Saw V teaser trailer

Beware if you are a Gilmore Girls fan and don't want to be horribly traumatized right now like am.



I like the Saw series. I grew up watching the Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween movies and I respect that Saw is the current generation's horror franchise. Saw was great. Saw 2 was not that good. Saw 3 was better than 2. And Saw 4 was rather impressive storytelling wise.

That being said: I don't like this teaser. I hate the biblical aspect of it and then of course SPOILERS Agent Strahm's head in a box. But not like Gwyneth Paltrow's head in a box. His head in a box in a Saw way. DAMNIT! I like Agent Strahm and Scott Patterson! If they put the incredibly adorable Julie Benz in one of those traps this will probably be the most unwatchable movie for me.

Saw V hits this Halloween!

Review: Mamma Mia!

Despite the super cheesiness of the trailer, I went to see Mamma Mia! a week before it officially opened here. How I suddenly got so excited to see this movie.. I don't know. But let me tell you this now, it's great!

Sophie (the luminous Amanda Seyfried) is getting married and dreams of finding her father. She invites her three potential dads (Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard and Colin Firth) to the wedding without informing her mother Donna (Meryl Streep). Singing, dancing, ABBA songs and hilarity ensues.

When I first heard about Mamma Mia! the movie and the cast was announced, I was really looking forward to it. Then I saw the trailer and I got a little scared. It just looked like this big cheese-fest. Since I was still recovering from last year's overly quirky Hairspray that left me with a toothache and in a vomit induced state, I was planning on avoiding this in theaters. But somehow I did end up watching it and I am pretty damn sure this movie will end up on my favorites of 2008 list at the end of the year.

I was hooked from the moment Amanda Seyfried starting singing "I have a dream..." She really impressed me. Sure she was fab as the ditzy blond in Mean Girls, but here she showed a lot of range. It was an endearing and brave performance. How could you not fall in love with her? Her voice was amazing as well. While Meryl Streep seems a bit old play Sophie's mother (if Sophie is 20, she should have given birth to her in her late 30s - so why wouldn't she be allowed to come home. She's an adult; old enough to make her own decisions), she IS Meryl "f*ckin" Streep and she can play whatever the hell she wants to play. And she was excellent and her singing was amazing too! I smell a Golden Globe. Supporting turns by Julie Walters and Christine Baranski as Donna's friends were great too. Both are funny ladies and Baranski especially impressed. Pierce Brosnan seemed a bit bland, but Stellan Skarsgard and Colin Firth seemed to have a good time and did the best they could do with their roles. Now that I think about it, all the male roles were a bit underwritten. Hmmm.. that probably explains why Dominic Cooper barely left an impression.

The writer did a good job including all those ABBA songs into the story. There's only one sequence that I thought was truly awful: the "Money Money Money" dream sequence. Yikes! The movie quickly recovered after that, but seriously, they could have left that part out. Overall, I really liked Mamma Mia! and my fellow audience members as well. If this movie doesn't want to make you sing and dance, you're dead inside. Probably the most enjoyable movie out there this summer. STAY FOR THE CREDITS! A 4/5.

Trailer Park: Mamma Mia!

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 Mamma Mia!

Bride Flight
I have no idea whether or not this movie is in Dutch. I see Dutch actors, but the title is in English. There's no talking in the trailer, but the official site is in Dutch. Either way, I don't like Dutch productions so I'll pass. Waldemar Torenstra is pretty though.
To be viewed: never

Australia
And I thought Bride Flight was an odd choice for a trailer to attach to Mamma Mia! Here was have Baz Luhrmann's latest effort, which reteams him with Nicole Kidman. Hugh Jackman's in it too and that's pretty much all I can recall about this trailer. Okay, the cinematography is pretty breathtaking, but other than that, I really have no interest in this at all.
To be viewed: never

The Children of Huang Shi
Who picked these trailers? Seriously?! Still no comedy trailer? I was starting to wonder if I was sitting in the right theater. This trailer looked familiar and I think I've seen it attached to Sex & the City. For some reason I didn't mention it in that trailer park, so I must've blocked it out or something. I can tell you that Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Radha Mitchell are in it.
To be viewed: never

