated people are woven together comprising of a series of funny, bizarre and uncalled-for incidents. (imdb.com)

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This is definitely an amazing throwback. This has to be one of my favorite movies of all time which sometimes this surprises people for the fact that it's vulgar. bloody, and a very manly movie actually. Another reason why I love this movie is because Tarantino is one of my favorite directors, so I guess I'm a little biased.

Everything about this movie is amazing in my opinion; the character development, the plot, dialogue, the structure of the plot, the cinematography and the "oh sh*t!" moments.

The character development is amazing for the fact that Tarantino makes the characters have a life outside of the movie and his movies interconnect with each other. This movie is interconnected with Reservoir Dogs for the fact that Vincent Vega's brother is apart of that gang. The technique is also used in both of these movies.

Tarantino coined a certain technique where he doesn't tell the story in the conventional order. (Tarantino-it) It adds to the overall movie because of the revelation of information. By telling a certain plot point before you really understand the significance, emphasizes the point when it is finally truly revealed.

For example:

SPOILER! (highlight to reveal):
"Early in the movie Jules and Vincent walk into the bar wearing different clothes than they were earlier in the movie and later on in the movie you find out it is because they had an incident where Vincent accidentally blew off this other guys head off."

Rate this movie:

This movie is overall awesome and is my favorite movie of all time. Must see for everyone who love vulgarity.

How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon

Released:
March 26th

Starring:
Jay Baruchel
Gerard Butler

Director:
Dean DeBlois
Chris Sanders


Plot Summary:

From the studio that brought you "Shrek," "Madagascar" and "Kung Fu Panda" comes "How to Train Your Dragon." Set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons, and based on the book by Cressida Cowell, the action comedy tells the story of Hiccup, a Viking teenager who doesnt exactly fit in with his tribes longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccups world is turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges him and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view. (imdb.com)

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I was actually pretty excited to see this movie as well. (Yes, I know I get excited to see many movies) I admit I am still a child at heart and I absolutely love kids movies especially when its in 3D. The minute I saw the trailer for this, I wanted to see it. (Good job on the trailer!)

The plot was super strong in this and was amazingly constant. The story was straight forward and easy to follow which is very important when it comes to a kids movie. Kids like going to movies that make them laugh, bright colors, and characters with simple names that they can remember. In this movie, the main character's name is Hiccup. Of course a little kid is going to remember that when they are telling the story to their friends the next day.

Another important factor you need to consider when making a kids movie is that you need to make it relate able to the parents who were dragged to watch the movie as well. The jokes were cute and funny even to an older audience and the fact that the voices for the characters are from adult comedies added to the humor.

• The voice of Hiccup is Jay Baruchel who also stars in She's Out of My League
• The voice of Stoick is Gerard Butler who also stars in Ugly Truth and Bounty Hunter
• The voice of Snotlout is Jonah Hill who also stars in Funny People, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Superbad.
• The voice of Fishlegs is Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin) who also stars in Role Models and Super Bad

When I first realized who these people really were I was super excited because they are really funny people and at that point I will laugh at anything they say.

I love the awkward romance between Hiccup and Astrid. Astrid as a character is a very strong woman and would be an amazing role model for any little girl. She slays dragons! She also doesn't need a man to be happy. Yes, she chooses Hiccup but we can all agree that she is going to be the man in the relationship.

I also love the fact that they added a little message at the end of the story. That no matter what you get stuck with you can overcome it.

Rate this movie:

A must see with the family. Make sure to pay the extra $$ to see it in 3D or IMAX!

The Runaways

The Runaways

Released:
March 19th (limited)
April 9th (everywhere)

Starring:
Kristen Stewart
Dakota Fanning

Directed:
Floria Sigismondi









Plot Summary:

The movie chronicles THE RUNAWAYS from 1975 - 1977; formed by teenage girls living near Hollywood, CA., and heavily manipulated by their manager Kim Fowley as 'jailbait rock' (all the girls were 16 or younger when the band recorded their first album). The band ultimately succeeds on their own merits as musicians, becoming the first all-girl rock-band to ever break into the world of arena-filling hard rock acts. (imdb.com)

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I was definitely looking forward to see this movie when I saw the trailer for it. I admit I am a hardcore punk rock fan and even more so when its an all girl band so I was being a total fangirl for this movie.

Since it was made by an independent production company, Apparition, they tried to do a lot of promoting for it. They sent t-shirts, mini one sheets, pins, guitar picks, and static clings to my theater to promote it but the bad thing is that they sent it a day before the movie was supposed to come out. BAD! You are supposed to promote months in advance, if not earlier.

