My weekend was apparently spent on watching tragic love stories, all complementing the glum weather outside. I am not exactly a sucker for romance movies, but I get to appreciate those that have been infused with comic/humor. I have always liked and adored “Confessions of a Shopaholic” (Isla Fisher), “My Bestfriend’s Wedding” (Julia Roberts), “Leap Year” (Amy Adams), “You’ve Got Mail” (Meg Ryan) and “Morning Glory” (Rachel Adams). They are not absurdly romantic, no soppy lines and banal messages. The stories were well-crafted and the direction was simply superb.
But so far, none of the recent romantic movies were able to survive the cynics’ critique, not even the taste of mere moviegoers. I’ve seen “One Day” which starred Anne Hathaway & Jim Sturgess and the 2006 flick “Griffin & Phoenix” of Amanda Peet & Dermot Mulroney. The only difference between the two, aside from the obvious age differences of the cast members, was that Hathaway and Sturgess took 20 years (or equivalent to 20 Julys – their fixed dating anniversary) to realize that they were meant for each other. Peet and Mulroney took less than a year and a dinner date to figure that one out.
Both movies injected some humor and wit. But somehow, they failed in that department as they came in either too melodramatic or tried hard to be funny and cute. The stories dragged until the end where they killed both heroines – and my sanity too.
I just came across this newsfeed while switching windows in between studies on what diet pills work the best in Asia and the recent review on Paranormal 2.
Just look at him and you get that rare feeling he’s born to play the role.
Martin Freeman, a British actor included in the cast of The Office, has been chosen to play Bilbo Baggins in the two-part prequel of “The Hobbit”. It’s been confirmed and sealed. The new Bilbo will be joined by a team of Middle-Earth newcomers: Richard Armitage (UK’s “MI-5″, Captain America: The First Avenger) as Thorin Oakenshield; Aidan Turner (“Being Human”) and Rob Kazinsky (“EastEnders”) as Kili and Fili; Graham McTavish (Secretariat, “24″) as Dwalin; John Callen (“Power Rangers Jungle Fury”) as Oin; Stephen Hunter (“All Saints”) as Bombur; Mark Hadlow (King Kong) as Dori; and Peter Hambleton (“The Strip”) as Gloin. Original Lord of the Rings actors Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf/White Wizard) and Andy Serkis (Smeagol/Gollum) are expected to join “The Hobbit” cast later on.
Those stunts made by Jake Gyllenhaal in the movie, Prince of Persia, were simply astonishing. Crawling up walls, jumping all over the place and running on rooftops…I have actually wondered if these were all done with wires. But it didn’t look like the actor nor his director faked them. It was as real as the bleep sound of those barcode scanners in the cinema snack counter.
Now, I’ve learned from a friend that this particular style of death-defying fast movement is called “parkour”. Parkour is a French word which means l’art du déplacement or the art of moving. It is a physical discipline of French origin with an objective of getting from one place to another using only the human body and the objects in the environment around you.
David Belle, the 37-year-old French guy who created parkour, was hired by Disney to train Jake for his role as Prince Dastan.
But so far, none of the recent romantic movies were able to survive the cynics’ critique, not even the taste of mere moviegoers. I’ve seen “One Day” which starred Anne Hathaway & Jim Sturgess and the 2006 flick “Griffin & Phoenix” of Amanda Peet & Dermot Mulroney. The only difference between the two, aside from the obvious age differences of the cast members, was that Hathaway and Sturgess took 20 years (or equivalent to 20 Julys – their fixed dating anniversary) to realize that they were meant for each other. Peet and Mulroney took less than a year and a dinner date to figure that one out.
