Films 125-127 (Some Throwaways to Talk About)
Film 125
"Miss Nobody"
Starring: Leslie Bibb (from a few failed television shows and some movies)
Here's a movie you want to root for because of its attempt at black comedy, but you can tell it's going to fail right out of the box. It never takes itself seriously. The dialogue and delivery is cheeky, at best. And what bothered me is that it didn't have to go that route. You can tell it's very much trying to be like "Amelie" and Hitchcock films mixed together in a blender, but the writing (the script) really fails the film. It's a film contradiction. Leslie Bibb is adorable, gentle, and lovable as Sarah Jane. She does a great job with the character she was given.
Sarah Jane is a quiet and meek secretary at a pharmaceutical company who is hoping to climb the ladder. When she is passed up for a promotion, her bad timing/luck turns into good luck. The beginning of the film helps set the stage for her good luck streak as her abusive father is struck dead by a falling statue of St. George outside of a church where Sarah Jane is competing in a child beauty pageant. Her life is mired in happy, yet tragic, accidents that seem to involve death.
Then, when she gets passed over for a promotion (to a job she's really not qualified for...and those are the flaws in the film, as her climb up the corporate ladder just isn't plausible, because with each death, she inches her way up the company, as well as taking out a few blackmailers who know what's really going on), the womanizer/typical sleazy guy (played briefly by Brandon Routh, the Superman failure) ends up on the wrong end of a pointy umbrella, by accident. When Sarah Jane realizes she can control her own destiny/fate in her professional life, she starts to take a much more hands-on approach to these divine interventions, meanwhile she keeps praying to her patron saint, St. George.
Adam Goldberg steps into her life, as a bad cop/detective on probation staying at Sarah Jane's house (her mother boards people) and he quickly becomes the romantic lead, because that would make Sarah Jane's life ambitions just a little bit harder, and hey, it moves the story along with this "expected" conflict. It's all sort of predictable, but I like what the actors did with the minimum they got. Unfortunately, the film rides on its likability factor...and Sarah Jane is basically a serial killer (in a black comedy, yes). The filmmakers could have gone an entirely different route. I'm thinking "American Psycho," but I think they would've had to cast someone else in the lead because Leslie Bibb's casting banks on likability. As I said, she's adorable and you want to root for you. But here, should you?
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Film 126
"The Romantics"
Starring: another cast of beautiful people (Katie Holmes, Malin Akerman, Anna Paquin, Josh Duhamel, Adam Brody, Dianna Agron, Elijah Wood, Jeremy Strong, Rebecca Lawrence)
Going from a movie that steamrolled over the audience with character that were likable, here is a film that should develop its characters much more (perhaps with a little more background story) but instead goes right for the drama-jugular. The setting is yet another wedding. The conflict pretty starts right from the beginning. Katie Holmes plays Laura, who is the maid of honor to her friend, Lila (played by Anna Paquin, in a bit of a subdued role for her in between seasons of "True Blood") is pouting over her obvious-still-smoldering love for her ex-boyfriend, who happens to be marrying Lila. Love triangles at a wedding at far too over used, and this film doesn't do it much justice. The ex in question is a stereotypical Alpha Male, Tom (played by Josh Duhamel, whom I'm sorry does not have leading man charisma in my opinion). Tom goes missing after the rehearsal dinner and in the middle of the 7 old college friends' final party before wedding "bliss for Lila and Tom (oh come on, really, you know that's not going to happen). Tom is completely unlikable and you really don't care that he's gone missing, because quite frankly Lila would be better off not marrying him and she seems to be doing it just to spite Laura and her I'm-not-over-him-yet attitude. There's even a scene at the end when the two girls confront each other that is about the only redeeming quality of both characters.
Laura ends up finding Tom and of course they sleep together (unseen on screen, but so obvious). Tom ends up going through with the marriage and you almost want there to be a sequel just to see how fucked up their lives are after the fact.
