Review: She's Out of My League

Forgettable. Really, I can't think of a thing that stands out. Sure, it's enjoyable, so from an entertainment point-of-view, I guess it delivers. But it's unmemorable, it won't end up in my dvd collection and am unlikely to ever watch it again.

Woah. I sound harsh. I just really feel the film has little to offer.

Jay Baruchel is an endearing leading man and he bravely tries to carry the film. Problem I kinda had with the movie: Jay Baruchel is not a 5. Come on, he's an attractive man. Just let him walk upright like the rest of humanity. I can totally understand why Molly (Alice Eve) would like him.

Alice Eve does fine with what she has to work with, which is little btw. But she works her charm. I found Krysten Ritter more effective in the bitchy best friend role. Mike Vogel is completely wasted here. He's a good actor (see: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), but he barely has anything to do here. T.J. Miller was the film's MVP in my opinion. I loved him in Cloverfield and on Carpoolers. The dude is funny and I enjoyed his role the most. Lindsay Sloane was annoying so I guess she played her part well.

It's worth a look if you like the cast. Otherwise, just skip it. A 2,5/5.

Review: The Mist

It's already been 2 weeks since I've seen this, but here we go anyways. [...] Actually, I don't know what to say anymore. I'll try my best to recall my thoughts.

The Mist is based on the Stephen King story of the same name. I haven't read it so I won't compare. But the story is about a mist invading a small town and centers on the people who are in the local supermarket when the mist appears. Hidden in the mist are monsters, but the biggest monster is actually in the store: Mrs. Carmody.

Thomas Jane plays our hero David Drayton. He's an appealing actor. Very easy to root for just like in Deep Blue Sea. He gives a fine performance, though I did notice a couple of off moments. The thing is, he can't possibly compete against the perfect Marcia Gay Harden as Mrs. Carmody. Seriously, that woman is a force to be reckoned with! The rest of the cast is good too (William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Andre Braugher) with Toby Jones as Ollie also being a standout. And it's always nice to see Chris Owen pop up in movies. Looking good, kid!

I'm a glass-half-empty kinda gal, so let's focus on the negative bits;
- The pacing is off. Sometimes the movie moves too quickly and sometimes too slow. I found myself checking my watch. But was puzzled when the big tentacle monster was shown at the beginning. They should've saved that one for later and started with the bugs.
- It's too religious. It made me uncomfortable and bored watching all that religious talk go on and on and on. It's just not my cup of tea and I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt alienated by it.
- The ending. Okay so I don't hate it. I appreciate unhappy endings. But this was too harsh. Plus, I don't understand why the mother who left the store to go find her children survived.

I saw Cloverfield not long before this movie and throughout The Mist, I kept thinking: "Cloverfield did it better." Now I realize it's unfair to compare these two movies, but they're both movies with big ass monsters and parasites. I just couldn't help but compare the two. Do I have a point here? No, not really. I just like Cloverfield better.

I have nothing left to say. A 3/5.

Trailer Park: Cloverfield

I don't watch a lot of trailers online, so this feature will mostly feature (hee!) trailers that were attached to movies I've recently seen. Keep in mind that I live in The Netherlands, and that the trailers attached wont necessarily be the same as the ones in your country. In this post I'll review the trailers that were attached to Cloverfield.

The Mist
I like Thomas Jane. He seems like a cool dude. I enjoyed him very much in Deep Blue Sea and I have no doubt he's able to kick some Mist-monster butt (if the monster has a butt). The trailer is visually pleasing, the cast is talented and Frank Darabont knows how to handle Stephen King stories. I'm looking forward to this somewhat.
To be viewed: on DVD

Jumper
Meh. I feel like I'm the only one who's not impressed. I liked the beginning when we followed young Max Thieriot, but lost interest when he grew up to be Hayden Christensen. I'm not sure why. Interest was slightly peaked when I saw Jamie Bell, but overall I just feel meh about Jumper. I guess it's just not my kind of movie.
To be viewed: on TV

Things We Lost in the Fire
Hi, David Duchovny. I feel like I've been seeing you a lot lately. On that "Californication" show that I don't like. And on promos and set pics of X-Files 2. It seems you're one of the things lost in the fire in this trailer and that's sad, because you seem to be the only main cast member in the film that I like. Also, you seem to be the only main cast member in this movie not to own an Oscar. But that's okay, since those things seem to be overrated anyways. Hope you're well and give my love to Téa, kay? xoxo - Gwen
To be viewed: on TV

