I cannot say much about this movie without totally spoiling it for those who have not seen it yet. But I will say this - it is some of Will Smith’s best works yet and it is a total confirmation as to why he is one of the biggest movie stars today. He throws his all in each film that he creates and it never ceases to amaze me the amount of emotion and vulnerability he shows in some of his characters. Seven Pounds is the ultimate tear-jerker, almost life-changing type of movie and I challenge anyone to come away from it un-touched.
I would also selling this movie short if I did not mention the amazing acting skills of Rosario Dawson. She has long been one of my favorite female actresses (25th hour, Clerks 2) and she is frail in heart but strong in spirit in this movie. She can easily carry a movie and I look forward to seeing her play more leading roles.
I recommend seeing Seven Pounds - it IS worth a $12 theatre ticket. Maybe in a few weeks we can talk more freely about this movie when more people have seen it.
What did you think of Seven Pounds?
I should preface this and just say that I love movies. LOVE. Almost as much as I love music (but not quite). I watch a movie nearly every day (night) to fall asleep, and on the weekend with friends, etc. I see a lot of good and bad ones, so I decided to start posting my Short & Sweet reviews to recap for anyone who may have the same taste in movies as I do. And also so I can rant about the terrible ones - it just feels good to get it out. :) So these are from this weekend:
The Onion is a well-know e-magazine with satirical news articles about current events and other funny “human behavior”. I’ve read and been aware of The Onion for years, and this is a movie they put out this year doing the same thing they do on the web site. Just not as well. It was OK. That’s about all I can say about it. There were definitely some very funny parts (bank robbery, Cockpuncher, pop star music videos) but it became very repetitious and kinda lame after a while. I would only watch it once and probably never give it another thought. (after this review of course)
I never (repeat NEVER) watch these types of movies. I don’t generally watch any scary, gory, suspensful, 
horror, type movies. At one point in my life I use to have insomnia and also chronic nightmares - and at doctors orders I gave up these types of movies all together. Of course I’ve been long over that, but still always steered clear. Until recently when I realized that it’s silly and I’ve been somewhat pushing myself to get over it and watch some of these movies. With prompting from a friend I decided to give Saw 3 a try and it wasn’t that bad. Sure, it was GROSS and I spent a lot of the movie with my head under a blanket, but it was a decent movie. I’m sure everyone reading this who likes these types of movies has already seen this one. But I was proud of myself for watching it and I’m diving into more of this genre now.
Here’s another one I wouldn’t generally watch, but I love ANYTHING with Michael Weston in it. Even though it’s not a Zach Braff flick (see Garden State, The Last Kiss for more Michael Weston good-ness) I wanted to check it out. Milo Ventimiglia, Alyssa Milano and Johnny Whitworth (YAY for A.J. from Empire Records!!) round out the cast. It’s a deeper look into the world of pathology, mixed with the demented minds of some NYC pathology doctors which leads to a twisted world of murder, drugs and lies. Not the best acting on Ventimiglia’s part but I didn’t expect much more, at least he’s easy on the eyes.
Okay, I have to admit. I’ve seen this movie at LEAST a hundred times, being that it is one of my very 
favorites. It’s girly, it’s sweet, it has Timothy Olyphant and Kevin Smith in it. Therefore, Joy loves it. I love the emotion and the passion shown - it’s movies like this that ruin life for women everywhere - spending out lives searching for a real-life Timothy Olyphant come in and sweep us away from our everyday lives and show us true love. LOL Ok that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I know it’s what I’M waiting for. LOL. Anyway, it’s a total chick movie, but it has it’s funny parts and deals with death in a real-life way. I recommend it. A hundred times over.
Movies I’ve seen recently and a brief summary of what I think of them.
My Best Friend’s Girl - First movie to surprise me in a good way in a long time. I almost down right loathe Dane Cook these days (his acting is terrible), but he wasn’t so bad in this movie and he looked decent. Some of his “acting” was very similar to his stand-up jokes, so it worked well for him. Kate Hudson was very funny and overall I thought it was really good. There are a few scenes about 3/4 the way through the movie that were old school Dane Cook-funny and had me laughing so hard I could barely breathe. Well done. I would actually recommend this movie to people - and that’s saying a lot for a romantic comedy starring Dane Cook.
