JUST GO WITH IT (2011)

My Score

 Honestly speaking I expected much more than what this movie actually delivered for the simple reason of the wonderful cast. Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman in one movie? And how can it be this bad I ponder. It’s not the worst romantic comedy ever but all you can gain is some simple laughs after a long 117 minutes. It’s like it just sucked 2 hours of my life time for nothing. 

Danny is a past middle aged plastic surgeon who just met a 23 year old girl. For some reasons (which ‘cannot ‘be explained in a short review) he ends up convincing to her that he is about to get divorced. And he gets his assistant Katherine to pose as her soon to be X wife and her children as his children. The stunt goes uber crazy when everyone decides to go to Hawaii for a vacation. And Danny and Katherine start to realize their emotional side in the middle of all this.

What are good about ‘Just go with it’ are the little funny moments. Some jokes are quite rude to be frank but can give you a good laugh. The two kids do a pretty fantastic job than the adults somewhat. 

And there is plenty to talk about what’s bad about this flick. The plot itself is a failure. It’s vague and doesn’t really build any heat as it should be. And the phase of the movie is quite boring. It drags in some scenes unnecessarily and where it should slow it quickly cuts to the next scene. And as I mentioned before it’s too long. Then the acting is bad. It’s nothing like Sandler and nothing like Jennifer. Don’t know what really went wrong but it’s just not right. 

This movie doesn’t cut the deal even by showing some hot babes in bikinis.After some time all I can think about is was when this will end so that I can release myself from this burden. 

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Director: Dennis Dugan

Writers: Allan Loeb (screenplay), Timothy Dowling

Stars: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston and Brooklyn Decker

PANIC ROOM (2002)

My Score

 Meg Altman is a single mother who is going through a divorce and just moved in separately with her pre teen diabetic daughter Sarah. She has bought a new home in New York which is practically a mansion. For their amusement this mansion has a room called ‘Panic Room’. This room is equipped to keep people safe in the event for an emergency. And when some burglars comes to steal some thing the only safe place Meg and Sarah can find to hide is the panic room. But things start to become quite tense when they realize that what the burglars are looking for is also in the same room. While the bunch of crooks plan on how to get inside the room, Meg and Sarah has to look for a way to get help from the outside world. 

 Panic Room is a very thrilling ride. It takes place 99% inside the mansion and over night. The sequences builds tension minute by minute and every move made by the burglars and the home people becomes tense every time. For the viewer it’s a game of hoping for the best. 

And this packs good performance by Jodie Foster (Meg). When her kid starts to get sick she becomes desperate to find help. And she makes several very risky moves keeping her life on the edge. 

One other major reason for the success of this movie is the cinematography. Especially the sequences which require very dramatic camera movements and long shots combined with CG and moving cameras are done very skillfully. The viewer actually feels how big the house is and how you can really move in and around about it. 

This was directed back in 2002 by David Fincher way before he won the best director award at Golden Globes for ‘Social Network’. And he actually nailed it.

Genre: Thriller

Director: David Fincher

Writer: David Koepp

Stars: Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart and Forest Whitaker

THE COMPANY MEN (2010)

 

My Score

 The Company Men is knitted around few corporate big shots who work for a multibillion dollar shipping company. And for some of them it’s the end of the line when the company decides to cut costs by downsizing when the economy is hard hit by the recession. One day they have all the luxuries they can imagine with big houses, sports cars and expensive suits and on next day they are left with a resume at hand and mortgage to pay. 

When Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) loses his job he gets utterly disappointed and angry but he seems to be taking the economic situation too light. While his wife insist on cutting down the expenses and urging him to find another job he spends time driving his porch and playing golf. Beaten by ego and having too much experience and performance under his belt he let down some job offers thinking something better waits out there. But he seems to be wrong. When the time goes tougher he is forced to sell off the valuable possessions and move out of the house. Finding work as a carpenter and working for his brother in law is the last thing he wanted to do but he is left with no choice. 

The story clearly follows Bobby as the main lead. But it covers the side of some other colleagues who face the situation and the bosses who fire them. What’s good about the story telling is that for the viewer nothing is ambiguous. The underlying reality is how the decisions are made in big corporate firms and what pushes them to take the hard ones and how the employees are forced to take the hit. And the script takes good care of showing the emotional side of all the important individuals involved.

 This is packed with some talented cast. Ben Affleck and big names like Tommy Lee Johns and Kevin Costner. The casting is good and so do the acting. Story flows well without any sudden spikes or drags. 

For most of us who works at corporate companies the movie can be a warning. And it reminds you that nothing is permanent and when times are tougher there are very tough choices to make. And those choices are always not in your favor but making they will pull you through. 

‘Never love your company, because it never loves you’. 

Genre: Drama

Director: John Wells

Writer: John Wells

Stars: Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones

MORNING GLORY (2010)

My Score

 Rachel McAdams is a wonderful actress. She is beautiful, sweet and energetic to fit the role. And her acting is flawless and definite to make you giggle. In Morning Glory all of those qualities of her just glorify the whole movie. As the movie itself has little to talk about its Rachel that makes everything possible. 

Becky Fuller is an ambitious television producer who unfortunately the company decides to lay off due to budget cuts. Desperate to find a job and being a workaholic she finds a new position at IBS network as a producer of the morning show “Daybreak”. Sadly Daybreak being a sinking ship doesn’t offer much for her but she decides to sail up. 

While looking for an anchor she offers it to a veteran journalist Mike Pameroy. Mike being a senior in the field with his own boosted ego and fixed hot temper combined with an irritating attitude rejects at first. But later on he joins the Daybreak crew as he was jobless and wanted the money. 

And now Becky has to deal with Mike’s attitude, a likely to succeed new boyfriend and a show which is due to get cancelled as its ratings are low. She is in the middle of the juggling game working day in and day out trying to reach her dreams. 

Coming from the writers of ‘Devil wears prada’ this movie has that taste. Working class woman, ambitious, stress, bossy bosses, relationship issues and all of that seems familiar. But Morning Glory is not at all boring. As I mentioned at the start Rachel’s acting works the magic. She has so many words to spit out and too many things to consider throughout. 

Harrison Ford (Mike) contributes to his role but for who he is this is not at all a real character which he should be playing.  Therefore his performance is not amusing and mostly under delivered. 

Even if you take the plot, actors, acting and everything else Morning Glory is an average flick. It’s more like a TV sitcom but it will entertain you. If you want something to watch while you relax then choose it. 

Genre: comedy, Drama, Romance

Director: Roger Michell

Writer: Aline Brosh McKenna

Stars: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton