Evening, Catch and Release (DVD)

Evening - There's one problem that most movies with flashback plots suffer from: one portion of the film is usually far more interesting than the other. Evening suffers from that same problem. Evening tells the story of a woman named Ann (Vanessa Redgrave) on her deathbed in present time. She is being tended to by her constantly fighting daughters Nina (Toni Collette) and Connie (Natasha Richardson). Connie has it all: the husband, the kids, the big fancy house. Nina is trying to get her life together. Every few years she finds herself with a new job and a new man. The two sisters struggle to rebuild their relationship while they watch their mother die. While on her death bed, Ann starts going on and on about people her daughters never met or heard of. She also starts remembering a certain weekend in her life where she learned a lot about friendship and love. The flashbacks are the more interesting story line here. It follows Young Ann (Claire Danes) who attends the fancy wedding of her best friend Lila (Mamie Gummer... Meryl Streep's daughter). While at the wedding, she finds herself in a sort of love triangle with her best friends little brother Buddy (Hugh Dancy) and the good-looking doctor Harris (Patrick Wilson) who also happens to be the love of Lila's life... although she's marrying someone else. Glenn Close shows up as Lila's uppity mother and Meryl Streep makes an appearance near the end as the elder Lila (how appropriate!). The performances, of course, are wonderful. How could they not be with a cast like this? Still, for all of these amazing women, guess who gives the best performance in the entire film? Hugh Dancy! He's a revelation. Where did this guy come from and how can he play a drunk with such charm and vulnerability? If I had any weight at all with Oscar voters, I would start putting it all behind Dancy right now. I really hope they remember him come December. The film itself is a little uneven. It goes from being utterly interesting to a tad boring. Of course, Toni Collette keeps things interesting in the present tense storyline. The flashbacks are the superior part of the film. Yet, eventhough it's a tad uneven, the writing and performances and script are strong enough to not mind all that much. Plus, the movie is an emotional ride. It's a chick flick of the greatest kind. It may not be the best movie of the year... or the summer for that matter... but's definitely worth your time.
Grade: B


Catch and Release - I had a friend warn me to stay away from this movie because it was surely one of the worst movies of the year. Maybe it's because my expectations were so utterly low (I was expecting something as bad as Evan Almighty here) but I didn't think the movie was really all that bad. I mean, it could have been worse. It could have suffered from not starring two charismatic and charming actors: Jennifer Garner and Timothy Olyphant. Sure, the script was absolutely far fetched but aren't most romantic comedies far fetched? Anyway, the story line follows Grey (Garner) whose fiancee dies just before her wedding. Instead of a reception, she has to go through a funeral instead. Soon after, she realizes she can't pay her rent without him so she moves in with his friends (one of whom is Kevin Smith... playing Kevin Smith... this is either a good or bad thing depending on how much you like Kevin Smith). Soon, she finds herself reluctantly falling in love with her dead fiancee's best friend (Olyphant) eventhough she hated him in the beginning. Juliette Lewis turns up as a woman the dead fiancee slept with and she has a violent son who may or may not be his illigitmate child. The scripts not perfect, the dialogue is lacking, it's not as funny as it thinks it is and all of the romantic comedy cliches are there. Still, it's not a terrible movie. There are times when it's entertaining and it's actually enjoyable enough to not bore you to tears.
Grade: C-

Live Free or Die Hard, Music and Lyrics (DVD)

Live Free or Die Hard - John McClane is back... and better than ever! It seems that summer movies are a bit disappointing so far. Pirates, Spiderman, Evan Almighty... all huge disappointments. But Die Hard does not disappoint. As a matter of fact, so far, it's definitely the most fun you'll have at the movies this summer. This time around McClane (Bruce Willis - who may be 52 in real life but runs around like a 25 year old... plus he's really sexy) has to go pick up and escort a hacker Matthew Ferrell (Justin Long) to FBI headquarters after their computers are hacked. McClane thinks this is a lame job... until he's almost masaquered at the kids apartment. In the meantime, the United States begins to crumble under a nationwide cyberspace attack known as a fire sale engineered by menacing bad guy Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant). Much like the other Die Hard flicks, logic isn't exactly the strong suit here. But it doesn't matter because it's sheer adrenaline packed excitement. McClane isn't just as tough and resourceful as ever, he is a wise ass at the top of his game. The action scenes are just amazing. There is a particular fight scene with Maggie Q that starts with a few punches and ends with a car chase into an elevator shaft that just blew my mind. And let's not even mention the scene where McClane is driving the 18-wheeler truck while being shot at and chased by a jet trying to bomb him. Long adds a lot of comedy although he doesn't really need to be there just for that... Willis is hilarious. They make a great team. Throw in Mary Elizabeth Winstead as McClane's tough daughter Lucy and Kevin Smith playing an uber hacker named The Warlock and this movie is just plain fun. Even with the PG-13 rating, McClane gets to utter his famous line (in a very, very, very clever way). In a summer filled with disappointments, its nice to see John McClane back. Live Free or Die Hard takes my spot as the best summer mover thus far.

Grade: B+

Music and Lyrics - We all know that romantic comedies are not my thing. Not at all. But, I will give this movie a little credit and say that it is, in the very least, cute. And to give it even more credit, the beginning of the movie is actually almost enjoyable. I actually really enjoyed the first 20 minutes or so which follow Hugh Grant's 80s has-been pop star meeting eccentric plant water lady Drew Barrymore. While Hugh's Alex is trying to write a pop song for a current chart topping sensation, Drew's Sophie randomly spouts a few inspiring lyrics and the two begin to write the song together. That part of the film I actually enjoyed. But once the song is actually written, the movie becomes boring. It becomes a cliche ridden romantic comedy again and loses some of its charm. I'm not saying it's a bad movie, but it's just like every other romantic comedy. None of them are really great and none of them are really bad. They are all the same. I couldn't even remember the main character's names (I had to look them up) because they are like every other main character in a romantic comedy. The film isn't really funny enough to recommend on a pure comedic level and it's not really romantic enough to reccommend on a pure romance level. It's predictable, it's forgettable, and after the first 20 minutes, it's mostly bland and boring. Although, the Pop Up Video at the end of the movie is quite enjoyable. But, basically, it's just your average romantic comedy. If it's your thing then you'll probably like it.

Grade: C