“The rumours of my promiscuity have been greatly exaggerated.” – Olive Penderghast
SYNOPSIS: A clean-cut high school student relies on the school’s rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing. – via IMDB
I am not really into comedies, but every now and then you get a good one. One that is sharp and witty and doesn’t take itself too seriously or try too hard. Easy A was that one for me. I thoroughly enjoy Emma Stone, so to watch a film where she is leading lady is excellent. Olive is smart and intelligent and has an incredibly good sense of humour and Emma Stone brings out those qualities really well. I must say though that I can see how she got so flat about the reputation she had garnered, though how/why the hell she let it get so out of hand is beyond me.
Amanda Bynes cracked me up, definitely the kind of person that I would stay hundreds of kilometres away from – what a nutcase and a silly bitch (yep, gonna put it out there just like that). It is a feel good movie to watched an A student go on to be the town bicycle, if only by reputation, and take it to a certain extent.
The relationship between Olive and Woodchuck Todd was quite sweet, and that he was the one that stood by her no matter what is pretty awesome. The way she embraced her role as the scarlet woman was terrible, though she rocked it. Olive’s family was definitely entertaining for me, and the banter that went on between them was truly crazy and funny. Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci played the parents excellently.
I like Easy A, it was a fun movie that did not take the romance in it to extremes or make it the central point, only something that becomes evident later. Before that it is all about Olive and the silly mistakes that she makes that will take her to where she is. I definitely enjoyed this one, well worth a watch.
“You ever hear of Joe Cooper? He’s a cop. A detective, actually. He’s got a little business on the side.” – Chris Smith
SYNOPSIS: When a debt puts a young man’s life in danger, he turns to putting a hit out on his evil mother in order to collect the insurance. – via IMDB
What the fuck?! Killer Joe had a great cast going for it that played their roles well with a disturbing as hell execution of the premise. I could get on board with the desire to kill your mother for insurance money, even hiring a hitman. I could get on board with how incredibly trashy some families are, and even smiled a bit at how much the film milked the trailer trash angle (I hear a lot about it in books and movies but we don’t really have that here). But then the secondary aspects of the premise came. The part about a grown man wanting a twelve year old girl, an adult male starting a sexual relationship with said child who initially did not even want him, that was terrified of the concept (and yeah, gonna say this), and suddenly was so experienced and enjoyed it from the off. For a girl that is not promiscuous, that should not have been her first reaction. Anyhow, let me move right on from that. Then there was her family that knew what the animal wanted and freely offered her to him. I mean what the hell, were they that desperate for cash that they were willing to pimp a child for it? However, the story was alright. Emile Hirsch was pretty good as Dottie’s brother, yet so damn trashy. I mean seriously now? McConaughey was definitely the show stealer here though, brilliant performance. The way the insurance money debacle went down was good, too, though I must say that there was a lot in this film that was just not easy to watch, that is just that. Then there was the chicken scene, and that was really pretty messed up, in all honesty. Dammit, why? The movie is unconventional, and I wouldn’t suggest you watch it with your parents/kids, it could get a little awkward. There is some pretty dark humour at times, and then there is a lot that gets uncomfortable, too. The performances are definitely worth checking out though! It is not something that I will be checking out again in a hurry in the near future, and I would definitely not recommend this to those that cannot look past the disturbing aspects of the film to see the content of it.
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is starting to relax a little bit. His life is going well, and he finally has the love of his life, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). However, his friendship with Harry Orborn (James Franco) is completely splintered, and there seems to be no end in sight. Harry has taken up the mantle of the new Green Goblin, still swearing to exact vengeance on Spider-Man for his father’s death, as well as knowing that Peter Parker is Spider-Man.
Things start to turn soon, though. Harry hunts Peter down and attacks him as the New Goblin, but ultimately comes off second best in the fight, and is grievously injured. When he regains consciousness in the hospital, he has no recollection of the events that brought him there, and his short term memory has been wiped clean. Peter does not feel the need to enlighten him, either. Soon Mary Jane is fired from her theatre production, and Spider-Man saves Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) from a careening crane, and is awarded the Key to the City. As though things were not growing distant and difficult with Peter and Mary Jane, he kisses Gwen in the ultra-famous Spider-Man kiss. Mary Jane turns to Harry, who is starting to remember.
The overly-friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man
Peter battles with a new photographer at the Daily Bugle, Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), who is intent on getting permanent office space from J Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons). To bear this prestige, one of them has to produce a photo of Spider-Man committing a crime. A meteoric black substance has made it to Earth and has its sights set on Peter. Mary Jane has had it with Peter, but is forced to make that call final when the New Goblin makes her a pawn in his war. Peter is crushed, and does not know what to do. When the black substance eventually attaches itself to Peter, he feels much better, and his conscious is clear, though he becomes a world class douche-bag. Dr Conners (Dylan Baker) warns Peter that the substance is a symbiote, and that it will need a host to bind to, and if it gets on to Peter, it will have its wish. This helps nothing, as it is already changing Peter, and he is pushing the people around him away. He is losing touch with is humanity and making a hell of a lot of enemies.
An Emo kid? Some hardcore symbiote that is…
All the while there is a new threat in town, Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), a.k.a. the Sandman. On the run from the police, he gets caught in a science project, in a particle accelerator. It changes his make-up, and he can become sand, weaving it and collapsing it. He uses this gift/curse for the negative, to rob and steal – but his intentions were initially pure. Captain Stacy (James Cromwell) drops a massive bomb in Peter’s and Aunt May’s (Rosemary Harris) laps about the night that Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) died.
“I want him dead too, Flint.” – Venom
Peter is sought out by more than one villain, and Mary Jane is again a piece that they will use to bring him to his knees. Venom rises from the symbiote’s ashes the moment it finds the relevant host, and between the Sandman and Venom, Spider-Man has his hands full trying to protect the city, find himself and make amends. Will he be able to find himself, be free of the draw that the symbiote brings with its darkness and power, and will he ever be able to fix things between himself, Mary Jane and himself and Harry?
Well, a 4/10 for Spider-Man 3. This was really one terrible flick. I was extremely unimpressed, I will say that now. An emo Peter Parker? Puh-lease, not what we need. And his hair shifting like that and some dark eyeliner did not make him any more sexy or attractive, whatever he thought would come first. The effects also left a lot to be desired, and this has nothing to do with the film’s time. The two before it looked far better. Venom was also just lacking a lot, so that was that I suppose. Mary Jane just got on my nerves again (surprise surprise), and Topher Grace was just not working for this one. The French Maître d’ (Bruce Campbell) made me laugh a lot though, that was highly entertaining. This film had the distinct feeling that too much was trying to be squeezed into a single film, and I feel that there was not enough explanation and build up given for the majority of the events and how things happened. Definitely the worst Spider-Man of the trio by far.
“The rumours of my promiscuity have been greatly exaggerated.”
The Sporadic Chronicles 