The Secret Life of Pets

PLOT:

Living an easy life, happy terrier Max sees his world upended when his owner brings home Duke, a mongrel Max regards as a loser. But the two soon find themselves allied against a horde of abandoned pets looking to turn the tables on humans.

What people are saying:

“In much the same way that the smash Zootopia demonstrated that creatures of different culture and class and species are better off when they come together, The Secret Life of Pets is a testament to teamwork and friendship and fixing the rifts that divide us. Let the fur – and the warm, fuzzy feelings – fly.” 3 stars

“Draws on the universal experience of pet ownership to draw out the “awww” in all of us. But the film butt-scoots by on its premise. There’s not much more going on, thematically or emotionally below the surface.” 3 1/2 stars

“Quite disappointed. Not at all what I was expecting from the trailer! I thought this was going to be a cute, funny movie about the trouble that pets will get into everyday but then hide all evidence of it just before the owners get home. No not at all. It’s a movie about a big dumb bully who goes out of his way to destroy the life-style of the main character. But wait, it changes to “oh let’s work together and we can all be friends BS”. Ugh. more moral crap. And don’t forget, there’s psycho bunny who wants to kill all humans! At least he’s funny.” 1 star

“It certainly won’t be winning any awards for originality and you’ll probably feel like you’ve seen the story a thousand times before, but with its colorful animation, great voice cast and enough funny moments sprinkled throughout, particularly when it comes down to finding clever ways of portraying the typical animal behavior that all pet owners will recognize, it may be just charming and cute enough to hold your attention.” 2 1/2 stars

“The problem with The Secret Life of Pets is that we’ve seen it before. This movie borrows most of its tricks from Toy Story, Oliver & Company, Flushed Away and other animated features that came before it. It doesn’t really have anything to make it stand out from the crowd. This isn’t a bad movie, it just isn’t anything special.” 3 stars

Man Up

PLOT:

Nancy, is done with dating. 10 times bitten, 100 times shy, she’s exhausted by the circus. So when Jack blindly mistakes her for his date, no one is more surprised than her when she does the unthinkable and just — goes with it. It’s going to take a night of pretending to be someone else for Nancy to finally man up and be her painfully honest, awesomely unconventional self… but will Jack also man up, and be able to get over her duplicity? Best just to let the evening unfold, roll with the consequences, and see if one crazy, unpredictable, complicated night can bring these two messy souls together.

What people are saying:

“Fast-paced and funny with lot’s of quirky, interesting and sometime creepy characters. Good satisfying nonsense.” 4 1/2 stars

“Sweet, heartfelt, very humorous in an awkward kind of way. There was a real chemistry between Pegg and Bell. The ending was predictable but not the road leading to it.” 3 1/2 stars

“Lovely, funny film that does romantic comedy in an honest, sharp way. Pegg and Bell have a tangible chemistry and lightning fast rapport. Kinnear is simultaneously disturbing and absolutely hilarious. There is a quiet, yet earnest charm to the film, that makes it rather endearing as it embraces and betters the romcom tropes and cliches. It is the most well constructed romantic comedy I have ever seen. Well worth the watch!” 5 stars

“I really wanted to love this movie. The London location is neat, and the initial device–meeting the wrong blind date under the clock–is cute. But the girl lead is just SO annoying (like, why is she blowing off her lovely parents’ 40th anniversary party and not simply telling this nice nerdy guy that she’s not Jessica? What’s taking her so long to do the right thing?) Women will want want to throw their Ben & Jerry’s at the screen as they watch this. It’ll drive you crazy to see a beautiful nut-case get away with sleazy stuff that you could NEVER get away with–and would never try. I can’t believe a woman actually wrote the screenplay. Who did she identify with–the lying neurotic female lead? Ew.  ” 4 stars

“Although its climax and ending still have to rely on the same romantic cliches to get going, there are many things to like about Man Up. The hyperrealistic, quick and witty dialogue and interactions between the two leads play out almost like modern poetry; it is an enjoyable combination of awkwardness and farce. And this consistent chemistry continues to impress throughout the film, making Man Up a solid recommendation for a date night movie.” 4 stars

In a World…

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

A king of voice-overs, Sam Sotto, has published an autobiography and is about to receive a lifetime achievement award. His daughter, Carol Solomon, is a struggling vocal coach who has always been overshadowed by her father. Sam kicks Carol out of the house so that he can live with his 30-year-old girlfriend Jamie, and Carol goes to live with her sister Dani.

