LIFE AS WE KNOW IT Review

Going into a film like 'Life As We Know It' you kind of know what to expect if you've seen even a bit of its trailer. This is clearly a romantic comedy, but one that doesn't rely on a traditional meet-cute and in doing so, sets up some very complicated and touching subject matter that no run of the mill romantic comedy would dare go near. Even if you find such material un-intriguing or that this still plays to some of this genre's conventions, you must admire it for going above the call of duty. In the opening moments it sets up that Heigl and Duhamel's characters are completely opposite and therefore are destined to fall in love by the end of the film. This is obvious and we know that is where this movie is heading the entire time we're watching no matter what struggles the script throws in their way. In saying that, there are some nice twists that detour the inevitable from happening to soon. The characteristics of these two leads are defined early, for the fiftieth time Heigl plays the uptight career woman who has to plan everything. It seems she would get tired of this persona after a while, but then again maybe this is all she can do. I have never been particularly attracted to Heigl or her acting, but this is probably the best she's done since 'Knocked Up' and I credit that to the writer for giving her character some development not just in her relationship with Duhamel but as an adult, she grows to love the child that her friends entrusted her with and becomes a better mother than even she believed she could be. As corny as that may sound, it's true and her scenes with the child in the latter half of the film are very touching. As for Duhamel, I was a bit worried after the dud that was 'When in Rome' that he was destined to always be the military guy in the 'Transformers' movies or worse, Mr. Fergie. This role bodes well for him though, he is not as cheesy as he was in the Kristen Bell rom-com and at moments he comes off completely genuine though he has been assigned the traits of a tool. The two have rather good chemistry with one another and this shines as they both learn how to raise a child as well as grow up themselves. The montages where this kind of progress happens are entertaining and some of the best bits of the film. Overall, I expected this to be more run of the mill, but it was greatly surprising to see a touching film about love in more ways than one. Director Berlanti gives the film a warm look and nice pacing that allows the film to unfold in the time frame of a year. We become invested in these characters and we grow to root for their relationship even though we know in a big Hollywood film the makers would never let us go home disappointed with the fact things didn't work out perfectly.

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT Review

Going into a film like 'Life As We Know It' you kind of know what to expect if you've seen even a bit of its trailer. This is clearly a romantic comedy, but one that doesn't rely on a traditional meet-cute and in doing so, sets up some very complicated and touching subject matter that no run of the mill romantic comedy would dare go near. Even if you find such material un-intriguing or that this still plays to some of this genre's conventions, you must admire it for going above the call of duty. In the opening moments it sets up that Heigl and Duhamel's characters are completely opposite and therefore are destined to fall in love by the end of the film. This is obvious and we know that is where this movie is heading the entire time we're watching no matter what struggles the script throws in their way. In saying that, there are some nice twists that detour the inevitable from happening to soon. The characteristics of these two leads are defined early, for the fiftieth time Heigl plays the uptight career woman who has to plan everything. It seems she would get tired of this persona after a while, but then again maybe this is all she can do. I have never been particularly attracted to Heigl or her acting, but this is probably the best she's done since 'Knocked Up' and I credit that to the writer for giving her character some development not just in her relationship with Duhamel but as an adult, she grows to love the child that her friends entrusted her with and becomes a better mother than even she believed she could be. As corny as that may sound, it's true and her scenes with the child in the latter half of the film are very touching. As for Duhamel, I was a bit worried after the dud that was 'When in Rome' that he was destined to always be the military guy in the 'Transformers' movies or worse, Mr. Fergie. This role bodes well for him though, he is not as cheesy as he was in the Kristen Bell rom-com and at moments he comes off completely genuine though he has been assigned the traits of a tool. The two have rather good chemistry with one another and this shines as they both learn how to raise a child as well as grow up themselves. The montages where this kind of progress happens are entertaining and some of the best bits of the film. Overall, I expected this to be more run of the mill, but it was greatly surprising to see a touching film about love in more ways than one. Director Berlanti gives the film a warm look and nice pacing that allows the film to unfold in the time frame of a year. We become invested in these characters and we grow to root for their relationship even though we know in a big Hollywood film the makers would never let us go home disappointed with the fact things didn't work out perfectly.

