Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

So what is this one about?
I'm gonna tell you the truth. The netflix description of this one is pretty awful. I watched NaNIP and I loved it, but reading the description makes me wish I hadn't. It is just that awful! See,

Norah (Kat Dennings) wants to prove to her friend Tris (Alexis Dziena) that she's capable of having a boyfriend. So at a concert, she grabs the first guy she sees, Nick (Michael Cera), and asks him to pretend they're dating -- but it turns out that Nick is Tris's ex. Despite the fact that they started off as a fauxmance, Nick and Norah's relationship turns real as they traipse through Manhattan, sharing their love of music and all things weird.

vomit! (and, um, "fauxmance"?!?!? yikes!)

And how much did I pay to watch?
Some amount. I've been doing much much better with watching more movies. Actually, upon consulting my rental history I see that I have watched approximately 4 movies in a month. Woah. emmmmmbarassing!

And what did I think?
I think that Michael Cera is the sweetest, most earnest, most adorable guy in Hollywood. Good lord, if I were like maybe 4-8 years younger I would have the sickest crush on him! I mean, at my advanced age I do not have a crush on him, but if he wanted to date me I would have to agree. He is just too. damn. cute!!

I thought this movie was the classic teen girl flick. I mean, what was there not to like? God, does the fact that I liked this so much mean I am more like Norah than Triss?? Does this mean I am the nerdy girl with big boobs (factually inaccurate) who talks about music too much?!! AHHHHH. Nah, I wasn't that girl in high school and I am not that girl now. (I did recognize the voices of a lot of the artists who were on the soundtrack...Band of Horses, whaaaat?!)

I loved that the movie really used New York as another character in the film.(Oh, and did I mention I was on a bus to NYC as I was watching this? That might make my love for it a little unfair) Anyway, it was just like Law and Order or Sex and the City or Flight of the Conchords or any of those New York movies/shows. In fact, wikipedia tells us "this movie was one of the first to be shot in New York City after the State and City of New York enacted a 35 percent tax credit under the "Made in NY" incentive program." See? They wanted NYC to be a main character!

I just thought it was great. I loved that Norah's drunk friend was like a hybrid of Lori and I, and I was genuinely curious to find out what happened as the movie progressed. It had great pacing, and Nick and Norah were SO cute together. Nice, young, honest kids in love (or learning to love).

And lets face it, the fact that Nick drove a Yugo was hilarious, and the cab scene (from the commercials) was hilarious. As were Nick's gay friends.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
Seriously, what was there not to like?

It was awesome, awesome, awesome. This is a dvd that I will be looking for a cheap Target copy of. If anyone sees that Target is doing a $10 copy, let me know and I will snatch it up!

I think it is probably a 10, but just for saftey's sake and because I've only seen it once I will give it a 9. Just go see Nick and Norah... it is so sweet!!!!!

(500) Days of Summer

So what is this one about?
Well, I sort of knew what it was about when I watched it because Washington Post Express 1) had reviewed it and it sounded interesting and 2) had it as the cover for like 297423743927 days as an advertisement. So, in case you haven't heard about this one yet, Netflix will tell us...

When his girlfriend, Summer (Zooey Deschanel), unceremoniously dumps him, greeting-card copywriter and hopeless romantic Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) begins sifting through the year-plus worth of days they spent together, looking for clues to what went awry. As he recalls the good and bad times he spent with the commitment-phobic girl, his heart reawakens to what it cherishes most. Marc Webb directs this uncommon love story.

And how much did I pay to watch?
$12.00 CAD. That's Canadian Dollars for all you out there in blog land who don't frequently visit xe.com and know all the currency abbreviations. Seems like a lot for a matinee, doesn't it? Yeah, and the conversion rate doesn't even really help that much. $12 CAD is $11.09 USD (obv US dollars). Oh yeah, because I watched this in the T-dot with Ylber. huzzzzzzzah!

And what did I think?
What did I think? I think that Zooey Deschanel continues to irritate me. She has absolutely no range as an actress as to the types of roles she takes/characters she plays. As a classic example of the type of "quirky/weird/sexy-hot" of girl she keeps playing I will offer something wikipedia tells us. (Keep in mind, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Tom and Zooey Deschanel is Summer)

"While helping Mckenzie to a cab, Mckenzie tells Summer that Tom likes her. Summer asks if it is true and Tom, after some coaxing from Summer, says that he likes her (but adds "as friends"). Summer calls him "very interesting" and leaves Tom standing there on the sidewalk. The next day at work, she kisses him in the copy room. Once Summer's copies are finished, she simply ignores Tom and leaves the copy room."

