My Review: Veronica Mars (6/10)

"Dumb question, but I have to ask : Did you know you were being filmed?"

Veronica Mars is a character driven action thriller with a solid fan base due to the short lived TV series success. I never watched the critically acclaimed series which aired for three seasons from 2004 to 2007, but the film is easy to follow and engaging nonetheless. Kristen Bell is given a well written character and delivers a strong performance in the lead role. She has some witty lines and I'm sure I missed out on a lot of clever gags aimed towards fans of the series, but I still was entertained by this film. I'm sure fans of the series will have a much better time with it, but I still give it a mild recommendation to audiences like me who came into it without knowing anything about the series. One of the interesting things about this film is that it was produced by the actual fans of the series who raised over 5 million dollars in the Kickstarter campaign, so it has a solid and faithful fan base. Of course the film feels like a TV movie at times because it is based on the series, but it still is very well written and directed by Rob Thomas. 

The crime mystery might not be completely original, and the love triangle may not work for some, but the film's success relies on Kristen Bell's engaging performance. Her character is strong willed and independent, something we don't see in many action films where the females usually play the victims who are in need of a savior. Veronica Mars switched the genre roles and this time it's the female who comes to the rescue of a man. The film may not be ground breaking, but fans of the series get their moneys worth after pulling off an unprecedented fundraiser to get the movie produced. That is where the success of Veronica Mars lies, it is geared towards the fans who have stuck with them during the three years the series aired and the six years after it left the air. The rest of us only get a small glimpse in this movie of who Veronica Mars is, and not much more than that. 

In the end Veronica Mars is kind of a High School reunion where you get to meet friends from your past and discover what they have been up to. If High School was a big deal for you so will the reunion, but if it wasn't something you really cared much about then you might find the experience sort of pointless. Fans of the series will have a blast revisiting these characters and discovering how they changed, newcomers will enjoy the mystery but will probably not be too blown away by it. As a newcomer I still had a decent time despite not understanding all the references and enjoyed the film. The love triangle didn't work too well for me because I honestly didn't find the appeal Logan (played by Jason Dohring) had on Veronica, but that is probably something that was built on the show. It doesn't work well in the film however. Chris Lowell seemed like a much better candidate for Kristen Bells' Veronica. There were also some funny cameos included in this film which helped lighten up the mood at times. 

My Review: Frozen (8/10)

"Winter's a good time to sit close and cuddle, but put me in summer and I'll be a happy snowman!"

Frozen may not be among Disney's best animated films, but it sure is a warm and charming one. The animation was gorgeous and looked really beautiful, while some of the characters were quite fun and memorable (Im thinking mostly of Olaf the snowman here). It balances the classic fairytale elements from other Disney movies, while at the same time bringing in some surprising twists to the mix. The Disney princess formula may be old, but it continues to work and charm audiences over the world, and it doesn't hurt that Frozen adds some fresh elements to the known and bankable formula as well. Frozen relied heavily on several musical numbers like most of the classical Disney animated films did, so it also manages to have a nostalgic effect on those of us who grew up watching those movies. This is a fun and warm film that the entire family will enjoy. It's not perfect, it has some very cheesy moments and lacks a stronger villain, but it has plenty of heart and laughs to carry the film.

Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee and loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale, The Snow Queen, Frozen is a tale of two sisters, Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell), who grow up together in the palace of Arendelle. Elsa has a magical power which allows her to turn things into ice and snow. At first it's all fun and games, but when Elsa's power increases she cannot control it any longer and is forced to live secluded in her room. After an unfortunate accident Elsa brings an eternal winter to Arendelle and runs away from the palace ashamed for what she has caused. Elsa sets out on an adventure to bring her sister back with the help of a mountain man named Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and his reindeer Sven. Along the way they encounter a friendly snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad) and together they face the cold weather as they search for Elsa in order to bring her back home, but Elsa fears her powers have become too dangerous and is afraid to return home.

Lee happens to be the first female director of a Disney animated film, and she delivers by creating stronger female characters. Frozen becomes more than anything a story that centers on these two sisters and the bond between them. Fear gets in the way of their relationship and it's up to them to overcome it. They are strong characters that don't depend on a prince to come to their rescue. That is what makes this classic fairytale take a modern turn. It is gorgeously animated and has some very warm moments with some catchy songs. Olaf also delivers most laughs in this film. It was just a fun and entertaining film and one more that succeeds in Disney's long line of memorable films. 

My Review: Stuck in Love (5/10)

"Your sister is a great writer, and it's because she is courageous in life."