About the only good thing to come out of this dullard of a film that certainly does not live up to its title "The Romantics" is the chemistry and scenes between Adam Brody's and Malin Akerman's characters. She's a straight-to-DVD actress with long legs and blonde hair and a killer smile who has taken to laughing at herself and doing coke as a hobby. He's a wanna-be writer, working on his ambitious novel. They share intimate moments together while supposedly searching for Tom. Trouble is, they're both seeing other people, but are clearly better matched with each other.
Not sure I had high hopes for this film because Katie Holmes is not much of an actress. I mean, Christopher Nolan replaced her in the Batman trilogy after the first film because she didn't bring much to the table. She seems to play stale characters with an even staler acting ability. It's like she hasn't gotten passed her days as playing the pouty Joey from Dawson's Creek. Grow up, Katie! You're an adult now!
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Film 127
"Irresistible"
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Sam Neil, and Emily Blunt (yeah!)
"Irresistible" has its moments to shine, thanks to Susan Sarandon and Emily Blunt, but still falls a bit short of being satisfying. It seems to begin with a cliche, predictable plot. Sophie (Susan Sarandon) is a paranoid wreck, still grieving over the lose of her mother and struggling to complete paintings for a book. Her husband (played by Sam Neill) works often and late. Then, into the picture steps Mara (played stunningly by Emily Blunt). Mara is Sophie's obvious rival. I think it's all in Emily Blunt's eyes with her long dark hair. She is a seductress. And here, her eyes carry something else. Vendetta. You can tell that Mara has it out for Sophie right from the beginning. And the script leads you to believe it is because Mara wants Sophie's husband. She wants Sophie's life, even though she's "happily"married herself. Mara carries herself with such confidence as the threat to Sophie's well-being.
The plot twist is great, but rather predictable. I won't spoil it for you, instead, I'll ask you if you saw it coming? There's a lot of psychological drama like Sophie's paranoia that turns this otherwise decent mystery/thriller into a get-what-you-deserve predictable outcome film. The conflict is between the two women and the men quickly take a backseat to the action. Everything plays out sort of like a soap opera.
With the cast, I am left to wonder why this film went straight-to-DVD because I think it could've done well in the theaters.
Definitely worth a viewing, if not only to be mesmerized by Emily Blunt.
"Miss Nobody"
Starring: Leslie Bibb (from a few failed television shows and some movies)
Here's a movie you want to root for because of its attempt at black comedy, but you can tell it's going to fail right out of the box. It never takes itself seriously. The dialogue and delivery is cheeky, at best. And what bothered me is that it didn't have to go that route. You can tell it's very much trying to be like "Amelie" and Hitchcock films mixed together in a blender, but the writing (the script) really fails the film. It's a film contradiction. Leslie Bibb is adorable, gentle, and lovable as Sarah Jane. She does a great job with the character she was given.
Sarah Jane is a quiet and meek secretary at a pharmaceutical company who is hoping to climb the ladder. When she is passed up for a promotion, her bad timing/luck turns into good luck. The beginning of the film helps set the stage for her good luck streak as her abusive father is struck dead by a falling statue of St. George outside of a church where Sarah Jane is competing in a child beauty pageant. Her life is mired in happy, yet tragic, accidents that seem to involve death.
Then, when she gets passed over for a promotion (to a job she's really not qualified for...and those are the flaws in the film, as her climb up the corporate ladder just isn't plausible, because with each death, she inches her way up the company, as well as taking out a few blackmailers who know what's really going on), the womanizer/typical sleazy guy (played briefly by Brandon Routh, the Superman failure) ends up on the wrong end of a pointy umbrella, by accident. When Sarah Jane realizes she can control her own destiny/fate in her professional life, she starts to take a much more hands-on approach to these divine interventions, meanwhile she keeps praying to her patron saint, St. George.
Adam Goldberg steps into her life, as a bad cop/detective on probation staying at Sarah Jane's house (her mother boards people) and he quickly becomes the romantic lead, because that would make Sarah Jane's life ambitions just a little bit harder, and hey, it moves the story along with this "expected" conflict. It's all sort of predictable, but I like what the actors did with the minimum they got. Unfortunately, the film rides on its likability factor...and Sarah Jane is basically a serial killer (in a black comedy, yes). The filmmakers could have gone an entirely different route. I'm thinking "American Psycho," but I think they would've had to cast someone else in the lead because Leslie Bibb's casting banks on likability. As I said, she's adorable and you want to root for you. But here, should you?