Upcoming film series The Amazon Games plans to bring back the famous Don LaFontaine “In a world…” line and the trailer voice-over is highly sought after. Sam bows out so that his friend and heir-apparent, Gustav Warner, can assume the role. Gustav fails to show due to laryngitis, so studio engineer Louis asks Carol to provide a temp track. It gains the attention of the executive producer, who now wants Carol for the job. Carol also gets other work offers. She neglects to tell her self-absorbed father about her new-found success. Gustav and Sam feel entitled and are dismissive of the unknown woman who “stole” the job from them.

Due to her intrusive habit of recording guests for her voice archive, Carol is barred from the hotel where Dani works as concierge. Undeterred, Carol asks Dani to interview and record a flirtatious Irishman who is a guest at the hotel.

Carol joins Sam and Jamie at a party thrown by Gustav in his mansion. Carol wanders around admiring the artwork. Gustav flirts and she ends up staying the night. Dani is working late again, although she is supposed to meet her husband Moe for dinner. While waiting he listens to the intimate recording, where his wife pretends to be single. He is shocked. When she arrives home, he is listening to the tape again and again, and quietly walks out.

Rumors spread quickly about Carol and Gustav. Gustav boasts to Sam of his night with some party-crasher, and when he learns she is the woman in competition for the job, decides to keep pursuing her, still not fully realizing who she is.

Sam and Jamie host a meal for his daughters. It comes out that Carol is the mystery woman in the running for the coveted job. Sam is indignant, furious at Gustav, and dismissive of Carol, causing her to leave angry. Sam vows to compete for the job himself. Dani is distraught about her husband, and Carol secretly records her anguish, sending the message to her husband to help win him back.

Competition for the job heats up. All three must send recordings for the studio to decide. Carol is ready to drop out but Louis champions her cause, also explaining that he likes her. Carol admits she likes him, too. They work together to produce the audition recording, then party together afterwards, and at the end of the night Louis finally kisses her.

Though still angry at her father, Moe insists that Carol and Dani go to the ceremony where he is due to receive his lifetime achievement award. There the trailer for The Amazon Games is revealed; Carol got the job. Carol is elated. Sam storms off. Jamie berates him and threatens to leave him if he does not grow up and show support for his daughters. Sam is magnanimous in victory, dedicating the award to his daughters. In the bathroom, Carol encounters the executive producer, who bluntly tells her she was not the best person for the job, but was chosen for the greater meaning of having a woman in that role. Carol continues her work as a voice coach, helping women to speak less like a “sexy baby” and be taken more seriously.

REVIEW:

I assure you, this has nothing to do with the fact that I am starting a new feature dealing with trailers next week, but coincidence has allowed me to view In a World… this evening. I do not want to say that this is a film that needed to be made, but give the subject material, perhaps is should have.

What is this about?

Vocal coach Carol Solomon lives in the shadow of her father Sam, Hollywood’s go-to movie trailer voice, as she tries to break into the field herself. Aided by her sister and a sound whiz friend, Carol jumps into an unexpectedly strange new career.

What did I like?

Topic. Have you ever heard of a film or television show that dealt with voice-overs? I know that I can’t think of any offhand, but there are surely one or two others…maybe? With everything in Hollywood being recycled, rebooted, and bastardized, a new topic for films is very much appreciated, especially one that requires such talent. Watching this tonight, I was taken aback by the amount of work and preparation it takes to be a voice-over artist.

