The Holiday

Somewhere between holiday movie and guilty pleasure lies The Holiday. The tale of two women from opposite continents who escape to each other’s homes & lives to escape their own at Christmas is much more fun and touching that you might think.

What I like most about The Holiday is that this is the film that made Jack Black more than a crazy comic to me; here he plays Miles, a nice guy and a film composer who gets cheated on but ends up rescued by Kate Winslet. And who would have ever thought Winslet and Black would be a cute couple? Nancy Meyers scores points for that one.

Perhaps what makes the LA portion of the story all the more enjoyable is the addition of Arthur Abbott – a writer from the golden age of Hollywood afraid to venture back out into the world. He manages to reset Iris’s world view and in the process resets his own.

This might be a chick-flick, but I do enjoy this film.




Iris: Well, I just wanted to get away from all the people I see all the time!... Well, not all the people... one person. I wanted to get away from one... guy. An ex-boyfriend who just got engaged and forgot to tell me.
Arthur Abbott: So, he's a schmuck.
Iris: As a matter of fact, he is... a huge schmuck. How did you know?
Arthur Abbott: He let you go. This is not a hard one to figure out. Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason you are behaving like the best friend.

The Holiday

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Originally uploaded by ns520za

I said it once and I will say it again, I like The Holiday. It’s a chick movie, but that doesn’t eliminate the fact that it’s a good movie. If I had any criticism about this movie it would have to be that I want to spend more time in the world that Iris visits in LA, and watch more of her adventures with Miles and Arthur.

I think this movie is becoming a holiday tradition for me. I actually think of The Holiday every time the Santa Ana winds blow in and annoy the heck out of me. The only think they fail to say about the winds in the film is that they turn your weather about 20 degrees warmer and suck all moisture out of the air so along with being blown around you become uncomfortable. But that’s not really important to the story is it?

Arthur Abbott is the character in The Holiday that I adore. He’s a crusty, whimsical old man that’s lived through Hollywood’s glory days and watched it all pass him by for years now until Iris comes into his life. Iris helps Arthur see himself as a viable, vibrant person again and he manages to do the same for Iris. This is a great friendship on screen and I find myself hoping that one day I will meet someone like Arthur to regale me with stories and encouragement about their past in the industry.

I enjoy this movie. It’s light hearted, funny, well acted and everything a good romantic comedy should be.

Arthur Abbott: Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some
reason you are behaving like the best friend.
Iris: You're so right. You're supposed to be the leading lady of your own life, for god's sake! Arthur, I've been going to a therapist for three
years, and she's never explained things to me that well. That was brilliant. Brutal, but brilliant.

Tropic Thunder

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Originally uploaded by Deadly x Design

Tropic Thunder is still one of the funniest movies to have come out in the last decade no matter how many times I watch it; in fact the more I watch it the more I become impressed with the skills of director and actor Ben Stiller. I still do not quite understand how you direct a movie in which you also act in but Stiller does this in every film he directs and Tropic Thunder shows all the skill of a veteran director.

I enjoy watching Tropic Thunder with people that know very little about it because it seems like they never expect what is actually in the film. Sometimes it’s a cameo like Tom Cruise that surprises them and sometimes it’s merely the nuts and bolts of the film. As my younger brother expressed to me last night after watching it for the first time; Tropic Thunder makes no logical sense, yet somehow it’s all corralled in a way that makes the story make perfect sense and become utterly hilarious.

I truly cannot recommend this film enough and the more I watch it the more I become firmly aware that not only is the in my top five favorite films of 2008, but I think perhaps Robert Downey Jr. should have gotten the best supporting actor Oscar.

Kirk Lazarus: Being an actor's no different than being a rugby player or a construction worker, save for the fact that my tools are the mechanisms that trigger human emotion.

Tropic Thunder

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Originally uploaded by Tal.Ent

I know I said I was going to break my streak of watching Robert Downey Jr. movies, and I intended to watch more non-Downey movies than just one, but on New Year's Eve my best friend and I had a movie marathon and we ended up (at her suggesting and my lack of argument) watching three Downey movies. I swear I will watch more than one next time that doesn't have Downey in it.

I don’t think I will stop laughing at Tropic Thunder ever. This movie truly is one of the single funniest movies I have ever seen. I know I have a love of movies about movies and Robert Downey Jr., but I think even without that I would adore this movie – from the moment the film starts it has me in stitches over Booty Sweat, Scorcher, Satan’s Alley & Fatties and it doesn’t stop when the real story begins. Tropic Thunder is full of little surprises that just get better every time you see them.

