31 in 31: Dog Soldiers

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Denise

Story:  As we all know, if it’s not Scottish, it’s crap.  But in this film, a bunch of Scottish army studs crap their pants when they start getting picked off one by one.  As well they should; their heavy artillery ain’t the scariest thing in these woods.  Need a hint?  What’s tracking them rhymes with Airwolf.

Scares: Tons.  From the opening scene where a couple get busy then get dead to the slam-bang-bloodfest of an ending, there are chills, thrills and things that go bump in the night aplenty.  Not to mention a good old-fashioned mystery; just what’s going on with these werewolves, and are there members of the group that know more than they’re saying?

Splat factor:  Off the charts, loud and proud. Guts a gogo, with lots of disgusting glorchy special sound effects to keep things icky.

Closing scene “shocker”?: No, which instantly makes it one of my favorite modern-day horror movies.

Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Though werewolves are nothing new, this story sure its.  Dog Soldiers is OG all the way baby.

Trick or Treat?:

This is like finding your favorite candy right at the top of the pile.  It’s a tasty, fun bit of fright that you’ll wish you had more of after it’s all said and done (but no dice so far; talk of a sequel is pre-production at best, just hot air at worst.)

Dog Soldiers is very busy action-wise, and tough to keep up with sometimes.  But attention pays off big-time.   Don’t be afraid to pop on the closed captioning if you have a hard time with the Scottish accents and rapid-fire delivery.  Trying to multi task while watching this one is also out, you’ll end up rewinding again & again to see what you missed.  And you don’t want to miss a minute.  It’s that much fun.

Fans of Grey’s Anatomy — I can’t be the only genre lover who also loves me some chick-flicks, right? — will instantly recognize a younger Kevin McKidd (Dr. Owen Hunt) as Cooper, a soldier that was tapped for a special operations group but passed it by when the price of admission was too (creepy) high.  The re-introduction of that special ops leader (played with a fistful of attitude and ego by a wonderfully talented Liam Cunningham) early on in the action throws a good dose of suspicion and mystery to the already frantic storyline, and gives the movie an edge it wouldn’t have otherwise had.  Emma Cleasby plays Megan, a zoologist that saves the boys’ bacon, but may not be telling them everything she knows either.

Which brings me to my only sticking point with this film; there are too many times where our gallant boys in cammo should have tried to get more information from these two characters.  And towards the end of the film, one of the characters pulls a 180 that is more a WTF than a spooky surprise.  Otherwise, the dialogue feels real and the actors throw themselves into their characters and the crazy circumstances with gusto.  The beginning of Dog Soldiers feels like a real band of soldiers shooting the shit before everything goes bottoms up.

You believe every bit of the craziness, it’s intense, over the top, and realistic. Men get disemboweled, torn apart, and orders go out the window. It’s more than a great scare, it’s a character study. How each man reacts and how they take care of others or look out for number one. Simply fascinating, and a must-view if you’re looking for an honest to goodness scare.

Score: out of 5 pumpkins.

Posted in 31 in 31, DVD Reviews, Movie Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

31 in 31: Cropsey

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Denise

Story: You’ve heard the Urban Legend; a crazy killer that prowls the woods will get’cha if you don’t watch out.  So stay away from that old building deep in the woods, or better yet just don’t go near the woods, period.  But what if that legend was real?  Two documentary filmmakers dig for the truth and come up with some pretty horrifying stuff.

Scares: Only those of the true crime kind, though there is a life Blair Witch-like sequence when directors Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman head into the woods at night.

Splat factor: Zero, but Geraldo Rivera’s footage of Willowbrook Mental Institution is shocking in it’s raw, unedited look at the treatment of the mentally ill.  Those images will stay with you long past the end of this documentary.

Closing scene “shocker”?: No, but since this is a documentary that’s a relief.

Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Though this legend has been around for some time (there was even a version of it in Maryland when I was in elementary school), this documentary is the first of it’s kind.

Trick or Treat?: Like the glow-in-the-dark toothbrush you find in your bag, Cropsey is pretty awesome, but definitely not what I was expecting.  Chalk up my disappointment to too many “documentary”-style horror movies that have tried to pass themselves off as the real deal.  I’m looking at you, Blair Witch Project, Trollhunter and even Diary of the Dead.  So when I saw the eerie one-sheet for Cropsey, I figured it would be along the same lines; a pseudo-doc with a bunch of scares.  Cropsey is scary alright, but the horror comes from the idea that there are actually people like Andre Rand in the world.  They say that this type of legend has a basis in reality, but Cropsey is the only documentary that has tried to track down the reality behind the myth.  And while the story may not be terrifying in the safety of your home — convicted child killer Andre Rand is safely behind bars, for now — it’s a horrifying story of child murders in Staten Island that will keep any sane person out of the woods for awhile.

