Warm Bodies

Get out your BRAAAAAAIIIIIINNNSSS we're reviewing Warm Bodies!

Isn't he dreamy ladies? Ladies? Where did you go?

R(Nicholas Hoult) is a zombie who just wants to connect with people. After meeting Julie(Teresa Palmer) in a zombie attack, he falls in love, takes her back to his place to keep her safe, and starts to see some strange changes in himself.

Quickies: The Campaign, Bourne Legacy, Dead Heads

Hey guys, I've been super busy with the final project for my inking class(pictures soon) and working on my internship, so I decided to have one post of quick reviews of all the movies I've seen.

The Campaign

Cam Brady(Will Ferrell) and Marty Huggins(Zach Galifianakis) are running against each other for the Republican Congressman seat.  If you hate polotics, this movie will be HILARIOUS.  This is the funniest Will Ferrell movie he's had in years.  Though I was expecting a bit more Ferrell, it had the apporpriate amount of Galifianakis, and they play off each other perfectly. It also has a great supporting class including Brian Cox, Jason Sudeikis, John Lithgow and a hilariously terrifying Dylan McDermott.  It's funny and exactly what I'd expect politics to be like. One of the best comedies this year, go check it out, $$$$

The Bourne Legacy

For a Hawkeye prequel, I 'm surprised there wasn't a Black Widow cameo somewhere.  This takes place at the same time as The Bourne Ultimatum, in which the government is closing down all it's super soldier programs thanks to that pesky Bourne guy, and Aaron Cross(Jeremy Renner) with his doctor(Rachel Weisz) needs to find more super soldier pills and escape with his life.  This was pretty meh overall.  It has a slow start, which wouldn't be bad if it focused on Aaron's story, but it's mostly an hour of bad guys doing boring bureaucratic bad guy stuff. There's a few action scenes, but not as many as I would have liked, and the action isn't as amazing, inventive or groundbreaking as the previous three films. Also, no cameo from Bourne, which I didn't need, but would have liked.  It doesn't really have a satisfying conclusion either.  Aaron Cross doesn't even bother with going after the bad guys!  

It's like Moby's Extreme Ways that they have at the end of every one of these films.  There's a new remix version at the end of Legacy. It's different, and it's still cool, but it's not as good as the original, and you're probably just better off listening to that.  The best part of this is Renner and Weisz.  I've always been fans of theirs, and they both pull their own weight. Renner is a badass, and Reisz is a believable doctor freaking out.  It's an ok action flick, but not great, especially not compared to the previous Bourne films. If there's nothing else actiony out there, it's not bad, but you may want to wait on this one. $$$

DeadHeads

This was a random move I watched on TV, and it's kind of interesting.  It's about two zombies who are still sentient even after dying, even though none of the other zombies are.  It's an intriguing gimmick, but then it turns into a zombie romantic comedy as one of the undead guys wants to travel cross country to tell his girlfriend that he loves her. There's some enjoyable zombie humor to be had, and even some genuinely touching moments that may bring undead tears to your eyes, but it ends up being too sappy for its own good.  I can understand the main guy's motivation, but all these other people are helping him for true love in the zombie apocalypse? Really? That's your biggest concern?  And it ends with no real resolution to their relationship, or answers any of the questions to the why or how of being sentient zombies.  It's overly romantic, but it's still fun and interesting with some heartfelt moments. $$$

Quick Review: Casa de mi Padre

Casa de mi Padre is that Will Ferrell movie completely in spanish that you probably heard of but never got a chance to see in theaters. And now it's out on DVD!  Armando Alvarez(Will Ferrell) is trying to keep his family together while his brother Raul(Diego Luna) and his new fiance(Genesis Rodriguez) threaten to tear it apart, all while battling the evil drug lord Onza. If you've ever seen a spanish telenovela, this is exactly like that, but on purpose.  In a way, it reminds me a lot of Black Dynamite, but instead of being completely ridiculous, it plays it straight, which is why it's so funny. It works straight, as the story is engaging, but then it's filled with fake sets, overly dramatic close-ups, fake animals and mannequins, and unnatural cuts in the film.

