Short Reviews 2

Valentine’s Day

Director:
Garry Marshall

Writer:
Katherine Fugate

Cast:
Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner,
Jessica Biel, Patrick Dempsey,
Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway,
Eric Dane, Topher Grace, many others.

Released: 2010
Studio: Warner Bros.
Box Office: $109,191,458 (as of 3/16/10)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 18%
IMDB Score: 5.7

Format: Theater

It suffered from trying to cover too many storylines. None of the characters were developed enough so that I could get past “Oh, that’s Julia Roberts.” or “Hey, he was in That 70’s Show.” The movie was entirely too predictable and cliched. Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner were terrible, but overall the acting was good.

Favorite Performance:
Bryce Robinson as Edison

Favorite Quote:
Franklin: Valentine’s day was a massacre in Chicago where lots of people were killed and they put a curse on the Chicago cubs.

Grade:
D

Dear John

Director:
Lasse Hallstrom

Writer:
Jamie Linden

Cast:
Channing Tatum as John Tyree
Amanda Seyfried as Savannah Curtis
Richard Jenkins as Mr. Tyree

Released: 2010
Studio: Sony/Screen Gems
Box Office: $78,782,986 (as of 3/16/10)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 27%
IMDB Score: 5.4

Format: Theater

I went into this one with pretty low expectations, and I got about what I expected. Channing Tatum cannot act. I have yet to see a performance from him that I would call passable. He really drug this movie down. Other than that, this film was an average date movie.

Favorite Performance:
Richard Jenkins as Mr. Tyree

Favorite Quote:
John Tyree: No matter where you are in the world,the moon is never bigger than your thumb.

Grade: C+

(500) Days of Summer

Director:
Marc Webb

Writers:
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber

Cast:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom Hansen
Zooey Deschanel as Summer Finn

Released: 2009
Studio: Fox Seachlight
Box Office: $32,391,374

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%
IMDB Score: 8.0

Format: DVD

This one was very different from what I expected. Its about Tom’s and Summer’s relationship, but it doesn’t go through it in a conventional manner. It skips around in time and in mood. Its also not conventional in the sense that it doesn’t have a happy ending. (spoiler alert!) They don’t end up together in the end. I guess I just didn’t get it, but I didn’t like this one as well as the critics.

Favorite Performance:
Zooey Deschanel as Summer Finn

Favorite Quote:
Author’s Note: The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Especially you Jenny Beckman. Bitch.

Grade:
B-