The Romantics

Released 2010


Directed & written by: Galt Neiderhoffer
Starring: Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin, Josh Duhamel, Candice Bergen, Elijah Wood

Very brief summary:

7 friends come together to celebrate the wedding of Lila (Anna Paquin) and Tom (Josh Duhamel). Laura (Katie Holmes) has been asked to be maid of honour at the wedding and we discover that she dated Tom for 4-5 years and is still in love with him.

My Opinion:

I get what this movie was about but it really felt more to me like a artsy film than a drama - it didnt really go anywhere. The whole movie takes place over a weekend but nothing really happens, there is an awkward rehearsal dinner where everyone gets really drunk, Tom goes missing, and then is found, and then sleeps with Laura, and then everyone is getting ready for a wedding where it rains and its not even clear at the end if Lila and Tom went through with getting married or if he left her for Laura. I didn't hate it but I didnt enjoy it either - it was a nothing movie.

Tamara Drewe

Released 2010


Directed by: Stephen Frears
Written by: Posy Simmonds, Moira Buffini
Starring: Gemma Arterton, Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper

Very brief summary:

A young newspaper journalist returns home to a country town in England where the house she grew up in is being prepped to be sold. She has a wild romance with a drummer from an indie rock band, then an affair with the husband of the next door neighbour and then ends up with her childhood sweetheart - Andy.

My Opinion:

The only redeeming feature of this film is the gorgeous English countryside in which the film is set. The storyline was weak, the acting was terrible, and there wasnt really any point to having made the film let alone watching it. Needeless to say I dont reccomend it.

Fame

Released 2009


Directed by: Kevin Tancharoen

Written by: Allison Burnett, Christopher Gore

Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally, Bebe Neuwirth


Very brief summary:

This movie is based upon the 1980 film which follows young people auditioning and then training at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Students are given specialized training that should lead them to success as actors, singers, and dancers.


My Opinion:

Complete and utter rubbish. The film was broken up into four parts, Freshman year, Sophmore year, Junior year and Senior year, but we were only ever given a smattering of information about each of the characters. The music was terrible, the stars of the film weren't even given any decent screen time, and the story was ridiculously under-developed. I havent seen the original so I have nothing to compare it to - but it was a waste of a few hours of my time.

Definitely, Maybe

Released 2008

Directed & Written by: Adam Brooks

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Racheal Weisz, Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks & Abigail Breslin

Very brief summary:

William Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) explains to his daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin), how he met her mother, though he is loath to do so as they are getting a divorce. When the story begins Will is a young man, in love with his college sweetheart, who moves to New York to work on Bill Clinton's election campaign. Once in New York he meets April (Isla Fisher) who becomes a good friend even though they have very little in common. He is not in New York for long when his high school sweetheart, Emily (Elizabeth Banks) arrives, he has been planning to propose but when he goes to do so she blurts out that she has slept with his college room-mate and so the relationship ends. He then meets Summer (Rachel Weisz) who has just gotten out of a relationship with a sixty something thesis advisor, and thi,ngs develop to the point where he is ready to propose. He had moved on to become a political consultant at this point and she writes an article about his candidate that ends both the campaign and the relationship.

He meets up once more with his college sweetheart who has moved to New York and we discover that they did in fact get married, and she is Maya's mother, whom Will is now divorcing. At the end of the film Maya encourages Will to get back in touch with April who he has really been in love with since he met her.

My Opinion:

This is a really cute movie. Not really a romantic comedy though there are a few giggles to be had. Abigail Breslin is such a great little actress and it really seems to work between her and Ryan Reynolds. The movie moves along at a nice pace and the actors all fit their parts really well. Definitely a popcorn and snuggle up on the couch movie.

SALT

Released 2010

Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Written by: Kurt Wimmer
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Live Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Very brief summary:
The film is about a CIA agent by the name of Evelyn Salt who is accused, by a Russian defector, of being a Russian sleeper agent. The defector says that her mission is to kill the Russian President who will be in New York for the funeral of the US Vice President. Salt fears for the safety of her husband and so breaks out of custody and sets out to find him. CIA agent Ted Winter, Salts boss, at first refuses to believe the she is a mole but her actions begin to raise doubt.

Salt appears to kill the Russian president and then goes to Russia where she makes connections with the Defector and we discover that she was in fact a sleeper agent. Once there she sees her husband killed by the people she is supposed to have been working for. She obtains the plans for the next step of her mission and then kills them all. She meets up with another sleeper agent and they travel together to Washington where the plan is that they kill the American president.

The American president believes that Russia is about to launch a nuclear attack after the fallout from the death of their president on American soil and when the president is attacked within the white house he is taken down to a secure bunker where he orders the nuclear launch codes in case an attack is made. Salt infiltrates the bunker where she discovers that her CIA boss, Winter, is actually a sleeper agent trying to complete his mission which is to launch a nuclear attack on Tehran and Mecca in the hopes of inciting the Middle East to attack America.

Salt manages to kill Winter after being arrested by CIA agents that break in and arrest her but she is set free by a homeland security agent who has discovered the truth about her. She sets out to locate and kill the other sleeper agents.

My Opinion:
In terms of an action movie it was great, even if a few of the scenes were a little unrealistic, i.e. jumping from truck to truck at high speeds on a freeway. As is the case with many movies that are adapted from books I think they tried to squeeze too much into it which left the storyline a little bare. The Salt character was explored as much as she could be within the short time frame through the use of memory flashbacks which were worked into the story. In terms of the political struggle and the aim of, what could only be described as a Russian terrorist cell, I think there should have been more depth. It is a great concept, that a Russian spy who had played a big role within the Soviet Union would be unhappy with the state of the country, and the new relationship with the United states, though the movie failed to convince me that in a short time this defector could have trained and brainwashed a bunch of children to live in the US and wait for decades to complete a mission that had been dreamed up decades before. I also struggled to understand how the sleeper agents could be so comfortable with the thought of massive nuclear action and beginning world war three – I am just not sure their objectives were made clear in terms of why they had chosen that particular path instead of another option – what exactly were they trying to achieve or gain from that?

I would also liked to have known a little more about the other characters in the story and where they came from, it seemed that there was very little character development done, though again perhaps that was because it was aiming more at being an action film than a political thriller. I guess it depends on what you wanted out of the film as to whether or not you were satisfied with what you got!

In general though the action sequences were fun, Angelina Jolie is always good to watch and this movie was no exception, she keeps her face carefully blank and unreadable which makes it hard to guess in the beginning about whether or not she is who she says she is. The twists in the film do keep you guessing about who she is almost to the end of the movie. Salt’s costume changes and hairstyle changes are also fun and very traditional elements of any kind of spy film. The film was also left in such a way that it could be easily set up for a sequel.

Overall I enjoyed the film but I would have liked to see a little more of the back story.