MONSTERS Review

To say the least, it is impressive what director Edwards has accomplished on such a small budget. 'Monsters' though actually contains very little action including these creatures. In fact it contains very little action period, but I am certainly not one to complain about that and I certainly am not saying it makes the film worse because it didn't have a ton of action, but I was expecting a little more, especially when the name of your movie is 'Monsters". This is the "smart" monster movie though, and it will be billed that way and viewed by film buffs as an intelligent entry into this genre because of its lack of the cliches and its slower pace. It is quite a simple story, one that evolves over the course of following a man and a woman through the restricted zone where these monsters seem to congregate, in order to get back to the United States. A series of events leaves them with no choice other than to travel this dangerous path and thus along the way we find out more and more about these characters and watch them slowly become more attached if not attracted to one another. The film is strong in this area though, the two leads and virtually only actors in the entire thing do a great job of relaying there characteristics from the opening moments of the film. This is not the film where ships attack and aliens fall out of them and we see huge shots of millions of people screaming and running for their lives and I don't think that is the film Edwards would have made even if he did have the money. This isn't a 'District 9' type film the trailers made it out to be and as interesting and good of an idea as the backdrop of this world is, it really isn't about the monsters. This is a character study of how these events have affected these two people in particular. It is a beautiful looking film when our characters trek through the landscapes during the day, but a majority of the action takes place at night and in the dark where the filmmakers are smart enough to reveal very little of these title characters. The movie wrestles with this at times, deciding whether or not to give into the audience's yearning to see what exactly it is these people are running from. But the absence of monsters for the majority of the script gives them a break and until the final ten minutes or so do we really get to glimpse a monster in its entirety and by that point we can guess where the film will be concluding thanks to the opening credits. It works at a pace that might have you thinking, "When are the attacks going to start?" but the conclusion will leave you mostly satisfied if not a little saddened by the fact you were, for once, able to get to know the characters so well in what you thought was supposed to be an action film.

MONSTERS Review

To say the least, it is impressive what director Edwards has accomplished on such a small budget. 'Monsters' though actually contains very little action including these creatures. In fact it contains very little action period, but I am certainly not one to complain about that and I certainly am not saying it makes the film worse because it didn't have a ton of action, but I was expecting a little more, especially when the name of your movie is 'Monsters". This is the "smart" monster movie though, and it will be billed that way and viewed by film buffs as an intelligent entry into this genre because of its lack of the cliches and its slower pace. It is quite a simple story, one that evolves over the course of following a man and a woman through the restricted zone where these monsters seem to congregate, in order to get back to the United States. A series of events leaves them with no choice other than to travel this dangerous path and thus along the way we find out more and more about these characters and watch them slowly become more attached if not attracted to one another. The film is strong in this area though, the two leads and virtually only actors in the entire thing do a great job of relaying there characteristics from the opening moments of the film. This is not the film where ships attack and aliens fall out of them and we see huge shots of millions of people screaming and running for their lives and I don't think that is the film Edwards would have made even if he did have the money. This isn't a 'District 9' type film the trailers made it out to be and as interesting and good of an idea as the backdrop of this world is, it really isn't about the monsters. This is a character study of how these events have affected these two people in particular. It is a beautiful looking film when our characters trek through the landscapes during the day, but a majority of the action takes place at night and in the dark where the filmmakers are smart enough to reveal very little of these title characters. The movie wrestles with this at times, deciding whether or not to give into the audience's yearning to see what exactly it is these people are running from. But the absence of monsters for the majority of the script gives them a break and until the final ten minutes or so do we really get to glimpse a monster in its entirety and by that point we can guess where the film will be concluding thanks to the opening credits. It works at a pace that might have you thinking, "When are the attacks going to start?" but the conclusion will leave you mostly satisfied if not a little saddened by the fact you were, for once, able to get to know the characters so well in what you thought was supposed to be an action film.

CATFISH Review

It is hard to explain how this film unfolds and affects you without giving too much away. The thing about the movie is that you don't really know what kind of movie you are getting. It is made to look like a hitchcockian thriller in its trailer and you are promised a conclusion that holds a startling revelation. But again, to explain would be to give something away and the filmmakers don't want that. So I will tell you that this may not be exactly what you expect. It isn't, but it is a very intriguing story and one that explores the many facets of attempting to conduct relationships, whether they be romantic or not through facebook or anything similiar. Whether this is a real documentary or not remains to be revealed to the public, but I can see where at least sections of this film could most definitely be real and if they aren't Mr. Nev Schulman is a great actor and should definitely get more roles soon. The film centers around Schulman, a New York photographer, as he first develops a relationship with an 8 year-old girl who made a painting of one of his photographs. This leads to him getting to know this entire family from Michigan, "the facebook family". This is a well made film though and Nev along with his brother Ariel and friend Henry Joost document this relationship from its beginning and as Nev gets more involved they begin to investigate things and thus this leads to things getting a little strange. The film has elements of comedy, drama, tension-compiling many emotions that make this feel like such a legitimate film. What I can say about the end without giving too much away is that it is very moving and scary at the same time while the audience and the filmmakers feel sympathetic in spite of the situation that has presented itself. I would definitely reccomend the film, but I would say not to go in expecting too much of a scary film. This is a strangely affecting tale of someone dealing with the life they always dreamed of but never saw come true. It is an eye-opening glimpse into the possibilities that viral connections can bring. It is certainly shocking and somewhat scary, but not like you will be expecting when you purchase your ticket.