I grew up idolizing Tom Cruise and his turn as Les Grossman a in charge studio executive has me more than hopeful that Tom is headed back to be the happy-go-lucky good guy & talented actor that he is and not the crazy nut bag in the media that he’s become. From the moment Les Grossman asks for the Key Grip to his offer to Peck Tom plays an egotistical studio head perfectly and goes toe to toe nearly stealing the show from the boys. That is quite a feat as Stiller, Downey & Black are each amazing and hysterical characters all on their own.

This movie will get watched many, many times by me. I am exceedingly happy both Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. have been recognized for their performances in this movie which is sure to become a cherished cinematic gem.

Les Grossman: Which one of you f--kfaces is Damien Cockburn?
Damien Cockburn: Uh, that's me, sir. It's an honor to finally meet you. Get some face time.
Les Grossman: And who here is the key grip? You? You! Hit that director in the face, really f--king hard!

The Holiday

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Originally uploaded by ns520za

If you know that I loathe most romantic comedies and holiday films you would be surprised to find out that I adore The Holiday. In fact, I am a little shocked that I like The Holiday as much as I do. However, I do blame this on another of my likes and dislikes – I love movies about movies and The Holiday has a main character that edits trailers, one character that is a film composer and another character that was a screenwriter in the golden age of Hollywood.

At its core The Holiday is a film about Iris and Amanda. It’s Christmas time and Iris, a columnist from England is heartbroken to discover Jasper the man that has been leading her on for two years is engaged to one of her coworkers and didn’t even have the decency to tell her before making the announcement. In the states Amanda makes movie trailers and has just dumped her boyfriend Ethan for cheating on her with his secretary. Both women are devastated and don’t want to stay home for the holidays; through chance Amanda finds that Iris has listed her home on a home exchange website and the women decided to switch houses for the holiday. Iris heads to Hollywood and meets Miles a film composer who seems to have her luck in love, and Arthur who is Amanda’s elderly neighbor and a prolific screenwriter from a Hollywood era long gone. In England Amanda meets Graham, Amanda’s brother and the two hit it off only for Amanda to discover that he is a widower with two small daughters. Both women begin complicated relationships with the men – Amanda’s romantic and Iris’s at first purely friendship with both men, at first.

I do have to say that I have nothing against the characters in England but the storyline of Iris, Miles and Arthur are my favorite part of the movie. Not only do I love the old Hollywood influence in the story but I find Iris to be the character that I can empathize with the most. I also adore Kate Winslet and Jack Black together which I didn’t think was possible. It’s an odd pairing but it’s kind of like Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally, once you see Billy Crystal in the role you can’t imagine anyone else playing that – I think Jack Black did that in The Holiday. I think Kate Winslet needs to be in more movies. I love watching her act.

I really think that The Holiday is just a really good film, not just a holiday film. It is able to transcend it’s categorization because it uses the time of the year as a catalyst, not as an overarching theme by which the movie is driven.

Director & Writer: Nancy Meyers
Amanda: Cameron Diaz
Iris: Kate Winslet
Graham: Jude Law
Miles: Jack Black
Arthur Abbott: Eli Wallach
Ethan: Edward Burns
Jasper: Rufus Sewell
Maggie: Shannyn Sossamon

Arthur Abbott: Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason you are behaving like the best friend.
Iris: You're so right. You're supposed to be the leading lady of your own life, for god's sake! Arthur, I've been going to a therapist for three years, and she's never explained things to me that well. That was brilliant. Brutal, but brilliant.

Tropic Thunder

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Originally uploaded by AshDigitalis

I have been excited about the prospect of Tropic Thunder for months. I do have a special place in my heart for movies about making movies; add to that the prospect of Robert Downey Jr. and a huge amount of advanced buzz and I was pretty sure that there was no way I could dislike Tropic Thunder.

I adored Tropic Thunder.

Everything about the film was funny to me, but I do not think I have laughed harder in years at a movie. Every time Robert Downey Jr. opened his mouth to deliver a line about the inner workings of Holylwood or the craft of acting I could not stop laughing.

This film has gotten a lot of heat because it is “controversial” and “insensitive”. What drives me nuts is that with these kinds of films (the same with Dogma) people jump to conclusions without seeing them in the text of the film.

