"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.

"Graduation is for the parents...but prom is really just for us." (Prom, 2011)

Movie: Prom

Rating: PG

Release Year: 2011

Notable Cast: Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell

Stars: 1.5

Review: Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy, cheesy, cheesy...did I mention cheesy? movie. In fact, the cheesiest non-Indian movie I have ever seen! Also... (and I am embarrassed to admit this) totally awesome. Haha! I am a sucker for cheese, as well as nostalgia for the good ol' relatively carefree days of high school. Objectively, the movie was incredibly flawed. Dialogue was laugh-out-loud (and I did!) ridiculous, and the characters were uni-dimensional. Acting was just okay, and plot-line was completely predictable. BUT all of this was within my expectations, and as I have mentioned before, I have a high tolerance for movies that meet my expectations. Intent, to me, is supremely important. I don't think the writers/directors intended to make this film any better than it was. In fact, it was rather refreshing to see such a lighthearted and innocent flick. I was particularly amused to walk into the theater and realize I was the only person over the age of 12 or 13. And even more amused to hear the tweens commenting loudly about the cheesiness of the dialogue and scenes! Hahahaha. I would recommend this movie as a totally silly and cute movie for gals.

Good date movie? Nah. Don't torture your guy!

"I don’t know if i picked that circus but something told me that circus picked me." (Water for Elephants, 2011)

Movie: Water for Elephants

Rating: PG-13

Release Year: 2011

Notable Cast: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz

Stars: 2

Review: Totally sub-par movie, in almost all respects. Where to begin? Robert Pattinson is a terrible actor. I am not a Twilight enthusiast but I did see the first movie and have briefly seen his media interactions, and I feel safe in making a generalization about Pattinson as an actor-- He is the Keanu Reeves of his generation. That is to say, he is a nonexpressive, blah actor who directors/writers seem to be trying to sell based only on looks and popularity as opposed to any amount of actual acting ability. He had very few lines in the movie and was generally vapid and expressionless with delivery. Reese Witherspoon, in stark contrast, is an exceptional actress but I continue to be disappointed in her poor choice of film roles. This movie was clearly below her abilities and worth as an actress. She played her role incredibly well, but that did not make up for the fact that her character was an unrealistic, foolish one and wholly uninteresting to watch.

Character construction and development was abysmal. I particularly had a problem with the so-called villain character. How he was portrayed by others and the narrator was not in keeping with his actions (e.g., letting Pattinson go, whereas everyone kept alluding to his thoughtless murdering of countless workers). I think he was meant to be a truly evil guy from whom the main characters were understandably trying to escape. You just didn't buy it from his dialogue and actions, though. I strongly dislike movies where you are told to believe something that is not demonstrated. To harken back to good ol' 9th grade English advice, "show not tell!" Shouldn't be too hard in a movie (as compared to a book), and yet this movie failed miserably.

Love story: Meh. It was just okay. No real chemistry.

After the long list of flaws, I must spend a few words in ardent praise of the incredible set and costumes. Very authentic and beautiful! Definite props there.

Good date movie? Yeah.

"I'd just live. Like it meant something." (It's Kind of a Funny Story, 2010)

Movie: It's Kind of a Funny Story

Rating: PG-13

Release Year: 2010

Notable Cast: Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts, Zach Galifianakis

Stars: 3.25

Review: I really enjoyed this movie. It is in the same genre as Garden State, Juno, and Easy A... actually, it strikes me just now that this might actually be my most favorite genre of movies. I appreciated, in a very Caufield-esque vein, how un-phony were the characters and storyline. Casting was spot-on; all three above-named actors were great in their respective roles. The characters were wonderfully developed. I particularly appreciated the thoughtful construction of the happenings and interactions such that we slowly but surely gained comprehensive insight into the nature of each character. The main character is a straight man in this movie, as it is a existential type of story where the protagonist learns about himself from his unique experiences with rather unique individuals.