The Accidental Husband
This looks cute. Uma Thurman plays a talk radio host and advises a listener to break up with her boyfriend. The now ex-boyfriend (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) wants revenge and through certain circumstances, he ends up as Uma's husband. Colin Firth's in it too and who doesn't love Colin Firth. *fans self* Hopefully this won't turn out as another generic comedy.
To be viewed: probably on DVD

Review: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I was thinking the other day that I still needed to write a review of Getting Over Allison. It's weird, because I never even thought about that movie when I was watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall so how could I have mixed them up? Now that I've thought about it a bit, the movies are somewhat similar. The males leads in both movies (played by Ben Foster and Jason Segel, respectively) are regular, somewhat nerdy guys who are dumped by their popular exes (Melissa Sagemiller and Kristen Bell, respectively). Both girls start dating musicians (Shane West, Russell Brand, respectively) with uhm.. interesting accents. Both movies feature musical sequences and Mila Kunis. However, she is not Ben Foster's love interest in Get Over It (Getting Over Allison was the movie's working title).

It is rather unfair to Jason Segel to compare the two though. While Get Over It is a teen movie and a bit over the top, FSM is a comedy with a heart. I felt Segel's pain, both thanks to his well written script and sensitive performance. If this guy isn't on his way to become a big star, I give up on Hollywood. He deserves a Golden Globe nod for this. However, it was Russell Brand who was the star of this movie. He stole every scene he was in. Supporting roles from Mila Kunis, Bill Hader, Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd were great too. It's interesting to note that Sarah Marshall herself, Kristen Bell, was actually the weakest link here. I've never seen Bell be so bland before. I wonder if she's actually capable of carrying a movie (I've blocked the awful Pulse from my memory, thank you very much).

One thing I really liked about the movie is that it shows two sides of the relationship. While mostly the focus is on Segel's character Peter, you also get to find out why things didn't work out for Sarah and her motivation isn't as shallow as you might expect. Overall, FSM is an enjoyable movie. If you liked Knocked Up, I'm sure you will like this movie as well.

Well played, Mr. Segel! A 4/5.

Review: Waitress

At the beginning of the movie, Jenna (Keri Russell) is bitching about her husband. At first I thought, what could be wrong when you're married to Jeremy Sisto?! Then he opened his mouth. What an ass!

Waitress is about a small town Southern girl named Jenna, who is unhappily married to Earl (Sisto). She is a gifter pie maker, but her a-hole of an husband won't let her enter a pie making competition. To make matters worse, Jenna gets pregnant and her dreams of packing her bags and leaving Earl look even more impossible to reach now... until she meets the new guy in town, Dr. Pomatter (the wonderful Nathan Fillion).

I think the hype killed Waitress for me. I've heard so many good things about it, but in the end, it didn't touch me. I didn't care. There's a feeling I get that I really can't describe when I watch movies like Almost Famous, Elizabethtown, The Family Stone or Love & Sex, but for me that is Waitress's missing ingredient.

Also, I couldn't stand Jenna. This has nothing to do with Keri Russell; she is lovely. But Jenna? I grew so tired of watching her bitch and moan throughout the entire movie. I wanted her to get her act together on her own, and then *SPOILERS* she got the check from Old Joe. How convenient. And then she won the pie making contest. And opened her own diner. When did we cross over into Disney territory? And would Earl really give up this easily?

At least the acting was good. But you can't really go wrong with Russell, Sisto and Fillion. Worth a look for them alone. A 3,5/5.

Review: Georgia Rule

Somebody needs to kick the person who made the Georgia Rule trailer and the marketing department too. I was under the impression that this was a comedy, but in reality, it's a drama about abuse and alcoholism.

Lily (Felicity Huffman) dumps wildchild daughter Rachel (Lindsay Lohan) in Idaho with grandmother Georgia (Jane Fonda) for the summer. When Rachel shares a secret with vet Simon (Dermot Mulroney), Lily returns to find out the truth.

Let me start by saying that I think Lindsay Lohan has talent, but she chooses not to use it and devote her time to partying. IMHO, Lohan was pretty weak here. Here and there her talent shines true, but overall, she just wasn't that good. And that frustrates me, because if you look at The Parent Trap and Freaky Friday there's so much potential. While watching the movie I couldn't help but think it would've been better if, say, Kristen Stewart was cast.

