Showing Tag: "romance" (Show all posts)

REVIEW: Beauty And The Beast (2017) – A Star-Studded Cast With A Tale As Old As Time & A Song As Old As Rhyme

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, In : 0.00% Water

Beauty and the Beast
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Bill Condon

Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellen, and Emma Thompson

Disney is in the business of remakes. As if the Marvel and Star Wars dynasties were not enough, the industry titan has decided to bring numerous cartoon classics to life. In the last few years, Disney has released Cinderella and The Jungle Book to much success. Live act...

REVIEW: From Boulder City & Chicken On a Stick To Paris and Seb's, The Jazz-Filled La La Land Is For the Fools Who Dream Season After Season

Posted by James Brown on Monday, December 19, 2016, In : 0.00% Water

La La Land

Directed By: Damien Chazelle

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, and J. K. Simmons

If there is such a thing as a liberal bubble, Hollywood is the absolute epitome of it. There have been plenty of years where the film crowned best picture does not speak to the times in any way, shape, or form. Just look to winners like No Country for Old Men, Birdman, and especially The Artist. In two of these examples, it's clear that Hollywood has an affinity for mov...

REVIEW: Loving Reminds Us That Caroline County Virginia Was Not Always for Lovers

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, November 24, 2016, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Loving

Directed By: Jeff Nichols

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Nick Kroll, Michael Shannon, and Marton Csokas

"I miss him. He took care of me."

-Mildred Jeter Loving

With Donald Trump busy building his Injustice League of racists, sexists, and other deplorables that will comprise his cabinet, I was in need of a reminder that two million people more said no to the politics of hate than those who foolishly said yes. Loving presented that very opportunity. The film centers on the developmen...

REVIEW: Bridget Jones’s Baby - The Mary Magdalene Of London Faces A Geriatric Pregnancy In This Hilarious Rom Com

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Monday, October 10, 2016, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Bridget Jones's Baby
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Sharon Macguire

Starring: Renee Zellwegger, Colin Firth, Patrick Dempsey, Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent, and Gemma Jones

Initially, I was underwhelmed at the prospect of a new Bridget Jones film. To be frank, I did not think a sequel would resonate so many years later, and I would be left with the same “meh” feeling I had after watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. Much to my surprise and delight, Bridget Jones’s Baby delivers laughs and warm...

REVIEW: With Chocolate Ice Cream & Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, Southside With You Is One Stark Reminder of the Good Times with the Obamas

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, August 27, 2016, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Southside With You

Directed By: Richard Tanne

Starring: Parker Sawyers, Tika Sumpter, and Vanessa Bell Calloway

2016 has been one wild election year. One thing that has come of the political tumult is that Americans are reminded just how good we have it with our current Commander-in-Chief. While Secretary Clinton tries to dance away from the perceptions of impropriety during her tenure at the State Department courtesy of the Clinton Foundation and Donald Trump talks about black people and flip...

REVIEW: Indignation Features Son of a Kosher Butcher & Atheist Marcus Messner Spurning Dean Caudwell & The Winesburg Chapel

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, August 13, 2016, In : 0.00% Water

Indignation

Directed By: James Schamus

Starring: Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, Tracy Letts, Linda Emond, Danny Burstein, Ben Rosenfield, Pico Alexander, Philip Ettinger, and Noah Robbins

I'm really enjoying my return to independent film. The timing couldn't have been better. As the mainstream box office continues to largely disappoint, arthouse cinemas are here to pick up the pieces of aficionados' dashes hopes, as long as we're willing to indulge indie filmmakers' tendencies to experiment and di...

REVIEW: In Café Society, Dreams Are Dreams

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, August 7, 2016, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Café Society

Directed By: Woody Allen

Starring: Jeannie Berlin, Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg, Blake Lively, Richard Portnow, Parker Posey, Kristen Stewart, Corey Stoll, and Ken Stott

"Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living, but the examined one is no bargain."

-Leonard (Stephen Kunken)

I haven't reviewed a Woody Allen film in a couple of years. Honestly, it's been since his 2014 feature Magic in the Moonlight. I couldn't tell you if it's just that I'm repulsed by the factoids of...

REVIEW: When Lilith Primrose Thinks I'm Possible, She Says Hello My Name Is Doris

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, April 2, 2016, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Hello My Name Is Doris

Directed By: Michael Showalter

Starring: Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Stephen Root, Elizabeth Reaser, Natasha Lyonne, and Tyne Daly

Unless you're Meryl Streep, good roles don't often come for leading ladies of a certain age. That's how Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, and Angela Bassett end up on FX in American Horror Story. That's how Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin end up on Netflix in Grace & Frankie. That's how Sally Field ends up on ABC in B...

REVIEW: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 – Greek Don’t Crack, Well, Maybe A Little

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, April 2, 2016, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Kirk Jones

Starring: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan, Andrea Martin, Joey Fatone, and Elena Kampouris

In 2002, Nia Vardalos took the summer box office by storm with her romantic hit, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Despite having a budget of just $5 million, the film grossed over $368 million worldwide and was a surprise phenomenon. Now, fourteen years later, Vardalos hopes to recreate the magic with My Big Fat Gre...

REVIEW: An Upside Down Tree, Jane Got a Gun Doesn't Exactly Ride Up the Ridge to Victory

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, February 7, 2016, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Jane Got a Gun

Directed By: Gavin O'Connor

Starring: Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, Noah Emmerich, Rodrigo Santoro, Boyd Holbrook, and Ewan McGregor

Making a movie trailer has to be a challenging art. The men and women that make these trailers have to make a film worth moviegoers' time and money with just a brief two-minute snippet of the movie at hand. They must convey the essence of the film without revealing too many key plot details. They must make a film seem terrific even when it isn't...

REVIEW: When Girls Just Wanna Have Fun & Apple Mojitos, Anomalisa Chooses A Belvedere Martini Straight Up With a Twist

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, January 16, 2016, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Anomalisa

Directed By: Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson

Starring: David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tom Noonan

This awards season is shaping up to be pretty intriguing with regard to animated fare. The two films going head to head are Inside Out and Anomalisa. In one corner, you have an innocent but brilliant exploration of the inner workings of a child's mind and the competing emotions within it. The fifteenth film from Pixar is no doubt a landmark achievement. In the other corner, w...
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REVIEW: Flung Out of Space, Therese Gives Carol A Portfolio of Things to Worry Her Including Love & A Morality Clause

Posted by James Brown on Tuesday, December 29, 2015, In : 0.00% Water

Carol

Directed By: Todd Haynes

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler, and Jake Lacy

I've just about covered all the films in the mix this awards season, excluding The Revenant and 45 Years. Throughout this year’s litany of films, I've mentioned that there was an uptick in the number of adaptations, and I still believe this holds true. The Danish Girl, The Big Short, and Concussion have all continued this trend over the last couple of weeks. Now, we have yet ano...

REVIEW: Immigrant Eilis Lacey Has a Fun Choice Between the Irish Catholic Life With Jim or the Brooklyn Dodgers Life With Tony

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, November 26, 2015, In : 0.00% Water

Brooklyn

Directed By: John Crowley

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Jessica Paré, Eve Macklin, Nora-Jane Noone, and Emily Bett Rickards

Immigrant-themed period piece Brooklyn couldn't have had more perfect timing for its release. It's a time when courts are blocking President Obama's executive action on immigration reform. It's a time when Donald Trump and his fellow Republican presidential contenders are indoctrinating their base with the ...

REVIEW: Despite the Mets, The Dog Walker & Billy Joel's Uptown Girl, Monogamy Isn't Realistic for Trainwreck's Amy Schumer Until It Is

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, July 19, 2015, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Trainwreck

Directed By: Judd Apatow

Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn, John Cena, LeBron James, Mike Birbiglia, Vanessa Bayer, Ezra Miller, and Tilda Swinton

Romantic comedies are dying a slow death at the mainstream box office. With just About Time, That Awkward Moment, and About Last Night joining the ranks in the last couple of years, it's clear that tales of blissful romance have gone by the wayside. Every once in a while, we're reminded that this endangered speci...

