Finding Bliss

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: An award winning film school grad (Leelee Sobieski) discovers that the only way she's going to be able to make her feature film debut is by editing films for the adult film industry.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Leelee Sobieski, Matt Davis, Donnamarie Recco, Denise Richards, Kristen Johnston, Jamie Kennedy, Mircea Monroe, P.J. Byrne, Time Bagley, Caroline Aaron

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. For a movie about people who f#@* each other for a living, it's really cute! Like a puppy doing a bunny.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: It has dildos galore, and you'd have to be really horny not to think dildos are funny.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If, like me, you never wanted to see Jamie Kennedy whip it out, there is one part that could make you a little queasy. The good news is that I'm 99% sure it's a prosthetic. Then again, if that 1% margin is actually the case, it would explain a lot about how he's made it so far in his career... Well, that, and Son of the Mask.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Here's a useless piece of trivia I've somehow kept in the recesses of my mind for the past 13 years: Julie Davis, the director of this film used to work as an editor in the porn industry to pay for her filmmaking habit. Which gets this movie the award for Most Unlikely True Story of the Year.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Mircea Monroe really stands out for me. I can see her becoming an A-list rom-com actress competing for roles with Malin Akerman. She has the looks and the comedy chops. You heard it here first, people. Check back in 2 years.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Either the directing is really ugly, or Julie Davis purposely made her film look like a B-movie from the 80s that was shot after hours at a porn studio to reflect the story she is telling about a girl making a B-movie after hours at a porn studio.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Loaded with cursing and sex, delving surprisingly deeper than it seems like it's going to go. And then deeper and deeper until the romantic storyline becomes filled with tension, and you just want so badly for it to... Ahhhh.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: Now that I have my wits about me again, I'd like to apologize for what just happened in the script section. That was meant to be private. I'm so incredibly embarrassed and ashamed. Oh my God, my mother reads this blog.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/finding-bliss/1426113/trailers

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Chloe

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When a woman (Julianne Moore) finds out her husband (Liam Neeson) is cheating, she hires an escort (Amanda Seyfried) to hit on him and see how he responds.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Max Thieriot, Nina Dobrev, R.H. Thompson

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! It's in the same genre as Fatal Attraction, but with a twist... and some hot girl on girl action.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: I'm not sure if that was on the top of its list of things to do.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Not cry, but definitely squirm.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Men like to say that women are crazy, but I find that when women act crazy in relationships, a lot of the time it is their men's behavior that is driving them to it. This movie has my vote for the Best Depiction of How Men Make Women Lose their Minds Award.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Amanda Seyfried has the most incredible eyes. All she has to do is tilt her head down and look up, and you will believe anything she says.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Most of the time you don't notice it, and then there's the part where Atom Egoyan slowly pans Julianne Moore's naked body while she's in the shower, and then, in case you missed it on the first pass, comes back to a shot of her breasts and her long pointy nipples, and just rests his camera there for a good 10 seconds for absolutely no reason... like a baby grabbing for his mother's teat when he's no longer in the mood for milk.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Erotically thrilling.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/chloe/1430056/trailers

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Broken Embraces

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A blind screenwriter (Lluis Homar) looks back on the time when he used to be a film director, and how that all came to a tragic end.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Lluis Homar, Penelope Cruz, Blanca Portillo, Jose Luis Gomez, Tamar Novas, Ruben Ochandiano, Angela Molina, Lola Duenas, Carmen Machi, Kiti Manver, Chus Lampreave

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. For fans of Almadovar's films, like me, this one will likely be classified as not his best one.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There is not as much of that brilliant, squirmy, dark humor that makes you feel like a terrible person for enjoying it, as in his other films.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: In true Almadovar style, the saddest part is when a dead person comes back to life.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: This is one of those films that gets nominated a lot because with the combination of Pedro Almadovar and Penelope Cruz, people expect it to. By the same token, it doesn't win a lot, because it's not as good as people expect Almadovar and Cruz to be together.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: There's a reason why Almadovar has made Penelope Cruz part of his regular cast. And this time, she shows her breasts, too. But the true lead is Lluis Homar, who gives a beautifully understated portrayal of a blind man, as well as one who can see.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Because of the film within the film, there are many opportunities for the director to play with the look and graininess, differentiating when we're watching life versus film versus video. Almadovar uses each of these looks in obvious ways to show us that he knows what he's doing.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I'm still not sure that anyone cares to watch stories about the lives of filmmakers. They always come off self-indulgent, even when they're Spanish filmmakers. But the biggest problems this script has are that most of the twists are predictable, and the funny, weird, awkward scenes are few and far from hilarious.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/broken-embraces/28978/trailers

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Waltz with Bashir

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary with subtitles about trying to remember being a soldier in the first Israeli-Lebanon war of the early 80s... Have I sold you on it yet?