Felicity Huffman is terrific as always and she and Jane Fonda are convincing as daughter and mother. I mean, they even look alike! I've been aware of Garrett Hedlund for a while, but never seen him act before. He does a nice job playing small town boy Harlan, who gets in way over his head when he meets Rachel.

Dermot Mulroney is the only reason I even watched this and he was definitely worth the watch. He turns in a nice, sensitive performance as Lily's old boyfriend. Why Dermot isn't a bigger star is beyond me, but on the other hand, I kinda like that not everyone knows him.

As for the movie.. it isn't as bad as people make it out to be, but I don't think it's that good either. It's the attempt at making this a dramedy. I think the movie would've been better if it was either a comedy (thus, minus the abuse subplot) or a drama. Now it just seems like a mess, cause the comedy makes it difficult to take the subplot serious, but the tone of the movie is still heavy enough that you can't really laugh. Maybe Garry Marshall should just stick to making movies with Julia Roberts?

Good in theory, but badly executed. A 2,5/5.

Review: Sex and the City

I loved the show. I truly did. The idea for a movie? Not so much. I feel the show's finale was so satisfying, there wasn't anything left to add. Despite the rumors, I didn't think this movie would actually get made - ever. As it went into production, I got a bit excited though. I was missing the girls AND the guys!

If you're a fan of the show, then the movie is like catching up with old friends. The movie is also made accessible for newbies and casual viewers. As the opening credits role, we get a recap of the main events in the girls's lives as seen on the show. Personally, it kinda annoyed me and it reminded me of the Spider-Man opening credits recaps, only worse. Also, the theme tune was awful and gave me a headache. I don't think it really fit the show.

Now I'll focus on the fab four's storylines separately:

Like the show, the movie mainly focuses on Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker). Carrie and Big (Chris Noth) are getting married and a large part of the movie is about their wedding. She also gets a personal assistent in the form of Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson as Louise from St. Louis. I don't think that's a cute joke, but whatever.

Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is now living in LA with Smith (Jason Lewis), but grabs every excuse to fly back to Manhattan. Apparently, Smith's now even more popular and successful than before and Samantha is disliking that everything is about him and that she's stuck at home cooking for him. Luxury problems, eh?

Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Steve (David Eigenberg) are having real problems. In a shocking plot development already spoiled in the trailer, we find out that Steve cheated on Miranda. Their entire storyline is about forgiveness and the fact that Miranda is not willing to do it. You may interpret the latter part of the previous sentence any way you like.

Charlotte (Kristin Davis) doesn't really have a storyline. Not in the first half of the movie anyway. Charlotte is still married to Harry (Evan Handler) and they have an adopted daughter Lily. Their lives are pretty much perfect.

Charlotte is my favorite character and I was very disappointed she had so little to do in this movie. At least give her her own damn storyline! I feel I saw more of Jennifer Hudson than Kristin Davis and Hudson even had her own storyline. Also Evan Handler is completely wasted. It would have been nice to see more of him and Charlotte. As always, too much focus is on Carrie and she's my least favorite of the bunch. I tend to get very annoyed with her and don't understand why Big would want to marry her in the first place. Carrie made the runtime of 148 minutes feel very long.

Overall, I don't really like this movie. It has its moments, but I like to pretend it doesn't exist mainly because it has ruined the satisfying ending of the show for me. SPOILERS Samantha, who on the show only believed in Mr. Right Now found real love in Smith in the final season. And in the movie she dumps his ass. What is wrong with you? I don't think Smith would ever ask you to be a stay at home wife who cooks for him nor would he expect it. But what I'm really pissed about is that they turned Steve, my favorite male character, into a cheater. Miranda isn't the only one feeling betrayed here. END SPOILERS

The movie was also too dramatic for my taste. My best friends and I were all slightly down after we left the theater. It could've used some more laughs, and not the gross out kind, like the Charlotte-in-Mexico gag, which I didn't think was funny at all! At least the acting was good, with David Eigenberg and Cynthia Nixon turning in the best performances.

I've been hearing sequel talk because the movie did so well at the box office. I am seriously hoping this won't happen. I mean, where to go from here? A 3/5.