"He's still such a baby... He's a man... He's a baby man!" (Blast from the Past, 1999)

Movie: Blast from the Past

Rating: PG-13

Release Year: 1999

Notable Cast: Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek

Stars: 2.5

Review: Such a fun movie! This is one of those times when I muse about having a second rating, in addition to "stars"-- while this movie is only 2.5 stars on a 'quality' scale, it is about 3.5 stars on a 'likability' scale. It's an interesting premise-- a 35 year-old man ventures above ground after being in a nuclear fallout shelter his entire life (including some of his fetal life!). The world he sees is in enormous contrast to his parents' world. What results is a number of comical experiences, from public transport to dating etiquette. Casting is hit-or-miss. Brendan Fraser (Adam) performs well as the naive, old-fashioned protagonist, but Alicia Silverstone (Eve) is a bit melodramatic, unbelievable, and unlikable for the majority of the movie. Great supporting cast in Christopher Walken as the dad, Sissy Spacek as the mom, and Dave Foley as Silverstone's friend. One highlight of this movie for me was the fallout shelter! WOW. It was pretty cool / quietly funny in how complete it was, as designed by Adam's eccentric father.

Additionally, while this movie stays pretty light, there is a hint of social commentary in the script as to just how much "progress" had been made from the 1950s-1960s to the current time (~2000) (e.g., dissolution of the quintessential family unit, prevalence of substance abuse, relative decrease in work ethic). It's interesting food for thought. Also, commendably, it is not food that is shoved down your throat.

Definitely recommend seeing this movie-- 3.5 for likability!

Good date movie? Yup!

"I'm Tony Stark. I build neat stuff, got a great girl, occasionally save the world. So why can't I sleep?" (Iron Man 3, 2013)

Movie: Iron Man 3

Rating: PG-13

Release Year: 2013

Notable Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley

Stars: 2.5

Review: I liked this movie. We find a different Tony Stark than we have seen in the previous two movies, a superhero who is a bit bruised after some significant failures in the 2nd movie. Tony now deals with insomnia, nightmares, and panic attacks, on top of a broken Iron Man suit. But, we then see Iron Man do what all great superheroes do-- rise up with renewed strength and vigor.

~~Brief interlude~ I love love love superhero movies, and I have observed that the successful ones seem to follow a pretty classic recipe:
1st movie: Hero has lots of successes.
2nd movie: Hero encounters lots of failure and a subsequent identity crisis that we see further developed in the 3rd movie. The 2nd movie also often involves getting the girl; if not in the 2nd, then definitely in the 3rd.
3rd movie: Hero licks his wounds and then comes back fighting with renewed strength. He has lots of successes. He develops his relationship with his girlfriend. Most importantly, he makes the crucial decision about whether or not to continue using his superhero powers. If he decides to forgo using the powers, it is typically because he chooses to protect and prioritize the woman he loves. ~~~~

Without giving too much away, Iron Man 3 follows the recipe described above, and the plot is well-constructed. Acting by RDJ and the villain is particularly noteworthy. As usual, I find Pepper Potts to be such a boring leading lady for Iron Man, but in this movie she is admittedly more interesting than she has ever been. GP does an okay job as always. I do have to take away some starrage for special effects, stunts, etc. It was over the top. Also, in this final movie, I would have liked to see another ingenious invention by Iron Man, as one of the coolest things about this superhero is that his powers are built on his intellect.

Good date movie? YES. We love superhero movies!

