Archive for the ‘Movies and Television’ Category

I love romantic comedies.  They tend to be great date movies: there is the comedy part for the boy and the romance part for the girl.  When I saw the trailer for Crazy Stupid Love, I knew that I needed to see it before the summer was over.  It had an all star cast, looked painfully funny (the trailer had my laughing), and was about love.  I love movies about love and I have developed a bit of a girl crush on Emma Stone (I kind of have a thing for sassy girls with red hair).  So on my last day of freedom before school started for me (Sunday), the boyfriend took me to go see this.  I loved it.

First of all, I have to tell you, I wasn’t a Ryan Gosling fan before this movie.  I haven’t seen The Notebook (even though I know many girls swoon at the mere thought of him in that movie) or any of his other movies.  After this movie, I am a huge fan.  He is going to be starring in an upcoming political thriller with George Clooney called The Ides of March that looks REALLY good.  Check out the trailer if you have a chance.  He is now on my actors to watch list.  His character was one of my favorites in this movie because he grew so much and I am a sucker for personal growth.  I also couldn’t help but love how good he looks in a suit!

I’ll keep this review short and just say, go and see this movie if you have a chance.  It’s a fun movie that I think has a little something for almost everyone.  I went from laughing hysterically to on the verge of tears in the course of the movie.  It even had a few plot twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.  I always love finding a movie that can surprise me.  I didn’t expect to enjoy this movie as much as I actually did, which is definitely saying something.

And since this review is short, I’m going to leave you with a question that the movie had me thinking about:

What is the craziest thing you have ever done for love?

In high school, I was a bit boy crazy so I did a lot of crazy things and told myself that it was in the name of love.  However, I’m not sure that any of them should be recorded here.  It is better that they remain hidden away in the recess of my memory (or old journal).  I have lied for love, which seems a bit counter intuitive, but at the time it seemed necessary.  I never stole or cheated for love except for a few times where I suppose it could be said that I cheated myself by not being true to myself, but I’m not sure that is really crazy — its more just self deprecating.  So ultimately, I’m not sure that I have ever really done anything crazy for love.  However, I have had a few guys do some crazy things for me.  I’m not sure if this is something to be proud of or ashamed of … I’m throwing it out there either way.

And as I write this, I can’t help but wonder if the mere act of falling in love isn’t a little crazy to begin with.  The idea that we put ourselves out there vulnerable to the pain of heartbreak is crazy.  This is especially true of people who love again after the dreadful ache of having their heart broken.  I know that no amount of heartache would keep me from searching for love.  I guess that is part of the point of this movie.  Love is definitely crazy and stupid, but no matter how much we might want to avoid it … love seems to always find a way.

I had to see this movie.  Johnny Depp is one of my favorite actors and I have a secret girl crush on Angelina Jolie (who doesn’t?!).  So let’s just say that going into the theatre to see this move, I had incredibly high expectations.  Usually, this results in disappointment.  High expectations are hard to meet.  But I loved this movie.  It actually stands out as one of my favorite movies of 2010.

Not everyone will love this movie the way I did.  I have heard some great reviews while other people absolutely hated the movie.  I liked it because it was simple.  It revolved around two people, not around flashy action sequences or high tech special effects.  It was character driven and reminiscent of old fashioned movies.  And let me tell you Angelina Jolie shines in this film.  Is it me or is she just getting better with age?  She plays the mysterious Elise.  I loved her wardrobe, her accent, and how she never gave too much away.  She is sexy and sophisticated in and almost Audrey Hepburn way.  Elise purposefully crosses the path of Frank, played by Johnny Depp, on a train to Venice.  What follows is a plan to evade the police who are looking for her lover, Alexander Pierce, a notorious thief.  A tale of love, mistaken identity, and a search for a missing criminal ensues.  Even when you think you have it all figured out, you are never quite sure: there are surprises at every corner.  And I think you’ll be happy with the ending; I was.

I am looking forward to adding this to my DVD collection when it comes out.  If you are a fan of old fashioned movies, Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, or just a good story, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

Now, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this movie if you’ve seen it.

