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The Invention of Lying starring Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey and Rob Lowe

Posted on January 16, 2010 Written by ripitup

Invention of Lying starring Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner — If you are mad about The Office, you may be disappointed. But be ready to expect drama, and you are golden.

Warning: This movie is not a comedy. It is a comedy/drama and even the comedic bits aren’t really laugh-out-loud funny. They are funny in a way that makes you giggle or smile.

Now, that we got that out of the way, I’ll say that I truly enjoyed this movie. If you accept the fact that there is going to be a lot of drama, you will stop expecting to laugh that much, which will prevent you from being disappointed.

Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) lives in a world where people don’t know what a lie is. They are incapable of lying, and on the top of that, they are inconveniently blunt. This of course has hilarious results for the viewer and equals misery for our lead Mark. He is a pretty average guy. Average height, chubby built, not a pretty face, average job… He is unhappy. He is waiting to get fired from his job as a screenwriter. And don’t be fooled by the word writer. People can’t lie, can’t make believe- hence there is no fiction. There is no imagination. Just plain, boring storytelling. He also has a date with Anna (Jennifer Garner) who is beautiful, fit and has a well-paying job. She makes it clear from the beginning that she is way out of his league. He is alone, surrounded by other miserable people and facing eviction.

But something really amazing happens. He suddenly gets the ability to lie. He realizes this is the best thing that ever happened to him. He gets money, gets his job back and persuades Anna to at least hang around. His sudden bright status annoys his fellow screen writer Brad (Rob Lowe) who is a shallow jerk but he is also something Mark is not: good-looking. So while Anna actually loves Mark, she starts dating Brad for his looks. After all, her children are probably going to be better looking and healthier if she got Brad’s genes…

One of the fun things about the movie is how Mark gets to be a better person- or at least realizes he is a much better guy than he thought he was- when he gets to lie. It might sound ironic, but you will see how he puts lying to good use and helps people out. One of the better moments of the film is when Mark produces a lie about afterlife and how everyone gets addicted to his words. I really enjoyed the religious (or non-religious/anti-religion)- depends on how you look at it) aspects of the film. This movie is sincere, funny, emotional, fun and at times very original.

Sure, if you start looking for plot holes, there are a lot of them. I can think of at least 10 on the top of my head. Some people are bothered by how shallow most of the characters are. People, this is a script written by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson (they also directed the film). It is their baby, their “what if” scenario. Of course you would have written it differently. Would you have been able to write something better? I am not sure. All I know is that it has less clichés than a typical film and the clichés it has, really works for the comedy aspects. Frankly, I didn’t even like The Office and had no idea Gervais could actually act. Even Jonah Hill is lovely here. Rob Lowe is hilarious and Jennifer is always a delight to watch. Oh, and if you like Tina Fey, she is here too.

Overall verdict? You should see it. It has way many pros than cons.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ThtN7qoWgM&feature=related[/pro-player]

10 Things I Hate About You starring Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julia Stiles & Larisa Oleynik

Posted on January 15, 2010 Written by ripitup

10 things I hate about you, starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles. Yep, they look soooo into each other.

This probably has to the best, teen movie ever- because it is just not exactly a teen movie. Sure it takes place in a high school and between high school students, but it is based on Shakespeare comedy “Taming of The Shrew” –which I fully intend to read.

Let’s talk about the movie.

When Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) starts at his new school, he immediately develops a friendship with one of the outcasts named Michael (David Krumholtz)and falls for Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik) at first sight. Michael immediately warns Cameron that Bianca is way out of his league and he is not exaggerating. She is more into Joey (Andrew Keegan), a self-centered popular guy who gets modeling gigs. Joey is only into Bianca because she is a virgin. What really challenges him though is that Bianca’s father (Larry Miller) is not letting her date.

As Cameron tries to get closer to Bianca while he tutors her French (a language he is trying to master only to be able to spend time with her), Bianca informs him that his father has made a new rule: she can date when her older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) dates. The problem is her sister (also at her high school) is against every thing Bianca ever believes in. She loves punk and rock, she is anti-fashion, is all for individuality and she’d rather die than date an idiot at her school.

This is when Cameron and his friend come up with a great plan. Michael makes a deal with Joey- they’ll find a guy to date Kat- Joey will pay the guy. Then he will be able to date Bianca. Of course the real plan is for Cameron to be able to B himself. Then they make a deal with Patrick (Heath Ledger) whose reputation is bad as Kat’s. Cameron and Michael help Patrick to get to Kat. Of course things get complicated as Bianca only seems to be using Cam and Patrick starts falling for Kat….