The Happening - WTF?! Really? The trees are pissed because humans are ruining this planet so they give 
off a toxin that makes humans commit suicide? FOR REALS???? Did someone really think up a plot like this? And if I ever thought in the past that Mark Wahlburg could actually ACT, I take it all back. Absolutely terrible. It was NOT suspenseful at all, and certainly not scary. Predictable and kinda silly. The little plot lines they tried to jam inside the main plot just made no sense at all - did they really need to make the main couple have marriage problems? John Leg. was only in the movie briefly and it was so obvious when he left he was not coming back. And I’m sorry there is NO WAY he would leave his daughter to go search for his wife. No way as a parent is that ever happening. DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE YOU WILL NEVER GET THOSE 2 HOURS BACK.
Madagascar 2 - Ok I really was pumped for this movie. So pumped in fact that I went to see it WITHOUT MY CHILD. *sigh* Not that funny, only a few good moments. Not enough King Julien and some stupid plot about Alexs’ father, blah blah blah. I slept thru most of it. Ugh. I AM going to give it another chance and watch it again. My son really likes these movies and if he wants to see it again, I’ll check it out. But I highly doubt it’s going to change my opinion of the flick.
RIP Bernie Mac
BOLT - Tyler liked this one and so did Jason, but I wasn’t a huge fan at all. Thought it was long, drawn-out and only moderately funny. Meh. Not much to say about this one. Oh, the hampster was funny in parts. The beginning was beyond cute with the dog as a puppy and I thought it was going to be very funny, but the plot of tricking a dog to think his crime-saving life is real even tho it’s just for a TV show - and the little girl who goes along with it but really loves her dog - was almost kinda cruel. The cats did a great job of taunting the dog tho, like all cats do.
WANTED - Hands down my favorite movie this year I think. Great mix of Fight Club and Matrix styles - ridiculous plot (duh) - great effects - great action - good acting. Angelina Jolie. Enough said. I liked it a lot and have seen it several times since. The twist at the end was a little unexpected in a good way and added some depth to the over-the-top special effects. But it’s well worth it! I need one of those rejuvination tanks stat.
Zach & Miri Make a Porno - Yes Yes Yes. Hilarity like only Kevin Smith can do. Wasn’t the BEST of his works, but definitely worth watching and seeing in a theatre. Darrell from The Office was so damn funny and Jay (Jason Mewes) was on point. Good stuff. No cameos - even by Smith himself, which I was slightly disappointed in. But Randall (jeff Anderson) showing up for a minor roll was good enough - even tho I’m a firm supporter of him being LEAD in a Smith film because Randall is my favorite of any KS movie characters. Oh I really don’t like Miri (Elizabeth Banks - or Kim from Scrubs as I know her. ) and I’m not a super large fan of Seth Rogan, but he’s moderately funny and almost sweet in this movie, so it’s all good. Overall, it’s one that I’m sure I’ll download and watch several more times. OH - Justin Long’s part of the movie - I almost forgot! - worth it JUST FOR THAT. Holy crap he was so hilarious.
So the trailer for Madagascar 2 is out and I’ve heard people already starting to bag on it - that it’s going to be cheesy, not that funny, etc. But man, to me, there isn’t much about the trailer that ISN’T funny.
I absolutely love Madagascar, it’s one of the only animated movies that I can still watch (we have a 4 year old. enough said).
As long as the penguins and King Julien are in it, I can’t see it going wrong.
You can check out the trailer here, or the official site.
When I first saw a preview for this movie, I thought that Adam Brody (and this movie) was trying waaaay too hard to be Zach Braff. It immediately struck me as a plot that would come from my favorite Scrubs star, and I felt slightly ripped off.
But, the fact that I miss Seth Cohen AND the fact that even if it is somewhat similar to a Zach movie, that’s not such a bad thing and I’d probably end up really liking it. Adam Brody has only been in a few things that I’ve seen besides the OC (Mr & Mrs Smith, Grind) and he pretty much is always the same character/personality. With some people that bothers me, but with Adam/Seth, it’s a cute and funny character and has always been endearing. I would like to see him change it up and play something OTHER than the picked-on dork that is cool + indie underneath; and I hope that he continues to grow his career and show off his real acting skills. But until then, I’m willing to accept another Seth Cohen and that is exactly what you get in “In the Land of Women”.
The previews were a little mis-leading to me and I was delightfully surprised while watching the real plot unfold. The previews (and even the movie posters) focus on Adam Brody and his “relationship” (well, mainly just the kiss) with Kristen Stewart. I was somewhat disturbed because it was obvious that she was about… oh.. 16. And him around 30. With Meg Ryan playing her mother, I thought his would end up a little silly and creepy. But that is not the case (or the plot) at all. The movie focus’ on Carter Webb’s (Adam Brody) inability to get over a broken up romance - and his desire to take care of his old Grandmother. All the while he meets Sarah (Meg Ryan) - who is struggling with a cheating husband, a daughter that hates her and being diagnosed with breast cancer. They become friends and form a pretty strong bond. In order to not make it seem weird to her family, Sarah convinces her daughter Lucy to hang out with Carter to help him get over his lonliness and take his mind off his ex. Lucy is a very confused (normal) teenager who finds comfort in talking to Carter and starts to have a strange little crush on him.
