Love and Other Drugs

I went into the theater not knowing what this film was about. Concert groupies maybe? It didn't matter to me. Jake Gyllenhaal was starring in it. That was enough for me to say, "yes, point me to the theater." It's an emotional and graphic movie about the struggles of two messed up people who end up being each other's saviors. And, it's hilarious thanks to Jake and Anne's comedic performances. It's a great date movie, but not a first date movie. The amount of relationship talk would scare off any potential someone since you'll want to chat about what you would or wouldn't do for a relationship immediately after the credits roll. That being said, Anne Hathaway's boobs and/or Jake's cute ass appear every 10 min, so the eye candy for both genders is in full effect. Rating: I'd recommend seeing it with either your best friends or your bf/gf/hubby/wifey.

Fresh

A friend recommended I watch this film after reading my comment about Jackie Brown in a previous posting. I started watching it last night and I realized I'd seen it before, but couldn't remember where - probably on TV sometime ago. Some of the scenes are hard to watch. They're just so raw and frankly depressing. I found it very interesting that the same director made Remembering the Titans - a very uplifting movie in comparison. It's nice to see a director explore the far ends of the emotional spectrum. Shout out to the child actor who played the lead role, the Dominican nurse from Scrubs, the guy who played the Senator in Last Holiday with Queen Latifah, and Mr. Jackson who plays the same role in every movie and yet nails it everytime. Rating - rent it, stream it, or try your luck and wait for it to come on TV one Saturday afternoon. Either way, watch it and enjoy.

Robin Hood

I'm a connoisseur of Robin Hood films. I remember seeing the Disney version as a little kid and loving the hell out of it. "Robin Hood and Little John running through the forest, oodalolly oodalolly golly what a day." You know you love it, too! Prince of Thieves came into my life next followed by Men in Tights. Then I sunk into the classics and caught the Errol Flynn and Sean Connery versions on TV. All of them have their good points, including this version with Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett. Ridley Scott's grittiness is all over this film. It's not as romantic as the others, but that wasn't Mr. Scott's focus. He wanted to re-create the magic he found making Gladiator. He didn't quite replicate the magic, but it was still a visually entertaining film to watch. Rating - Probably better to see on a plane. Second option would be redbox. TV is a distant third.

Point Break

I found this classic flipping through the channels tonight. Patrick Swayze was much cuter as a surfer than he ever was as a Dirty Dancing teacher. That long hair has something to do with it. The plot isn't hard to follow. In fact, you may be very familiar with it since the screenwriters of the Fast and the Furious franchise seemed to copy it - replacing surfing with drag racing. The same undercover surfer boy-type character infiltrates a group of thieves, befriends the leader, and gets the girl. Shout out to Dr. Cox from Scrubs who plays Keanu's boss and Anthony Kiedis who plays one of the local surfers who doesn't take kindly to Keanu's valley boy ways. Special mention goes to Tom Sizemore who (ironically) plays an undercover DEA agent. Question: why does Keanu always run in every movie and why does he run like a complete dork? Rating - watch it on TV whenever you get a chance. It doesn't disappoint.

Serendipity

Romantic comedies are like really good peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on a fall afternoon. Or, in my case this weekend, like Quinoa with blackberries and strawberries. I can just eat them up - no question. As always, John Cusack plays a soft-spoken, undercover romantic leading man perfectly. The supporting characters all do a great job, even Jeremy Piven who was the bff of every leading man back in the mid-1990s, or at least it felt like it. The best supporting character has to go to NYC, though. All the scenes at the Waldorf and Central Park make me smile. Rating - watch it next time it comes on USA or TBS. Even after the 8th time watching, I still love it.