James Carrey and Ewan McGregor are a perfect pair in this complex and humorous, cooky comedy drama. I was delightfully surprised on the range of emotion I felt in watching I Love You Phillip Morris since I remember the trailers, I guess like many trailers, as one dimensional. From the trailer it seemed the film was just about a guy looking to bust out his boyfriend from prison. But really it’s about a boy who grew to be a man who never really knew himself so he spends his adult life pretending to be other people to find and keep love. Reminds me of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Catch Me if You Can.(...)
Read the rest of I Love You Phillip Morris is a Treat (138 words)

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Post tags: con man, ewan mcgregor, gay, jim carrey

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Loved this movie! It is really funny, well written, wonderfully acted (Kudos to Gyllenhaal, Hathaway, Azaria, Platt and Josh Gad) and was loving seeing Jake Gyllenhaal in his birthday suit numerous times! But really, the balance of comedy and drama was perfect and loved how they set it in a specific time period (the rise, pun intended, in popularity of Viagra) that aided the storyline and got me more engaged. I was hesitant about renting this movie (and obviously about watching it in the theater when it came out) because some critics were saying it’s the next great romantic comedy and as great as When Harry Met Sally, which is one of my all time favorites.
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Read the rest of Love and Other Drugs is a Romantic Comedy Lover’s Dream (45 words)

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Post tags: anne hathaway, chick flicks, jake gyllenhaal, Josh Gad, love and other drugs, romantic comedy, when harry met sally

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I honestly have not laughed this hard, and enjoyed a movie so thoroughly in a very long time. Emma Stone, Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci and Thomas Haden Church are just perfectly cast in this movie. But, Emma Stone was absolutely brilliant. She’s the kind of girl you want to know (or be) and the kind of actress I wish more actresses would aspire to become. And the writing was just so thoughtful, wickedly smart, and engaging. Despite the setting, a high school where the sun seems to never set, it’s not really an a movie just for people in their teens or early 20s. It’s for anyone who likes smart comedy, wicked humor, strong acting, and a off the cuff type of movie you could watch over and over again. What more could a person want in a movie?

Love it. Rent it. Buy it!

•  ★★★★★ 

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Post tags: comedy, easy-a, emma stone, high school comedy, patricia clarkson, smart comedy, stanley tucci

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Detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his stalwart partner Watson (Jude Law) engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis (Mark Strong) whose plot is a threat to all of England.

Can I just say, what a freakin’ relief this movie wasn’t a typical Guy Ritchie as the commercial trailers advertised. Though I enjoyed Ritchie’s other films (Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, RockNRolla), I did want his Holmes movie to be as authentic and rich as a period piece set in the late 19th century London should be. I just love period pieces set in this period because of the costumes and settings and the possibilities in story lines given the technological and cultural restrictions of the time. Anyway, Ritchie’s directorial eye and Robert Downey Jr.’s magnetic screen presence and wit make for a match made in movie heaven. Jude Law was also fantastic (and delicious) as Holmes’ sidekick, Watson.
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Read the rest of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes is Fun, Thoughtful and Well Done (263 words)

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This is one of those films Netflix had suggested for me and I was very pleasantly surprised and delighted by it. Ballet Shoes is about a three young girls, orphans, who are adopted by an eccentric explorer who disappears for twelve years. In his absence they search for and ultimately find their source for inspiration and ambition.
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Read the rest of Ballet Shoes a Suprise and a Gem (90 words)

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Post tags: dance, period piece

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A crime/drama set in 1960 London, where a soon to retire janitor (Michael Caine) convinces a glass-ceiling constrained American executive (Demi Moore) to help him steal a handful of diamonds from their employer, the London Diamond Corporation.

Flawless is a very well written, well acted and intriguing film save for the somewhat cheesy set up of how the story is recounted: a reporter interviews Moore’s character about her life story. It took something away, just a bit, from the film. But certainly not enough to classify it as anything but a very well done and entertaining film.
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Read the rest of Flawless, is almost flawless (134 words)

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Post tags: demi moore, heist, michael caine

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After being sent away by Judge Turpin, Sweeney Todd a.k.a Benjamin Barker returns to London with the help of a sailor, Anthony Hope. He opens a barber shop above Mrs. Lovett’s Meat Pie Shop, where she sells “the worst pies in London.” With the help of Mrs. Lovett, Todd means to rid London of the corrupt aristocracy, and hopes to be reunited with his daughter, Johanna, who is now Judge Turpin’s ward.  

 
I’ve known Tim Burton to be creepy in his directorial and writing, but never really down right gorish. But, how else can you unflicnhingly remake the story of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, who slits the throats of his unsuspecting customers who only want a “close shave” only to have his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett dispose of the bodies by making human meat pies and selling them in her meat pie shop.
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Read the rest of Sweeney Todd, bloody, brilliant (128 words)

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Post tags: drama, helena bonham carter, horror, johnny depp, movie theaters, musical, thriller, tim burton

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Two sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn (Natalie Portman & Scarlett Johansson) vie for the affections of King Henry VIII (Eric Bana).

The cinematography and directing in The Other Boleyn Girl is stunning. Many shots could be captured and framed as a still life. But, the most surprising and refreshing aspect of the film was Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Anne Boleyn. After watching the past couple of seasons of The Tudors, I’ve looked forward to seeing other takes on the story of King Henry VIII and his affair with Anne Boleyn. Though The Other Boleyn Girl is based on a novel by Phillipa Gregory and not “actual events”, it awakens ones imagination as to what could have or possibly did really occur during Henry VIII’s reign and before Elizabethan times.
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Read the rest of The Other Boleyn Girl, lush and intriguing (306 words)

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Post tags: biography, eric bana, history, natalie portman, period piece, romance, scarlett johansson

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Every week or so I check Netflix’s “Browse Instant” (previously titled “Watch it Now”) page for new additions to their library of free (for members) movies to watch instantly online. When this feature was new the selection of films to watch were quite sad and insulting since most were B-movies or just plain crap with the occasional good classic or surprisingly good mainstream or independent film thrown in. Now, these days, Netflix’s selection of instant movies to watch online are  quite good.(...)
Read the rest of Netflix “Browse Instant” Increasing Good Selection of Instant Movies To Watch Online (233 words)

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Post tags: movie rental, netflix

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The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a stunning visual feast along the lines of Terrence Malick’s Thin Red Line. I was interested in seeing this film since I heard about it almost 18 months before it was released. I didn’t get a chance to see it in the theaters so I rented it. This is definitely an epic film worth viewing on the big screen. It’s also an unexpected film in that when you hear Jesse James is going to be portrayed ina  film you expect showdowns at high noons and gunslinging up the ying-yang. But this film was a departure from the typical western film based on a gunslinging legend in that it only captured the short period leading up to and the very short period right after his death.

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Read the rest of The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, beautiful! (107 words)

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Post tags: action, andrew dominick, brad pitt, casey affleck, jeremy renner, jesse james, mary-louise parker, moody, sam rockwell, sam shepard, western

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