Take 7: Marley & Me

I don't like to think of my self as cynical.  Yet...a movie with the dog as one of the main characters even if it has Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston playing the other lead roles, just seemed like something too "ooey-gooey" for me to be interested in.

You know I watched it or I wouldn't be blogging about it.  "It's just a dog."  That's what I told my self.  "I'm not going to get sucked in."  That's what I vowed to my self.  "I won't cry."  That's the mantra I kept repeating as I sought to hold back tears.

Yet this movie is about so much more.  John Grogan, the main character, who Owen Wilson portrays, in my mind shares his highs and lows in tandem with the life span of his dog, Marley, who was originally intended to be for his wife.  I enjoyed how we are invited to see the ideal life he thought would be his joy while the ideal morphs into his unexpected, yet fulfilling life.

I suggest this movie.  I dare you not to cry.

Movie 411:

Movie:  Marley & Me

Director:  David Frankel

Screenplay Writer:  Scott Frank, Don Roos

Film Editor:  Mark Livolsi

Plot:  A family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog.

Cast (top 3 listed from IMDB, click here to see more):  Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane

Take 6: Bride Wars

I enjoy when a movie I assume will be mindless, but entertaining fluff is and isn't.  That's how I feel about Bride Wars.  I knew what I was getting into.  Yet, I also didn't expect it to play out the way it did.  If I say much more though, I will ruin it.  So...

Kate Hudson is a delight, as is Anne Hathaway.  Both film well, too, in my opinion.  My guilty pleasure: Steve Howey, who I have enjoyed from the Reba show.  Why isn't he in more?  Also pleased to see Kristin Johnston back and making me laugh.

Movie 411:
Movie: Bride Wars
Screenplay Writer:  Greg DePaul, Casey Wilson, June Diane Raphael
Director:  Gary Winick
Film Editor:  Susan Littenberg
Plot:  Two best friends become rivals when they schedule their respective weddings on the same day.
Cast (top 3 listed from IMDB, click here to see more):  Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Bryan Greenberg

Take 5: The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Alice Sebold. I read the book in 2003.  Look ma, I can read.  So by now I'd forgotten much of the detail except I did enjoy the book.  The movie has Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, as director.  Should be worth the view, right?

Not according to the review in my local paper, the Daily Breeze.  Fine.  I'll save it for DVD or TV.  Then along comes Stanley Tucci nominated (sadly did not win) for his role in this film by the Hollywood Foreign Press and the Screen Actors Guild.  I have long been a Tucci fan.  I enjoy how he seems to be able to recreate himself anew for a plethora of roles. So...

I was pleasantly surprised and entertained.  Also, a little creeped out, which I imagine is an intention of the film makers.  Part of it was on me.  I did the math and realized that on December 6, 1973, I, too, was 14 years old.  If you are reading this review, you may be thinking too bad it wasn't me who had a similar fate.  I know.  My readers are not that cruel.  The homes very much reminded me of the house my family owned and lived in Massachusetts around that time.  The part of the movie when the sister breaks into Stanley Tucci's character, George Harvey's, home, well, let's just say my heart was racing.

I'm thinking of coming up with some sort of rating system based on "blah".  The more "blahs" I give a movie, the more (in my opinion) it is worth seeing and talking about.  Until then, I am happy I watched this movie.

I also would like to quickly mention that I note many wondering if this movie is too violent or too much sex, etc.  I don't feel I am too desensitized to violence and the like.  In fact, I usually need to look away if it is blatantly portrayed in a film.  Most of the violence in this film is implied and not shown.

Movie 411:

Movie:  The Lovely Bones

Screenplay Writer:  Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson

Director:  Peter Jackson

Film Editor:  Jabez Olssen

Plot:  Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family - and her killer - from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

Cast (top 3 listed from IMDB, click here to see more):  Saoirse Ronan, Stanley Tucci, Mark Wahlberg

Take 4: Couples Retreat

Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau.  How could this movie not be great or at least funny?  Throw in Peter Billingsley, Ralphie from Christmas Story as director, who also directed Vaughn in Four Christmases.  Funny?  Has to be funny, right?

Not according to my local paper, the Daily Breeze.  I should stop reading their reviews.  It's just the movie reviews are in the same section as the Sudoku puzzle.  Still, Vince Vaughn.  Jon Favreau.  Peter Billingsley.  I enjoyed Four Christmases.  I just had to decide for my self.

Okay, it wasn't so bad that I wanted my time back.  And the resort they went to did appear to be my idea of pure paradise.  For my money the best part of the movie was the Guitar Hero showdown and what ends up being Vaughn's character's inner animal spirit.

Remember, I'm not here to decide for you.  I think it is important we make up our own minds.  I'm simply blah, blah, blogging about my take.

Movie 411:

Movie Title: Couples Retreat

Writers (credited): Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Dana Fox

Director: Peter Billingsley

Film Editor:  Dan Lebental

Plot:  A comedy centered around four couples who settle into a tropical-island resort for a vacation. While one of the couples is there to work on the marriage, the others fail to realize that participation in the resort's therapy sessions is not optional.

Cast (top 3 listed from IMDB, click here to see more):  Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Faizon Love

Take 3: It's Complicated

Is it wrong that this movie had me at the looks on Meryl Streep's and Alec Baldwin's faces in the movie poster even if it is so typical woman/man cliche for the woman to be traumatized while the man is satiated?

And you go girl, Ms. Streep!  Who says women of a certain age have to stop working or can't still look great?

I loved the way this movie made me laugh out loud.  John Krasinski was an unexpected delight.  I loved that it took me on a journey I didn't really expect and left me wanting more at the end.

Movie 411:

Movie:  It's Complicated

Writer:  Nancy Meyers

Director:  Nancy Meyers

Film Editor: Joe Hutshing, David Moritz

Plot:  During his son's college graduation, Jane hooks up with her ex-husband, Jake, who's married to a younger woman...
Cast (top 3 listed from IMDB, click here to see more) :  Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin

Take 2: I Hate Valentine's Day

My son, Chris, hated "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".  I still love him.  This movie reteams the leads of that flick, Nia Vardalos and John Corbett.  So, I thought what the heck.

Like the chocolate shaped hearts one might associate with Valentine's Day, this movie is like a bit of a self-indulgent treat.  It's not going to change the world.  It's probably not even going to change your mind about Valentine's Day or relationships.  Still with a running time of under 90-minutes, it was enjoyable enough as a winding-down-at-the-end-of-the-day, don't-have-to-think-about-it-too-hard, piece of candy movie.

There was one part of the movie I particularly enjoyed.  First, I love how Ms. Vardalos seems to be able to always find a fun role for her real-life hubby in her movies. The scene has the two lead characters on a date at a place that does Kamikaze Karaoke, which as I had never heard of such a thing before had me wondering if this was a real thing 'cuz I just may wish to want to go there. 

Movie's 411:

Movie:  I Hate Valentine's Day

Writer: Nia Vardalos

Director: Nia Vardalos

Film Editor:  Tony Lombardo, Steven Edwards; John Currin and Peter Pay, Associate Editors

Plot:  A love story set in Manhattan, where a florist who abides by a strict five-date-limit with any man finds herself wanting more with the new restaurateur in town.
Cast (top 3 listed from IMBD, click here to see more): Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Stephen Guarino

Take 1: Inglourious Basterds (2009)

My man Quentin.  Give it up.  I had no intention of watching this movie even if Mr. Tarantino and I hail from the same part of the world, the South Bay of L.A., CA.  I am a spiritual woman.  I am for peace.  This movie is about Nazis and killing.  Yuck!

Wait for it!  Of course, and then I watched it.  This movie is just shy of two and a half hours in length.  I was captivated throughout never once glancing at the clock to calculate how much more of this must be left.

I didn't take the time to ponder if as Mr. Tarantino mentions about his masterpiece, Pulp Fiction, that all actual blood and gore violence is implied (he cuts away before he actually shows it); the same holds true for this movie.  Instead, I do look away from the screen if I think some horrible act of violence is about to occur.  I'm just sayin!

I truly get the sense that Quentin Tarantino loves, loves, loves movies.  More than me, obviously.  And loves to try new things.  I admire his creativity.  After all it seems fairly ballsy to take one of our most embarassing moments in fairly recent history and retell it in a way that we would have liked to have seen it play out.  Make no mistake as you watch this movie.  It is not a tell it like it was, but a story of fiction.

I know some people would rather die (figuratively) than watch the same movie twice.  I feel like one of the highest reviews I can give a movie is to feel I would watch it again.  When I do, it is usually well worth it as I pick up on subtleties I may have missed the first go round.

Mr. Tarantino, I would watch this again.  Thank you to all involved for this inglourious effort.

P.S.  I almost forgot about all the subtitles.  If you have a problem with reading subtitles, this may not be the film for you.  If you don't or are willing to step out of your comfort zone and try it anyway, it should be worth it.

Movie: Inglourious Basterds

Written and Directed: Quentin Tarantino

Film Editor:  Sally Menke

Plot:  In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis.

Cast (top 3 listed from IMDB, click here to see more):  Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz