I Just Went With It

Defying movie critics everywhere, I went to see Just Go With It last night. You know, the typical rom-com that Adam Sandler is known for, the ones that he always allows his friends to make cameos in (i.e. The Waterboy, Big Daddy, The Wedding Singer, etc.) Though this film is undoubtedly to be categorized in a similar fashion as his other movies, this one was laugh out loud funny. Actually, I legitimately cackled quite a few times. After Grown-Ups, the last Adam Sandler movie I saw, I was a little disappointed. The all-star cast gave me some high hopes and they came crashing down, well, maybe not crashing, but they were crushed. Just Go With It didn't have high expectations going into it because Jennifer Aniston is so blah nowadays and really, who is Brooklyn Decker besides the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover model and Andy Roddick's wife, hmm? Well let me tell you that they really pulled off a great movie. The dialogue was realistic, perhaps because Adam Sandler improvs some of it, the characters were believable, and even better, they were funny!

The premise is this: Adam Sandler wears a fake wedding ring to bed 20-somethings in L.A. and when he finally meets the 23-year he can see himself growing old with (Wedding Singer reference), she discovers his ring and feels betrayed. So he enlists the help of his assistant, Jennifer Aniston, to play his soon-to-be ex-wife in order to ease the teenager's (really a 23-year old played by Brooklyn Decker) worries. When the lie becomes more elaborate, he must also be a fake father to Jennifer Aniston's real kids which involves some heavy scheming and mafia-esque dealing.

Mrs. Andy Roddick...it's just not fair.

Besides Adam Sandler, there were some funny characters in the movie. Nick Swardson, a popular comedian, plays Sandler's Jewish cousin just recovering from penile enlargement surgery who pretends to be a German sheep-herder. Sounds crazy but it somehow makes sense. That's basically how the whole movie felt: preposterous but it could seemingly happen. Though she's not the greatest actress, Brooklyn Decker will most certainly be appearing in the dreams of her male audience after her slow-mo bikini scene. Though I've gotta say, Jennifer Aniston looks great for her age too! And let's not forget the cameos. I don't wanna give them all away, but Dave Matthews is hilarious. Why he chose to make over 40 albums instead of acting is beyond me.

If you have a date planned in the near future, I would seriously consider seeing this movie. If you're single, don't be depressed, just go with it and see this movie!

Spend or Save? Spend (an extremely cheap Valentine's Day alternative to a $50/person prix fixe menu)

The answer would be, um, Oscar season?

That's right - forget Christmas and Wedding season (which season is that, exactly...Spring?), Oscar season is upon us! This morning, the Academy announced their nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards. Most of the nominations are no surprise and in my opinion, are popular films to begin with. Sure, you've got the signature indie films that slipped into the nominations, but three of the ten films nominated for Best Picture have grossed more than $200 million worldwide (The Social Network - $208,608,473; Inception - $823,576,195; Toy Story 3 - $1,063,161,943). A few other ones are almost at the $100 million mark as well. Here are the top category nominations followed by a link to the full list. Enjoy!!

1. Best Picture: "Black Swan," ''The Fighter," ''Inception," ''The Kids Are All Right," ''The King's Speech," ''127 Hours," ''The Social Network," ''Toy Story 3," ''True Grit," ''Winter's Bone."

2. Actor: Javier Bardem, "Biutiful"; Jeff Bridges, "True Grit"; Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"; Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"; James Franco, "127 Hours."

3. Actress: Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"; Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"; Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"; Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"; Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine."

4. Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, "The Fighter"; John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"; Jeremy Renner, "The Town"; Mark Ruffalo, "The Kids Are All Right"; Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech."

5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, "The Fighter"; Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"; Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"; Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"; Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom."

6. Directing: Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan"; David O. Russell, "The Fighter"; Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech"; David Fincher, "The Social Network"; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "True Grit."

Complete list of 83rd Annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday: - NYPOST.com

Badass Ad of the Week

This was requested by my sister to win Badass Ad of the Week. The first time I saw it, I wasn't sure if they were actually having a poop contest. By the fourth time, I was certain. Added bonus: Jock Jams song "Whoomp There It Is" as the background music.

The King's Speech (Was Really Good)

I didn’t have this movie on any type of wish list, by any means. It sounded kinda dumb. Well now, and I hate to say this next part because I don’t want to admit to doing something because everyone else does it but, it has been winning a bunch of awards. I like to see the movies that are nominated for awards because typically, the Academy knows what they’re doing. So to the movie theaters I went to see The King’s Speech starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter.

It delivered. Colin Firth plays King George VI who was known to have a serious stuttering problem. He has been quoted saying he practiced his stammer for three weeks so that the audience would feel his pain. Every “M-m-m-m” uttered had me at the edge of my seat, wanting to yell at him to spit it out! But that was the job of Geoffrey Rush who plays Dr. Lionel Logue. His unconventional speech therapy is promised to remedy all of the future King’s problems. When I say unconventional, I mean straight-up weird. Rolling like logs across the rug, relentlessly repeating rough tongue-twisters, and blasting classical music. The results of his methods were about to be witnessed by all of England in the climax of the movie, the King’s speech.


