Date Night (2010)

Steve Carell and Tina Fey star as a married couple whose dinner date turns into something they least expected. 

    Honestly, I didn't have high hopes for this one. There wasn't anything terribly original about it, and the papers didn't love it. However, I was once again reminded that just because the critics don't it, doesn't mean I won't. It was fun.

    What made this was Steve and Tina, who are, individually, some of the funniest people today. If it had been any other actors in their parts, the movie has the potential to be horrible, but because of their perfect timing, chemistry, and super-likeability, they sold it.  

    There are almost no real "extras" in this movie, any random part could be played by someone recognizable from either movies or tv, so that was fun to see who would pop up next and if one can identify where they're from. 

    This is a good "date movie." Ha ha ha. It's a good length, has consistent if not constant laughs, a sweet message, and Steve Carell dancing. A good, light way to spend an evening. 

    

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Hollywood's A-list stars come together to pull off the most daring heist Las Vegas has ever known...11 men, 3 casinos, 150 million dollars, 1 chance to pull it off.

    Some may accuse me of being behind in my film, but yeah, I reviewed movies that came out in the 1950's, ok? I work my way chronologically sometimes. I know some people who adore this movie. I can see why. It's kind of like a shorter, sassier The Sting. It's got classic elements that make a movie good - suspense, humor, money...I like that it wasn't super hard to follow, everything was in order, the characters generally explained everything they were doing, it was easy to watch while slightly distracted. At least for me. My "distractions" usually don't consist of much more than trying to pry Chips Ahoy from their packaging. 

    I liked the acting. There are a lot of big stars in this and their chemistry is actually pretty good. In my opinion, this is one of the last movies where Brad Pitt actually looked really good, and George Clooney, who usually gets on my nerves, was his normal smooth self. Julia Roberts had a weird part. That's ok. It wasn't nearly as weird as in the second movie in this series, which, might I add, was a DISASTER. 

    This wasn't a movie I would necessarily choose to see, but I was with a bunch of girls and it was either this or Pineapple Express. The choice was pretty clear, and it was a worthy decision. The movie, though not especially memorable in the ocean of movies, is fun and smart. Why not.  

Whip It (2009)

In Bodeen, Texas, an indie-rock loving misfit Bliss finds a way of dealing with the pressure of her beauty pageant mother after she discovers a roller derby league in nearby Austin.

    What I like about this movie is its classic theme set in a throughly fun, raw environment. It enters the sexy sport arena of the roller girls and takes the viewer for a super fun ride that has us cheering on our favorite indie actress (Juno's Ellen Page). All of the acting (with the exception of very creepy, greasy Landon Pigg as Page's love interest) is perched brilliantly on the edge of rather dramatic real people and just plain theatrical acting. Marcia Gay Harden (love that woman's eyebrows, by the way, I would say they're sexy, but she's not an especially sexy person) is a scene-stealing as Bliss'  former Miss Austin or whatever beauty pageant-pushing steel magnolia mother. She made me nervous, which is perfect. She's not one of those characters you feel smug about when our heroine makes a stand for her desires in life. She was like my mother - I like rebelling as much as the next person, but that guilt of disappointing them still breathes inside me. 

     I'm a skater, so I love the scenes with the roller girls in action. I mean, what girl doesn't want to have a super cool nickname, dress super sexy and beat up on other girls while skating super fast around a rink? Seriously. It's awesome. 

    Drew Barrymore directed this, her first movie, and it was very good for her first movie. She has a funny supporting role as a girl frequently injured and who injures others. It's not exactly a chick flick, it's like a sporty chick flick, I guess. The only thing missing was that good love interest, but I guess, realistically, at 17, how good can love really be? The family and friendship love is the focus and it's good. See it. 

Date Movie (2006)

Spoof of romantic comedies which focuses on a man (Campbell), his crush (Hannigan), his parents (Coolidge, Willard), and her father (Griffin)

    Imdb.com shows this movie as having a star rating of 2.6 out of 10. And yet I watched it. I do not know why. I'd like to blame medication, my lack of school work, anything. But alas, I cannot. I saw this because I actually thought it might be funny. How wrong I was.

