Movie Review Compilation

In a surprising feat of filmgoing dexterity, I have seen 4 movies in the theaters in the past 10 days. The Hangover. The Ugly Truth. Julie & Julia. (500) Days of Summer. Four movies that couldn't be more different if they tried. Four movies that were all pretty good (well, except for The Ugly Truth which wasn't good but was much better than expected).

Arriving a little late to the party, my friends and I finally saw The Hangover in theatres. I had resigned myself to not seeing it until it made its way to the top of my Netflix queue. But lo! a visit from a college friend and the desire to drink in a movie theatre (thank you, MovieTavern) precipitated our seeing it on Friday night. The casting director deserves major kudos. This movie certainly launched the three male leads into another stratosphere of their carer. I have never really had the desire to go to Vegas before and now I do (that probably wasn't the message of the movie).

As I said The Ugly Truth wasn't good, but it didn't deserve the 0 stars it received in its review from Rolling Stone Magazine. It was your standard romantic comedy and it followed your standard romantic comedy trajectory. No surprises. Nothing unexpected. But for what it was (and for the record, it was an excuse for a bunch of girlfriends to get together and watch a movie), it did a good job.

NB: Flo Rida's "Right Round" played during the credits of both The Hangover and The Ugly Truth. I found that particularly strange and still do. I don't have anything particularly profound to say about it, but I felt it was worth pointing out.

Julie & Julia was fantastic! I tend to be ahead of the curve in hearing about films in production starring Amy Adams. So I have been waiting for this film to hit theaters for a long time. Thankfully, Jay was as excited to see it as I was (although honestly can't think of anyone to whom this film wouldn't appeal). This is not a chick flick. It is a bona fide foodie flick. This is a flick for anyone who knows deep down in their heart that butter makes any food better. I could ramble on and on about how impressive Meryl Streeps performance was and how, unfortunately, Julie's (Amy Adam's) story paled in comparison to that of Julia Child. I think, however, the experience of watching this movie is best summed up by my best friend Amy who turned to me during the credits and said "She, [Meryl], deserves an award. She should win The Julia Child Award for ... being Julia Child!" And she does.

Last, but not least, (500) Days of Summer. The trailer and reviews looked good enough to warrant a trip to Hampton to see it. I love my home, but I do not love that we rarely get independent films at our local theater. This movie was well worth the trip. Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were wonderful together. It was a wonderful deconstruction of the romantic comedy genre. The constant shifts in time (always within the 500 days allotted to the timeline of this film) were somewhat confusing. It was frustrating not to remember the different days on which different events happened. However, I would posture that it was ultimately unimportant. I love romantic comedies at the same time that I hate them. They perpetuate stereotypes and cliches that drive me nuts, while also spoon-feeding us all warm, fuzzy feelings. In my opinion (500) Days of Summer did for romantic comedies what Scream did for horror movies - use the genre to tell a legitimate story in its own right, while also turning the genre on its head. To be sure, Scream was far less subtle and significantly more brilliant, but (500) Days of Summer receives credit where credit is due.

Unless I see the 6th Harry Potter movie in the coming weeks, I don't expect to have more movies to write about. However, the one-two punch of figs given to me by my boss Tim and a pie cookbook loaned to me by my boss MK warrants an attempt at a fig and marscapone cream pie. More to come on that soon ...