If you've seen the trailer or read anything about
Julie and Julia you probably already know the type of movie this is.
Plotline number one has
Meryl Streep as the infectious Julia
Childs. The film charts her journey from
somebody's wife into being proficient enough to turn her love of French food into a cook book suitable for American housewives. Usually I hate true stories (yes, really), but Julia
Childs is such an endearing character, she completely
propels the story. The second plot comes courtesy of a blogger who decides to set herself the challenge to cook everyone of Julia's recipes in a year.
I'll start with the bad; this movie sometimes feels like just a vehicle for
Amy Adams to transition from star of tat like Enchanted to becoming a major movie star. A set up for her next big movie where she stars as Amelia
Earnhart to get given an Oscar.
But that is the main bad point here, the most impressive thing is that this is a movie with two lead female characters who have not been written as two dimensional, predictable messes. The men in this film are just there for us to emotionally connect with the Julie and Julia. Much like an opposite of a lot of the male centred comedies that are rife in Hollywood today. This is no 'issue' film, instead it draws parallels between a hero and her worshipper.
4 Stars
From a personal point of view, I was pretty excited about seeing
(500) Days of Summer, but there was one big qualm I had before I went in: THE SOUNDTRACK. What a predictably hipster set of songs! The cute cover of a well known indie song, the song by one of the cast members, Regina
Spektor (x2), the 'cheesy' yet
lovable Philadelphia soul of Hall & Oates...
I was sort of wrong, yes, 'Us' did not feel right to open the film but other than that the songs seem to be
chosen by Tom (
Joesph Gordon-Levitt) as the
soundscape in his head when he is with (and without) Summer. The film itself does live up to it's anti-romantic comedy sentiments. This is, in music terms, what anti-folk is to folk. A twist on romantic comedies, yet it still has a strong link with it's
predecessors. A film that fizzes with
enjoyable heartwarming moments which breakaway and launch you into the same romantic confusions Tom is going through. The fragmented timeline adds a different element to the film, but impressively does not distract or confuse. I would highly recommend this movie, especially as a date movie.
Zooey Deschanel is fantastic as the villain of the piece, without really being evil at all and, I have to mention
Joesph Gordon-Levitt is
extremely hot in this movie.
4.5 Stars
Up (3d)
This is the first Disney
Pixar film to
truly rival the brilliance of Toy Story and Toy Story 2. So just go and see it, there is no point in explaining the plot, the characters or the use of 3d. You know what kind of film this is! One you're going to enjoy, don't read the reviews and spoil it for yourself!
4.5 Stars