Competition is a good thing. When I was a band nerd in school, I lived for the competition, be it in the form of another band at a contest or football game or someone I needed to beat in chair tryouts. How does that relate to this film? Well, in 2008 master voice over artist and the man who is famous for uttering the line “In a world…” in front of trailers passed away. Since then, no one has filled the void he left (both in this film and real life). With the competition among these voices, it heats up in the final minutes and we really get to hear what each can do, and it is impressive…showing what brought them to the dance, as it were.

Girl power. I’ve never really thought about it, but other than a few kitty litter, detergent, and late night commercials, there aren’t many female voice overs. Now, this isn’t something that, at least to me, is an injustice that needs to be brought to public view, but apparently, Lake Bell did. She thought it was enough of a slight against femdom, that she went out and wrote this film, which eventually led to her becoming director and producer. I think she even had a hand in the casting, but I’m not 100% on that one. All that because of the lack of female voices in movie trailers.

What didn’t I like?

Comedy. This is another in the long line of comedies these days that many think are hilarious, but people like myself find it to be just meh. Don’t get me wrong, there is nowhere in this film that is goes into the dramatic route, but there also isn’t anywhere that it becomes laugh out loud funny, either. Although, I wonder if those moments were taken out, because it seems as if Bell wanted this to be a bit more on the funny side.

Marino. I was listening to a podcast this week and they were talking about Ken Marino. The main thing they said about the guy was that he was either real good at being an ass, or the characters he normally gets cast as are just an extension of who he is. At any rate, this character he plays is not that likeable. If this were a different type of film, he’s be perfect for a supervillain of some sorts, but that isn’t the case.

A little on the side. There is a side plot dealing with the sister and her infidelity with some German guy that really isn’t developed as much as it could be. Part of the reason it to keep this from turning into a drama, which I understand and appreciate, but on the other hand, there is this part of me that wishes they would have gone more into it, rather than tease us with is and then at the end of a montage, we get a resolution. I just wasn’t a fan, is all.

In a World… where all films are copies and ripoffs of each other, this was a breath of fresh air that we all could use. Lake Bell has taken a little known subject and brought it to humorously to the public eye. As a director, she manages to pull a bit of a swerve on the audience by filming scenes as if they were in a drama when in fact they are comedic. Do I recommend this? Yes, very much so! A film like this only comes around once in a lifetime, so check it out!

3 3/4 out of 5 stars

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy

PLOT:

Eric (Jason Sudeikis) is a perpetual adolescent who lives to party, holding lavish theme-events with his friends using his father’s large house in the Hamptons. But when his father (Don Johnson) announces he is selling the house, Eric decides to have one last big event at the house; an orgy

REVIEW:

This film is called A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, so can we really expect much from it? That being said, this was horrible!

First off, if you’ve seen the American Pie movies, specifically American Pie 2, then you get the idea of what is going on here in some sense. The only difference really, is that instead of a group fresh off their first year in college, they are in their mid 30s or so.

Second, one would imagine we’d see a lot more skin and sex, but that just didn’t happen. I won’t say I was disappointed, but I did sort of expect it.

Lastly, this story was horrible. As I aid, it was basically just an older version of American Pie 2, with some changes here and there to make it more “adult”.

These characters have no redeeming qualities and the actors playing them aren’t exactly known for being American’s sweethearts. The worst culprit had to have been Lake Bell. Her character was some sort of psychiatrist and was just plain annoying throughout 90% of the film.

If there was a bright spot, it had to have been the fresh faces Leslie Bibb and the seemingly innocent Lindsay Sloane, whose character brought to mind her days on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.

I think it goes without saying that I am not a fan of this film and feel that I wasted 90 minutes or so of my life watching this tonight. No, I do not recommend this film to anyone, not even my worst enemy. It just isn’t worth it. Yes, there are some funny moments, but they don’t make up for the utter horridness of this picture as a whole. Avoid it at all costs!!!

