Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Genre: fantasy
Synopsis: The final showdown between Harry and the good guys and Lord Valdemort and the bad guys.

My two cents: I was actually a little disappointed.  I was happy that they really did wrap things up and their was a clear winner and a clear loser  . . . it just did not live up to my expectations.  I would say it was a good movie, but not a great one.

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Rise of Planet of the Apes

Movie: Rise of Planet of the Apes

Genre: sci-fi thriller

Synopsis: This is the story of how and why the apes gained the intelligence to take over control of the earth from the humans – a prequel to the original Planet of the Apes.  Starring James Franco as the scientist who developed the mis-guided scientist to experiments on the ape (Caesar, played by Andy Serkis) who is the catalyst for the ape revolution.

My two cents: A pretty good movie.  The thought of facing an angry ape is bad enough – but to face an angry and intelligent ape . . . The special effects are quite good.  The scenes of large number of rampaging apes had me squirming in my seat. I loved the way they showed the development of Caesar from an innocent fun-loving ape to an angry ape who felt he had been betrayed.  Definitely a movie worth seeing.

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Cowboys & Aliens

Movie: Cowboys & Aliens

Genre: sci-fi-western

Synopsis: Set in the Arizona town of Absolution in the 1870’s.  Jake (Daniel Craig) awakens in the middle of the desert with a strange wound, a strange looking metal wrist band and no memory of anything. Woodrow (Harrison Ford) is the local cattle baron who runs the town.  The two make an uneasy alliance to battle aliens who have arrived in a spaceship and are abducting humans.  Joining them to get revenge for the loss of her family is Ella (Olivia Wilde).

My two cents: This was certainly a new entry in the science fiction/western genres.  Although there are a lot of holes in the plot, I found the movie to be pretty enjoyable.  Harrison Ford is really perfecting the portrayal of a grizzled old man.

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Crazy, Stupid, Love

Movie: Crazy, Stupid, Love

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: Cal (Steve Carell) is married to Emily (Julianne Moore).  When Emily unexpectedly tells him she wants a divorce, Cal does not know what to do.  Jacob (Ryan Gosling) is extraordinarily good a picking up women.  He decides to take Cal under his wing, give him a wardrobe makeover, and teach him how to pick up women.  Ultimately, Cal realizes what he really wants is to win back Emily.  There are several side story-lines, including a romantic triangle: Cal’s son has a crush on his babysitter, who has a crush on Cal.  The movie also has Kevin Bacon as a co-worker of Emily  who slept with her, Emma Stone, and Marisa Tomei. 

My two cents: I think that when it comes to romantic comedies Steve Carell is in a class by himself.  He can be a hopeless doofus of a nerd, but you still respect him and pull for him to win back his true love. Ryan Gosling is like a chameleon.  From “Lars and the Real Girl” where he was just a sweet but lost soul to “Blue Valentine” where he was a borderline psychopath with anger management issues to this role as a pickup-artist. 

This was the best romantic comedy I have seen in a while.  Definitely worth seeing.

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The Change-Up

Movie: The Change-Up

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: Dave (Jason Bateman) is lawyer in a big law firm and is obsessed with making partner. He is married to Jaimie (Leslie Mann) and has three children.  His best friend is Mitch (Ryan Reynolds).  Mitch is a stoner with no ambition who acts in soft-porn movies.  They both think the other has a better life.  A magical fountain causes their minds to switch bodies.  They each now get to see the good things and the not-so-good things about each other’s life.

My two cents: This movie had a lot of good laughs, but caused me to cringe a few too many times. One example is when they show a baby playing with a blender and trying to stick his hand into the whirling blades.  Another was a scene with the two urinating in public in front of a bunch of girl scouts.  On the plus side, I thought Olivia Wilde, Dave’s legal assistant, stole just about every scene she was in.

   

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Friends With Benefits

Movie: Friends With Benefits

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: Jamie (Mila Kunis) is a corporate headhunter in Manhattan.  Dylan (Justin Timberlake) runs an internet blog site.  Jamie is recruiting Dylan for a job at GQ magazine and brings him to Manhattan for an interview.  They strike up a friendship and discover that they both have failings in the relationship department.  They decide to become “friends with benefits” and no emotional entanglements. Naturally, complications ensue.

My two cents: This was a really fun movie.  Justin Timberlake continues to impress me with his acting and comedic skills.  I think Mila Kunis is poised to become a major star.  She is unbelievably cute and sexy and comes across as being smart as a whip.  The two seemed to have real chemistry. The actor who steals every scene he is in is Woody Harrelson as an enthusiastically gay editor at GQ. 

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Sarah’s Key

Movie: Sarah’s Key

Genre: historical drama

Synopsis: This is a French movie with English subtitle. Julia (Kristin Scott Thomas) is an American journalist living in Paris with her French husband and daughter.  They are moving into an apartment that her husband’s family has owned since 1942.  Julia works for a magazine and is writing an article about a little known period during the German occupation of Paris when French police rounded thousands of French Jews to be sent off to death camps.  Julia stumbles upon a connection between her husband’s family’s apartment and a Jewish family that was one of the ones sent off to the death camps.  The movie has two timelines that it follows, one follows Julia as she tries to unearth what happened to the family and what part her husband’s family played, the other is in 1942 and follows the Jewish family during their ordeal.

My two cents: I only stumbled upon this movie after hearing Kristin Scott Thomas interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air.  The movie is absolutely gripping.  It brings to life the unspeakable horror experienced by the Jewish as they were rounded up – as husbands were wrenched from their families and then children wrenched from their mothers. This is one of those movies that everyone needs to see if for no other reason than so that the horror of the Nazis is never forgotten.  I can just about guarantee that you will not be leaving as soon as the credits start rolling . . . you will be sitting in your seat thinking about what you just saw.

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