Score: out of 5 pumpkins.

Posted in 31 in 31, DVD Reviews, Movie Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

31 in 31: Bride of Frankenstein

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Denise

31 horror movies. One for each day in October. How hard can it be….

Story:  Man creates monster.  Monster is, well, a monster, so friends are hard to come by.  So, man is forced to make a mate, or he’ll never see his own lady love again.

Scares:  Since the ending scene of this movie has been shown just about everywhere, you’d think there wouldn’t be a scare to be had in this ol’ gal.  You’d be wrong.  The atmosphere is full of fog and shadows, and Karl — this movie’s Igor-like bitch boy, a murderer forced to help out Dr. Pretorius — has his own way of obtaining body parts.  This movie is more mysterious and creepy than all-out scary nowadays though, and I had to chuckle at Frankenstein’s Monster puffing on a stogie with a stupid-large grin on his face.  “Gooood!”  Um, I’ll take your word for it.

Splat factor: Vague flashes of body parts, all shot in black-and-white.  This movie is about atmosphere, not bleeding.

Closing scene “shocker”?: No, thank goodness!  Back when this was made, movies didn’t have to resort to stupid stunts like that to hold an audience’s attention.

Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Though this is a sequel to 1931’s Frankenstein, this classic is also an OG in it’s own right.

Trick or Treat?: This is the real deal; the full sized Snickers you hide from your parents so you can have it all to yourself.  For a movie filmed in 1935, Bride of Frankenstein holds up surprisingly well.  From the opening scene where Lord Byron and the Shelleys gather to hear Mary Shelley continue her story — “That’s not the end…” — to the amazing Strickfaden machines that spark and crackle at the laboratory, it’s a fun thrill ride that doesn’t lose any of the magic just because you know how it’s gonna end.  (And a tip of the hat to Elsa Lanchester for her portrayal of Mary Shelley at the beginning of the movie, a role all but forgotten with her riveting performance as The Bride later in the film.)  Just about every horror monster cliché started with the 1930’s Universal Studios monsters, and a lot of ’em are right here: “It’s ALIVE!”, the weird little German-like town, pitchfork and torch-wielding townsfolk…even the strangely dressed maid Minnie is someone you’ll see later.  Or don’t you recognize Frau Blücher (Neiiiiiigh!) from Young Frankenstein?  The way Frankensten’s Monster and his maker survives after the first film is believable too, another item today’s slasher pics seem to leave by the wayside.

Bride of Frankenstein isn’t just a great horror film, the lighting, cinematography and set design is breathtaking too.  Beware: after seeing this film you may find that the current crop of modern-day horror films pale in comparison.

 

Score: out of 5 pumpkins.

Posted in 31 in 31, DVD Reviews, Movie Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

31 in 31: Sorority Row

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Denise

31 horror movies.  One for each day in October.  How hard can it be….

Story: I know what you did on Halloween at Camp Crystal La…oh you know the story.  Girls gone wild.  Girls inadvertently kill fellow pledge in a dumbass move.  Or DID they?  Well, on graduation day somebody knows what happened, and isn’t exactly down with it.  (Dum da DUMMMMM!)

Scares: A few shockers, but of the sudden appearance kind rather than the highly superior real chills kind.  They do try to deliver though, so this movie gets an extra point for effort.  Plus, I’ll never look at a tire iron in quite the same way.  The next time I get a flat tire, I’m screwed.

Splat factor:  A trickle.  This feels like a movie that tried for a PG-13 rating, failed, then decided to amp the nekkid factor instead of the FX.  Hey, boobies are cheaper than special effects artists!  But as someone who has a pair she can look at anytime, I’d rather they had amped the gore a notch or two.  There are a few cool kills though, including one where you can see the blade go in under the chin, then see it in the mouth, then see it removed.  Applause goes to FX coordinator Steve Riley & his band of awesomeness for that one.

Closing Scene “Shocker”: A’yup.  And it’s a yawner.

