Friends with Benefits

Where do I begin with this film... For me everything was just outstanding, my stomach was in knots most of the time and just thinking back to those epic funny moments brings a smile to my face. This movie starred two actors who for me made the film hands down, Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. Their chemistry on screen worked magnificently and their outstanding performance drew me into the film. This movie premiered on Friday the 16^th of September and is a definite must see for all movie goers.

The movie begins with Jamie (Mila Kunis) and Dylan (Justin Timberlake) getting dumped by the typical dumping clichés such as “It’s not you, it’s me” kind of lame break up lines, that I am sure many of us can relate to in some point in our lives. After witnessing their break-ups, the film jumps to Jamie who is a fast talking corporate head hunter, waiting for the new art director she has found for the GQ Magazine, as he has flown into New York to have an interview – Dylan is this sort after art director that she is hunting down. However, after his interview she has to convince him that New York is not so bad and that he should make the move. So after eating out and doing some partying she eventually convinces him to take the job... Once he moves they become very close friends  - while both chilling one night they convince themselves that they can have sex with each other without becoming emotionally attached or with any emotional complications and still be friends... Most of the humour comes out during this part of the film and it is soon realized that you can’t be friends with benefits in the end. This film strives to mock and poke fun at your normal Hollywood clichés of romance, but at the end falls subject to exactly what it strives to poke fun at – romantic fantasy.

The humour in this film is outstanding and will put a smile on your face without a doubt. The setting of the film takes place mostly in New York which is stunning already and just adds to this already wonderful storyline. The acting was also extremely excellent in my opinion and included some other well known characters like Patricia Clarkson and Jenna Elfman.

Director:                    Will Gluk

Writers:                      Keith Merryman and David Newton

Time duration:          1hr. 49min.

Age restriction:         R

Monte Carlo

This chick flick film premiered on the 9^th of September 2011 and I am having mixed emotions on whether it was successful or not. In my opinion this film falls more under the Walt Disney vibe, like your High School Musical and other Disney films. The reason why I put this connotation on this particular film is because I would not suggest anyone over the age of 18 to go watch it. It is your typical Romance film, as most of the film takes place in Paris and Monte Carlo as the title of the film suggests.  However, there are also elements of comedy and adventure which form part of this particular film.

Three young women have been saving for a dream vacation to Paris. The three young women include Grace (Selena Gomez), her best friend Emma (Katie Cassidy) and uptight sister Meg (Leighton Meester). When they arrive in Paris things seem to take a turn for the worst, their tour, hotel and room are nothing of what they expected.  However, just as they are about to give up, their whole trip turns around when they decide to duck into the lobby of a luxury hotel to get out of the rain; this is where Grace gets mistaken for a spoilt British heiress Cordelia Winthrop Scott (Selena Gomez). Before they get the chance to reveal their true identities, they get sucked into this glamorous fairytale lifestyle and in a wink of an eye find themselves in Monte Carlo. This is where the ‘true’ adventure begins and love starts to unfold for the three young women.  It is here in Monte Carlo that they also truly find themselves and who they are and what they want out of life. A film filled of hope, dreams and life changing events.

The acting in this particular film for me was average, nothing to brag about. However, there were moments were I found myself chuckling. The setting of the film was absolutely stunning as much of it takes place in Paris and Monte Carlo. The story-line for me was mediocre as it was one of those films that you could guess or anticipate what was coming next. I also found that the love story of each individual woman was a bit underdeveloped, boring and unrealistic – seemed to be missing some loop holes.

Overall I would not rate it excellent, but definitely a movie for young women to enjoy together. Other actors of this film included Cory Monteith, Andie MacDowell and Brett Cullen.

Directed by:               Thomas Bezucha

Written by:                Thomas Bezucha & April Blair                       

Time duration:             109min

Age restriction:           PG

Bad Teacher

This hysterically funny movie came onto the big screen on the 2^nd of September 2011. In my opinion this comedy brings a laugh riot out of every individual that is glued to the screen. The vulgarity in the movie works as it creates the humor for the film, making it more than just an ordinary comedy. It was slightly funny seeing Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake in these specific roles, but they managed to pull their roles off leaving satisfied movie goers in my opinion.

