Moneyball

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: The true story of how the General Manager of the Oakland A's, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), took average players with nearly invisible gifts to create a record breaking team, and in so doing, revolutionized the game of baseball... Even though Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) really did all the work.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop, Casey Bond, Nick Porrazzo, Reed Thompson, Kerris Dorsey

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Yay for sports movies! You just can't go wrong.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Yes, and it will also make you want to play fantasy baseball-- even if you don't like baseball. Here's a good place to start: Razzball Fantasy Baseball site

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but it did make me a little nauseous to see the amount of food Brad Pitt shoves down his throat in every scene, for no apparent reason. (Does that really count as a character trait?)

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: This is this year's Facebook movie.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Sometimes we forget that Brad Pitt actually has a skill for which he's famous. This movie is here to remind us. And Jonah Hill is charming, despite being in the body of Jonah Hill.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The integration of real life documentary footage with actors playing real life people is subtle, and nicely done. And while the flashbacks do a good job of helping us understand Billy Beane's inner motivation, they are heavy-handed, and we all remember what Brad Pitt looked like at 18, and it wasn't Reed Thompson... And one more thing, can somebody tell me why Brad Pitt wears a wedding ring in the movie, even though he's clearly been divorced for quite some time?

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Most of the time it's interesting and clever and engaging... and then there are the scenes where he hangs out with his daughter, which seem like they're in the script because some executive read a book called, "To Make a Character Likeable, He has to Have a Child," and which bring the movie to a full stop every time they appear.

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

A: The score noticeably drives the emotions in ways that are sometimes meant to throw you off, and add some nice suspense within the highly predictable sports movie format. And speaking of music, the song Brad Pitt's 12-year-old daughter (Kerris Dorsey) makes up and beautifully sings to him, is a definite radio hit that proves that America really does Got Talent!

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Moneyball Trailer

Back To Top

How Do You Know

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: After a woman (Reese Witherspoon) gets cut from her professional softball team, two very different men (Owen Wilson & Paul Rudd) become smitten with her... In part because she's so cut off from her emotions, that it allows them to get in touch with theirs.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson, Kathryn Hahn, Mark Linn-Baker, Shelley Conn, Lenny Venito, Molly Price, John Tormey, Teyonah Parris, Tony Shalhoub, Dean Norris

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Despite a few slow spots and a few passing moments that are only 90% realistic, this romantic comedy finds success by relying on dialogue that is thoughtful and intelligent without being pretentious.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The laughs tend to come from organic dialogue, rather than pie-in-the-face/fall-on-your-face set-comedy pieces that do nothing to advance the story of the characters' arcs. So you won't laugh as hard or as often as you've become accustomed to in these types of movies, but you will laugh more genuinely, and kind of feel grateful that you didn't find yourself accidentally laughing at forced stupidity.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Possibly. And this time, surprisingly, at romance.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It has come out just a few days too late to qualify, but Reese Witherspoon deserves the Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical way more than Angelina Jolie does for starring in the thriller, The Tourist.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Reese Witherspoon transforms herself yet again. She subtly embodies the physicality of a female jock, from her stance to her voice, without ever losing her femininity or seeming like a lesbian. It sounds like I'm saying that jocks and lesbians aren't feminine, and maybe I am, but you have to see her performance to truly grasp just how impressive her accomplishment is.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: When James L. Brooks directs a comedy, he goes for an "instant classic" style, rather than a "currently classic, but it won't seem funny in 10 years" style. His films consistently cross gender lines and genre lines, often getting dubbed as dramedies-- which somehow makes them feel more sophisticated. And when compared to all the pie-in-the-face/fall-on-your-face set-comedy piece directors, his style almost seems old fashioned. But in this case, old fashioned is a compliment, so why don't we just go ahead and call it "antique."

Q: How is the story/script?

A: James L. Brooks is the master of romantic comedies. He writes the scripts that the rest of us wish we could... And by wish we could, I mean, "wish were allowed to"-- after all, no one is gonna tell James L. Brooks to add in a few pie-in-the-face/fall-on-your-face set-comedy pieces that do nothing to advance the story of the characters' arcs. It's for the trailer.

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

A: There are so many interesting ideologies introduced about how to find happiness, get over painful moments, and understand your life, that you may even need to see it twice to remember any of them.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: How Do You Know Trailer

Back To Top

Charlie St. Cloud

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: All the different ways you can light Zac Efron to showcase his extreme levels of beauty... Other than that, I'm not really sure. I think there was the death of a brother. Some ghosts. A girl. And a whole bunch of melodrama.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: When you have Zac Efron, does anyone else really matter?

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! I liked him by candlelight. Daylight was nice. The sunset wasn't bad either. Moonlight wasn't so great though, because you could only see him in silhouette, and when he took off his shirt, you could hardly see his dewy muscles glistening.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Funny, but in an extremely pleasant way, were the skin tight shirts Zac Efron wore in every scene. My favorite was the maroon one, because you could really see his nipples protruding. Of course that's not counting the white one, which became transparent when wet, as he slowly rises out of the lake, like a merman.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Zac's eyes are such a deep, rich shade of blue as they well up with tears in scene upon scene. It was just my luck that his brother died early in the film, so he could be sad and weepy throughout.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Cutest Smile.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Did you know that Kim Bassinger and Ray Liotta were in this film? Yeah, neither did any of the women in the audience. How could they think about such things when Zac Efron was steaming up the screen.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Somehow the man knew that if he put Zac Efron's face, smile, eyes, arms, and pecs in every shot, nobody would notice how bad the directing and the story were. He was right.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: When the opening title of the film came up on the screen, I thought to myself, "What a dumb name for a movie." But, as the anonymous heterosexual male friend who saw it with me (and shall remain nameless to protect the innocent) said, "They had to name it Charlie St. Cloud, because it was the only thing they could do to stop you from thinking you're watching a story about Zac Efron."

