Triple Feature

I know it's been a while since out last post. I blame Liz, her movie selection has been a bit off. So, here is my attempt to make it up to you. A chick-flick triple feature of sorts.  Not my genre of choice, but these movies were so good that I had to tell you about them.  

 What do a step-ford wife, a stripper and a nine year old orphan have in common?

 Butter.  
 In small-town Iowa, an adopted girl discovers her talent for butter carving and finds herself pitted against an ambitious local woman in their town's annual contest. from imdb.com

Butter is perfection. Amazing story. Great cast - who knew Olivia Wilde could work a pole like that? Excellent mixture of comedy and drama. Something for any group who can't make up their mind.

Girl in Progress is a movie that I would totally watch with my mom.

As single mom Grace juggles work, bills, and her affair with a married doctor, her daughter, Ansiedad, plots a shortcut to adulthood after finding inspiration in the coming-of-age stories she's reading for school. from imdb.com

It's kind of like Juno without the pregnant teen. It drags a bit in the beginning but Eva Mendes will make you thank the lord that she isn't your mom. This is the best role I've ever seen her in.

And I have definitely saved the best for last. For all of you that loved The Hangover, Bridesmaids and Horrible bosses this movie is for you.

BACHELORETTE

Three friends are asked to be bridesmaids at a wedding of a woman they used to ridicule back in high school. From imdb.com

This is not the Disney Princess version of a bachelorette party. These girls are insanely damaged/flawed/messed up in the head and it's impossible to take your eyes off them.


They're more like people you know than characters in a wedding movie. So get some girlfriends together and watch this. ASAP!

Dirty Girl

The Story: It's 1987 and Danielle, the high school 'Dirty Girl', is running away. With her is chubby, gay Clarke, a bag of flour called    Joan and a Walkman full of glorious '80s tunes.
                                                                   From imdb.com


Hello kids, it's been far too long since my last posting. It's not because we forgot you, we would never. It's more like our movie choices have been sucking lately. Liz still won't forgive me for taking her to see The Raven, and don't even get me started on Drive or Prometheus. But fear not, today I have brought you an unexpected gem.  

I added Dirty Girl to our Netflix Que a few months ago and completely forgot about it. I'm not even sure why. Anyway, I put it on when I got home from work this morning thinking I'd nap along to the stylish tunes of Pat Benatar, Melissa Manchester and Joan Jett, but that didn't happen.

From the moment Danielle (Juno Temple) hit the screen I was captivated by her no-nonsense attitude. Then Clarke (Jeremy Dozier) came into the picture and I was sold. They're like the Will & Grace of the '80s, only Grace dresses like a whore and cusses like a sailor. I loved every second of Danny and Clarke's journey, especially Nicholas D'Agosto's striptease. But it's not all fun and games for our fearless duo so keep the Kleenex handy.

Temple and Dozier have an electric chemistry that easily makes this film my new favorite road trip flick. 

If You Liked: Overnight Delivery, Charlie Bartlett, It's Kind of a Funny Story. 

What Goes Up

The Story: When New York newsman Campbell Babbett (Steve Coogan) is sent from the city to the sticks to cover a local hero celebration, he becomes a hero of sorts after he takes interest in a group of discontented, confused high school students. But soon, Campbell gets entangled in a web of lies and misplaced sexual desire. Helmer Jonathan Glatzer's wry feature debut set in the 1980s co-stars Molly Shannon, Hilary Duff, Olivia Thirlby and Josh Peck. From Netflix.com

I've never been very good at explaining this movie. It's like the Breakfast Club meets Empire Records meets Imaginary Heroes meets St. Elmo's fire, and yet it's like nothing I've really seen before.

Also, I'm a Hilary Duff fan. There I admit it. She's a total nut in this film. LOVE IT!





 

Summer School

The Story: When school lets out for the summer, gym teacher Freddy Shoop (Mark Harmon) can't wait to hightail it to Hawaii with his girlfriend for a vacation. But when the teacher who's supposed to teach remedial English (director Carl Reiner) wins the lottery, Shoop gets roped into the job. The misfit students aren't too happy to be there, either, so Shoop resorts to bribery to get them to come to class and crack the books From Netflix.com






I found this movie on a family vacation. It was the only thing that played on the movie channel and I'm not much for family vacations. By the end of the trip I found a rental store that sold it, and Summer School has been making me laugh ever since. So watch, and enjoy.