REVIEW: I'll See You In My Dreams With An Appletini & A Black Rat

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, June 14, 2015, In : 0.09% Cocktails

I'll See You In My Dreams

Directed By: Brett Haley

Starring: Blythe Danner, Martin Starr, Sam Elliott, Malin Akerman, June Squibb, Rhea Perlman, and Mary Kay Place

I'm one who frequently espouses the notion that we go to the movies and get exposed to different worlds, different cultures, and different ways of thinking. While I certainly still cling to this belief, I'd also argue that we go to the movies to escape from the reality of our own lives. We catch a flick after a long day at work. We...
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REVIEW: The Personal Trainers at Austin's Power4Life Deliver Humorous Results Because No Fear Excuses Surrender

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 13, 2015, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Results

Directed By: Andrew Bujalski

Starring: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Brooklyn Decker, Anthony Michael Hall, Tishuan Scott, Zoe Graham, David Bernon, and Constance Zimmer

You may have noticed that I've been quiet on the independent film front lately. The reason for this is that I have a day job, and my personal life has kept me fairly busy lately. With this, I've slowed down my pace a bit. All that being said, I haven't forgotten about STMR or my love of ...
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REVIEW: Entourage – Vince And The Boys Should Have Stayed On The Small Screen

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Sunday, June 7, 2015, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

Entourage
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Doug Ellin

Starring: Jeremy Piven, Kevin Connolly, Adrien Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Billy Bob Thornton, and Ronda Rousey

Entertainment Weekly Radio held a town hall with the Entourage cast on SiriusXm. During the broadcast, the cast was asked why they decided to turn their hit HBO series into a movie. One of the cast members responded that once they saw how much money the Sex and the City movie made, the Entourage crew decided they could make t...
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REVIEW: Despite Gilchrest & Ng's Chemistry, The Payload from Aloha's Global One Is Indeed Nuclear

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, May 31, 2015, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

Aloha

Directed By: Cameron Crowe

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, and Alec Baldwin

Unexpectedly bad movies are the worst. It's a game of expectations that we've all lost. You go into the theater expecting a halfway decent movie at a minimum. Instead, you get nothing but garbage for your time and money. When you expect very little at the box office, a movie can either meet your expectations by sucking or exceed them by pleasantl...
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REVIEW: In the Old Fashioned 5 to 7, Writer Brian Bloom & His Perfect Love The Mermaid Arielle Swing from the Heels

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, April 26, 2015, In : 0.00% Water

5 to 7

Directed By: Victor Levin

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Bérénice Marlohe, Glenn Close, Frank Langella, Lambert Wilson, and Olivia Thirlby

"I will hold your heart more tenderly than my own."
-Valery & Arielle (Lambert Wilson & Bérénice Marlohe)

I've noted this on several occasions before, but the best films often help me to either broaden or reassess my perspective on this big blue world in which we live. I've rarely said this about films tackling matters of the heart, however. All that bei...
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REVIEW: A Near Miss at 87 Degrees, The Age of Adaline Needs An Electric Jolt Just Like the Dilla Comet

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, April 25, 2015, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

The Age of Adaline

Directed By: Lee Toland Krieger

Starring: Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Kathy Baker, Amanda Crew, Harrison Ford, and Ellen Burstyn

It's the quiet before the storm at the box office this weekend. The summer movie season is right around the corner! Earth's mightiest heroes are leading the charge. Avengers: Age of Ultron is almost here ladies and gentlemen. On this fateful weekend, we have just one new mainstream flick entering the fray, one that could potentially serve as c...
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REVIEW: The Longest Ride – Romance, Art And The Toughest Sport On Dirt

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Tuesday, April 14, 2015, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

The Longest Ride
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: George Tillman, Jr.

Starring: Britt Robertson, Scott Eastwood, Jack Huston, Oona Chaplin, Alan Alda, Melissa Benoist, and Lolita Davidovich

Nicholas Sparks is well known for romance novels that can be easily converted into date night movies. The films based on Sparks’ bestselling novels always find an audience. With dreamy leading men and sweeping love stories, Sparks wins over audiences despite the predictability of his tales. The Longest Ride i...
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REVIEW: Cinderella – Overshadowed By A Frozen Short

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, March 14, 2015, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Cinderella
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Lily James, Richard Madden, Cate Blanchett, Stellan Skarsgård, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, Helena Bonham Carter, Nonso Anozie, and Hayley Atwell

Disney has always been adept at developing and selling princess fantasies. In 1950, Disney’s animated version of Cinderella garnered critical and commercial success, and Cinderella became a vital component of the Disney brand. But Disney did not stop with Cinderella and her prede...
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REVIEW: Seniors Galore, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Is All About the Supreme Quality Hotel and the Viceroy Club

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, March 7, 2015, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Directed By: John Madden

Starring: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton, Ronald Pickup, Tena Desae, David Strathairn, Tamsin Greig, and Richard Gere

Independent films are back on the market! With the awards season having reached its conclusion, it's time for the nominees to begin trickling out of theaters and for fresh original content to begin trickling in. To get things started, we're going back to a familiar plac...
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REVIEW: With the Toledo Panic Button & the Little Blind Mouse, Focus Is All Con Artists Nicky & Jess Really Need

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 28, 2015, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Focus

Directed By: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa

Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Adrian Martinez, and Gerald McRaney

Will Smith used to be the king of the box office. Between his 1996 breakout blockbuster Independence Day and his 2008 hit Hancock, Smith reigned supreme with 12 out of 14 of his films crossing the $100 million mark domestically. So what the hell happened in the last seven years to change this? Smith took a four-year hiatus from the box office and came back ...
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REVIEW: When the Last Shall Be the First On a Midsummer's Night, Miss Julie Obeys Jean Like a Dog & Kisses His Shoes

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, December 7, 2014, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Miss Julie

Directed By: Liv Ullmann

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, and Samantha Morton

I mentioned this earlier this year in my review of Under the Skin, but we haven't had a lot of weird ones at the indie box office this year. Few filmmakers are taking risks with the strange and bizarre, particularly in this later half of the year (with the obvious exception of Birdman). I understand their reasons, but I don't agree with them. Risks are the reasons for which many duds crash and b...
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REVIEW: Beyond the Lights, Noni Jean's Black Bird Is Freed At Last From Her Musical Cage By Officer Hero Kaz Nicol Despite His Fear of Flying

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, November 23, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Beyond the Lights

Directed By: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Minnie Driver, Nate Parker, Danny Glover, and Machine Gun Kelly

You all are familiar with my less than positive sentiments on the state of the music industry today. It's all about sex appeal, club playability, and the bottom line. It's not about the music anymore. It's not about showmanship. It's not about the artistry. Because of this, the industry is a shell of its former self. While I could elaborate on the ...
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REVIEW: Laggies Is All About Relationships Shifting Over Boxed Wine

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, November 2, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Laggies

Directed By: Lynn Shelton

Starring: Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sam Rockwell, Kaitlyn Dever, Jeff Garlin, Ellie Kemper, Mark Webber, and Daniel Zovatto

It's Halloween weekend, and there doesn't seem to be a film out that's I would venture to call a fright fest. Halloween only falls on a Friday every five or six years. With this in mind, we should have more than a 10th anniversary re-release of Saw. There should be some new sicko or psycho terrorizing theaters. As it stands,...
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REVIEW: Few Rich Patterns Are in Hector Journaling His Search for Happiness Except His Lack of a Pen & His Old Flame in a Sock Drawer Agnes

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, September 27, 2014, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Hector and the Search for Happiness

Directed By: Peter Chelsom

Starring: Simon Pegg, Toni Collette, Rosamund Pike, Stellan Skarsgård, Jean Reno, and Christopher Plummer

When I reflect on what happiness means to me, I think of the moments when I'm most serene. For a guy who used to live out of a suitcase like me, the answer surprisingly lies in the skyways and wherever they take me. It's about getting unplugged from the world around me and seeing the new beautiful places this world has to offe...
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REVIEW: If Tragedy Is A Foreign Country, Then The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby Walks Away From Learning Its Native Tongue

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, September 21, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them

Directed By: Ned Benson

Starring: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Viola Davis, William Hurt, Isabelle Huppert, Jess Weixler, Bill Hader, Ciarán Hinds, Archie Panjabi, Katherine Waterston, and Nina Arianda

Companion films are in this year, at least for indie cinema. Veteran filmmaker Lars von Trier was bent on releasing his steamy Nymphomaniac: Parts 1 and 2 to the world this spring. Similarly, first-time director Ned Benson was bent on releasing twin f...
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REVIEW: In If I Stay, Juilliard-Bound Cellist Mia Must Choose Between Her Nasty Bruises Rocker Parents & Her Willamette Stone Boyfriend Adam

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, August 24, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

If I Stay

Directed By: R. J. Cutler

Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Mireille Enos, Joshua Leonard, Stacy Keach, and Jamie Blackley

“Here's the secret baby. If you live, if you die, it's all up to you. So whatever fight you got in you, you gotta pull it out now.”
-Surgeon (Uncredited)

I was able to dodge The Fault In Our Stars earlier this year. I have no interest whatsoever in depressing, melodramatic YA adaptations like this. The sole intention of a film of this nature is to tug at the hea...
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REVIEW: What If Friends Wallace & Chantry Share Elvis's Fool's Gold Sandwich?