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: The writer-director, Ari Folman, and a bunch of his friends, therapists, and battle-mates.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. If you weren't scared off by the parts of the description that mention animation, documentary, subtitles, war, Israel, or Lebanon, then you are probably into highbrow, art movies about serious matters that make you think about what they're trying to say instead of just telling you, and you should absolutely see this movie because you will think it's a masterpiece.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Has Beirut ever been funny?

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Only if you cry at trivial little things like genocide.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won almost all of the Israeli Academy Awards, so it follows that it is Israel's official submission for the foreign language category at the Oscars.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I was given a program at my screening, which included a director's bio that describes how he went off to travel the world for a year, and after two weeks, he realized he hated traveling, so he settled down in Southeast Asia and spent the rest of the year writing letters to his friends pretending to be in all the different places he was supposed to have gone. His point was that his ability to use his imagination to fabricate these letters was what lead him to decide to become a filmmaker. My point is that I don't buy that this is a documentary. I think the use of animation is the perfect cover-up for the fact that this story and these characters are in part or in whole totally made up. Now that that's been cleared up, I can tell you that the acting is fine.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The animation is captivating from the first frame to the last.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Another way in which the writer covers up the fact that this story is (allegedly-- according to me) invented and fabricated, is by starting the movie out with a fascinating tid-bit about how the human memory works. One of the characters explains how when the mind can't remember something, it fills in the rest with whatever fits into the parts it remembers. This is then used to justify the fact that all the first person accounts of what supposedly happened in the various battles, 20 years ago, could also be in part or in whole totally made up. That said, the way in which this film examines the faultiness of memory is what I found most intriguing about it.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/waltz%20with%20bashir/trailers

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Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Zack and Miri (Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks), who have been best friends since the first grade and are currently roommates, realize that the only way they're going make their rent and get their heat and water turned back on is to make a porno... What they don't realize is that sex is called "F*#cking" because it always f*#ks everything up.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes, Gerry Bednob, Jeff Anderson, Katie Morgan, Ricky Mabe, Traci Lords, Justin Long, Brandon Routh, Tisha Campbell-Martin

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Don't expect a Judd Apatow film, just because it stars Seth Rogen. This is a Kevin Smith film, with Kevin Smith humor-- which can be recognized by the fact that there are just as many swear words, but only half the cleverness. That said, if you like Kevin Smith, this is one of his better movies, and you should see it.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Again, if you like Kevin Smith, you'll laugh a lot. For people with higher standards, there are just enough laughs so you don't leave angry-- which is nice.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but there is a scene which rivals 2 girls 1 cup, so that's gross. But the good news is the scene in this movie loses the challenge.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Title Most Likely to Garner Free Publicity from People Least Likely to see it.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: You always forget how funny Jason Mewes is, because he never does anything besides Kevin Smith films and rehab. Craig Robinson, who has been creating a signature style since Knocked Up and Pineapple Express, officially catapults himself into the comedy elite with this role. And Elizabeth Banks is prettier than she's ever been before-- which is especially strange considering these characters have no money for water to shower or electricity to blow dry, and yet her curls are always perfect.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: I have to say, this is the area in which Kevin Smith has shown the most improvement over the years. I used to get annoyed by the fact that he wasn't upgrading his indy-style shooting to match his studio-style paychecks. But this one actually looks like a studio movie, and nothing about the directing annoyed me.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: If you know the title-- which you do-- it's mostly predictable. The set-up works well and is originally done, but once they get into making the porn there's not much that happens that you didn't see coming. (Pun unintended, and yet perfectly be-fitting.)

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: This movie is rated R despite the fact that it's about shooting a porno because they manage to keep it clean... save the full frontal nudity and the scenes about people doing it.

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