I’m going to start a new feature on my blog!  Yes, I’m trying to be innovative and available.  I figure a weekly feature might just keep me on track.  It will force me to sit down every Friday and let you all know what I’m up to.  So what exactly is Friday Favorites?  Well, it’s going to be my opportunity to rant and rave about things that I absolute fell in love (in some cases, it could be hate) with throughout the week!  And this week, I swooned a lot.  I mean, hello, it’s summer: there is so much to love about summertime.  So what are my Friday Favorites?

First, the iPad.  If there is anything you know about me, you must know that I am a Mac-a-holic.  I have a MacBook and iPhone and I can’t imagine my life without either device.  So when it came to buying an e-reader, I knew immediately that I would go with Apple.  After months of waiting and swooning after this fabulous Apple device, I caved.  I was just sitting down at work and it hit me: Jennifer, you need to go to the Apple store after work and buy yourself an iPad.  And my boyfriend was more than happy to accompany me on what has turned out to be one of the biggest splurges I’ve probably ever made.  But when I had the shiny device in my hand, I knew that it was worth it.  I felt like nothing else in the world could possibly matter.  And since I bough the beauty Wednesday afternoon, I surprisingly have had no twinge of buyer’s remorse.  I’ve been shopping for apps like crazy and I bought my first iBook yesterday: Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth which I plan to dig into as soon as I finish Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood.  I would love to hear your app recommendations in the comments section!

Second, summer shows, particularly summer shows on USA.  Tuesday and Thursday nights I am essentially unreachable because I am glued to the TV watching my four favorite shows on TV right now.  On Tuesday I get the delight of disappearing into the world of a criminal mastermind in White Collar: Neil Caffrey is a con man fighting the good fight.  And I have to say, he looks so good doing it.  Even better there is amazing chemistry between Neil and his FBI handler, Agent Peter Burke.  The episodes are fast paced and the story line continues to have extremely interesting twists and turns.  After White Collar, I get to disappear into the life of a new CIA spy.  Covert Affairs has many of the perks of Alias.  Instead of Sydney Bristow and her extremely dysfunctional family, Covert Affairs follows newly recruited Annie Walker who has been hardened by a love affair gone wrong.  With quirky and fun characters like Auggie, the blind tech guy, this show is nonstop entertainment.  There is action, mystery, and even some humor in this gem.  Even more, you are really rooting for Annie because even though she is a kick-ass spy, she is also just like any normal girl.  She isn’t superwoman and I love that about her.  On Thursdays, I turn to Burn Notice and Royal Pains.  Burn Notice is on its fourth season but I only really just started watching it last season and now I’m totally addicted.  In case you don’t know what it’s about, Burn Notice follows burned spy, Michael Westen who run a sort of rougue spy operation.  He helps people who get into trouble.  The story line twists and turns a lot, but the show is so much fun to watch.  And the characters are well-developed, which is always a plus.  Royal Pains is a fairly new show that I loved from the first episode.  Hank gets fired from a major New York hospital and is practically exiled from the medial profession because of it.  Luckily, his brother Evan drags him to the Hamptons where he finds a way in with the rich and famous enabling him to start his own concierge practice.  I have a thing for medial dramas so during the summer when I can’t get my Private Practice or Grey’s Anatomy, I turn to Hank.  Plus, he’s a charming fellow.  So as you can see, I’m pretty busy with these awesome summer shows.  But don’t worry, I spend all my other nights reading (well, at least most of them).

And last but not least: rock climbing!  I have been at this sport for almost a year now and I am loving it more and more.  It is the perfect summertime adventure.  And last week, for the first time ever, I took it outdoors.  Granted, there were very few things I could actually do out there (I’m so weak compared to the guys I was climbing with!), but it gives me something to aspire to.  And let me tell you, I love goals and challenges and now I have a couple of both.  Reading keeps my mind busy and now rock climbing is keeping my body busy.  I’m hoping that if I can stick to a climbing schedule I can lose some of the freshman fifteen I accidentally gained from way too many long nights … studying.

Well, these are a few of my favorite things right now.  What are yours?