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, August 10, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

What If (The F Word)

Directed By: Michael Dowse

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Megan Park, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis, and Rafe Spall

I'm not a perfect model of health, but sometimes we invite health issues with the things we consume. Take famed balladeer Luther Vandross. During his lifetime, the R&B singer concocted a devilish delight known as the Luther Burger (also known as the doughnut burger). This hamburger / cheeseburger is slapped right between two Krispy Kreme doughnuts rat...
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REVIEW: In I Origins, White Peacocks, Strawberry Mentos, & Blind Eisenia Fetida Worms Open the Doors to the Reincarnated Soul Behind the Iris

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, July 27, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

I Origins

Directed By: Mike Cahill

Starring: Michael Pitt, Brit Marling, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Steven Yeun, Archie Panjabi, William Mapother, and Cara Seymour

Faith seems to be on the minds of indie filmmakers this weekend. We've got two movies where the central characters find themselves questioning their beliefs, or a lack thereof. In Woody Allen's Magic in the Moonlight, Colin Firth's Wei Ling Soo finds himself questioning whether there's something more than just the physical human experie...
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REVIEW: With Séances, Mental Impressions, & Floating Candles, Magic in the Moonlight Pits Illusionist Wei Ling Soo Against Spiritualist Sophie Baker

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, July 26, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Magic in the Moonlight

Directed By: Woody Allen

Starring: Emma Stone, Colin Firth, Hamish Linklater, Marcia Gay Harden, Jacki Weaver, Erica Leerhsen, Eileen Atkins, and Simon McBurney

I was probably one of the few movie bloggers who was on the West Coast this week but not in San Diego. As I was departing Seattle on Friday morning, I pondered all the fun movie buffs are having in Hall H right about now. Alas, I'm back on the East Coast, and I've got movies to review. Given that I'm slated to c...
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REVIEW: In Begin Again, Two Lost Stars Wade Through the Strings of the Music Industry to Record a Pearl, An Outdoor Album in NYC

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, July 3, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Begin Again

Directed By: John Carney

Starring: Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Hailee Steinfeld, Adam Levine, James Corden, Cee Lo Green, Catherine Keener, and Mos Def

This year has yielded some solid films, but it undoubtedly pales in comparison to 2013, and even more so to 2012. We just haven't had a consistent wave of quality films hitting the box office. As we approach the Fourth of July holiday weekend, I hope we have a few solid summer flicks in the works. The first film I've opted to ta...
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REVIEW: Watch Me Tell You How Third Person's White is Indeed the Color of Trust, Belief, & the Lies Michael Tells Himself

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 28, 2014, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Third Person

Directed By: Paul Haggis

Starring: Liam Neeson, Milan Kunis, Adrien Brody, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Moran Atias, Maria Bello, and Kim Basinger

It's not too often that we get Paul Haggis sitting in the director's chair. After all, it's been four years since The Next Three Days and seven since In the Valley of Elah. He spends far more time writing movies like Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, though he hasn't been particularly active on this front in the last several years eit...
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REVIEW: Thanks to the Pee Farter, Pregnant Standup Comic & Obvious Child Donna Stern Has an Abortion on the Worst/Best Valentine's Day Ever

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 14, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Obvious Child

Directed By: Gillian Robespierre

Starring: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffman, David Cross, Polly Draper, and Richard Kind

In the midst of Obvious Child, Gaby Hoffman has a scene-stealing moment during which she takes it to the judicial branch of government for legislating from the bench, particularly as it relates to the matters of a woman's body and abortion. While I concur with Hoffman's character, there's a larger systemic issue at play here. Judicial activism is a product ...
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REVIEW: The Fault in Our Stars – Teenagers Swoon As Hazel And Gus Bond Over An Imperial Affliction

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, June 7, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

The Fault in Our Stars
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Josh Boone

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, and Willem Dafoe

Viewing The Fault in Our Stars was a traumatic experience. Not because of the content of the film, but because I was trapped in a theater with hundreds of girls ranging from eleven to sixteen years old who had read and apparently memorized John Green’s novel. I was spared seeing the Twilight films in theaters, so I was wholly unprepared...
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REVIEW: In the War of Words and Pictures, the Love Between Honors English Teacher Jack Marcus & Honors Art Instructor Dina Delsanto Wins

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 7, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Words and Pictures

Directed By: Fred Schepisi

Starring: Clive Owen, Juliette Binoche, Amy Brenneman, and Keegan Connor Tracy

Movie critics can be so snarky and judgmental. I know I'm saying this in the strangest of places — a movie review — but sometimes my fellow critics just hate a film to hate it. As I was wrapping up my review of this weekend's Words and Pictures, I took a look at Rotten Tomatoes and saw that a film that I actually quite enjoyed sits at a lowly 40%. I saw comments ess...
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REVIEW: Blended – Sandler and Barrymore Take Their Romance From Hooters To Sun City

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, May 24, 2014, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Blended
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Frank Coraci

Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Terry Crews, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Kevin Nealon

I actually enjoyed Blended much more than I expected. Before rotten tomatoes are hurled at my head, let me explain myself. Adam Sandler has been on a splendid Razzie run with cross dressing turns in Jack and Jill, the painful but commercially successful Grown Ups movies, That’s My Boy and a host of other film disasters. While his new movie Blended certa...

REVIEW: Given the Contaminated O Negative Zombie Blood in Detroit & Tangier, Only Vampire Lovers Adam & Eve Are Left Alive

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, April 20, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Only Lovers Left Alive

Directed By: Jim Jarmusch

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, John Hurt, and Jeffrey Wright

When it comes to movies, I love to be proven wrong. I'm happy when a movie exceeds my expectations (provided that it's good). I'm happy when a movie is not what I envisioned and is something different (better) altogether. One thing I've noticed is that this happens far more often in independent cinema than mainstream. I guess that shouldn't be...
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REVIEW: With the Empty Lunchbox, the Wrong Train Gets Saajan & Ila to the Right Station — Bhutan

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, March 9, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

The Lunchbox (Dabba)

Directed By: Ritesh Batra

Starring: Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui

"Sometimes the wrong train will get you to the right station."
-Shaikh (Nawazuddin Siddiqui)

2014 marks another year in which the Academy got it wrong, particularly for Best Foreign Language Film. Sure, The Great Beauty rightfully was nominated and won the award. The problem is that it didn't face off with the other great foreign language films of the year like The Past and Blue Is the Warm...
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REVIEW: About Last Night – Kevin Hart Plays Lando Calrissian To Michael Ealy’s Vader In This Sexy Romantic Comedy

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Tuesday, February 18, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

About Last Night
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Steve Pink

Starring: Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy, Regina Hall, Joy Bryant, Adam Rodriguez, and Paula Patton

Kevin Hart is without question the comedian of the moment. With sold out arenas for his comedy tour across the country, a hit television show on BET, and his appearance in every movie trailer imaginable, Hart is clearly riding high. 2014 has already started out with a bang for Hart with his hit movie Ride Along, which has grossed $116 million dome...
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REVIEW: In the City of Justice, Everything Is Connected by Starlight Except the Winter's Tale of Peter Lake & Beverly Penn

