A few lil movie reviews: Funny People, The Ugly Truth, & Australia

OK, during TG you stay indoors a lot! :) So I have a few movie reviews for ya - what I did when I wasn't playing a board or card came during family time. These will be short and sweet, but hopefully serve as some insight if you're contemplating spending a couple hours (or 3!) of your life in front of the tube on one of them.

I always think it helps when you go into a movie without expectations. That is when you experience your untainted, unmotivated, true feelings about it. And this is how I went into this particular movie, Funny People, not really having heard much about it (which is usually a red flag).

Funny People: The tone of this film pleasantly surprised me. It was consistent and really well executed. It was funny, but not overt. The dialog was natural, and I enjoyed the story, also written by Apatow (Knocked Up). The reactions from the characters seemed really honest, and I was impressed at the fact that, although it wasn't just keeping me on the edge of my seat with curiosity, it never let me drift off. The chemistry was definitely there. I was invested in this little story of wanting to know what would happen to this man (Sandler) and seeing him change. It wasn't a really deep or completely unpredictable flick, but the performances were. And they didn't try too hard to be funny, which in my opinion, was what allowed it to be funny.

The Ugly Truth: I have to admit, I went into this one with a little bit of expectation, and it wasn't all good. It's one of those mass-appeal cute movies with not a lot of substance, right? My mom liked it, and Shad's dad thought it was a hoot, so I just dove in. Would it live up to its name? It was completely predictable, but it did have cute/funny moments, and overall, I give them credit for at least finding a new way to deliver the material - from mostly the perspective of the man. The actors are pretty good, and one can't help but love Gerard. Seriously, I didn't want to like him in this. But he won me over in 300, then P.S. I Love You, and it's been hard to deny him ever since. :) It's mindless entertainment, but worth a watch - once.

Australia: Ah, the epic 3 hour movie that finally came on cable so I could watch it. What can I say, it's hard to go rent anything that's 3 hours these days. Unless you get suckered into doing it in a theater (which is plenty!!) it just doesn't happen. I sometimes wonder how I watched The Sound of Music so many times when I was little, and what happened to my attention span!? Back to the movie. The first time I put it on, I only watched 15 min. and turned it off. I thought it was a serious picture, but it struck me as odd and corny - like a bad old western. There was too much smoke/fog, and far fetched scenes with wagons and kangaroos. I think the continuity problems with the introduction of Hugh Jackman's hair is when I stopped it. But I kept hearing that it was soooo good. Where was it? Where was the good? So I gave it another shot with my hubbie, and assured him it was supposed to get better, when he made ugly faces at the same things I had. Guess what, it does grow on you. And the actors are pretty great. They eventually make you forget about the distracting CGI, and cheesy narration. And the chemistry is quite wonderful between Kidman and Jackman. And the kid's performance, I must say, very impressive. There's also spectacular shots to appreciate - in an enormously beautiful kind of way. So, my advice is that if you can get through the first half (I know that's asking a lot these days) you will appreciate the last half so much more. After all, it's a Baz Luhrmann film. C'mon, who doesn't love him (Moulin Rouge)? :)

Happy movie watching!