A lot of people love the television show, The Office. I don't know how many people realize this comedy started off as a British tv show, thanks mainly to Ricky Gervais. I think one of the best things that could've happened to him finally did: landing a leading role in a film (although how funny was he in Night at the Museum).
A delightful, poignant, surprising yet not so surprising romantic comedy, Ghost Town was enjoyable from the very beginning to the lovely John Mayer laced closing credits. It was very well cast, and although Gervais certainly stole the screen with his hilarious seriousness and British snobbery as an antisocial dentist named Pincus, supporting characters played by Greg Kinnear and Tea Leoni were just as fantastic. Kinnear makes an excellent rich, self-absorbed New York ghost, and Leoni, who plays his widow is sweet, endearing and charming.
Like most RomComs, the storyline itself was somewhat predictable, but this was disregarded by the perfect moments of surprise. Nothing was overdone, nothing was boring. I admit the title is somewhat inappropriate for the story. Because it indicates the movie's about a man who can see ghosts, and the ghosts are what makes the story what it is, when really it's Gervais' and Leoni's characters that are the essentials and the ghosts are just supporting. That being said, the subplot of the various ghost characters are wonderful, and at one point had me fogging up when you realize how much Pincus has truly been changed for the better. It was directed and written well. It was a beautiful story that most people could enjoy.
Grade: A-.
Cuz 2>1
Martin and Julie as little tykes, getting an early start on lifelong friendship
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Burn After Reading
I finally got to see the latest installment by the Coen Brothers, Burn After Reading this weekend. Good lord, was my main reaction. Where to even begin this review?
Ok, so as usual, the brothers provided wit and dark comedy (with the exception of No Country for Old Men). Their story was cleverly intertwined with broken rules of filmmaking. For one thing, the entire plot was based on pretty much a non-event, which sent all the characters to their doom. And perhaps this was the whole point they were trying to make, because it worked so well. At first, I thougt it started off slow and somewhat scattered, but soon realized this was the whole point of the movie. When the head of the CIA has to say, "Let me know when it all makes sense," you know that the entire thing is just a big farce. I came to realize that this was the Coen brothers way of making fun of the government.
Now, my favorite thing about this movie was Brad Pitt, and that really has nothing to do with the fact he's Brad Pitt. Unlike a lot of his brooding romantic roles, Pitt was an upbeat gym trainer, who seemed incredulously naive to the rest of the world. He was so stupid which made him so likeable. And of course I just about crapped myself at the closet scene with George Clooney. It was just like that moment in Fargo with the woodchipper, when you know it's just so horribly wrong, yet you're laughing uncontrollably. The rest of the characters were also well-cast, from Clooney to Frances McDormand, who really is the main character. If it weren't for her desire to "reinvent" herself, no one would have ended up in a coma or holding cell or dead. And of course, no one swears like John Malkovich.
I think I was glad for the movie being as short as it was. Had the stupidity of everyone dragged out a little longer I would've had enough, but I think the Coen Brothers did well on this one. Although it was no Big Lebowski. And where was John Turturro?
Grade: B+
Oh, and Roger Ebert's review of this movie is great too: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/REVIEWS/809119995/1023
Ok, so as usual, the brothers provided wit and dark comedy (with the exception of No Country for Old Men). Their story was cleverly intertwined with broken rules of filmmaking. For one thing, the entire plot was based on pretty much a non-event, which sent all the characters to their doom. And perhaps this was the whole point they were trying to make, because it worked so well. At first, I thougt it started off slow and somewhat scattered, but soon realized this was the whole point of the movie. When the head of the CIA has to say, "Let me know when it all makes sense," you know that the entire thing is just a big farce. I came to realize that this was the Coen brothers way of making fun of the government.
Now, my favorite thing about this movie was Brad Pitt, and that really has nothing to do with the fact he's Brad Pitt. Unlike a lot of his brooding romantic roles, Pitt was an upbeat gym trainer, who seemed incredulously naive to the rest of the world. He was so stupid which made him so likeable. And of course I just about crapped myself at the closet scene with George Clooney. It was just like that moment in Fargo with the woodchipper, when you know it's just so horribly wrong, yet you're laughing uncontrollably. The rest of the characters were also well-cast, from Clooney to Frances McDormand, who really is the main character. If it weren't for her desire to "reinvent" herself, no one would have ended up in a coma or holding cell or dead. And of course, no one swears like John Malkovich.
I think I was glad for the movie being as short as it was. Had the stupidity of everyone dragged out a little longer I would've had enough, but I think the Coen Brothers did well on this one. Although it was no Big Lebowski. And where was John Turturro?
Grade: B+
Oh, and Roger Ebert's review of this movie is great too: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/REVIEWS/809119995/1023
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Blockbuster Total Access vs. Netflix
While not a film review per say, we have decided to review our main source of film-viewing: online movie rentals. Julie uses Blockbuster Total Access and Martin uses Netflix. What are the pros and cons of each? What do we love and hate? Well here you go...
