For the Wannabes

This is a simple outfit unlike what I usually wear. I think a woman really has poise though when she can dress simple and look beautiful and elegant. I don't fit into this category, but it's a nice ideal. This leather jacket was a gift so I don't know where it's from. I've seen them sold in Guess, Costa Blanca, and Mango or Banana Republic would probably have them. (The stores named after fruits usually sell good clothes lol.) A leather jacket is worth investing in because it's the only piece you can buy that won't go out of style if you buy a classic look, you can wear when you're thirty, and doesn't go in the washing machine. I think I was trying to chanel the simple, sexy, allure Keira Knightley has when she's wearing her cream leather outfit in the Mademoiselle Coco perfume commercial; or that same elegant vibe that Angelina Jolie has when she throws on something as sophisticated as a leather jacket. I realized I might have not achieved the effect of such high standards, but it was worth trying. This is for the wannabes.

Bridesmaids

imdb.com 

Annie is a comical, yet cynical woman who lives in Milwaukee with a deadend job and is stuck in a bit of a rut; but when her best friend Lillian gets engaged life is never the same. Besides the long list of  duties that come with being the brides best friend there are some other things Annie will have to attend to, like being maid of honor and part of one of the most notorious bridesmaid parties of all time.

The key to this movie, is that each bridesmaid is the most atypical bridesmaid you've ever seen. There's Rita, the most crass housewife you'll ever meet, Becca the "perky" newlywed, Megan the only woman who lacks discretion, class, and grace, but will make you laugh your ass off-- She's my favorite :)-- and Helen, that b*** kidding, but only sometimes. You'll laugh for many reasons, but the real joke is that this wedding is everything a wedding isn't supposed to be, so picture that. In the style of a true comedy one hilarious gag preceds another--The airplace scene is one of my favorites--, and because this is a female comedy it's still chuck full of the stuff we love, that b*** moments, and cute cops. Guys will love it too due to the gross out gags and comic appeal, and Annie of course learns exactly what friends are for.

8.5/10 

Screen :) -Comedy of the Year  

Lost In Translation

Imdb.com 

The film opens with a frame of the hourglass of a woman's body sleeping in bed. I'm curious about why the film opened with a direct attraction to the male gaze. The beginning of the film doesn't have much dialogue, but it still draws you into the character's life. Unlike most films, Lost in Translation gives you a chance to explore the in depth's of the characters lives and circumstances before diving head on into a plot. The only similarities these characters seem to have in the beginning is that they are both searching for something. Then one night this retired American actor and lonely newlywed have a conversation at a bar in Tokyo that results in an unique relationship.

Bob and Charlotte's friendship seems childlike or youthful. Charlotte especially seems to possess childlike qualities. She dons serious grown-up clothes, yet will run in the streets with no shoes on, dress up in wigs, and be cradled in an older person's arms. Throughout the movie it's hard to categorize their relationship. It's platonic, but that may not be obvious. You'll probably want to categorize it as romantic, but truthfully it's a father-daughter relationship. Charlotte is looking for love yes, but she also craves attention and someone to cherish her. That one-sided kind of need could perhaps only be satisfied in a father-daughter type relationship. Bob in his mid-life crisis also realizes that although it may not be obvious he's lived a full life which could be useful to others such as Charlotte and the information she wants to glean from him about marriage, life, and finding herself. This intellectual drama allows the viewer to fully explore the characters within the film, and discuss existential dilemmas.

7/10
Screen - I'll admit this movie is slow-moving for some, but reads deep like a good book. Enjoy one of Sofia Coppola's best directorial projects, Lost in Translation.

The Time Traveler's Wife

Imdb.com 

The film opens around Christmastime with a mother driving her son, Henry in the car. They are involved in a car accident, and Henry's mother dies on impact, but Henry survives by time traveling back to a scene two weeks prior to the accident.

Henry is a man with a genetic disorder that allows him to time travel. He meets Claire in a bar, whom he's met in the past as a little girl. When Henry and Claire meet in the meadow behind Claire's parents house it seems unusual to see an adult and child talking so cordially about the future. It's also unusal how the first time we meet Claire she seems to know that she will end up with Henry, but there relationship still seems to just begin impulsively and too soon, as though someone started the fairytale with a push button start.

Throughout the movie it feels like you're reading a diary in fragments. Stories from multiple perspectives or that may diverge back into the past usually make great stories, but not in this particular case. For this film I would recommend reading the book, which I think would make for a great story, but can't be appreciated in film. At the very least I think it wasn't properly portrayed for its own sake. The end of the movie does become quite entertaining and engaging, but only after about an hour and a half. This story is best read.

6.5/10

Skip it :(

Jodi Picoult's Salem Falls The Movie

jodipiccoult.com 

The film opens with a teenage girl praying a Wiccan ritual in her bedroom. Her and her three friends are followers of Wicca and practive rituals day and night. Gillian Duncan is a disturbed young woman who has grown up without a mother, and is (played by Amanda Michalka). She had minor roles in the films Lovely Bones and Super 8. And for any old Disney fanatics who might remember, she's the sister of Aly Michalka who starred in Disney's "Phil of the Future," and they had a minor CD release.

Things go for a ride when a young, handsome teacher named Jack enters Salem Falls, and Addie owner of the local diner offers him a job and he takes it. However each character in the film seems to have their cross to bear. Gillian persists with her advances towards the older, handsome Jack, meanwhile Addie is still trying to accept the death of her young daughter. After working so closely Jack and Addie become close, and a relationship develops between them. Salem Falls, however is a town that doesn't like strangers. When Jack decides to stay he must register as a sex offender an accusation that he went to prison for prior to his life in Salem Falls. Things spin out of control, and loyalty must be found, and truth must be sought.


6/10
Skip it :(