     First of all, the acting is terrible and I hated everyone, even Alyson Hannigan, who I generally find appealing. The spoofs were unfunny, vulgar, and random so the movie felt like a series of bad impression sketches, which has been the downfall of other recent spoof movies, like Disaster Movie (which, I will admit, was worse than Date Movie) and Epic Movie (equally bad, I'd say). 

    Seriously, I'm lying belly down on my mattress at 3 in the morning trying to think of anything else to write about this movie, but it was just awful. There was NOTHING redeeming about it. Not one funny sketch, not one moment where I smiled...nothing. This would be an AWFUL movie to take a date to. 

   If you liked the Scary Movie franchise, maybe you'd like this, I do not know. Those weren't that great in my opinion anyway, but they did have a slightly more coherent plot, but still much too crude for my taste. 

    In a nutshell, avoid this movie like the plague. This one finally convinced me to stop watching these spoof movies and give up on my dream of a good spoof film anytime soon. I'll stick to old Mad TV sketches and SNL from now on, thank you. Even Family Guy has better cultural references. I am not joking, and I don't care if I sound obnoxious, BURN THIS FILM. BURN IT. It does not deserve a happy ending.

Julie & Julia (2009)

Based on the two true stories of Julia Child, the wife of an American diplomat discovering her calling in Paris, and Julie Powell, an insurance worker with a love of cooking and Julia.


This is the kind of movie that makes you feel good. It's got Meryl Streep and food, two of the best things on this green earth. From the moment the film begins and all you hear is Meryl Streep's Julia Child voice, a smile finds its way unto your face. We watch Julia and her adoring husband fall in love with France and French cuisine, and the Julia Child the world recognizes is born. Meryl Streep is brilliant as Julia. Her physical acting, the voice...the actress once again proves herself to the best professional in Hollywood today. When Amy Adams appears on screen, her unpretentious charm makes you feel right with her in the dirty apartment of Queens as she investigates the tiny kitchen. Her gentle bravery in taking on a project in which she cooks her way through Julia Child's legendary book and blogs is inspiring. I found myself drooling over the collage of food images that Nora (the talented director of classics like "Sleepless in Seattle") flashes on the screen: ducks dripping with butter, chocolate cakes crusted with almonds, raspberry creams, and more.

"Julie & Julia" is the kind of movie that makes you appreciate things more. We went out to dinner after the movie, and I found myself savoring my Japanese Gyoza (pork dumplings/pot stickers) more than I might have otherwise. It makes me believe my little movie blog can be something someday.

Some Like It Hot (1959)

When two musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.

I wasn't overly excited about seeing this movie, I thought it would be just a bizarre vehicle for Marilyn Monroe's fading star, but one Blade Runner and three Alien movies later, it was refreshing to watch a black-and-white comedy starring the hilarious Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. Marilyn is gorgeous in this, no doubt, but her Sugar Kane is not the focus of the film. It's all about Tony and Jack. The plot is classic and has been rehashed several times in Tootsie, Victor/Victoria, and in Nia Vardalos' atrocity Connie and Carla, but Some Like It Hot is the standard. The mobsters are appropriately cartoonish and Curtis' impersonation of a millionaire/Cary Grant was hysterical to me. It's all so gloriously sexist in a cozy, 1950's sort of way, with "girl musicians" ogled by aging millionaires and the two cross-dressing stars' cracks at their enjoyable situation. While the movie is all about Tony and Jack, seeing Marilyn Monroe as the bimbo-ish Sugar made me smile. She had such a glow about her; it was hard to think that three years later, she would be dead. In a nutshell, this movie is funny, jazzy, naughty and, of course, HOT.

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

An insane general starts a process to nuclear holocaust that a war room of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.

Ok, apparently this is a movie of 100 laughs. I thought it was amusing, but not exactly uproariously funny. It was a masterpiece for its time, a time capsule, if you will. Peter Sellers is very funny, however, I love how he can play three characters so different; I knew he played three, but I didn't even realize he was the President. George C. Scott was hilarious, I loved how worked up he got, with that insanely harsh voice and crazy smile. It's a perfect satire, combining true terror of nuclear war with humor, only Stanley Kubrick could pull that off. It's the perfect length at barely over an hour and a half, and it goes back and forth between the confines of the war room and a plane headed for inevitable destruction just often enough to keep a restless audience interested. Kids my age (18+) might not get this movie, but if they're informed about the context of the film, it's really interesting to see and Peter Sellers' acting is timeless.