I have been eagerly waiting to watch this movie.  I remember hearing about it at the time of Heath Ledger’s sudden and tragic death.  I had always been a fan of his: I loved to see the ways he grew as an actor as he took different roles.  Obviously, I had to see this as it was one of his final roles.  And it took a while for me to get my hands on it.  When I added it to my Netflix queue, they didn’t even have the movie yet.  And when they did receive it, there was a waiting period.  And as I waited, the movie moved down my queue as I replaced it with more available movies that were interesting (I’ve worked my way through almost all of the six seasons of Sex and the City).  But finally, the movie made its way to me and this weekend I popped it in the player with a bowl of popcorn in hand not entirely sure what to expect.

As a whole, the movie was strange at best.  It moved at a fast pace and I’m not sure if I picked up on everything.  Still, the movie was quirky and had some laugh out loud moments.  But it was also dark and possibly even a little scary.

The main premise of the story is that Dr. Parnassus makes a deal with the devil: he gives up his immortality for youth when he falls in love with a beautiful woman.  However, the deal comes with a catch: the doctor must give up his son or daughter on his or her sixteenth birthday.  Doctor Parnassus has a traveling magic show with his daughter, Valentina who is on the even of her sixteenth birthday, a midget named Percy and his assistant Anton who is also madly in love with Valentina.  Dr. Parnassus attempts to make another deal with the devil to save his daughter: whoever can seduce five souls in the imaginarium will win Valentina.  However, when the troupe saves a young man named Tony  from death by hanging off a bridge things go awry.  Anton is eaten up by jealousy as Valentina falls for his suave tricks.  The question is: where did Tony come from?  Why are people trying to kill him?  Who is going to win Valentina?  Nothing is certain in this movie where your imagination comes to life when you step through the magical mirror into the unknown.  The special appearances of Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Collin Farrell are a nice touch to the movie and in the end serve as a terrific tribute to Heath Ledger.

My final opinion is that this is definitely a movie worth seeing.  I always enjoy movies that challenge you to think instead of just allowing you to kind of fall asleep as you watch.  With this movie, you can’t miss a scene ore the whole story falls apart.  Certainly not what I expected, but sometimes it is very nice to be surprised.  The acting was superb and some of the scenes are breathtakingly beautiful while others are morbid and terrifying.  This movie definitely has some extraordinary highs while it also contains a few depressingly lengthy lows.  Still, it is an interesting story with some valuable moral lessons.  And at the end of it, I had a deep craving to watch some of my Heath Ledger favorites like A Knight’s Tale and 10 Things I Hate About You.

While I, like many other readers and moviegoers, and completely ready for the Twilight fanaticism to be over and done with, a part of me needs to see it out to its end.  I read the books a couple years ago and fully enjoyed them.  Granted, they aren’t necessarily my favorite books of all time and I can see and accept many of the problems with the books and the story but there is something about the story that is addicting.  It’s like a candy bar: bad for you but it is also just so enjoyable.

So when I saw that Eclipse was out, I had to go see it.  I went to go see both of the previous movies, Twilight and New Moon, on their opening days.  Luckily this time around I was smart enough to wait a few days to avoid the screaming younger fans who would shriek in excitement every time Edward entered a scene.  And I have to say, I really enjoyed it.  Luckily, this story is not just about Bella and Edward but includes a lot of the background on the periphery characters who are, at least in my opinion, much more interesting.  Rosalie’s story is especially moving and it definitely adds a lot of depth to her stone cold seemingly emotionless exterior.  I also appreciated the inclusion of the mythology of Jacob’s tribe.  In my opinion, this aspect of the novels is what really saves them for me.  I love Native American legends and am glad to see that they weren’t cut from the movie.

Altogether, I would say this is the best movie yet.  There is action, romance, a love triangle, and truly intriguing characters that are worth getting to know. Even better is the fact that including the interesting back stories of other characters meant cutting some of Bella’s whining out.  Thank goodness!

Now let’s hope that they get Breaking Down out soon. I’m ready to let the Twilight saga go.  For good.