Twinks Gets Fit...

Monday, May 18, 2009

Movie Monday

I was challenged by mi mama to find some good movies for her so here are the first few. You may notice that none of them are new releases, but they're movies (all except one I think) that she hasn't seen, but that I could watch over and over:



Monster-in-Law--This one's fresh in my mind because TBS showed it every night this weekend, but commercial-free is always better. They eliminate scenes in order to squeeze it into their timeframe too. Okay, now this one isn't going to win any of the actors Oscar nods, but it's really entertaining and it still makes me laugh. "Don't you just love being girlfriends?" Wanda Sykes has a small role, but she's hilarious and balances out Jane Fonda.

I am very lucky not to have a mom or mother-in-law who is in anyway like Jane Fonda's character by the way :)






The Holiday--This romantic comedy has an ensemble cast, which works well together. Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz trade houses for Christmas and it follows each as they find themselves in very different surroundings than what they're used to. I won't lie, I tend to favor the story-line with Kate Winslet, who I related to more than Cameron Diaz, but both are good stories and I liked the movie trailer thoughts of Diaz's character (who is a movie exec). Brady and I both agree that Jack Black was great in this movie and that he needs to do more movies like it (or even drama). Overall, it's a somewhat dramatic sweet romantic comedy. Oh and look for the Dustin Hoffman cameo :)





The Thomas Crown Affair--A remake of the 1960s flick of the same title, this updated version stars Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. It's a sexy cat and mouse game with a backdrop of the fine art world. The plot is cleverly constructed and fun to watch. I actually watched this movie twice in writing a paper for my art history class. My only complaints were that perhaps they went a little far with Rene Russo being seductive (makeup, clothes, etc.) and that Denis Leary was under-utilized. You hardly know the poor guy's there and if you've seen Rescue Me or heard any of his stand-up, you know he has lots of...personality :)

Hitch--Alex Hitchens, or "Hitch," is a date doctor of sorts who coaches guys who don't have the social skills to talk to the women of their dreams. The client in question is Kevin James, who is adorably awkward as always. In the meantime, Hitch meets potentially the woman of his dreams, but suddenly the guy who thought he had it all figured out women-wise finds himself literally falling all over himself trying to impress her. Kevin James is great--Brady and I love his dancing skills, which we proudly imitated at our wedding reception. "Q-tip, Q-tip, throw it away..." The object of his affection is played by Amber Valleta, a fairly unknown, but likeable character. It's a light-hearted comedy and if nothing else, you can learn some spiffy new dance moves :)

Fracture--"Which one of these is not like the others?" :) Well, this movie is not a comedy...or at least not in the traditional sense and it's certainly not romantic. It is, however, very clever. It stars Sir Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling (from The Notebook, which is romantic, though terribly and unforgivably sad). So, a man shoots his wife and confesses to the cops. Open and shut case, right? Think again. This is what Gosling's character, a promising attorney with one foot in the DA's office and one foot in his swanky new office at an elite law firm, discovers when he's assigned to prosecute Hopkins.

Hopkins' character is Hannibal Lechter-ish...cool, calm, and collected regardless of the situation, very intelligent, and great with the mind games. He's really entertaining to watch. The match-up of Hopkins and Gosling is great.

Movies that should have a warning sticker
Bride Wars--This was an impulse rental on my Friday off. I wanted a movie I hadn't seen before that I could watch while eating my yummy hummus lunch after a busy morning of grocery shopping and options were limited at Redbox. I had a free rental code so I figured "what the heck?" My advice to anyone renting this movie is to take it for what it is and have low expectations. Ignore your inner voice telling you how unrealistic the whole concept is and asking why on earth these two girls were so obsessed from the time they were little girls that they absolutely had to have their weddings in June at the Plaza in NYC. I'm no expert on the cost of weddings in NYC, but I can imagine it's more than most people's mortgage. ANYways, silence that little voice inside you and you might get a few chuckles out of the movie. It really wasn't as bad as I anticipated, which doesn't say a lot as I anticipated total utter disaster. Think Gigli.

That said, Kate Hudson played the role of the obsessive and jealous bride-to-be very well and Anne Hathaway is likeable, though they couldn't really decide if she was the doormat for everyone in her life or the closet party girl. They have fairly good chemistry as BFFs turned Bridezillas.
Now, I don't use the phrase "chick flick" much because I know many guys who enjoy romantic comedies, but this is not a romantic comedy. It's really meant for girls only. Honestly, there really isn't anything in it to appeal to guys in the least aside from Anne Hathaway scantily dressed dancing at the bachelorette party and swinging on a rope. ::Cue Scooby Doo ears on any guys that actually read this "Huuuuuh?!"::

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