Fight Club
The Bad: Realizing that it takes a certain level of craziness to reach their level of toughness.
The Bottom Line: Get ready to #$%^ somebody up.
Here's how I'd see a fight between Chuck Norris and Brad Pitt (star of Fight Club) going:
Round 1 - bell rings, Chuck throws a full looping roundhouse kick. Brad takes it full force, turns back and laughs evilly at Chuck. Chuck soils himself. Pitt proceeds to beat "Nancy Boy" Norris into a bloody pulp while Chuck attempts to ball up in the corner, rock back and forth, and cry. Pitt ignores Norris' yelps for mercy and ends the bludgeoning by hammer-throwing Chuck into the nearest house light, lighting up the arena in a blast of sparks. This textbook massacre could only be provided by a true badass in one of the most jacked up movies ever: Fight Club.
"The first rule of fight club is you don't talk about fight club. The second rule of fight club is you DON'T talk about fight club. The third rule of fight club is when someone says "stop" or goes limp, the fight is over. Fourth rule is only two guys to a fight. Fifth rule - one fight at a time fellas. Sixth rule - no shirts, no shoes. Seventh rule fights go on as long as they have to. And the eighth and final rule -- if this is your first night at fight club, you have to fight."
David Fincher's cinematic adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's breakthrough 1996 novel highlights what it takes to really live. Through a progression of the narrator's battle with insomnia, the movie chronicles different coping mechanisms, such as buying Ikea's entire catalogue to attending every support group in New York. The mechanism that ends up working for Ed Norton's character is the film's namesake, started by both Ed and a friend he met on the plane (Brad Pitt - Tyler Durden). After losing all of his worldly possessions when his condo mysteriously explodes, Norton calls to stay with Durden, and a esoteric, barbaric, and massochistic bloodbath ensues.
In this manliest of movies, there are several scenes that make you writhe with either bloodlust or disgust (stereotypically based on your gender). There is more than one scene where the character absolutely physically demolishes themselves in order to gain their respective wishes. This ends up being a tale of sacrifice, dedication, inner struggle, obsession, and the chorus of the hymn of Men in modern America. There is something primal and vital to the American that Palahniuk relates about the inner struggle with life as most know it - as Durden emotes in the film:
"Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who've ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables: slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man, No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war...our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning the fact. And we're very, very pissed off."
Now, there is a big part of me that when I hear those words, I want to say "f*ck yeah!" and sign on the dotted line. If there's no part of you that doesn't feel this way, it may not be the movie for you, because this is only a glimpse into the genre of attitude marketed by this film. It is a recruitment of sorts, and spawned a generation of t-shirts, video games, spin-offs, quotes, and mottos for the American male.
What's more is that Palahniuk continues with his assertions and attempts to propel the notion that there is something wondrous in war - not only the glory, but the presence; the shear reminder that your manlihood is intact, ferocious, and when the right switches flip, anyone can let out their inner beast. This is comforting to me, for the strangest reasons that I couldn't begin to describe, but if you'll remember, I told you there'd need to be some chiropractic work.
Without letting too much of the plot slip, Andrew Kevin Walker captures the best parts of the novel in this story of blood, lust, direction, and finding oneself. You really never know what you're made of until you test it. Pitt and Norton's acting is highlighted by their mutual love interest, (Love triangle - romance addicts are in luck!) Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter).The film doesn't scream brutality at its core, even if that is what surfaces, but rather, they use this brutality to explore the humanity of such acts, and what sacrifice is necessary for gain, and if it's worth it. The notion that lives must be sacrificed for the good of the population is a much, much scarier notion when the initial lives in question are yours and mine, and that is exactly what this film is about. Tyler Durden, and Ed Norton's character are again reminders of the kind of men that have both a craziness and toughness that you and I could only dream of.
Million Dollar Baby
Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris: "Franklie likes to say that boxing is an unnatural act, that everything in boxing is backwards: sometimes the best way to deliver a punch is to step back...but step back too far and you ain't fightin' at all."
27 Dresses
The Good: great chemistry between the actors; and an equal balance between humor and romance
The Bad: an ugly assortment of bridesmaid dresses - haha
The Bottom line: a creative storyline with laughs and a great romantic interest
27 dresses is a story about 27 dresses, well not quite. Jane Nichols (Katherine Heigl ) is the resident bridesmaid for all her friends. She knows what needs to be done, and her friends can depend on her to plan out a successful wedding. Although she sacrifices her own life to help out her friends, her own love life is questionable.
Enter Kevin Doyle (James Marsden), a charming wedding announcements editor. He writes about the most romantic stories that result in absolute fantasy-like weddings. Although he writes about these mushy-romantic stories, he does not believe in them. He wants to write about hard hitting news stories, but keeps getting stuck in these wedding announcements because he is too good at them. Well imagine what happens when Doyle meets Nichols. A girl who absolutely loves the fairytale weddings and a boy who is absolutely cynical about them; well it didn’t go well. Through the movie, Doyle helps Nichols help realize her own true life passions, and understand why she does so much for others but nothing for herself. Well for the 27 dresses? It signifies the 27 weddings that she was a bridesmaid for.