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 15, 2014, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

Winter's Tale

Directed By: Akiva Goldsman

Starring: Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, Russell Crowe, Eva Marie Saint, Will Smith, and William Hurt

We've got no originality at the box office this Valentine's Day weekend. Three of the movies arriving in theaters are remakes of films from the 80s. While I certainly don't mind the new RoboCop, three remakes in the same weekend is a bit much. However, that's not enough for Hollywood. There's another film arriving in theater...
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REVIEW: Over Labor Day Weekend, Henry and Adele Wheeler Learn About Peach Pie & Baseball Thanks to Escaped Convict Frank Chambers

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, February 2, 2014, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Labor Day

Directed By: Jason Reitman

Starring: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire, and Clark Gregg

Jason Reitman's Labor Day certainly has some odd timing. Coming out just after the Christmas season and MLK Day, a movie themed around the holiday that closes the summer just doesn't feel right. I know that Valentine's Day is right around the corner and that romances are a dime a dozen around this time of the year. Regardless, the timing of the movie just doesn't feel rig...
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REVIEW: That Awkward Moment "The So" Is Exactly What These Boys Need to Fill Their Rosters, Plus Some Ice Cream & A 40 Oz. Malt Liquor

Posted by James Brown on Friday, January 24, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

That Awkward Moment

Directed By: Tom Gormican

Starring: Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis, and Jessica Lucas

Many, including myself, have said in recent years that the romantic comedy is dead. I have to retract my statement. I'm more likely today to argue that it's an endangered species. The sappy, formulaic rom com is indeed dead. However, fresh takes on the genre do pop into movie theaters every now and then. For 2013, that fresh take was Enough Sai...
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REVIEW: In the Shadows of the Frozen Deep, Charles Dickens Dryly Oscillates Between His Public Love & Secret Invisible Woman Nelly "Lawless" Ternan

Posted by James Brown on Monday, January 20, 2014, In : 0.09% Cocktails

The Invisible Woman

Directed By: Ralph Fiennes

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Tom Hollander

"A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other."
-Charles Dickens

Ralph Fiennes is one of the few big screen talents who can seamlessly navigate between the worlds of big budget blockbusters and indie cinema. He's a very versatile talent and has proven it time and time again. After all, h...
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REVIEW: In Her, Operating System 1 Samantha Learns to Love Letter Writer Theodore Twombly

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, December 26, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Her

Directed By: Spike Jonze

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, Scarlett Johannson, Chris Pratt, and Kristen Wiig

Man falls in love with his personal assistant. Stranger things have happened in human history. When that personal assistant is digital and can take no physical form whatsoever, things get a little more interesting. This is exactly the situation with which we're presented in Spike Jonze's Her. With the advent of Siri and other technologies in recent y...
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REVIEW: In Great Expectations, the Spider and a Mysterious Benefactor Are at Play with Pip

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, November 10, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Great Expectations

Directed By: Mike Newell

Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Helena Bonham Carter, Holliday Grainger, Ralph Fiennes, and Robbie Coltrane

We all know there's been a growing trend in which movie stars are headlining cable TV shows. While it's been a great way for us to get a weekly dose of actors with immense talents, it's also been a way for lesser known talents to make a splash into the industry and gain recognition. For every Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan) or Laura Linney (The Big C), t...
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REVIEW: In How I Live Now, Daisy's Will Power Is Not Quite Enough, Especially When It Comes to Cow Cheese

Posted by James Brown on Wednesday, November 6, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

How I Live Now

Directed By: Kevin Macdonald

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Tom Holland, Anna Chancellor, George MacKay, and Harley Bird

"If the world doesn't end, that's how I want to be, here with you. And that's how I live now."
-Daisy (Saoirse Ronan)

Romances can kill movies sometimes. The undying need to have repeatedly schmaltzy moments can sap away all the energy on screen. I'm sure there are a million movies that fit this description. The worst ones usually involve teens. When this happens, ...
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REVIEW: For Adèle, Emma's Blue is the Warmest, Sexiest Color

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, November 3, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Blue is the Warmest Color

Directed By: Abdellatif Kechiche

Starring: Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux

Since founding STMR, I've been to more movies than I care to count. Because of this, I've seen and interacted with all kinds of audiences. Until last night, I thought I had seen it all. When I attended a screening of Blue is the Warmest Color, however, I checked off one more thing I never could have anticipated, especially at an independent theater. As you may know, Palme d'Or winner Bl...
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REVIEW: With Its Secret Formula for Happiness, About Time Takes Us on a Remarkably Fun Ride Through Tim's Extraordinary Ordinary Life

Posted by James Brown on Friday, November 1, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

About Time

Directed By: Richard Curtis

Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander, and Margot Robbie

A couple of months ago, I said that the age of romantic comedies was over. As the fall season has demonstrated, I might have to retract my statement. Since then, we've seen British rom com I Give It a Year. We came back stateside last month with the charming indie Enough Said starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the late James Gandolfini. Now, we're headed back across t...
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REVIEW: Baggage Claim – An Incredibly Predictable Rom Com, But You Can’t Totally Hate A Movie That Includes A New Edition Dance Routine

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Sunday, September 29, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Baggage Claim
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: David E. Talbert

Starring: Paula Patton, Adam Brody, Djimon Hounsou, Taye Diggs, Christina Milian, Derek Luke, Boris Kodjoe, Trey Songz, and Jill Scott

I am well aware that Baggage Claim currently is certified rotten by other critics. After seeing the film’s underwhelming trailer, I was fully prepared to join that chorus of boos. Much to my surprise, although the film is obvious and predictable, Baggage Claim does have some charm.

Montana Moore (Paul...
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REVIEW: Masseuse Eva Hears More Than Enough Said about Her Flabby Boyfriend Albert from Human TripAdvisor and Poet Marianne

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, September 28, 2013, In : 0.00% Water

Enough Said

Directed By: Nicole Holofcener

Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette, Ben Falcone, and Toby Huss

We've lost many iconic figures in Hollywood this year. We've said goodbye to the likes of Roger Ebert, Jean Stapleton, and even Cory Monteith. Though celebrity deaths generally don't take an emotional toll on me. I do have to say that I was troubled by James Gandolfini's passing earlier this year. The beloved actor made his mark on the world ...
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REVIEW: Don Jon Loses Himself in the Hilarious Moment When Deciding Between One-Sided Internet Porn & Real Sex with Barbara Sugarman

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, September 28, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Don Jon

Directed By: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Rob Brown, Glenn Headly, and Brie Larson

Over the last couple of decades, the Internet has revolutionized the way we do things. It's changed the way we communicate, the way we shop, and even the way that some of us satisfy ourselves. Yes, the Internet has made porn more widely available and has helped meet many men's needs when the women in their lives apparently aren't doi...
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REVIEW: It's Getting Hot in Here at Austenland With Aficionados Jane Erstwhile, Elizabeth Charming, and Henry Nobley

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, August 24, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Austenland

Directed By: Jerusha Hess

Starring: Keri Russell, JJ Feild, Jennifer Coolidge, Bret McKenzie, Georgia King, James Callis, Jane Seymour, and Ricky Whittle

I'm not a casual fan or a devoted aficionado of beloved novelist Jane Austen, nor do I aspire to be. With this in mind, I wasn't overly enthused with the prospect of checking out indie romantic comedy Austenland, a film entrenched in Austen fandom. It should come as no shock that I have no love lost for Elizabeth Bennet or her roma...
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REVIEW: In I Give It a Year, I Never Knew Love Like This Before

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, August 4, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

I Give It a Year

Directed By: Dan Mazer

Starring: Rose Byrne, Rafe Spall, Anna Faris, Simon Baker, Stephen Merchant, Minnie Driver, Jason Flemyng, and Olivia Colman

In my review of Drinking Buddies recently, I wrote about the fact that romance films are an endangered species. Naturally, a romantic comedy hits theaters as soon as I say that. The British rom com I Give It a Year has made its way across the pond, and I just have to say that I never knew love like this before. It's a quirky film ...
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REVIEW: Drinking Buddies Kate & Luke Act Like Fanatics By Ignoring the Love in the Atmosphere