 

The Incredibles

The Story: Bob Parr, a.k.a. Mr. Incredible, tries to cope as a normal civilian after he and the rest of the world's superheros are forced into retirement. When an opportunity for a some hero moonlighting turns out to be more than Bob can handle alone, his 'super' family goes on a mission to rescue him from an new evil villan.

The Incredibles is one of the best things to ever come out of Pixar Animation Studios. (Second only to Toy Story, maybe) It has action and adventure mixed perfectly with an incredibly funny wit. Its story is universal, and its characters are just so darn lovable!

Not buying it? Well, neither was Allie. She use to get really furious when ABC Family played The Incredibles because she knew it meant 2 hours of cartoon watching, and if it's not Disney, Allie doesn't want it. But then, one fateful day, that is so vividly pressed in my memory, we caught TI from the very beginning. Allie watched, at first only because she had no choice. Then something happened...a laugh. Followed by another laugh and another. Pretty soon Allie realized something that I had known for years. The Incredibles is TOTALLY WICKED! Don't believe us? Try it out for yourself, if you dare.

If You Liked: Toy Story, Monsters Inc., WALL-E, A Bug's Life

Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar

The Story: Three drag queens on a road trip from New York to Hollywood are forced to spend the weekend in a small country town.

Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes in drag. If that doesn’t make you want to watch this movie, then I don’t know what else to say.

Allie recently found To Wong Foo in a sale bin at FYE for two bucks and totally freaked. Needless to say, we now own it. Our collection of the best comedies of the 90’s is one step closer to being complete!


Why do we like TWF so much? Many reasons, but most importantly it is mind blowing to see how well the dudes from Road House and Blade can master the snap. I didn’t even realize that John Leguizamo was the Latin drag queen until we were twenty minutes into it the other day. There’s also some pretty funny dialog. Oh, and there’s an actual uplifting story in there too, so next time it’s movie night with the girls, pull this one out of the comedy section at the Buster. You won’t be disappointed.

If You Liked: Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion, First Wives Club, The Birdcage, SHAG

Zombieland

The Story: An anxiety-ridden nerd teams up with a wild warrior to survive in a post-apocalyptic world that's filled with flesh-eating zombies.

For most of my life, I have avoided the zombie movie bandwagon, avoiding films like 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead. I know people who swear that my life is incomplete with out them, but to tell you the truth, I’m just not that interested. Zombies are ugly and gross and all RAAH! I don’t need to see someone eating someone else’s intestines. No thank you. So, imagine how surprised I was at myself when I popped Zombieland into the DVD player. Very surprised.


There are two reasons why I decided to watch Zombieland. One, Allie liked the cover box and decided we should watch it. Allie has a thing for movie covers. If it looks good, she’ll watch it. If someone makes a complete and utter flop of a film about day lilies in their garage on a hundred dollar budget with the worst actors ever, Allie will watch it knowing all this as long as the cover box is visually appealing. I blame cover boxes and posters for 90% of the movies on the Do Not Watch list. The second reason I choose to watch Zombieland is even simpler. Nothing else was coming out at the Buster that weekend.

So, into the DVD player went a movie that I was already pre-programmed to hate, and you know what? I love-loved it. If approached with the right attitude and narrator, zombies are hilarious. Watching Woody Harrelson bash in their skulls with a banjo is pretty entertaining as well. What impressed me most about Zombieland, however, was the fact that there was a pretty good plot tied in with all of the gruesomeness. Plus, the four main characters are likable and real. Zombieland rocked.

We give Zombieland an A plus for being a movie that anyone can enjoy. It’s been out on DVD for over six months, and I’ve never once had a customer say anything negative about it. Ever. That is a rarity. People hate on everything except for Zombieland and The Lion King. Go figure.

Sugar & Spice

The Story:  When high school cheerleader Diane gets knocked up and needs money to make ends meet, her squadmates step in to save the day. Using their protean cheerleading skills, the girls devise a plan to rob a grocery store. Degree of difficulty? 10. But, disguised in doll masks, the squad successfully pulls off the heist -- that is, until their "accomplishment" goes to their heads. Netflix.com

Some great movies are built on the solid foundation of a great script. Some great movies are great due to award winning casts or are the brainchildren of brilliant directors. Sugar & Spice falls into a different category: great movies based on a brilliant idea. Cheerleaders robbing a bank. Does it get any better than that?

Sure, it's no Oscar contender, but I love this movie. It's ridiculously funny and one of my favorite cheerleader movies, second only to Fired Up!

If the concept doesn't blow you away, the cast might. First off, who doesn't love James Marsden? He's hilarious, especially when he's playing a dumb jock. Marley Shelton plays pregnant head cheerleader far better than she does serious cop. After Eleventh Hour I forgot how funny she could really be. Then you've got Rachel Blanchard, Melissa George, Marla Sokoloff, and Mena Suvari to round out the squad. Basically, it's everyone who was popular in early 2000.

I need to add this to my collection because it always makes me smile.

If You Liked: Jawbreaker, Fired Up!, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Say It Isn't So

Empire Records

  The Story: Empire Records captures a day in the life of a record store that doubles as a meeting place for young slackers, dreamers and doers. When a clerk (Rory Cochrane) gambles away the store's cash, the boss (Anthony LaPaglia) tries to recoup his losses. Meanwhile, flirty Gina (Renee Zellweger) provides a counterpoint to love-struck Corey (Liv Tyler), who's crushing on a co-worker. from Netflix.com

On this, the day that my Blockbuster closes for good, I bring you my favorite movie of all times. I know, some of you think that Four Brothers holds this title. Don't get me wrong, I love that movie, but Empire rocks my world. 

I don't remember when I discovered Empire, but I am always in the mood to watch it. It never fails to lift my spirits and make me smile. So I demand that you give it a shot. You can thank me later.


More reasons to love this movie, it has the best soundtrack ever. It has an amazing cast (best Renee Zellweger movie) and it's totally quoteable.


                                     DAMN THE MAN! SAVE THE EMPIRE!!

Take Me Home Tonight

 

The Story: From the writers of "That '70s Show" comes this retro dramatic comedy set a decade later, in the financial boom of the late 1980s, about a recent college grad trying to figure out what to do with his life. Amid the goings-on at a raucous Labor Day party, brilliant but underemployed Matt Franklin (Topher Grace) learns a slew of lessons about life and love in this ensemble-cast film starring Anna Faris, Dan Fogler and Teresa Palmer. from netflix.com

I've been counting down the days for this one to come out. Just my luck, our movie theater never got it. They prefer to play one superhero movie on five screens, like that makes sense. 

Anyways, I finally got to see TMHT in Burbank. Thank you Marriott! It was TOTALLY worth the wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved everything about this movie. The soundtrack was epic. I love love Topher Grace in everything he's in! I think that Teresa Palmer ( She was Number 6 in I am Number 4) is one of my new favorite actresses. Dan Fogler made me laugh so hard my sides were hurting. His dance off is superb. 

Anna Farris plays Topher's twin sister and it was nice to see her play something other than a dumb blonde. She actually seemed normal, and I liked it. Also, I need to see her and Chris Pratt in more movies together. Some of the funnest moments came from their scenes.

My favorite thing about TMHT is the story. Pretty much anyone can relate to being fresh out of college and not knowing who you are or what you want to do with your life. 



You can find it on DVD July 19th.

If you liked: Can't Hardly Wait, Adventureland, Empire Records, It's Kind of a Funny Story,

Peep World

A and I did a little traveling together last week, which we always enjoy. What did we do on our vaycay you might be tempted to ask? Did we hit the beach? The pool? The clubs? No. Despite our best efforts, we ended up doing what we always do on vacation. We took the opportunity of in-room movie channel to catch up on a few movies we missed seeing in theaters.

Pathetic, I know. Bygones. (I've been watching a lot of Ally McBeal lately.)