Usually a film trying to be both straight and funny at the same time fails at both, but here I think it really pulls it off.  Will Ferrell is a believable dramatic actor while still being hilarious, the action is over the top, the story is maddeningly engrossing, and the soundtrack is amazingly fun.  I can see how some would be turned off by it or think it's boring, as there are lots of long dramatic parts(and a HUGE dig at Americans), but I thought it was pure genius and one of Will Ferrell's better films in recent history.  Plus, Nick Offerman! I give it $$$$. Worth checking out, and enjoyable as long as you know what you're getting into.

Sketched Discussion: To Rome with Love

To Rome with Love is the new Woody Allen film that's a love letter to Rome and features a collection of tiny romantic comedies set around the city.  Here's a quick review: It's ok. Kinda cute, kinda weird, has some funny bits and cute parts but feels otherwise disjointed.  Not as good as some of Woody Allen's other movies (like Midnight in Paris), but it's still a love letter to Rome with some nice atmospheric shots. So maybe $$$.  But what I wanted to talk about was its treatment of its female characters, so spoilers below. 

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Get out your Doomsday clocks, we're reviewing Seeking a Friend for the End of the World!

When the end of the world is immanent, two strangers, Dodge(Steve Carell) and Penny(Keira Knightly), team up to go on a journey to find Dodge's first love and Penny's family. Can they find happiness before the world's end?

Moonrise Kingdom

Get out your awkward conversation and classy music, we're reviewing Moonrise Kingdom!

Moonrise Kingdom is the latest movie from writer/director Wes Anderson, and it's pretty good, if a bit different.  It mostly comes down to whether or not you like Wes Anderson's style. If you like Wes Anderson movies(Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic, Rushmore, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Darjeeling Unlimited, etc.) You'll enjoy this. If not, well...

The Five-Year Engagement

Get out your guns and get ready to shoot yourself in the face wedding rings and doughnuts, because we're reviewing The Five-Year Engagement!

I thought this came out pretty well.

Here's the short version: It's awful. Here's the long version: It's got some funny parts, but other than that, it's pretty awful. I cannot believe how uncomfortable and painful a movie co-written and starring Jason Segel and produced by Judd Apatow is. For the in-depth version...

Sketched Discussion: I ruin Friends with Kids

Here's my mini review for Friends with Kids: It's pretty good. It's kind of funny, about as funny as I thought Bridesmaids was(not hilarious and sometimes long and awkward) and its got a fairly realistic look at relationships with babies(or as realistic as I can surmise). It has some great acting, especially from Adam Scott who steals the show in a couple of really great scenes(and here's hoping he gets nominated because DAMN), and it kind of makes up for the first half hour of not very funny awkward relationship talks. Chris O' Dowd has a surprisingly good American accent, and the rest of the cast are well acted as well. It's an interesting premise, although I wish they did more with it.

Someone give this man an Oscar already!

Now that I have that out of the way, and you can decide whether or not you want to go see it, I want to spoil the movie by talking about the experiment they hatched, what they did with it, and how I wish they could have gone further. SPOILERS AHEAD.

My Week with Marilyn

Get out your...no! Put it back in! PUT IT BACK IN! We're reviewing My Week with Marilyn!

My Week with Marilyn is an interesting look into the life of one of the most famous starlets of all time.

Midnight in Paris

Get your Baguettes and sketchbooks, we're reviewing Midnight in Paris!

Trying something different, a sketch of a Paris street!

This is a really enchanting and lovely film, if a bit artsy.  I wouldn't call it a chick flick as others may have called it, but it is a Woody Allan film, so take that as you will.

10 lessons about relationships from Movies

So maybe it's Valentine's Day for you, maybe it's Single Awareness Day, I say screw the holidays and watch movies!