TBS
TBS is a Dutch movie and IMDB tells me its international title is Nothing to Lose. It's main character (played by Theo Maassen) is locked up for supposedly killing his father and little sister. While he admits to the murder of his father, he denies killing his sister. He escapes from his clinic and goes in search for his mother who could possibly help him prove his innocence. Along the way he kidnaps a young girl to help him stay out of the hands of the cops. I'm not a big fan of Dutch films, but TBS looks pretty good! And Maassen is a solid actor so he should be able to carry the film.
To be viewed: on TV

Review: Cloverfield

I finally got to see my most anticipated movie of 2008: Cloverfield! And it was great! I was afraid the hype would lead to disappointment, but I really enjoyed the film. I've already seen it in theaters twice, and it holds up really well in its second viewing. It tends to happen that I like a movie but get bored during a second viewing and end up disliking/hating it (examples: the Pirates of the Caribbean flicks, LotR: Fellowship of the Ring). I think Cloverfield really benefits from a second viewing.. at least you know where you need to focus your attention. I have no problems with the camera work at all, it's just that sometimes the action happens really fast and I feel that if you blink, you'll miss something important.

I was really into the Cloverfield hype when it began. I was following the news and trying to figure out what Slusho! had to do with everything. At some point I kinda lost interest in all that. Not in the movie itself, though. I just didn't want to spoil it for myself so I didn't watch the new trailers and commercials, and didn't look at new pictures etc. I'm glad I didn't, because when I look at those things now, they do spoil a lot!

Our main dude Rob (played by the charismatic Michael Stahl-David) is moving to Japan for his fancy new job as V.P. of Marketing and Promotions for Slusho. His brother Jason (the always great Mike Vogel) and friends Hud (T.J. Miller) and Lily (Jessica Lucas) throw him a surprise goodbye-and-good-luck-in-Japan party. The fun doesn't last long when a monster attacks the city and a mandatory evacuation takes place. Rob, however, goes on a mission to rescue his true love Beth (Odette Yustman), who got injured during the rampage across town, and is accompanied by Jason, Hud, Lily and Lily's friend/Hud's crush Marlena (Lizzy Caplan).

I don't know what else to say. The cast is good and appealing. I feel for our hero Rob, but my favorite character was the little seen Hud. T.J. Miller did a great job at making his character memorable. Mike Vogel was a bit underused IMHO, but that's the Mike fan in me talking. The writing and pacing were pretty good as well. A part of me wanted an explanation about the monster, but I think it works for the better that we didn't get one (if you don't count the viral marketing). I heard they want to make a sequel.. I'm really not up for one. I think it might ruin this movie and they should leave it for what it is.

Like I said before, I had no problems with the camera work and I really liked the flashes to the Coney Island tape. It helped the Rob/Beth back-story. The CGI was pretty damn great.. I didn't get that annoying 'aarghh it looks so fake' feeling from the monster, which is really important for a movie like this.

Overall Cloverfield is a great thrill, but one that will not be appreciated by the masses. And that's a shame. A 4/5.

Box Office Buzz: Cloverfield & 27 Dresses liven up January

Who says January is a slow month? I think it's only slow if studios etc. make it a slow month by releasing crap. Let me applaud J.J. Abrams for releasing a potentially big monster movie called Cloverfield in January! And lookie.. it grossed $40 million in its opening weekend! See, if you release quality, the people will come. The movie looks great, I loved the initial marketing, Mike Vogel is awesome and I cannot wait to see this opening day here in The Netherlands.

But what I'm really happy about is 27 Dresses opening in the second spot with a pretty damn great $22 million. Yes, Katherine Heigl is able to open a movie! I knew she could do it! I know people wanted her to fail after what she said about Knocked Up in her recent Vanity Fair interview, and that she should be thankful to Judd Apatow. I defended her here, and like I said in that post, Katherine Heigl is a star. People will go see a movie for her. And it helps that Prince Charming himself James Marsden co-stars of course! Considering 27 Dresses cost only about $30 million to make, it's a hit for Fox already!

The other big release, Mad Money, did not do as well as Cloverfield and 27 Dresses, but that was to be expected as it stars Katie Holmes. Need I say more? Though the $7.6 million it grossed in its opening weekend is already more than I had anticipated. Ellen Page's Juno is heading towards the $100 mark, while those cute Chipmunks are heading for the $200 million! I will never doubt your movie making decisions again, Jason Lee. I take back everything bad I've said about making a Chipmunks movie. I Am Legend is heading towards the $250 million mark.. people sure love Will Smith!

