Bridesmaids

The movie stars Kristen Wiig of SATURDAY NIGHT LIFE as Annie, a single gal past 30 who goes crazy when her best friend, Lillian, finally decides to tie the knot. The movie opens with Annie having a lengthy one-stand stand with a very handsome but totally callous man. Lillian chastises Annie for stooping to that level, but Annie brushes her off.

As Lillian plans the wedding, Annie tries to set up the pre-wedding events as Lillian’s maid of honor. Annie clashes, however, with another bridesmaid named Helen, a snobbish rich girl who tries to upstage Annie at every turn. Things go from bad to worse for Annie, who can’t seem to do anything right and just recently lost her boyfriend and her bakery business.

As Annie comes more and more unglued, she accidentally meets a kind, generous policeman with an appealing Irish accent named Rhodes. In his own charming, witty way, Rhodes tries to woo Annie, but Annie’s fear of commitment and her poor self-image keep getting in the way. Meanwhile, her attempt to be the perfect maid of honor goes from one disaster to another. Making matters worse is the fact that Annie is jealous and resentful of the rich bridesmaid’s superficial charm and overcompensating super-confidence.

The characters in BRIDESMAIDS are very well developed, but there’s a tremendous amount of crude and lewd situations and language. The movie also goes on too long. Though Kristen Wieg is hilarious when she comes unglued, the best scenes are when she’s with the policeman, who’s extremely appealing and a really nice guy. Regrettably, Annie and the policeman do go to bed together at one point, but it’s implied rather than depicted.

Ultimately, the crude parts in BRIDESMAIDS turn out to be the movie’s undoing. Also, BRIDESMAIDS only has the slightest sense concerning the biblical, godly foundations of marriage and family.

The Help

"You is Kind.
You is Smart.
You is Important."


Anyone who have seen this movie is familiar with those three lines, which is popularly said by Aibileen in the movie called "The Help". The said movie is based on a film with the same title. The movie evolves on the life of black or as they prefer to call the colored maids during the civil rights, early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi.

The story takes off when Skeeter played by Emma Stone graduates from Ole Miss and returns home and takes a job at the local newspaper. Possessing observation skills and humanity that her lifelong friends can’t comprehend, Skeeter desperately wants to tell a story from the perspective of the maids. As expected, the maids are hesitant, but Aibileen played by Viola Davis does relent. The stories begin to flow and soon the robust Minny played by Octavia Spencer joins in.

When Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard), the cold ice-queen bee of her social set, proudly announces that her idea to mandate separate bathrooms for the help because “they carry different diseases” has caught the attention of the lieutenant governor, the shot of her self-satisfied smugness cuts to the face of her maid, Aibileen (Viola Davis). Aibileen, inured to the status quo, barely registers the insult as she stands next to Hilly, but it’s in that barely preceptible shadow of hurt and anger that the story of a time and place is told with stunning, infuriating clarity. Skeeter’s reaction is more pronounced, but even her shock is muted, and that she changes the subject rather than challenging Hilly speaks volumes. When she takes the unprecedented step of then privately apologizing to Aibileen, Taylor lets the expressions on each woman’s face in the pregnant silence that follows tell its own paradigm-changing story.

It’s a moment that also gives Skeeter the idea to write a book about life from the point of the view of the help, one that she must finish quickly before, as her New York editor puts it, this whole civil rights thing blows over. It’s an idea that is fraught with the danger of more than just getting fired if Aibileen tells the truth, a fact brought home by the story of Medgar Evans dominating the headlines and television reports that are in the background of the film. Aibileen eventually agrees, despite the implacable resistance of her best friend and mutual support, Minny (Octavia Spencer), Hilly‘s new maid. Minny has no love for her employer, but she adores Hilly’s only occasionally lucid mother (Sissy Spacek). When her patient if grudging toleration of Hilly’s viciousness reaches its limits, it inspires a revenge has a profane poetry of monumental proportions that will inform the rest of the story. 

Spencer all but steals the film from a formidable cast that is the quintessence of ensemble acting. Hers is a face of uncommon beauty powered by a solid performance of such vibrancy that it leaps off the screen even in its many quiet moments of introspection. Imbued with her whole lively heart, it is by turns funny, tragic, compassionate, proud and fearful, and always there is a keen sense of herself as a woman of quality in a world that refuses to recognize it. Davis has the quiet dignity of a broken heart and no options, but it’s Spencer’s Minny who signals the way the times are changing when she, too finally agrees to talk to Skeeter. Stone is the perfect counterpoint. Bright, bubbling, and fierce without being caustic, exploring the new freedoms she is creating for herself and others with a sense of delight and determination. It’s a performance that is as subtle as Skeeter isn’t and all the better for it.