Remake, Sequel or OG?: It’s a remake of 1983’s The House on Sorority Row.

Trick or Treat?: Call this one a handful of M&M’s at the bottom of your bag.  It’s a great treat, but the execution is lacking.  The prologue is so inexplicably stupid that I found myself rooting for their deaths almost immediately.  I understand payback, but nobody in her right mind would’ve let that prank go that far.  So after tainting the redshirts bodybags sorority sisters, we’re supposed to care if they die?  Not so much.  The heroine of the bunch is so blindingly Good amidst the rest of the obnoxious dreck she calls sisters that it’s obvious who’ll survive.  The fact that these college educated girls are dumb as rocks (I”ll wade through shoulder-deep foam to shut off the jacuzzi!  I know there’s a killer gunning for us, but what the heck?) shouldn’t be a shock in a slasher pic, but they’re so brain dead and bitchy that I was rooting for Darwinism to take a firm hand posthaste. Still, I’m kinda liking Sorority Row. Scream rules apply: you drink, you die.  You do drugs, you die.  You’re a jerk, you die.  You know the drill.  Carrie Fisher plays the sorority house mother, and she’s fantastic. And any IMDb credits list that has “Bra-Clad Sister” numbero uno automatically gets a thumbs up from me for sheer coolness.

This is a great 80’s flashback of a film, with it’s cast of moronic characters getting their comeuppance old-school style, just don’t expect more than you would any other film and you’ll have a good time.

Score: out of 5 pumpkins.

Posted in 31 in 31, DVD Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

31 in 31: Elvira: Mistress of the Dark

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Denise

31 horror movies.  One for each day in October.  How hard can it be….

Story: A gal with a fantastic set of cantaloupes (and hey, her boobs ain’t bad either, bada-bing!) gets tired of doing the same-ol’ thing, hosting Z-grade horror movies on the local cable access channel.  What she really wants is…Vegas.  But she needs money, so when a long-lost Great Aunt dies, leaving Elvira everything.  When Elvira sees that “everything” means a run-down house, a poodle with an attitude and a cookbook, she’s less than thrilled.  But Great Uncle Vincent will pay Elvira 50 smackers for the cookbook…oh, you know that’s not Betty Crocker, right?  Seems Elvira comes from a long line of witches (big shock there).  But Elvira’s new town likes witches just about as much as the town in Footloose likes dancing.

Scares: This is Elvira, not that creepy girl in The Ring.  (Though they both have dark hair.  Coincidence?  I think not.)  I’d be shocked if a toddler got spooked.  Yeah, it’s rated PG-13, but that’s for the sexual innuendo that comes along anytime Elvira and her magic stay-on dress make an appearance.  Her jokes — and the ogling done by the neighborhood XY chromosomes — wouldn’t bat an eyelash nowadays.  Oh, there is one small monster, but to quote Charles Dickens, there’s more gravy than grave.

Splat factor: The small monster does get done in, though it’s yucky, not bloody.  Otherwise, there’s isn’t as much as a hangnail to be had here.

Trick or Treat?: No gore.  No scares.  What the hell am I doing watching this?  Because it’s a hoot!  Director James Signorelli obviously channels his time at Saturday Night Live here; the jokes are quick & dirty, perfect for our gal.  C’mon, this is friggin’ Elvira, for chrissakes.  She’s a scream, and it’s a great, fun way to start of “Shocktober” (yeah, there’ll be tons of stupid Halloween and October puns here folks.  Sorry.)  It’s great to see the gal I looked up to in the 80’s strut her stuff, though even now Cassandra Peterson is still one hot tamale of terror.  I can only hope I look as good…next year as she does at 60.  Anyway, it’s always nice to have a few kid-friendly movies just in case the tykes didn’t pass out after the 10 packets of Lik-M-Aid they scarfed down after a full night of shaking down the neighbors for candy.  The kids will love Elvira’s wild antics and cool pooch, while the adults will drool, elbow each other and remember when.

Score: 2 out of 5 pumpkins. Surprisingly apt for Elvira.

Posted in 31 in 31, DVD Reviews | Leave a comment

From Atomic Popcorn: Movie Review — What’s Your Number?