And if that isn't just the g.d. essence of Zooey, I don't know what is. "Ooooh, look at me! I'm Zooey, I'm quirky, and unique and every man loves me! I can yank them around and they'll still love me because I am so quirky, and sexy, and unique!!" And, I can understand that. She is gorgeous (at least she is in movies, if you look at the photos of her on wikipedia they are unimpressive) and god, that singing voice. She sings in (500) days, and she also has a musical act with M.Ward. The act is called She and Him and I love their cd. Love, love, love it. And the lyrics that she sings are so beautiful (ie. "Cried all night till there was nothing more, what use am I as a heap on the floor?" and "I'm all outta luck, but what else could I be? I know he's yours and he'll never belong to me again, I did him wrong. So don't brag, keep it to yourself, I did him wrong. I was never (no), never (no), never enough, but I should try, I should try, to toughen up. I listened when they told me, if he burns you let him go. Change is hard, I should know" SOOO pretty!! essssspecially with her lovely voice) ANNNNNNNNNYWAY.

So, I thought that Joseph Gordon-Levitts acting was awesome. He is really quite a talented actor.

The writing in the film was also adorable. Tom's realization that he is in love with Summer and then using the same scenes when he realizes that she is a miserable shrew was classic. And, lets face it, it was pretty funny. AND there was a dance sequence!! How does that not have all the makings of a fabulous movie?

I do want to see it again though, to further formulate my ideas about this movie. I think this review is sufficient for now though....

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
I'll give it a 7. I think I can get behind that number.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

So what is this one about?
This one is about the movie version of my favorite Harry Potter book!! I love the sixth book, it was unquestioned my favorite. (The other favorites were 4 and 2...in that order. You know, just FYI) So, in case you've been living under a rock or (for shame) haven't read the Harry Potter books (come on, just do it. I read them when I was 25!! It is ok!! Just join in the fun!!) I will provide the 'flix descrip...

The sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry kicks off with a bang for young Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) when he inadvertently discovers a mysterious book that sheds light on the sordid life of the evil Lord Voldemort. Preparing for inevitable battle, Harry and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) turn to professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) for help in pinpointing the weakness in Voldemort's forces.

Ta dah!

And how much did I pay to watch?
You know how my mom pays for a lot of movies I watch? Well, when I went to Toronto I accidentally used my parent's credit card to pay for the luggage fee (question: do you realize how incredibly messed up it is to have to pay luggage fee on an international flight because Toronto is considered "domestic" despite the point that you have to check in at the international flight desk?!)--theirs looks just like mine, so she said I could pay her back by paying for Harry Potter.

I think I paid like $12 or $13. I think I went with the student price for me and the adult price for her.

And what did I think?
What did I think?! I thought that I was horrified at what the horrible, atrocious film maker did to my favorite Harry Potter book!!!!! And it doesn't make any damn sense! The fifth movie was my 2nd fave of the movies (I really liked #1 because it was just so magical and whimsical!) it was so dark and evil and scary and unfair, just like the book. Delores Umbridge was the most annoying, worst person ever. And the whole audience hated her! It was a faithful and amazing adaptation of the 5th book (my 4th fave of the series) and David Yates directed it. Man, when I was watching this one (the 6th one) I thought to myself, "Jesus! What sort of half assed, bullshit, nonsense director has mangled my beloved Half Blood Prince so badly?! I hope this shitwad doesn't doesn't have anything more to do with the Harry Potter franchise!!"

Well, joke's on me! You will imagine my horror when I found out that the director was the same as the 5th! A faithful and authentic version of the book. And you will imagine my immense horror when I saw that David Yates is also directing 7, parts 1 and 2!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! Why?! Why?!

So, what was it that I found so offensive in this movie? I will tell you. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (the book) was scary, and slow, and you didn't know what was going to happen (aka) suspenseful, and so sad at the end (SPOILER: Do you know what happens at the end? I don't think I'm actually going to spoiler it, because when I read it I was just so, so sad and shocked!) And I have a very strong emotional association with the book because I was reading it while I was studying abroad in Hungary and then when I was on the train to Ukraine, and back, and on the plane back to the US. And like I said, sitting next to that old couple, with me in the aisle seat, I just couldn't believe the end of the book. I think I even teared up.

