This is a little family drama/comedy that interested me for Ellen Page’s role (from Juno fame) while my wife enjoyed the Sarah Jessica Parker role.

This is a family that’s trying to cope with life after the mother’s death. The husband is a very sad and not very kind professor, who’s also a little snobbish. That might be my biggest problem with this movie, I just didn’t feel much for this character played by Dennis Quaid.

Worst of all I just didn’t feel any chemistry between him and Parker. I didn’t know why she would keep going back to him, even after their failed pathetic dates. At least the husband was not portrayed as a miserable suicidal widow.

The uncle played by Thomas Haden Church was at least funny, he was the only one trying to help this family. But his relationship with his niece felt a bit weird. I didn’t think it went anywhere, it didn’t develop any of the characters.

I did like Ellen Page as a similar character to Juno, but a little more vulnerable. Again, I think her character was a little wasted in her relationship with her uncle.

Overall I felt this movie was created with good intentions, but ultimately it failed. I didn’t hate it, there were some interesting characters, but in the end I wouldn’t recommend it.

Rating: 2 Stars

This may be my favorite movie of the year so far. This is a great British film about a couple of assassins that takes place in Bruges, Belgium.

The strong point of this movie is the writing. The dialogs between Ray (Colin Farrel) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are great, they are vulgar but always funny. Ray in particular is a very cynical man who likes to make offensive jokes. The dialog reminded me of the early Guy Ritchie movies.

The plot itself is simple, but there is a lot of emotions surrounding Ray’s character. Ken is almost like a father figure to Ray, so he tries to help him as much as he can. They have a few great serious conversations about their line of profession and the ethics surrounding it.

Ray also has some misadventures with a girl he meets, which bring to some very funny scenes. But everything comes crashing down when Harry calls. That was a great scene, a long funny telephone call between Harry and Ken, that ends with the real reason for the call, and everything gets serious.

When Harry shows up it gives this movie another boost, his presence is just great. He’s not only funny but scary at the same time. The conversation he has with Ken, leading up to the tower is just great. It might seem silly, but it totally made sense to me. These people are like criminals with principles.

I did have a problem with the many coincidences at the end, all the characters of the movie basically bump into each other in the span of 1 hour. It just didn’t make sense, even considering that Bruges is small. However the emotions around that ending were so powerful that it felt like a minor problem to me.

This is really a great film, highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

This is more traditional rom-com, but I like the premise. Will tells his daughter how he met her mother (which reminds me of the TV show). Of course there are more than one love interest in the story, so it’s a fun game to actually discover which one he will end up marrying.

The premise is fun and it actually really works. I had to stop halfway through, and even though it was past midnight, my wife and I were very curious to continue it and learn the truth.

The three women in this story all had their charm. Emily (Elisabeth Banks) looked like the typical girl from a small town, not very ambitious and innocent. Of course that will change by the end, but we don’t really get to see the reasons for that change.

Her friend Summer (Rachel Weisz) is the most rebellious and open women, in fact I wonder if Emily sent Will to Summer so that he would break up with her. Kevin Kline had a fun role as Summer’s lover, I hardly recognized his look though.

The last girl is April (Isla Fisher), who looks a lot like Amy Adams. But she’s also the cute lovable girl who is not naive but intelligent.

Will has fallen for all of these women, but only one will end up with him. In hindsight I guess it was obvious who it’d be, but it was still fun to find out.

My major problem with this film is that I couldn’t care less about Will. I just don’t think Ryan Renolds can carry a movie. I don’t hate him, his performance is fine, but he just doesn’t have enough charm or presence. Since he’s the star of this movie, this was obviously a big problem for me.