The snobbishness of Jackson’s elite, the hypocrisy it breeds seeing color and class rather than people, and the sublimated unhappiness it causes everyone is a nice metaphor for the proposition that if some are not free, no one can be free, with the inclusion of the “white-trash” element who married up. The loud but sweet Celia (Jessica Chastain) welcomes Minny into her house with open arms, ragged desperation, and a first-class generosity of spirit. Yet her respect for the first maid she’s ever had creates its own uncomfortable, yet revolutionary atmosphere for Minny.

THE HELP has its own revolutionary atmosphere, refusing to divide the world into, pardon the expression, black and white. Without intricacies of the relationships, without the emotional stakes that those intricacies represent, the film would fail monumentally, becoming just another screed about the injustice of the times. Instead, it is a celebration of the heart with an indictment of racism, ageism, sexism, and all the others that is irrefutable.

Crazy, Stupid, Love

At forty something Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is living the dream-good job nice house, great kids and a marriage from the girl he met since highschool, Emily (Julianne Moore). But then he learns that his wife cheats on him and wanted a divorce and his "perfect" life unravels.

Night by night, he spends his free time sulking alone on a bar to release his sadness, and in this club is where he meets his wing-man, 30 year old player, Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling).

In an effort to help Cal get over his wife and start living his life, Jacob opens his eyes to the options he have before him: flirty women, manly drinks and a sense of style that can't be found at Supercats or The Gap.

As the story goes on, it wasn't only Emily and Cal who were looking for love. Robbie (Jonah Bobo), their 13 year old son is crazy about his 17 year old baby sitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton) who then happens to have a crush with Cal. And Cal's oldest daughter, Hannah (Emma Stone) also stuggles with her love life with her lawyer boyfriend Richard (Josh Groban) who then she thoughts would be proposing to her once she pass the board exam, but later on she finds out that what Richard would offer her was a job on his own law firm.

After breaking up with Richard, she immediately went to the bar where she met Jacob and then Jacob takes home Hannah but instead of having sexual intercourse the two then have meaningful conversations that made Jacob change for the better and made him fall in love with Hannah.

On the latter part, when Cal tried to surprised his wife and Hannah tried to introduce Jacob to her parents, a "disaster" happened. Cal was surprised to find out that her daughter's boyfriend is his player wing man Jacob. Knowing what kind of person he is, Cal got mad and never gave him the approval for their relationship but then after seeing how happy Hannah is with Jacob he then approves their relationship.

“Crazy, Stupid, Love” might not be for everyone. I mean, I’m pretty sure no matter who you are you’ll find something funny and enjoyable about this film. But not everyone will fully appreciate it. This story is about love. It’s not just another romantic comedy, but instead it seems to really have a deeper understanding of love. In one case how it can change someone overnight, in another how it can never really leave and in yet another case, how it knows no age or restrictions. In any case, it’s about how love can be messy, and it can cause you to do crazy and stupid things. But it really exists in people, and it’s something that can be put through awful circumstances and still be there on the other end. So some people, who may have known true love in their life, can understand why very little about this film is cliche. It’s a laughable, painful and uncomfortable mess. And in the end, everything is far from perfect, but it’s hopeful. And that’s the truth.

THE CAST:

• Steve Carell as Cal Weaver
• Ryan Gosling as Jacob Palmer
• Julianne Moore as Emily Weaver
• Emma Stone as Hannah Weaver
• Analeigh Tipton as Jessica Riley
• Jonah Bobo as Robbie Weaver

Colombiana

Zoe Saldana stars this action filled movie entitled Colombiana as Cataleya Restrepo whose parents were killed by Don Luis a drug lord.

At her young age, Cataleya witnessed how her parents got killed by Don Luis' team and left as the only survivor. In the midst of the chaos, as the young  Cataleya , she manages to survive and flees to Chicago to meet up with her uncle.

Little detail is given about what information her father gave to his boss, and what exactly is Don Louis’ profession except for a few soft mentions of the exchange of drugs is all that is revealed. The purpose is that her parents are dead and now she wants to become an assassin. Essentially, we jump from young  Cataleya  to wanting to become a killer, since she wanted to take revenge on the death of her parents. 