I really don’t want to go any further and spoil it, if you haven’t seen it. But it’s a complicated situation that ends with a myriad of emotions. It’s funny (tears-running funny in some parts), healing, sad and depressing, all at the same time. At some parts I was laughing at the same time and holding back tears.
In the Land of Women quote-unquote “tanked” at the box office - and I haven’t read any real GOOD reviews on it. But I didn’t share the same feelings about it as those other critics. Maybe because I’m a chick and it’s DEF a chick flick - or maybe because I already love Adam Brody. Whatever the reason, I thought it was a really good movie and I will get it when it comes out on DVD. I think Meg Ryan did an excellent job and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it.
It was very Zach Braff-ish and perfect for me. 
In October of 2006, my friend Loree and I went on vacation to Toronto, CA. Among Niagara Falls, the CN Tower and other tourist attractions there, we went to the Art Gallery of Ontario to check out one of the largest (ever) exhibits of Andy Warhol works. Including his movies being shown on the wall, his paintings and of course his famous self portraits. Just like everyone else, I was slightly familiar with Warhol works - I could have probably spotted one if I saw one, and of course was aware of his Cambell soup can fame. But other than that, I didn’t know much about the man himself or the meaning behind his work.
I came away from the exhibit completely fascinated and slightly obsessed with all things Warhol. I’ve since become familiar with all of his works and even most of the people in his life. The Life and Death of Andy Warhol by Victor Bockris gives an amazing account of Andy’s life, his (anti)loves and even his death. It also dives into his relationship with Edie Sedgwick and their intention to “rule the world”.
I was looking forward to seeing Factory Girl for a while now. I’m a big fan of Sienna Miller and I think she’s a great actress when given the right outlet (like Alfie) and this movie really solidified her capabilities as an actress and if anyone sees her in this movie, they’d have to agree that she will have work for a long time in the future. At first I thought Guy Pierce was a strange choice for the role of Andy Warhol (Memento anyone?); but he did a pretty good job and portrayed Andy about how I would have imagined him. I think Andy was a lot more shy than was shown, and a lot LESS talkative and animated. Andy was an ultra-shy/scared/quiet person, who talked in cryptic phrases to the press most of the time (unlike this movie where he makes funny/clever comments when being interviewed.)
Overall, I thought the movie was just “ok”. It was fun for me to see some of the people from the Factory “played out” and given identity other than the pages of a book. But as for real quality, I think Factory Girl came up quite short. First of all, I can hardly take any movie seriously that puts Jimmy Fallon in a serious character role. (I’m rolling my eyes). Not only is Jimmy Fallon not funny whatsoever, but he doesn’t have the acting abilities to pull off this role either. Hayden Christensen is mediocre as who I’m assuming is suppose to be Dylan? Besides Miller pulling off an amazing job as Edie, the only other saving grace to the movie is Pierce’s portrayal of Warhol. I found myself only looking forward to scenes with him in it and the only thing interesting about Andy Warhol’s life, is Andy himself.
I would say that if you go to see this movie and don’t really know much about Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick or life at the Factory (from reading things about it), you’re going to be pretty bored and lost when you watch this movie. If you love Warhol’s life, like I do, you might be slightly fascinated by Factory Girl and enjoy it a small bit. I can’t say it’s a terrible movie, I just found it slow, semi-boring and just mediocre.
Clerks 2 was previously named “Movie of the Year” by yours truely. But I think that I should edit that and move it down to second place. As genius of a movie as it is, it has been replaced in my eyes by a wonderful film that brought thoughts and feelings out of me that movies generally don’t dare touch.
Not many will agree with me on this one, and well, “Last Kiss” is a movie that targets quite a specific audience. I just happen to fall exactly inside the target and it really hit home for me. Being 29 and on the verge of making important decisions - while trying to hang onto your younger life - can create some massive confusion and even heartache.
Each person in this movie goes through experiences that I can relate to. The overall message of the film? In my opinion, it was do whatever it takes. You need to make yourself happy before you can make anyone else truely happy. Do whatever it takes, don’t give up and always be honest.
Quite an emotional and powerful ride. “Last Kiss” means a lot to me and has moved up to my #1 spot for this year.
Everyone have a wonderful day.