Barney's Version

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Based on a book by Mordecai Richler, Barney's Version is the story of some guy named Barney (Paul Giamatti), as he partakes in life, loves, and possibly the murder of his best friend. It's a character piece.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Dustin Hoffman, Scott Speedman, Minnie Driver, Bruce Greenwood, Rachelle Lefevre, Saul Rubinek, Mark Addy, Jake Hoffman, Anna Hopkins, Macha Grenon

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The first two hours are very compelling, even though the final extraneous 20 minutes, meanders around until it became clear that the rest of the movie isn't really about anything either.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Paul Giamatti plays his usual slightly lovable curmudgeon, so there are a fair number of laughs from that, but my favorite humor comes simply from the names of the places. You see, he works at Totally Unnecessary Productions, and drinks at Grumpy's bar. And you even believe these locations are real, because the movie takes place in Canada... Oh, those silly Canadians!

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: The extraneous 20 minutes at the end are pretty sad, but I would've rather just cut that part altogether. Why? Because it's extraneous.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It's currently in a one week Oscar qualifying release in Los Angeles, so that it can be considered for Academy Awards even though it's really coming out in a month, after it's too late to be considered for 2010. So obviously they think they have something.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Dustin Hoffman is fantabulous. His son, Jake, while much better looking than his father, seems poised to follow in the footsteps of John Ritter's and Tom Hanks' sons, by not even deserving to carry the same last name as a man whose shoes he will never come close to filling. Minnie Driver plays the most annoying character in the world, and yet, this may be the most attractive she's ever looked on screen. (Kristen Bell may want to take some pointers from her.) And Rosamund Pike, when her hair is dyed brown, looks indisputably half-Asian.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Most of the time it is fast-paced and engaging, and then suddenly, in just one or two places, it slips into photographic montages that don't match the style of the rest, and therefore come off like fixes to parts of the film that probably weren't working.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: If you've been reading along with me, you already know my feelings about why biopics rarely work. So what kind of person makes a biopic about a made-up person who's not even real or famous?

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OBd5jPBzOI

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Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Hugh Hefner has lived through the Great Depression, a World War, two east-Asian wars, two gulf wars, the sexual revolution, the civil rights movement, and the invention of plastic surgery, and I'm pretty sure he had a hand in all of it.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: A bunch of bunnies, a bunch of horn dogs, some old-timey famous folks, and George Lucas.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It's interesting to learn that before Hef hung out with gaggles of indistinguishable fake-boobed blonds, young enough to be his grand-daughters, he was an activist who made strides in racial rights and even (supposedly) in some aspects of women's rights, but it's hard to reconcile with the fact that he seems incapable of seeing how his work exploits women.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Here's something funny: Hef doesn't understand why some people call his magazines pornography. So just to be clear, I looked up the definition on Merriam-Webster, which says, "the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement." And then, next to it, there was a picture of Marilyn Monroe on the cover of the first edition of Playboy.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Dr. Ruth says it best when she pin-points the sad truth about why Hef won't be remembered for the relevant and important impact he had on making the world a more just and fair place for women and minorities. She explains that he made the mistake of mixing up his personal life with his professional life, and now no one can take him seriously, because all anyone associates with him is the fact that he's dating between three and seven women at once, all of which only love him for his money. (I admit, I added that last bit.)

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: You are not gonna believe this, but it won the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award for free speech!... Okay, it hasn't won it yet, but since Hef gives it out, don't you think it's got a good chance?

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Before he got all old and creepy, Hugh Hefner was actually a much more attractive and fascinating man than I care to admit. Yeah, I would've done him.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: I know Hugh Hefner is almost 200 years old, but the movie about his life didn't need to be in real time. Over 2 hours for any film is a mistake, but over 2 hours for a documentary about one person shows a lack of restraint that borders on unprofessional. I'm thinking the director is a hoarder.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Provocative, but it feels like a bit of propaganda to me. Hef has a line where he says that he still picks every centerfold and every cover, and edits all the cartoons and articles... well I've got a feeling that director, Brigitte Berman, only gained this kind of access because she gave Hef final cut on how he would be represented in his final impressions, too.

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

A: Boobies!

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/hugh-hefner-playboy-activist-and-rebel/10011272/trailers

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Confessions of a Shopaholic

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A young woman obsessed with shopping (Isla Fisher), finds herself unemployed and in credit card debt up to her ears, so she gets a new job working for a magazine that gives advice on saving, and we all hope she will learn something from her own writings.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Krysten Ritter, Leslie Bibb, Kristen Scott Thomas, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, John Lithgow, Wendie Malick, Fred Armisen, Julie Hagerty, Robert Stanton

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. More romantic than you'd expect a movie about credit card debt to be, but unless you can relate to spending more than twice what you make every month on designer labels that would make you a good candidate for a New York City mugging, before they work their way to the back of your closet, only to be forgotten forever (or at least until you get the credit card bill), I'm not sure what's so fun about this story.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Not enough to attract any male viewers, or any women over seventeen.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It's sad what happens to her, but it's sadder that we live in a society where anyone thinks that a $4000 purse is going to make them a happier or even more popular person. Frugal tip from me to you: Once you take the item out of the beautiful store in which it poses so luxuriously, wearing only an exorbitant price tag, no one is going to know where you bought it, or how much you paid... So you may as well be wearing a hand-me-down.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Not even the most childish and immature of awards organizations is going to remember this story long enough to think of giving it a nomination.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I'm glad that all the more famous actresses turned this role down, so that we could get a chance to see how spunky Isla Fisher (of Wedding Crashers) can be in a starring role. She is sweet and delightful... but unfortunately for her, a poor man's Amy Adams. Which is kind of ironic considering the character's ring tone is "If I were a rich girl," by Gwen Stefani.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: P.J. Hogan is an expert at keeping things upbeat and fun, even when the plot is thin and predictable. He creates a bouncy and colorful vibe with the soundtrack, the cuts, and of course, the colors.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I didn't read the book, but I can't help but wonder if there was something more suspenseful in the writing of it than what was translated to film. Aside from a clever moment (that I won't spoil), where the main character does something smart that comes back to haunt her later, there's not a lot here that doesn't feel like it could only happen in a movie.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/confessions-of-a-shopaholic/33070/trailers

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