In honor of this semi-glorious greeting card day, I'm doing a list of some of my favorite movies about relationships and the lessons they teach us. NOTE: These are not nessesarily romantic comedies, or even movies mainly ABOUT relationships; if that was the case, all that would teach us is that people can fall in love within hours, always date the person who's the exactly opposite of you as long as their hot, and two people will always get back together in a monogamous relationship with no repercussions.

Yeah. Sure. As if. Spoilers probably. In no specific order:

Rushmore

The story: Boy falls in love with teacher and does ridiculous illegal things to get her affection.

The Lesson: You can't always get what you want, but if you try real hard, you get what you need.

This is a Wes Anderson movie, with Jason Schwartzman as the lead, and Bill Murry as his older friend, so already you should see this movie. Max Fischer fancies himself a renaissance man of Rushmore academy by joining ever club concievable, but in reality, he has horrible grades. After reading a quote from a library book, he falls in madly love with a teacher, Miss Cross and goes about saving classes and building an aquarium for her. He tries to get her throughout the entire movie and acts like a real jerk when he doesn't.

He eventually gets kicked out of school and meets a bright student, miss Margaret Yang, in his new public school who really has the hots for him. He dislikes her because she's actually a good student with decent grades, but in the end he finds out she's just as messed up as he is, finally letting go of his crush on Miss Cross. Sure he didn't get the prize he was looking for, but he found someone even better, the person he needed.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

The story: Boy falls in love with a girl but then has to beat the girl's seven evil ex's to win her affection.

The Lesson: Breaking up is haaaard.

At the beginning of the movie, Scott is "dating" a high schooler, Knives Chang. But as soon as he sees Ramona roller-skate through his dreams, he...well just starts dating Ramona. It's not after goading from his roommate does he do the right thing and break it off with Knives...in the quickest, worst way possible.

Guys, gals, I know its tough. I feel you. You do really like this person and you don't want to hurt them, and you really wish you were still dating them if it wasn't for reasons X, Y and Z, and they deserve better and you want to leave them better than you found them sure sure, but be an adult about it. Don't be a Scott Pilgrim.

Forgetting Sarah Marshal

The story: Boy gets dumped by girl, boy tries to get over girl by going on vacation, boy meets same girl at vacation spot with other boy she's dating.

The lesson: Getting dumped sucks.

This is the movie I most recognized with when I had my bad break up. And it really does a great job of showing it: He goes through fits, he cries, he sees her everywhere, oh and now he gets to see some guy make out with her, isn't that fun? NO IT'S NOT I'LL STAB THEM BOTH IN THE EYE WITH MY-all I'm saying is that being dumped and breaking up sucks, and there's nothing you can do about it. It's just going to hurt for awhile and you just have to let it run it's course.

Also, Aldous Snow is a total dick.

Art School Confidential

The story: Boy goes to art school to become an aspiring artist but everyone there is crazy.

The lesson: WOMEN ARE BAT-SHIT CRAZY

Ok, maybe that's not the best lesson, but it's true. They're crazy. They have knives. I've seen them. It's a universal truth that, as the great Voltaire says, "All men are dumb, all women are crazy." ESPECIALLY artists. Trust me. I am an artist, we are all batshit crazy, that's our job.

Anyways, in the movie, Jerome is a virgin and wants to pop his cherry, so his friend tries to find the perfect artsy girl for him. Three crazy art broads later, Jerome is still a virgin. Honestly, I think I've met all three of these girls. So yeah, just be careful out there.

500 Days of Summer

The story: boy mets girl, girl dumps boy, boy tries to get girl back.

The lesson(s): Don't look for the girl of your dreams and things may not always be working out like you think they are.

Tom was expecting to fall in love. He had an idea in his head of what the relationship would be and what she would be like. She would be quirky, and love all the same things he does. Then Summer comes along and fills that quota and he absolutely knows she's the girl for him. But sometimes, its just not that person. Don't visualize your expectations onto someone else. And just because you think the relationship is going well, doesn't make it so. Learn how to read your significant other better so you're not taken by surprise when she suddenly wants to break up.

Sweeney Todd

The story: Boy loses girl, boy goes insane, boy meets new girl, boy and girl kill people and turn them into pies, everyone dies at the end.