"You can't change your situation. The only thing you can change is how you deal with it." (50/50, 2011)

Movie: 50/50

Rating: R

Release Year: 2011

Notable Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anna Kendrick

Stars:1.5

Review: I did not like this movie. Remember when I said that one of the strengths of "The Help" is that it dealt with a powerful and sensitive topic without being contrived? Well, this movie dealt with a similarly powerful and sensitive topic (cancer battle) but WAS quite contrived. Blech. The movie was a weird piecemeal, sort of like they tried to put a puzzle together where the pieces don't actually fit. For example, most of the movie was attempting comedy but then they would throw in random dramatic/heartfelt moments that fell short. The characters were underdeveloped and not believable. It all goes back to being contrived-- the writers clearly wanted to throw in splashes of all the elements of a cancer story but did not have the finesse nor sensitivity to develop and weave together these elements properly. Also, from a medical perspective, lots of things just didn't add up (I originally had a list of the medical mistakes here, but realized I would give away way too much of the story).

Good date movie? No.

--A note from the author--

Hi everyone! A good friend of mine made a comment on my review of "The Help" asking why I rated it only a 3.5. This is a good question, and one that compelled me to provide information to my readership regarding my 0-4 scaling for movies. What is a 4, to me? I consider a movie to be 4 stars if it is "a 3.5-star movie that has endured." And by enduring, I mean that it has continued to be appealing over time, and that it is appreciated by people of a variety of demographics (age, race, culture, country). I think movies can only get up to 3.5 stars in and of themselves, because the remaining 0.5 stars depends on the response by the audience. Basically, the question is--can a movie really be 4 stars if it is not widely appreciated? Isn't part of the greatness of films their popular approval? I think no to the first question, and yes to the second... and that's the long-winded explanation of my scale. :) So, The Help might eventually achieve 4 stars, and The Godfather, for example, has achieved 4 stars by being a 3.5 star movie that has endured. :)

Have a beautiful day!! :)

"Courage isn't just about being brave. It's about overcoming fear and daring to do what is right for your fellow man." (The Help, 2011)

Movie: The Help

Rating: PG-13

Release Year: 2011

Notable Cast: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard

Stars: 3.5

Review: Absolutely wonderful movie! This movie did an excellent job of portraying the racial injustices of the 1960s in the US, in a way that was poignant without being contrived. The presentation demonstrated an expertise in captivating the audience. This movie excelled in many dimensions. To begin with, set design, costumes, and mannerisms were spot-on for this period film. As for acting, I give great props to Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard for their incredible portrayals of the heroine and villainess, respectively. Stone has really proven herself in cinema, demonstrating vast range through Easy A, Crazy/Stupid/Love, and now The Help. This is the first time I am seeing Howard, who is the eldest daughter of the great Ron Howard. Her passion and immense talent for acting is obvious; it was near-impossible to distinguish the actress from the character in this movie--she truly embraced the role.

One unique and wonderful aspect of this film was its clever presentation of multiple power-differentials. To name a few, there were particular black/white, husband/wife, mother/child, black/black, and white/white relationships, all of which demonstrated inequalities of power (i.e., domestic abuse, child abuse). I really liked this subtle presentation of a multitude of differentials, as it really allowed the film to transcend from appealing to any one particular demographic or cause to making a much louder and significant impact across many demographics and causes. That is to say, this movie makes a very important point about the existence of inequalities in many different types of relationships, not 'just' race or 'just' in the 1960s. There is the implication, at least in my mind, that if we look carefully enough, we can find inequalities that existed, exist now, and will exist. We must, therefore, always be vigilant to identify inequalities and then always be courageous to fight those inequalities.

Let me just add--unlike the latter part of this review which IS a bit preachy, one of the great strengths of this movie is that it was able to say so much WITHOUT sounding preachy. :)

Good date movie? Yes.

"Apes alone...weak. Apes together strong." (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 2011)

Movie: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rating: PG-13

Release Year: 2011

Notable Cast: James Franco, Freida Pinto

Stars: 2.5

Review: In general, this was a pretty good movie with small flashes of brilliance. In fact, it is only just shy of achieving 3 stars. Story and execution were excellent, particularly in terms of the conscientious attention to detail given that this is a prequel to the infamous Planet of the Apes (POTA). Without giving too much of POTA away, let me say that there are certain idiosyncratic characteristics of the apes in POTA which are explained in this movie. For example, in POTA the apes wear peculiar helmets and ride on horses, and in Rise, we see policeman at the end of the movie wearing similar garb. It is admirable that the writers of this movie would take the time with this prequel to set-up its successor so seamlessly.

