Randam Adam

EVERYBODY'S FINE 

 Everybody,s Fine Stars Robert Di Nero as the father that is not well connected with his kids after his wife passes away. This film starts off with Roberts character getting his home and yards ready for all of his kids to come down for a nice visit. One by one they all cancel without any explanation and against his doctors orders he decides to go surprise all of hem at their homes across the country one by one. 



His children all are hiding things from him and lying to him about their personal and professional lives to make sure hes proud of them. But as the movie progresses and they tell him lie after lie he starts to realize things aren't what they seem with them.

This film is a bit complicated. When I first saw the trailer for this film online a few weeks ago you the impression that this is a comedy, and although there are many comedic parts in this film that make you laugh out loud, overall I would say that this is a drama that deals with some pretty dark and sad themes a lot of the time. He has four children but from the get go you only see three which is a giveaway that somethings wrong.  I was moved at times and generally felt what he was feeling and believed his genuine sadness at times.  I would recommend this film, its got some great actors and some great scenery. A general warning there is some swearing in this film and one "F" word which really seemed out of place and quite unnecessary in my opinion.   I wasn't very shocked or surprised at most of the twist and turns and had the movie basically figured out ten minutes in, but still generally enjoyed it.

   So if any of this sounds appealing to you and you enjoy these actors and their work then go see this film!

So I went to the movies this past Saturday with my friend Dawnn & saw three movies, but since I already have seen one of them, so I will only review the two new ones!

SAW VI
OK, so I'm just gonna start off saying that I was not a fan of SAW V, and I d how The entire movie was all about flashbacks and what happened in the past movies. I felt like I paid to see the movies that I already have seen and owned.

So I haven't watched the SAW movies in awhile, I was told by a close friend that if u watch them all back to back that they intertwine and connect amazingly. I'm gonna have to do that soon.

So its been a year since SAW V and honestly I don't remember that much about it besides the fact that I felt jipped. I will say that this newest installation in the SAW franchise is more y and gory then previous ones. I loved the storyline and how I understood everything without having to re-watch the old ones.

This movie is definitely better then V (in my opinion) and if you are a fan of these films then you should be pleased. It starts off with a bang (or slice) and jumps right into the story. It has you really rooting for these characters to succeed at first ans then the more you learn about their past the more you kind of want to see them fail!

Its probably because its so close to home but let's just say that there are some health insurance people involved and I really wanted to see them suffer. You get to see what goes on behind closed doors and how they use loopholes and pure logic to decide coverage for individuals or choose to drop them, basically a sentence for most.

So if you like mystery, seeing people get their come-uppance and lots of and gore, then this is a film for you.



The STEPFATHER

I knew that this was a remake , although I have never seen the original I read all about it before I went to go see this film. To kind of get an idea of the caliber of the first and to see what they did different in this remake.

First off I would like to say that I really like Dylan Walsh (who plays the stepfather) in his role in the awesome series Nip/Tuck. I'm not really familiar with Penn Badgley (the son) hes on some teeny-bopper show. The mother looked oddly familiar but I couldn't place her face (maybe cause it looks like shes had a lot of plastic surgery done)


So the movie kicks off with this calm scene of a guy showering and cutting and dying his hair, its a very low key and relaxed scene. Then as he leaves they pan down and show the family that he has just killed. So from the get-go you know tha he is a killer. In my opinion it would have been better not showing that up front, so that you are left wondering if he is really the "family killer".

This movie is full of suspense and very creepy Looks from the "Stepfather". It does really build up the tension throughout, but it makes you wanna scream at the screen "Hello! He's clearly psychotic, RUN!!!!" This movie plays really well against the audience and leaves you wondering what happens next, but as it builds up towards the final confrontation you have to wonder "Is it gonna pay off in the end?"

My answer is that it doesn't, although I thought this film was OK, it really didn't seem to have a big pay off at the end for the audience. I saw almost every twist and turn coming so was not surprised at all and my friend who isn't a major movie-buff at all wasn't impressed either, which says a lot!

So my recommendation is that if you wanna see this film it wont kill you to wait until its on DVD. Seeing it in a theater and paying big bucks to see it on the big screen wont make that much of a difference.

I hope these reviews were helpful or insightful in some ways, so until next time....

          I'll See You At The Movies

                      ADP

                                                    I'll See you at the Movies!
                                                                                              ADP

First and foremost I wanna thank everyone who came to see the movie with me, so its time for shout outs: Dad, my friend Dawnn that I used to work with. My friends Bob and Janet. Kiera and her mom Andrea, Monique and Tim (it was great to see you guys) and anyone else I forgot I'm sorry!

