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.

Review: National Treasure 2

I don't understand the hate for National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Movies like this are made to entertain and that's exactly what NT2 does. I don't watch movies like this and think 'oh this plot is so contrived. This could never happen.' If I wanted to see something realistic, would I really be watching a Nicolas Cage movie?

Now I can't say much about the plot, because honestly, I've already forgotten most of it, but it includes the following: Abraham Lincoln, Mount Rushmore, kidnapping the president and the City of Gold. Throw in a cast that includes Diane Kruger, Jon Voight, Helen Mirren, Bruce Greenwood, Ed Harris and the appealing Justin Bartha (we need to see more of him in movies, TV, basically everything), and you've got yourself a fun film.

Stop the hate. Just turn of your brain and enjoy. A 3/5.

Trailer Park: Sex & the City

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 Sex & the City.

Mamma Mia!
Good lord, when is this movie getting released? I saw this trailer attached to 27 Dresses! The more I see this trailer, the less I'm looking forward to it. It's just so.. cheesy. And again the BFF mentioned that Meryl Streep is too old to play Amanda Seyfried's mom. I don't think we'll be seeing this.
To be viewed: on DVD (unless the word of mouth will be amazing, then in theater)

WALL-E
AWWWWWWWWWWWW! WALL-E is SO cute! But why is this trailer attached to Sex & the City?! *confused* The movie looks interesting. Different from what Pixar normally brings us. Hmmmm... but CUTE CUTE CUTE!
To be viewed: on DVD or TV

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
William Moseley is looking good. What? He's legal, I can say it! That's the only interest I have in the Narnia movies. Haven't seen the first though and probably will never see this one either. But that William Moseley is an attractive kid.
To be viewed: Never