Look at Alice in Wonderland and Eclipse, they have been promoting their movies forever.

That should have been a sign to rethink my fangirl status but nope, I was still excited to go see it. It was a big disappointment, I remember sitting in the theater after it was over and thought to myself, "What was that?"

Going into the movie, I knew I was going to deal with the typical "Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll" but this was way over the top. Every other scene was alcohol, jailbait, drugs, and lesbianism. The make up on Kristen Stewart made her look like a lesbian from the beginning and watching lesbian sex scenes with Dakota Fanning just doesn't sit right.

The movie was over the top but the plot was on point. It was very informative when it came to the band itself but the story was really one sided. I know it was about Cherie since she wrote the book but maybe the writers could have researched better and put the input of the other band members other than Joan Jett and Cherie.

I'm trying to pin point a specific part of the movie that I really liked but I honestly can't think of one. Well, the music was good.

The biggest disappointment was that in the trailers it emphasized the hardship of breaking into the industry because they are girls but in the movie, it was instant success and the only hardship they had was that

SPOILER! (highlight to reveal)
"Cherie ended up getting a diva complex and leaving the band."

Rate this movie:

Meh. It's not worth it.

Repo Men

Repo Man

Released: March 19th, 2010

Starring:
Jude Law
Forest Whitaker

Directed: Miguel Sapochnik









Plot Summary:

In the future humans have extended and improved our lives through highly sophisticated and expensive mechanical organs created by a company called "The Union". The dark side of these medical breakthroughs is that if you don't pay your bill, "The Union" sends its highly skilled repo men to take back its property... with no concern for your comfort or survival. Former soldier Remy is one of the best organ repo men in the business. But when he suffers a cardiac failure on the job, he awakens to find himself fitted with the company's top-of-the-line heart-replacement... as well as a hefty debt. But a side effect of the procedure is that his heart's no longer in the job. When he can't make the payments, The Union sends its toughest enforcer, Remy's former partner Jake, to track him down. (imdb.com)

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I was definitely looking forward for this movie to come out. Even though they're were long email arguments between myself and the marketing representative of Universal Studios about the official release date, I am glad that they decided to release it March 19th rather than April 2nd. I believe they only have one sheets (movie posters) that say April 2nd but that is something completely different.

The movie itself was one of those movies that are not necessarily good but is fun to watch. The movie was more plot driven than most movies that come out today. Most movies that come out are more focus on box office success they are willing to pay extra for special affects rather than a strong plot (i.e. Avatar) But with Repo Men, the plot is strong and they actually stay consistent with it.

My biggest pet peeve when in comes to movies, is when they don't stay consistent to the plot. The definition of plot is:

1- Also called storyline. the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.
2- a list, timetable, or scheme dealing with any of the various arrangements for the production of a play, motion picture, etc.: According to the property plot, there should be a lamp stage left. (dictionary.com)

The whole purpose is to create a storyline and when you change the plot just for box office success, it cheapens the overall product. (i.e. Disturbia)

Repo Men successfully, in my opinion, kept a constant plot and interacted with the audience, with is a BIG PLUS!

The biggest tool a screenwriter or a director can use in making a movie is to interact with audience within the movie, but in a subtle fashion.

The most successful example of this within the movie is when Remy counts and explains each time in his life when he gets knocked unconscious. By the 2nd and 3rd time you find yourself counting along with Remy.

The only real issue I have with this movie is the lack of character development. There are many instances where people seem to act out of character.

SPOILER: (highlight the phrase inside of the quotation marks to reveal the spoiler)
"Remy goes into cardiac arrest in the first place because of a faulty machine but later on in the movie, you find out that Jake rigged the machine so Remy would gets hurt and not go into sales."

This is really strange because Jake is supposed to be Remy's best friend and by behaving in this manner is kind of obsessive over Remy. Before this scene there isn't any sign of this type of behavior.

One final part of this movie that I absolutely loved was the fact that the end is such a twist, that it reveals things earlier on in the movie that you did not see before.

SPOILER: (highlight the phrase inside of the quotation marks to reveal the spoiler)
"Like when Remy get's knocked out for the last time, after that he no longer narrates the story. You don't really realize this until you find out that Remy is in fact brain dead, so he can't even think for himself anymore."

Rate this movie:

Must see if you love wonderfully terrible movies, Jude Law, and lots and lots of blood.