The Invention of Lying is a comedy written by and starring the ridiculously funny Ricky Gervais. Its is also staring Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill and of course Rob Lowe. So the premise of this movie is simple: IN a world where no one can lie or even know what lying is one mad discovers he can and when he does everybody automatically believes him (because they don't know any better).

So there are a few things that I am going to address first: this movie is rated PG-13 but I would not suggest to any parents with kids that age or younger there are multiple times that the dialogue goes sexual and is a bit more detailed then "Tommy Teenager" needs to hear. The second item I want to address before the rest of my review is the hidden storyline behind this comedy. Besides the funniness and laughter there is a (not very well hidden) theme in this movie and it is actually about atheism and GOD. There is no GOD in this alternate universe and nobody has ever heard of "The Big Man In The Sky" until the main character makes him up to comfort his dying mother and then the whole movie spins that way. Then he just starts making up rules that GOD wants the world to live by and then he mimics Moses and the ten commandments. Not sure if they were mocking/spoofing or completely making fun of the Bible but just beware that is the central theme.

On with the review. Overall I liked this movie, it was a bit slower then I expected, with less laugh-out-loud moments then I hoped for but there was a surprising twist that I didn't expect, this movie had a heart! There were quite a few heartfelt and tearful scenes and that I wasn't expecting. This was a great addition to the typical situational comedy that I was gonna place this movie in.

The Supporting cast was great and I surprisingly believed the relationship between Garner and Gervais. I liked Jonah Hill as the downbeat suicidal neighbor. Rob Lowe doesn't even have to act to be the pretentious you-know-what (its just how he seems to be in real life in my opinion). I love the cameos appearances by Tina Fey, she can do no wrong in my book (so far).

So to boil it all down: you should see this film if you are OK with the two reasons I listed above and you can expect laughs just not constantly. Be prepared for some slower dramatic parts and if your an emotional movie goer a tissue or two as well.

I hope this was helpful and until next time Ill see you at the movies!

ADP

Lets start this review off with a few facts: I have seen the 1980's film "FAME", I've never seen the FAME tv show . and I generally like most musicals.

Having said that I heard about this re-make well over a year ago and was excited to see how it would turn out. Ive only seen the original movie a few times but I liked a lot about it. So in anticipation for this version I had my friends make me a copy of the soundtrack so I could familiarize myself with the music, been listening to it almost everyday for the past month. So thats gonna inform you on how and why I reviewed it as I'm going to.

So the movie starts off with a bang, right into the rush of the tryouts for everyone that is hopeful to go to this great arts school. This film is just oozing with talent, there are some real up and coming stars I believe in this film. So the movie moves at a decent pace most of the film, but does have some generally slow parts. This version of FAME is more about the true life drama of the characters and what they go thru on this journey and less about the crazy choreographed dance numbers in the street, its more realistic and less hokey then the original. People don't really burst into song while walking and no one around them notice that they are singing. So I think that right there will broaden the audience scope of who will come see this.

The music from the soundtrack is amazing, diversified and fun. The thing about the music in the movie is that there is a lot less of it then there are on the soundtrack.A lot of the songs are just background music as opposed to some one singing them. I was sad that a few of the songs I liked from the soundtrack were reduced to elevator mus-ak. Another problem that I had with the music is that they really didn't incorporate it into the film as much as they should have. One last tidbit about the music is that the title song "FAME" isn't even i the movie!!! Its in the credits, whoever idea that was should be fired and then shot cause its a great song that would have been fun to see onscreen.

Now the acting was great overall and the directing was good. I actually liked the slow motion dance scenes, i thought that they were great. So overall I was dissappointed with this movie but I had extremely high hopes, all of my friends that I went with loved it. So if you like musicals or great singing and dancing then come see this. But you got to be prepared for all of the drama scenes and then you will probably enjoy it more. So until next time GOD Bless and....

I Will See You At The Movies,
ADP

Well I saw two movies last night so Im just gonna review them together.

I went to an advanced screening of "PANDORUM" last night in LA with my friend Sharyonda. So firstly this movie is just waaaay out there! The concept was original, the special effects were great and there were many cringe worthy moments. This is not a movie for the faint of heart or easily grossed out. There was some bad language & al ot of blood & guts, so don't go see it if you are not a fan of either of those. Ive been waiting for this movie for awhile now and thought that the trailers for it were excellent! This movie is a futuristic sci-fi thriller and I thought it did a great job of keeping the audience guessing and waiting for what will come next. Dennis Quaid, & Ben Foster did great jobs with their parts & were completely believable as space army agents who awake from what was supposed to be a few months of hyper sleep & cant remember anything cause they have been asleep for years. The mystery surrounding what happened to them and the suspense of what happens next kept me thoroughly entertained from start to finish. So if you have liked the little I have said here then go see this movie.

