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Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan & Vera Farmiga: A Should-See!

Posted on August 11, 2011 Written by ripitup

Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan & Vera Farmiga. Image via movienewz.com

Source Code: Plot Summary

Military pilot (Jake Gyllenhaal) finds himself on a train to Chicago, sitting across a beautiful woman named Christina (Michelle Monaghan) who keeps calling him Sean. And the reflection in the mirror is someone else’s… He has no clue how he has got there, and before he can figure out, a huge explosion occurs, killing everyone on the train.

Only, Stevens isn’t dead. He wakes up in a strange capsule, where female military officer Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), who keeps asking him about a bomb. Instead of answering his questions, she seems to stick to an urgent schedule and sends him back to the train. He only has 8 minutes to find the bomb and the bomber.

As almost the same things happen over and over during those 8 minutes, and something goes wrong each time, they keep sending him back, only reluctantly giving bits of details about the mission, and why the hell Sean is involved in the first place.

We root for Stevens as he tries to solve two “cases” at once, and learning shocking things about himself in the process. To the annoyance of Dr. Ruthledge (Jeffrey Wright), developer of Source Code, Stevens develops an agenda of his own.

Is the source code only able to help them prevent future disasters? Or can Stevens actually use to alter the past? Oh yeah, and we are still trying to find the bomber…

Worth Seeing? : Definitely!

I hadn’t been that impressed with Source Code’s trailer. But then again, while trailers typically show the parts with most action, they tend to leave the whys/hows/whos out. It is a risky way, because the trailer had let me to think that this movie would be very typical, apart from the “8-minutes-only”, hence my not-so-hopeful preview post on the movie.

But the movie, apart from some scenes, is anything but typical. It is (quite) original (apart from the parts when my mind went back to a “Supernatural” episode, fast but with enough emotional moments and character development, a romantic sub-plot that feels quite natural. And the whys/hows/whos make the movie.

Source Code is creative and engaging. And it is a sci-fi movie that will even appeal to the non fans. Sure, some things will definitely feel like a stretch, even by sci-world standards. Still, the movie offers a good time with a very likable protagonist. And it offers all this in a little over than 90 minutes.

Written by Ben Ripley. Directed by Duncan Jones (Moon). And finally, a cool story that wasn’t adapted from a book!

Currently rated at 7.6 on IMDB.

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Due Date starring Robert Downey Jr. & Zach Galifianakis

Posted on February 2, 2011 Written by ripitup

Due Date starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. Feat. Juliette Lewis, Danny McBride & Jamie Foxx.

Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is a successful architect on a business trip who can’t wait to get home to Los Angeles and be there for his wife Sarah (Michelle Monaghan) when she gives birth. All it should have taken was a simple first class ride. Unfortunately Peter met Ethan Trembley (Zach Galifianakis) a “weird” guy who claims to be 23 years old, uses dope for a medical condition and wants to be an actor.

Peter suddenly finds himself on the no-flight list and with no suitcase and no wallet. Ethan comes to his rescue by offering him a ride in his rental. A desperate Peter agrees but of course he just might under-estimated how irrational and weird Ethan might be. More things go wrong leading to hilarious moments.

As the story progresses, the audience starts to wonder whether Peter will able to reach Los Angeles in one piece and/or without killing Ethan…

Due Date is 2010-dated comedy from the director of hilarious films The Hangover and Old School. With 3 other co-writers (Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland & Adam Sztykiel) on board, Todd has written and directed a fun road comedy starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis.

Due Date is not as hilarious as The Hangover. Be ready for that. It probably won’t give you that many laughing cramps. But despite a slowish start and some not-so-funny moments, it is a movie that will entertain you and at some parts, it will make you laugh your butt off.

I started enjoying the movie a lot more after the initial 30-35 minutes. While I am not sure Ethan’s “method” for sleeping was really that funny by itself, the dog imitating the owner was hilarious. And the following morning, the movie tunes up its comedy and with the brief addition of Jamie Foxx’s character, it stays hilarious.

My advice? Some parts might be a little dragging but watch it anyway. It is worth your time.

Favorite scenes:

– The “coffee” at Darryl (Jamie Foxx)’s house.

– Ethan’s implications about Darryl and Peter’s wife.

– Everything right before and after Mexico.

Favorite lines:

Ethan (on when Darryl ran into Peter’s wife): February? 9 months ago?

Darryl: 9-10 months ago.

Ethan: 9.

Peter (to Ethan): I’m sorry we drank your father.

Ethan: That’s OK. There’s still plenty of him here. Darryl only made 3 cups of coffee and there is about 8 cups of my dad left here.