Posted by James Brown on Tuesday, July 30, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Drinking Buddies

Directed By: Joe Swanberg

Starring: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston, and Jason Sudeikis

If this year has proven anything, it's that romance films are all but dead. Just take a good look at the movies of 2013, and see if you can find some grand film with a sweeping romance. You won't find it. At best, you'll find Safe Haven, a watered-down, formulaic imitation of what romance movies once were. Perhaps this is because our rather cynical generation of...
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REVIEW: Joss Whedon's Foray Into Shakespeare With Much Ado About Nothing Does Prove That Man is a Giddy Thing

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 22, 2013, In : 0.00% Water

Much Ado About Nothing

Directed By: Joss Whedon

Starring: Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Reed Diamond, Fran Kranz, Sean Maher, Spencer Treat Clark, Riki Lindhome, Jillian Morgese, and Ashley Johnson

I can't believe I'm saying this, but what do Shakespeare and The Avengers have in common? The beloved Joss Whedon. In his first directorial effort after his mega blockbuster with Marvel, Whedon takes a break from adapting comics to the big screen and focuses on a smaller pr...
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REVIEW: Before Midnight, Take a Time Machine Back to Six Lovely Weeks in the Peloponnesian Islands

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, June 2, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Before Midnight

Directed By: Richard Linklater

Starring: Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy

Unlike Hollywood movies, it's very rare that an indie film gets a sequel. With the exception of some sick horror films, this just doesn't happen too often. You won't see Midnight in Paris Deux, 1000 Days of Summer, or Moonrise Kingdom 2. Even when they generate big profits, they're not coming back to theaters again. The exception to this rule is the Before series from Richard Linklater. First, there was Bef...
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REVIEW: Kiss of the Damned Is One Steamy Erotic Mess of a Vampire Movie

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, May 11, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

Kiss of the Damned

Directed By: Xan Cassavetes

Starring: Josephine de La Baume, Roxane Mesquida, Milo Ventimiglia, and Anna Mouglalis

As the owner of Sobriety Test and its webmaster, I try to regularly stay abreast of comments by readers checking out reviews all over the site. I would like to say thank you to all those who take the time to contribute to the discourse here on this small website. Whether encouraging, enthused, or critical of my reviews, I do appreciate all of your comments and l...
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REVIEW: Even With Bootlegging, Boozing, & Partying, Old Sport Jay Gatsby Lacks Valor Extraordinaire and Any Hope Whatsoever

Posted by James Brown on Friday, May 10, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails

The Great Gatsby

Directed By: Baz Luhrmann

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Amitabh Bachchan, and Elizabeth Debicki

Baz Luhrmann's "modern" take on the classic American novel The Great Gatsby was originally set to be released on Christmas day last year. This would have landed the film in direct competition with the likes of Les Miserables and Django Unchained, which were also released on the same day. To make matters worse, L...
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REVIEW: Love Is Not Quite All You Need When There Are Lemons from Italy

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, May 4, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Love Is All You Need

Directed By: Susanne Bier

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Trine Dyrholm, Kim Bodnia, Paprika Steen, Sebastian Jessen, Molly Blixt Egelind, Christiane Schaumburg-Müller, Micky Skeel Hansen, Bodil Jørgensen, and Line Kruse

Is it me or is it déjà vu this weekend? Last year on this very weekend, Marvel jumpstarted the summer movie season with The Avengers starring Robert Downey, Jr. This weekend, Marvel is again kicking off the summer with Iron Man 3, once again starring the per...
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REVIEW: The Big Wedding: Dirty Talk, Catholicism, Sex And Scandal For The AARP Crowd

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, April 27, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails

The Big Wedding
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Justin Zackham

Starring: Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, Katherine Heigl, and Robin Williams

Color me disappointed. When I go into a film with Robert De Niro, Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams and Diane Keaton, I have certain expectations. Add in Topher Grace, and I automatically expect wit and character. But I should have known that the Katherine Heigl romantic comedy curse would continue. I cannot thi...

REVIEW: To the Wonder Does Nothing to Awaken the Love, That Divine Presence Within Us

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, April 14, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails

To the Wonder

Directed By: Terrence Malick

Starring: Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams, and Javier Bardem

Two years ago, I went to bat for Terrence Malick's Tree of Life. It was an artsy movie without a lot of dialogue. At the same time, however, it was a beautiful, impactful statement about life, the universe, and parenthood. In Malick's latest movie To the Wonder, he's moved onto smaller themes, namely love and faith. Once again, he creates a film with sparse dialogue that tries ...
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REVIEW: The Host - The Wanderer, Wanda and Melanie Battle The Seeker In Stephenie Meyer’s New Film

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, March 30, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails

The Host
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Andrew Niccol

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Diane Kruger, Jake Abel, Max Irons, and William Hurt

With the end of the wildly successful, but critically panned Twilight series last year, teenagers are looking for the next Stephenie Meyer series to fall in love with. Enter The Host. I must say, that as I sat in the theater and a horde of giggly teenagers came pouring in, I could not help but roll my eyes and curse my luck at drawing the short stick on movie revie...

REVIEW: In The Sapphires, Bridesmaids' Chris O'Dowd and the Songbirds Take Some Aboriginal Soul on the Road to Vietnam

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, March 30, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

The Sapphires

Directed By: Wayne Blair

Starring: Chris O'Dowd, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens, and Miranda Tapsell

The music of today is some real crap. We all know it. We all hear it. Some of us even do something about it. Personally, I've found that I spend very little time listening to Top 40 radio anymore. It genuinely sucks. What passes for music today is truly a sin and a shame. Consequently, I stay in the past and tend to go for the oldies. I listen to the likes of...
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REVIEW: Temptation: Confessions Of A Marriage Counselor – If You’ve Seen The Trailer, You’ve Seen The Movie

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, March 30, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

Temptation: Confessions Of A Marriage Counselor
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Tyler Perry

Starring: Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Lance Gross, Robbie Jones, Kim Kardashian, Brandy Norwood, and Vanessa Williams

When I first saw the movie trailer for Temptation: Confessions Of A Marriage Counselor, I thought it revealed too much about the film’s plot. From the movie preview alone, I could see that the lead character is a woman who is tired of being ignored by her husband. She is tempted by a rich exe...

REVIEW: In Upside Down, Pink Bees and TransWorld's Inverse Matter Are the Cure to All Adam and Eden's Double Gravity Woes

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, March 17, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Upside Down

Directed By: Juan Diego Solanas

Starring: Jim Sturgess, Kirsten Dunst, and Timothy Spall

Originality is something that's desperately missing from movies these days. Everything is a sequel, a remake, an adaptation, or a true story. This is a sad state of affairs for cinema today, but the blame cannot be totally hoisted upon the shoulders of studio execs in Hollywood. We as moviegoers share a good chunk of that blame as well. We buy into it. Of the highest-grossing movies of 2012,...
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REVIEW: Safe Haven – An Incredibly Long Tale Involving Domestic Violence And Rediscovering Love Set In The Familiar Town Of Southport, North Carolina

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Monday, February 18, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Safe Haven
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Lasse Hallstrom

Starring: Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, David Lyons, Cobie Smulders, Mimi Kirkland, Noah Lomax

Happy belated Valentine’s Day movie-lovers! On cue, an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks’ novel has hit theaters for those looking for a romantic date movie. Sparks has brought us such films as The Notebook, Message In A Bottle, Dear John, etc. Except for The Notebook, which was a phenomenal film, he is generally renowned for somewhat sappy...

REVIEW: Light or Dark, Caster Lena Duchannes Doesn't Exactly Take Gatlin by Storm in Beautiful Creatures

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 16, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Beautiful Creatures

Directed By: Richard LaGravanese

Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum, Thomas Mann, and Emma Thompson

It's Valentine's Day weekend, so there's plenty of love to be found at the box office. Sappy moviegoers (and their unfortunate boyfriends or husbands) are making the obvious choice and going to see Safe Haven. Action junkies can strangely find John McClane offering a healthy dose of fatherly love in A Good Day to Die Hard. Final...
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REVIEW: Warm Bodies Exhumes the Zombie Movie Genre and Cures It with a Fresh, Funny Tale of Romance

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 2, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Warm Bodies

Directed By: Jonathan Levine

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich, Rob Corddry, Dave Franco, Cory Hardrict, and Analeigh Tipton

Zombie movies are misses more often than hits. We get so many movies about these undead terrors that are as lifeless and mindless as the walking dead themselves. With countless films in the genre, it's got to be terribly difficult to think outside the box and pull together a fresh, innovative story. However, director Jonathan Levine...

