LAW ABIDING CITIZEN

Guy’s Review...

Watched this again with Girl. This movie will not go down in time as one of those classics thrillers. I think it should, It has great suspense, it feels fresh and Gerard Butler is a fucking badass though out. How many other great thrillers like this have you seen lately that have this amount of suspense in it? I think I can only count them on one of hands.

As I was watching the movie I saw that girl was leaning closer and closer to the screen. There’s a scene where the judge who freed one of the killers that killed Butlers family is about to answer her cellphone. Well, the phone blows up and there’s blood everywhere. Girl’s heart almost stopped. I have to say that I had the same reaction when I saw it the first time myself.

This movie is one of those films where you root for the “bad guy”. I would think that that’s a hard thing to achieve. They did here, you’re with Butler to the bitter end. The movie will have you guessing and jumping out of your seat to the very end.

Guy’s Rating: Instant classic in the Girl/Guy household.

Girl’s OL: Something may be said for Butler’s movie choices (ie. The Bounty Hunter), but when he gets it done he really gets it done.

DATE NIGHT

Guy’s Review...

What happened Steve Carell? You used to be funny as shit. Now you’re just appearing in shit. Yeah, the only good thing about this movie was the short segments where Mark Wahlberg and James Franco is featured. The rest felt like a bunch of wasted time.

Did they think that this was gonna be new and exciting? Two regular people that are put into an action situation? I mean this seems to be a trend lately. Jennifer Anniston in “The Bounty Hunter”, Cameron Diaz in “Knight and Day” and Katherine Heigl in “The Killers”, regular people forced in action. The only thing different from the three movie mentioned above and this is that both main characters are regular joe's.

Guy’s Rating: Don’t!

Girl’s OL: And so ended the potential of the actor Steve Carell, while Tina Fey hide behind 30 Rock for another three seasons.

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE

Guy’s what?

The title is enough for people to fear this movie like the plague. I’m happy to say that the writers knew how stupid this plot is. It’s actually addressed in the movie in a really funny way. I like the fact that there’s still some producers and directors out there that dare to make R-rated comedies.

Here a bunch of old friends go back to there childhood party spot to relive some of there greatest memories. Upon arriving there they find out that the town is dead and not the part place they used to know. In a desperate attempt to have some fun they start drinking heavily in the hot tub outside their hotel room. Someone spills some energy drink in the mechanics of the tub and the gang travels back through time.

Back in time they get to relive and change some of the things the liked or hated about growing up. In making a time traveling comedy you can’t help but accidentally take some stuff from the “Back to the Future” trilogy. I guess that’s ok, those are some pretty awesome movies.

Here the comedy is ranchier and a little bit more pukey. The comedians they have assembled are really funny and the movie even with the whole hot tub thing actually works and is pretty funny. As all other comedies they try to cram some heart into it. This time it didn’t feel to forced.

Guy’s Rating: There is not many good comedies out there so this is probably as good as it gets right now.

Girl’s OL: A comically self-aware movie about something so ridiculous John Cusack is the star.

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME

Guy’s Review...

Me and Girl took a weekend to Gothenburg and late one evening I dragged her to see this movie. I myself am a big, big fan of the video-game and had very high hopes for this movie. Right from the bat we get to see the young Dastan (Gyllenhaal) jump around on roofs and off beams like he’s a little monkey. This is what the Prince does in the game as well.

The young Dastan saves another kid in the streets from getting executed by the palace guards. A scene ensues much like the scene in Disney’s “Aladdin” where he dodges the guards all over town. The Emperor sees this and admires his strength and takes him in as one of his own. This makes him The Prince of Persia. Years later he turns into the very handsome and now buffed up Jake Gyllenhaal. Him and his brothers attack a city that is said to be selling high grade weapons to the enemy. In doing this Dastan gets possession of a dagger filled with sand. The dagger was protected by the princess of the city. Celebrating the victory Dastan is given a robe that he should give his father as a present. Well, the robe was poisoned and Dastan gets blamed. He sets out on an adventure with the princess and the dagger to find the real killer.

One thing that bummed me out a little bit was the fact that the dagger that can turn back time wasn’t used that much. In the game you use it like every five minutes. Here only once in fighting and a couple of other times that has nothing to do with action.

I have to say though that the movie was very entertaining but far from a masterpiece. It probably helped that I went in without any expectations what so ever. I had a fun time and I have to say that Jake is a handsome son of a B.

Guy’s Rating: Good fun, not true to the game but good fun.

Girl’s One-Liner (I have to give reviews one line thoughts now to try to catch up with all these movies): Jake Gyllenhaal is hot but coping out at the end with a reset button to fuel the franchise is not.

LOTR: The Return of the King

Girl’s third thought...

First off, I just read Guy’s review of the Two Towers and found out that Kristoffer, his friend, cried during the Gandalf scene at the end... Don’t worry, I’m sure a lot of people did............

Secondly, this movie was the best book and second best movie of the three. It has the wicked, huge battle I was missing from Helms Deep, some great drama with Denethor and Faramir, as well as some very memorable scenes with Gandalf and that staff of his. However, it kinda overdosed on the cheese and tacky one liners, which bumped it down to second place after the Fellowship. “I’m not a man!” Stab. That was pretty lame. I didn’t like her character all that much to begin with, but that made me hate her. The bit with the ghosts was a tad stupid, as well. I mean, it would be hard to fight ghosts, but Sauron is the king of all evil, supposedly. Shouldn’t that include some kind of ghost shield? Maybe not. Plus Aragon looked stupid jumping from the ship and charging with a scream out of his throat and then all this green smoke following after. I bet someone could of thought how to do that better.

Girl’s Rating: A nice finish, with room for improvement.

Guy’s Review...

I agree that with Kevin Smith when he says that there is only one trilogy and that’s the one of “Star Wars”. I have to say that the LOTR trilogy comes in on the top three best trilogies ever made (there will be poll on this in the near future).

This third installment is by far my favorite. I mean, it has huge battles, Gollum a plenty and the journey finally comes to a end (multiple ends). I saw them all in the theaters and definitely where most excited for this one. They where all a tad long but I still went and bought the extended editions when they arrived at the store. It’s been a while since I saw them and I have to say that the amount of work that was put into this project is astounding. These films will surely stand the test of time and I will definitely show these films to my children when they are old enough.

One question though. Why didn’t Aragorn just go to those great ghost straight away? They’re probably the most powerful force of Middleearth. Just watch that scene towards the end where they attack like a mighty ocean wave and just kill everything that moves. It almost feels like cheating actually.

This is a fitting end to this franchise. I say end, because it seems like they can’t get it together to film the fricking “Hobbit” anytime soon. Girl is a big fan of the books and if she’s right then that would have been a great, great movie.

Guy’s Rating: A great ending to a great trilogy.

LOTR: The Two Towers

Girl’s second thought...

The Two Towers was the book in the series that I did not enjoy reading. Something about it just annoyed the shit out of me as a ten year old. I remember it took me three months to read, possibly longer, and I was a quick reader... I just couldn’t keep at it. I’d fall asleep, throw the book away, get a new one, try again...

The movie was all right, though. My least favorite of the three, but whatever, that doesn’t mean much because I loved this film version of the LOTR trilogy. The Helms Deep battle wasn’t as epic or as thought out as it was in my head while I read the book. There was tonnes of plot lines and bits of information missing concerning Gandalf’s plight and the Rohirrim. That aside, however, this movie still earns my respect at continuing this series solidity into the third film.

Girl’s Rating: Solid, entertaining, but no Fellowship. Not without Sean Bean.

Guy’s Review...

And then came number two. Here it gets a little bit better. It might be because I love the tree people. I just enjoy the slow pace they walk through the forest with and the way they speak. I’m gonna take on their way of living and maybe I’ll be their age if I’m lucky. I gotta say... The special effects really holds up, because the forest and the wandering trees look as amazing as they did the day I saw this in theaters.

As for fan favorite Gollum. I love the dude, everything about him is awesome. We feel sorry for him, he scares us and the way he looks is a mix between pathetic and haunting. I learned fast after watching this for the first time that I had the ability to make a decent impression of this little creature. It’s almost like my Gizmo bit a little bit slimier. Anyways, he makes the whole movie for me.

Another thing came to mind while watching this. Remember when Gandalf shows up in the end and saves the day? Well, one of my friends, who shall remain nameless (Kristoffer) admitted that he welled up during that scene. I guess it was powerful to him in some way. When I think about that I realize that there isn’t one scene in this trilogy that gets me that way. I’m not trying to be tough or anything many scenes in other movies makes me want to cry. If Peter got me to cry at any time during these three films then these films would have had everything.

Guy’s Rating: Lots of Gollum and that’s all I need.

LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring

Girl’s thought...

If you loved the book, you’ll love this movie. It’s the second best book and the best movie out of the trilogy. You might be said that Tom Bombadil doesn’t make an appearance, and you might be disappointed that some of the Elven parts are skipped over and left out, but... All in all this movie is a great kick start to a wonderful fantasy series. It was more than amazing when I first saw it, it still entertains me when I watch it now, and I know my kids are going to love it (have to love it) when I show it to them later (when they actually exist).

Girl’s Rating: A cinematic adventure with a great cast, excellent visual stimuli and awesome costumes. Boromir... you dying gets me every time.

Guy’s Review...

So now the time came for us to watch this trilogy again. I got all of them in HD and was hoping for it to be a new experience. I put in the first part in the series and started our adventure again. I always thought that “Fellowship” stared off slow. I guess they needed this time to make us feel for these characters. Well, I have a hard time connecting to Woods in any movie he has been in. This makes it hard for me to like him as Frodo.

Lucky for him he’s backed up by great actors like Sir Ian McKellen, Viggo, John Noble, Sean Bean and many more. I wonder what process they actually went though picking Gandalf (it’s probably on one of the DVD’s). I know they approched Sean Connery for the role but I guess he has enough James Bond money to turn these types of roles down.

Who would have though that the director of “Dead Alive”, “Meet the Feebles” and “Bad Taste” would come up with such a detailed and entertaining vision of Middle Earth.

As for “Fellowship”, it starts of very slow but sets up for the rest of the movies in a very brilliant way. Not many battles here but they will make up for that later. A subject we’ll talk about later.

Guy’s Rating: A decent start and a pretty cool Balrog.