Steve Carrell week, Kate Winslet's disappointment, and Transporter
I'm wayyy behind in my movie posts. But then again, I'm behind in pretty much every aspect of my life at the moment, except for work.
40 Year Old Virgin - ★★☆☆
Andy Stitzer (the hilarious Steve Carell) has a pleasant life with a nice apartment and a job stamping invoices at an electronics store. But at age 40, there's one thing Andy hasn't done, and it's really bothering his close group of friends: To the shock of everyone he knows, he's still a virgin. The guys at the store make it their mission to change that, but Andy seems hopeless -- until he meets single mom Trish (Catherine Keener).
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This was probably my least favorite of the Steve Carrell movies we watched over the course of the week. Pretty sure we got the unrated version. It had a good message (meaningless sex = bad, twu wuv = good), but the process of getting to that message was rough. It was funny, and most of that was improv. And Andy Stitzer was decidedly NOT Michael Scott. Not that I was worried...
Dan in Real Life - ★★★☆
Advice columnist and widowed father of three Dan Burns (Steve Carell) has met someone new. Marie (Juliette Binoche) is beautiful, she's smart -- and she just so happens to be the girlfriend of Dan's brother Mitch (Dane Cook). With a publicly recognized moral compass, Dan finds himself torn between reaching for happiness and keeping the peace in his family. Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney co-star in this romantic comedy from director Peter Hedges.
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Why was Dane Cook in this movie? I don't get it. The movie was VERY FUNNY. Steve Carrell, again, was awesome. His character annoyed me to death, but I think that was the point. He's a MURDERER OF LOVE! A dark cloud hovering over what would otherwise have been a very-Mayberry family vacation. I don't recall having seen Juliette Binoche in anything before, and I must say I would welcome the experience in the future. She was good. But things were resolved a little too easy. If you're in love with your brother's girl, and she eventually discovers that she's in love with you, breaks up with your brother, and then you go after her, kiss her, and your whole family catches you..... people don't just get over that. But in this movie, your brother punches you and then hops in the car of the first hot girl that passes by. Leaving you free to marry his ex. And it's not awkward in the least. OKAY.
Little Miss Sunshine - ★★★★
Convinced little Olive (Abigail Breslin) is beauty queen material, parents Richard (Greg Kinnear) and Sheryl (Toni Collette) and the rest of the family embark on a life-altering road trip to a pageant in this madcap comedy. Struggling motivational speaker Richard pushes Olive to win, while her silent brother (Paul Dano), depressed uncle (Steve Carell) and nursing-home reject grandpa (Alan Arkin, in an Oscar-winning role) add their own quirks to the mix.
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GREAT MOVIE. Hilarious. Touching. Unique. This is one to buy.
There's a great sense of irony created by the title. The characters and situations in this story are anything but "sunny". I've never seen so much hate and self-loathing within one family. But you have to laugh! They all hate each other, except Olive. She loves them all, and they love her. The lengths to which they go to get her to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty competition must have been conceived and written by someone sick and twisted. Unrealistic? Yes, but who cares? THEN, when they finally arrive at the competition, you start to feel a sense of dread. Olive isn't like these little plastic primadonnas. There's no way she can win. And she doesn't. If she had, the movie would have been terrible. BUT, she goes out with style. "Superfreak" style. The talent portion of the contest will have you covering your eyes and laughing hysterically at the same time. Giant brownie points to the casting director who could not POSSIBLY have picked a better cast.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - ★☆☆☆
This offbeat romantic comedy (which won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay) stars Jim Carrey as Joel, who opts for a procedure in which memories of his girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), are erased after he learns she's already had the surgery done. But as his doctor begins to wipe out traces of Clementine, Joel decides he doesn't want to lose what's left of their relationship, so he squirrels away the memories somewhere else in his brain.