.......................................................................
Film 126
"The Romantics"
Starring: another cast of beautiful people (Katie Holmes, Malin Akerman, Anna Paquin, Josh Duhamel, Adam Brody, Dianna Agron, Elijah Wood, Jeremy Strong, Rebecca Lawrence)
Going from a movie that steamrolled over the audience with character that were likable, here is a film that should develop its characters much more (perhaps with a little more background story) but instead goes right for the drama-jugular. The setting is yet another wedding. The conflict pretty starts right from the beginning. Katie Holmes plays Laura, who is the maid of honor to her friend, Lila (played by Anna Paquin, in a bit of a subdued role for her in between seasons of "True Blood") is pouting over her obvious-still-smoldering love for her ex-boyfriend, who happens to be marrying Lila. Love triangles at a wedding at far too over used, and this film doesn't do it much justice. The ex in question is a stereotypical Alpha Male, Tom (played by Josh Duhamel, whom I'm sorry does not have leading man charisma in my opinion). Tom goes missing after the rehearsal dinner and in the middle of the 7 old college friends' final party before wedding "bliss for Lila and Tom (oh come on, really, you know that's not going to happen). Tom is completely unlikable and you really don't care that he's gone missing, because quite frankly Lila would be better off not marrying him and she seems to be doing it just to spite Laura and her I'm-not-over-him-yet attitude. There's even a scene at the end when the two girls confront each other that is about the only redeeming quality of both characters.
Laura ends up finding Tom and of course they sleep together (unseen on screen, but so obvious). Tom ends up going through with the marriage and you almost want there to be a sequel just to see how fucked up their lives are after the fact.
About the only good thing to come out of this dullard of a film that certainly does not live up to its title "The Romantics" is the chemistry and scenes between Adam Brody's and Malin Akerman's characters. She's a straight-to-DVD actress with long legs and blonde hair and a killer smile who has taken to laughing at herself and doing coke as a hobby. He's a wanna-be writer, working on his ambitious novel. They share intimate moments together while supposedly searching for Tom. Trouble is, they're both seeing other people, but are clearly better matched with each other.
Not sure I had high hopes for this film because Katie Holmes is not much of an actress. I mean, Christopher Nolan replaced her in the Batman trilogy after the first film because she didn't bring much to the table. She seems to play stale characters with an even staler acting ability. It's like she hasn't gotten passed her days as playing the pouty Joey from Dawson's Creek. Grow up, Katie! You're an adult now!
...................................................................
Film 127
"Irresistible"
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Sam Neil, and Emily Blunt (yeah!)
"Irresistible" has its moments to shine, thanks to Susan Sarandon and Emily Blunt, but still falls a bit short of being satisfying. It seems to begin with a cliche, predictable plot. Sophie (Susan Sarandon) is a paranoid wreck, still grieving over the lose of her mother and struggling to complete paintings for a book. Her husband (played by Sam Neill) works often and late. Then, into the picture steps Mara (played stunningly by Emily Blunt). Mara is Sophie's obvious rival. I think it's all in Emily Blunt's eyes with her long dark hair. She is a seductress. And here, her eyes carry something else. Vendetta. You can tell that Mara has it out for Sophie right from the beginning. And the script leads you to believe it is because Mara wants Sophie's husband. She wants Sophie's life, even though she's "happily"married herself. Mara carries herself with such confidence as the threat to Sophie's well-being.
The plot twist is great, but rather predictable. I won't spoil it for you, instead, I'll ask you if you saw it coming? There's a lot of psychological drama like Sophie's paranoia that turns this otherwise decent mystery/thriller into a get-what-you-deserve predictable outcome film. The conflict is between the two women and the men quickly take a backseat to the action. Everything plays out sort of like a soap opera.
With the cast, I am left to wonder why this film went straight-to-DVD because I think it could've done well in the theaters.
Definitely worth a viewing, if not only to be mesmerized by Emily Blunt.
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