That said, there are so many worse comedies out there, this is actually not too bad.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

When I first heard of this movie I was excited. I loved Donnie Darko, so I was very curious to see Richard Kelly’s follow up. Then news of the bad reception at Cannes and the delay in release lowered my level of excitement, but I was still determined to watch it and judge it by myself. I wish I hadn’t…

This movie is a mish mash of many different ideas and themes. There’s the commentary on US politics and the war in Iraq. There’s a commentary on the movie industry, on talk shows on TV, on radicals, on advertising etc… All this sprinkled with sci-fi and time travel. It was just a mess. Plot-wise I really couldn’t follow it too well, and it just didn’t interest me. For a moment I was intrigued by the time-travel explanation, but that didn’t bring to much of anything at the end.

There are many characters here, but unfortunately I also didn’t care about any of them. I never cared for the Rock, and here he has to portray a serious but also a little bit crazy movie star. I thought he was just horrible, I really hated his little tick with his fingers, I suppose it was purposely forced, but I was just annoyed by it.

Gellar didn’t give me any emotion at all, she just felt bland. I have no idea why Jon Lovitz was cast as the cop, I thought that was just so wrong. Sean William Scott also felt bland, and I really hated Justin Timberlake’s narration.

This is certainly a different movie, probably an ambitious movie and I at least appreciate filmmakers trying to create something new. Unfortunately the end result just doesn’t work here.

Rating: 2 Stars

This movie had 3 people I like that were involved. Star and writer Jason Segel, co-star Kristen Bell, and producer Judd Apatow. The result was a very entertaining comedy, with the usual Apatow serious scenes that make the story meaningful.

The premise and plot are nothing original for a rom-com, but the execution was very good. Jason Segel was funny as always. I’d only seen him as part of the cast in How I Met Your Mother, but I was glad that he also worked as a lead in a movie. Kristen Bell did a nice job as Sara Marshall, though she doesn’t exactly shine. But she did have a great moment later in the movie.

But the surprise for me was Mila Kunis. She’s obviously pretty, but she felt so natural in this movie, at times I felt I was watching a home made film where people are just themselves, instead of acting. The way she encourages Peter to go up on the stage and sing his Dracula play (ridiculous but funny concept) felt completely natural and genuine.

Another big part of the comedy came from Russell Brand, who at first looked like a complete idiot, but as the movie goes on you start to like him and even think he’s cool.

That’s true for Sara too. She is supposed to be the bitch that we don’t like, and there are scenes where she’s portrayed as a bitch. But I didn’t hate her that much, especially after she finally talks to Peter and tells him why she left him. I thought that was the emotional peak of the movie. That scene really grounded this story in reality, making me understand her side too.

There are the usual Apatow regulars with small roles. Paul Rudd was ok here, not too funny. Jonah Hill was actually not too bad, I think he works better as a supporting role instead of the lead.

The ending is probably typical of a rom-com, but strangely I was already satisfied by the emotional peak between Sara and Peter. The final scene was just expected. Overall a very good comedy, probably my favorite this year.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

It’s been a long time since I watched a movie, due to my daughter’s birth and other reasons. But my wife and I finally managed to watch a movie, even though there were many interruptions.

What better movie than my wife’s favorite TV show of all time, Sex and The City. I watched all episodes of the series with my wife, so I must I do enjoy it. It’s not my favorite show, I don’t know if I would have watched it all without my wife, but I did find it interesting.

So obviously we were interested in the continuation of that story and got exactly what we expected. I am not sure this was a success as a movie, to me it felt more like a series of episodes of the show strung together by a common thread. That thread is more prominet in this movie than in a season of the show, but it really isn’t that different.

I can even imagine the episode breaks: ep 1 is the setup, up to before the wedding. Ep 2 is the big fight. Ep 3 is the mexican trip. Ep 4 is coming back at home and looking for an assistant. Ep 5 is Carrie back as her old self. Ep 6 is the “big” reconciliation. Is this a bad thing? Not for me and the millions of fans of the show, I don’t think.

In terms of production values, I really didn’t feel like this was a step up. Sure there were more expesinve clothes and shoes than you’ll ever see in any fashion event, but the show was like that too.

