Bridget Jones’s Diary is an English romantic comedy starring Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant.  Bridget’s life is an unhappy mess and she is resolved to turn things around fo herself.  Unfortunately, for every step she takes forward, circumstances knock her back one or two.

This was an entertaining movie.  I have no idea how Renee Zellweger was cast in this role, but she pulls it off.  I can’t stand her serious stuff, but she does pretty well in comedies.  As far as romantic comedies goes, this is not bad.  I really dread watching things from this genre because it is so full of trash and this one certainly had annoying and cheesy pieces, but it also had some witty and clever comedy.  It wasn’t much, and it doesn‘t stray far from the formulas, but it was much more than I expected it to be.

“It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.”

5/10

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a Woody Allen movie about relationships.  Vicky and Cristina are visiting Barcelona for the summer where their opposite views on love and dating come to the forefront.

This movie really did not do anything for me.  The American characters are ridiculously flat and uninteresting.  The Spanish duo at least has passion, but is also flat.  The dialogue was unentertaining and bored.  I agreed with the viewpoint of love projected through Juan Antonio but that was all I had out of this one.  The characters were all so stereotypical and it was very aggravating.  Their were some interesting points of dialogue, but the film was too cliché-ridden.  Riding classic bikes in Europe, what a novel idea!  Type A’s are stiff as a board and uncomfortable with their own sexuality.  Type B’s are well, sluts.  Luckily, there were tiny bits of good acting and writing to save this thing from completely bottoming out.

“She put a knife into me.”

4/10

San Quentin (1937)

Captain Stephen’ Jameson (Pat O’Brien) regular army is sent to  San Quentin to become the top prison guard. He so good at handling men the warden feels he can turn the prison around. He falls for May (Ann Sheridan) a singer in a night club. Her brother, Red (Humphrey Bogart) is no good and gets sent to San Quentin.  The three of them form a triangle filled with strife, mostly started by bad boy Red.

Formulaic prison movie, with Bogart (not one of best) moving the plot.

“It’s dynamite”

Life in the big house——03/10

Three Comrades

The movie was directed by Frank Borzage an old silent movie star turned director. He directed “A Farewell to Arms” with Gary Cooper.

The movie is about three ex-German soldiers, that stick together after WWI. The three are Gottfried (Robert Young), Otto (Franchot Tone) and Erich (Robert Taylor). Erich falls in love with mysterious  Patricia (Margaret Sullavan).

The movie has it all preaching, action, love story and tragedy. Lot’s of long speeches, with stares into space. Really wanted to like this movie. There are moments where the dialog is fantastic, but it just doesn’t cover up for the rest of the movie. The end had me rolling my eyes are reaching for the remote.

“Bring her flowers. Flowers cover everything, even graves.”

Considered a classic by many–didn’t see why 02/10

Annie Hall is a romantic comedy from Woody Allen.  It won the Academy Award for best picture.  The story revolves around a pessimist New Yorker and his girlfriend who longs to be a free-spirited Californian.

This movie seemed very appealing after the first five minutes, but it did not deliver for me.  It felt repetitive and ultimately boring.  I liked the view points of the main character, but it just felt like I was watching a stand-up performance and not really a film.  I didn’t really care for Diane Keaton’s character.  I was really hoping to finally see a romantic comedy that I enjoyed.  This movie was definitely better than average, but I couldn’t help feeling let down.

“They don’t throw their garbage away.  They turn it into television shows.”

6/10

The Way We Were is a romantic drama starring Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford.  It is the story of two lovers who are polar opposites.

I really did not expect too much from this movie.  I was preparing for some terrible Nicholas Sparks style romantic crap.  This movie has all the classic elements of opposites attracting, but it does have some depth to it.  Ultimately, the movie asks if we believe something is wrong in our society, do we have the obligation to do everything possible to try to correct it even at the expense of our personal relationships and well-being.  This issue is what ended up severing the two characters from each other.  On a side note, is Brad Pitt’s real name Robert Redford Jr?  They look so similar.  Not a bad movie that is deeper than I thought it would be.

“People are their principles.”

5/10

Knight and Day (2010)

Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) is a spy on the run, he bumps into June Havens (Cameron Diaz) a couple of times as they go through security. June is told the flight is over booked, Miller whispers to her that she is better off taking the next flight. FBI Agent Fitzgerald (Peter Saarsgard) is watching Miller and believes  June is working with Miller, so  he puts her back on the flight.  From this point on June is connected to Miller as he takes down all those sent to stop him.

It’s a pure action film, quickly moving from place to place, with lots of shooting and fighting. The romance and plot are an after thought to the action. The movie is totally forgettable, but it’s not boring and should hold you attention for it’s 110 minutes.

“Nobody follow us or I kill myself and then her!”

Lots of action, but little else —–06/10

I Love You Too (2010)

Jim (Brendan Cowell) just can’t make a commitment to his girlfriend of three years, Alice (Yvonne Strahovski).  In frustration she considers taking a job in England and leaving him for good. After a hard night of single partying with his mate Blake (Peter Helliar), drunk Jim tries to steal Charlie’s (Peter Dinklage) car.  They become friends and end up working to help each other with their problems of the heart.

The movie starts by moving  into a well known formula–boy loses girl, boy finds out how important girl is to boy and wins her back. But the entry of Charlie into the story moves it into new ground.  As the story progresses it explores several different type of love and relationships.  While I ended up enjoying the movie, it just missed being a good film.

It turns out Jim is flawed, like this film–watch it—–06/10

]]> http://damncool.com/2010/11/08/i-love-you-too-2010/feed/ 0 http://damncool.com/2010/09/05/how-to-make-love-to-a-woman-2010/ http://damncool.com/2010/09/05/how-to-make-love-to-a-woman-2010/#comments Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:15:28 +0000 Mr Arn http://damncool.com/?p=875 How to Make Love to a Woman (2009) is  directing debut for Scott Culver.

How to Make Love to a Woman (2010)

Andy (Josh Meyers) attempts to better his sexual performance in order to save his relationship with girlfriend, Lauren (Krysten Ritter) , while she feels the problem is about communicating. It’s loaded with one liners about sex, as Andy gets advice from everyone on how to fix his problem. The problem is there are too few laughs and a thin story line. The movie makes an attempt to bring music into the plot line, but like all things in this movie it too falls short.

Look elsewhere for entertainment —–02-10

Killers

After a break-up Jen Kornfeldt (Katherine Heigl) travels to Nice with her parents (Tom Selleck and Catherine O’Hara). In the hotel elevator she meets Spencer (Ashton Kutcher) who is on his way to plant a bomb. It’s love at first site for the cautious Jen and spontaneous spy Spencer.

He quits his job killing people and marries Jen, three years later, after they are  settled into their new normal life Spencer’s old boss contacts him and everything goes crazy.

The movie provided me with a couple of laughs, but the acting was almost as weak as the plot.

If you liked Luketic other movies, you should give this one a try, for everybody else I’d pass —04-10