JULIE SAYS:
I've been using the Blockbuster online rental system for almost four years. When it started it was pretty inexpensive, like $10 for 3 movies at a time, including a coupon for in-store rental, but no in-store exchanges. Then the price kept going up for the same amount of movies, and eventually they added the in-store exchange feature. This allows you to take the mailed movie into any Blockbuster store and exchange it for a new one at no charge. I like this feature because it provides the instant gratification kind of thing. If I know there's a new movie out, I can return my mailer and watch it the same day rather than wait for it to show up. The other bonus is that as soon as you return the mailer to the store, it counts as received, so they ship out the next movie by the following day. Usually it's about 3-4 days between receiving the mailers, so it's not too long of a wait. My biggest gripe is actually Blockbuster's policies for the store-rented movies, their "re-stocking fees" which is a fancy way of saying late fee, and if you don't return it within a certain time, you've bought the thing for way more than it costs everywhere else. And occasionally, the service can get delayed if they don't have the next movie in your queue in stock, or the post office isn't as speedy as Blockbuster has predicted. As far as selection goes, I have no complaints. They have a decent Blu-ray selection and any other film I've ever wanted to see, they have on DVD. The various plans and rates provide an excellent flexibility for the amount of movies you watch and your budget, although I feel it could be a little less expensive. Right now my plan is one mailer at a time with 3 in-store exchanges every month for $12. Overall, I'm generally satisfied, and give Blockbuster Total Access a B grade.
MARTIN SAYS:
I was on PocketBuster's mail system soon after it came out. After years of getting the financial beat down from them I finally was introduced to their mailing system as a free trial and I thought it was a great system that saved me money. The idea that you could get an extra movie from the store while you waited for the delivery of your next movie in the mail is a good concept, and the only thing I think that is keeping them alive vs. NetFlix. It usually takes one bad move to loose a customer and that is what BlockFlustered did. They changed the system to where I got less movies per month for the same money and I never even got a notice. That was all I could take, because at that point I had already spent years of paying for over-priced rentals at the store and I never felt that they really had that great of movie selections anyway. So I went online and signed up for NetFlix. They have yet to disappoint me, and they have a great selection of movies including really hard to find old flicks, or should I say Flix?
JULIE SAYS:
I've been using the Blockbuster online rental system for almost four years. When it started it was pretty inexpensive, like $10 for 3 movies at a time, including a coupon for in-store rental, but no in-store exchanges. Then the price kept going up for the same amount of movies, and eventually they added the in-store exchange feature. This allows you to take the mailed movie into any Blockbuster store and exchange it for a new one at no charge. I like this feature because it provides the instant gratification kind of thing. If I know there's a new movie out, I can return my mailer and watch it the same day rather than wait for it to show up. The other bonus is that as soon as you return the mailer to the store, it counts as received, so they ship out the next movie by the following day. Usually it's about 3-4 days between receiving the mailers, so it's not too long of a wait. My biggest gripe is actually Blockbuster's policies for the store-rented movies, their "re-stocking fees" which is a fancy way of saying late fee, and if you don't return it within a certain time, you've bought the thing for way more than it costs everywhere else. And occasionally, the service can get delayed if they don't have the next movie in your queue in stock, or the post office isn't as speedy as Blockbuster has predicted. As far as selection goes, I have no complaints. They have a decent Blu-ray selection and any other film I've ever wanted to see, they have on DVD. The various plans and rates provide an excellent flexibility for the amount of movies you watch and your budget, although I feel it could be a little less expensive. Right now my plan is one mailer at a time with 3 in-store exchanges every month for $12. Overall, I'm generally satisfied, and give Blockbuster Total Access a B grade.
MARTIN SAYS:
I was on PocketBuster's mail system soon after it came out. After years of getting the financial beat down from them I finally was introduced to their mailing system as a free trial and I thought it was a great system that saved me money. The idea that you could get an extra movie from the store while you waited for the delivery of your next movie in the mail is a good concept, and the only thing I think that is keeping them alive vs. NetFlix. It usually takes one bad move to loose a customer and that is what BlockFlustered did. They changed the system to where I got less movies per month for the same money and I never even got a notice. That was all I could take, because at that point I had already spent years of paying for over-priced rentals at the store and I never felt that they really had that great of movie selections anyway. So I went online and signed up for NetFlix. They have yet to disappoint me, and they have a great selection of movies including really hard to find old flicks, or should I say Flix?
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Premiere
Welcome to Take Two Reviews. Just wanted to start off this blog with a note about our hopes and dreams for this project. I think the idea here is to establish a fun spot where people can get some good info and opinions on both old and new movies, favorites and dislikes, actors and directors etc., posters, you name it. But as a twist on the usual blurbs, we will offer you two sides: a guy's and a girl's, West coast and East coast. While the majority of stuff we tend to enjoy or loathe equally, our hope is we can give a more complete review than other spots. We look forward to sharing our reviews with you, and to hearing back from the fans!
"Big Gulps, huh? All right. Well, see ya later!"
"Big Gulps, huh? All right. Well, see ya later!"
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