Friends With Kids

So, I had very high expectations for this film since there were four actors from Bridesmaids, one from Parks and Recreation, and I have generally enjoyed Jennifer Westfeldt's writing in the past. The movie was released back in March and made it's way into about 640 theaters across the country and brought in about $7 million. It's written and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, who also created Kissing Jessica Stein and Ira & Abby.

The plot is centered around a platonic couple who love each other just not in that way, played by Westfeld and Adam Scott, who decide to have a baby together and split the responsibilities in order to avoid the pitfalls of their friends' marriages, played by John Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Christopher O'Dowd (who were all in Bridesmaids together). Megan Fox and Edward Burns are also in the movie.

Well, I was under the impression this was going to be an ensemble comedy with social commentaries about the nuances of relationships with and without children. It actually turned out to be a romantic comedy with some ensemble scenes strewn along the plot. There was some humor and some social undertones but I would categorize the plot as more of a dramedy with the rest of the cast and a romantic comedy with the two leads. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it wasn't entirely disappointing. The characters were mostly believable and entertaining to watch. Westfeldt's dialogue, as always, was much better than the generic filler found in most romcoms. In the grand scheme of things, the plot was rather cliched however it didn't follow the same formula to get there as most do.

The pace of the movie was a little choppy, however this was probably due more to the time span of the plot instead of the editing choices. The soundtrack was pretty great and I'm actually going to look up the soundtrack and spotify it after this review. Set design and wardrobe was very pretty.

The movie made it past just being 'eh' because of the ridiculous amount of talent in these bunch of actors. Personally, I would have loved for it to focus more on all sets of the friends, but Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt are so darn charismatic that I enjoyed their scenes together as well. I had read in an interview that Wiig doesn't consider herself a comedian (I think, I could be thinking of someone else) but she really showed her range in this role and was still awesome. Since most of the humor and social commentaries were from the interactions between the four friends, that was the most entertaining part in my opinion. The romantic comedy between Scott and Westfeldt was entertaining as well, but in a different way. Also these two pretty much make you feel inadequate as a parent.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. Not as much as I was planning to, but it was still way above the normal romcoms with billion dollar budgets. The critics seem to be pretty split on the movie as either a romcom with filler or smart and witty. I think it had elements of both and was entertaining. I think this would mostly appeal to chick-flick lovers and/or parents. "Would you rather die of a long slow disease or watch the love of your life die of a long slow disease?

Safety Not Guaranteed

Well, somehow I had not heard of this movie at all as of two weeks ago. Luckily, I have some of the best friends around and one of them, thankfully, told me about this wonderful movie and went with me to see it in one of the few theaters showing it's limited release. It's a little indie comedy that's currently showing in 46 theaters, one of them being the Regal Arbor in Austin.

The movie is from the producers of Little Miss Sunshine and from first time writer and director, Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow. The story follows a magazine reporter, Jake Johnson, and two of his interns, Aubrey Plaza and Karan Soni, as they investigate the man who wrote the classified ad looking for a partner to go back in time with, played by Mark Duplass. It's a totally made up story about the totally real-life classified ad.

The writing was superb in the film and the dialogue had oh about one million great quotable one-liners. The characters were flawed, likable, real, funny, and just all around great. The story didn't follow the expected hollywood arches and plot lines and it was quite refreshing. The first half of the movie did have a faster pace than the last half but was barely noticeable and certainly didn't affect the likability of the overall movie. There were some genuine scenes in the movie about the connections between the characters and there were also some really humorous scenes thrown in there without ruining the genuine feeling of the plot and characters.

The movie had the shallow depth of field in a lot of scenes which I've come to expect and love from these microbudget indies. The soundtrack was also pretty great. The time was taken to frame the scenes as to capture the feeling and tone of the action taking place, instead of just doing close-ups, mids, and wides to advance the plot along.

Aubrey Plaza rocked my socks off in this movie. I loved her performance in Scott Pilgrim and she's also my second favorite character from my new favorite TV show, Parks and Recreation. She is an expert at dead-pan comedy and plays the part well in this film. In addition to the funny moments she pulled off with ease, she also had some really genuine dramatic parts in there as well. Jake Johnson, who is officially impossible not to like, was also great. There were many douchebaggery aspects to his character but you couldn't help look past his faults because he's just so damn likable. I hope these two do more movies together! Oh, Mark Duplass was pretty fantastic as well. Even though his character was most likely certifiably crazy, he was still so sweet and awesome. Oh, and look out for a Kristen Bell cameo and a little cameo from the actual dude who wrote the real classified ad!