Stuck in Love is one of those movies that is a bit difficult to review because there is little positive or negative things I can say about it. It is not great, but it is not bad either, it is just an average indie rom-com that never managed to get me emotionally involved with the characters. I was a bit disappointed because the trailer for this film looked so good. It made me think this was going to be similar to The Squid and the Whale since it dealt with writers and divorce; and it could have been similar with the only difference that the kids in this film were older. But the script wasn't nearly up to par with that film. Stuck in Love lacked that slick and edgy humor. There were some interesting moments thanks to a very likable and strong cast, but at the end this film felt like another formulaic Hollywood rom-com with everything fitting together too neatly during the final Thanksgiving dinner scene. This is Josh Boone's directorial debut and he had an impressive cast to work with, but ultimately his script was the weakest link here. It wasn't a terrible film, it managed to capture the several different dynamics of love through the very different characters and their love interests, but it was all uninspiring at times and predictable.

The film introduces us to a modern day American family of writers, the Borgens. William (Greg Kinnear) is a successful writer who has spent the last 3 years of his life waiting for his ex-wife, Erica (Jennifer Connelly) to return. She left him for a younger man, and he often stalks her hoping she will one day come back to him. Their oldest daughter, Samantha (Lily Collins) hasn't been able to forgive her for it. She hasn't spoken with her mother and doesn't believe in love or relationships. She is outgoing and likes to hook up with guys, but avoids any kind of relationship because she knows how devastating heartbreaks can be. She sees it every day in her father's moping face. She has just finished writing her first novel and is getting it published. Her younger brother, Rusty (Nat Wolff), is also an aspiring writer who also happens to be a huge Stephen King fan. He isn't very popular at school, but falls for the very beautiful and outgoing Kate (Liana Liberato). She seems out of his league, but she is also looking for someone different who could help her get out of trouble. Following his father's advice, Rusty decides to take risks and experience more of life and so he begins to pursue Kate. Samantha on the other hand is being pursued by a helpless romantic named Lou (Logan Lerman) who believes in true love and is also a writer. The film focuses on these various family dynamics and how each relationship begins shaping their lives.

Greg Kinnear gives a strong performance as usual, playing the caring father who can't seem to get over his ex-wife's abandonment. He hasn't been able to write since and therefor can't move on with his life. He has a casual relationship with his married neighbor played by Kristen Bell, but the film really doesn't focus much on her character. Jennifer Connelly doesn't have much screen time either as her major concern deals with her trying to reestablish her relationship with her estranged daughter. The central characters are actually the young kids who surprised me with very strong performances. Lily Collins is very likable in her role here and you can't help but root for her and her love interest, Logan Lerman. They looked cute together. Collins plays Jennifer Connelly's daughter here and it is surprising how much they really lookalike. I had to check if they weren't actually related in real life. Despite their great performances, I thought the true standout here was Nat Wolff. He plays the insecure kid who is willing to take risks in order to conquer the girl of his dreams. There are some great moments in this film, but the uneven script cost this film and ultimately it just felt like another forgettable Hollywood rom-com.

My Review: Hit and Run (7/10)

¨Whatever happens today is exactly what´s supposed to happen. And if you want, I´ll spend every moment with you for the rest of your life.¨

Hit and Run was exactly the kind of film I was hoping Seven Psychopaths would be like. There is nothing groundbreaking about it, but it is just pure fun and excitement with some strange and unpredictable situations going on. I had a great time with this film and hadn’t laughed so hard in the last month like I did with this movie. This might be a hit and miss for some people, but I had an enjoyable time with this entertaining story. There might not be anything memorable about this, but I still enjoyed the jokes and performances here (especially from Tom Arnold who was really funny). This was a very personal project for actor/director Dax Shepard who showcased some of his vehicles from his personal collection, did his own stunts, and starred alongside his real life girlfriend Kristen Bell. This is only his second film as a director, and once again he co-directed the film with his friend David Palmer, with whom they had previously worked in Brothers Justice, a comedic parody also staring Shepard. Here we get to see a lot of action with cool car chases, some romantic moments, and a lot of comedic and unpredictable situations. The chemistry between Shepard and Bell was perfect, the dialogues they had were hilarious and kind of served as a critique of contemporary society which spends so much time worrying about what may be politically incorrect or not (the scene where Bell discusses how awful it sounded for Shepard to say that a certain vehicle is for ¨fags¨). I honestly have to say that I laughed throughout this romantic action comedy, and would recommend it because it´s the best comedy I´ve seen in a while.

