Revenge of the Bridesmaids

"Tomorrow we go in for the kill.  We eliminate the most essential part of this wedding: the bride."

"I guess we have to.  I know the estate pretty well, there's a lot of good places to bury the body where they'll never find it."

"Uh Rach, kill is just an expression."

Best friends Abigail (Symone) and Parker (Garcia), left their home town as soon as possible to pursue their dreams.  Abigail wrote a bestseller, but can't find a follow-up story.  Parker moved to New York to become an actress, but she is not getting call-backs.  They go home for Parker's parents anniversary, and are reunited with their other two childhood friends: shy Rachel (Whitehead) and spoiled Caitlyn (Williams).  Caitlyn grew up getting everything she wanted, and is now engaged to Rachel's ex-boyfriend, Tony (Brocato).

The learn that Tony and Caitlyn are getting married for 2 reasons: she is pregnant and his family is wealthy.  Parker and Abigail decide to go undercover as bridesmaids to break up the wedding and give Rachel the happy ending she deserves.


Sure, this movie was made for ABC Family Channel, but it is still funny and engaging.  Raven Symone and Joanna Garcia, both TV vets, have great chemistry and seem to be having a blast.  They are a bit over the top, but that is what is needed for the roles.  Beth Broderick is evil, in an exaggerated villain.  And you can't help but dislike Virginia Williams' Caitlyn.  Chryssie Whitehead portrays the most realistic character, Rachel, who gets a few memorable lines.  The male characters don't get to do much, but most men don't in wedding films.

Not a great movie, but good for a laid-back girls night.

Revenge of the Bridesmaids (2010) 95 minutes
Director: James Hayman
Starring: Raven Symone as Abigail Scanlon
Joanna Garcia as Parker Wald
Beth Broderick as Olivia McNabb
David Clayton Rogers as Lt. Henry Kent
Virginia Williams as Caitlyn McNabb
Chryssie Whitehead as Rachel Phipps
Brittany Ishibashi as Bitsy
Lyle Brocato as Tony Penning

The Fighter

"I'm the one who's fighting. Not you, not you, and not you."

Micky Ward (Wahlberg) is a boxer living in the shadow of his older brother, Dicky Eklund (Bale).  Dicky is a local legend, the "Pride of Lowell," after a legendary showdown with Sugar Ray Leonard.  Dicky serves as Micky's trainer, despite having different boxing styles, while their mother, Alice Ward (Leo), is his manager.  Dicky is unpredictable, due to his heavy drug use, and Micky's boxing career suffers.

As Dicky's drug use increases, Micky begins to rethink his boxing career.  He begins dating local bartender, Charlene (Adams), who wants Micky to dream bigger.  With his family alienating anyone willing to help, including Micky's other trainer Mickey O'Keefe (O'Keefe), what will Micky choose: family and his career?


The film is based on the real-life account of boxer Micky Ward and his older, half-brother Dicky Eklund.  Both men were involved in the film, and appear during the credits of the film.  Mark Wahlberg is the star of the film, and delivers a fine performance... but he is constantly upstaged by Christian Bale.  Bale dives into the character, and spent significant time with Dicky Eklund to be able to accurately portray him and his mannerisms.  You can't look away, every time Bale is on screen he takes all of the focus.  He definitely deserved all the accolades for the part, and clearly deserved the Oscar for this part (which he received).

The other stand-out performances are the female leads.  Melissa Leo, won an Oscar for her role as Alice Ward.  While Bale is mesmerizing, Leo is trashy and abrasive.  She is not a character you enjoy seeing on screen.  I'm not particularly impressed with the actress, who comes off as trashy both on and off screen.  Amy Adams plays against type as Charlene, shedding her squeaky clean reputation to play a tough, street-smart woman.  She is good, but I prepare sweet Amy.

An excellent film, that is worth checking into.  Yes, it is similar to other sports movies, and rather predictable, especially if happen to follow boxing, but it works here.