Now on to the characters and plot (SPOILERS!!)

The first 20 minutes of the movie are just a build up of happiness for all 4 friends. It might have been fun, but it was obvious that things would start to go very bad. The first drama was Steve’s affair. I usually get very annoyed by Miranda, but in this movie she was the victim, so obviously I was more sympathetic towards her. I was impressed that the actress was not afraid of showing her “normal” body. I liked Steve and Miranda’s story, it felt real and didn’t have the unnecessary overly dramatic parts of a break up (did not show Steve cheating, nor him begging more than once etc..), but that’s also due to not having enough screen time.

Most of that time is obviously given to Carrie and Big. I like that we finally know his real name, that’s just a little touch for fans of the show. Having seen all episodes of the show I am obviously a little bit attached to these characters, but I had no idea how much until the big scene in the streets. On one hand I understand that Big was freaked out, but he came back to his sense, although it was too late by then. On the other I also understand Carrie’s anger, each of her blows were heartfelt. But the most surprising moment for me was when Charlotte shouted “No! No!”. She was so angry, and at the same time it felt like she couldn’t say anything more, just like she often does. A very nice touch.

After that scene Big disappears from the movie, only to return at the end with a very disappointing reconciliation. All it took for Carrie was to read his letters, or the letters that he copied, and see him in person. That’s it!?!?! As I said, disappointed. The plot is very predictable, if there is a mention of something, it will happen (the letters, the City Hall wedding etc…)

Charlotte was always my favorite character, she is both funny and serious. Her funny scenes are always of her being embarassed, but I must admit her big funny scene in this movie didn’t work much for me. It worked for making Carrie laugh (again being telegraphed just a few minutes earlier), but I didn’t laugh much. The scene I did like (apart from the dramatic one I mentioned above) is when she bumps into Big and breaks her water. I was surprised that Charlotte did not have any drama at all, on the contrary everything worked out perfectly for her. It’s a nice contrast to the others, a breath of normal life (our life) among all that drama.

On the opposite end there’s nothing normal about Samantha. She tried to have a normal relationship, but her next door neighbour wouldn’t allow her to do that. I must say, her story has always been the lighter and funny one, but I never really connected to it. Yes she’s funny, but there doesn’t seem to be any depth to her. The scene of her break up really sums it up for me. He basically had no reaction, and she had no seriousness either. It’s as if they were never serious.

There were obviosuly some good scenes between the friends, but I feel that when they’re all 4 together it’s just them having fun. It’s during one to one scenes that their relationships shine. Carrie and Miranda share a lot of scenes, both endearing (New Year’s) and dramatic. Carrie and Charlotte have a nice moment. Carrie and Samantha have an interesting telephone conversation. I like that they also have fights, like real friends, not just big fights but even small ones (Miranda and Samantha in Mexico).

Jennifer Hudson’s role didn’t do it for me. She was simply a plot device, not a character. She helped put Carrie back on her feet, bringing back some of that innocence and youth into the story. She was the excuse to bring Big back into the picture, with that computer password (so predictable). When she left, I didn’t feel anything.

I was obviously glad to see all the supporting characters from the show, Harry and Steve, even Steve’s nanny. The two gay friends, though they really didn’t get enough screen time, especially Stan.

Overall I enoyed this movie even though the ending was a little bit weak. This really felt like a season of the show, in fact I didn’t feel this movie was too long (at 2h20m), because it was just a succession of episodes. Hopefully this will put me back into the rythm of movie watching.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

In preparation for my daughter’s birth, I decided to watch this film about teenage girls (or that’s the excuse, in reality I just wanted something girly for my wife).

The story is simple, four girls grow up as best friends, but they will be separate for an entire summer. Each have their own adventure, each made their own discovery about themselves. The premise of the magic pants is not that fantastic, it’s just an excuse to somehow connect these different stories.