2 out of 5 stars

No Strings Attached

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) initially meet as teenagers at summer camp. They meet again ten years later at a party at the University of Michigan, where Adam is a student and Emma is visiting for her father’s funeral in Ann Arbor. A year later, Emma and Adam have another fortuitous meeting while at a farmer’s market in Los Angeles, where Emma has just become a resident at a local hospital and Adam is a production assistant for Secret High, a music TV-show, with aspirations of becoming a staff writer for the show. Adam takes down Emma’s phone number, but the two don’t have contact again for another year.

Now a year later, Adam becomes distraught when he learns that his eccentric father (Kevin Kline)—who used to be the star of a TV show called Great Scott—is having a relationship with Adam’s ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Ophelia Lovibond). Determined to “get back on the wagon”, Adam starts calling every woman in his cell phone. The next day, he wakes up after a drunken night to find out that he text-messaged Emma and came to the home she shares with some other residents, including her best friend Patrice (Greta Gerwig). Emma leads Adam to her bedroom to retrieve his pants, where the two of them wind up having sex.

Because of both her belief that ‘no two people were meant to be together forever’ and the pressures of her job, Emma proposes that they have casual sex with each other before setting some ground rules to prevent their relationship from becoming too serious. At first things go well, but then Adam starts becoming jealous of the possibility of Emma being with another doctor, Sam. Although denying that he is jealous, Adam starts presenting her with gifts, which she rebuffs.

Adam becomes more distraught when his father asks him to dinner with Vanessa on Adam’s birthday, where they announce that they’re planning to have a baby together. Emma, who accompanied Adam to the dinner, berates the couple while defending Adam. Adam eventually convinces her to go out with him on a date on Valentine’s Day. Things come to a head when Emma starts becoming too uncomfortable about being on a date with Adam. Adam tells Emma that he loves her, but she grows angry, telling him he should go out with another woman who ‘isn’t going to hurt you’. Adam drops Emma off at her hospital and drives off.

Six weeks later, a script Adam had written for his show and submitted through Lucy (Lake Bell), the production assistant on the show, is being filmed, and Adam gets a writing job on the show. Emma, meanwhile, has become distraught at not being with Adam, which is compounded by her younger sister Katie’s (Olivia Thirlby) upcoming wedding the next day and her widowed mother (Talia Balsam) arriving with a new boyfriend.

Emma tries calling Adam, but Adam rebuffs her on the phone. Emma realizes she wants to be with him, and drives down to his home. Adam, however, arrives home with Lucy, whom Emma takes to be Adam’s new girlfriend. Emma tearfully starts driving back to the wedding.

Before Adam and Lucy can have sex, Vanessa calls Adam—his father is in the hospital, having overdosed on Purple Drank. Arriving at the hospital, Vanessa confesses that she doesn’t want to be with an older man and that she’s scared of old people. She dumps her dog off on Adam and leaves for a party. Adam talks to his father and chastises him, but tells him he’ll call tomorrow.

On the way out, Adam calls Emma back. Adam angrily tells Emma that she needs to have the conversation she wants in person—which she does; Emma’s friend and resident Shira (Mindy Kaling) noticed Adam’s father arriving and called Emma. Adam and Emma eventually reconcile, and after a morning of eating breakfast, they go together to Emma’s sister’s wedding. Emma asks, “So, what happens now?” and Adam silently holds her hand.

In the concluding pictures, it is seen that Lucy—left stranded when Adam and Emma found each other—has taken up with Adam’s father, replacing the feckless Vanessa. Eli and Patrice are shown meeting Eli’s two gay dads. Vanessa is seen in an elevator with old people, being visibly disconcerted. Sam is seen with Shira telling her that he wants to see other people, to which she responds that she has already been seeing many other people. Emma is later seen as the delivery doctor to her sister Katie, whose husband ineffectually tries to soothe her. Guy is seen welcoming someone into the on-call room, who turns out to be Sam. The last scene concludes with Adam and Emma snuggling together while asleep

REVIEW:

Just when I thought all romantic comedies were doomed to be nothing but chick flicks that bash the make species and give women an unrealistic view on life, here comes No Strings Attached.