Peter (on the phone to his wife’s voice mail): Ever-faithful husband calling from West Texas. Just checking in…. I actually talked to him (Darryl). He told me about the lovely weekend you guys spent together in San Diego……… If there is something you need to tell me…so that I don’t get surprised in the delivery room…

Ethan (throwing his father’s ashes): Dad, you were like a father to me!

Fun notes:

– Co-writer Adam Sztykiel also wrote Made of Honor, a romantic comedy starring Michelle Monaghan and Patrick Dempsey.

– Due Date features Juliette Lewis in a small role as Ethan’s drug-dealer. She also co-starred in Old School.

– The Hangover Part II is in the works.

– Danny McBride makes a funny and annoying appearance as the unhelpful Western Union guy.

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Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan & Vera Farmiga: Preview – Updated!

Posted on January 3, 2011 Written by ripitup

Plot

Soldier Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is given a unique mission: through the help of latest technology, he will go back a little in time, “become” one of the passengers on the train that got bombed that morning. The downside is he only has 8 minutes to identify the bomber. In charge of the operation is Carol Goodwin (Vera Farmiga). If they can find out who the bomber is, they can prevent a second attack from happening. Colter gets to try multiple times but each time he has 8 minutes. And things get even more complicated when he starts having feelings to another passenger (Michelle Monaghan). After all, preventing the first attack or saving these passengers isn’t a part of the official mission…

First Impressions * (This post was written before I saw the movie. My review after seeing the m?vie is here.)

So far I only have the trailer to have an idea and I am not that impressed. The 8-minutes premise is intriguing enough but I am not sure about the “romance” bit. I got the feeling our heroic soldier is going to try to save only Michelle Monaghan’s character and frankly, that is a bit extreme. Why not try to save the whole train? And a couple of 8 minutes for an intense connection? I didn’t exactly buy it.

I suppose we will have to wait and see. But it is going to look a little bad if our heroic soldier only attempts to save one life only. What do you think?

A promising note: Source Code was directed by Duncan Jones, who directed & co-wrote the intelligent sci-fi/drama Moon starring Sam Rockwell.

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The Heartbreak Kid starring Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman and Michelle Monaghan

Posted on July 6, 2010 Written by ripitup

The Heartbreak Kid starring Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman and Michelle Monaghan. Image via: http://www.collider.com/

Eddie (Ben Stiller) has reached 40 and single. Unfortunately for him, his happily married (=wife-obliging) best friend Mac (Rob Corddry) thinks he will end of alone and miserable and his father Doc (Jerry Stiller, the real life father of actor Ben Stiller) is not happy with how many women his son is sleeping with. In between all the trouble they are getting him and his ex-fiancé getting married, he happens to meet a gorgeous blonde by chance. Her name is Lila (Malin Akerman), she is sweet, down-to-earth and seems like the perfect woman.

Eddie ends up marrying Lila. It is not like he could do any better. But during their honeymoon, he starts noticing that Lila is irritable, unstable and well, is a little nuts. It is during the honeymoon that Eddie meets a beautiful brunette by the name of Miranda (Michelle Monaghan). She is there for a family vacation. She is fun, easy-going and totally sane. And she seems like she is into him. Of course she doesn’t know that Eddie is married. So Eddie’s “romantic” holiday is spent between handling Lila and trying to spend as much time as he can with Miranda. But Miranda is bound to find out any time…

The Heartbreak Kid is not your typical romantic comedy. First of all, it is not exactly romantic enough to be even called a romcom. It is a comedy with some romantic moments attached and the only reason romantic scenes are only there to build the ground for more comedy. But you can’t exactly label this one as a sole comedy because well…While it is a funny movie, it is not hilarious all the time. It is fun and certainly easy to watch but you may not exactly pull stomach muscles from laughing. It is rightfully R-rated. After all, Lila is playing a character who knows a lot of weird sex positions but she doesn’t know what missionary means… And then there is Edie’s old dad who talks about p**** a lot. Yep, he uses the exact word.

The Heartbreak Kid starring Ben Stiller, Michelle Monaghan and Malin Akerman — Image via http://kindredsoul.files.wordpress.com

This movie is directed by the Farrelly Brothers; Bobby and Peter Farrelly and co-written by them. The script is based on the 1972’s The Heartbreak Kid.

You are probably familiar with at least some of the work of the brothers: “There is something about Mary”,”Me, myself and Irene”, Stuck on You, Fever Pitch, Shallow Hal…

The Heartbreak Kid is an R-rated, sort of romcom with the sensibility of Me, myself and Irene. But I have to say, I loved the ending.

5.9 on IMDB. A 6 from me.

Buy this film on Amazon.

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