Friends With Money is a romantic comedy directed by Nicole Holofcener. The story revolves around the lives of 4 female friends (1 single, 3 married). There is no plot to the movie; instead it focuses on how each friend reacts to their problems.The first woman in the quartet is Olivia (Jennifer Aniston). She is a single woman down in the dumps. She works as a maid, likes to smoke weed, and lets people walk over her (while on a blind date, she allows the guy to chat up another woman, then agrees to go out with him again). It doesn’t help that Olivia’s friends think all her problems would be over if she “got married.” The irony is that their own marriages all have problems.

I am not very fond of Usher’s music, but I definitely think that he is a talented vocalist. And he is also a pretty decent actor too, when he allows himself be. His performance in Light It Up was rather good, as was his stint in The Faculty. But In The Mix really shows that the singer just doesn’t have what it takes to be a lead actor yet.

Maybe it just happens to be the bad plot and dialogue, but Usher just is not with the program in this flick. He is trying hard to look cool, but he isn’t doing much on the acting front, just looking buff and living up to that Will Smithian “street wise yet nice and hip black guy” archetype. Honestly, there would be nothing wrong with that if it was pulled off right. I actually like Will Smith’s acting. But in this scenario, with Usher doing it, it’s just plain awful.

As said before, Usher is actually able to be a competent actor, and that is why this movie is so annoying. The whole time I was in the the theater absorbing the silly boy meets girl plot I kept thinking “Wow. What happened to this guy?” Usher does actually have talent, but none of it is displayed in this film.

But to be fair, he is not the only reason this is a bad film. All the other actors do a poor job as well, and as mentioned, the plot and dialogue is pretty asinine too. Even the title - which oh so cleverly references the bi-racial love affair between the two characters - is dumb. Avoid this movie at all costs, unless of course you enjoy being bored and annoyed for 90 minutes.

Pride and Prejudice is a classic love story that takes place in the 19th century, and is based on a book by legendary novelist Jane Austin.

The story is about the Beet family and their heartfelt yet often humorous struggle to survive in Edwardian England. The family is poor, and the only way to secure the family’s future is for their eldest daughters to marry into a rich family. The story covers the various trials and tribulations that the girls face, especially focusing on Elizabeth, who is played by Keira Knightley in this film adaptation.

There have been other adaptations of the book, but this is the first time that Hollywood has tackled it in a big way. The result is a beautiful heartfelt drama that will stay in your mind for quite some time after you have left the theater.

If you have read the book or seen the 5 hour long miniseries made a decade ago then you are obviously going to compare this film to those versions of the story. The most obvious hindrance that the film has in comparison to the previous versions is the time restriction. While they do a good job of squeezing as much of the story into the film as they can, it just isn’t the type of story you can do in two hours, so they couldn’t be 100 percent faithful to the book in that sense. But that is really the only area where this film is weaker than it’s 1995 counterpart.

Overall I think that this condensed version is actually much more palpable to most people, and the acting this time around is better, as is the cinematography and overall feel in general. The other film simply didn’t have the budget to look this good, and the professionalism of this adaptation really makes the older version look somewhat primitive and made for TV, which it of course it essentially was.

Keira Knightley really shines in this picture as Elizabeth, and it is by far the best performance I’ve seen her give. You really care about her character, and there is real chemistry between her character and Mr Darcy (played by Matthew MacFadyen). If you love a good romantic movie then Pride & Prejudice will not disappoint. Highly recommended.

Let me know if you enjoyed this movie as much as I did by adding your comment below.

The general plot of Just Friends is this: A fat kid named Chris is in love with his friend Jamie, but she just wants to be friends, so he moves to L.A., loses the weight and becomes a successful womanizing music executive. Then Chris has to come back to his hometown where he is reunited with Jamie, and becomes the awkward teen he tried so hard to forget about all over again, trying to persuade Jamie to go out with him. That is basically the plot. Original, no?

