‘My Best Friend’s Girl’ Movie Review

Even though there was nothing about the plot to particularly draw me toward this movie, the cast of My Best Friend’s Girl, with Dane Cook and Kate Hudson especially, told me it just might not matter what the heck the movie was about.

Dane Cook plays the asshole funny-guy in this movie, which is what we’ve come to expect from his comedy routines on dating (though opposite his creepy role in Mr. Brooks, a movie I have enjoyed over and over, and added to my personal collection). Kate Hudson, ever-adorable, plays the good girl letting loose in her first sexually-gratifying relationship – wait, Kate Hudson, letting loose? Cussing, kicking ass, sex? I am hetero and that turns me on.

The movie emphasizes the games that guys have to play to get the girl, and the plot rarely deviates from that of Will Smith‘s Hitch. The twist is that Dane Cook’s role doesn’t help improve the ‘game’ of his clients; he only makes their styles look brilliantly suave relative to his own asshole ways. In this sense, the females in this movie are portrayed as settling for guys that previously did not hold up to their ideals and standards. GREAT.

Of course, My Best Friend’s Girl includes the sappy happy ending that is ultimately necessary. Does the nice guy get the girl? Nope. No, he does not. Well, I guess the movie tries to mess with our concepts of ‘nice’ and ‘asshole’ just a little. Or, I guess, girls just like their bad boys.

‘Tropic Thunder’ Movie Review

Warnings left and right. “This movie offends.” “This movie sucks.” “Don’t bother.” “It’s…funny, yeah.” “Retard bashers.”

So, I was bored today, and I planned on catching a different movie. However, my favourite movie-going buddy was sick and my car was written off in the accident, so I had to catch a ride from my dad, who is pathologically late. I was late for my movie. 1-0 for Loner Karma.

The only choice left was Tropic Thunder, and I figured the cast alone warrants giving it a chance. When I purchased my ticket at the automated thingamajig, a free ticket for the movie I initially intended to see also came out. SWEET! But, I had no one to give it to, and scalping it would make me late for this movie, as well. Touché, Loner Karma, and pretty bitchy. 2-0.

Anyhow, I’m glad I saw it. Mother Nature isn’t the only one who pissed herself.

A few genius comedic stunts include the following (minor spoilers ahead, skip past list to avoid):

1. The opening of the movie, so seamless that you believe you are still watching theatre previews. Booty Sweat, Bust-a-Nut energy drinks…need I say more? (see bottom of post)

2. The director steps on a land mine and explodes (“pink mist,” for those who watch Grey’s Anatomy). A gang of hardcore, heavily armed drug lords are in the woods watching Ben Stiller lead his movie cast army. Ben Stiller thinks this is all a funny trick, and picks up the director’s head, shakes it around a little, pulls out some of the insides and licks them. Sticks the head on his gun. Yells some dumb shit. Kicks the head away: “I’m David Beckham!” The head drug lord fella says, bewildered, “These men do not fear death.”

3. Jack Black in his heroin addiction/withdrawal scene. YES. Gold.

4. Ben Stiller with his “son” on his back running from drug lords opening fire on his ass. He yells “I was wrong!” and turns, and his “son” is stabbing him over and over in the shoulder. He chucks the little man, and like a starfish, he spins over the bridge. Reminiscent of the burrito-dog encounter on the bridge in Anchorman. :)

5. The repetition of “You’ve got hands?!” as the characters meet up again in their escape from the jungle.

Some of the other gems (“What do you mean ‘you people’?” “…What do you mean YOU people?”) can be seen in the movie trailer at its official website here.

Okay, so there was a tad too much emphasis on the “retard” role and jokes, and most were not very funny and at least mildly offensive, but I had to giggle when Ben Stiller says, “There were some times where I actually felt like I was…retarded.” So very Zoolander of you!

So, there’s my two cents. Liked it, don’t think I’ll watch it again, might quote it sometime.

‘Mirrors’ Movie Review

Where to start, where to start? Okay, first impression of this movie came from shiteous reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, but since I enjoyed The Invasion, I gave it a chance. Also, the trailer (below) seduced me. Anyhow, I just saw it in theatres.

I think I have new worry wrinkles. (No significant spoilers ahead.)

Half of me agrees with the reviews; there were some parts I just had to laugh at, like when Kiefer Sutherland‘s wife sobbingly begs forgiveness for not believing that the mirrors were after him. HILARIOUS. Also, the ultimate “explanation” for the events leaves my scientific self utterly dissatisfied.

Okay, so the plot has its weak points, but hell-ooo, a reflection that continues to stare evilly once you’ve turned your back? Creepy as shit. It only gets worse when you realize they’re all murderous assholes. I had to hug my legs to avoid grabbing the person next to me, and I’m serious about the worry lines – my eyebrows and forehead were scrunched up and I’m feeling a little stressed out.

For once, I didn’t call the ending – and it was super neat. Holy mind fuck. I won’t say why, if only because its impact, I suspect, is powerful only in the context of the movie. Anyhow, when the credits began to roll and the lights turned on, no one in the audience moved, or even seemed to be breathing, for a good thirty seconds. And I’m pretty sure they all had the same final thought as me:

I’m going home to break some mirrors now.

‘The Invasion’ Movie Review

I’m not usually creeped out by horror movies, and I am absolutely confident in saying that I enjoy them more than the average person. Since I was a kid, my mother and I have bonded over both scary movies and “scary” movies aka. the ones so corny you get more of a laugh than anything. That last group has, to us, been the majority. I know all the formulas down pat, and I’d say I’m a pretty disappointing movie companion for predicting the plot out loud and, for the most part, being right.

Tonight, my mom and I watched The Invasion (2007; click here for the description or scroll down for the trailer) with Nicole Kidman, based on the novel “The Body Snatchers” by Jack Finney, which was later adapted into a screenplay for the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (The Invasion, however, takes a new twist on this plot, for those who might consider it too similar for viewing). This movie did not earn any stars and received terrible reviews from such trusted moviegoer websites as RottenTomatoes.com. If I had read the reviews before getting into the plot, I likely would have changed the channel.

So glad I didn’t.

If you can take an hour and a half of paranoia and nerves, preferably if you don’t have to walk two small dogs through a dark park at midnight afterwards, I suggest you give it a fair shot.