Some teachers just don’t care at all and Elizabeth (Cameron Diaz) is the splitting example of this. She is rude, ruthless, foul-mouthed, gold digger and completely inappropriate most of the time. She is all about trying to find herself a ‘man’ that is her meal ticket out of the job she cold heartedly despises. However, when she is dumped by her fiancé who was able to offer this lifestyle, she is forced back to the one thing she is only ‘good’ at. When a new co-worker named Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake) comes onto scene, Elizabeth soon finds out that he comes from family money and starts to set her plans in place to win him over. However, she soon finds herself competing for his emotions with an overly energetic and psycho colleague, Amy (Lucy Punch).  While this battle all takes place there is a constant figure who tries to win her attention – the gym teacher Russell Gettis (Jason Segal). When her actions soon get out of hand and she is almost caught by the skin of her teeth, she soon realises the consequences of her outrageous actions. Her herself, her co-workers and students end up getting an education in something that is a lot more real beneficial in the outside world, not something that can be learned in the classroom but rather by experience.

This whole film is a package of fun, but also tends to teach something to all who will have the privilege of watching it. Its whole concept for me was that money can’t buy you happiness and that sometimes sensitivity is better than the macho-male so many of us females always finding ourselves drawn too. Definitely a must see film that will leave you perhaps questioning the relationships you may find yourself in at one point in your life.

Directed by:            Jake Kasdon

Written by:             Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg

Time duration:          1hr. 31min

Age restriction:        R - rated

Cowboys and Aliens

This jaw dropping movie is full of adventure and action and will definitely have the male audience captivated. It premiered at cinemas fairly recently on the 19^th of August. This mix-up of Sci-Fi and Old West brings something different to the cinema and it is working perfectly in combination. The cast of actors are excellent in their roles and I actually enjoy Daniel Craig more in his role in this particular film than in his previously known roles as James Bond.

The setting of the film is in New Mexico; 1875. A stranger (Jake Lonergan) who is played by Daniel Craig has no memory of whom or where he comes from and finds himself in the town of Absolution. What he does not know yet is that this town does not except strangers very openly, as they all live in fear of Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). Dolarhyde is the one who has the money and is keeping the town up and going, so what he says goes and no questions are asked. However, they are soon bombarded by the outer world (Aliens) as they start a ‘war’ by kidnapping the towns’ people, in an attempt to learn their weaknesses so they can wipe out the human race. The town and Dolarhyde soon realize that Jake is the only one who can help them. As they set off on their journey this is where Jake starts to remember who he is... He also learns that he holds a secret that will help them win this ‘war’... There are a few twists in the story that I am not going to spoil for you, but they definitely do their job by keeping the audience on the edge of their seats, as they anticipate what will be happening next.

Other well known actors to look out for in this film are Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Paula Dano and Adam Beach.  

Directed by:               John Favreau

Written by:                 Roberto Orci

Time duration:          1hr. 58min.

Age restriction:         PG -13

Love Wedding Marriage

This past Friday saw the premier of this highly disappointing film, Love Wedding Marriage. This film was nothing but boring and dull right from beginning to end. Even those of you that love the typical ‘chick flick’ will be highly disappointed with the overall storyline, humour and acting of this film. It feels as though that it in actual fact should be a sitcom, but has just been stretched into movie length. Many of the actors in this film are well known for their talent and inspiring performances over the years, however this film brings them a notch down in my books.

Eva (Mandy Moore) is a marriage counsellor who is newly married to Charlie (Kellen Lutz). Six weeks into their marriage Eva finds out terrible news – her parents are getting divorced. Her parents are played by James Brolin and Jane Seymour. In attempts to mend their broken marriage and reconcile them before their 30^th Anniversary, Eva starts to distance herself from her own marriage, pushing Charlie away and ignoring his needs to help her parents instead.  Does Eva loose Charlie in the process? Or is their newly marriage bond to strong to be broken so soon?

I’m not going to suggest that this is a ‘must see’ film, but if you want to see it for yourself and form your own opinion then that’s great, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Another aspect that makes this film lack ‘performance’ is the fact that it is extremely slow and the humour in the film is actually not funny at all. I definitely left the cinema feeling dissatisfied and irritated to the max.