The Fighter (2010) 116 minutes
Rating: R for language throughout, drug content, some violence and sexuality
Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Mark Wahlberg as Micky Ward
Christian Bale as Dicky Eklund
Amy Adams as Charlene Fleming
Melissa Leo as Alice Ward
Mickey O'Keefe as Mickey O'Keefe
Jack McGee as George Ward

Dracula (1931)

"Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make."

In the Carpathian mountains, the locals fear the night and the Castle Dracula.  Count Dracula (Lugosi) hires British businessman Renfield (Frye) to find a new home in England.  Unbeknownst to Renfield, Dracula is a vampire.  Once their business is completed, Renfield becomes Dracula's servant.

They travel to England and Renfield is taken to sanatorium, run by Dr. Seward (Bunston) in the property adjoined by Dracula's new property.  Dr. Seward, his daughter Mina (Chandler), her fiance John Harker (Manners), and family friend Lucy Weston (Dade), welcome Dracula and invite him into their lives.  As people begin vanishing mysteriously, and Lucy dies suddenly, Professor Van Helsing (Van Sloan) is brought into find the problem.  Van Helsing is an expert on vampires.  Can Dracula be stopped, or is he too smart and powerful?


The definitive Dracula film.  It was not the first film incarnation of Bram Stoker's classic story, but it is the best known: the barometer by which all other Dracula films are judged.

In addition to being the Holy Grail of Dracula films, it is also the iconic role for Bela Lugosi.  Lugosi originated the role of Dracula on Broadway.  Although he was not the first choice for the role, he lobbied for it, took a pay cut, and went out of his way to make the film happen.  In the end, it is hard to imagine anyone else in the role.  Lugosi delivers all of Dracula's lines at a slow, deliberate pace.  Apparently, he learned his lines (for Broadway) phonetically, since he did not speak English at that point.  The delivery style and pace stuck, and work well for the character... he's lived for a very long time and speaks his words deliberately.

The rest of the cast is decent, with Dwight Frye standing out as Renfield.  Frye subsequently appeared in other monster movies (such as Frankenstein a year after this film).

A classic monster movie, that makes all other Dracula movies / spoofs make a little more sense.  Check it out!

Dracula (1931) 75 minutes
Director: Tod Browning and Karl Freund
Starring: Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula
Helen Chandler as Mina
David Manners as John Harker
Dwight Frye as Renfield
Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing
Herbert Bunston as Dr. Seward
Frances Dade as Lucy Weston

Room for One More

"Sister, if it had been me, I'd have bitten both your ankles!"

Anna Rose (Drake) has a big heart, consistently providing food and shelter for homeless animals.  One day, Anna is approached about taking in a foster child, who has had a troubled life.  Her husband, George "Poppy" (Grant), says no, since they already have three children: Trot (Gordon), Tim (Cassell), and Teenie (Winslow).  But they end up bringing the girl, Jane (Mann), into their home for a trial period.  A few weeks later, they bring in a second troubled child Jimmy John (Tatum Jr).  Can they be a family, or will personality differences prove to be too great?


I discovered this film during TCM's Summer Under the Stars today (8/21/11).  Cary Grant is one of my favorite actors, so I was excited to discover more of his films (I love TCM).

Grant is great as the harried husband, trying to keep the family happy and fed, while secretly loving the chaos.  Betty Drake excels as the woman with enough love to reach 5 children, making each one feel loved and accepted.  Grant and Drake have excellent chemistry, they were married at the time.

The kids are a delight.  Especially George Winslow, in his film debut.  Winslow is best know for his deep voice at a young age.  He appeared again with Grant in the film Monkey Business, also in 1952.  Winslow plays the youngest of the Rose children, with the most to say.  He says it like it is, and gets the best laughs.  The other Rose children are minor players, revolving around their parents and foster siblings.  They each get some good lines, but don't have been great moments.  Iris Mann, as Jane, and Clifford Tatum Jr., as Jimmy John, are abrasive at first, but grow on you as they grow on the family.  They both do a good job, but are upstaged by the dog, who joins the family around the same time they do.

A heart-warming, goofball comedy.  Check it out!

