Thursday, November 18, 2010

Morning Glory (critiqued by yours truly)

Watch the Trailer
Morning Glory is about an aspiring girl, Becky Fuller (McAdams) who lands a job at the fourth best morning show in the country (apparently that's bad). So the show's ratings are falling and this girl comes along and, despite a negative crew including Colleen Peck (Keaton), hires Mike Pomeroy (Ford), the best news anchor ever, to pull everything together.

The trailer makes me happy. It's extremely well put together and timed. I just like it.

The movie, however, was kind of like a movie being made from a commercial. The first half is extremely slow, with a few good moments, but overall molasses-like. About halfway through it turns into what that trailer advertises. It's pretty clear that the writers had planned out this perfect ending, and just couldn't think of the right A to B path.

Oh, and the relationship of the movie? They go through a rough patch in the middle, and if you miss that two minute scene, I'm not kidding, you will not realize that they've broken up. In the next scene, she doesn't appear phased at all, and it happens so suddenly that it hurt my teeth. And that doesn't even make sense.

But, towards the end, there are a few scenes that I couldn't breathe because I was laughing so hard. And the ending is sweet. So, this was not at all a bad movie, but I think it should've been released later...after some more thought on the buildup story.

Rachel McAdams, who is one of my favorites, did great in this one. Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton star in it too, and they're just funny as a duo. They felt real. And I guess that's the best description.

This movie felt real. So there are moments when you want to fall asleep because it's going so slow. There are moments when you laugh so hard that you don't make noise. There are moments when you cry. And there are moments when you have to think about what just happened because it hit you in the face so fast that you can't recall details.

Overall, as a Cheez-It, this movie is 75% Real Cheese. If you're able to walk in at the middle, do that. If you have to leave in the middle, don't go.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Due Date (critiqued by yours truly)

Watch the Trailer

This is one of those movies that is fully enjoyed if you click the link under the picture. Everything funny and not terribly unnecessary can be found in that trailer.

Of course, this has to be expected by a movie that is advertised in most places as;

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE HANGOVER
DUE DATE

This underdeveloped and poorly titled movie is about Peter (Downey), a seemingly level-headed businessman who is on the wrong side of the country while his child is about to be born. Due to being placed on the no-fly list because of Ethan (Galifianakis), they go on a "wild cross-country road trip" that makes you forget about there even being childbirth involved in the story. Also humor. It makes you forget humor.

Don't get me wrong, I loved The Hangover. I loved every teenage moment of it. It's our generation's Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and we know it's a bad movie, but that's what makes it great.

But this thing? This was the perfect example of what happened to Garfield, Shrek, Lindsay Lohan(actually a really interesting picture), and any other popular things that didn't know when to stop.

Galifianakis' character quit being funny about 11 minutes into the film.
Galifianakis' character was introduced about 10 minutes into the film.
Get it?

When developing his personality, they crossed a line between lovable goof and dehumanized idiot. At one moment in the movie you feel pretty empathetic towards him, and almost immediately he ruins it.

It doesn't matter what I say though, most young people will see it and, knowing it was directed by the Hangover guy, love it without question. And in the long run, that's the film's key demographic. So I can go stuff it, right?

As a Cheez-It, this movie is 50% Real Cheese. Don't bother unless you're my age and "want to see for yourself".

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Paranormal Activity 2 (critiqued by yours truly)

Watch the Trailer
Let me preface this by saying;

If you can handle horror movies, and personally feel somewhat superior to your squeaky, skittish friends (like I did) - Don't use this one as proof.

If scary movies perfectly achieve the desired effect on your psyche, but that's why you like them - Go crazy.

And if you don't like horror at all - I won't even mention not seeing it - but don't even enter an abode belonging to people that own the dvd. Just leave. They might suggest ordering pizza. Then they'll want to watch something while they eat. Ticking bomb, dude.

I've always told people that The Ring was the last movie to make me jump or even ignite a slight uncomfortable edge in my day. I am now changing that statement to "Can I sleep on your couch or something cause it's dark outside."

Seriously though, if you're into thrills, this one is THE MOVIE to go see. And with a crowded theater filled with people you don't know, after you scream and cry together like that? You're a family.

My one warning; BRING YOUR FRIENDS.

Adaptation of my one warning; If you have the dvd, go to a friend's house.

If you've seen the first one, please don't judge the sequel for it. I will say that the first one made me fall asleep several times. And it was full of unnecessary language and sexual references and all around unrelatable people. The bright side of seeing the first one, is that the second is a prequel. So it kind of explains in depth what the crap was going on up in there.

If you haven't seen the first, it honestly isn't too crucial to PA2. So save your day the two hours of misleading horror (not the kind you thought!) and go buy Toy Story 3.

I won't say much more because the story line is preeeeeetty freaking straightforward.

As a Cheez-It, this movie was 90% Real Cheese. If you're into that genre of film, it definitely does what you pay it to do. And let's all thank God it's not in 3D.