8, 9, 10, and 11 of My Movie Madness

#8: Horrible Bosses
It's a timeless story. Hard worker, under-appreciated at their job, and a douche of a boss. Horrible Bosses takes this theme and creates three hilarious characters played by Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day. Their bosses are quite literally the scum of the earth in the forms of Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey, and Jennifer Aniston. The men, fed up with the crap from their bosses, decide it would be best to off each others bosses. What ensues is a hilarious mish-mash of insanity that leaves you guessing. Will they pull it off or will them end up being slaves to "the Man" forever? I rate it 9.5 out of 10. The plot leaves you guessing up to the last second. The deduction is for laughing so hard, I nearly got a cramp. Great flick. Standout for me in the veteran category was Jennifer Aniston. This movie has proven that she hasn't lost her comedy chops just yet. And the rookie standout was Charlie Day. I've never watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but he might have changed my mind.

#9: The Mechanic
Jason Statham stars as Arthur, a very capable hit man aka "mechanic." His mentor is played by Donald Sutherland, who has been doing something shifty *bum bum bum*. Arthur is then contracted to kill him and does so. Feeling guilty, he takes the mentor's son, played by Ben Foster, and teaches him how to be a "mechanic." Eventually something changes the game and the boys take you along for the ride. The action is non stop in this amazing film and has very well done cinematography. I give it an 8 out of 10. Occasionally the dialogue gets stiff when the action can't cover it, and it sometimes gets rather gory. But overall, the story moves well and makes for an entertaining viewing. Also, Ben Foster and Jason Statham are hot so, you know, great man candy who are well dressed.

#10: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (American Version)
Ok, so I finally went and saw this in theaters. For fuller details check out my stuff on the Swedish version, but since I already covered it, this one is going to be shorter. I really really really liked Daniel Craig as Mikael. And I really really really liked Rooney Mara as Lisbeth. The two of them have chemistry that is straight out of the book. Everything was great. Except two things. One is the insanely weird/long intro. While I enjoyed the cover of "The Immigrant Song," the intro was just too long. The cinematography of it was well done, but so weird. The other thing I can't really go into because it is plot related, but I went "WTF?" hardcore when it happened. Because it seemed like it could have been done appropriately to the story based on time and such. But it wasn't, and I didn't enjoy it. Which is why I am giving it a 7 out of 10. The intro was just too much and the plot twist was mismanaged. Apart from that, the cast was phenomenal and the cinematography was well done.

#11: The Switch
Did this movie seem like a cheese factor? Yes. Did watching it seem like a good idea? No, not really. Did I kind of fall in love with it? YES. Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman play Kassie and Wally, best friends who tried to date but realized they had better chemistry as buddies of the non-fuck variety. Kassie's biological clock is ticking and she decides she wants a baby the non-old fashioned way. Wally doesn't know if it's a good idea, and in his attempt to be supportive he screws some shit up. Drunkenly replacing the donor sperm with his own, Kassie goes her way and he goes his. Now several years later, she's back in town and he's starting to remember what happened that boozed up night. The movie stars adorable Thomas Robinson as Sebastian, Kassie's son. I give it a 8.5 out of 10. I deducted two points for being a semi predictable will they-won't they movie. But I gave back half a point because the son is so frickin' cute, you spend the whole movie going "Aww, I just want to hug him!" Also, Jason Bateman is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. Get with the program people, he's awesome and needs to be in more movies!

Numbers 4, 5, 6, and 7 of Film Festival

In the continuance of my awesome movie project where I watch a ton of movies (also just got Netflix so that should help this along). Here it goes..

#4: Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
While I do find parts of Twilight annoying and do not completely begrudge those who enjoy criticizing it, just remember that Stephanie Meyer is laughing all the way to bank. Anywho, this film takes the series in a new direction, prior to the lovey-dovey awkward love triangle of Bella (Kristen Stewert), Edward (Robert Pattinson), and Jacob (Taylor Lautner). Bella and Edward get hitched and thus have their honeymoon. Oops no condom, what she's knocked up?! And the fetus is killing her. *gasp* This movie improves on the last ones in two great aspects. Number 1: this movie is actually funny. Not awkward funny, like when Edward first smells Bella (bahahaha), but legitimately hilarious. Mostly in part to Kellan Lutz. As the burly, bearlike, adopted brother, he repeatedly has the funny lines in each film. So clearly, he needs to be in the next movie more. Not that it'll happen. Number two: this movie actually related to vampiric activity. Seeing the movie at midnight was hilarious because when they discover that Bella needs to drink blood to save her baby, everyone was whispering "Eeww, ohmigod this is gross." And meanwhile, I'm laughing hysterically. So yeah, blood and guts, actually what related to vamps, not teen angstness. For the funny and blood and guts, I'm giving it a 7 out of 10. Still not a high caliber film, but it's improving. Get rid of the main three characters and the next film might have a chance.

5: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
These books have a special place in my heart for helping me get through a really tough period of my life. The saga wraps up with the final battle and enough deaths to make any mortuary worker thrilled. Not gonna lie, totally balled my eyes out when they showed the bodies of all our beloved friends. I actually think I liked the first part of the final one better, I'm not sure why. My rating for the last film is 9 out of 10. These films are really well done, but like Matrix fans who always wonder why no sequels were ever made, I think it's great that Rowling never wrote a epilogue. OH WAIT. Denied. So that's my deducted point. The ending was already bleh, but then to film the epilogue and having them played by the actual actors who have barely any make up to age them. Yeah, fail on that one. I still love the film, but from now on, when the screen goes black I'm turning it off before that ridiculous spectacle.

6: The DaVinci Code
I received the book last Christmas as a gift and finally decided to pull it off my bookcase of unread novels and give it a whirl. The story is about the death of a prominent figure and the story descends into the obscure world of religious iconography and secrets. Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is a professor of religious iconography who gets called in to consult of the case. Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou) is a cryptologist who brings herself into the murder and the two team up when Langdon is considered the prime suspect for the murder. Eventually the two meet up with Sir Leigh Teabing (Ian McKellen) in an attempt to solve the puzzles. I am giving this movie a 6 out of 10. I enjoyed the book decently but the movie did so-so at following the book in my opinion. Not surprising, that's usually what happens with books and films. The other part of the movie that drove me nuts is the attempt at chemistry between Hanks and Tautou. There is ZERO chemistry there. Really. Nothing. And while he was certainly not looking his best, she was looking damn fine. Audrey Tautou is gorgeous. But the chemistry was far too contrived. It's a movie that is amusing to watch but also one you can talk through too.

7: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish version)
I really enjoy this book series. Written by Steig Larsson, the twisted novels present an interesting view on a crime story. Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) has just been convicted on a libel charge and currently has nothing to do while waiting to go to prison. A family patriarch calls him and asks him to investigate the murder of a family member from 40 years ago. Interwoven is the story of Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), a gothic woman who leaves everyone guessing. The novel is extremely long and as such, transforming it into film means things will be left out. As is the case for this one. The majority of important aspects are covered in the film, but it still lacks. I give it a 8 out of 10. The movie is extremely beautiful cinematographally (if that even counts as a word). I really can't wait for the American version. Because while the guy playing Mikael is attractive, Daniel Craig is hot as hell. I'm interested in seeing Rooney Mara as Lisbeth, but from pictures I'm not sure. I think the even better combination would have been Noomi Rapace and Daniel Craig. But anyway, it comes out in a few days so I'll be able to offer my commentary on the American version.