Helena Bonham Carter plays a loving and yet sly wife who wants the best for her husband. Though he had the toughest job in the film, Geoffrey Rush’s doctor role was so enjoyable to watch, especially his bickering with Colin Firth’s character. The Golden Globe win for Actor in a Drama was well-earned by Colin Firth. Up until this movie, the only person I associated with a speech impediment was the character “Stuttering Stanley” from The Sixth Sense. Thank you, Colin Firth, for giving me a new person to relate to the next time I find myself saying “T-t-t-today juniaaa”.

Spend or Save? Spend your money and see this good-natured, heart-warming, and potty-mouth ridden movie!

This is a joke, right?

This kid is SIXTEEN YEARS OLD.  How can you make a movie about his life when he has lived approximately 18% of it (assuming men live to 86)?  Yes, he's sold millions of albums and yes, he's had women fall so deeply in love with him that they've threatened Selena Gomez's life after pictures were taken of the two canoodling on a yacht.  On top of all that, he's playing himself.  As in, it's not a movie.  This should be one of those In-Concert Specials on the Disney Channel that I used to watch when I was younger.  You remember, like BBMak and B*Witched?  Anyways, I beg you, do not spend your money on this...whatever it's called.

True Grit Remake is Truly Entertaining

Never arrive late to a movie.  Words to live by; you can miss the entire premise of the film.  Unfortunately, I missed the first five minutes of this film.  Fortunately, that was all I missed.  True Grit, originally a 1969 John Wayne classic, was re-done with flair, gumption, and great casting.  Since I was already aware of the plot of the movie (a young girl’s father is killed and she promises to avenge his death by hiring a deadbeat Marshal to hunt down the culprit), I was able to fill myself in very easily.  And then I was along for the enjoyable ride that lasted the duration of the movie. 

If you’re not aware of the Coen Brothers by now then you probably live in North Dakota.  Well, maybe not North Dakota because they directed Fargo as well as No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski and just a few others.  They love to re-use actors in their movies and their choices for True Grit were nothing short of fabulous.  There’s Jeff Bridges as a withering drunkard of a Marshal, Matt Damon playing an aspiring hero, and Josh Brolin playing a dirty villain.  But it was newcomer Hailee Steinfeld as young Mattie Ross who stole the show.  She made me feel inferior at times (I mean, what 14-year old really has that vocabulary?), but her true grit was admirable.  Her quick-witted responses had me giggling seconds after I realized how clever she was. 

The amazing cast along with the twists and turns of alliances in this movie make it a must-see.  Even if you have to miss the first five minutes.

Spend or Save?  Spend your money and experience a great film about the wild wild west!

David Fincher Wins Golden Globe *Like*

What perfect timing!  Just as I wrapped up my 2nd viewing of The Social Network, I quickly hit all of the necessary remote control buttons to tune into the Golden Globes and what did I see?  David Fincher, the aforementioned film's director, win the Golden Globe for Director - Motion Picture.  Mad kudos, well-deserved.

*After publishing this post, The Social Network won the Golden Globe for Motion Picture - Drama!  Look at them go!  

Vent Sesh

Another vent sesh so soon, you ask?  Well, I was watching me some ABCFamily the other day.  Before you start hating, Greek is probably one of the most accurate college shows on television and I can't get enough of it.  And since Pretty Little Liars leads into it, I obviously got hooked onto that as well.  Anyway, all of a sudden, I started paying attention to the commercials because I hear something about a Mean Girls marathon.  Favorite movie of all-time, ALL-time.  But I'm confused, because as far as I'm concerned, there's only one Mean Girls and though you can play it over and over again, I wouldn't say that constitutes a marathon.  Well, turns out ABCFamily pulled a little trick of their own and made their own Mean Girls 2.  Say what?!!  If it's not written by Tina Fey starring Lindsay Lohan (in her prime, of course), it's not Mean Girls 2.  Cady Heron has graduated and gone to college and The Plastics have disbanded.  That being said, I'll probably watch this imposter because I have to hate on something, right? 

Badass Ad of the Week

Somehow, this commercial works its way into my everyday vocabulary. I've never actually been to a Planet Fitness, but my friends that have memberships taunt me by telling me all about Bagel Monday and Pizza Tuesday and whatever nonsensical food-binge-at-a-gym day they're having. Funny stuff.

Centerstage 2: Turn It Down Please

While perusing the library before The Historical Snowstorm of 2011 I stumbled upon Centerstage 2: Turn It Up. I’m assuming you’ve never heard of it before because neither have I. Figured I’d give it a shot.