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WTF. Romantic comedy? Anything but!! I would classify this as more of a romantic horror movie. My brain HURT, and not because I was experiencing sympathy pains for Joel during his "procedure". It was so disorienting. TOO disorienting for it's own good really. I couldn't tell what was happening to who and when it happened. Not that it mattered. The entire movie was a circle. The beginning turned out to be the ending, and the ending was a new beginning. But then you realize that you performed several laps on the circle during the course of the movie. How many times has this couple gotten together, broken up, and had their memories erased? Truth is, I really don't care. Shame on you Kate Winslet.
The Transporter - ★★★★
Former Special Forces officer Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is now a courier in the underworld, and his policy of not asking questions has earned him a reputation -- and money. But when Martin discovers that his cargo is alive, he opens the package to reveal the bound and gagged Lai (Shu Qi), setting in motion a dangerous chain of events that involves Lai's father, a French detective and others in director Corey Yuen's high-action crime drama.
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<3 Jason Statham for doing his own stunts!! This is an action movie, pure and simple. If you're not into fast cuts, car chases, lots of firepower and EXPLOSIONS, then don't watch this movie for the great plot. There isn't one. There is a cute Asian chic though, if that floats your boat. In addition to the drool-worthy cars, I really liked Frank's character. He's technically a bad guy, but with morals. And rules. Lots of rules. Can't wait to see the next one! Oh wait... we already had it.
The Transporter 2 - ★★★☆
In this action-packed sequel, former Special Forces officer Frank Martin (Jason Statham) comes out of retirement to track down kidnappers who are part of a larger plot. Now a chauffer to a wealthy family, Martin has bonded with his employer's son, Jack -- so when Jack is abducted, Martin springs into action to save him. It doesn't take long for Martin to realize he'll need to use all his skills to stop the villains from carrying out a sinister master plan.
---
The sequel wasn't quite as good as the original, IMO. There were less cool cars, and more touching scenes which tends to slow the movie down. At least the kid is cute and not annoying. I can say with almost complete certainty that I've never wanted a villain to die more than I did in this movie. Yes, I'm talking about you, Blonde girl who insists on wearing ankle wrenching high heels and a leather bra out in broad daylight. Oh wait, there was that one nurse outfit. But I digress.. I just couldn't get into the whole "deadly virus" thing. Jason Statham still kicked butt. But I hope they kick it back up a notch for Transporter 3.
40 Year Old Virgin - ★★☆☆
Andy Stitzer (the hilarious Steve Carell) has a pleasant life with a nice apartment and a job stamping invoices at an electronics store. But at age 40, there's one thing Andy hasn't done, and it's really bothering his close group of friends: To the shock of everyone he knows, he's still a virgin. The guys at the store make it their mission to change that, but Andy seems hopeless -- until he meets single mom Trish (Catherine Keener).
---
This was probably my least favorite of the Steve Carrell movies we watched over the course of the week. Pretty sure we got the unrated version. It had a good message (meaningless sex = bad, twu wuv = good), but the process of getting to that message was rough. It was funny, and most of that was improv. And Andy Stitzer was decidedly NOT Michael Scott. Not that I was worried...
Dan in Real Life - ★★★☆
Advice columnist and widowed father of three Dan Burns (Steve Carell) has met someone new. Marie (Juliette Binoche) is beautiful, she's smart -- and she just so happens to be the girlfriend of Dan's brother Mitch (Dane Cook). With a publicly recognized moral compass, Dan finds himself torn between reaching for happiness and keeping the peace in his family. Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney co-star in this romantic comedy from director Peter Hedges.
---
Why was Dane Cook in this movie? I don't get it. The movie was VERY FUNNY. Steve Carrell, again, was awesome. His character annoyed me to death, but I think that was the point. He's a MURDERER OF LOVE! A dark cloud hovering over what would otherwise have been a very-Mayberry family vacation. I don't recall having seen Juliette Binoche in anything before, and I must say I would welcome the experience in the future. She was good. But things were resolved a little too easy. If you're in love with your brother's girl, and she eventually discovers that she's in love with you, breaks up with your brother, and then you go after her, kiss her, and your whole family catches you..... people don't just get over that. But in this movie, your brother punches you and then hops in the car of the first hot girl that passes by. Leaving you free to marry his ex. And it's not awkward in the least. OKAY.