Directed by:               Dermot Mulroney

Written by:                 Caprice Crane and Anouskia Chydzik

Time duration:          1hr 31min

Age restriction:         PG - 13

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

This is a must see film! The use of CGI technology and special effects are just outstanding. Not only are the visual aspects excellent, but even the story line as well as the characters, managed to bring something special to the film. Some may disagree with me and feel that it will never out shine the original 1986 Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but for me I just feel that this film tops all the others that have been coming out lately.

This film is filled of drama, action, adventure, science fiction and fantasy. It also has a way of engaging the audience through feelings of emotion, violence, intolerance and inhumanity. This 'emotion' comes through the depiction of the apes, it is not every day we see these animals with such human like charcateristics. It is a two hour film that will not leave you board out of your mind and will provoke anticipation for the sequel, as the end of the film feels like just the beginning.

Will Rodman (James Franco) is a Scientist that is trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's. They do this by testing the drugs on chimps. However, the operation is called off when one particular chimp seems to go a bit crazy and destroy the inside of the building where the testing is conducted. Later we find out that she didnt have a reaction to the drug, but that she was protecting her baby chimp - Caeser. This is the chimp that Will takes home and brings up. This is where his father, Charles Rodman (John Lithgow) who is suffereing from Alzheimer's disease grows attached to Caeser. Later Will gives his father the drug, only to find him the next morning reciting Bach at the piano. However, the effects of the drug soon wear off and the disease comes back with vengence. Caeser, received the drug through his mother at birth and is 'super intelligent'. We learn that the chimps and humans react differently to the drug.

Later, he soon comes face to face with the other 'side' to human beings, cruelty and heartlessness. This is where he begins the revolution against this inhumanity, in order to save his fellow chimps. However, this is not seen straight away, he goes through stages of self-doubt, terror and then only realizes that he is different from his fellow companions. Freida Pinto (Caroline Aran) plays the Veterinarian that Will falls in love with, but she is also the one that right from the beginning warns him about becoming too attached to Caeser. Caeser is the protagonist in this film, we feel for him during his hardships. He gives us mixed emotions in the sense that we feel for him, cheer him on but at the same time fear him. This emotion is evident when the battles takes place on the Golden Gate Bridge. We see so many emotions coming through Caeser, which gives us a reason to be on his side. The emotion is evident right from the beginning of the film, with regards to the interaction we see between Will, Charles and Caeser. We also feel the same emotion when after the battle Caeser and Will have a moment to confront each other and take different paths.

 A movie you don't want to miss on the big screen. It will capture you from beginning to end.

Directed by:   Rupert Wyatt's
Written by:     Pierre Boulle, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver
Time:             2hr

Zoo Keeper

A Kevin James comedy that my leave many with mixed emotions in my opinion. This comedy/romance premiered on the 12th of August and from the few opinions I got from others, things are not looking good. Although there are moments in the film that may have the audience in hysterics, the overall concept of the film for me feels as though it takes on a similar pattern of that of Dr Doolittle. However, in this film it is the zoo keeper being helped by the animals instead of the other way around. So for me and I am sure many others, it seems to be a copy that lacks originality.

The movie is about how Griffon Keys (Kevin James) the zoo keeper, has not been able to get over his superficial ex-girlfriend Stephanie (Leslie Bibb), who unceremoniously dumped him five years ago during a romantic proposal on the beach, as she was embarrassed about his occupation. When he bumps into her at his brothers' engagement party, this is where he begins his attempt to win her back. Talking about possibly leaving the zoo in order to find a job suitable to win his ex back, this is where the animals step in and decide to break their code of silence as they are afraid of losing their favourite zoo keeper. They start to help Griffon with rules of courtship - animal style. (This is where most of the humour lies in the film). However, he soon realises who he is more suited for, Kate (Rosaris Dawson). She also works at the zoo with Griffon. Other well known characters include Adam Sandler, he plays Donald the monkey and Nick Nolte who plays the gorilla.

Although this movie may not be an extraordinary box office hit, it is still a movie that is recommended for families as it is a PG rated film. The kids will be amused by the talking animals, while the adults will be able to understand the hidden connotations in the hilarious behaviours they teach Griffon.

Directed by:     Frank Coraci
Written by:      Jay Schericks and David Ronn
Time duration: 1hr. 41min