What a joke. Besides the fact that it was visually pleasing (due to amazing dance numbers and washboard abs), the movie was terrible. The little kid with the glasses and the big head in Jerry Maguire was better at acting than the two main characters of this movie. After watching the DVD extras, I found out that the Kate and Tommy were played by actual dancers with no previous acting experience so I cut them a little slack. But still.

You can't tell me he's not adorable. 
Also, he's apparently the new star of Footloose?

The title of the movie has nothing to do with the movie. Kind of like all the Bring It On movie sequels. It was really a Cinderella story of sorts: Kate, hailing from Detroit, comes to New York to be a part of the American Ballet Academy. After getting rejected, she has to slum it around the city, working as a dancer at a club. That’s where she meets Tommy from Bahhhston. Sexy accent, sexy abs, sucky acting skills. Well, she and Tommy play a nice little game of cat and mouse which kind of loses its realistic factor when neither of them can yell at each other seriously. And still, I powered through, determined to finish the movie (I can’t bring myself to call it a film, let’s be serious). The ending was predictable. Surprise surprise. Shoulda called it Centerstage 2: Cinderella Can’t Act, But She Can Dance.

Loyal fans of the original Centerstage: don’t be fooled by this camouflaged wannabe. Unless you’re in the mood for a ballet/hip-hop soap opera.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (to end already)

Recently, my family and I rented this movie via RedBox on a lame Sunday night. It had promise, it had potential, it had Jake Gyllenhaal.
For a movie that cost almost $200 million to make, it did not deliver. The plot is such: a pauper from the streets (think Aladdin) is taken in by the royal Persian family as their third son. Fast forward until this hoodlum is somewhat adapted to the royal lifestyle and is helping the Persians conquer the world. He meets a Princess who holds a dagger that is more powerful than she leads on; it can turn back time to change a single moment for the beholder. The movie is essentially a cat-and-mouse chase for the possession of the dagger. It falls into the hands of a man who runs ostrich races, then back to Jake Gyllenhaal, then to the Princess, then to the sly and manipulative Persian uncle.

At times, I was reminded of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, especially when they arrived at the origin of the sands of the dagger. In fact, this movie reminded me of a lot of other movies (Gladiator, Alexander, etc.). If you’re going to put up that much money to make a supposed Blockbuster, you’d better have some clever idea of your own - including the cast which, for the most part, was pretty talented. However, Princess Tamina, played by newcomer Gemma Arterton, gained acting skills as the movie went on. Problem is, I don’t want to see someone learn how to act as. I. watch. the. movie. She should have started off on a Final Destination 6 movie or something and then moved on to the big films. To be fair, she wasn’t the only problem with this movie. I’m just picking on her because I can.

Spend or Save? Save... I think I made that pretty clear in my review.

Vent Sesh

I just need to vent for a quick second.  Anyone remember Project Runway?  Yeah, most people do.  Which is why it is SO not okay for Bravo (the same channel that created Project Runway) to just dismiss that monumental designer show and replace it with "The Fashion Show".  Clearly, their recipe for shows such as this include equal parts famous supermodel, fashion designer, and harsh yet loved critic.  I'm not fooled by your tricks, Bravo.  I see what you're doing and I'm not going to watch. 

 versus

Badass Ad of the Week

The first time I saw this commercial, I thought it was going to have something to do with the 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon.  He just looks like such a NERD as this guy and that makes it much funnier.  Enjoy!

Black Swan...WTF

This picture gives me nightmares.

Upon the movie’s end, I sat speechless for approximately two minutes while the credits started rolling.  Fortunately, I am no longer speechless and thus can attempt to put into words my review of the movie Black Swan starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Vincent Cassel.  The movie is about the cutthroat world of ballet and its ability to delude the dancers that compete for the principal role.  So basically, take that comforting and beautiful idea of ballet that you had in your head and throw it away.  Black Swan gives it to you raw and real and at times even makes you feel uncomfortable.

Natalie Portman plays Nina Sayers in what will inevitably be an Oscar-winning role.  Nina is a perfectionist who is influenced and controlled by her has-been mother and looks up to the person that judges her most, the ballet’s director played by Cassel.  Portman is cast as the lead in a new rendition of Swan Lake where she will play both the white and the black swan.  Then things get funky.  There are a lot of graphic scenes and some unexpected gory scenes as well.  The kind that make you squirm in your seat and wonder if everyone around you feels as awkward as you do.

Portman is scary skinny and plays the innocent role so well that it becomes terrifying to see her turn into her counterpart, the black swan.  The movie had a Shutter Island feel to it in the sense that you’re still not sure what happened in real life and what was imagined.  Chatting with friends won’t help solve your problems…that’s just the reaction director Darren Aronosky wanted from his audience (he is also known for his controversial film, Requiem for a Dream).  Any more word vomit from me and I might give away too much.  And yet, I can’t stop thinking about the movie and developing my own theories as to what it all means. 

Spend or Save?  Spend before someone spoils it all for you.  Not reason enough?  Spend so that you can say you saw the Oscar-winning film before it won all its awards.