Potiche (Trophy Wife) (2010)
Director:
François Ozon
Writers:
François Ozon (scenario) (adaptation) (dialogue),
Pierre Barillet (play),
and 1 more credit »
Stars:
Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu and Fabrice Luchini
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See full cast and crewI definitely enjoyed this one. It was sassy and a nice social commentary. I would recommend it. I want to say it's got a strong message and is feminist, but I don't want to turn off some people... but then again, if they can't handle women with power, they can bugger off! ;) Enjoyable film.
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Hollywood, je t'aime (2009)
Director:
Jason Bushman
Writer:
Jason Bushman
Stars:
Eric Debets, Chad Allen and Jonathan Blanc
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See full cast and crewI was expecting something a bit raunchier (not that I wanted it, but the summary suggested it would be, so I was wary) but am glad with what I got. The writer/director seems to be very familiar with Hollywood culture, but also French culture/cinema. I found the time frame to be a bit frightening on a personal level, as in the character was very brave to have done what he did. He seemed a little naïve but we saw he could hold his own. I liked the attachment issue because it gave the character depth. We like the protagonist.This is a good flick for those of you interested in/comfortable with gay cinema. If not, well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you twice.
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Regresa (2010)
Director:
Alejandro González Padilla
Stars:
Jaime Camil, Blanca Soto and Javier Tolosa
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See full cast and crewIt was a nice cast of characters, an interesting premise and an okay watch. I half-expected a different outcome and was happy that didn't happen. Did I like the actual outcome? A little contrived, but if you are looking for a romance, it's nice, I suppose. Would I recommend it? Sure? I know that doesn't sound very enthusiastic, but if you have time to kill and the impulse, go for it. I liked the attention paid to dying languages. That's an important theme/interest for me.
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Letters to Juliet (2010)
Director:
Gary Winick
Stars:
Amanda Seyfried, Gael García Bernal and Vanessa Redgrave
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See full cast and crewYes, I know. Gag me, right? But every once in a while, a fluffy movie is nice. And this is fluff. Complete and utter fluff. And yes it's contrived and predictable to the maximum. And corny and on the nose. But sometimes that's what a person is looking for. Some escapism. The idea of the fairy tale. For everything to work out like in the movies. But the creators knew it was supposed to be that and it fit into its slot with perfection. So, there are no surprises in this movie. It wasn't terrible. I mean, yeah, you may have rolled your eyes and predicted all the events, but the story or the characters or the desire to see it finished... that kept me in until the end. So, if you want a fluffy, feel good movie, this one will do. P.S. I don't even want to watch the trailer again. I've see it too many times before. Oh and I hate that Taylor Swift song. Gag. But I want to go back to Italy!
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Just Go With It (2011)
Director:
Dennis Dugan
Stars:
Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston and Brooklyn Decker
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See full cast and crewAnother predictable movie. Apparently based on a stage play. BUT, I really liked it. It was a comedy of errors and we KNEW what was going to happen. I was intrigued by the pairing of Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. I liked it. It was weird but I liked it. Some of the cameos/roles were bizarre! Dave Matthews, Nicole Kidman, Kevin Nealon, Rachel Dratch. But I think that totally made the movie lots of fun. That and the extra tidbits of comedy provided for the viewer.They know the genre of comedy well and delivered a fun movie. I would watch it again. Cute, predictable, but a fun ride.
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500 Days of Summer (2009)
Director:
Marc Webb
Stars:
Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Geoffrey Arend
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See full cast and crewLots of people had recommended this movie to movie and I was wary about it for sure. Too many recommendations means a lot of hype and that often leads to disappointment. But I survived okay. I wasn't blown away, but I was okay with the film. I've often leaned towards the idea that we see too many love stories and get disillusioned and think that every relationship is gonna be "it", or that every movie will always show the couple getting together. So I was glad to see a movie that followed through on showing a relationship that didn't make it, because that will be the majority of relationships that a person goes through in their lifetime. The format was a clever enough take on it. It did a pretty good job of keeping the story interesting, letting us know where we were going, helping us to experience the story in a more entertaining way than from start to finish. It's not a favorite movie now, but it was bearable. I probably wouldn't see it again. I like Zooey a LOT and JGL is yummy. I had been afraid it was gonna be a lot of dance sequences and stuff which I'm okay with. I think I had seen that in a movie preview or behind the scenes sneak peak, but maybe that was something they shot for a music video? Anyway, only one dance sequence and it fits into the feel of that scene. I suppose if you haven't seen this movie and are okay with seeing a non-relationship movie, give this one a go. Oh, and the ending... kinda predictable/on the nose/cliché. Hope I didn't ruin it for you ;) too bad if I did. There's nothing you can do about it now! HA! P.S. I don't like the vocalization of the song in the trailer. Hope it's not Zooey. boo.
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Por Si No Te Vuelvo a Ver (If I Never See You Again) (1997)
Director:
Juan Pablo Villaseñor
Writer:
Juan Pablo Villaseñor
Stars:
Alfredo Alfonso, Óscar Castañeda and Aurora Cortés
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See full cast and crewThere's something adorable about geriatric musicians. You just want to hug them and squeeze them and take care of them. So when they find themselves in predicaments, you want to protect them. This applies to non-musical geriatrics too, I suppose ;) I enjoyed this movie. It gets to you and pulls at your heart strings. You want to reach out and grab the characters. You will definitely have a favorite. Mine was the one with the crazy beard (and bug-out eyes). I think movies with geriatrics always get at me. WAY more than any baby movie EVER could. There is something so frail about age that returns us to helpless children. Sure, we have the impulse to coddle both, but you never really know the history of an older person. This made most of the men seem harmless and safe and maybe too overly naïve as if they didn't know about the terrible things of the world. I found that hard to believe. But maybe senility was supposed to be the answer to that? Anyway, this was probably the best of the bunch that I watched. That and Potiche. Go figure the foreign movies win. Although the other movies were more or less fluff. Sadly, I'm not able to find a trailer for the film, but have discovered that the IMDB page incorrectly states 2000 when it's actually 1997, so says this. I'm not able to find a trailer of it, but here is a clip. Beware. lol P.S. I got the movie from my library and it says it was remastered from the original 35mm film. Woo!
