Reviews

Larry Crowne was a charming movie that catches you by surprise until you find yourself smiling by the end. A simple but meaningful plot causes some character transformations during the course of the film. Admittedly this movie did get off to a slow start and after an hour I just started to really enjoy it, especially during the turning point when Mercedes (played by Julia Roberts) realizes that her husband who is a self-employed and self-professed narcissistic (ex-professor turned) blogger/writer/chronic pornaholic is just not worth the trouble which signals the end of her marriage. At the beginning of the movie she is a bitter, depressed English/Communications professor that hates her job and drowns herself in alcohol. Then she meets Larry Crowne who little by little changes her life as she does the same for him.

Larry (played by Tom Hanks) gets downsized at the start of the movie supposedly because he doesn't have a college degree. After being in the navy for 20 years, he did not have time to go back to school and after getting advice from his neighbour Lamar (played by Cedric the Entertainer) he decides to enroll in Community College. He meets a young girl and a group of riders (on scooters) who become his friends. This same young lady gives him a new wardrobe, haircut and rearranges his house and his perspective on life. However, the first indication that Mercedes is interested in Larry is when she sees the two together and instantly gets jealous. She gets equally upset when he misses one of her classes. When she is stranded in the middle of the street at night after she exits her husband's car after a fight, Larry comes to her rescue. She allows him to take her home reluctantly and they have a ridiculously awkward kiss to the viewers but magical for them. Of course, they can't act on their emotions because of the teacher/student relationship so Mercedes appears disinterested and expresses this to Larry.

After the final presentation in class everyone falls in love with Larry. Mercedes awards him an A+ and goes to the diner where he works to give him the news and suggest her availability, as she is no longer his teacher. The pair inevitably gets together. Larry also does extremely well his first semester at school. He aces his Economics class, which also gives him the knowledge to handle his debt and sell his house. All in all, this movie had a good message and the characters all find redemption at the end. These two main actors still have what it takes to pull off a good movie and they have great on screen chemistry.

I give this movie 7 stars!

This was a light, fun movie, however the message and plot was a bit twisted. Elizabeth Halsey (played by Cameron Diaz) was the proverbial bad teacher that tried any and everything to jump to the finish line and in the end she did. The only problem with this movie is what kind of message does it send to viewers after all the laughs are over? Is it that drug abuse, breaking the law and cheating are okay and you get rewarded in the end? The movie is about a teacher who starts teaching for all the wrong reasons – she doesn't take the children seriously and the only thing she is concerned about is making a quick buck to get a boob job. Her engagement is called off at the start of the movie when she runs up a 16 grand bill and her fiancé and his mother realizes that she is just interested in his money. She ends up having to go back to teaching and makes the kids watch movies for the entire class instead of following the syllabus. When she finds out there is a five grand bonus for the teacher whose kids gets the highest scores on the state test, she pulls out all the stops and goes back to the books. It is only then that the audience realizes that if she really applies herself she is not that bad a teacher after all. However, she realizes how little time she has and goes to great lengths to con her way into getting a copy of the test before it is administered.

During the course of the movie she latches onto a new (nerdy) teacher Scott Delacorte (played by Timberlake) only because of the fact that his family has money. All the while she ignores the advances of the gym teacher who is really genuinely interested in her. Meanwhile another female teacher Amy Squirrel (played by Lucy Punch) is plotting against her to have her fired but it backfires each and every time and in the end she loses her boyfriend (Scott) and is accused of drug use when she purposely switches desks with Elizabeth. It ends with said teacher being transferred to a non-performing school and Scott now suddenly interested in Elizabeth. She turns him down and starts dating the gym teacher who transforms her into a better person and next fall she is promoted to Guidance Counselor. Of course she does not get the boob job in the end.

I give this movie 5 stars.

This movie is about two friends who don't appreciate their lives and secretly want to experience what the other has. One night they both urinate in a fountain that seemingly has mystical powers. To their consternation the next morning they wake up in each other's bodies. This movie is reminiscent of such movies as 2003 Freaky Friday with a similar theme except with a mother/daughter team. This movie allowed both characters to appreciate what they had in their individual lives as well as what the other had. They realize that everything is not that perfect in the other's life after all. It also helped them to prove their worth and not take each other's life for granted. Together they helped each other work through the difficulty in their lives while taking a break from their own. It was fun, carefree and deep all at the same time.

I give this movie 5 stars

Friends with Benefits is a movie that I can watch over and over again, though the first time is always best. Yes it's a rom-com but it's not your usual predictable "happily ever after." The two characters: Jamie and Dylan (played by Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake) each get dumped by their partners at the beginning of the movie for being "emotionally damaged" (Jamie) and "emotionally unavailable" (Dylan). Kunis's character plays a headhunter working on behalf of GQ magazine to attract Dylan who is a web designer that runs a successful blog back in LA. He thinks his life is pretty perfect until he meets Jamie and decides to take the job after she gives him a sneak peak of life in NYC. The two demonstrate that people often elude true love for fear of getting their emotions trampled upon. It just goes to show that beauty, success, brains and money do not protect you from getting hurt and it happens to the best of us.