REVIEW: Rust and Bone is OPé (Operational)

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, December 22, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Rust and Bone (De rouille et d'os)

Directed By: Jacques Audiard

Starring: Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts

At the indie box office, it seems to be the weekend for depressing movies. After revisiting one of the worst natural disasters in human history, I now get the distinct pleasure of watching Rust and Bone, a movie about a killer whale trainer who loses her legs in a tragic accident with the very orcas she trained. What happened to putting out happy movies around the holiday sea...

REVIEW: Save the Date is an Authentic Romance with Plenty of Drawings

Posted by James Brown on Tuesday, December 18, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Save the Date

Directed By: Michael Mohan

Starring: Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, Martin Starr, Geoffrey Arend, and Mark Webber

With the awards season well under way, we at Sobriety Test have not been paying too much attention to the indie VOD marketplace over the last several months. We've had bigger fish to fry. We've dropped the ball on this and plan on getting back on our A-game with these often surprising indies over the next several months. A great starting point is a little romantic co...

REVIEW: Despite the Trash Bag for Attire, Mr. Excelsior Runs with Greatness in Silver Linings Playbook

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, November 18, 2012, In : 0.00% Water

Silver Linings Playbook

Directed By: David O. Russell

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Anupam Kher, Julia Stiles, and Chris Tucker

"You have to do everything you can, you have to work your hardest, and if you stay positive, you have a shot at a silver lining."
-Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper)

Two years ago, director David O. Russell rocked my world with The Fighter. In my opinion, it may be the best boxing movie in the last three decades. When I hear...

REVIEW: Anna Karenina's Impure Love Doesn't Get the Job Done. What a Sin!

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, November 17, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Anna Karenina

Directed By: Joe Wright

Starring: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kelly Macdonald, Matthew Macfayden, Emily Watson, Domhnall Gleeson, and Alicia Vikander

"Romantic love will be the last delusion of the old order."
-Nikolai Levin (David Wilmot)

With the possible exception of Moonrise Kingdom, Anna Karenina has been the most heavily marketed indie flick this year. Over the course of 2012, I have seen more advertisements for this tale of love than I care to remem...

REVIEW: With the Merchant of Venice and the Loch Ness Monster, Breaking Dawn Part 2 Almost Breaks the Crappy Twilight Mold

Posted by James Brown on Friday, November 16, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2

Directed By: Bill Condon

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, and Michael Sheen

It's finally over! After three novels, four years, and countless bad performances, the Twilight plague is finally over! After enduring the first four films, I came to the final installment The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 ready to break out the shot glasses. I had every right to be. After all...

REVIEW: The Loneliest Planet May Just Be the Most Boring Too

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, November 3, 2012, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

The Loneliest Planet

Directed By: Julia Loktev

Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Hani Furstenberg, and Bidzina Gujabidze

The Loneliest Planet has been a film I've been curious about for some time now. Having garnered quite a bit of love on the festival circuit and even getting nominated for a Best Feature Gotham Independent Film Award, I was of the mindset that this was going to be a great film. However, I'm going to have to go against the grain here and say that The Loneliest Planet is a thor...

REVIEW: A Sex Surrogate. A Wild Priest. An Iron Lung. The Sessions Will Touch You with Its Kinky Words

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, October 18, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

The Sessions

Directed By: Ben Lewin

Starring: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, and William H. Macy

Sometimes, I wonder what makes a screenwriter tick. I wonder how they come up with some of the crazy stuff they put in screenplays. With all I've seen in recent months (e.g., For a Good Time, Call..., Cosmopolis, The Paperboy, etc.), I've really been pondering this lately. Every once in a while, it's sheer creativity. More often than not though, they simply got the idea from somebody else. In the ...

REVIEW: In The Oranges, the Old Cow Eating the Young Grass Does Not Lead to a Happy Movie

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, October 6, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails

The Oranges

Directed By: Julian Farino

Starring: Hugh Laurie, Leighton Meester, Catherine Keener, Adam Brody, Alia Shawkat, Oliver Platt, and Allison Janney

New Jersey. The Garden State. The state where you can't pump your own gas. It's not exactly the hottest travel destination (for good reason). It's suburbia. It's where urbanites go to die. With this in mind, it's the perfect location for a film like the dramedy The Oranges. Nothing quite says quintessential suburban life like the ...

REVIEW: 10 Years Tries Too Hard to Be the Best You've Never Had

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, September 23, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails

10 Years

Directed By: Jamie Linden

Starring: Channing Tatum, Justin Long, Kate Mara, Chris Pratt, Scott Porter, Brian Geraghty, Anthony Mackie, Rosario Dawson, Oscar Isaac, Lynn Collins, Max Minghella, Juliet Lopez, Aaron Yoo, Kelly Noonan, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, and Aubrey Plaza

Hollywood has a tendency to rely on its older, more proven talents to portray younger characters. Because of this, we sometimes don't relate to characters that are our age and are going through struggles similar to our...

REVIEW: Celeste and Jesse Keep Fighting for Love Forever, But It Becomes More About Being Right Than Happy

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, August 11, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Celeste and Jesse Forever

Directed By: Lee Toland Krieger

Starring: Andy Samberg, Rashida Jones, Elijah Wood, Emma Roberts, Eric Christian Olsen, Ari Graynor, and Chris Messina

Romantic comedies typically have this nice smooth formula that generally leads to a happy ending. It's rare that we get a break-up movie hitting theaters. It goes against everything rom coms are about. It's even rarer that we get a divorce movie. Celeste and Jesse Forever is just that though. It's refreshing to get s...
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REVIEW: Dr. Feld Breaks Some Noses to Get Things Going for Arnold and Kay in Hope Springs

Posted by James Brown on Friday, August 10, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Hope Springs

Directed By: David Frankel

Starring: Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell, and Elisabeth Shue

Life is good for Meryl Streep this year. She's added another statue named Oscar to her award shelf. She's considered by most to be the greatest living actress. She's enjoying her status as acting royalty and taking her career in whatever direction she chooses. Now that she's brought The Iron Lady to the big screen, the legendary actress is joining forces with Tommy Lee Jones to e...
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REVIEW: In Trishna, Freida Pinto Blossoms Like a Jasmine Flower & Then Shows Us the Sad Truth Love Has Taught Her

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, July 29, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Trishna

Directed By: Michael Winterbottom

Starring: Freida Pinto and Riz Ahmed

I love movies about Indians. There's something special about getting exposure to Indian culture on the big screen—their music, their dance, their arts. These movies are often uniquely enjoyable experiences. To some extent, it's like traveling without actually going anywhere. With the British drama Trishna, we get just that, a healthy dose of Indian culture.

Jay (Riz Ahmed) and his friends are traveling in India. ...
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REVIEW: When Calvin Makes Ruby Sparks Real, She Becomes a Dream Come True for Moviegoers

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, July 26, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Ruby Sparks

Directed By: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris

Starring: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Steve Coogan, Elliott Gould, and Chris Messina

With The Dark Knight Rises rocking the mainstream box office right now, I've been waiting to see what indie cinema would provide as counter-programming to the year's most anticipated summer blockbuster. It seems they've decided upon Ruby Sparks this week. As opposed to a dark superhero tale full of pain and struggles, we hav...
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REVIEW: Take This Waltz — Playful Flirtation, Lust, Marriage and The “A” Word

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Sunday, July 8, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Take This Waltz
SoberFilmChick

Directed By: Sarah Polley

Starring: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman, and Luke Kirby

It is incredibly difficult to tell an original story about love and marriage. Let’s face it, romance has been stirred, beaten and cooked to death by books, television and movies. But with Take This Waltz, Director Sarah Polley offers a fresh and real perspective on marriage and relationships between men and women.

