"Just Friends"

Just Friends

Ten years ago, Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds) was a fat high school geek in a small New Jersey town. He has a crush on his best friend, the most beautiful and popular girl in school, Jamie Palomino (Amy Smart). At a graduation party, Chris is determined to confess his true feelings for her. His plan is to make her read the note he wrote to her in a yearbook detailing those feelings. But there’s a mix-up. Instead of exchanging yearbooks with Jamie, Chris’ yearbook comes into the possession of the most obnoxious jock in the graduating class. Chris realizes the mix-up too late and he and Jamie arrive just as the jock is in the middle of ruthlessly reading Chris’ note to the entire party, which howls in laughter.

Humiliated, Chris quickly leaves the house. Jamie stops him just outside. She says, “I love you…” Thinking his dreams have come true, Chris moves in for a kiss. She does too, but hers is aimed for his cheek. “Like a brother,” she finishes. I love you like a brother. “Friends, right?” she asks. The crowd notices this exchange and the laughter re-erupts. Humiliated even further, Chris makes a vow. He’ll show a town full of “losers” that he’ll make something of himself. He leaves town, planning never to return.

Today, Chris is a lady killer. He’s in shape and handsome and practically beating girls off with a stick. He’s also a top executive for a music label and rubs shoulders with the top names in the business.

One of the industry's hottest stars is Samantha James (the comedically gifted Ana Faris). Chris is tasked by his boss with wooing the unstable “it girl” to his label. Samantha and Chris get on a private plane to Paris at Samantha’s behest, but the plane is grounded due to the mid-air carelessness of Samantha. Chris is stunned to learn that the plane has landed close to his hometown.

So Chris goes home to see his mom and a couple of friends from high school. Chris runs into Jamie at a local bar. When the two reconnect, will it be as Just Friends or something more?

This movie had me laughing from start to finish. A warning however: if other people’s humiliation makes you cringe and look away, you’ll hate yourself for loving this movie. You will love this movie. It’s inevitable.

The comedic timing of the cast is fantastic and is most of the reason I give Just Friends a rating of -8 on the B.E. scale.

P.S. I realize I gave away some plot, something I promised I’d never do, but I promise there are several plot points I left out. Like I said, I’ll give the premise of the movie and my rating.

"The Aviator"

The Aviator is a biopic on the triumphant and, at times, tragic life of Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio). Hughes was arguably one of the most influential people of the 20^th Century. His considerable influence was felt in both the film and aviation industries. Hughes was many things and the movie documents each of those aspects to his personality. He was a brilliant engineer, visionary film director, savvy businessman, and millionaire playboy who bedded the likes of Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale), Jean Harlow (Gwen Stefani), and Katherine Hepburn (played to perfection by Cate Blanchett).

At times, he was also certifiably insane. Despite the mental illness, Hughes puts up a fight against those who would orchestrate his downfall. As I have said in a previous post, I will not give away the plots to the movies I review. You’ll just have to watch the movie to see if he prevails. (If you’re a history buff, you probably already know though.)

If you’re expecting a look into his later, more eccentric Las Vegas years, expect to be disappointed. Despite its very long run-time, The Aviator never looks at the years leading up to Hughes’ death.

With a nearly 3 hour run-time, the movie can seem like a marathon run. And in the hands of any director but Scorsese or any lead but DiCaprio, watching that marathon would seem like a chore. But this is Scorsese and DiCaprio at their finest and teamed up. That makes The Aviator far from a chore to watch.

It still seems a little long, though, so I give The Aviator a rating of -8 on the B.E. scale. It would have been a solid 9, but I deducted a point for being an hour too long.

"How to Train Your Dragon" in IMAX 3D

In order to explain why I feel so strongly about this next movie I must put it in context to my situation. For several years (and the past few months in particular), I’ve been going through kind of a rough patch. I really identified with the characters in the movie because I see a little bit of myself in some of them, especially the main character and especially the main character at the end of the story.

You see, coping with disability is one of the themes in How to Train Your Dragon. It’s subtle enough that you might miss it if you’re not looking out for it, but it’s definitely there and it’s especially evident in the movie’s final scenes.

This is the kind of movie that is has two layers. On the surface, it’s a story about a boy and his dragon. On a deeper level, the movie is about overcoming adversity when you are differently able. I’ll give one example and I’m sorry, but it’s a spoiler. It’s a minor spoiler, so you can read it. The dragon the boy befriends can’t fly properly after a fall that destroyed one of its tail fins. The boy creates a prosthetic for the dragon and, in the process of perfecting the prosthetic, the bond between them strengthens. Another example (I’ll keep it vague): At the end of the movie, the main character takes a major setback in stride and it didn’t come off as unrealistic.

This movie was touching, funny, and inspirational. (Plus I saw it in IMAX 3D and the effects were very cool.) I give How to Train Your Dragon a rating of -9.5 on the B.E. scale.

"The Last House on the Left"

I hate it when reviews give away the entire plot of a movie. I promise never to do that. I will give the premise of the movie and a rating on the B.E. scale. Don't watch the trailer to this film if you plan on watching the movie--it gives everything away: Trailer

The Last House on the Left is a re-imagining of the 1972 movie of the same name. Friends Mary and Paige are abducted by a gang of psychopathic criminals. The criminals become stranded near Mary’s house. (Because Mary managed to trick the gang into taking the road to her house rather than the one that leads to a main road. Mary did this in order to get help from her parents in what is apparently a remote area.) The scenes where the girls are brutalized are difficult to watch, but it makes the scenes of violent retribution that follow strangely satisfying. (The term “serves him right” came to mind when a garbage disposal became involved.)

Without giving it away, I have to say that this is a good movie ruined by its final scene. (I won’t ruin it except to say that microwaves don’t work that way.)

The final scene forced me to give an otherwise good movie a rating of 3 on the B.E. scale.