They pledge to both "lock off" their feelings (just like George Clooney) and have a casual "friends with benefits" relationship until they end up falling for each other. There's a realistic plot and the tension that occurs near the end of the movie, leads to a climax that couldn't be sweeter and can be described as a modern day fairytale. One of my long time favourite actors Woody Harrelson played a super funny character that offered some pearls of wisdom to Dylan. It also has a certain seriousness to it as it gives a glimpse of what living with Alzheimer's disease is like and also how broken (single parent) homes can affect a person's future relationships. Timberlake and Kunis had great on screen chemistry that made for a realistic film which however should be taken with a grain of salt. With a little help from his Dad and the "flash mob" Dylan is able to open his heart and allow love in and Jamie is able to "live out" her favourite movie. The film ends with a beginning – Jamie and Dylan's first date as a real couple. The only thing missing was the horse and carriage, which was in fact present, but the writers allowed a funny twist that made it even more real.

The movie can be best summarized by my favourite line by Woody Harrelson's character, Tommy: "It's not who you want to spend Friday night with…it's who you want to spend all day Saturday with."

I give this movie 7 stars!!!

If you thought things couldn't get any crazier than the first instalment of this film set in Vegas, boy are you in for a surprise with the sequel. The Hangover Part II is a comedy about four friends who travel to Thailand for their friend Stu's wedding (played by Ed Helms. The father of the bride-to-be hates his future son in law so much so that he compares him to wet rice meant for old people and little kids during his dinner celebration the night before the wedding. Although Stu insists that he doesn't want a bachelor party, his friends - Phil (Bradley Cooper), (newlywed)Doug (Justin Bartha) and Alan(Zach Galifianakis) convince him to go downstairs and have a few beers on the beach in front of a campfire. The proverbial joker of the bunch Alan harbours a dangerous disliking for the bride's little brother Teddy (Mason Lee) and this time spikes the marshmallows. However everyone accidentally eats the potent brew and ends up in Bangkok for a wild night on the town which none of them can remember.

Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) is back in this sequel and ends up in the mix upon Alan's invitation and let's just say things get a little bit off balance with some Russian gangsters, a monkey, a severed finger, a face tattoo, a drug bust by the FBI, a missing Teddy, a brawl with the police and a monk! It's a must see movie if you're into that kind of thing. When there seems to be no hope of finding Teddy, just as before this time Stu is the one that has an epiphany triggered by a glass of water and rushes back to the place where they woke up where he is hidden in the elevator. The friends are reunited and make their way back just in time for the wedding on Chow's boat where they have a crash landing. In the end, Stu wins the respect of the bride's father and Mike Tyson is back and sings at the reception which is Alan's gift to the newlyweds. The bunch finally relives the night's activities through photos found on Teddy's phone which once again they make a pact to delete after the wedding. It's an action comedy at its best, I give this movie 6 stars!

The story surrounds a love triangle in which one of the lead characters played by upcoming heartthrob Colin Egglesfield who plays Dex, finds himself torn between two best friends – Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Darcy (Kate Hudson). Dex and Rachel both successful lawyers who reside in New York City, went to law school together and were secretly infatuated with each other for years. However as soon as they were getting close, Darcy interrupts the "play" and infiltrates their dinner and the rest is history. Rachel walks out of the bar/restaurant with tears in her eyes (unknown to Dex) but he still offers to take her home and goes after her outside on the sidewalk where she claims she is okay with what is going on between Darcy and himself. When the two are on the brink of marriage however, Rachel and Dex's hidden attraction is finally revealed.

I think this movie is a microcosm of real life. Although Rachel and Dex should have been upfront with Darcy and true to themselves about their feelings and what they wanted from the beginning, it just goes to show that you can't hide from true love…it has a way of catching up with you. Ginnifer Goodwin's character, Rachel was a bit insecure and unsure of what she brought to the table and Dex was a bit shy and easily beguiled by Darcy's advances and intentions. Again we see this everyday in real life and we need to take from this movie what we can. Ethan performed the imaginary role of narrator or the voice within throughout this entire movie to bring some reality to the plot. Rachel allowed Darcy to walk all over her and get her way throughout their friendship…this time Rachel wins. Yay for Rachel…it's a chick flick and Colin Egglesfield is a cutie and such a talented actor who sometimes makes you forget that you're actually watching fiction…I hope to see more of him on the screen in the not too distant future. I give this movie 6 stars!!!

Cheers!