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The Butterfly Effect starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart

Posted on May 14, 2010 Written by ripitup

The Butterfly Effect starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart. Image from:http://img291.imageshack.us/i/butterflyeffectze6.jpg/

Evan is having a troubled childhood. His father is in a mental institution, his friends Kayleigh and Tommy have an abusive father (Eric Stoltz) at home. Tommy is growing increasingly dangerous and aggressive. Moreover, Evan is having serious blackouts where he can’t remember what happened, what he was doing and why. A psychiatrist suggests he keeps a diary as it might help him remember.

As they grow up and Kayleigh and Evan develop feelings for each other and this gets Tommy even more out of control. One day, along with their other friend Lenny, they take a dynamite they find in Kayleigh & Tommy’s father’s house and decide to pull a prank. The prank results in a tragedy that Evan can’t remember. Evan’s mother (Melora Walters) eventually decides to take Evan and move away. Evan promises to come back for Kayleigh.

Years later, Evan (Ashton Kutcher) is a successful psychology major and getting along marvelously with his gothic roommate (Ethan Suplee). Moreover he hasn’t had a blackout in years. But one coincidence gets him to think about what happened all those years ago and he tracks Kayleigh (Amy Smart) down. This ends in another disaster, which Evan will do anything to prevent. After all, he has found a way to go back in time and change things. But every time he changes one thing to help matters, things end up horribly for at least one of them…

This is one complicated, weird and interesting movie. Even though it has some funny moments, it is mostly depressing and dark. But it is also very exciting and thought- provoking. I saw it for the second time last night (the first time was years ago when it hit the theaters) and I realized I wasn’t as hooked as I was before. But it’s because this time I knew each twist and turn. Still, it was interesting to go through the story again.

You can argue a lot of plot holes but I suggest you don’t look for them. Because this movie has sci- fi elements, looking for extreme logic and reality will be pointless. Stay away from this movie at all costs if you want something light and uplifting. But if you want something different, this is what you have been looking for.

Rated 7.8 on IMDB, voted by nearly 100.000 people. I’ll give it a solid 8. It will probably remain as the darkest and most original thing Ashton Kutcher will ever be a part of. I wish he finds more projects like these and less romantic comedies. As much I enjoy good romcoms, they are dime a dozen. The Butterfly Effect? Not so much. Written and directed by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber. Grown-up Lenny is played by Elden Henson and Tommy by William Lee Scott.

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Not Forgotten starring Simon Baker

Posted on May 13, 2010 Written by ripitup

Not Forgotten starring Simon Baker and Paz Vega. Well, the name of the movie makes sense but that's pretty much the only thing that does. Image from: http://www.traileraddict.com/

OK. This movie was bad. I mean really bad. I usually start with the plot and then mention what I think but I just couldn’t help myself. On the surface, the premise is quite OK.
Jack Bishop (Simon Baker) is a loving husband and a father who coaches girls’ soccer team where his 11-year-old daughter Toby (Chloe Moretz) also plays. His first wife -Toby’s mom- is dead but Toby seems to be getting alone fine with her stepmother Amaya (Paz Vega). A good marriage, a simple life. There are implications of black magic in the movie but hey, you don’t mind. Maybe there are essential to the plot line and maybe it will all make perfect sense at some point. The simple and happy family life is ruined when Toby is kidnapped. Jack is devastated and so is Amaya. They try anything and everything to find Toby. But as the story unfolds, it will become apparent that no one and nothing is quite what it seems, except Jack’s love for Toby.

I might get into spoilers so read on at your peril:

The pace is slow. But sometimes slow pays off. Not this time. We are thrown weird twists here and there, like Jack actually speaks Spanish when his wife thinks he can’t. Whores in Mexico seem to know who is and they know him by another name. The black magic thing is something…that the writer wants you to suspect that it will relate to the story…It does but it never makes any sense. Jack’s identity as a loving father doesn’t add up. Amaya’s 10 year-old acting is ridiculous. The daughter’s reaction is absolutely ridiculous. The picture in the beginning- the picture of Toby’s mother- does belong to Claire Forlani. And she also has a ridiculous role in the film, just like the rest of the cast.
You wan t more specifics? Please ask me in the comments. I can go into as much detail as you like. I like Simon Baker, I really do. But this movie is off. Whatever genre or pace it was aiming, it is off. I don’t even get what attracted Simon to the script in the first place. There is nothing that’s attractive about the movie. Well, except the one part where Simon tortures and wastes the long-haired bad guy. That was cool. But if you want Simon to go all affectionate, watch Something New. If you want him all smart, watch The Mentalist. This is rated 4.5 on IMDB, voted by over 600 people. And frankly, even 4.5 is way overrated.

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The Bounty Hunter starring Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston

Posted on May 11, 2010 Written by ripitup

The Bounty Hunter starring Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston. Image from: http://temptu.files.wordpress.com

Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler) is well…a loser. An ex cop who got out of the force, he is now working as a bounty hunter. His job is to catch people who jump bail. He is mocked by cops and he does have a gambling debt. However his next assignment puts a huge smile on his face: He has to catch his ex-wife Nicole.

Nicole (Jennifer Aniston) is a successful journalist who is cursing the day she married Milo. She loves her job and she is after a huge story. One lead causes her to miss her trial and now Milo is after her.