Okay, first things first: The fat suit that Ryan Reynolds wears in this film is absurdly bad looking, like most fat suits have a tendency to be. Also, the humor in this film just really is not funny. I think I laughed a whole two times while watching this flick, and I think both of those times I was laughing about how bad the fat suit looked.

And outside of the bad jokes and the fat suit, the rest of the movie is just unremarkable. You never really care about the characters, and while the acting is not outright bad, it is not exactly great either. All in all, Just Friends is a stinker that you are probably better off avoiding.

Let me know what you think of this film by adding your comment below.

Don’t be a geisha. Don’t let anyone you know be a geisha. Not even for Halloween. They just don’t have it as good as you might think.

Memoirs of a Geisha, the movie based on Arthur Golden’s novel, reveals and dispels the mystique surrounding the ancient Japanese tradition of geishas.

“Geisha” means artist. They are Japan’s version of the ‘performance artist,’ except way cooler. In the world of cherry blossoms and sumo wrestling, Memoirs unsheathes the women behind the living works of art and we discover that what those gorgeous kimonos and distinct make-up cover isn’t pretty.

The movie opens with a poor girl named Chiyo (endearingly portrayed by Suzuka Ohgo) who is literally stolen from her home in the night and passed along until she finally ends up in a geisha house, where she sadly asks, “What’s a geisha?” Turns out her family sold her and she would never see them again. She was nine years old. And I thought it was hard changing schools when I was nine.

Things just get worse for her from there. It’s a bit of a Cinderella story with a Japanese flair to it. After much torture, Chiyo transforms into Sayuri (played by Zhang Ziyi) and becomes the most famous geisha of all of Japan—until WWII hits and then everything changes again. But of course in all of this, there must be a prince. In the story, he is called the Chairman and we are forever wondering if they will ever get a chance.

The cast is excellent and entirely foreign, though several are familiar because of crossover into American movies. Zhang Ziyi, or in the Western habit of rearranging the names, Ziyi Zhang, is what I always thought of as a geisha. She is delicate, beautiful and completely modest of her charms. She learned to speak English for the movie. (In fact, in Rush Hour 2, Jackie Chan had to translate for her everything the director said.) She is sympathetic throughout except for when she is strong enough not to need it, as in her dance under the snow that is absolutely spectacular.

The Chairman is Ken Watanabe and he makes every scene he’s in better. You might recognize him from The Last Samurai. I totally understand why he is the only bright spot in her life.

The movie is stunning like you would expect it to be with its scenery, costumes and make-up, but it’s also somewhat frustrating. The Japanese actors who make an admirable go at speaking English often times are difficult to understand. I’m not knocking them, it’s just unfortunate that it happens at prime moments so you’re left with whispering ‘what’d she say?’ when you should be feeling the impact of what she said.

Another frustration comes with the nature of the story. Most of these people just aren’t that happy. Every single one seems to be sacrificing something and while it seems honorable, they are all quietly miserable because of it. It’s hard to watch people when you just want to scream ‘Tell him!’ or ‘Leave her alone!’ all the time.

Also, translating a book to the screen is a tricky thing because you have to know what to cut out and what to keep in. Sometimes jumps were made without explanation when it really felt like there should have been and other times important things seemed to be glossed over, both leaving an overall somewhat bumpy ride.

Ultimately, this worth-seeing movie is quite like its subject matter: beautiful and melancholy.

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Generally, when most people think about cowboys, images of the macho Marlboro man are conjured up. The rugged riders out on the plains. It is probably rare that a person thinks of these men and picture them walking off into the sunset hand in hand…with each other. But that is exactly the subject matter that director Ang Lee tackles in his superb movie, Brokeback Mountain.

Based on a short story by Annie Proulx published in New Yorker magazine, Brokeback Mountain tells the tale of two men, Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar (played, respectively, by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger). The movie takes place in Wyoming in the summer of 1963, where the two men meet up while working together on a sheep ranch.