The story centers on a young couple, Annie (Kristen Bell) and Charles (Dax Shepard), who have to make an important decision if they want to continue in their relationship. Annie, who is the only person who has a major in nonviolent conflict resolution, has been offered an important job in a college in Los Angeles teaching. The only problem is that Charles can´t leave the small town they are living in because he is in the witness protection program. Knowing how important this job offer is for Annie, Charles decides to risk it all and goes on a road trip with her. Randy Anderson (Tom Arnold) is the marshal in charge of protecting Charles and decides to follow him because he hasn’t filled all the paperwork it takes to abandon the program. Meanwhile, Annie´s former boyfriend, Gil (Michael Rosenbaum) discovers something about Charles´s past and decides to inform his former gang about his whereabouts. Charles used to be a getaway driver for some bank robbers and has testified against them in court, therefore once these men are informed about his whereabouts they go off chasing him. The members of the gang are Alex (Bradley Cooper), who had to spend some time in jail because of Charlie´s testimony, Allen (Ryan Hansen), and his former fiancée, Neve (Joy Bryant). Thus the chase begins as some funny and unpredictable twists begin to take place during the road trip.

Dax Shepard may not be as cool a getaway driver as Ryan Gosling was in Drive, but this film was still entertaining and funny. He got to show off his cars and skills behind the wheels in order to save expenses in this independent and personal project. As I mentioned before, Tom Arnold had some very funny scenes as the accident prone federal marshal, but we also got to see a different side of Bradley Cooper playing this dog loving bank robber. Kristen Bell is as sweet and loveable as ever and has some great chemistry with Dax. The story was unpredictable as I didn’t know where it was heading at times, but a lot of fun. I thought the cast was pretty interesting and overall there were some good performance although none really memorable. This won´t win any awards, but it still is a lot of fun and felt fresh. This is a small film that many people probably haven’t heard of, but I think is worth checking out despite not receiving much love from critics. Like I said it´s either hit or miss, but I had a great time.  

  

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My Review: Couples Retreat (3/10)

¨Do you have a phone? I need to call God and tell Him that one of His angels is missing. ¨

If you never heard that line before then perhaps you will enjoy this movie which consists of familiar jokes and few laughs and several cheesy dialogues. This movie was really hard to sit through and looked much better in the trailers than it actually was. The cast is an interesting one, but the material they had to work with was very poor. Vince Vaughn teamed up with Iron Man director Jon Favreau and Dana Fox to write the screenplay for this film, and all I can say is that they should stick to directing and acting based on this material. Who shouldn`t stick with directing is Peter Billingsley who really couldn`t prove himself in this his first feature film. He has produced several of Vaughn`s and Favreau`s movies in the past such as Iron Man, Zathura, The Break Up, and Four Christmases, so he is familiar with them. Billingsley is mostly known for his role as little Ralphie from A Christmas Story. In this movie it seems as though the actors just found an excuse to get together and have a good time because no effort was put whatsoever in trying to improve the film. The movie was full of clichés and really bad jokes, and even with my low expectations I was disappointed with this film. It seems as if lately many films with a talented cast aren`t really interested in making a good movie, they just want to have a good time and have fun together (Grown Ups was another example). They might have had fun working together, but for the viewers these films are a huge mess.

A group of friends are convinced of going to a couple`s retreat in a paradisiacal island because Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are having marital issues and want to find a solution to their problems. The other three couples consist of Dave (Vince Vaughn) and Ronnie (Malin Akerman), Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristin Davis), and Shane (Faizon Love), who has recently divorced his wife Jennifer (Tasha Smith) and is dating a twenty year old named Trudy (Kali Hawk). The four couples travel together to the resort named Eden hoping to have a good time while Jason and Cynthia receive counseling. To their surprise each couple is forced to participate in the counseling sessions. There is no time for fun and the activities begin at 6 am with sessions with Marcel (Jean Reno), the man responsible for the couple`s therapy. There are actually two sides to the resort, one in the west for singles who have fun and party all the time, while the one in the east is for couples who are trying to work things out and that is where they must remain even though the rest of the couples don`t think they have marital issues. These counseling sessions bring problems even for the couple`s who seemed to be fine. Each couple has a therapist, played by John Higgins, Ken Jeong, Charlotte Cornwell, and Amy Hill. They also have a yoga instructor who like to wear as little clothes as possible, Salvatore (Carlos Ponce), who doesn`t consider personal space. All of a sudden the tropical island doesn`t seem to have been a good idea for any of them.