First up was Take Me Home Tonight, which we'll try to get to later in the week. Today I want to talk about the second movie we watched, Peep World.

Peep World is a B movie that Allie recommended we watch. To be honest, Allie's B movie recommendations have been a little swing and miss lately, but Peep World had me at Sarah Silverman.

The movie follows a day in the life of the Meyerwitz family as they prepare for their father's birthday dinner. To complicate matters, because matters need to be complicated, they are also dealing with the fall out from the publication of their little brother's book 'Peep World.' In the book, Nathan (little brother) spills the beans on many family secrets and paints his three siblings in a less than flattering light.

Peep World presents a cornucopia of weird and quirky characters. It's refreshingly funny. Mostly because its a group of some of the best character actors today, Rainn Wilson, Judy Greer, Tarajia P. Henson, Kate Mara and Michael C. Hall, to name a few.

My only complaint was that it ended too soon. So, if you find yourself at a Marriott this week, give Peep World a try. If not, it's scheduled to be released on DVD next month.

Eulogy

The Story: When Katie’s grandfather passes away, she’s given the daunting task of writing his eulogy. She turns to the quirky members of her dysfunctional family for help, but they’ve each got their own problems to worry about.

Eulogy is an absurdly hilarious black comedy that keeps us laughing every time we watch it. The plot seems simple, but it gets more and more interesting as Katie’s wacky family members start one fight after another. These people will make anyone with crazy siblings feel totally normal. They’re like a train wreck that you just can’t help but watch. Even the painfully embarrassing screens are hard to pass up on, and we can’t stand watching people embarrass themselves.

There are so many things that make Eulogy a great film. It’s got an all-star ensemble cast. It’s totally quote worthy, and the humor is spot on.

The thing we like most about it, however, is that every time we watch it we find something we missed before, some little treasure that makes it funny in a whole new way. We so need screenwriter Michael Clancy to make some more movies like this one!

 

If You Liked...
Death At A Funeral, Little Miss Sunshine, Four Christmases, You Can’t Take It With You, State and Main

Meet Bill

The Story:  Bill's life sucks. His wife is cheating on him, and he waists his days away working a dead-end job for his father-in-law. With the help of an overly confident teenager and a gorgeous lingerie saleswoman, Bill rebels against his miserable existence and decides to chase his dream.


Watching Bill's life unravel is extremely entertaining. The worse it gets, the more you really feel for the guy. Sure he's fat and sort of a wimp. His life hasn't gone the way he thought it could, and that makes Bill a guy we can all relate to.

Not only does MB give us a pathetic hero that we can root for, but it also provides a whole host of jerks we can hate, his stuck-up in-laws, his cheating wife, and her TV anchor man boyfriend.

What really seals the deal for us on MB is the casting. It has a great group of actors playing the kinds of roles they were meant to play. We love Elizabeth Banks as the villain and, shockingly enough, Jessica Alba is pretty funny too. Who knew?

It's hard to do this movie justice, but its a great comedy with a really good story, so just trust us.

If You Liked...
Office Space, Four Christmases, Saving Silverman, Because I Said So, According to Greta, Charlie Bartlet

Role Models

The Story: Danny hates everything and everyone. After a really bad day at work, on top of being dumped by his girlfriend, Danny and his friend, Wheeler, get arrested for destroying property. Sentenced to 150 hours of community services, they’re stuck mentoring two kids who make jail look like fun.

 If you haven’t seen Role Models yet¸ we have just one question for you.

What are you doing with your life?

Get off the couch. Drive to Blockbuster and rent it. Now. Seriously, you will not be sorry.

RM is one of those movies that use crude humor in all the best ways. It’s obscene without being repulsive. . There’s also some pretty great physical comedy, but they don’t take it so far that it becomes ridiculous.

We also have to give a shout out to Paul Rude, one of our favorite comedic leads. We loved him in Overnight Delivery, Clueless, and Forgetting Sarah Marshal. He really can do no harm in a good comedy. We can't wait to see Our Idiot Brother, but RM allowed him to bring something new to the table, which is his writing. Albeit, a majority of the lines for the film were improvised due to the writers’ strike, we would definitely like to see pen some more screenplays.