Just as the title suggests, we get to see 27 uniquely styled bridesmaid dresses. No, I am just going to say it, they were just plain ugly. I have to probably congratulate the costume designer in this movie to come up with the most outrageous dresses for her closet. Each dress from each wedding was from a specific themed wedding, and probably could be used as Halloween costumes. And the great thing about Jane is that she kept every single one of her dresses with her.
Kevin: [motions to a "Gone With the Wind"-style dress] What the hell is that?
Jane: Theme wedding.
Kevin: What was the theme? Humiliation?
Well let me talk about the character relationships that make this movie a romantic comedy. This movie provides sisterly relations and love relations, which will keep you laughing with your friends. First of all Jane’s younger sister, Tess ( Malin Akerman), is as opposite of Jane as you can be. As Jane is spending her time helping others in the shadows, Tess is there trying to get everyone’s attention in the spotlight. I love the dialogues between them, especially when they have different views on what is important in life.
Jane: You tell him the truth or I will.
Tess: No, you won't. You wouldn't hurt a fly and you definitely wouldn't hurt me, I'm your sister.
Jane: That was yesterday. Today you're just some bitch who broke my heart and cut up my mother's wedding dress.
This quote was concerning the moment when Tess was lying to her fiancé about her real life just so that she can marry him for his rich lifestyle.
Now the relationship between Jane and Kevin is hilarious too. A cynic and an optimist arguing on the subject of weddings and bridesmaid dresses is really amusing if you think about.
Kevin: Wait, what are those?
Jane: [nervous] Nothing.
Kevin: Are those...?
Jane: No!
Kevin: Are they bridesmaid dresses?
Jane: This is none of your business!
Kevin: Oh... good God. What, you kept them all? You have a whole closetful? Why?
Jane: I have a lot of friends and I like to keep them.
Kevin: [snickering] Right. Well, that makes complete sense because they're... *beautiful*.
Jane: Some of them are not that bad.
Kevin: Not that bad? I'd like to see one of them that's not that bad.
Overall it’s a great feel good romantic comedy. Possibly not a great movie for your guy friends, but this movie was a huge hit with the females when it got released. Studio research showed that 75% of the audience was female. So for your next sleepover check this movie out at your local video store. And to leave you with something, here is a wise quote of love from Kevin Doyle, “Love is patient, love is kind, love means slowly losing your mind. “
Pixar's Up: Live it Up
But as in all Pixar films, what really makes the movie great are its characters, which are magnificent both in terms of meaning and animation. In fact, one of the things I love best about this franchise is that the characters look how they feel. Carl, with his square, hunched frame, looks as though he’s been stuck in a crawlspace for years and his droopy face is indicative of his lack of interest in everyday life. Russell, a bit pudgy, plays the role of a nuisance wonderfully and with such energy. And finally Charles Muntz, is an aged Harrison Ford with a mustache, indicative of the adventurous mold from which he’s been cut. The animation, then, combined with the warm vocal performances works to entertain us at our core.

The Good: Jack Black. enough said.
The Bad: middle school kids making you jealous of their musical talent
The Bottom Line: Combine these two things to create a feel-good, hilarious comedy
The name Jack Black brings up many words in ones head. Ridiculous, hilarious, crazy, very crazy, strange, very strange, ruthless. And after this film, well-respected. Although not oscar worthy, this film defines what a good movie should be: a invoking story line, hilarious one liners, great acting, and, obviously, a good soundtrack. This movie emits bolts of happiness into its viewer, which stick with you for quite some time after you turn the movie off.
This film is about a lazy bum named Dewey Finn, who has no job, no girlfriend, and no life after recently being kicked out of his band. Your typical “loser.” He mooches off of his roommate Ned Schneebly, and his controlling girlfriend Patty (played by Sarah Silverman- a great comedic edition to this movie). After taking the mooching to a new level, he steals his roommates identity to take a job teaching music at a nearby prep school. He becomes very close to his students and the rest of the faculty at the school, and creates a new life for himself. He turns his music class into his new band, and sends them on an adventure who’s ultimate goal is to win Battle of the Bands. Through many ups and downs, the viewer watches Dewey grow in many ways, and mature in more ways then the viewer could expect.
Although this plot sounds somewhat unrealistic, the director, Richard Linklater, has a way of making the story line seem very comfortable to the watcher and easy to relate to. Each of his characters hold very different personality traits polar opposite of each other, making them easy to relate to someone in the viewers own life. Everyone has that lazy friend, or the controlling girlfriend, or the bully pushing them around. By having a somewhat strange plot, the director compensates by his amazing characters, and great actors to play these characters. Jack Black, Sarah Silverman, Joan Cusack are a few of the well known actors in this film.