This movie relies heavily on cheap jokes that we have all been familiar with in the past and the film really doesn`t work as a comedy. The actors are wasted because the material they had to work with was just terrible. Vince Vaughn was probably the funniest in the movie, but I was really disappointed with the screenplay which he helped write. Jon Favreau has directed some good films as well, but in this movie he just seemed to have his mind on resting and having a good time before continuing to focus on the Iron Man sequel. The supporting cast couldn`t do much to save the movie either. Jean Reno is a funny man, but in this film he had nothing fresh to bring to the table. The same thing can be said about Ken Jeong who was extremely funny in The Hangover and Role Models, but in this movie he simply goes by unnoticed. This is a comedy you should stay away from, don`t let yourself be fooled by the trailers because there is nothing funny about this film. The movie just drags for a long time and is extremely long for a comedy. Skip this movie!

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My Review: When In Rome (7/10)

¨This is what the Romans call the fontana de amore: if you throw in a coin, you find love. So maybe if I take a few like you, you, you, and you, some of the magic will rub on me ¨

(7/10) Director Mark Steven Johnson decided to leave superhero movies (Daredevil and Ghost Rider) behind him and move on to the romantic comedy category with his latest film When in Rome. David Diamond and David Weissman (Old Dogs and Evolution) teamed up once again to write the script for this film, which wasn`t very memorable, but it did have its moments thanks to some good performances from an interesting cast. When in Rome has a very predictable beginning, but once the plot began to thicken I found myself laughing throughout the movie. I really went into this movie expecting to dislike it because most romcoms are very similar and generic, but I was surprised when halfway through I was smiling and actually rooting for the main characters. What I enjoyed the most was that the movie itself seemed to be making fun of other films in its genre by introducing the legend of the fountain of love and all these strange characters that seemed to be taken out from other romcoms. The movie felt much more like a satire on love and you knew you had to take the whole thing more lightly. The two main characters probably didn`t have much chemistry between them, but the movie focuses more on the laughs and awkward situations than on the love plot. When in Rome is so full of ridiculous situations that I felt it worked as a satire on romantic comedies more than an actual one in itself (although at the end of the film you have your typical romcom finale). I found myself laughing halfway through the film up to the very end at all the ridiculous characters and absurd situations that present themselves.

Beth (Kristen Bell known for her TV roles in Veronica Mars and Heroes) is a young woman who hasn`t had any luck with love, but who has a very successful career and loves her job. She has a relationship with her work and doesn`t believe there is anyone out there for her. Her younger sister, Joan (Alexis Dziena), however has seemed to have found the love of her life in a trip to Rome and is getting married. Beth has to travel to Rome for the surprisingly quick wedding and here she meets Nick (Josh Duhamel from Transformers and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton), the best man. They seem to hit it on from the beginning, but Beth sees another woman kiss him during the wedding and ends up disappointed once again. She gets drunk, ends up getting into a fountain of love, and decides to take a few coins in order for some of the love to rub off her. The legend is true and the people from whom the coins belonged too magically fall in love with Beth and begin to stalk her. Among them there is a painter named Antonio (Will Arnet), a successful sausage business man (played by Danny DeVito), a street magician resembling Chris Angel named Lance (Jon Heder from Napoleon Dynamite and yes Pedro has a small cameo as well), and a egocentric male model named Gale (Dax Shepard). Beth really can`t handle all these strange characters that have showed up in her life and realizes that the reason for all this mess are the coins she picked up in the fountain. She even begins to doubt that Nick is interested in her in real life and that he is also under the spell of the legend of the fontana de amore. Now she will have to figure out how to undo what she has done and try to discover if there really is such a thing as true love.

Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel are both very likeable actors and they do a decent job with the script although I can`t say I felt much chemistry between them (however I did end up rooting for them to be together). But the true success of the film relies on the secondary characters who really steal all the laughs. Jon Heder, Danny DeVito, Dax Shepard, and Will Arnet are all extremely funny and they have a chance to play very eccentric characters, which is what they do best. They seem to be taken from different other types of romcom films and put together into this one to serve as a satire on this genre. The movie never takes the romance too serious and that is why it feels so light and gets away with being predictable and corny. There are several laugh out loud and enjoyable moments, but you have to get through the awful beginning and wait until these characters show up to save the film. I recommend this movie, although I was almost certain I wouldn`t because my expectations were really low, but the movie really took me by surprise and made me laugh more than I expected. Yes, When in Rome is very predictable and it probably won`t end up being a very memorable film, but it really was entertaining and funny nonetheless and is worth the watch.