The weekend numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo:
1) Cloverfield - $40,037,000/$40,037,000
2) 27 Dresses - $22,750,000/$22,750,000
3) The Bucket List - $14,010,000/$41,569,000
4) Juno - $9,925,000/$85,052,000
5) First Sunday - $7,800,000/$28,466,000
6) National Treasure: Book of Secrets - $7,609,000/$197,492,000
7) Mad Money - $7,600,000/$7,600,000
8) Alvin and the Chipmunks - $6,900,000/$196,280,000
9) I Am Legend - $4,870,000/$247,447,000
10) Atonement - $4,759,000/$31,884,000

Trailer Park: Enchanted & I Am Legend

I don't watch a lot of trailers online, so this feature will mostly feature (hee!) trailers that were attached to movies I've recently seen. Keep in mind that I live in The Netherlands, and that the trailers attached wont necessarily be the same as the ones in your country. In this post I'll combine the trailers that were attached to Enchanted and I Am Legend.

Enchanted
The Best Friend Forever and I like to play 'Guess the trailers' (read: which trailers will be attached to the movie we're seeing). Normally, we're pretty good at it, but the trailers attached to Enchanted kinda left us scratching our heads.

Bee Movie
A trailer for a movie that's already in theaters? Uhm.. okay? Even though I've seen a lot of advertising for this film, it's actually the first time I saw the trailer. I was amused by the part where the bee tried to fly through the window over and over again. However, this is not really my kind of movie as I get pretty annoyed by just hearing Seinfeld's voice.
To be viewed: on TV, when nothing else is on.

P.S. I Love You
This romantic dramady starring Hilary Swank looks really cute. So apparently her hubby (played by the delightful Gerard Butler) dies, but he left her messages that are supposed to help her get over his death. The trailer features a nice, catchy song and I see that Gina Gershon, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lisa Kudrow co-star. My interest is definitely piqued.
To be viewed: on DVD

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
This is attached because it's a Disney movie right? I liked the first one. The second one looks interesting, but I found myself mostly focused on spotting Justin Bartha. That can't be the point of this trailer right?
To be viewed: on DVD.. maybe

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
The BFF and I were most confused about this trailer being attached. Doesn't seem really appropriate for the target audience in our opinion. Since we were sitting in a theater filled with teenage girls, I'm guessing that is the target audience. Anyways, I thought Elizabeth was a good movie, but do we really need a sequel? Honestly, I'm not really interested in this one at all, but might give it a chance for Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush.
To be viewed: on TV


I Am Legend
I saw this one with my sister and we didn't play 'Guess the trailers.' I actually didn't give it much thought which trailers would be attached. A rarity! I guess I was too tired from Christmas shopping.

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
My feelings were pretty much the same as when I first saw the trailer.
To be viewed: on DVD.. maybe

Saw 4
Saw was a great movie, and Saw 2 and 3 were okay. I personally feel they should have stopped after #3, but since these movies keep making money for little cost, we will be seeing more of them. I do want to see this though. I'm kinda curious what kind of traps they managed to come up with. Plus, Scott Patterson is in this and he's always been good on Gilmore Girls.
To be viewed: on DVD

Cloverfield
I've seen this trailer about a dozen times before, but never on the big screen. I actually quite enjoyed seeing this in a packed theater. The reaction from the crowd was pretty good, though most had no idea it was Cloverfield as the title wasn't featured like in the US trailer. We didn't get the 1.18.08 flash though. I'm excited about this movie. I like monster movies, I like JJ Abrams and I heart Mike Vogel, so I will definitely be seeing this!
To be viewed: opening weekend!

Alien vs Predator: Requiem
Great, another trailer for another sequel.. I like the build-up of the trailer with the population count down. I don't have much interest in this movie though. I've never seen an Alien or Predator movie in my life (I do realize I said I like monster movies above)!
To be viewed: on TV, when nothing else is on

The Dark Knight
I don't know why I was surprised to see this one. Guess I didn't expect to see this trailer so soon in my country. Heath Ledger looks really creepy as The Joker, but I had already seen images of him online so it kinda lost its impact on me I think. The trailer is okay. I feel like I'm the only person who doesn't worship Batman Begins, but then again, I don't care much for Batman at all. It was good seeing Maggie Gyllenhaal though! I don't know how smart it was to leave 'Batman' out of the title. I actually heard people in the theater discuss if this was a Batman movie or not.
To be viewed: on DVD.. maybe