Monte Carlo

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A case of mistaken identity sends a random girl from Texas (Selena Gomez) to Monte Carlo with her two friends (Leighton Meester & Katie Cassidy) in place of an English heiress (Selena Gomez).

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Selena Gomez, Katie Cassidy, Leighton Meester, Luke Bracey, Cory Monteith, Pierre Boulanger, Catherine Tate, Andie MacDowell, Brett Cullen, Christophe Malavoy, Guilio Berruti, Bruno Abraham-Kremer

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. On a couch with your girlfriends and a good sense of humor, this experience could be a lot of fun. In a movie theater by yourself it's pretty uninspiring.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: I find it funny that millions of tween-aged Selena Gomez fans are going to leave this movie wishing they might someday have an opportunity to commit identity fraud.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: I find it sad that the little girl in the elevator leaving the movie said that her favorite scene was the one where the heiress was tied up and gagged. Then again, to pull off a successful identity fraud, it usually does become necessary to also get involved in kidnapping, theft, and harassment.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: This award goes to the Tourism Board of Monte Carlo, which clearly comes out the big winner on this one. Yes! I want to go there NOW!

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Katie Cassidy will get your attention-- mostly because you may not have seen her before. Everyone else in the movie doesn't do themselves any favors... or harm.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Tom Bezucha's directing probably has a lot to do with the award the Tourism Board of Monte Carlo won above. In fact, there were several times that I noticed artistry in composition-- which is pretty rare for a teen bubble gum flick. So, yeah, good job, man!

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Allow me to share with you the set-up of this movie. An English heiress finds herself in Paris, in the same bathroom of the same hotel, as an American girl who looks the same as her. Big coincidence, right? Here's a bigger coincidence: the American girl who looks the same as her is in a bathroom stall at the time, so the heiress never sees her, but the American girl's two friends see the heiress, so they are able to hatch the plan to assume her identity. And that's just the first of many coincidences that this story relies on to exist.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Monte Carlo Trailer

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Post Grad

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A new college graduate (Alexis Bledel) has her whole life planned out. Unfortunately, the real world is not as easy to navigate as she had imagined. Not only is it hard to find a job, but now she has to move back in with her eccentric family.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Alexis Bledel, Zach Gilford, Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch, Carol Burnett (yes, you read that correctly), Bobby Coleman, Rodrigo Santoro, Catherine Reitman, J.K. Simmons

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This is the kind of movie you can't turn off when you catch it on television. It's cute, it's predictable, kind of mindless, but with some interesting-- if not over the top-- characters... come to think of it, this movie would've made a great sitcom.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: It starts out looking like it'll be fun for the whole family, but then the laughs start to be just for the kids in some places, just for the adults in others, and in some spots, they may be just for the writer.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: The character played by Catherine Reitman could make anybody cry. And not just because you're jealous that she got to be related to director-producers, Ivan and Jason.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: They're not quite Bette Davis eyes, but Alexis Bledel has eyes so big and blue they look like they've been photoshopped in every frame. Like an Alien. Based on this film's measly $15 million budget, I'm gonna assume the eyes are hers. And if we had been in high school together, I definitely would have voted for her for Prettiest Eyes in the senior poll. Instead, I had to vote for my friend Jenny. She won. But she's not on Facebook, so we're not really friends anymore. Mostly because I have no idea where she is. If you see her, tell her to call me.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Despite my earlier crack at her nepotistic advantages, Catherine Reitman gives a damn solid performance as a strong and confident total biatch! You will hate her so much, you won't know what to do with yourself. Aside from that, we're reminded why Michael Keaton used to be a big star, as he gives the kind of comic performance that I had forgotten he was capable of. It's nice to see Jane Lynch playing a family woman. Partly because we haven't seen her do that yet, and partly because it's just nice to see Jane Lynch. And did you see that part about how Carol Burnett is in this? She's a whole mess of funny.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The film starts out with some interesting visuals involving a vlog and some instant messaging, but it soon works its way into being fairly pedestrian. Perfectly fine, just not up to the level that it promises in the opening scenes. There is one moment where the dad has a big build up to showing us something that we already know what it is, and the main character rolls her eyes, mirroring what the audience feels. I wish the director had left that bit on the edit room floor, but aside from that, Vicky Jenson, in her first stint as a live-action feature film director, shows that she's ready to take things up a notch.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: As you can see from the logline, there's not much to this movie. But the wacky family gives way to some cheery dialogue. And emotionally, there's one character you feel for so much that you don't know whether to hate Alexis for not noticing how sweet, beautiful and loving he is, or to hate him for pining over her for so long with such obviously negative results. It's also hard to believe that she would be able to resist his charm and be "best friends" for so long, or that he wouldn't get fed up with her rejections, and quit her long before this movie even begins.

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

A: The soundtrack is pretty decent, if you like girl singers and mellow guy singers who sound like they're singing to girls.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/post%20grad/trailers

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