This film makes no attempt to hide what it is about. Just look at that poster, and you can tell that it involves casual, meaningless, sex. Of course, this wouldn’t be much of a movie if there was wasn’t some sort of plot and, heaven forbid there be a romantic comedy that doesn’t bring in the whole feelings angle, complete with tears, remorse, and of course the resolution at the end.

I really like this subject matter and how someone finally had the balls to make a film about it. In my younger days, I had a couple of friends that I had a similar relationship with. Of course, things got weird, especially since both were exes, but that’s a story for a different time. Point is, this is something that happens a lot more often than the unrealistic stuff you normally see in romantic comedies.

While Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman are the stars of this flick, the characters they portray aren’t really that memorable. It is really the supporting cast that makes this film.

Take for instance, Kevin Kline, who plays the dad. This guy is a semi-retired actor of some sort, who now spends his days getting high, and apparently picking up his son’s sloppy seconds atBurningMan.

Mindy Kaling, who fans of The Office will recognize, plays Portman’s roommate and shines in the few minutes she gets on camera.

New comer Greta Gerwig really brings her A-game as Portman’s best friend, especially when she goes into the troubles of her love life, and subsequently hooks up with Kutcher’s best friend.

Fans of Chelsea Lately may remember Guy Branum and how funny he was. Well, he brings his comedic talents to the big screen here and shows he hasn’t lost any of it.

LakeBelland an unrecognizable Cary Elwes should aslo be mentioned. Keep an eye out for them when you watch this.

As with most comedies today, there is that section of the film where it stops being a comedy and goes into drama territory. Luckily, it doesn’t stay there very long, albeit a bit longer than I would have liked.

Final verdict on No Strings Attached? This is pretty funny flick about casual sex that has a great ensemble cast. While this subject matter may not be the most comfortable for everyone to sit and watch, it is definitely worth seeing. I recommend this to anyone who hasn’t already been offended just by the poster. You won’t be disappointed.

4 out of 5 stars

What Happens in Vegas

PLOT:

In New York City, high-strung stockbroker Joy Ellis McNally (Cameron Diaz) is dumped by her fiancé at his surprise birthday she threw for him in front of all their friends while at the same time easy-going carpenter Jack Fuller (Ashton Kutcher) is fired from his job by his father, Jack, Sr. (Treat Williams). Both become emotionally distraught and, with their best friends Tipper (Lake Bell), a bartender and Hater (Rob Corddry), a District Attorney, take a debauched trip to Las Vegas. They meet by chance when they are given the same hotel room because of a computer error. After clearing up the misunderstanding and receiving upgraded rooms and coupons to various clubs, they party and drink together and Joy and Jack end up getting married. The next morning, they realize it was a mistake and decide to divorce.

Before they do so, Jack uses a quarter Joy gives him in a slot machine. He hits a $3,000,000 dollar jackpot and Joy reminds Jack that they are married and hence, she is entitled to half of the money. The couple returns to New York, where they attempt to divorce. Their judge (Dennis Miller) declares that the couple cannot divorce until they attempt to co-exist for six months, while attending weekly sessions with a marriage counselor (Queen Latifah). If they work at the marriage but still want to divorce after six months, each will be permitted to keep half the winnings. If either party does not cooperate, the money will be tied up in litigation by the judge.