Margot (Michelle Williams) is a young married writer...
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REVIEW: Magic Mike — I Want To Go To There, But Only For Channing Tatum’s Dancing

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, June 30, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Magic Mike
SoberFilmChick

Directed By: Steven Soderbergh

Starring: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Cody Horn, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, and Matthew McConaughey

When women saw the Magic Mike movie trailer, I believe they said, a la Liz Lemon on 30 Rock, “I want to go to there.” My Magic Mike movie experience was a riot, but it wasn’t due to the actual movie. I arrived at my theater and saw hundreds of women in a line that roped to the theater doors waiting for entry into Magic Mike. Men...
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REVIEW: In To Rome With Love, Woody Allen Gives Us Inexplicable Fame, Passionate Romance, and Impeccable Singing in the Shower

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 30, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

To Rome With Love

Directed By: Woody Allen

Starring: Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, and Ellen Page

I need to get on Woody Allen's travel tip. This man is getting everywhere. I am so jealous. I look at his "work" locations and feel like a bum. I need to step my travel game up a few notches. This guy has taken us to the count city in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. He's taken us to the city of light in Midnight in Paris. Now,...
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REVIEW: You Can Get All Your Classic Rock While Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 23, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Directed By: Lorene Scafaria

Starring: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Rob Corddry, Patton Oswalt, Adam Brody, Derek Luke, and Martin Sheen

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think Steve Carell has been typecast as an actor. In one way or another, he always plays somebody with an emotional imbalance. His characters are either way too jolly or way too depressing. He hardly ever plays normal people. Just look back at a long list of films ranging fro...
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REVIEW: Getting Drunk, Going Down, & Getting Weird. Jack and Hannah Clearly Have a Good Time in Your Sister's Sister

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 16, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Your Sister's Sister

Directed By: Lynn Shelton

Starring: Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Mark Duplass

If a guy and a girl are best friends for a long period of time, chances are that they're going to fall in love some time down the road if they haven't done so already. It's been proven time and time again in life. It's even been proven on the big screen. From When Harry Met Sally... to Zack and Miri Make a Porno, there are tons of examples on film. The latest movie about best friends fall...
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REVIEW: Bel Ami May Not Be a King, But Being a Manwhore Pays Well Enough

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 9, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Bel Ami

Directed By: Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci, and Colm Meaney

I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Robert Pattinson is not my favorite actor. His Twilight flicks are everything movies shouldn't be — utter crap. Team Edward has corrupted a generation of female moviegoers. If his career in the acting world must continue, a film like Bel Ami is a good fit for him. After all, playing a manwhore is a step up fro...
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REVIEW: Whether With a Feather Duster or the Jolly Molly, Hysteria Always Satisfies With Some Old School Sex Toys

Posted by James Brown on Friday, June 8, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Hysteria

Directed By: Tanya Wexler

Starring: Felicity Jones, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, and Rupert Everett

Before we arrived at the medical and scientific knowledge we have today, many doctors were educated fools. You wouldn't believe what some of them thought back in the day. Many completely disregarded science and ignored life-changing discoveries from the research of a few. They didn't believe germs existed and fostered situations in which they hurt their patients far m...
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REVIEW: What to Expect When You’re Expecting — Pregnancy Sucks

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, May 19, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails

What to Expect When You're Expecting
SoberFilmChick

Directed By: Kirk Jones

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Matthew Morrison, Rodrigo Santoro, Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Brooklyn Decker, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock, Chace Crawford, and Cheryl Cole

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I read the best-selling book What to Expect When You’re Expecting and it really was a pregnancy “bible.” So I was excited to see what the film would do with the topic of pregnancy and preparing for ...
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REVIEW: The Five-Year Engagement May Be the Five-Year Comedy, but It Brings Plenty of Laughs with Elmo, Cookie Monster, & Doughnuts

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, April 28, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

The Five-Year Engagement

Directed By: Nicholas Stoller

Starring: Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Lauren Weedman, Mimi Kennedy, David Paymer, Jacki Weaver, Jim Piddock, and Eric Scott-Cooper

With 2012 marking its 100th anniversary, Universal Pictures has got a great line-up of movies this year, especially in the comedy department. Ted and This Is 40 are on the way later this year from Universal. For now, we've got The Five-Year Engagement, a wedding-themed comedy that will s...
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REVIEW: In Its Search for the Light, The Only Destiny That The Lucky One Finds is Deep Darkness

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, April 21, 2012, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

The Lucky One

Directed By: Scott Hicks

Starring: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Jay R. Ferguson, and Blythe Danner

Love is the theme of the weekend at the box office. After a couple of months full of comedies and action flicks, studios decided to throw the dating public a bone and try to give them something a little more romantic. With the adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel The Lucky One, they failed miserably though.

US Marine Logan Thibault stumbles across a photo of a beautiful woman whil...
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REVIEW: Despite the Gender War, Think Like a Man Doesn't Hate the Player. It Just Changes the Game...For the Better

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, April 21, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Think Like a Man

Directed By: Tim Story

Starring: Michael Ealy, Jay Ferrara, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Terrence Jenkins, Romany Malco, and Gabrielle Union

Hollywood has decided to make this third weekend in April about love. At their center, the two films headlining the box office this weekend are love movies. The Lucky One is the latest romance drama to hit theaters, while Think Like a Man is the new romantic comedy. Normally, I would say that having two romanti...
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REVIEW: The Deep Blue Sea Is Lethally Romantic

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, March 31, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

The Deep Blue Sea

Directed By: Terence Davies

Starring: Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston, and Simon Russell Beale

"Sometimes, it's tough to judge when you're caught between the devil and the deep blue sea."
-Hester Collyer (Rachel Weisz)

Love is the most powerful force on Earth. It can be the best and worst part of life. It can give you a euphoria you've never known, or it can just as easily put you through a hell that clouds your judgment. This is the case for Hester Collyer when she tries to comm...
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REVIEW: Delicacy May Not Find the Right Balance, But You Can with a Little Wine

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, March 24, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Delicacy

Directed By: David Foenkinos, Stéphane Foenkinos

Starring: Audrey Tautou, François Damiens, Bruno Todeschini, Mélanie Bernier, Joséphine de Meaux, Pio Marmaï, Monique Chaumette, and Marc Citti

France has played a big role in a lot of the great films of 2011. Whether laying claim to the Academy Award-winning film for Best Picture The Artist or being prominently featured in acclaimed films such as Midnight in Paris and Hugo, France has been the center of attention for the last year ...
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REVIEW: The Decoy Bride – Not Quite Bridget Jones, But Decent

Posted by Mary Dieng on Saturday, March 17, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

The Decoy Bride
SoberFilmChick

Directed By: Sheree Folkson

Starring: David Tennant, Alice Eve, and Kelly MacDonald

The Decoy Bride is a British romantic comedy about Lara Tyler (Alice Eve a.k.a. the braless nanny from Sex and the City 2), an international movie star who is attempting to marry British writer James Arber (David Tennant). Unfortunately for Lara, the paparazzi is hounding her every move and journalists from all over the world are hell bent on snapping pictures of the wedding. One p...
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REVIEW: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Has a Little Bit of Something for Everyone

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, March 11, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Directed By: Lasse Holström

Starring: Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Amr Waked

Running a site like STMR means I have to go see movies that don't necessarily appeal to me. In the last few weeks alone, I've seen the crappy party movie Project X, the absolutely humorless film Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie, and the less than impactful romance The Vow. Now, I'm relegating myself to going to see movies about fishing with the British romantic...
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REVIEW: Friends with Kids- The Bridesmaids Cast Grows Up In This Sexy Rom Com

Posted by Mary Dieng on Sunday, March 11, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Friends with Kids
SoberFilmChick

Directed By: Jennifer Westfeldt

Starring: Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Megan Fox, and Edward Burns

I cannot write this review without a nod to Bridesmaids. After all, a good portion of the cast of Friends with Kids consists of Bridesmaids alumni: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jon Hamm and Chris O’Dowd. But aside from the fact that both films are funny as hell, that is pretty much where the similarities end. ...
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REVIEW: Tyler Perry's Good Deeds – Not Too Bad

Posted by Mary Dieng on Saturday, February 25, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Good Deeds
Mary Dieng

Directed By: Tyler Perry

Starring: Tyler Perry, Thandie Newton, Brian J. White, Rebecca Romijn, Jamie Kennedy, Phylicia Rashad, and Gabrielle Union

I will confess, I was not excited when I was asked to review Tyler Perry’s new film Good Deeds. Not that I don’t like Perry (Mr. Brown aside). At their core, his films tend to be about redemption and the triumph of the human spirit. They are, however, often predictable, and the trailer for Good Deeds looked like a made-for...
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REVIEW: This Means War Means Business

Posted by James Brown on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

This Means War

Directed By: McG

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Chelsea Handler, and Til Schweiger

Guys, it's Valentine's Day weekend, and you're looking for that right movie that can please you and your significant other. It needs to be action-packed, funny, and somehow romantic. That’s a tall order though. Having some badass action sequences for you and some heartfelt, raw emotional scenes for the ladies is a challenging task for any movie. No one film can do all of t...
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REVIEW: Moments of Impact. The Vow Offered Very Few of Them.