But the movie, oh, the movie, was frivolous, and teenager-y and not even serious! The stuff in the book was deadly serious but the movie was just like "oh, teenagers have crushes, and something really big happens at the end but it isn't a big deal because teenagers are emo!" God, it was horrible! And the scene where Harry and Dumbledore go out into the lake wasn't scary at all. Even the book was scary. Man, scary, scary, scary. But the scene in the movie was uninspired.

Even the love stories between Harry and Ginny was uninspired. I mean, who cared?! It didn't even make any sense! And what the hell was that scene in the field outside the burrow?? There were other scary scenes in the book...just. adapt. them!!!

I swear to god. I want to forsake my MA and the entire field I studied to start adapting books into screenplays, because I cannot imagine that it is as hard as everyone seems to think it is. Jesus, the horrible book to movie adaptations (in general) there is just no excuse for them!!

le sigh.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
You wanna know what redeems this movie? I will tell you. Daniel Radcliffe is hot, hot, hot. And Emma Watson is so glorious, and effortless, and angelic. But Daniel Radcliffe is hot. Ginny is nowhere near hot enough for him. And that storyline wasn't even good!

So what redeems the movie is Daniel Radcliffe. So whereas I want to give this movie 4, because I was appalled by it, I cannot, because it is Harry Potter, and it is Daniel Radcliffe.

So I grudgingly give this a 5.

Alls I gots to say is 7 parts 1 and 2 better be better than this horrific adaptation!!! Work. it. OUT David Yates!!!

harrumph.

The Hangover

So what is this one about?
Netflix tells us,

When three friends (Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper) finally come to after a raucous night of bachelor-party revelry, they find a baby in the closet and a tiger in the bathroom. But they can't seem to locate their best friend, Doug (Justin Bartha) -- who's supposed to be tying the knot. Launching a frantic search for Doug, the trio perseveres through a nasty hangover to try to make it to the church on time.

guh oh! Sounds like trouble/fun!

And how much did I pay to watch?
Well, I saw this at the big bad Cinema DeLux, with Christine and Steven and Mel (yes, Mel. Can you believe that? She aint been to the movies in years!) the day I returned from Belgrade in order to stay awake in order to stave off jetlag. Was this a smart decision? Answer: yes.

Oh yeah, how much did I pay? Um, maybe like $10 or $12. I forget.

And what did I think?
So, I picked the Hangover because I needed to watch a movie in order to stay awake. If I had stayed at home I would have fallen asleep--I had been awake for easily two days (Let me give you a piece of unsolicited advice: If you need to do a transatlantic flight at 7:05 am, it is just easier to stay up all night. So, I woke up on Friday and stayed awake all the way to Saturday. Then I arrived back in the USA and stayed up until like 12:30. MORAL--staying awake and getting back on "home time" immediately completely negates any effect of jet lag. I win!). Now, I'd heard the movie was amusing enough, so I thought I'd give it a go.

It was pretty much what I expected. I had hoped that it would be shockingly funny (a la Super Troopers), but sadly it was not. It WAS entertaining enough and I did get some good chuckles. Truthfully, the actors were very funny. Andy, uh, I mean Ed Helms was great and man, his lady was effing mental! Galifianikas was really good, awkward and funny. Even Cooper was pretty good, he plays crazy well. Also, the fat kid with the taser. And the chinese guy who reminded Mel of Steven's dad (I didn't think he seemed NEARLY as amazing as Steven's dad)
See...?

This has clearly gone far off the rails.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
The Hangover is good enough. I'd give it a 6.5 Go see it. Why not?

Bruno

So what is this one about?
Unless you have been living under a rock, you will know that

Flamboyantly gay Austrian television reporter Bruno (Sacha Baron Cohen) stirs up trouble with unsuspecting guests and large crowds through brutally frank interviews and painfully hilarious public displays of homosexuality. An incredible chameleon who completely disappears behind his flaming alter ego, the bold Baron Cohen serves up nonstop laughs in this comedy by successfully rubbing people the wrong way.

And can I just take this moment to point out the fact that the tagline for this movie on the poster is "Borat was so 2006" I will refer to that gem a bit later.