I really like the movie. I had high expectations and wasn't disappointed one bit. It was a super cute movie. It's definitely for the audience that likes these little subdued quirky movies. It's listed as a 'sci-fi comedy' because of the time-traveling aspect but the movie is really just about the connections we make with people and what's really important in life. "Have you ever faced certain death? If it was so certain, I wouldn't be here, would I?" "There's no sense in nonsense, especially when the heat's hot".

Dark Shadows

So I hadn't heard much about this movie until I saw a trailer a couple weeks ago with Johnny Depp and Chloe Grace Moretz in it and I decided I needed to see this movie. Oh, and my best friend got engaged at this movie - well before this movie. I went and sat through the entire movie and nobody proposed! The movie has already surpassed it's $150 million budget by racking in about $191 million worldwide in about three weeks so far.

The movie is based on a dysfunctional family headed by a centuries-old vampire and was apparently based on a tv show that I've never heard of before. Chloe Grace Moretz and Michelle Pfeiffer play part of the cursed Collins family. Helena Bonham Carter and Jackie Earle Haley also play characters in the movie and there's even a cameo from Alice Cooper himself.

From the trailer I had seen, I was expecting a completely satirical parody of the vampire genre - thankfully, this was not the case. While the script was dripping with satire, it was believable and comedic without being overbearing. It was the always fun dysfunctional eccentric family comedy on vampire steroids. While the ending was a little untidy - the rest of the plot was pretty great with only a couple of jumpy lags here and there. The dialogue was quite clever and each character's dialogue fit their personality. There were lots of great one-liners.

The soundtrack was amazing - but it was set in the 70's so that's only natural. The effects, cinematography, and set design (especially the set design) was great. It had hints of Tim Burton without being overbearing. The set that the built for Collinswood was amazing. Apparently they built a model that was 1/3 of the actual size to accommodate filming. How cool is that?

Johnny Depp was great as always. Say what you will, but he's a superb character actor. He was reserved enough to be believable without being overly eccentric. Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter were in their element. Chloe Grace Moretz was extremely funny and awesome.

In the end, I thought this was a great movie. It was two hours of fun packed into one movie. Who doesn't love the eccentric dysfunctional family movie? Now imagine vampires, witches, and werewolves thrown in there? Of course you want to see that. "This is Barnabas Collins and I'm pretty sure he just called me a hooker".

Snow White and the Huntsman

So, being a Kristen Stewart fan, I was destined to love this movie and was uber excited when it finally came out. It swept first place this last weekend and in fact I saw some crazy people waiting in line an hour before hand for the 11 oclock showing on Saturday night. It's already brought in about $100 million worldwide in it's first weekend and will no doubt surpass it's $170 million budget.

The movie stars Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, and Chris Hemsworth in the dark and twisted version of the classic story in stark contrast to this year's earlier Mirror Mirror. (Interestingly, Lily Collins tried out for the part in this movie and lost to Kristen Stewart, however later landing the lead in Mirror Mirror). It's basically the classic tale told as a fantasy war story instead of the dopey romance we've come to know and love.

The plot kept all of the familiar elements but made them feel a little bit more adult. The plot felt like a mixture of fantasy and a historical period piece. Of course there was a love triangle thrown into the mix which (kinda) made sense. I read some negative reviews about the dialogue and I'll agree that it wasn't anything spectacular but the real spectacle came from the visual effects anyway. The ending was horribly contrived and abrupt, but the pace in the rest of the movie flowed quite nicely.

This was a beautiful movie. The CG imagery and effects are almost unparalleled (at least so far this year). Unfortunately, the biggest and best effects were already revealed in the trailers. The set design, wardrobe, and sound mixing made everything feel dark and moody and was just a stunning piece of work all around, cinematically speaking.

Well of course I think that Kristen Stewart did a great job. I love her non-verbal acting, although I'm sure the haters will still hold to their opinions. I think she even pulled off a believable English accent. Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron also just as good. There was great acting all around, I just wish that they had been given more substance to the dialogue, but even with the simple plot advancing lines they had, they were all believable and showed their emotions perfectly.

In the end, I thought this was a good movie. Which is a first. I've loved all of Kristen Stewart's movies, thus far. I don't love this movie nor do I think it's horrible. It was on par with what I was expecting. Unfortunately all of the visuals were revealed in the trailers for the movie and there were very few surprises since the most striking part of the movie were the visuals. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys these type of fantasy dramas. It would make a great rental movie for everyone else. "I've seen what she sees. I can kill her".