One of my favorite dynamics of the movie is the student-teacher relationships (or lack there of) in the film. Dewey does a great job of bonding with these great kids he got paired with, and his electric personality is magnetic. He is not a teacher to them, he is an inspiration and a friend. He treats them as people rather then his students, which somewhat works against him in the movie, but brings an interesting twist to the film. Without this in the movie, there would be a much more formal look to the film, and would take away from the comedy. Jack Black’s true personality comes out in the movie, which one could only imagine as a plus to the film.
The kids in the movie continue to impress me, even after my 13th time watching the film. They are musical prodigies, and incredible actors at the same time. I was skeptical about seeing the movie in the beginning because i wasn’t sure how Linklater could find such young kids that would be able to act and display musical talent, but found the best kids for the job.
The soundtrack to the movie is ideal. It incorporates many old rock legends (The Who, The Doors, Cream, Led Zeppelin) but like any good music-based movie, created music for the movie. Jack Black’s original band has a few songs in the movie, and also his band with the kids. The music is beautifully written and makes every viewer sing along.
Little Miss Sunshine: A Panacea for the Blues
Wedding Crashers

The Good: Love the actor’s chemistry and everyone brings something hilarious to the table
The Bad: It’s your typical outrageous Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson inappropriate humor
The Bottom Line: Great comedy with an interesting plot that might have guys wanting to copy the scam!
I like a little political incorrectness. If you weren’t aware, I love great chemistry between actors. I think it’s especially important in comedies. This plus a good blend of sarcasm and inappropriateness makes an excellent recipe for a great comedy. “Wedding Crashers” is one of my personal favorites. I watched this movie almost every night this summer before I went to bed. I love the actors chemistry. The Wilson-Vaughn duo play off of each other’s energy and I found myself forgetting it was a movie and feeling more like I was watching strange scenarios play out between long-time best friends. However, sometimes wish the movie wasn’t so predictable. Many of the Wilson-Vaughn-Will Ferrell movies begin with the self-centered guy who has to go through uncommon awkward scenes, fall for a girl, get caught in his lies, lose girl, come to a miraculous epiphany about life, get girl back. “Wedding Crashers” is no exception.
So here’s what’s going on: John (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) are divorce mediators who crash weddings and take on a variety of aliases to pick up girls and bridesmaids. These dudes have a rule: They don't crash weddings like mingy cowards. They barge in, sit at the bridal table (as Uncle Ned or Aunt Liz's kids), secure that no one will call their bluff. They're a comedy dream team.
“Wedding Crashers” is definitely deserving of its R-rating. During one sped up montage, John and Jeremy fall into bed one by one with their smorgasbord of half naked women--the movie has no shortage of nudity! This caught me a little off guard, but the directors do a nice job of making it more humorous than anything-- you’ll have to watch to know EXACTLY what I’m talking about!
And like most movies, there is a love story. At a wedding, John is taken by bridesmaid named Claire (Rachel McAdams)-- it’s love at first sight. Although, Claire’s engagement puts a damper on his plans. Claire’s the daughter of treasury secretary William Cleary (Christopher Walken), so when he invites the guys for a weekend at his beach house, John is ecstatic, seeing it as a prime opportunity to get closer to Claire. Unfortunately, Jeremy’s not nearly as keen on the mini-vacation. He just had a quickie on the beach at the wedding with Gloria (Isla Fisher), the secretary's other daughter, and is looking to get away from her as fast as possible. Jeremy’s in panic mode, telling John: "I got a stage-five clinger.” Fisher does an excellent job portraying a erotic and psychotic pain in the @$$. Your focus on her beauty will be distracted beautiful girl when she tells Jeremy that their sexual encounter was her first time and that they should declare their love. "Don't ever leave me," she warns. "I'd find you." No wonder they guy’s desperate to get as far away from her as possible. Who wouldn’t be?!
The guys argue humorously back and forth about whether to accept the Secretary’s invite, showing off how easily the two actors mesh-- sounding like bickering schoolboys with the vocabulary and sarcasm of grown men! Eventually, John and Jeremy have several hilarious encounters while at the beach house including a bone-crushing game of touch football, the secretary's nympho wife who develops a strange sexual attraction to John, and the anti-social, gothic, artistic gay son who becomes obsessive over Jeremy. Awkward moments like these make over the top comedies my favorite!
Of course, John and Jeremy blow their covers. As if Wilson and Vaughn’s chemistry isn’t enough, Will Ferrell shows up as the innovator of wedding crashing, still living with his mother he now finds weddings out of style -- he crashes funerals. John realizes this lifestyle isn’t going anywhere and John creates a plan to win back Claire.
This movie is full of tons of inappropriate and politically incorrect laughs and will leave viewers adoring the Wilson-Vaughn-Ferrell trio. Unfortunately, the trio has a tendency to make the same kind of movies over and over again... always hilarious... but I’d like something with some slight change.