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

A: I heard on the radio today that Zac Efron would be interested in hooking up with either Eva Mendez or Penelope Cruz-- which is great news, because I'm an older woman, too, and on a good day, I can pass for Latina-- which makes me his type!

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/charlie-st-cloud/1430516/trailers

Back To Top

The Ugly Truth

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A TV morning show producer (Katherine Heigl) is forced unwillingly to work with a man (Gerard Butler) whose views about love and relationships are diametrically opposed to hers, so he bets her his job that he's right and she's out of her mind.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Katherine Heigl, Gerard Butler, Bree Turner, Eric Winter, Nick Searcy, Jesse D. Goins, Cheryl Hines, John Michael Higgins, Noah Matthews, Kevin Connolly, Bonnie Somerville, Yvette Nicole Brown, Nate Corddry, Craig Ferguson, Rocco DiSpirito, Valente Rodriguez

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Unless you're a woman, in which case there's no reason you shouldn't go. As far as I'm concerned, this movie gives chick-flicks a good name. But as much as it tries to reach across the gender aisle with sex jokes and casting the hero of 300 in the romantic lead, this film is still too true to the romantic-comedy genre to attract any of the "typical men" it depicts so vividly.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Not a ton, but no one expects to laugh a lot at comedies that have the term "romantic" in front of them, any more.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Only if you've never seen a romantic comedy before, and you don't know that after the sad part where they are separated forever, something happy happens... I'm sorry, should I have said, spoiler alert? Well if I ruined anything for you, I'd like to put forth my deepest apologies, and wish you a happy 8th birthday.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Well for Katherine Heigl, this rom-com marks her third big one in as many years, so I think it's fair to predict that she will have the Lifetime Achievement of being looked back on as an era in romantic comedy, much like Julia Roberts and Andie MacDowell.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Gerard Butler is incredibly charismatic. The proof is that you want Heigl to be with him despite the fact that the other guy has nothing whatsoever wrong with him, except the fact that he's hot, tan, and chiseled to perfection.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Robert Luketic did a good job directing poker drama, 21, but I'm just happy to see him back where he belongs, right here directing cute little movies for the ladies.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I love Kristen Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz, who brought us The House Bunny, 10 Things I Hate About You, and one of my all time faves, Legally Blonde. They have a way of keeping the predictable fare they write light, fun, and sometimes even original. At some point, they came on board first-time writer, Nicole Eastman's script. And the only complaint I have for the three of them is that the female supporting character, Joy (Bree Turner), clearly has more interest in dating and sex than the boss she is advising, so at a certain point I start to wonder why she's not the one partaking in it. Everyone knows the confidante's only role is to give the main character someone to express her feelings to out loud. But you can't have the confident saying things like, (paraphrasing) "I want to have sex, so I'm going to live vicariously through you." That doesn't make any logical sense. Even when it comes from one of us crazy, irrational women.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-ugly-truth/33124/trailers

Back To Top

W.

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Biopic about a man (Josh Brolin) who becomes president of the United States (George W. Bush) to prove to his father (George H.W. Bush) that he's not a disappointment.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Elizabeth Banks, Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Burstyn, Thandie Newton, Jesse Bradford, Rob Corddry, Dennis Boutsikaris, Scott Glenn, Michael Gaston, Toby Jones, Stacy Keach, Bruce McGill, Jason Ritter, Marley Shelton, Jeffrey Wright

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. All the facts we already know. What's interesting is getting to see W's emotional state as these incidents unfold, his relationship with his father, and finding out who said and did what within his cabinet... Unfortunately, all those parts of the movie are based on pure speculation, and not to be trusted.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Not nearly as much as when you watch the real W. trying to speak English.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Again, not nearly as much as when you watch the real thing.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: The whole thing would be a lot more insightful if it came out 30 years from now.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: In many cases the cast of Saturday Night Live could have done these characters more justice. While they are all reminiscent of the actual people they play, either by their looks or by their speech cadence, there is at least one false thing in each of them which keeps you focused on the actor playing the real person, rather than the real person they're playing. For example Josh Brolin sounds right, but he's much too good looking. Thandie Newton looks like Condoleezza Rice, but her speech sounds as if someone has glued her lips together. And Richard Dreyfuss just smiles way too much to be Dick Cheney.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: As is to be expected, watching this film causes you to learn more about Oliver Stone, and his personal fantasies of what it might be like to be George W. Bush, than it teaches you about what it's actually like to be George W. Bush.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It would have worked better as a Reality TV show... In fact, I think there was a similar show on TV once. Wasn't it called something like, "The News"? I don't know, who can remember such things.

Back To Top

Bigger, Faster, Stronger*

*The side effects of being an American

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A documentary examining the safety and morality of steroid use, from the point of view of a director, whose brothers are both on steroids.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Chris Bell, Mark "Smelly" Bell, Mike "Mad Dog" Bell, Rosemary Bell, Sheldon Bell, and every known steroid user of the past three decades, including Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Jose Canseco, Sylvester Stallone, Hulk Hogan, Carl Lewis, and of course... Governor Schwarzenegger.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Find out why steroids are the American way.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: It's got the humorous tone of a Michael Moore doc, without nearly as much shoving of opinions down your throat.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: All I can say is, man, is our country messed up...

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I don't see why not.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Raging... Actually, one of the surprising things about this film is that there are no instances of roid-rage, besides those that take place in a Ben Affleck movie of the week.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Wow. They used 800 clips of archival footage and all of it is placed perfectly. How did they find all this stuff?

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Focusing on the Bell family makes the story relatable and touching, while whipping off to the many different sports scandals and political scandals makes it big and important.

Back To Top