Just Go With It

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A guy who pretends to be married to get girls (Adam Sandler) meets a woman he actually likes (Brooklyn Decker), and is forced to prove that he's getting divorced from his fake wife (Jennifer Aniston).

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Brooklyn Decker, Nick Swardson, Bailee Madison, Griffin Gluck, Nicole Kidman, Dave Matthews, Kevin Nealon, Rachel Dratch, Allen Covert, Dan Patrick, Minka Kelly

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The leads have amazing chemistry and we really believe all the reasons they need to end up together, but the set-up and the make-up are laughable.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: In the most random of places, hidden amongst the standard Sandler fare, are a few subtle clever moments that may induce laughter. What won't make you laugh is the standard Sandler fare, and everything Nick Swardson does.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but Dave Matthews does a thing with his ass that I can never unsee.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Title I'm Most Likely Not to be able to Recall in 2 Months, when Someone Asks Me What this Movie was Called.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Jennifer Aniston blew my socks off in this role. Her comic timing is not a fluke. Nor, I might add, is that of Nicole Kidman, who really needs to do more funny roles, like this.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Dennis Dugan directs almost all of Adam Sandler's films. And yet, with all that experience, his style never seems to improve.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It's patchy. It has good parts, surrounded by tons of missed potential. But I personally love the message about why it's worthwhile to date women your own age.

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

A: Off the top of my head, here are some better titles than Just Go With It:
--My Wife Wants Me to Marry You
--Everybody Lies
--Shooting a Movie is a Very Good Excuse to Go to Hawaii, Even When the Excuse Used to Get the Characters there is Ridiculously Unbelievable.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Just Go With It Trailer

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The Back-up Plan

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A desperate, baby-obsessed woman (Jennifer Lopez), gets artificially inseminated, and then immediately meets the love of her life (Alex O'Loughlin).

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin, Michaela Watkins, Anthony Anderson, Linda Lavin, Eric Christian Olsen, Noureen DeWulf, Tom Bosley, Danneel Harris, Robert Klein, Melissa McCarthy, Maribeth Monroe, Jennifer Elise Cox

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! This movie could only possibly be enjoyed at an all-girls' slumber party, where everyone is getting drunk on their own individual pint of ice cream. And even then, the ice cream is the only part you'll enjoy.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If you're Jennifer Lopez, this movie will make you laugh all the way to the bank.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It makes me cry when I see yet another movie depicting women as crazy, pathetic losers, with illogical mood-swings, who can only think about how they're going to get a baby before they're too old. If I'm supposed to be the audience for this movie, maybe you should try getting on my good side, once in a while, instead of insulting my intelligence.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: The users on imdb are already suggesting it for the Razzies, so what I was gonna say turns out not to be original in the slightest.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: If I ever though Jennifer Lopez was a good actress in the tabloids, this movie is more proof that reality TV stars can't necessarily act. I have rarely seen so much grimacing from a so-called professional actress.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: You know they got a first-time feature director because everyone else passed on the script. But ultimately, Alan Poul's biggest mistake was being the guy desperate enough to say yes.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I never found out what these two people saw in each other besides their mutual good looks-- which is not the reason given for their deep, instant love, but what else am I left to assume? At the same time, if it weren't for Alex O'Loughlin's hotness, there would be nothing differentiating his approach to J-Lo from stalking. Not only would that be creepy in the real world, but then, the first date he plans is so over-the-top romantic, that you can't help but think that he's up to no good. If they weren't in a movie together, he would just be some random guy she met on the street, who harassed her until she agreed to go out with him, and then took her to a secluded park, where no one could hear her scream-- yikes!

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-back-up-plan/38957/trailers

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Paper Heart

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A pretend documentary asking the question, "What is love?" from the point of view of a girl (Charlyne Yi) who doesn't believe in it.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera, Jake M. Johnson

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The concept of figuring out what love is to different people around America is heartening, but as my friend Greg says, "It comes off more like 3 characters in search of a story." To prove his point, let me quote some of the dialogue shared between the filmmaker, Nick (played by Jake M. Johnson) and Charlyne: Nick, "What's the movie going to be about? It has to be about something." Charlyne, "I don't know, I guess we'll just get there, and see what happens." Nick, "Did you prepare anything?" Charlyne, "No." Nick, "Charlyne!!!"

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There are some laughs, but often times it feels like the characters are on the verge of a joke, we think they're setting one up, and then they lose steam, give up, and cut to another scene. It's sort of like a sneeze that won't come out.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but this review kind of makes me cry, when I pretend I'm Charlyne Yi... Well, let's hope she doesn't read it!