I’d seen two actresses in their TV series (Alexis Bedel in Gilmore Girls and Blake Lively in Gossip Girl), so I was at least familiar with them. Their stories were about romance, and they felt typical of a romantic movie.

The other two stories were different though. Ironically the other two girls are not as pretty (being sarcastic here), so they deal with something that felt more profound and meaningful.

Carmen deals with her father’s new family. I must say I hope I don’t become as stupid as that father, he really could have been more sensitive with his daughter. I also like that the new family was not branded as “the bad guys”, instead they’re a normal family like everyone else. I also liked the resolution to this story, it didn’t really wrap up neatly, even though we did get the inevitable happy ending.

The last story was very touching but not overly dramatic. I must say that little actress did a very good job, and I really found her endearing. It had a sad ending, but again they didn’t make it melodramatic.

I would say this movie was ok, I am certainly not the target audience, but it had its moments. There’s a sequel coming, but I don’t think I’ll rush out to watch it.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

This is a drama comedy that actually worked for me. The first scene was to show us how much Holly and Gerry loved each other, but it showed it in an unconventional way: the film starts with them fighting.

This just the first in a series of unconventional decisions for this story, which is one of the things I liked about it. Of course the fight ends with them making up, but we get to know so much about them in that one scene.

From then on we see Holly dealing with her loss in her way, but then Gerry’s letters start coming. He planned a series of letters to be delivered slowly, to help Holly to go on with her life without Gerry.

Each letter comes with a different task for Holly, and the corresponding memories. I don’t want to spoil everything, but there is plenty of nice and funny moments, amist the pain Holly is suffering.

The letters are nice, but sometimes they pushed it too far, into “movie” territory. For example, a letter seems to have helped Holly find her “thing” in life, even though she’d been trying 10 years before that. How come the real Gerry couldn’t help her then?

The reveal of how the letters were sent was a nice surprise, as was the resolution of Holly and Daniel’s relationship. Again, unconventional decisions.

I must admit I enjoyed this movie more than I would like to admit, it was very affecting, so much so that my wife couldn’t sleep that night.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

This is a nice little Egypt/Israel movie, telling a simple story about an Egyptian band visiting Israel, the difficulty they have in locating their destination and the help they receive from the locals.

This movie is actually mostly in English, since that’s the only common language. At times it’s funny, playing on the culture difference as well as some funny situations. I’ll never forget the scene where a band member is teaching Papi how to deal with women. Hilarious.

At times it’s touching, delving into the character’s past. The band’s leader had a lot of personal problems, but at the end of it he seems to be at peace. Not that he’s had a revelation of anything, but sometimes a little thing can change the way you think about life.

This is a very nice little story that anyone can enjoy. It’s also a breath of fresh air amongst the American movies I’ve watched lately.

Rating: 3 Stars

After enjoying The Squid and the Whale I was looking forward to Noah Baumbach’s next project. This movie does have many resemblances to Squid, but it falls short on many levels.

The main star of the story is Margot, played by Nicole Kidman. She’s so annoying and spiteful that I have no idea why her husband ever married her or even wants her back.

I can see why her son would still love her and want her attention, but at times she still treats him as bad as anyone else. These are not plain evil acts or just her being a bitch, she just speaks her mind all the time and behaves righteously as if she knew better than anyone.

I felt really bad for all the other characters who were trying to be friendly with her. Her sister Pauline is really trying to tolerate her and be her friend, and her fiance’ is also trying to deal with her. I actually liked Jack Black in this role, even though he’s playing more or less the same character in all his movies.

Even when Margot is verbally attacked by her lover Dick during a public interview, I didn’t feel bad for her at all. Yes I agree he was a jerk, but I just had no compassion for her at all.

I appreciate that Baumbach is working out some personal issues with this story, Margot being a writer that writes everything about her private life, just like Baumbach does. I just couldn’t find any appealing factor in the star of this movie at all.

Rating: 2 Stars