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 11, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails

The Vow

Directed By: Michael Sucsy

Starring: Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams, Sam Neill, Scott Speedman, Jessica Lange, and Jessica McNamee

I can't lie. I'm not a huge fan of Channing Tatum. I think he's a very limited actor whose best moments on screen are those when he's not talking. At the same time, I'm a fan of Rachel McAdams. It's been a long time since the days of Mean Girls and Wedding Crashers, and I've enjoyed watching her grow as an actress over the years. With each new role she ta...
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REVIEW: Perfect Sense – A Sexy Love Story In The Midst Of the Apocalypse

Posted by Mary Dieng on Saturday, February 4, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Perfect Sense
Mary Dieng

Directed By: David Mackenzie

Starring: Eva Green and Ewan McGregor

The mark of a solid independent film is whether it leaves you thinking long after you have seen it. You know what I’m talking about—the films where you’re not sure what you just saw after the lights go up and you walk out of the theater; the films that leave you conversing with a friend, questioning what the purpose was and what it all means; the films that make you want to go back to a college comp...
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REVIEW: Loosies – Pickpockets Have Problems Too

Posted by Mary Dieng on Sunday, January 29, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Loosies
Mary Dieng

Directed By: Michael Corrente

Starring: Peter Facinelli, Jaimie Alexander, Michael Madsen, Joe Pantoliano, and Vincent Gallo

Criminals, they’re just like the rest of us! They work their nine to five jobs with little financial reward and the “man” on their backs. They take care of their moms, and they don’t make the best decisions when it comes to love. Who knew?

Bobby (Peter Facinelli) is a thirty-something year old pickpocket who works the streets of New York. Bobb...
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REVIEW: One for the Money Is One for the Crapper

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, January 28, 2012, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

One for the Money

Directed By: Julie Anne Robinson

Starring: Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara, Daniel Sunjata, John Leguizamo, Sherri Shepherd, and Debbie Reynolds

2010 marked the beginning of the end for Katherine Heigl. When studio execs decided to give her a gun in the romantic comedy Killers, we all knew that she could only go downhill from there. As expected, the film was awful and bombed at the box office. Heigl hasn't had a hit since that disastrous film. For some strange reason, some st...
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REVIEW: Angelina Jolie's In the Land of Blood and Honey Is Quite Savage But Very Rarely Sweet

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, January 15, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

In the Land of Blood and Honey

Directed By: Angelina Jolie

Starring: Goran Kostić, Zana Marjanović, and Rade Šerbedžija

I don't ever go into a war movie expecting to come out a happy camper. With a wartime romance though, I wasn't quite sure how I'd come out feeling. After seeing Angelina Jolie's directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey though, I can tell you that they're just as depressing. With all the rape, torture, and murder I've witnessed during this film, I need a drink wit...
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REVIEW: With Silent Movie The Artist, Hazanavicius Makes A Loud Declaration of His Love For The Films of the Past

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, December 25, 2011, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

The Artist

Directed By: Michel Hazanavicius

Starring: Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo

Fall 2011 seems like the season for filmmakers to put out movies about making movies. First, we had Martin Scorsese's Hugo. Then, we had Simon Curtis' My Week with Marilyn. Now, we have French director Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist. With all these films, I'm now just waiting on some bold director to tackle the current period in movie history. I wonder how they're going to glorify the crap that studios ...
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REVIEW: New Year's Eve Doesn't Get the Party Started Right

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, December 10, 2011, In : 0.09% Cocktails

New Year's Eve

Directed By: Garry Marshall

Starring: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jon Bon Jovi, Zac Efron, Ashton Kutcher, Hilary Swank, Abigail Breslin, Halle Berry, Katherine Heigl, Jessica Biel, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lea Michele, Josh Duhamel, Sofia Vergara, Ludacris, Til Schweiger, and Seth Meyers

New Year's Eve is one of my favorite days of the year. The booze are freely flowing, and the party never stops no matter where you are. If you happen to be in New York for New Year's, the h...
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REVIEW: Michelle Williams Brings the Beloved Sex Symbol Marilyn Monroe Back To Life in My Week With Marilyn

Posted by James Brown on Friday, December 2, 2011, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

My Week With Marilyn

Directed By: Simon Curtis

Starring: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Watson, and Judi Dench

When I think of Marilyn Monroe, I think of an iconic actress of the twentieth century, an eternal sex symbol, and a perpetual pill popper. Monroe will forever be remembered as a star who was gone too soon, but people have forgotten that she was also a woman with immense influence. She was very powerful in the sense that she could get the attention of any man ...
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REVIEW: Like Bella, I Have Nightmares. Last Night, I Dreamt About Twilight

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, November 19, 2011, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

Directed By: Bill Condon

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner

I always try to see the best in movies, but sometimes films are just so crappy that they're downright nightmarish. In my first official review of a Twilight film, I wanted to give a decent review. I wanted to be nice and not piss off those diehard Twilight fans, but the temptation to trash this crappy film is just too great. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part...
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REVIEW: Like Crazy Balks Hollywood Tradition and Tells the Truth About Love

Posted by James Brown on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, In : 0.00% Water

Like Crazy

Directed By: Drake Doremus

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, and Jennifer Lawrence

Love is a truly unpredictable thing that can challenge, inspire, and torment you at the same time. When you find it, you should hold onto it. It undoubtedly will present many challenges and a taste for a few strong drinks along the way. No challenge is more difficult or painful than distance. Specifically, long distance relationships can hurt like hell and can kill the spark between two love...
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REVIEW: Midnight in Paris is the Vacation You Never Want to End

Posted by James Brown on Tuesday, August 23, 2011, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Midnight in Paris

Directed By: Woody Allen

Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, and Michael Sheen

Once in a while, a film comes along that makes you lose all sense of reality. You lose track of time and how long you've been in the theater. You forget what else is going on in your life. You become fully immersed in an engaging fictional tale that takes you to another world. That's the magic of a truly great film. Woody Allen's Midnig...
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REVIEW: Crazy, Stupid, Love. Is Fun But Not Crazy, Stupid Fun

Posted by James Brown on Tuesday, August 9, 2011, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Directed By: Glen Ficarra and John Requa

Starring: Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, and Emma Stone

Crazy, Stupid, Love. That's an interesting title for a film that really stands out. It's unique. It's captivating. It's sentimental. Much like it's catchy title, the film is all of these things. Crazy, Stupid, Love. is far from the typical romantic comedy, and that's refreshing to see on the big screen. In this summer season during which moviegoers have been...
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REVIEW: Friends with Benefits Offers Few Benefits for Moviegoers

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, August 7, 2011, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Friends with Benefits

Directed By: Will Gluck

Starring: Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis

The romantic comedies keep coming this summer. Most of them lack originality and style. Some even lack genuine romance or comedy. Nowadays, they're just counter-programming to big blockbusters like Harry Potter and Transformers. Will Gluck's Friends with Benefits is another one of these unoriginal, unfunny romantic comedies. The romance between Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis is there, but the laughs a...
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