Of note, this movie is somewhat juvenile and innocent, much like the other movies of its genre. There is the hint of naivete and simplicity expected in all of Hollywood's productions-- the so-called "happily-ever-after factor." Put simply, the problems presented in the movie are just a little too neatly, and idealistically, resolved, in contrast to the inherent messiness in life. I think, though, that the writers were completely well-meaning. I did not get the feeling that they were at all trivializing the complexity of real-life issues but, rather, offering up hope and optimism. And for this, I applaud them. I am a firm believer that one of the great responsibilities of a movie is to provide escapism, and when a movie also subtly provides hope about real-life stuff, it transcends from enjoyable to moving and inspiring.

Good date movie? For well-established relationships, on a cozy/casual/comfortable date night.

"And yet I am the seat of all authority because they think that when I speak, I speak for them." (The King's Speech, 2010)

Movie: The King's Speech

Rating: R

Release Year: 2010

Notable Cast: Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush

Stars: 3.5

Review: Easily the best movie I have seen all year! The previews do not do this movie justice, and I think if you just heard the premise you may expect it to be a boring watch. Basically, the story is about King George VI (Colin Firth) who had a well-known speech impediment; this is the dramatized version of his journey to overcome the impediment with the help of a speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush). But oh my goodness, this movie was so fantastic, and not boring in the slightest. I have so many good things to say about it that I feel compelled to make a list:

1. Characters and dialogue: The acting was phenomenal. I particularly enjoyed Helena Bonham Carter in the role of Elizabeth (later, the Queen Mother). You may remember her as Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter. She was simply magnificent as the bright, determined, no-nonsense Elizabeth. All three of the primary actors were so well-cast for the roles, and the writers/director did a great job with dialogue and actions that really brought the characters to life and encouraged rapport. I could feel George's frustration, and I found myself so emotionally reactive to his successes and failures on his journey to overcome his impediment... I suspect that you, as I, will find yourself drawn to the characters because you understand them. I think it is difficult in a film to really make a character understood, and I applaud the talents of the writers as well as the actors.

2. Humor: This movie was so funny! Mainly classic dry British humor. I particularly appreciated the witty exchanges between George and Lionel (the therapist), and the unique methods of Lionel.

3. Love!: Oh you knew this was coming! I'm a hopeless romantic. :) This movie is by no means a romance, and some viewers might even say that there is no love story, but I vehemently disagree. I found George and Elizabeth's relationship as it was portrayed to be so incredible and truly inspirational. The way that Elizabeth supported George and constantly encouraged him to grow and learn and be the best version of himself... I think this movie portrayed true love. And though the movie emphasized George, you could just tell from their exchanges the mutual respect the couple had for each other, and that George in turn supported and cared for Elizabeth just as much as she did for him. As a woman, I found Elizabeth to be absolutely delightful. I think in period films it is easy for the wives to be portrayed as somewhat weak and demure, and I appreciated that this movie emphasized Elizabeth's strength. You can't help but be impressed by her, and you come away with the clear understanding that George wouldn't have been as successful, as strong, as able, without his wife, his partner, by his side.

I strongly recommend this movie! A thoroughly enjoyable cinematic experience.

Good date movie? YES!

"Sometimes the things you want the most don't happen and what you least expect happens." (Love and Other Drugs, 2010)

Movie: Love & Other Drugs

Rating: R

Release Year: 2010

Notable Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway

Stars: 2.5

Review: This was an excellent movie! At a superficial glance, this movie seems distastefully to center around promiscuity and frivolity, but honestly impresses when examined more closely. In fact, the carefree nature of the primary characters and the crude humor of some of the scenes is in stark contrast to, and therefore cleverly draws attention to, the underlying serious themes that this movie considers. Without giving too much away, let me say that the most striking thing in this film was the subtle commentary the writers made regarding the discrepancy between what the public covets and what is truly unmet medical need. Jake's character is a wayward young man who finds what he feels is his calling in success as a salesman for the latest new pharmaceutical Viagra. While his career flourishes, he meets and falls for Anne's character who is a live-for-the-moment young artist with early-onset Huntington's disease.

I was particularly impressed by the quality of character construction and subsequent development throughout the film. Acting and dialogue was just okay.

Disclaimer: Please note that this film is definitely rated R, including full-frontal nudity. I do NOT recommend it to children or young teens!

Good date movie? Equivocal.