Little Miss Sunshine - ★★★★
Convinced little Olive (Abigail Breslin) is beauty queen material, parents Richard (Greg Kinnear) and Sheryl (Toni Collette) and the rest of the family embark on a life-altering road trip to a pageant in this madcap comedy. Struggling motivational speaker Richard pushes Olive to win, while her silent brother (Paul Dano), depressed uncle (Steve Carell) and nursing-home reject grandpa (Alan Arkin, in an Oscar-winning role) add their own quirks to the mix.
---
GREAT MOVIE. Hilarious. Touching. Unique. This is one to buy.
There's a great sense of irony created by the title. The characters and situations in this story are anything but "sunny". I've never seen so much hate and self-loathing within one family. But you have to laugh! They all hate each other, except Olive. She loves them all, and they love her. The lengths to which they go to get her to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty competition must have been conceived and written by someone sick and twisted. Unrealistic? Yes, but who cares? THEN, when they finally arrive at the competition, you start to feel a sense of dread. Olive isn't like these little plastic primadonnas. There's no way she can win. And she doesn't. If she had, the movie would have been terrible. BUT, she goes out with style. "Superfreak" style. The talent portion of the contest will have you covering your eyes and laughing hysterically at the same time. Giant brownie points to the casting director who could not POSSIBLY have picked a better cast.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - ★☆☆☆
This offbeat romantic comedy (which won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay) stars Jim Carrey as Joel, who opts for a procedure in which memories of his girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), are erased after he learns she's already had the surgery done. But as his doctor begins to wipe out traces of Clementine, Joel decides he doesn't want to lose what's left of their relationship, so he squirrels away the memories somewhere else in his brain.
---
WTF. Romantic comedy? Anything but!! I would classify this as more of a romantic horror movie. My brain HURT, and not because I was experiencing sympathy pains for Joel during his "procedure". It was so disorienting. TOO disorienting for it's own good really. I couldn't tell what was happening to who and when it happened. Not that it mattered. The entire movie was a circle. The beginning turned out to be the ending, and the ending was a new beginning. But then you realize that you performed several laps on the circle during the course of the movie. How many times has this couple gotten together, broken up, and had their memories erased? Truth is, I really don't care. Shame on you Kate Winslet.
The Transporter - ★★★★
Former Special Forces officer Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is now a courier in the underworld, and his policy of not asking questions has earned him a reputation -- and money. But when Martin discovers that his cargo is alive, he opens the package to reveal the bound and gagged Lai (Shu Qi), setting in motion a dangerous chain of events that involves Lai's father, a French detective and others in director Corey Yuen's high-action crime drama.
---
<3 Jason Statham for doing his own stunts!! This is an action movie, pure and simple. If you're not into fast cuts, car chases, lots of firepower and EXPLOSIONS, then don't watch this movie for the great plot. There isn't one. There is a cute Asian chic though, if that floats your boat. In addition to the drool-worthy cars, I really liked Frank's character. He's technically a bad guy, but with morals. And rules. Lots of rules. Can't wait to see the next one! Oh wait... we already had it.
The Transporter 2 - ★★★☆
In this action-packed sequel, former Special Forces officer Frank Martin (Jason Statham) comes out of retirement to track down kidnappers who are part of a larger plot. Now a chauffer to a wealthy family, Martin has bonded with his employer's son, Jack -- so when Jack is abducted, Martin springs into action to save him. It doesn't take long for Martin to realize he'll need to use all his skills to stop the villains from carrying out a sinister master plan.
---
The sequel wasn't quite as good as the original, IMO. There were less cool cars, and more touching scenes which tends to slow the movie down. At least the kid is cute and not annoying. I can say with almost complete certainty that I've never wanted a villain to die more than I did in this movie. Yes, I'm talking about you, Blonde girl who insists on wearing ankle wrenching high heels and a leather bra out in broad daylight. Oh wait, there was that one nurse outfit. But I digress.. I just couldn't get into the whole "deadly virus" thing. Jason Statham still kicked butt. But I hope they kick it back up a notch for Transporter 3.