If only that were simple…The bad guy has caught Nicole’s snitch and he is now after her. Then there are the debt collectors who are after Milo. And there is the struggle between Milo and Nicole- who might not just hate each other as they claim…

When I first the movie was being made, I couldn’t wait to see it. After all, I don’t mind Jennifer Aniston being in movies (it is a Friends thing) and I am a huge fan of Gerard Butler. Then the movie came out and people were so quick and ruthless in bashing the movie that I was half-scared that it would be a disaster. But hey , it is always best to see the movie and judge it yourself and I have to say I genuinely enjoyed it. Honestly, It has its downs:

– It has its mediocre moments and its fair share of clichés.

– Oh, it also has a character that’s supposed to be funny but all he did was irritate me. This character is called Stewart (Jason Sudeikis). Stewart is Nicole’s colleague and he is such a big loser that Milo seems like the ultimate catch in his worst moment, including the time he is wearing the world’s ugliest shirt and short pair! Normally ,I love Jason. He is my favorite cast member at Saturday Night Live. You might like to check out youtube for the 300 spoof- where Gerard Butler makes fun of his character King Leonidas and Jason plays his right arm. Hilarious. But Stewart is just unnecessary.

– The music dominates some of the scenes too much. It is not that the songs are bad but the scenes are funny on their own but the music seemed determined that it wanted to steal the scenes from Butler. That was weird.

– Sometimes you do want the movie to make up its mind on whether it wants to be a romcom or an action comedy or whatever.

That being said, it definitely has its ups:

– Gerard Butler. It is so much fun watching him as a loser than slowly building his charm and gain his confidence back. He doesn’t mind making an ass out of himself and he sure doesn’t seem to mind if he doesn’t look the least bit good-looking. But obviously he does. He is an actor and he wants to play different characters. Sure, you saw the sweet loser Milo character before but it is still different to Gerard’s other characters. Plus, Milo is fun to watch. Most of the time.

– Some viewer reviews claimed that Jennifer is so bad in this that she should completely stop making movies. Oh, give me a break! There is nothing about her character that requires anything more than Jennifer gives to the role. Who do they suggest played Nicole? Meryl Streep? It is a simple role. Jennifer was OK.

– It has some really funny scenes: The golf course chasing scene, Jennifer’s hijacking a bicycle cab or Gerard’s method of rescuing Jennifer from the thugs… Don’t worry, it has more. I just don’t want to spoil it for you.

– Have you seen the movie Bird on a Wire? It’s made in 1990 and it features Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn in the leading roles. It is not rated high on IMDB (a mere 5.4) but it is one of the most entertaining movies I have seen and one of my favorite movies from Gibson. It is also a mixture of action/comedy/romance and follows the story of ex-lovers. Even the storyline is quite different, as they try to save their lives and sort things out, they also realize they are not over each other. Watching The Bounty Hunter, I realized it is in the tradition of Bird on a Wire and I love that movie. Yeah, Bird on a Wire is a tad more original and a little funnier but it doesn’t change the fact that The Bounty Hunter is also all about mindless entertainment, out there to show you a good time. And it does. And that’s what matters.

It is currently 5.1 on IMDB. It has its 5 moments and it has its 7. I’ll give it a 6.

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The Bachelor starring Chris O’Donnell and Renée Zellweger

Posted on May 8, 2010 Written by ripitup

The Bachelor starring Chris O' Donnell Renée Zellweger. Made in 1999. Brace yourselves for something very romantic and very funny. Image from filmamerica.com

The opening credits start in wide open land with lots of horses running wild. Our narrator/lead character

Jimmy Shannon (Chris O’Donnell) starts his story by telling us that every man (in America) is Mustang (the horse, not the car) at heart. He is too. He is also a happy bachelor who loves dating a variety of women without having to think about getting married. One day he meets Anne (Renée Zellweger) and even though he is still not even dreaming about marriage, he is happy just being with that one women. After a year of bliss, his luck starts to change. All his friends have been getting married inevitably Anne uses the ever-dreaded word “future”. He is the only single guy left in his circle. He decides to do the inevitable and screws up big time. But then something even more dreadful happens- his grandfather dies and leaves him a $100 million. What’s dreadful about it? Jimmy needs to be married in a certain time frame, be married for at least 10 years and have 10 children. What the ****? “Poor” Jimmy proposes to Anne again, screwing up more time. Anne leaves town to visit her folks and Jimmy has no choice but visiting all his exes one by one, a highly diverse list of women who include a feminist, an over-bearing one, a cop, one who is all business, a stockbroker, an opera singer…

So Jimmy spends a lot of time proposing to one wrong woman after another and failing to be engaged, until his friend comes with a “brilliant” idea that’s very entertaining for us the audience and a total nightmare for Jimmy….

The Bachelor is a typical romantic comedy but I am saying it with love and affection. I really do like this movie. I love the idea, the actors, the scenes and the dialogue. Sure, as a modern woman I resent the idea of all men being portrayed as commitment-phobic and women crazy about marriage. I resent the idea that all women see marriage as bliss but men as a nightmare. It might be true for a lot of cases but hey times are changing a little. But who cares? The casting is perfect. If any other guy was giving you all the talk about Mustangs, a girl might be pissed. But hey, it is Chris O’ Donnell. One of the cutest and prettiest actors to date, he lights up the screen and even in his desperate moments, he doesn’t annoy you. He makes you laugh. Put an average guy in there and you would say “Oh, screw you, who would want to marry you, anyway?”. This is a romantic comedy meaning it is (unfortunately) targeted mostly at women and I am being honest.

Brooke Shields and Mariah Carey make very fun appearances. Even though I don’t like Mariah Carey at all, she was the perfect choice as the over-the-top opera singer.

It is a fun romcom with all the regular amount of cheesiness. But the funny bits are really funny and the romantic part is romantic. So if you like the genre, suspend your cynicism for the duration of the film and have fun.

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