The two form an easy friendship despite their different personalities. Jack’s vibrant and wide-eyed demeanor is in stark contrast to Ennis’s brooding yet tender nature. Despite their differences the two are drawn to each other. They bond as they work side-by-side, sharing stories of their lives and their loves. To the surprise of both men, they find themselves irresistibly attracted to each other. They take comfort in each other realizing a sense of completeness that has up till then eluded both of them. What follows is a heartbreakingly beautiful love story, with a poignancy that touched me deeply.

It’s impossible to write about this movie without applauding Heath Ledger’s portrayal of Ennis. Although he speaks very little throughout this movie, what he lacks in dialogue he makes up for with one of the most soulful performances I’ve ever seen. Playing the tormented Ennis you literally feel his anguish as he goes on to marry a woman, knowing full well that Jack is his one true love. Ledger is already being heralded as next year’s darling at the Oscars and rightfully so.

Gyllenhall’s performance is equally good as Jack. Your heart aches for him as you feel his absolute unconditional love for Ennis and his naïve hope that one day they will be able to be have a future together.

Ang Lee, known for his gripping character studies in such movies as the Ice Storm and Eat Drink Man Woman, succeeds once again in producing a film you can’t take your eyes off of. Besides the compelling relationship between Jack and Ennis, the backdrop of the dramatic mountainous landscape of Wyoming is simply breathtaking.

It is unfortunate that because of the homosexual content in this movie some people will simply not watch it. That is a tragedy because Brokeneck Mountain isn’t just a “gay cowboy movie”. To dismiss it as such is an insult to everyone involved with the making if this film. It’s a movie about unrequited longing and loneliness. A movie about the rapture of finding your soul mate and taking shelter in their love. It is a movie about being human and raw and vulnerable, regardless of sexual orientation. Its theme is universal and it’s a movie not to be missed.

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Directed by Rob Reiner, Rumor Has It, has all the qualities to make it in the movie world-great actors and a great storyline.

Jennifer Anniston plays the role of Sarah Huttinger. Sarah is engaged to be married and suddenly finds herself unsure of who she is, based on a slip of tongue from her grandmother, Katherine, played by Shirley MacLaine.

When Katherine lets it slip at Sarah’s sister’s wedding that Sarah’s mother almost didn’t get married, Sarah begins to put the pieces together. Knowing that at the same time her mother had run off with someone else, a rumor started about a young woman running off with a young man who had been seduced by her mother. This rumor turned into a book and eventually became a film, “The Graduate”. Sarah believes the rumor to be based on her family and she sets out to find out what really happened.

With Shirley MacLaine as Sarah’s grandmother, Katharine, the movie is hilarious and she plays the part to extreme. Katharine only wants to protect everyone from hearing the truth about what happened with her daughter and their “common” lover. However, Sarah pushes on and discovers more than what she expected.

What Sarah discovers is Beau Burroughs, played by Kevin Costner. Beau not only slept with Sarah’s mother, but also her grandmother. Sarah tells Beau that “Maybe every girl in my family has to sleep with you.” Beau states to Sarah, “Well, I don’t know if they have to, but they certainly have.” To Sarah, Beau represents excitement and adventure and she, too falls under his spell.

This movie is hilarious and is a must see. While the character of Sarah is not quite as interesting as “the book Sarah”, Shirley MacLaine does an outstanding job of the playing the “Mrs. Robinson” of the film. If you remember “The Graduate”, which was nominated for seven Oscars and won Best Director, you’ll follow this movie with excitement and get caught up in the story of Sarah, her husband-to-be, Jeff, played by Mark Ruffalo, her grandmother, Katharine, and of course, Beau, the “family lover”.

Please let me know what you think of the movie Rumor Has It by adding a comment below.

Maybe there’s a group of people dedicated to Sarah Jessica Parker and at the same time hopelessly enraptured by the dysfunctional family at Christmastime theme that could possibly make this dog a hit. I’m harder to please. I actually look for (and encourage) originality, crisp writing, great characters and interesting and unexpected plot twists. This movie is lacking in all of those departments.

In fact the only thing I can say in defense of this film are that the actors are talented enough to have made a very professional although boring movie. If you haven’t seen almost every character, every conflict and every resolution before, you have missed a lot of movies – almost all of them better than this one.

Sarah Jessica Parker said in a recent interview that she didn’t take this role because she was trying to portray an anti-Carrie character to get away from being typecast into the type of roles she played on Sex In The City. She merely took the role because she thought the script was terrific and the chance to work with the other talented actors in the cast was something she couldn’t pass up.

She should have. In the company of other, more experienced film actors Parker comes across as over the top, too cloying, too fake and too easy to please at the end. She plays the role of Meredith Morton, the uptight fiancé of Dermot Mulroney brought home to meet his family for the Christmas family celebration. Instantly, actually before they even meet her, the entire family hates her which doesn’t make sense as the Stones are educated liberals full of compassion for the handicapped and underprivileged people in the world – just not uptight fiancés.

As for the rest of the family, you’ve seen them all before. Just once I wish someone would raise their hands at a pre-production meeting and say something like, “Uh, boss, my character’s the same one I played on such and such and the same one that was in such and such. Can’t we come up with something a little bit different for me to say or do or be in this film?” But no.

Apparently, the size of their paychecks is equal to the amount of guts it would take for one of them to actually say something like that to a successful producer, director or writer. They must think, well, maybe the lighting guy will save this turkey, or perhaps, maybe it will look better on film than it sounds right now. Wrong. This isn’t a horrible mistake of a movie, not with the talent in the cast and the high quality production values, its just that we’ve seen it all before, done better and it wasn’t all that great to begin with.

Trust me, in twenty or thirty years some new cast of great actors will not be pressing their agents to remake this movie. Once around the block with the Family Stone is more than enough.

Please let me know what you think of this movie by adding your comment below.

Drew Baylor has issues.

Drew, played by Orlando Bloom from Pirates of the Caribbean, is about to experience the cosmic law that bad things occur in threes. Shortly after a euphoric success at work, he is suddenly responsible for the company’s catastrophic loss of almost one billion dollars. As his boss, played by Alec Baldwin, tells Drew that the company will no longer be able to save endangered species or sections of precious rainforest, Drew realizes his error has global consequences. His memories of carefree office parties and being the golden boy at work are squashed by his present horror. That is bad thing number one.

Next, Drew is dumped by his girlfriend, although you may experience stomach pains watching because Drew doesn’t quite comprehend he has been dumped. Such is love.

Worse than losing almost a billion dollars, and being dumped, Drew learns his father passed away while visiting family in Kentucky. Ironically, his sister called with the news at the exact moment Drew was about to commit suicide. With his sister crying and his mother barely making sense, Drew realizes he must be the one to bring his father back from Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

On the flight to Kentucky, Drew meets Claire (Kirsten Dunst) a bubbly and at first annoying flight attendant. Under normal circumstances we are lead to believe that Drew would not give Claire the time of day, but her persistence and his state leads to conversation.

Drew is depressed and clearly distraught over his father’s death, his work situation, love life, and state of his mother, but when Drew arrives in Elizabethtown he is cocooned by his father’s family whom he had not seen since his youth. Writer and director Cameron Crowe shows and doesn’t tell us what is going on in this story and suddenly we realize Crowe has exaggerated Drew’s success and failures in a way that makes us realize, it’s okay to take chances and fail. Crap happens. Life goes on, And during this movie, if you look close enough you’ll see a remedy for a broken heart.

The most touching and at the same time exhilarating part of this movie is when Drew accompanies his father back home. This movie (irony, metaphors and all,) the scenery and the soundtrack make for one great emotional ride. This is one of those movies you see more than once, and then buy the DVD and watch a few times more.

Please let me know what you think about Elizabethtown by leaving your comments below.