Priceless.

My Rating
(out of 5 envelopes):

MPAA Rating: R Runtime: 102 minutes
Genre: Foreign, Romantic Comedy, Comedy

For me, romantic comedies are a love-hate thing. There’s no in between; I either love it or hate it. A romantic comedy that’s not sappy, cheesy, or predictable is hard to find. However, if you’re looking for a good one, look no further.

Irène(Audrey Tautou – who you may know from Amelie, although you’ll hardly recognize her) is a gold digger who lives by taking advantage of rich men with her charm and beauty. When she and her rich boyfriend go on a vacation, she mistakes the bartender Jean(Gad Elmaleh) for a rich man. He becomes smitten with her, and now she must figure out how to get rid of him.

Although, I thought the role didn’t fully allow Audrey Tautou to display her acting ability, she does great with what they give her. Gad Elmaleh was fantastic in the role of Jean, though. I don’t think the movie would be that great if another actor had been chosen for the role.

I thought that Priceless is a great, light-hearted romantic comedy that, despite its predictability, offers witty comedy and a fun storyline. This would make a great date movie.

Netflix Page for Priceless.

Miniseries: John Adams

My Rating

(out of 5 envelopes):

MPAA Rating: NR(not rated)

Runtime: 501 minutes

Genre: Drama, Biography, Miniseries

I had heard a lot of hype about this miniseries and I wasn’t sure if it could live up to all it was supposed to be. I found it even better than what I had heard.

John Adams is a seven episode miniseries(spread over 3 DVDs) presented by HBO about the life of John Adams from the beginning of the American Revolution until his death. Paul Giamatti stars as the title character John Adams and Laura Linney costars as Abigail Adams. The seven episodes are:

Episode 1: Join or Die.

The Boston Massacre to Adams’ departure for the First Continental Congress.

Episode 2: Independance.
The First Continental Congress to the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.

Episode 3: Don't Tread on Me.
Adams travels to France with Ben Franklin to help rally support for America against the British. Adams leaves France for Holland.

Episode 4: Reunion.

Adams returns to Paris to reunite with Abigail. He is called upon to represent America to the English crown. He returns to America to become Vice President.

Episode 5: Unite or Die.

Adams serves as the VP to George Washington. Ends with John Adams accepting the presidency.

Episode 6: Unnecessary War.

Adams takes his role as president. Ends with his loss of the Presidency to Thomas Jefferson and his return to Massachusetts.

Episode 7: Peacefield.

Shows Adams in his “retirement” to his death.

When I first heard that Paul Giamatti was to play the role of John Adams, I was unsure if he could pull it off. I mean, really? Paul Giamatti, although I think he’s a great actor, probably wouldn’t have been on my list of actors to play Adams. Well was I wrong. Giamatti does more than pull off his role; he owns it. In fact, I’d say a lot of the actors became their characters. Laura Linney was amazing in the role of Abigail. The relationship between Abigail and John is one of the great romances in history; Giamatti and Linney had great on screen chemistry to recreate the relationship. In fact, I thought the casting was perfect. George Washington(David Morse) was exactly as I had pictured him from the history books, a tall, handsome man with an overshadowing presence.

John Adams is filled with powerful speeches and great dialect. Those were some of my favorite parts of the series. They were moving and really make you appreciate America when you see what the Founding Fathers of America went through.

The characters are what make this miniseries. When you hear the names of these iconic men, it’s hard to picture them with a human light. I thought this miniseries did a great job of bringing the men in our history to life in a realistic way. I thought this brought John Adams out of the shadows of the presidencies of Washington and Jefferson, and showed us the true Adams and his accomplishments in addition to his faults.

The best part about this miniseries was the gritty realism of it all. The period of the American Revolution is often over romanticized, but this feels like it could be the real thing. Dirt, blood, sickness, unease, and bad teeth are all present. At one point you’ll see a man tarred and feathered. This is one of the most brutal things I’ve seen, and you can feel his pain and humiliation as it’s happening.

There’s also an interesting feature called “Facts Are Stubborn Things.” If you choose to, it will display facts related to the screen you’re watching at the bottom of the screen. There are some really fascinating facts that can give more insight into the scene or time period if you don’t mind taking a few seconds away from watching to read the quick tidbit.

Even if you don’t love history, I think you should see this. If they showed movies more like this in history class, more people would be interested in history. I’m not sure how it will compare to the miniseries, but I can’t wait to read the book John Adams by David McCullough that was the basis for it.

Netflix Page for John Adams.

Rocket Science.

My Rating

(out of 5 envelopes):

MPAA Rating: R

Runtime: 101 minutes

Genre: Indie, Comedy, Drama

When my friend took me to see this film, I didn’t know anything about this movie. I’m really glad he took me to see this because I left the theater with one of those happy, satisfied feelings that makes it hard to stop smiling.

