NO STRINGS ATTACHED


Pretty good movie, actually... although I suppose that was to be expected considering it IS Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. The story worked a lot better than I had expected though; a couple of friends decide to use each other for sex and eventually fall in love-obviously. I feel like the characters were very believable, with one exception being Adam's (Kutcher's character's) father... do dads actually [knowingly] date and seriously consider reproducing with their son's ex-girlfriends in real life (and, for that matter, is there such a thing as an ex-girlfriend that would ever be gross enough to go for that?!)? Not that I've ever heard of. I guess Emma's mom is also a little goofy as a character, what with her hooking up with a guy called "Bones" whose biker-dude character seems completely contrary to her more sophisticated looking lifestyle only a few years following her husband's death. That ludicrous aside, I thought that the dialogue and flow of the movie was for the most part realistic and humorous. I'm not usually one for romantic comedies, but this one was entertaining. What I'd be interested in seeing now would be Friends with Benefits starring Justin Timberlake... as far as I can tell the only difference between the two movies is the actors (if you want to call Timberlake an actor....).

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes


Definitely a Franco fan through and through, but he's not the only reason I enjoyed this movie. As far as acting goes I think the cast was exceptional with another favorite (playing Caesar the ape), Andy Serkis. I originally assumed that the apes were all CGI and figured the job had been very well done... until later I had no idea that Serkis was behind yet another captivating character (Gollum was brilliant, you can't deny that). Especially in the last portions of the film, Serkis had me completely convinced that he is Oscar worthy. I think his performance blew Franco's out of the water (although I don't think that this was by any means Franco's best showcase of his acting abilities). At any rate, I'd love to see the Academy award Serkis for his efforts, but I guess that'd probably be reaching a little bit too far out of the comfort zone for them.

Other than acting I thought that the dialogue was also very good and told the story well; at no point did I feel confused or over-informed. The movie just seemed to flow well. Soundtrack was also quite good. Although I've only seen it the one time and might have a slight change of heart in future viewings, this movie is at least 4 stars in my opinion!