Movie: One Day

Movie: One Day

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: This was based on the book of the same name.  Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter (Jim Sturgess) are from two different worlds.  Emma has working class parents whereas Dexter comes from a life of privilege.  They have both just graduated from college.  They somehow wind up with each other the day of graduation and spend the night together – but without having sex.  The movie follows the two through the next 20 years as they maintain their friendship over the next 20 years.  We are updated every July 15.

My two cents: I might have liked this better had I not finished reading the book the day before I saw the movie.  I thought this was one of the worst novel adaptations I have seen.  The biggest obstacle is that the novel spends a lot of time telling us what the two are thinking.  Without this insight, a lot of the actions – and reactions – of the two do not make sense.  Perhaps a voice-over would have helped. Even Anne Hathaway could nto save this movie – although I did think she did a great job of portraying Emma.

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Movie: Our Idiot Brother

Movie: Our Idiot Brother

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: Ned (Paul Rudd) is the black sheep of his family, with three sisters: Miranda (Elizabeth Banks), Liz (Emily Mortimer), and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel).  Ned is basically a nice guy.  His problem is that he trusts people too much.  He has just been released from prison and rotates temporarily lives with first his mother, then each of his sisters.  Each sister ends up blaming Paul for the bad luck that seems to follow him.

My two cents: I quite enjoyed this movie.  I thought it was quite different from what the commercials indicated it was about. It was much better than I expected.  It was fun to watch Paul stumble around in his own little world where he naively believes everything people tell him.  It was also fun to watch the sisters come to the realization that maybe their brother is not a simpleton after all.

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Movie: Colombiana

Movie: Colombiana

Genre: thriller

Synopsis: Cataleya’s (Zoe Saldana) parents were killed by a Columbian drug lord when she was nine.  She managed toescape to the U.S., where she is raised by her uncle. Fast forward to the present where Cataleya is an extraordinarily skilled assassin who is out to avenge the murder of her parents.

My two cents: Zoe Saldan has rocketed up my list of favorite female action stars.  Watching her was kind of watching a female Ethan Hunt (Mission Impossible).  I liked this movie from beginning to end.  Hopefully, a sequel will be along soon.

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30 Minutes or Less

Movie: 30 Minutes or Less

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) and Chet (Aziz Ansari are best friends. Chet is a high school teacher, Nick delivers pizza.  Dwayne (Danny McBride) and Travis (Nick Swardson) are two idiot brothers who spend their days shooting water melons and wishing their rich father would die so he would stop bugging them and leave them his money.   Dwayne and Travis concoct a plan to force Nick to rob a bank for them so that they can use the money to hire a hit man.

My two cents: Not my favorite movie of the year.  I kept watching Jesse Eisenberg and wondering why he would take such a light-weight role after his amazing performance in Social Network.  There were a lot of laughs, but not enough to save it.  I also thought that things slipped a bit too much over to the dark side – especially with Dwayne and Travis.

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Glee the 3D Concert Movie

Movie: Glee the 3D Concert Movie
Genre: musical
Synopsis: This movie shows us the cast of Glee in concert – as their characters from the TV show.  It also shows a lot of behind the scenes clips and has a lot of interviews with Glee fans about how the show has affected their lives.

My two cents: I almost skipped this movie.  I have not heard anything good about it; but I am a big Glee fan, so I gave it a shot.  I think it was a mistake to make it 3D . . . the 3D effects were definitely not worth the extra money and inconvenience.  Some of the production numbers were really good, some not so good. I was a little puzzled as to why it was the actors stayed in character for the concert . . . why couldn’t they let Kevin McHale walk around on stage rather than making him stick to his wheelchair as Artie (except for one number).  I did find it pretty interesting to see how Glee has helped so many people in their everyday lives.  Especially interesting was a “little person” who was on her high school cheerleading squad and was homecoming queen.  She explained how Glee helped her to see that she was not the only one who is different.  It was really pretty inspiring.

Bottom line: the music by itself was not enough to make me give this a thumbs up – but when you include the real-life stories of how Glee has affected kids’ lives, my thumb has to point skyward.

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Fright Night 3D

Movie: Fright Night 3D
Genre: horror
Synopsis: A remake of the 1985 classic of the same name. Charlie (Anton Yelchin) is a former nerd.  His ex-best friend played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin’ from Superbad) futilely tries to convince Charlie that his new neighbor, Jerry (Colin Farrell), is a vampire.  When Charlie is finally convinced he enlists the help of PeterVincent – a vampire expert who headlines a Las Vegas show – to battle Jerry.

My two cents: I think I liked the original better, but this was still a damn fine vampire movie.  I was pleasantly surprised at how good Colin Farrell as a vampire. From soft-spoken guy next door to a lethal monster faster than you can blink your eyes.  If you like vampire movies, you won’t regret seeing this.  I did like the ending in this one better than the original.

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Captain America: The First Avenger

Movie: Captain America: The First Avenger
Genre: super hero
Synopsis: Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is the original 98-pound weakling.  He keeps trying to enlist in the army during World War II, but keeps getting a 4F. He finally gets in with the help of Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci).  In return, Steve volunteers to ne a guinea pig for Dr, Erskine.  The experiment not only adds about 6 inches in height and 100 pound in weight, but it also gives Steve incredible strength and speed.  Steve does battle with the evil Nazi scientist, Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) who is tapping into mystical powers in an effort to conquer the world. Steve, as Captain America, goes on to become the first member of The Avengers.

My two cents: A bit of a disappointment. When it is compared to some of the other movies that have been setting up  The Avengers – like Iron Man and Thor, it felt more like a TV movie

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