Life as We Know It
This might come as a shock, but Katherine Heigl starred in one of the better romantic comedies of 2010. My brain works just fine, thank you. In Life as We Know It she's featured alongside Josh Duhamel as contentious acquaintances who become the reluctant guardians of their friends' child after a fatal accident. Funny when it needs to be, but equally poignant with some a nice message about finding family wherever you can, I hope more people check this film out on DVD.
For Colored Girls
For a chance to see a director fully out of his creative depth, look no further than Tyler Perry's stagnant representation of Ntozake Shange's play. A vibrant, poetic tribute the strength and diversity of African-American females, For Colored Girls is just barely held aloft by a wealth of powerful performances. It's just unfortunate that when the chips are down, Perry reverts to his typical melodramatic self and begins painting everyone with the broadest brush he can find. African-American men, as usual for a Perry production, are especially skewered.
I could've gone to see this bland looking comedy for free, but the cost to my soul was not one I was willing to pay. Kristen Bell stars in this generic bomb as a former nerd who finds out her brother is marrying her high school rival. The presence of Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis as old enemies still holding a grudge gives me some hope, but that's tempered by the worn out stylings of Betty White. Let it end!!
Paranormal Activity 2
The shock and awe of the original Paranormal Activity is over, but the sequel manages to maintain the same level of impending doom while simultaneously building an entire poltergeist mythos. The stakes get amped up severly as the evil spirt turns his attention from a pair of young lovers to the youngest child in a seemingly normal family. They wouldn't really let a kid come to harm would they? That's what you'll be asking yourself until the question ultimately gets answered.
I Spit on Your Grave
Let's put it this way: The original I Spit on Your Grave(also known as Night of the Woman) is one of the most despised movies evah!! It features some pretty sadistic stuff, including the brutal rape and abuse of a city woman at the hands of a bunch of country yokels. The superior remake, which I think I'm like one of two local critics that took the time to watch it, tones down those depraved moments just a tad without losing their intensity. It also features a much better central performance by Sarah Butler as the victim of the heinous assault. Give it a chance.
The Romantics
This romantic comedy of old rivalries and rekindled high school romances barely registered a blip in theaters, not even showing up here in the Nation's Capital. Directed by Galt Niederhoffer based on her own novelization, The Romantics features a sterling cast featuring Kate Holmes, Anna Paquin, Josh Duhamel, Adam Brody, Malin Akerman, and Elijah Wood as old school buddies who reunite to watch two of their own get married.
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Comparisons to One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest are completely valid, but it's the surprising turn by Zach Galifianakis that is the true heart of this story. Keir Gilchrist(The United States of Tara) stars as a troubled kid with two caring but self involved parents, who checks himself into a psychiatric ward when the pressures of his life become too much. I had Galifianakis as one of my top male performers of the year for his portrayal of an estranged father and patient at the mental ward, fighting to ensure his condition doesn't shut him out of his daughter's life forever.
Ong Bak 3
Remember all those production horror stories about Tony Jaa and Ong Bak 2
? Well prepare for more of the same as this supposed final chapter to the saga includes little more than the cuttings and trimmings from that disastrous martial arts flick. The reception was so bad it sent Jaa off into hiding with a bunch of Buddhist monks. Beauty and the Briefcase
This has the stench of ABC Family production all over it. Oh...there it is right there in the bottom right corner. Not that I ever expected Hilary Duff to become some A-list superstar actress, but does she have to drag Jamie Pressly and Jennifer Coolidge down with her?
You Again