Are the jokes about Simple Jack the retard insensitive? Yes. But what they fail to see is that they are more insensitive towards why Tugg Speedman chose to play Jack than the mental condition of the character. The entire joke is based around the insensitivity of Hollywood towards the individual and the outsider, and that their main goal is to win awards and make money – period. This is actually the theme of the entire movie; somehow Ben Stiller and the writing team found a way to poke fun at the system while completely endorsing the system to get the movie made.

Tropic Thunder is filled to the brim with cameos, inside jokes and memorable characters that completely endorse the Hollywood stereotype that people believe in. While I adored all of the stars and cemeos in this film I do have to say that two people stood out for me as my favorites – Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise.

Tom Cruise is Les Grossman, the head of the studio that is making the movie within Tropic Thunder - Tropic Thunder. This is the tent pole movie of the decade for the studio and Les is personally involved, even getting people to assault the films director as he is on teleconference thousands of miles away and cannot do it himself. This role is the Tom Cruise I know, love and have missed ever since his couch jumping incident; this is the Tom Cruise that is in the business because he loves it, and is the biggest star in the world without trying to be anyone but himself – the Tom Cruise that does things because he knows his fans will enjoy it.

This truly is the summer of Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man was brilliant, and I think Tropic Thunder was made by his portrayal of Kirk Lazarus – Australian method actor, multi-award winner, who is so committed to the role that he has undergone a procedure to dye his skin black so he can portray the platoons sergeant. This role is one of the funniest I have seen since my personal favorite comedy Blazing Saddles where I fell in love with Gene Wilder’s Jim.

I highly recommend Tropic Thunder to all. It is a highly enjoyable movie that will entertain adults to no end. Just remember to go in knowing that this movie is not PG-13, and that the jokes are meant to be taken within the context of the film – a knowledge of film history helps as well.

Director: Ben Stiller
Writers: Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux, Ethan Cohen
Kirk Lazarus: Robert Downey Jr.
Jeff Portnoy: Jack Black
Tugg Speedman: Ben Stiller
Kevin Sandusky: Jay Baruchel
Alpa Chino: Brandon T. Jackson
Damien Cockburn: Steve Coogan
Cody: Danny McBride
Four Leaf: Nick Nolte
Rick Peck: Matthew McConaughey
Les Grossman: Tom Cruise

Kirk Lazarus: I don't read the script. The script reads me.

Kung Fu Panda

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Originally uploaded by kenlu.

When my brother first suggested going to Kung Fu Panda I was reluctant. I did not want to sit in a theatre on a Friday night surrounded by kids who would be giggling, throwing popcorn and whispering through the entire movie. I'm a movie snob, I like certain conditions and I know it. However, my brother's cold and convienient showtimes prevailed so we went to see Jack Black portray a Panda.

Kung Fu Panda made me laugh so hard I cried at least once in the film. This is a kids movie, but it's trying to be a tried and true kung fu movie - the only thing missing is David Carradine.

Po the panda (son of a goose mind you) works in his father's noodle shop while longing to join the "furious five" kung fu masters that protect his city. He is the geekiest of geeks about kung fu and yet knows that it's something he can never do...until he is selected as the dragon warrior by old maser Oogway at the Jade Palace and must train to bring out his potential and save everyone from pending doom at the hands of Tai Lung.

The traditional cast of characters include the other five warriors voiced by everyone from Jackie Chan to Angelina Jolie and the struggling master Shifu voiced by Dustin Hoffman. These individauls do not want Po there and all (except Jolie's Tigress) are eventually won over to Po. What follows is the kung fu movies you remember watching as a kid, but this time it all makes sense to any age as the humor is just as important as the kung fu.

My favorite character was probably the aged master Oogway who spouted such phrases as "yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift, that's why they call it the present" and managed to make these sound like they kind of fit in a kung fu movie.

I do reccomend this film, I would just reccomend that you avoid having so many little kids in the theatre if you're picky about your theatre enviroment like I am.

Director:Mark Osbourne & John Stevenson
Writer: Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger
Po: Jack Black
Shifu: Dustin Hoffman
Tigress: Angelina Jolie
Tai Lung: Ian McShane
MOnkey: Jackie Chan
Mantis: Seth Rogen
Viper: Lucy Liu
Crane: David Cross
Oogway: Randall Duk Kim
Commander Vachir: Michael Clark Duncan

Tai Lung: What are you going to do, sit on me?
Po: Don't tempt me.