No Strings Attached (DVD)

This year has two very similar films about friends using each other for sex in a comedic way, this was the first one and though it was mildly funny, I'm hoping the second one, Friends with Benefits, is much better. This film had an opportunity to be funny and raunchy, but just fell short and only filled with me with giggles. Of course, it could be the lack of chemistry between Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman that really left me cold. It is sad to see a good actor paired with a bad one because it just makes the latter seem even worse. I think this film would have been much better if it focused on Natalie Portman's friends because that's who got the most laughs.

Beastly

A modern day fairy tale is not hard to find these days, but a well-done modern fairy tale is. Though I know I am too old for the age group this film is geared towards, that does not excuse bad writing. Most of the major plot points seemed contrived and left a funny taste in my mouth. Though Alex Pettyfer was perfect as a self-absorbed, good-looking, jerk, I could not buy Vanessa Hudgens as a brainy, sweet girl. Honestly, the best part of the film was Mary-Kate Olsen because she just went balls out insane, and it worked. I'm glad I only paid $3 to see this film because otherwise it would have felt like a waste of money.

Bridesmaids

Finally something raunchy for the girls!!! I love to watch a good R-rated comedy, but was getting a little tired of the cliché man-child learning and lesson and have been dying to see woman be just as funny, or more so. This film was a dream come true and laughed from beginning to end. Annie, Kristen Wiig, is the perfect woman-child filled with awkward moments and surrounded by odd people. All the characters play nicely off each other and have a chemistry which has been lacking in a lot of female driven films. I laughed from start to finish and my cheeks hurt from smiling for 2 hours straight. I just hope this is a sign of more funny women to come.

Thor

Yes, another comic book movie, or is it? Though the trailer and talent attached to the film hinted to something good, it's hard to have high expectations for a teenage boy's fantasy. However, with this film, it is perfectly okay to have those high expectations because it meets them. This was a fun film which sets a high bar for all other comic book movies to come. You laugh, you cheer the good guy and boo the bad guy, you leave the theater smiling. It also adds new dimensions to the comic hero genre by having non-sexualized women. The women in the film are known for their skills and their personalities more than for their appearance and none of them wear skimpy/body-hugging outfits showing their bodies. Thor falls for Jane because of her brains and personality, it's wonderful! Filled with positive influences throughout the whole film, Thor is truly the perfect summer blockbuster.

Insidious

When I walked into this film I was expecting a cliché haunted house film with a few cheap scares. I was wrong. This was one of the scariest films I have seen in years. Though it obviously stole from other classic haunting films, it did in a fresh and new way. The lack of special effects also helped to create and eerie atmosphere that was not interrupted by obvious CGI. A fantastic frightfest!

Scream 4

When the first Scream came out it was a breath of fresh air and started a new era of self-aware horror films. The new slashers made way for the gore-porn of the Saw movies and then studios began to remake the classics like Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th. The latest Scream points at the clichés found in today's horror market with astute accuracy. It was great commentary on how every is now over done and over bloody. And the moral of this film: nothing is as good as the original. As far as horror sequels go, this one is pretty good and incredible entertaining.

Sucker Punch

Like most chicks, I got excited about the idea of girls kicking some ass in a comic book type action flick. However, an air of disappointment filled the theater about 20 minutes into the film and stayed there, slowly thickening, throughout the remainder of the film. I just think the film needed some tweaking and I’m curious to know what the director’s cut holds because the film was edited from an R rating down to a more audience friendly PG-13. I wanted shorter action scenes with better transitions. I wanted the evil men to truly get theirs. We can’t always get what we want. The one thing that truly made the film bearable was the amazing soundtrack which I promptly bought the following day.

Paul

Paul is funny. Truly a comedy for the sci-fi geek set. It knew its audience and was very successful in catering to them. I laughed from beginning to end and found myself delightfully entertained by all the references and reasons for why Paul is culturally relevant. If you’re even remotely a fan of science fiction you will love this movie.

Battle: Los Angeles

The trailers for this movie were quite impressive; promising an epic war between aliens and humans, but only showed what they knew would bring audiences into the theater. The truth is the film was more about a small group of marines and their struggles set in the back drop of an alien invasion in Santa Monica. This movie was basically the Hurt Locker, but with aliens instead of bombs. This film didn’t know what it wanted to be. It couldn’t decide whether or not it wanted the audience to care about the characters or not. They were developed enough to annoy me, but not developed enough to make me care. I wanted more explosions, more fights, and less drama.

Red Riding Hood

This is the age of gothic love stories between confused young women and the beasts that love them and this film is no different. Though I don’t care for the Twilight series, I did enjoy this film. Maybe I liked it because of the better quality of acting from veterans like Gary Oldman and an ingénue like Amanda Seygfreid. But from the mist-covered, forest-filled mountain opening all the way to the rather weak ending, this just seems like a better Twilight.