This film is about Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson), a stuttering outsider, dealing with his life after his parents separate. When Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick), the star of the debate squad, recruits him to the team to be her partner, Hal must overcome his stuttering problem. He also has to deal with falling in love with Ginny. At the same time that Hal is starting his debate career, his mom begins to date a new man and along with this comes his annoying son. On top of this, Hal constantly has to deal with his older brother, Earl (Vincent Piazza), who is a kleptomaniac. With all these troubles, it’s no surprise that Hal would be frustrated.

This film combines the elements of high school to make it an easy to relate to film. Most normal kids have obstacles, whether it be a stutter or something else, to overcome to figure out who they are. I’ve never been a great speaker, so imagine having doing that with a stutter is terrifying.

Some of my favorite scenes in this Rocket Science were when Hal was trying different methods to overcome is stutter. When Hal’s advisor tells him to try using an accent to stop the stutter, the result is awkward and hilarious. But by far my favorite scene in the movie is when Hal tries to stop stutter by singing his case to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. You can’t help but crack a smile and laugh at that original idea.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys indie comedies or anyone who is/was a debater. My sister is in debate and she really enjoyed all the small debate related details put in by the director, who is a former debater. But even if you aren’t a debater, you’ll still enjoy this one.

Netflix Page for Rocket Science.

Wristcutters: A Love Story

My Rating

(out of 5 envelopes):

MPAA Rating: R

Runtime: 88 minutes

Genre: Indie, Comedy, Romantic Comedy

I can’t remember where I heard about this movie, but I’m glad I put it in my queue. This movie turned out to be one of the most original romantic comedies I’ve ever seen…and it’s actually funny.

When Zia(Patrick Fugit) decides to commit suicide(by cutting his wrists as the title suggests) after his girlfriend Desiree breaks up with him, he ends up in another world of despotism and sorrow, one populated by everyone else who has committed suicide. When Zia hears that Desiree(Leslie Bibb) has also committed suicide and is now a part of this universe, he goes on a mission to track her down with a Russian musician named Eugene (this character is based on Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello). When on their journey, they pick up Mikal(Shannyn Sossamon), a hitchhiker who is searching for the people in charge because she says doesn’t belong in this world. Tom Waits and Will Arnett also stars in this film.

This movie ended up being one of the most charming films I’ve seen in a while. I love the idea of a world where all people who committed suicide go because I never contemplated anything like that before. The way it was executed was great, too. Some of my favorite things were just the subtle, quirky little jokes. For starters, when Zia first arrives in the post-suicide world, he finds work at Kamikaze Pizza. One of my favorite lines in the film was "I'm not going out tonight. It just makes me depressed." "So, what you gonna do? Kill yourself?"

The music in Wristcutters was great. They use Gogol Bordello’s music as the character Eugene’s band’s music. They’re great and if you have never listened to them (Gogol Bordello’s music also appears in Everything Is Illuminated as well), I recommend that you check them out.

If you have any interest in dark comedy, I would definitely check this one out. The film manages to be original, funny, and deliver.

Netflix Page for Wristcutters: A Love Story

Coming Soon to DVD: Step Brothers.

My Rating

(out of 5 envelopes):

MPAA Rating: R

Runtime: 95 minutes

Genre: Comedy

DVD Release Date: December 2, 2008

When this movie was first released in theaters, there were a bunch of television commercials that seemed to be played tirelessly on every network I watched. When I saw the first round of commercials, I thought the movie sounded really stupid and there was no way I’d see it. Then I saw the commercial where the homemade bunk beds collapsed.

Step Brothers is the story of two guys who just never grew up and never left home. When their single parents fall for each other and get married, Brennan(Will Ferrell) and his mother move in with Dale(John C. Reilly) and his father. Problem is, Brennan and Dale don’t get along. So will the new family live happily ever after or will the whole marriage crash and burn?

Sure, the plot of this movie is stupid. But they take it and make it into something hilarious. This is one of the movies where most of the best parts are in the trailer; however, the scenes in the actual movie are longer (and funnier) than what’s in the trailer. I still cracked up at the bunk bed scene and the scene where Brennan is burying Dale alive even though I saw then countless times on the commercial. One scene I could not stop cracking up at was when the brother and his family were singing “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” That was amazing.

I really think you can relate to this humor if you have siblings or even…wait for it…step-siblings who you didn’t always get along with! Overall, I thought this movie was really funny. If you don’t immature humor and a little idiocy (or find it hilarious), then you should hit save on this movie.

Netflix Page for Step Brothers.