The newlyweds devise more and more cunning schemes to undermine each other, such as Jack telling Joy that their counseling session is canceled to prove she’s not committed, and Joy inviting girls to their apartment to try to get Jack to cheat on her. Jack gives Joy’s ex-fiancé Mason (Jason Sudeikis), her engagement ring back without Joy knowing. At Joy’s job retreat, Jack and Joy ironically find themselves developing an unexpected sexual attraction to one another and they soon realize that being with each other has brought out the best in both of them..

After they get back from the retreat, it’s time for the judge to decide what happens to the money. On her way to the hearing, Joy sees her ex-fiancé Mason and he tells her that he wants her back. He gives her back the engagement ring and tells her that she is good enough for him. Joy realizes that Jack set her up to get back with him, therefore cheating on him and letting Jack keep the money. Joy walks away from Mason and goes to the hearing. At the hearing, their marriage counselor testifies that the couple truly tried to work on their marriage. The judge decides that they each get 1.5 million dollars, taking away taxes and the bills Joy had run up and Jack had spent on his new woodworking business. Joy tells the judge she doesn’t want any money, and gives the engagement ring to Jack, telling him she officially doesn’t want anything from him. Jack realizes she knows that he talked to Mason.

Joy ends up getting the promotion, but tells her boss that she would rather be happy doing nothing than doing something she hated and being miserable. The next scene is of Jack talking to his parents, and them telling him that it looked like he and Joy were actually in love. Realizing his mistake, he goes to her friend Tipper to find out where she is. Tipper tells Jack that she quit her job – a fact she seems quite disgruntled by – and that nobody knows where she is. He has a suspicion that she has gone to a beach (Fire Island, New York) that she told him about, the only place that makes her feel truly happy. Jack asks her to be his wife (again) and she says yes. The movie ends with Jack telling her he hit the jackpot.In the credits it shows a clip of what happened the day Jack and Joy got married.

In a post-credits scene Dave is randomly asking a guy on the street if he wants to party.

REVIEW:

Not everyone cares for romantic comedies. They are so sappy and/or hit and miss. What Happens in Vegas, unfortunately, does little to help the cause of rom-coms. One review I read said it best…”this film isn’t good, but it isn’t bad…it just is…” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Fact of the matter is, to me this thing underachieves. Look at the cast for goodness sakes…Ashton Kutcher, Cameron Diaz, Rob Corddry, Queen Latifah, Dennis Miller, Jason Sudeikis, etc. By any stretch of the imagination, this thing should have been comedy gold, rather than the sad attempt at some levity that this became.

The good…the cast is the selling point, especially Cameron Diaz who looks more radiant than she has in years. Poor execution aside, the story isn’t bad. Normally, I’m not a big fan of side plots that really have no bearing on the actual film, but the parts involving Diaz’ attempt at a promotion and Kutcher’s relationship with his father actually added to the story. Rob Cordry and Lake Bell as the best friends are excellent, especially Corddry.

The bad…this film is a bit predictable, but that has more to do with its genre than how it is written. The story itself, as I mentioned before isn’t bad, but poorly executed. Nothing against Jason Sudeikis, but are to belive he can be on a relationship with Cameron Diaz? No wonder she married Ashton so easily. Seriously, though, you’d think they’d have been able to find a more…I don’t know…hotness equal or superior to play the boyfriend at the beginning. Again, nothing against Sudeikis, it just seemed like a rather odd choice to me. What are the chance that these two people from New York meet? I think it would have worked better if one was from New York and the other someplace like, say, Seattle, and they met in Vegas. That’s just me, though. Queen Latifah and Dennis Miller look so uncomfortable to be in this film. My guess is that it has something to do with the under use of their talents.

So, anyway, this isn’t a great flick, but don’t be put off by that. There are plenty of redeeming, endearing qualities about it. The comedy really gets into a groove for a good portion of the flick, until we get to the romantic, sappy drama part of it. In good faith can I recommend this? Why yes I can. It may not be one of those films you finish and say you want to watch it again, but at least you won’t feel like you need a shower after watching something so utterly horrible that it makes you feel dirty.

4 out of 5 stars