Two more reasons to love Role Models, it introduced us to Jane Lynch, if you love her in Glee she will rock your world in RM. Secondly, Bobbie J Thompson. This little kid is freaking amazing. He steals every scene he’s in. I can’t believe that they got away with some of the things he said, but I loved every minute of it.

                                          !WARNING!
There are some definite potty mouths in this movie, so be prepared

If You Liked...
The Hangover, Superbad, Fired Up!, Forgetting Sarah Marshall

The Game Plan

There are only so many cartoons that I can handle watching a work, so I put this on one night. I ended up paying more attention to it then the customers. Since then I have totally loved this movie. Its completely family friendly and won't leave you in severe pain like Spongebob or Hannah Montana.

The story: A famously flamboyant NFL star finds out he has a daughter. She shows up one day at his doorstep with a note saying that her mother will be back in a month.

Not only is Dwane Johnson lovely to look at, but he is absolutely hilarious as the oh-my-god-what-do-I-do-with-an-eight-year-old new dad. The always fabulous Kyra Sedgewick and Roselyn Sanchez also star in TGP. These ladies are great in everything they do. But Madison Peltis absolutely steals the spot light in this movie. She plays Peyton, the daughter, and is constantly putting The Rock in his place. Madison displays talent far beyond her years. I'll  be keeping my eye on this little one.

If You Liked: Rebound, The ToothFairy, Little Giants, The Pacifier

Lone Star State of Mind

One of my fellow grad assistants came into the office the other day quoting this movie, which made me remember how much I like it.

"Them boots cost more than my damn pinky finger, Earl."

Sorry. Had to get that out of my system.

Here's the basic story.
Good guy Earl gets roped into helping out his fiance/step-sister's half-wit cousin Junior, who accidently robbed a drug dealer. Earl ends up giving the cash back to the wrong drug dealers and has to get it back. Oh yeah, and the man who killed Earl's father has just been released from prison and is hell bent on tracking down Earl, who testified against him.

LSSM was never released in theaters, so I'm not surprised if you missed it. Still, it's available on Netflix and most likely at your local video store.  Here are a few reasons to like it.

1. It has a good cast. Joshua Jackson, Jamie King, DJ Qualls, Thomas Haden Church, and John Mellencamp.  Seriously, John Mellencamp.

2. It's hilarious. It’s one of those movies where you’re all, ‘I can’t believe I’m laughing at this,’ but you just can’t stop. Jaime King beats the crap out a red neck hillbilly with bad teeth. Who doesn’t want to see that?

3. Having grown up in Mississippi, A and I tend to be critical of movies that portray Southerners in anything but an accurate light. One bad accent and we’re done with you. LSSOM keeps it real, ridiculously real. We know people like this.

Here's a clip of the opening scene.



If You Liked...
Pineapple Express, The Whole Nine Yards, Raising Arizona

The Bounty Hunter

Rating: PG-13
Length: 110 minutes
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Released: 2010
Staring: Jennifer Aniston & Gerard Butler

What It's About...
Milo is an ex-cop turned bounty hunter whose luck changes when his boss offers him five thousand dollars to arrest his ex-wife for jumping bail. Bring in her in turns out to be harder than he expected, especially since he's not the only one after her.

Why We Like It...
Allie and I finally both had the same night off and were planning on spending it at the local Malco. When I opened the newspaper to get the movie show times for the weekend I was a quickly disappointed. Nothing was on that I wanted to see. C'est la vie. No?

So, we did what any self-respecting movie lovers would do, we went anyway. We ended up seeing The Bounty Hunter, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was good, and cute, and funny, everything you'd expect from a romantic comedy without all the cheesy, and sometimes painfully embarrassing, crap we hate about them.

The Bounty Hunter is delightful and not just because Gerard Butler gets punched in the balls by Jennifer Aniston, twice. It hits all the right beats without running too long, and most importantly, I didn't feel like it was a movie I'd already seen. So, we give TBH an A plus for original concept and for bringing back the hate in the love/hate relationships that make romantic comedies great.