Cataleya grew up being an assassin, killing everyone who is connected to the person who killed her parents, and she also then works for her uncle  Emilio, she remains focused on her ultimate goal: to hunt down and get revenge on the mobster responsible for her parents’ deaths.

The movie was pretty awesome and I admire how Zoe Saldana portrayed her character since I'm always fascinated by actresses who portrays a badass character, the only thing I didnt like on this movie was its ending. My reaction was "Really? That's how the story ends?" It was like a blink of an eye then the movie ends.

Casts:

Zoe Saldana ... Cataleya Restrepo

  Jordi Mollà ... Marco

  Lennie James ... Ross

  Amandla Stenberg ...Young Cataleya

  Michael Vartan ... Danny Delanay

  Cliff Curtis ... Emilio Restrepo

  Beto Benites ... Don Luis

Trailer:

What's Your Number?

Is a film that revolves on the story of Ally Darling (Anna Faris) a young woman on her early thirties who is in search of looking for her right guy after she's been through alot of heart breaks.

One day, she then reads an article from a magazine with a title "What's your Number?". The article explains that a woman who have more than 20 sexual partner ends up growing up old. Threatened that this might happen to her, Ally started to make a list and track down the number of guys she made sex with.

As she checks on this list, it says that she already made 19 sex with different guys which means she only got one more sex then she'll hit the end of the thread.

Unfortunately, while she was on her sister's bachelorette party, she sleeps with her ex-boss and it gives her a 20 sexual partners.

Determined to resolved this problems, Ally decided to revisit her past lovers and hopes that one of them is already living a good and successful life.  And to carry out her task she enlists her womanizing next door neighbor (Chris Evans) to help her track these men down and, blah, blah, blah… you should be able to figure out where things go from here.

Yes, What's Your Number? is highly predictable and the ending inevitable. And once again inevitability proves to be its downfall, just as is the case with so many films before it. Filmmakers need to learn that once your audience is 100% sure what's going to happen in the end you need to get to that end unless you have something of the utmost importance to tell us. Chris Evans does his thing, as the male whore across the hall, but he's always been charismatic so that's no surprise.

Cats and Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore

CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE is a clever, fun family adventure about a police dog named Diggs who’s recruited by DOG Headquarters to help catch the most wanted feline of all, the outlandishly diabolical Kitty Galore. The movie contains strong moral themes promoting humility, service, working together, and putting aside past animosities.

CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE is a fantastically entertaining family movie that tells the exciting tale of cats and dogs working together as a team to protect humans from a maniacal feline foe. 

A sequel to the 2001 movie, this follow-up opens with a German Sheppard police dog named Diggs bounding bravely to the scene of a crime alongside his partner/owner, Shane, played by Chris O’Donnell. When Diggs disobeys orders and lunges at the criminal, biting him in the backside, his budding career in law enforcement comes to an end, and the poor pup is put in doggie jail at the police station. 

When all hope seems gone, a top agent from DOG Headquarters, Butch, emerges out of the floor and presents Diggs with an irresistible proposition – catch the crazed Kitty Galore before she destroys the bond between humans and dogs forever and seizes world domination. 

Diggs is quickly ushered into a world he never knew existed, a subterranean nexus of international canine operations reminiscent of the impressive headquarters of the MEN IN BLACK movies in which strange creatures travel, train, construct, and communicate in their own high-tech, top secret world. It’s here that Diggs is introduced to the rest of the pack, of which he must learn to be a part. The leader is Lou, an all-business, spectacled beagle that barks the orders. Peek, a Chinese Crested, is the agency’s geeky go-to guy for cutting-edge technology, including the Catimatron that helps dogs think like a cat. 

Back on the streets, Diggs and his gruff mentor, Butch, voiced by Nick Nolte, meet Seamus, a pigeon with a small grape/big raisin-sized brain and a price on his beak. Kitty Galore has sent assassins after the friendly fowl because he’s had a bird’s-eye view of some of her hush-hush gadgetry. 

The fourth member of the crime-fighting menagerie is one Diggs isn’t quite ready to accept: a fearless cat named Catherine who works for MEOWS. Kitty Galore’s vengeful scheme to rule the world, humans and dogs alike, has forced cats and canines to maintain their hatred and be defeated, or join forces and take Kitty down. 

Kitty, a former MEOWS agent, has gone rogue. Ostracized by her family when they couldn’t recognizer her after her lush white fur was wiped out in a depilatory vat, the tempestuous cat has become one insane sour puss. While suffering the bizarre costumes and pathetic magic tricks of incompetent carnival magician Chuck the Magnificent, Kitty masterminds her nefarious plot to take over the globe. 