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won some screenwriting award at Sundance. Which especially blows your mind when you find out that the script was just a five page outline with a few scenes described in detail, and a few sections described like, "Drive across America and see what happens."

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Michael Cera does mumblecore. Still magic. But watching him pretend to fall in love with his real life girlfriend makes you wonder what he sees in her. She's not nearly as charming and quirky as she thinks she is, and she's way too self aware to sell the concept that she's worried about not having the right genes to fall in love-- even with him, one of the nicest, most lovable people to grace his generation. He's even from Canada! Meanwhile, Charlyne's best quality seems to be her ability to create 2-dimensional cardboard cutouts, which she uses to stage re-enactments of the true love stories of the real people she meets. They are cute... But why isn't Michael Cera using all his money and fame to land some of the hotties on Gossip Girl or 90210, like a normal person?

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The style of filming is reminiscent of what happens when you take a kid who came up with a 3 minute YouTube video that for some incomprehensible reason went viral, and you give him a deal to make a really long YouTube video. The problem with YouTube videos is when they go on for more than a couple of minutes, you start to realize that they're not going to have a point. And then you remember that's because they're made by complete amateurs.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Charlyne Yi, a girl of less than average looks and personality, uses every ounce of her energy to resist falling in love with an A-list actor who's crazy about her, even though he's way out of her league. It's really confusing. Which is only intensified by the thought that they're a couple in real life, and this film is pretending to be a documentary. Interestingly enough, the best parts of the film are the truly documentary parts, where they interview real people across America, about how they would define love, how they found it, and how they lost it.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/paper-heart/36299/trailers

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Gomorrah

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A fictionalized true-life glimpse into the modern day Italian Mafia in Naples, knows as The Camorra.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Salvatore Abruzzese, Simone Sacchettino, Gianfelice Imparato, Maria Nazionale, Carlo Del Sorbo, Toni Servillo, Carmine Paternoster, Salvatore Cantalupo, Gigio Morra, Ronghua Zhang, Marco Macor, Ciro Petrone

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! The first scene is fantastic, then you can go home.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: After watching The Sopranos become a national pastime, it's hard to imagine a mob story devoid of a single humorous moment, but they pull it off here.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: You would if you cared about even one of the characters in this film, especially considering most of them get killed. But you don't, so you won't.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Somehow, it has been nominated and won several big awards around the world. Not only that, but Martin Scorsese has decided to endorse this film by adding a "Martin Scorsese Presents" credit to the front of the film for American audience. So you can take his word for it, considering he is one of the premiere cinematic authorities on all matters mob, but I was bored out of my mind.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Imagine Pulp Fiction. Now imagine it in Italian. Now take away all the funny parts. And voila!

Q: How is the Directing?

A: 2 hours and 17 minutes for 4 unrelated stories, all of which are uncompelling and add nothing to this tired old genre, besides the insight that Italians are dumb enough to get involved in this nonsense in their own country, as well as in ours. If the director wasn't going to do something original, then at least he should have cut the movie down to a palatable length. I checked my clock 3 times.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Apparently the author of the book that this movie is based on, Roberto Saviano, had to go into hiding, and is under permanent police supervision, due to the death threats he received for exposing The Camorra's secrets. I'm still trying to figure out what special secrets this guy exposed about organized crime that we hadn't already deduced from seeing The Godfather, Goodfellas, and Analyze That.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hky53gXyjX0

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Kung Fu Panda

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A Panda who dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master is picked to defeat his village's most powerful and dangerous enemy, despite the fact that he has no experience in Martial Arts.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, Michael Clarke Duncan

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! One of the best Kung Fu movies I've ever seen. Oh, and also it's really, really cute.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Yes. But if you can catch a weekend matinee, the laughter of the children laughing will add exponentially to your enjoyment of the jokes.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Almost.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: A likely winner in the Best Animated Picture category. Which sometimes doesn't seem like that great of an accomplishment, considering they can rarely ever find more than three movies a year to nominate for that meagerly category.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Much like the character he plays, Jack Black is a master. He continually rises above your expectations, conquering all lines of dialogue that are placed before him with awesomeness and attractiveness.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The inventiveness of the director's vision is sold in the first few frames, as the movie opens on Panda's Kung Fu fantasy, which cleverly parodies the Japanime animation style. And the attention to detail just expands from there.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It starts out seeming like it's going to be the same old movie about a boy who wants to be a dancer, while his father wants him to follow in his footsteps working a passionless job at the coal mines. Only instead of dancing, this boy wants to do Kung Fu, and instead of coal mines, this father wants him to become a Top Ramen-style noodle chef... But happily, the movie quickly takes a turn into more original and charming territory.

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

A: The merchandise is going to kick as much butt as the Dragon Slayer.

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