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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Cyrus

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A desperate man (John C. Reilly) meets the woman of his dreams (Marisa Tomei) and finds out that she has a grown son (Jonah Hill) who doesn't want to share her.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei, Catherine Keener, Matt Walsh

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! It's small, intimate, short, and not particularly complex, but winning in all its simplicity.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Be warned, this is more of a dramedy than a comedy. This grouping of highly talented comedic actors get to show off their dramatic acting chops in between the rare but strong zingers.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: I went in with definite opinions about who a parent should favor between their lover and their child in step-relationships, and this movie got me questioning what the right balance is. So I do feel a little sad about having my opinions shaken... But then again, the mother-son relationship seen here is extremely unusual, and not in a good way.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Definitely the Independent Spirit Awards. I would wager on 3 acting noms, a best screenplay, best feature, and possibly even a directing nomination.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Every one of the actors rises above expectation in this piece. And some of them started out pretty high in the expectations department, to begin with.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Jay and Mark Duplass have always been regarded as innovative directors in the indy scene, so it's interesting to see that they're still reinventing their style with little quirks like showing the actors not talking as we hear them talk. While the technique works surprisingly well, it still looks to me like an editing choice born out of necessity when they realized that they didn't have the footage they needed to tell the story they'd hoped for.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: There is a raw, lack of subtlety in their dialogue that is at once refreshing and totally unrealistic... Unless you were to enter an alternate universe where everyone completely forgot how to silence the rude and off-putting parts of their inner monologue. Like France.

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

A: Despite the green light, the movie has a number of notable flaws. First, I didn't see the reason for the great love that these two people supposedly share, outside of the fact that they're both weird and desperate. And why, after 7 years, is the main character still so co-dependent with his ex-wife, that he confides everything in her, and she tries to set him up with new women?

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/cyrus/10023901/trailers

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