I Love You Beth Cooper, (500) Days of Summer
SoCal special edition. These two are what I saw while in LA (besides HP)
I Love You Beth Cooper
So. Boring. Did not enjoy this one at all. Dont think I laughed at all. The theater had frozen strawberry lemonade. That was a plus. And I found an In N Out on the way home, which made the trip worth it.
Granted, its very hard to top Cant Hardly Wait as my favorite post-graduation party movie. Beth Cooper didnt even try. It was just awkward and not funny. And I guess I should point out now that this is prolly gonna be one of those short reviews I warned about in the previous point. Its been two weeks since Ive seen it, and I apparently blocked most of it out.
Didnt find anything too special about Hayden Panettierre. Her character actually annoyed me, and I found it hard to beleve that the dude was still in love with her after half the shit she pulled. I liked Paul Rust at first, cause he reminds me of Tom Lenk (Andrew on Buffy), but that could only get him so far. They do get points for casting Alan Ruck (Cameron from Ferris Bueller) in the film, but he loses lift points for taking the role. Well, I did like his character, so he doesnt lose points for that, just for being in this movie. I did also like Jack Carpenter's best friend character, but not enough to change my overall opinion of the movie.
In case you haven't picked up on it yet, dont bother. If you catch it on network tv in a few years (which EW predicts will happen ALOT), watch it if there isnt a House marathon on another channel.
(500) Days of Summer
By contrast, (500) Days of Summer was fan-freakin-tastic. I dont think it'll beat out Star Trek as my favorite movie of the summer, but it'll def end up in the top 5. Likely in the top 3, and possibly in the top 5 for the year. Im guessing a lot of you are scratching your heads right now. I went to a rom-com? and I liked it? Really liked it? Yes. Shut up.
Yes the movie was sappier than I like. But it was also quirky, fun, imaginitive, real, and a lot of other positive adjectives. Exhibit A: (and I apologize for a bit of spoileriness, but this example really highlights the feel of the film, and there's so many equally genius scenes, that if this makes you see the movie, you'll gladly accept the spoiler). Leading up to a party scene, the narrator says something about how Tom hoped that the this would be the time when reality lined up with his expectations. At this point, the screen splits in half. One side is labeled "reality" the other "expectations". The scene then plays out in two ways on the two sides. Brill.i.ant.
I also really liked the broken up timeline. Each scene is intro-ed with a (number). Some key scenes start off the film so you can establish where they happen within the 500 days. From there the movie jumps back and forth, with parallel scenes on either side of the middle. So much more effective than just playing the movie straight through chronologically.
As expected, Zooey Deschanel was the perfect choice to play the perfectly quirky if slightly disillusioned object of affection. She's been on the list of cool chicks that I wish I was, but this movie might have catapulted her to number two behind Tina Fey. Also, I've loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt since he was on Third Rock for the Sun. When I originally saw the trailer, I thought he was an odd choice. But he also turned out to be perfect. He effectively played love-sick puppy with substance. And points to casting Clark Gregg as the boss at the greeting card company.
I could go on and on about how beautiful this movie is, but I think you guys got the idea now. So go see it
I Love You Beth Cooper
So. Boring. Did not enjoy this one at all. Dont think I laughed at all. The theater had frozen strawberry lemonade. That was a plus. And I found an In N Out on the way home, which made the trip worth it.
Granted, its very hard to top Cant Hardly Wait as my favorite post-graduation party movie. Beth Cooper didnt even try. It was just awkward and not funny. And I guess I should point out now that this is prolly gonna be one of those short reviews I warned about in the previous point. Its been two weeks since Ive seen it, and I apparently blocked most of it out.
Didnt find anything too special about Hayden Panettierre. Her character actually annoyed me, and I found it hard to beleve that the dude was still in love with her after half the shit she pulled. I liked Paul Rust at first, cause he reminds me of Tom Lenk (Andrew on Buffy), but that could only get him so far. They do get points for casting Alan Ruck (Cameron from Ferris Bueller) in the film, but he loses lift points for taking the role. Well, I did like his character, so he doesnt lose points for that, just for being in this movie. I did also like Jack Carpenter's best friend character, but not enough to change my overall opinion of the movie.
In case you haven't picked up on it yet, dont bother. If you catch it on network tv in a few years (which EW predicts will happen ALOT), watch it if there isnt a House marathon on another channel.
(500) Days of Summer
By contrast, (500) Days of Summer was fan-freakin-tastic. I dont think it'll beat out Star Trek as my favorite movie of the summer, but it'll def end up in the top 5. Likely in the top 3, and possibly in the top 5 for the year. Im guessing a lot of you are scratching your heads right now. I went to a rom-com? and I liked it? Really liked it? Yes. Shut up.
Yes the movie was sappier than I like. But it was also quirky, fun, imaginitive, real, and a lot of other positive adjectives. Exhibit A: (and I apologize for a bit of spoileriness, but this example really highlights the feel of the film, and there's so many equally genius scenes, that if this makes you see the movie, you'll gladly accept the spoiler). Leading up to a party scene, the narrator says something about how Tom hoped that the this would be the time when reality lined up with his expectations. At this point, the screen splits in half. One side is labeled "reality" the other "expectations". The scene then plays out in two ways on the two sides. Brill.i.ant.
I also really liked the broken up timeline. Each scene is intro-ed with a (number). Some key scenes start off the film so you can establish where they happen within the 500 days. From there the movie jumps back and forth, with parallel scenes on either side of the middle. So much more effective than just playing the movie straight through chronologically.
As expected, Zooey Deschanel was the perfect choice to play the perfectly quirky if slightly disillusioned object of affection. She's been on the list of cool chicks that I wish I was, but this movie might have catapulted her to number two behind Tina Fey. Also, I've loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt since he was on Third Rock for the Sun. When I originally saw the trailer, I thought he was an odd choice. But he also turned out to be perfect. He effectively played love-sick puppy with substance. And points to casting Clark Gregg as the boss at the greeting card company.
I could go on and on about how beautiful this movie is, but I think you guys got the idea now. So go see it