And how much did I pay to watch?
Interestingly enough, I didn't end up paying anything for this one. I am not quite sure why that happened, but I can tell you how it might have. Mike, his girlfriend Lucy, and I were at a party eating yak burgers--yes, like hamburgers, but make out of yak--and we decided we should go see Bruno. Lucy, or Mike, ordered the tickets online, and then when I offered to pay for mine no one would accept my money. I think it evened out because I bought snacks for the three of us. So, essentially, I paid $0 to watch this.

And it was about worth that much.

And what did I think?
Now, maybe this is just the Eurasia-ist in me, but I find it way more ok to make fun of people from Central Asia (I mean, really, it is funny... right?) than I do to stereotype and make fun of gay people. Of course I absolutely realize that Sasha Baron Cohen was probably pointing out that there are idiots in the US who do think that all gay men (specifically) are exactly like Bruno, but I think it wasn't really clear that he was satirizing anything.

Another issue I had with Bruno over Borat was that it seemed SO fake and staged. Who doesn't know who SBC is now, and that Bruno is another one of his characters? The wikipedia article helps to confirm this a little. The entry goes into how SBC was able to pull off some of the "stunts" that were in the movie. For example,

On November 7, while appearing as an extra in a scene for the NBC TV series Medium, Baron Cohen interrupted a scene in character and was removed from the set. Production on the episode was shut down temporarily,^[16] though actor Miguel Sandoval, who was told that a cousin of NBC executive Ben Silverman would appear as an extra in the jury, has stated that he recognized Cohen and played along, commenting, "It's one thing for Borat to go into an antique store in Georgia or Alabama. For Brüno to go on a TV show, he's among insiders. Most people knew who he was."^[17]

Exactly. Leave it up to NBC to not be total idiots. I mean, I guess I realize that the whole thing is fake, but it was just SO obvious that SBC had somehow tricked everyone into participating. And the tricks weren't really the harmless/funny ones that were in Borat. Borat is a good character because he is unintentionally ignorant (a sort of Kazakh Michael Scott) whereas Bruno is a total asshole on purpose who has very few redeeming qualities (more like an Austrian David Brent). [Do you see what I did there? Aren't you impressed?]

The movie existed for shock value only. Everyone in the audience gasped at the same parts...or let me rephrase, some people were laughing hysterically at the parts that I was gasping at. I will give SBC credit for one part that I thought was hilarous. That was the part with Ron Paul. For your convenience--I say that, because I don't think there is really much of a reason to see this one for yourself--here is what happened.

The production team also deceived former presidential candidate Ron Paul into being interviewed by Brüno by posing as an Austrian TV reporter looking to question the congressman about economic issues. According to sources at Slate magazine, the interview starts out normally, but after a staged technical error, Brüno suggests he and Dr. Paul wait in the other room while the crew fixes a light. It is there that Brüno turns on music and begins dancing, which Ron Paul ignores at first. However, as soon as Brüno drops his trousers, the congressman storms out of the room. A spokeswoman for Paul commented on the incident. She said Baron Cohen's people were very deceptive in their tactics. At the time, she thought they were "legitimate" but later confessed to some concern. "I'm familiar with his work, so you can imagine how I feel about it," she said. Jesse Benton, senior vice-president of Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty organization and former campaign spokesman for Paul, said Paul was not familiar with Baron Cohen's program, Da Ali G Show. "If it's not on hard-core financial news, he doesn't follow it," Benton said. But, he added, "It sounds like it's going to be pretty funny."^[18]

Man, what a d-bag!

I also recommend that you check out the wikipedia article (hotlinked to the title of this entry) to see how he pulled off some of the other things in this movie, like the talk show, the army, and the gay cage match. It was quite illuminating.

Finally, to show what sort of animosity can come about from talking about Bruno (though, if you've seen it, you should totally comment and we'll get a little forum action going) please refer to an entry on the Bob and Abe Show blog. (boys, did you like that plug?) You will see yours truly, and a friend of a friend--Augustin--getting into a brawl, even though I was being highly sarcastic the whole time. Here you go.

So that just proves it, doesn't it. Even if you don't like the things that Sasha Baron Cohen does, everyone still talks about them. I guess that means he is a pretty good 'entertainer'.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
Personally, I guess I just found the movie fairly offensive, though i don't really care. I mean, if people found it funny, that is ok. But I didn't really like it.

4.