The lesson: A relationship cannot be built upon lies.

Mrs. Lovett really wants her relationship to work out with the butcher barber extraordinaire, Todd, so she keeps a couple of things form him about his former wife. Well, that hurts her and her relationship in the end. Very much. Literally. So yes, if you're just starting a relationship, be upfront about things in the beginning, even if it risks the relationship. It'll be better to get it out of the way now than to have it explode in your face later.

The Prestige

The story: boy and another boy are magicians, one boy is married but then that doesn't work out and other boy gets a new girl and then the first boy gets an assistant girl and aaaaaaaah crap. Whatever.It's about magicians and it's directed by Chris Nolan and contains David Bowie and has wolverine battling batman so just go see it.

The lesson: Try juggling two and you'll lose both.

One of the magicians meets a girl and they get married and have a daughter, but then he gets a new assistant and they fall in love. Granted, it's Scarlet Johannson as an assistant, but still, it doesn't end well for either of his lady friends. So if you're in a commited relationship, stay committed. Or else: David Bowie.

The Mask

The story: Boy gets magical mask so he can become a crazy cartoon hero guy and woo a girl.

The lesson: The nice girl isn't always the nice girl.

Oh, you didn't expect to see this in here, did you? I love this movie for this message, and I really wish they'd have it more often. Stanley Ipkiss really really REALLY wants to go after the incredibly hot blonde that sings at the lounge, but his brain is telling him he should probably just go with down-to-earth Peggy because she's a real normal woman and not some snooty floozy. But what happens when shit hits the fan? The nice common girl sells him out and he ends up with the hot blonde! WHAT?

Has anyone else noticed that trend in movies lately? Well not just lately, I guess it's an ongoing theme to subliminally keep common folk in line. Have you seen this before? The main guy is obsessed with the really really hot girl but friends with the still-hot-but-she's-wearing-glasses-so-it-doesn't-count girl, and in the end he finds out the hot girl isn't real and the real girl has been in front of him this whole time.

Ugh man, stop stereotyping people. See, don't put expectations on people. Just because a girl or guy looks nice, doesn't make it so, and visa versa for the exceedingly hot people. And why can't we get some more movies where there are two very reasonable choices?

The Mummy Returns

The story: Boy and girl have to stop an evil mummy from controlling the world.

The lesson: You have to be selfless for the relationship to work.

Wah? The mummy returns? Really? Have I gone mad? Well it's quite possible. But this has the quintessential selfless relationship scene so cheesy it works. Rick and Evy are the good couple and the mummy and his resurrected bride are the evil couple. And wouldn't you know it? Both Rick and the mummy are dangling over the pit of hell while the temple is crumbling to pieces. What does the good couple do? Well, they both think only of each other's safety, so Evy rushes to help Rick up, while Rick tells her to just go. What does the evil couple do? The Mummy screams for his bride to come help him up, while she runs away screaming that she can't.

Well obviously with their team work the good couple survives. The mummy, resigned to his fate, lets go and tumbles down while his bride accidentally trips and falls into a pit of scorpions. Should have gone to couples counseling. But it just proves that both parties have to be think only of each other for the partnership to fully work.

Streets of Fire

The story: Girl gets kidnapped, Boy has to rush in and save her.

The lesson: sometimes, even if you love each other, it just doesn't work out.

Streets of Fire is a great classic 80's movie, and if you haven't seen it you should definately go check it out. It's a rock and roll fable. There's rock ballads, and fighting and even has William Defoe as a leather wearing bad guy. But here's the thing, I'm going to spoil the ending for you: The guy doesn't get the girl in the end. Sure they love each other and they'd do anything for each other and they're both hot so the laws of the movie gods say they should stay together, but she's a rock star and he's a tough guy. They just don't fit. And truth be told, that's just the way ti goes sometimes. Two people could be really perfect for each other, but they just don't Gel.

I hope you enjoyed this random list of movies. Do you agree with the lessons? What are your guys' favorite movies with relationships and what lessons can you learn from them?