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Denise

Ally Darling is a slut.  At least that’s what all the women’s magazines tell her, and everyone knows those magazines are nothing but truth in pulp paper form.  So Ally goes on a mission to track down her ex-bf’s, in the hopes that one of ‘em will serve as her One True Love…so she won’t have to amp up her number and become Superslut.  I say hey, if you’re gonna be a superhero, what better way.  And what better way to spend a few hours in the multiplex right now than with this fun little confection of a movie?  Baltimore-born Anna Faris does a great job of gettin’ low for the laughs, Captain America’s Chris Evans shows that he’s more than just a stud in latex, and the laughs and love are easy.  If you think your list of chick-flick movies is longer than the average list, don’t be afraid to add this one on.  No-one will judge you for that.  At least nobody worth knowing.

Based on Karen Bosnak’s novel “20 Times a Lady”, What’s Your Number points out the disparity between the sexes when it comes to sex.  Guys bang anything that moves and that makes ‘em a stud, women run out of fingers to count with when counting conquests and they’re not marriage material.  So after her younger sister’s engagement party, Ally decides that it’s no more sex, no more conquests, no more random hooking up.  Naturally, she boinks her boss that night (a hilariously creepy Joel McHale, in a role more Talk Soup than Community).  But her lothario neighbor Colin gets roped into helping her with the promise of Ally’s help with ditching the one-night-stands he constantly brings home.  Ally’s cute, Colin’s sexy, they’re both funny…and you can figure out the rest.  Thank goodness What’s Your Number has a refreshingly light touch with the romance, focusing on laughs and the awkwardness of tracking past lovers instead of the deep meaningful connection the leads share.  The chemistry between Faris and Evans is off the charts anyway, so gilding that lily would have had the movie ending up a clunker…..

READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW: at Atomic Popcorn!

Posted in Atomic Popcorn, Movie Reviews | Tagged | Leave a comment

Halloween Horrors: 31 in 31

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Denise

I’ve always thought watching a horror movie a day through the month of October would be a great way to spend a month.  Have I ever done it?

No.

Until now.  Thanks to the Stephen King forums for a bit of inspiration, I’ve decided to watch and review 31 horror films, one for every day in October.  Unlike the much better folks over on the forums though, I’m not doing any rules.  Rules?  We don’t need no stinkin’ rules!  I’d just ignore ’em anyway, so why bother?

Maybe a few ground rules, so folks know what to expect:

* Horror comes in all forms, from the hideously icky to the hilarious.  I’ll be all over the map.

* Sequels are cool.  Remakes are cool.  If they suck?  Oh lawds yes, I’ll tell you.

* Veering off the beaten track (read: the best & brightest of this awesomeness of a genre) will be something to strive for, but “comfort horror” may win out.

* If it’s a movie I love, or have seen before, I must watch it again.  No drawing on what I remember.  I’m already regretting typing this ground rule, to be honest.

* Just because I went all sparkly with the so-obviously-homemade banner, doesn’t mean I’ll be reviewing Twilight.  But don’t count it out, who knows when I’ll need a little sparkle motion?  (And if you have never read these recaps, seriously?  SERIOUSLY?  Do so.  Now would be good.  They are what I want to be when I grow up. Which means what I’ll be never.)

Wanna join in on the fun?  Gimme some suggestions, and/or tell me what you’re watching.  (Prepares Bluto voice) Who’s with me?  Yaaaaaah!

Posted in 31 in 31, DVD Reviews | Leave a comment

In Queue Review: Night of the Demons (2010)

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Denise

Sometimes hitting the multiplex just isn’t in the cards. That’s when cable, the web and streaming step in to provide an instant movie fix. But how to separate the wheat from the chaff? I’m happy to help; every week I’ll pick a flick and see if it’s worth your time. This week it’s the schlockfest remake of 1988’s “Night of the Demons”.

The Story: Angela needs some cold hard cash.  So she plans a blowout Halloween party in a creepy-ass house that has seen murder, mayhem and general mysterious stuff in it’s past.  Hey, demons have been waiting for a moment like this to break through to our world.  Think they’re gonna let this opportunity slide?  Did you read the title of this movie?

The Good: The soundtrack is killer.  Seriously, I want to add all of these songs to my Spotify account for my Halloween 2011 mix.  Remarkably good FX for a low budget splatterfest.  Maddie’s last-minute attempt at saving the day is so kick-ass I want to shout it from the rooftops, but I’ll let those willingn to put up with the averageness of this movie find out for themselves.  Shannon Elizabeth seems to relish the role of Angela, and has her tongue firmly in cheek as she cranks it to 11.  Monica Keena (Entourage) is also game for the role of not-so-virginal heroine Maddie.  All the ladies are slut-tacular, costume-wise (hey, it’s Halloween after all; getting slutty is the law).  So if you like your horror wearing corsets and skin-tight tank tops, this is the place.