It is really funny and romantic. Heath Ledger is awesome as usual and the casting just seems right. I love how Michael uses this opportunity to get back at his old best friends who excluded him and Kat’s father (Larry Miller) is just a riot. He cracks me up every time. Then there is the headmaster who is writing an erotic novel and the English teacher who seems to hate all of his students. And any soundtrack that involves Joan Jett is fine by me. Do watch it. After all how many other “teen” movies did you see that was rated 6.9 on imdb, voted by 56.799 people? Exactly!!!

Enjoy the trailer

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWmjzCZr0Jw[/pro-player]

Also featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt:

500 Days of Summer

3 TV Series About Aliens: Roswell, 3rd Rock From The Sun and V (2009)

Inception starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt

NUMB starring Matthew Perry- Strongly Recommended for the Depressed

Posted on December 26, 2009 Written by ripitup

Numb movie review, starring Matthew Perry — Matthew Perry starrs as Hudson in the 2007 movie Numb

Hudson (Matthew Perry) has a big, psychiatric problem: He is depersonalized- it is a depressive state of mind where he doesn’t feel anything is real, that he doesn’t belong and he is anxious all the time. He hates being this way but he can’t seem to do anything about it either. In his own words, he is fucked up.

He hasn’t had the most fun childhood or the most caring mother but his life as a screenwriter hasn’t been this bad- until now. He tries therapy, prescribed drugs, activities… nothing seems to work. However, meeting the beautiful and fun Sara (Lynn Collins) at least gives him the illusion of happiness and although he is in love with her, the thought that she deserves better keeps nagging at him.

As this movie takes a look at Hudson’s life for 93 minutes, we embark on a bittersweet journey on the mostly dark side of life. There are some really funny bits due some of his therapy sessions and some of his psychiatrists and some desperate reactions from Hudson. He is an original character yet not hard to relate to. In fact, if any of you have gone through any type of depression (and I have. I’m talking about the real thing here, not the occasional blues), this movie just hits home. It is just so real. The bitterness, the pain, the hope, the comedy, functioning, love and relationships…It is a good movie. It is sincere and real.

Matthew Perry is such a good actor. He is so terrific at comedy (Friends, The Whole Nine Yards, Serving Sara…) that sometimes I forget he can do drama. Sure, he has proven his dramatic skills at Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. But now I can honestly say, Perry is just very good. The movie is written/directed by Harris Goldberg. The feel of the film makes me think either Perry or the director (maybe both) might have gone through a similar process.

If you don’t like it, you probably never have been actually depressed. Well, I am jealous. But if you have, just do not miss this movie. It just might help with the healing process. And you have to love the tagline: Love is better unmedicated.

Numb on Amazon

500 Days of Summer starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel

Posted on December 3, 2009 Written by ripitup

500 Days of Summer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

This is one real, sincere and a little gem of a movie. It is quite lovely, actually bordering on brilliant. I have seen better movies and I’m sure you have too. I am just not sure I have seen any better in the whole romance/comedy genre though. I think most people have been in the places of both of the leading characters- Tom and Summer.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsD0NpFSADM[/pro-player]
Tom (Joseph Gordon- Levitt) is a young man working at a greeting cards company. When Summer (Zooey Deschanel) starts to work at the same office, he can’t believe his luck. She is beautiful, fun and seems to share his taste in music. There is one problem: Summer is a cynic who doesn’t believe in love and doesn’t want a serious relationship. So Tom only has one choice really. As much as he’s falling for Summer, he pretends he is OK with the casual relationship they are having. The movie adds a half-serious/half-amusing documentary approach to the background as the story takes a look at Tom’s 500 days spent either with Summer or thinking about her. The days are not shown in order and we just join the emotional rollercoaster Tom has got on.

The movie provides all the bittersweet reality of falling in love, the great days when we think the other person feels the same and the other days when we simply feel all alone in the relationship. This is of course Tom’s point of view. I once fell for a boy who didn’t love me back yet I was certain we were such a good match. As Tom’s terribly smart and mature younger sister points out, just because the other person likes the same stuff with us, it doesn’t mean they are your soul mates. Attraction and love may not be mutual or even if there is chemistry, it doesn’t mean the other person fells the same way about you. But then again, I understand Summer too. I have been Summer, meaning where I was the one who didn’t want a relationship, where I wanted to keep things casual. That is what makes this movie so good to watch. The characters are us. We have been them or met them at some point in our lives. But the story is never slow or boring because the familiarity is always presented with a lovely sense of humor.

But as the tag line says, this is not a love story. It is a story about love. And as far as emotional and funny movies go, this is pretty well-done.

The soundtrack is lovely. The actors are totally believable and very likable. And do not consider as just a love a story. It is a great look on life,relationships and dreams. It takes a girl like Summer for Tom to start thinking about his goals again. All people that enter our lives leave some sort of mark, whether they stay on or not. This film is the perfect combination of escapism and reality.