If You Liked...
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Break Up, You've Got Mail, The Rundown

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Rating: PG
Length: 104 minutes
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2009
Staring: Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Joan Cucask & John Goodman

What It's About...
A debt-ridden material girl takes a job at a financial magazine to get in good with the publisher.

Why We Like It...
Allie prides herself on her amazing action movie collection. If there is a movie about blowing things up, she has either seen it or owns it. Murder, mystery, cop, horror, slasher, and action are basically the only genre’s she pays attention to; but as contrite as this sounds she has a confession of her own to make. There is a SMALL group of chick-flicks that she really likes to watch; and for some reason or another, Confessions of a Shopaholic is one of them.

First of all, Hugh Dancy is dreamy and she will watch any movie that he is in. Evening, Coach, Adam, Blood and Chocolate, she’s seen them all. Nevertheless, Confessions gets and A plus for Isla Fisher’s portrayal of Rebecca Bloomwood. It is easy to identify with Miss Bloomwood, and her inability to take her own advice as the Girl in the Green Scarf. I’ll admit that it was a little silly at parts; because I definitely didn’t believe Joan Cusack was old enough to be her mother. But I cheered on Miss Bloomwood through every part of her journey.

If You Liked...
Bride Wars, 27 Dresses, Miss Congeniality

TiMER

Rating: R
Length: 99 minutes
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Released: 2009
Staring: Emma Caulfield (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Michelle Borth, & Desmond Harrington

What It's About...
In this comedic fantasy, science has facilitated the search for a soul mate via biotechnological implants that count down to the moment one is supposed to meet his or her match. But Oona is worried: She's nearly 30, and her TiMER isn't ticking yet. Will her dream guy get snatched up by someone else? (Netflix)

Why We Like It...
I love this movie! I LOVE love this movie. It's an Indie with actors you've probably never heard of, but it is so good. It is extremely well-written. It's hilarious. And it is most definitely the best movie I've seen this summer.

TiMER has a bit of a sci-fi twist: man has created a technology that will tell you who the love of your life is and when you're going to meet that person. Allie and I aren't usually into fantasy stuff, but the world created in TiMER is one that doesn't seem too far fetched. This world also allows the film to raise some interesting ideas and themes on love.

We give TiMER an A+ for story. Yeah, we've talked about it already, but we liked it that much. By the end, Allie was so into this movie that she was yelling at the TV, which is something that our mom does that we both hate. I was so caught up in the story that I was totally surprised by the ending that I had already seen coming, if that makes since. Also, we have to add that we both highly enjoyed the sister and her inappropriate humor.

If You Liked...
The Proposal, Only You, Blind Date, The Invention of Lying

Overnight Delivery

Rating: PG-13
Length: 87 minutes
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Released: 1998
Staring: Paul Rudd, Reese Witherspoon, & Christine Taylor

What It's About...
When Wyatt suspects his longtime girlfriend of cheating, he sends her a pretty nasty dear John package. The next day, he learns it was all a big misunderstanding. With the help of a classmate/stripper, Wyatt must travel across country to see his girlfriend before she opens the package or their relationship is over.

Why We Like It...
We decided to kick things off with this one because it's one of our favorite movies. Usually, our recommendation goes something like this, "It's good. You'll like it. Trust us." In case that doesn't work for you, we'll try to do better.

First of all, it's laugh-out-loud funny. Reese and Paul are comedy gold together. They give the audience a beautiful mixture of physical and verbal comedy. Second, there's a story line, and it works. So many comedies today seem to rely on Vince Vaughn talking fast or Will Ferrel acting like an idiot. Don't get us wrong, we love Will and Vince, but it's nice to take a break and actually care about a movie because we like the hero and we have to find out what's going to happen next to him. OD does that for us, and the best part about it is that no matter how bad things seem to be for both the hero and the villain, there's always something worse waiting just around the corner. The last two reasons why we love this movie are, one, Sarah Silverman's in it and two, Christine Taylor's performance as a bimbo, Marsha Brady, total wench of a girlfriend is totally fantastic. So, trust us, it's amazing.

If You Liked...
Just Married, Forces of Nature, Just Friends, The Proposal