By far the best, most amazing and thrilling aspect of this movie was the CG. Really impressive! I was blown away. They did a remarkable job. Lots of props here!

Positives aside, there were certainly some blaring negatives. Dialogue was bland and disappointing at times. Delivery and acting was just okay, with Freida Pinto, as a budding star, somewhat timid. I think she has some potential, but has yet to really own her roles and truly make the audience believe her characters. James Franco is a decent actor, and I appreciate that he seems to be steadily improving (i.e., better acting now than compared to Spiderman).

Good date movie? Sure!

"You only live once, let's do this!" (Fast Five, 2011)

Movie: Fast Five

Rating: PG-13

Release Year: 2011

Notable Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson

Stars: 2.5

Review: Excellent action flick! I suppose I ought to preface with my favorite film of this genre to allow my readers a frame of reference in reading this review. My favorite action flick is "The Italian Job." If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! ANYway, Fast Five was pretty great. In general, the action was fantastic, and my rating is simply not higher because of the sub-par dialogue, delivery, and acting. Here's a breakdown:

1. Action: Ah-mazing car scenes and overal heist! In the vein of Ocean's Eleven with respect to assembling a team of characters with unique talents to pull off an unbelievably cool robbery. I particularly enjoyed the relative lightheartedness and comedy of some of the characters and the entertaining character interactions. The cars were SO COOL also-- lots of eye candy fo shizzle! The chase scenes are unrealistic (sorry but no way that two Dodge Chargers could pull that vault), but awesomely thrilling.

2. Dialogue/Delivery: Oh my goodness. TERRIBLE! Characters said weird things, at weird times, and with weird facial expressions and body language.

3. Story: Just okay. I feel the writers tried too hard to JUSTIFY the robbery. They tried to convince the audience that the robbers were in the right by appealing to the gotta-take-care-of-my-family theme. C'mon now. No one in a heist flick is looking for justification. An analogous genre is pirate flicks-- ex. Pirates of the Caribbean-- it's definitely more entertaining that Capn Jack Sparrow is UNABASHEDLY and UNAPOLOGETICALLY a scallywag.

Good date movie? Yup!

"Have you ever gone down a road, like far down, and wondered maybe if it wasn't what you want?" (Something Borrowed, 2011)

Movie: Something Borrowed

Rating: PG-13

Release Year: 2011

Notable Cast: Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin, John Krasinski, Colin Egglesfield

Stars: 1.5

Review: *Sigh.* It's so disappointing when you expect a good movie and then have a terrible experience. This movie was awful. Is it just me, or has it been forever and a day since we had a good chick flick out?! It's like the writers for this movie started by making a list of what they felt are the necessary ingredients of a romantic comedy and then just hodge-podge mixed everything together. It felt like an amateur cooking show. Where to start? The characters were so unappealing. The so-called hero was spineless and pathetic and the so-called heroine was apparently so low in self-esteem that she let herself be treated like trash. I'm not super-feminist, but I'm a little feminist (c'mon people, brownie points if you know the reference), and I was appalled by the love story. What kinds of values are we putting forth into society! Cheating by any other name would be as terrible. Calling it "love" does not make it less terrible. More on characters... Kate Hudson as the immature, party-hardy bride-to-me was a caricature, and John Krasinski's character was simply unnecessary. In terms of acting, no one was awesome. Mostly, I blame the poor dialogue and character development, but even those aspects notwithstanding, the delivery was sub-par. Krasinksi particularly was disappointing. I really like him as Jim on The Office, but somehow his acting didn't cut it on the big screen. Last but certainly not least, 'cuz I am loathe to waste any more time on this movie, this movie was BORING.

Good date movie? No.