Room for One More (1952) 98 minutes
Director: Norman Taurog
Starring: Cary Grant as George "Poppy" Rose
Betsy Drake as Anna Rose
Iris Mann as Jane Miller
George Winslow as Teenie Rose
Clifford Tatum Jr. as Jimmy John Wilson
Gay Gordon as Trot Rose
Malcolm Cassell as Tim Rose

Into the Woods

"You need an objective observer to pass the story along."
"Some of us don't like the way you've been telling it."

Once upon a time, in a far-off kingdom...
A young woman, named Cinderella (Crosby), wants to go to the king's festival and dance with the prince.  A young boy named Jack (Wright), is forced to sell his best friend / cow so he and his mother (Barbara Bryne) can eat.  And the Baker (Zien) and his Wife (Gleason) long to have a child, but are under the curse of the Witch (Peters) next door.  The Witch gives them a list of items to procure to lift the spell.  And everyone enters the woods.

Can they all find their "happily ever after?"


In 1986, Stephen Sondheim  debuted a new musical that combined beloved several beloved fairy tales: Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Riding Hood, and Rapunzel; into a new story Into the Woods.  All of the characters interact and their storylines cross in the characters of the Baker and his Wife.  It explores the fairy tales and what happens when everyone gets what they want or deserve... the first Act is the stories you know and ends with the song "Ever After" which talks about how everyone is now going to live "happily ever after."  The second Act begins several months later, as everyone once again wishes for something and realizes that there are flaws with their original dreams.

It is interesting to see how Sondheim and James Lapine imagine these characters... and I like how they use double roles to show more aspects of a character... the role of Cinderella's prince, Robert Westenberg also plays the Wolf, making a comment about the prince's appetite (which makes more sense in the second Act).

When the show opened on Broadway in 1987, it was a hit, garnering several Tony nominations and 3 (Best Actress in a Musical -Joanna Gleason, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score).  The original cast was filmed for a television performance in 1991 (this film).  It is filmed on the stage, using all the scenery from the live performance.  The cast is perfect... particularly Bernadette Peters who dazzles as the Witch.

The songs as mesmerizing, especially "Ever After", "No One is Alone" (my favorite song), and "The Last Midnight."  While I adore the original cast, I also suggest the soundtrack from the 2002 Broadway Revival (I prefer Laura Benanti as Cinderella... but Peters is a better Witch than Vanessa Williams).  Also, look for clips of Christian Sieber and Gregg Edelman as the princes, singing "Agony."

It's an incredible show live, so check your local theaters (I've seen it live twice, and it was awesome both times!).  It's not a show for children... there are "scary moments" and the scenes with the wolf / prince may go over kids heads, but it is a tad risque.  Check it out, but leave the kids at home.

Into the Woods (1991) 153 minutes
Director: James Lapine
Starring: Bernadette Peters as the Witch
Chip Zien as Baker
Joanna Gleason as Baker's Wife
Tom Aldredge as Narrator / Mysterious Man
Kim Crosby as Cinderella
Robert Westenberg as Wolf / Cinderella's Prince
Danielle Ferland as Little Red Riding Hood
Ben Wright as Jack

30 Minutes or Less

"Two guys in masks strapped a bomb to my chest and now I have less than nine hours to rob a bank!"
"And your first thought was to come to a school filled with young children?!"

Dwayne (McBride) and Travis (Swardson) are fledgling criminals with big plans.  Step 1) Force someone to get them $100,000.  Step 2) Hire a hitman (Pena) to kill Dwayne’s wealthy Vietnam vet father.  Step 3) Start a business, which will be the front for an illegal operation.

Setting step one in motion, they order pizza.  When it arrives, they don gorilla masks and attack the delivery guy, Nick (Eisenberg).  When he wakes up, there is a bomb strapped to his chest and he has 10 hours to rob a bank or die.

Nick is a slacker with no ambitions, until he has a time limit.  With the help of best friend, Chet (Ansari) a teacher, can Nick pull off the heist and survive to get the girl of his dreams, Chet’s twin sister Kate (Vadsaria)?


An interesting premise, stellar cast, and memorable trailers made this a must-see film (I saw it opening night).  The plot is basic, but delivers solid laughs.  Aziz Ansari wins the VMP award for this film.  He has excellent chemistry with Jesse Eisenberg, and gets the best and most quotable lines.  Eisenberg and Ansari have the funniest scenes in the film, including the actual bank robbery.

While the film was funny, it could have been better.  The filmmakers could tone down (or completely remove) the raunchier dialogue and the scene of nudity.  They detracted from the story and most people in the theater didn't laugh.  While Danny McBride and Nick Swardson are well-known names within the comedy world, their scenes were the raunchiest ones.

This is director Ruben Fleischer's sophomore film.  Two years ago he made his directorial debut with the film Zombieland, which also starred Jesse Eisenberg.  This is a decent second film, and I look forward to seeing what he does with future film efforts.

To watch clips of the funniest / most quotable scenes check out ranker.com.

30 Minutes or Less (2011) 83 minutes
Rating: R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, nudity and some violence.
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg as Nick
Danny McBride as Dwayne
Aziz Ansari as Chet
Nick Swardson as Travis
Dilshad Vadsaria as Kate
Michael Pena as Chango

My Top Cancelled TV Shows #8

Friends

"I'm not so good with the advice... Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?"

Six friends navigate life in the real world by relying on each other.  Rachel Green (Aniston) is a spoiled rich girl, trying a career and Mr. Right.  She lives with Monica (Cox), a chef who is extremely organized and OCD.  Monica's brother, Ross (Schwimmer) is a paleontologist who is unlucky in love.  Ross' college friend, Chandler (Perry), always has a sarcastic comment.  Chandler lives with Joey (LeBlanc), a clueless actor and ladies man.  And Phoebbe (Kudrow) is an eccentric musician and masseuse, who used to live with Monica.


How could any top 10 list, for a person who grew up in the 90s / 00s, not include this show?  It has been off the air for 7 years, and the reruns are still popular.  My friends, particularly my roommate, often quote this show...

"All I hear is blah, blah, blah, dinosaur with wings"

Before the show started, the six leads were essentially unknowns.  However the popularity of the show boosted all of them to super-stardom.  Jennifer Aniston is the most visible of the friends, with her personal life / relationships and her movie career.  Courteney Cox, who was the best known before the show, has since appeared in 2 other TV shows Dirt and Cougar Town, starting it's 3rd season in the fall, and is one of the main characters in the Scream movie franchise.  Lisa Kudrow has also moved on to movies, and has a popular new TV show Web Therapy.  Matt LeBlanc starred in the Friends spinoff  Joey which only lasted 2 seasons.  He currently appears on the show Episodes.  Matthew Perry has appeared in numerous films, but has not found success on TV.  He appeared on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Mr. Sunshine, but both only lasted a season.  David Schwimmer also appears in movies, and is the voice of Melman in the Madagascar movies.

A consistently funny show, full of quotable lines and memorable characters.

Friends (1994-2004)
Created by: David Crane & Marta Kauffman
Starring: Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Greene
Courteney Cox as Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer as Dr. Ross Geller

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

"Oh, wow. I-I never hit anybody before."
"Really? Well you did it perfectly."
"I didn't even break a nail."

When teenagers with strange marks on their necks are killed, the only hope is a cheerleader: Buffy (Swanson).  Buffy is a normal teenager, content to spend her time at the mall, but her destiny has other plans.  One day she is approached by a man named Merrick (Sutherland), who claims she is "the chosen one," the only one strong enough to stop the vampires who are behind the mysterious killings.  She teams up with slacker Pike (Perry) to stop Lothos (Hauer) and Amilyn (Reubens) and their army of vampires.


This film was the precursor to Joss Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV show... but the two could not be more different.  The film was written by Whedon, but they kept changing his vision and he eventually left the project.  A few years later, he was given the opportunity to bring his vision to life.

The film takes a campy view of the storyline.  It is played for laughs and doesn't really have any scary moments.  Unlike the TV show, the staked vampires look like dead bodies (in the show they turn to dust).  Overall, the film is interesting, but the TV show is better.


Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) 86 minutes
Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui
Starring: Kristi Swanson as Buffy
Donald Sutherland as Merrick
Paul Reubens as Amilyn
Rutger Hauer as Lothos
Luke Perry as Pike