The Bad: Fat Edward Furlong.  There, I said it.  Yes, everyone is beautiful no matter what they look like (except for assholes, who seem to ooze jerkdom from their pores like moldy maple syrup).  But Ed doesn’t look simply big-boned, he looks tired from an all-too-recent bender.  And that’s depressing no matter what.  Ed as Monica Keena’s love interest just doesn’t make sense, and with the complete lack of chemistry between the two that relationship lands with a clunk.

Things get crazy in a bad way sometimes, as if they had so many great ideas for deamon-ness that they threw it all in just so they wouldn’t waste it.  It ends up a mashed up mess that’s difficult to really enjoy.  With so many flailing tentacles, bloody ripped off faces and the like, it’s tough to get all that in one shot, and so much of it passes by too quickly to really absorb and enjoy.  All the daylight shots in this film look overexposed, so I guess they funneled the money they had into FX rather than cinematography.

Oh, and a plot point that nagged at me: if there was a survivor the last go-round, why didn’t they do to her what they tried to do to the handful of survivors near the end?  Then again, these demons seem awfully lazy for horrible spirits determined to turn the Earth into a living hell.  Tip from me to you, undead masses; don’t wait ’til the last 30 minutes of the night to bust out your moves.  Strike while you have hours to go.  You’re welcome.  Remember me when you take over the world.

The Everything Else: The art decoration in the house makes me wanna amp up for this year, though I suspect in my city rowhouse of doom it’d just look like a vacant, which isn’t scary, it’s just sad.  Oh, and there seems to be a bit of confusion on when this gem was first released; IMDb has it listed as 2010, and Netflix/Wiki has it as 2009.  So yes, I went with IMDb on this one.

Here’s the breakdown:
Would I watch it again?:  For Halloween.  After all the good stuff has already been watched and everyone’s half asleep/drunk.
Should you see it?: If you’re a Shannon Elizabeth fan, or don’t mind campy-bad horror, yes.  If you’re looking for a good scary film, look elsewhere.
Netflix average rating: 2 Stars
My rating: 3 Stars

Posted in DVD Reviews, In Queue Review | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

From Atomic Popcorn: Monday Rewind — Post-Emmy’s Edition!

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Denise

Hey there entertainment fans!  Since I’m tapping this out just before the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards show (and am I watching the pre-game show to see the dresses?  Doees Tim Gunn make it work?) this will be super-quick.  But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of cool stuff that you may have missed last week….

* You wish the folks that YOU like would win an Emmy?  Me too!  And we’re not alone; EW has coome up with the EWwy’s, a salute to the people and shows folks wish would get a what-what from the Emmy voters.

* Joan Rivers dead?  Oh hell no.  But Betty White, Joan sees you baby…. Sleep with one eye open, she’s on to you.

* An absolutely fantastic article from The Guardian about Cameron Crowe’s look at Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam Twenty, and his huge amount of Pearl Jam tsotchke.  Nice!

* Yeah, so the Muppets have now spoofed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.   Hilarious, as always.  But you know what’s really cool?  This poster of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, with Daniel Craig half-hidden by Rooney Mara.  Beautifully done!

* I have no problem admitting that American Horror Story is intriguing me, and I can’t wait to see it (though a few early peeks have been say it’s so-so, my hope springs eternal).  If you’re right there with me, check out a sneak peek of the American Horror Story house and some of it’s secrets.

* Trailer?  You bet — I’ve been looking forward to taking a peek at We BoughtA Zoo.  So here it is!

 

ORIGINAL POST

Posted in Atomic Popcorn, Entertainment News | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

From Atomic Popcorn: Movie Review — I Don’t Know How She Does It

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Denise

Sarah Jessica Parker proves that her cute, loveable city gal vibe can take her places beyond Carrie Bradshaw in I Don’t Know How She Does It.  But Sex and the Cityfans will find much in common with Ms. Parker’s latest celluloid romp; luckily a spoonful of her warmth and vivacity makes the Superwoman clichés go down smooth.

