Flypaper (2011)

I was running out of movies to rent at the local dvd rental store and the new releases which I was interested had already been rented out so I settled on Flypaper. I had not heard of it before, but the synopsis had sounded interesting enough. I had the impression that it was some type of action drama. I was wrong. It is a actually a comedy.

We mostly follow Patrick Dempsey's character, a neurotic man caught in two simultaneous bank robberies at the same bank. Trapped and unable to go to the pharmacy to get his meds, he becomes increasing neurotic. He's also very perceptive, quite the Sherlock Holmes. Believing that there is no coincidence, he becomes obsessed with unraveling the mystery why the two robberies were occurring.

This movie was quite a surprise to me. There's quite a few twists and turns, none of which I anticipated. And it's such a short movie. Only 87 minutes and packs quite a lot of laughs and action. Its funny and I found myself really enjoying it.

The Scene: Clueless Freeway Freakout

I rewatched Clueless recently. I have to say, I love it more with every watch. It's soo funny. And this scene where Cher and her friends panic when they accidentally got onto the freeway is just so hilarious.

Pitch Perfect (2012)

Have you ever watch Bring It On? The first one.

If you have than you'll find that Pitch Perfect has a similar premise. New girl at school. Cool. Edgy. She has a certain hobby. But that hobby is not an extra curricular activity at the school, so she has to pick a new one. So she reluctantly joins a certain all girl activity.

In Bring It On, new girl likes gymnastic, but joined cheerleading in new school.

In Pitch Perfect, new girl likes deejaying and was eventually persuaded to join an all-girls a cappella group.

And like Bring It On, I found Pitch Perfect a whole lot of fun. The mash-ups were pretty good and I really like the singing scenes in the dried up pool. A little bit of comedy here and there, it really is the type of movie you just seat back and enjoy.

Bachelorette (2012)

IMDB describes the plot as being

Three friends are asked to be bridesmaids at a wedding of a woman they used to ridicule back in high school.

I checked IMDB prior to watching this and saw the pretty horrible ratings. Yet, I still rented it, looking for something light to watch.

It's one of those stories that follows a group of friends a day or days before one of their weddings as they have their so called one last "hoorah" and finding themselves in ridiculous situations. I've seen similar stories in the Hangover. Also Bridesmaids and an Australian comedy A Few Best Men both of which stars Rebel Wilson too.

Having watched Bachelorette, I don't think it was such a horrible movie. But perhaps its just not an entirely funny one, although there were some funny moments. 

The bachelorettes/bridesmaids here are rather messed up. They are just not happy, bubbly, reassuring bridesmaids that you may expect. I thought it was interesting how the movie looked at how the upcoming wedding of a friend makes them reexamine their own lives and their insecurities. And yes, although they are happy for their friend, they are also jealous of her and start comparing how palely their lives compares to her especially in terms of relationships. As such, there was some form of an evolution of the characters in the end. I also think all the actresses did sufficiently in their roles, especially Kirsten Dunst as Regan the uptight meany but extremely dependable and loyal maid of honour. 

So all in all, not a bad movie at all. I rather enjoy it.

Recommendation of the Week: Empire Records (1995)

Empire Records

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As the music industry moves further into the selling of music in the digital format, the survival of the brick and mortar music store is inevitably bleak. Just a few months ago, HMV UK collapsed. Luckily the HMV Singapore stores escaped that fate and remains open so I may still get actual CDs locally.

Empire Records is a movie set in the 90s about an indie music store and its eccentric mix of employees that scrambles to try and save it from being sold to some giant music company. The movie is somewhat of a fitting watch before such stores completely disappear in the near future. Plus I love the 90s and this was actually a pretty funny movie about a day that went all wrong and still manages to have a happy sweet ending. If only it was so for the music stores of today.

The Host - was it that bad?

I haven't posted in a long time I know.

That doesn't mean I haven't watch movies. I have watch tons.

Anyway...I was so looking forward to the release of the Host. Then of course I read a bag load of reviews on how terrible The Host was. Some saying its either as terrible or worse than the Twilight movies. I can't seem to fathom that but I'll get to judge myself when I get it on rental. What a waste when they got such a talented actress to play the lead. And unlike Twilight, apparently the Host did so very poorly at the box office. I think it opened at 6th. That probably killed any chance of a sequel.

Well there's goes the chance that a good movie can be made from a Stephenie Meyer book.

Posters Galore: Catching Fire

I love this newly released posters for Catching Fire. Not exactly one you'd think for the 2nd movie of the Hunger Games series. But it works because Propaganda is a big element in the series. And these actually look like Propaganda posters done by the Capitol. Its all futuristic, nice, clean and gleaming looking. Just as overly glossy as such posters tend to be.

Austenland Clip

As you may have heard, Austenland made its premiere at Sundance. I've been reading some positive stuff about the movie, which is good. MTV has also posted a clip of the movie. Look below.

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I think the movie looks fun. I can't remember this scene in the book, but it has been more than a year since I've read it. I thought it was cute how they rocketed a fake bird for shooting.

Catching Fire Pics

Catching Fire is on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. They also have three official pictures of the movie which you can check out here.

I really like the Hunger Games. The book was great and I thought the movie was pretty good too. It manages to be gritty while remaining PG for its target audience. So I am very looking forward to Catching Fire.

Recommendation of the Week: White Oleander (2002)

White Oleander

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• Alison Lohman,
• Michelle Pfeiffer,
• Robin Wright

The Oprah Book Club best-seller by Janet Fitch makes it to the big screen in this adaptation from British director Peter Kosminsky. White Oleander (more...)

78% liked it

PG-13, 1 hr. 49 min.

Director: Peter Kosminsky

Released: Oct 11, 2002

DVD: Mar 11, 2003

Movies & Actors at Flixster

 

I saw this at the theater back in 2002. I loved it. I thought it managed to capture the rather lyrical aspect of the book. The movie has a largely a female cast and they were great. Astrid went into such a great transformation and Alison Lohman was soo believable as a 12 year old girl in the beginning. Renée Zellweger was perfect as the extremely fragile Claire, one of Astrid's various foster mothers. But I think it was Michelle Pfeiffer that really stood out as Ingrid, Astrid's mother, who is ruthlessly selfish in her quest for vengeance, and truly conniving in her efforts to control her Astrid even from behind bars. She really was the type of mother would never want to have. Perhaps because of its mainly female cast, this movie may seem like a chick flick. It is not. It is not a romantic comedy. We don't often get coming of age tales of female characters, and this is one of the rare ones and it is quite a heartbreaking movie.

Trailer Watch: Mr Selfridge

 

Another TV show about a department store. I believe it premiered, yesterday in the UK. Hope the ITV channel we get over here, would show it soon too.

Movies I Want to see in 2013

Its the second day of the new year. Happy Belated New Year. So what is there to look forward to in terms of movies in 2013, well I'm sure there's plenty. But here's a list of movies I want to see.

Warm Bodies

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• Nicholas Hoult,
• Teresa Palmer,
• Rob Corddry

A funny new twist on a classic love story, WARM BODIES is a poignant tale about the power of human connection. After a zombie epidemic, R (a highly (more...)

94% want to see it

PG-13, 1 hr. 37 min.

Director: Jonathan Levine

Release: Feb 1, 2013

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This looks soo fun. Oh let this be good.

Beautiful Creatures

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• Jack O'Connell,
• Alden Ehrenreich,
• Alice Englert

A young man is drawn to a mysterious young girl who moves to his small town and stumbles on a crypt of her family secrets in this adapation of Kami (more...)

92% want to see it

PG-13

Director: Richard LaGrave...

Release: Feb 1, 2013

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The second trailer really sold me the movie.

Stoker

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• Mia Wasikowska,
• Matthew Goode,
• Nicole Kidman

After India's father dies in an auto accident, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her emotionally unstable (more...)

94% want to see it

R, 1 hr. 38 min.

Director: Park Chan-wook

Release: Mar 1, 2013

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The trailer looks good. So have been the posters that have been released thus far. Dark and Creepy.

Carrie

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• Chloe Moretz,
• Julianne Moore,
• Gabriella Wilde

A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White, a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who (more...)

94% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Kimberly Peirce

Release: Mar 15, 2013

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I've seen two adaptations of Carrie and a sequel. How will this one fare?

The Host

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• Saoirse Ronan,
• William Hurt,
• Max Irons

One soul, the Wanderer, is fused with a captured human named Melanie Stryder, in an attempt to locate the last pocket of surviving humans on Earth.

91% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Andrew Niccol

Release: Mar 29, 2013

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Story sounds interesting. The trailer that was released recently also looked good.And they have a very capable young actress, Saoirse Ronan to play the lead.

Oblivion

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• Tom Cruise,
• Olga Kurylenko,
• Jessica Chastain

A court martial sends a veteran soldier to a distant planet, where he is to destroy the remains of an alien race. The arrival of an unexpected (more...)

98% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Release: Apr 19, 2013

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Saw the trailer...and it looks kinda good. If anything, it would be just a fun futuristic action movie. Can't believe, Tom Cruise is still playing action heroes.

Man of Steel

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• Henry Cavill,
• Amy Adams,
• Michael Shannon

In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time. Clark Kent/Kal-El (Cavill) is a young (more...)

96% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Zack Snyder

Release: Jun 14, 2013

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Because Superman Returns was soo boring. This one has got to be better.

World War Z

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• Brad Pitt,
• Mireille Enos,
• Anthony Mackie

Max Brooks' epic tome of a fictional time of global war against the undead is brought to life in this Paramount Pictures/Plan B production. Quantum of (more...)

97% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Marc Forster

Release: Jun 21, 2013

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The CGI of the zombies in World War Z look bad in a I Am Legend Way. But I can't help it. I like zombie movies.

Kick-Ass 2

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• Chloë Grace Moretz ,
• Nicolas Cage,
• Aaron Johnson

99% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Jeff Wadlow

Release: Jun 28, 2013

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Loved Kick-Ass, so naturally anticipating the sequel.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

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• Mickey Rourke,
• Jessica Alba,
• Rosario Dawson

Dwight plans to have his vengeance against the woman who betrayed him, Ava Lord, while Nancy is trying to cope with Hartigan's death.

91% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Frank Miller, Robert Rodrigue...

Release: Oct 4, 2013

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Is this really having a 2013 release. Seems almost unbelievable since they have been talking about this movie for the longest time.

The World's End

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20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hellbent on trying the drinking marathon again. (more...)

95% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Edgar Wright

Release: Oct 25, 2013

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It's always soo good when Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright come together and make movies. So I am looking forward to this.

Ender's Game

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• Ben Kingsley,
• Asa Butterfield,
• Hailee Steinfeld

In the near future, a hostile alien race (called the Formics) have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander (more...)

90% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Gavin Hood

Release: Nov 1, 2013

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I'm trying to read this now, so will be looking out for the movie.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

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• Jennifer Lawrence,
• Josh Hutcherson,
• Liam Hemsworth

The film adaptation of the second book in Suzanne Collins' runaway bestselling Hunger Games trilogy.

99% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Francis Lawrenc...

Release: Nov 22, 2013

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Read this, loved it, so of course I'll see the movie. 

Romeo and Juliet

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• Hailee Steinfeld,
• Douglas Booth,
• Ed Westwick

Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld step into the roles of Romeo and Juliet in this reinvention of William Shakespeare's play from director Carlo (more...)

92% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Carlo Carlei

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Of course I'll see this.

Vivaldi (Antonio Vivaldi)

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• Joseph Fiennes,
• Lena Headey,
• Malcolm McDowell

A youthful pastor hired in as the music master at a school for the abandoned and illegitimate daughters of Venice nightwalkers forms a powerful bond (more...)

68% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Boris Damast

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Sounds interesting.

The Bling Ring

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• Emma Watson,
• Leslie Mann,
• Taissa Farmiga

Inspired by actual events, a group of fame-obsessed teenagers use the Internet to track celebrities' whereabouts in order to rob their homes.

99% want to see it

Unrated

Director: Sofia Coppola

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A TV movie was made of the same case, so I don't know why this movie was made so soon after. But it is directed by Sofia Coppola, so I'll watch it.


Some other Period Movies that I want to watch.

Austenland
Belle
Effie
Madame Bovary
The Invisible Woman

And of course there's also Before Midnight. I love love luv...Before Sunset. So hopeful that this is as great.

I'm sure I've missed some titles. But there's my list for now.