The CATS & DOGS sequel is clever, creative, quirky, and highly entertaining, especially in 3D. There is some minor scatological and slapstick humor as well as some violence, but no serious injuries occur. The violence is substantially less than in the first movie, however, and no human or animal character is seriously harmed. One scene in particular may require caution for young children when a group of delirious cats are essentially high on too much catnip.

CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE is a fun, witty, exciting family adventure. Diggs, a police dog who’s been caged for disobeying orders, is recruited to embark on a mission to stop a fanatical feline named Kitty Galore. Diggs quickly realizes he’ll have to learn to forgo his own pride and stubbornness to cooperate with others. With the help of a comical ignoramus of a pigeon, the team includes a smart, sassy, fearless cat named Catherine, a gruff mentor named Butch, and tons of far-fetched gadgetry and gizmos. Diggs proves to the others and himself that success can be won when talents are joined with humility and a spirit of service. 

The CATS & DOGS sequel contains moral values regarding selflessness, humility and repentance. The cats and dogs must choose to either be friendly and work together, or maintain their animosity and fall apart separately. There is some minor scatological and slapstick humor as well as some violence, but no serious injuries occur. Respect for humans is maintained save for when an avalanche of kitty litter knocks down an elderly woman. One scene about catnip metaphorically implies drug use. 

Friends with Benefits

Movies "friends with benefits" seem to be popular at this time. This film is very similar to the last missing strings attached, love and other drugs, but may be the best of the three. There are plenty of laugh at crucial moments. I love Justin Timberlake in comedy. He is always so much fun and that does not disappoint in this film. The rapid-fire witty banter between Dylan and Jamie is very entertaining to watch. Since that kind of movie scenes in the bedroom can not be avoided, but still continues to talk. It is actually fun to watch. However, we can say that the overall story is going and there is not much surprise when Dylan acts as he does at the end. In general, a light and funny rom-com and for those interested.


Friends with benefits is a romantic comedy about two people learning the hard way to get always lead to physical complications. Dylan (Justin Timberlake) and Jamie (Mila Kunis) are performed with the romance and go as they both suffer catastrophic breakdowns. They meet each other when the head of Jamie convinces Dylan Hunter from Los Angeles to New York transplant to work for GQ magazine as art director. They quickly become close friends and decided it would be a good idea to add pure physical sex into the mix, as it will relieve their frustrations, without the problems that come with relationships. It works very well for the two at first, but things get complicated when Jamie decides to appointments and Dylan realizes he's fallen for her. 

Anyway, our boy and girl this time around are Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis who have an undeniable spunky/sexy chemistry.

Timberlake plays Dylan, a website editor from L.A. who is lured to New York by headhunter Jamie (as played by Kunis) to interview for a job to become editor of GQ magazine. Dylan lands the job, the two become friends and before you know it we are off to the races with the "casual sex" plotline and all the predictable twits and turns that follow.

Fortunately for us, though, not only are our leads extremely likeable, they deftly deliver the zippy dialogue scribed by Gluck and co-writers Keith Merryman and David A. Newman.

Also there to inject life into the script at every corner is an exceptional supporting cast of scene stealers. Patricia Clarkson plays a more emotionally damaged version of her maternally spacey role in "Easy A" as Jamie's hippy-drippy mother.

We have a Jenna Elfman sighting as Dylan's sweet and funny older sister who lives back in L.A. with their Alzheimer's riddled father played by the always-brilliant Richard Jenkins. It is a scientific fact that the mere appearance of Jenkins makes any movie 63 percent better.

Then there is Woody Harrelson who would have stolen the movie if he were only given more screen time, as Tommy the boisterous, homosexual, sports editor at GQ. Timberlake deserves a lot of credit for wisely stepping back and letting Harrelson upstage him in their scenes together.

In actuality, it's the restraint of the entire movie that winds up elevating it. While the subject matter is certainly adults-only, "Friends With Benefits" doesn't go for easy laughs with any big gross-out moments or outrageously uncomfortable situations.

Romantic comedies are perennially successful at the box office mainly because of the comfort of familiarity. People will never stop enjoying watching attractive people fall in love and because of that it is very easy for filmmakers to get away with being lazy and unoriginal.

There is nothing lazy at all about "Friends With Benefits" and while it's not exactly blazing any new ground it at least deserves some credit for nudging the genre even just a tiny bit outside of its comfort zone.