Kate Reddy is just like her name; ready to take on everything the world throws at her.  Bake sale at the last minute?  No problem — fake-bake a storebought one with a little powdered sugar and some careful “wrecking”.  Birthday party planning the week of the big meeting?  There goes sleep!  Kate wouldn’t be able to hold it together without her husband Richard (Greg Kinnear), assistant Momo (Olivia Munn) and nanny/surf betty Paula (Jessica Szohr).  Boston is a fast-paced world, however, and when Kate and Richard’s careers take off at the exact same time, something’s gotta give.  For Kate, the weak link is time spent at home, since her big break has her travelling to NYC several times a week to spend time with her client Jack Abelhammer (Pierce Brosnan).  Would that every working woman had to choose between Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear. Though if singing was a requirement…sorry Pierce.  I’ve seen Mama Mia.

The story moves along thanks to asides from the female characters, each of whom has her own different take on Kate’s life.  Besides Kate, Paula and Momo, there’s Kate’s bestie Allison (Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks, looking fresh faced, friendly and most definitely anti-Joan) and “Momster” Wendy Best (Busy Philipps from Cougar Town), a stay-at-home gal who seems to do everything perfectly, while poor Kate walks around with pancake batter on her Armani.  As things come to a head in Kate’s life, she has to learn to prioritize — the bane of all working women’s existence — and how to live with the decisions she makes, in work and at home.

Olivia Munn (Iron Man, Perfect Couples) gets to dust off her deadpan comedy chops she used so well on Attack of the Show as Momo Hahn, Kate’s “robot” of an junior assistant/Gal Friday.  Momo shows us what Kate may have been like if she was single and sans-kids.  Which is to say a working machine that checks sexual conquests off her to-do list like she does her boardroom meetings.  Munn’s ability to telegraph an entire conversation with the audience with one spark of disgust from Momo’s  judgemental eyes is the perfect counterpoint to Kate’s earth mother gone corporate.  Which is to say that they’re opposite ends of a crazy-extreme spectrum.  Kate tries to do it all, and she’s so friggin’ earnest in her need to be the perfect mom that just so happens to love her job.  Momo is straight out of Wall Street — with one toe in American Psycho  — she’s a gal that forgets holidays and thinks nothing of working all day and night, every day and night.  Meanwhile, Busy Philipps gets the snobby “Mom-er Than Thou” vibe down pat as Wendy, never realizing that all the time she spends at the gym/pilates/yoga class leaves her more distant from her kids than Kate has ever been.

Sound clichéd?  Of course it is.  I Don’t Know How She Does It doesn’t claim to take a new approach to the chick film, it’s here to entertain and maybe impart a Very Important Lesson to people who aren’t XX chromosomed with kids.  Kate is head over heels in love with her man, and he’s a doll that rolls up his sleeves and does his part around the house.  Jack is a guy that knows he’s spent too much time working but so far has liked it that way.  Allison is a total sweetie that is always there for Kate, even though Allison is a high-powered attorney (or at least we assume she is; her asides are in a law office where she works.)  Hot nanny Paula is a lovable flake that is always there when the chips are down.  In fact,outside of Momo and the Momsters, the entire cast is so lovable you’re forced to root for a happy ending.  Well, except for Kelsey Grammer, who plays Kate’s boss Clark.  But that’s less about his brief but competent performance and more about how I think he’s a douchenozzle after The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

The storyline moves along at such a clip viewers are whisked away on Kate’s madcap race to blend family and work, but you’re laughing all the way.  Sara Jessica Parker didn’t have to look outside her own home for inspiration on how to play Kate; she’s said that in her home she’s an “air-traffic controller” when it comes to her kids schedules.  Parker’s real-life and her love of this material make Kate a gal you really wan to root for.  More than that, viewers see through her eyes how desperate she is to hold on to everything she has.  Kate-The-Mom is nothing without her job, and Kate-The-Corprate Gal is nothing without her kids.  On the surface it’s trite, but this film shows the cracks and patches everyone who decides to do it all must live with in order to find “balance”.  Plus, we get to see Pierce Brosnan bowl, and that is awesome.

The highest compliment I can give this movie is that I forgot about my snackies.  No, I didn’t decide not to munch, or think that all that candy was a bad idea.  I had completely forgotten about everything else in the theater except for this movie.  Any film that can pull me into it’s world so completely and totally that nothing else exists gets a big thumbs up from me.  And a big thank you; I really didn’t need all that candy anyway.

LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Posted in Atomic Popcorn, Movie Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment