A Rom-Com with a Body Count

Killers

Directed By: Robert Luketic

Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, & Tom Sellek

I like good romantic comedies, and I'm not naive enough to think that there are many original approaches to the subgenre left. I get so sick of critics saying that a new romantic comedy is cliched, stereotypical, or unoriginal. Of course, they are! There are only so many ways for a couple to meet, fall in love, break up, and then get back together in the last act...and there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of romantic comedies over the years, each trying to stand out from the rest in some way. Frankly, critics' excuses for hating this kind of movie are even more tired than the most worn-out of romantic comedy. But, let's be fair, most new romantic comedies suck, even if you don't account for how much they borrow from previously-made movies. They suck because their screenplays are lifeless, their casts are uninspired, and they are filmed with all the gusto of brick wall. The movies lack inspiration because the filmmakers clearly aren't aiming to make anything more than a stereotypical rom-com; consider it a self-fulfilling prophesy, if you will. And, my friends, making a stereotypical romantic comedy and not caring because you expect to make a stereotypical romantic comedy are two very different things. Take for example, Killers, cliched and relatively by-the numbers, but entertaining and worth-a-watch because the filmmakers dare to have a little fun with the subgenre and to actually try to make a good movie.

What Makes a Mother?

The Blind Side

Directed By: John Lee Hancock

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, & Quinton Aaron

Leigh Anne Tuohy is the kind of person you wouldn't think could really exist if she didn't. She is commanding; deeply caring, but not in an overt way; controlling, but in a good way; and very funny. She is the kind of person who, I imagine, is very difficult to accurately play. There is the constant danger of becoming too over-the-top and losing the undeniable charm that the actual Leigh Anne Tuohy has. Because beneath her tough exterior, from all implications, she is a wonderful mother who is much more compassionate than she would like you to believe. There has been much discussion of whether or not Sandra Bullock really deserved the Oscar she won for this movie; some say that the Academy only rewarded her because of her long, beloved career and because this would probably be the only time she would ever be up for such an award (Miss Congeniality, as funny as it is, isn't really Oscar material). Hogwash, I say. If you have ever seen Leigh Anne Tuohy in an interview (YouTube has some, I'm sure), then you will see that Sandra Bullock so effortlessly slips into the role, capturing all of the complexities of a woman who is so outlandish that she seems completely impossible. It's a challenging role that would have been easy to screw up, but Bullock nails it.

Fun, Frivolous, and Downright Fabulous

Sex and the City 2

Directed By: Michael Patrick King

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, & Cynthia Nixon

Critics have not been too kind to Sex and the City 2. Now, normally, I don't pay much attention to critics or their reviews. There is only one opinion that matters to me and that is my own. I do read Roger Ebert's reviews, as his writing is simply brilliant, and I also read a little-known critic named Dustin Putnam, whose unabashed courage in reviewing is very admirable (You can visit him at http://www.themovieboy.com/). Other than that, though, I don't really give a damn. Alas, I have been fascinated by the reviews of this movie, as so many of them are packed with a venom usually reserved for remakes of old horror movies. I'm not sure why, though I would be willing to bet it could have something to do with the recent economic downturn. Critics, not surprisingly, have been hit hard, as their jobs are not, you know, crucial to the survival of our species. It must then be rather demoralizing to watch a movie like Sex and the City 2 that features characters who, though they do discuss the recession in passing, seem to have only become richer and richer since the first movie. When one character bemoans the fact that she wasn't able to sell her second apartment in Manhattan because of the housing crisis and thus must simply hold on to it for frivolous uses here and there, even I have to admit that it could be interpreted as rather insulting.

The Tin Man Strikes Back

Iron Man 2

Directed By: Jon Favreau

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, & Mickey Rourke

For those of you who are wondering, no, Iron Man 2 is not as good as its wonderful predecessor, a movie that helped launch the comic book subgenre into legitimacy. The good news, my friends: it is actually a good movie, anyway. It ramps up the action two-fold and introduces a slew of intriguing new characters, all well-played by the new additions to the cast, including the likes of Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson. But, for all that it adds to its storyline, it loses a little bit of the heart and soul that made the first Iron Man an unexpected critical and commercial success back in 2008. Though it starts off on a pitch-perfect note by immediately reintroducing us into the charming life of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and maintains its momentum for a while, shortly after the first showdown between Stark and this movie's signature villain, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), at a soon-to-be-destroyed racetrack, Iron Man 2 hits a wall of sorts that leads it into a noticeably drab slump for the duration of its bulky mid-section. Fortunately for Stark and company, it regains its footing well enough in advance to conclude with a literal bang, an ending that is bigger and better than that of Iron Man in just about every way imaginable and lets the audience leave on a high note that will surely stick with them more than the slightly disappointing middle.

Using His Gift With Grace

Nine

Directed By: Rob Marshall

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, & Penelope Cruz

Nine is every bit as glitzy and glamorous as you might expect from director Rob Marshall. Based on the Tony-winning Broadway play of the same name, it is beautiful and utterly theatrical, giving its audience the feeling that they are sitting in the front row of a lavish stage production. Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Guido Contini, a brilliant film director facing a life crisis just ten days before the production of his new movie is set to begin. He has no script...no story...and no scheme for getting either. At the same time, he is conflicted by the many beautiful women in his life: his long-suffering wife, Luisa (Marion Cotillard); his desperate mistress, Carla (Penelope Cruz); his wise costume designer, Lilli (Judi Dench); a hotshot reporter named Stephanie (Kate Hudson); his muse and beloved star, Claudia (Nicole Kidman); and his deceased mother (Sophia Loren), who haunts him. Guido has created a complex web in his life, and Nine follows him as he reaches a crossroads that will make it impossible for him to continue living as he has for years. But, for a man who has always had everything and only ever wants more than what he has, the idea of losing something is enough to drive him crazy.