So after watching the screening of "PANDORUM", "SURROGATES" with Bruce Willis was literally starting next door so Sharyonda and I decided to watch it. I will say that I did have a bit of high hopes for this movie, the tv spots and awesome posters they have up everywhere promoting this film did have me intrigued! I would call this movie a futuristic sci-fi detective story, it was very well done and all of the effects were great. I especially love how they made all of the actors look like they were perfect robots when they were using their surrogates. this is basically a story about a future utopia and how things are never as perfect as they seem. Overall I did like his film, there were a few slow parts that had my friend nodding off, but besides that I would say that this was a decent film with an original concept.

So I hope this little bit of information was helpful, i try to not give anything away. So i guess Ill SEE YOU AT THE MOVIES!
ADP

OK, well i have a lot to say about this movie and not a lot of time to say it, but first my shout outs. I just wanna thank my friends that came tonight: Kathy, Jamie, Cheree, Bo, Donna, Kira, Andrea, Annalisa, Kira's cousin (sorry I forgot your name... The Munchkin) and Andreas mother, It was great to see you all tonight and I really enjoyed your company.

So from the trailer of this movie I got the feeling it was a romantic comedy, with some drama thrown in there. I couldn't have been more wrong, I really liked this movie! Not only was it touching, very funny, but it was witty, original and completely moving. Im not sure if im really just that tired, but i didn't predict every single scene of this movie in advance like i do with so many of the other cookie-cutter movies that are out there today.

I thought that Aaron Eckhart was witty, charming and completely believable and I totally associated with him and his grief. He almost moved me to tears at one point (almost). I loved his character and the almost hidden flaws and how he represents every person, trying to play like your one thing, but secretly hiding your biggest flaws from the world. Now Jennifer Aniston was great opposite him, she really was believable as the flower shop owner and i really liked their chemistry together.

So to sum it up quickly, guys don't not go see this film cause you think its strictly a chick flick, its not. I was moved by the storyline and the subject matter and I definitely recommend this to people of all ages. So I hope you go see this and enjoy...
ADP

First a shout out to my friends who came tonight, thanks: Jamie, Kathy, Cheree, Bo, Donna, Bob and Janet, and dad. For those who canceled yet again, u know who you are!

So i went to this movie knowing not to much about the plot of the film, besides what you see on the trailer. I didn't look into this movie like i do others. I was hoping for a quirky, offbeat comedy. What I got was a slow, quirky sometimes comedic (but more situational comedy then actual funny parts). I really had few hopes fort this movie and it barely did that much.

Cont get me wrong, i chuckled a few times, a little belly laugh here or there, but this movie was extremely slow! The guy next to me was sleeping in his girlfriends lap, and four teenagers in front of me walked out of the movie two-thirds of the way thru the movie, and it was free.

Matt Damon's character is complicated and he was amusing, the one thing that kept me into the movie was thinking ahead and figuring out what was really going on. So if you like slow offbeat dramas that are two hours long, then see this film. if u need constant action or suspense to stay into a movie, then do not see this film!

As Always GOD Bless,
ADP

First of all i just want to thank and send a shout out to all my friends who were at the screening tonight and who showed me their love and support: Kira, Andrea, Sharyonda, Juliet, Brian, Bob and Janet. Now on with the movie review...
While whiteout had good effects and a very good subject I found it to be a bit predictable. I don't know, some people out there who aren't movie fanatics like me probably cant see the ending of movies or whats coming next, this movie was easy to figure out. I thought that the action and the scenery were great and it had some startling parts, but wasn't scary or that suspenseful. Overall i enjoyed it cause it is Kate Beckinsale and she rocks. 6 out of 10 for me.
In other news I ending up spending all afternoon at my doctors office and i didn't get all of my paperwork together to finish filling out my applications for Medi-Cal and Social Security, so if I'm lucky and work all morning tomorrow i can maybe turn it in tomorrow, otherwise i have all weekend to do it and then just turn it in on Monday. I have a ton of calls to make to gather information. Fun fun fun, i know (NOT!!!)
ADP

My 9 movie Review Well I saw "9" 2night. Overall i liked it, the realism of the animation, the inventiveness of the world they made up, & just the original concept was amazing. It was a bit too dark 4 small children in my opinion. It could have been a bit better, but i Did enjoy it. Tim Burton rarely goes wrong, although he just produced it his touch is all over this film. The action and voice casting were excellent! If your a fan of his go c this film! PS This poster over to the right actually was a foreign poster from Italy that i liked, so i photo shopped it and took off all the foreign writing and messed with the color and voila!
ADP