The Ugly Truth

Goolphipp Award: 3.5 (Worth 11 Bucks)

Phipps:
Well, I’ve heard The Ugly Truth. I laughed a lot – although, sometimes I was so shocked…I had to nervously laugh. This movie is definitely adult. I’m thinking college crowd would enjoy it the most. It’s definitely not the movie you want to watch with your grandma. That being said, I enjoyed the movie.

The orgasm-in-the-middle-of-a-restaurant felt like a nod to When Harry Met Sally…and then promptly took it to the next level.

Gerard Butler, of course, is great as the good guy with edge.

The male stereotype soapboxes are brought out in the open. This movie is written by a bunch of women, who obviously wanted to back their male lead into a corner to prove a point. Sure, sure, men are absolute pigs. Sex sells, but at the end of day, someone has to fall for the neurotic females. And why? “Beats the s***t out of me,” says our male lead. I thought it was very interesting that it was all about breaking down men…as if women are angelic in their understanding of relationships. In the end, Katherine Hiegl’s character, Abby, doesn’t even say “I love you” back.

But I think, the main reactions you’ll get from people are, “it was funny” and “that guy was hot!” Sounds like a successful romantic comedy to me.

Phipps overall: 3.5
I could watch 2 hours of Gerard Butler any day!

Goolsby:
We went to see this for my birthday with my mom. It was a birthday choice because of Gerard Butler. He delivered of course. I knew that this would be adult humor, but goodness. Once I got over the “this-is-awkward-sitting-next-to-my-mom” I was fine. The character dynamic was great. Your typical brash guy meets controlling girl. They fall in love. The real core of this is the humor of course. The jokes were honest. The truth is always funny. There are a couple of scenes that I just died laughing. A certain panty scene in a restaurant was the most unexpected thing ever.

All girls can relate to Abby (played by Katherine Heigl) – who hasn’t done a happy dance when they thought no one was looking? I have. I’m also glad that they didn’t ruin some of the more major jokes in previews or trailers. I’m happy with the movie; it delivered what it was supposed to.

Goolsby overall: 3.5

I wont be buying it, but Gerard put a smile on my face.

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Goolphipp Award: 4.25

Where we stand: Both fans, not fanatics

Phipps: I read the books a long time ago, and haven’t read them a second time. I have these overall summaries in my head. I don’t read them before I see the movie to keep myself from nitpicking. The first five had to leave out a ton of stuff because of time, and mostly I agree with the calls made. I felt satisfied every time that they captured the spirit and plot of the book. This movie was different…didn’t feel like the others in terms of satisfaction.

Goolsby: I joined the Harry Potter scene late in the game. I saw the first five movies before I buckled down and read the books. After the fifth installment, I read all the books back to back in about one month. So for this sixth book, I thought I would take advantage of my knowledge and re-read the book to experience something different. So I bring a more book inclined view to the movies, but like most book adaptations, there is a stage of “making peace” that you have to go through. Oh, and of course, we attended the midnight showing.

Audience: Everyone – who doesn’t like HP?

Goolsby: Of course the story of the Chosen One gets darker. Good and evil, and all that jazz. You’ve got your teenage bumpkins in the audience who make stupid snide remarks as the romance develops. I would recommend older viewers to see the movie during a time where “kids” won’t be in abundance.

Phipps: As we go on, the plot gets darker. As a result, sometimes that translates into scary. So parents, know what your kid can handle.

Storyline: The Cauldron starts to boil over…

Phipps: Followed the book, sort of. The focus was the changing relationships, which could have been done in a shorter amount of time. That would have freed up some time to lay crucial groundwork for the next two. My biggest complaint is the end scenes…it didn’t feel right. And according to Goolsby, there were major deviations. And if I felt that way, I’m sure most people will feel it, too.

Goolsby: Well, if we look at the storyline compared to the book, there are obvious deviations. The most crucial being the Gaunt family history, potions class, and the battle sequence. I suspect they will tie up the loose ends of Voldemort’s history in the next movie as flashbacks or something similar. I understand why they left out the potions class, and I have “made peace” with that. The battle sequence, I understand, but don’t see the reasoning. The storyline based in regards to the other movies is however linear and fitting, I’ll give it that. I did however feel the storyline was split too drastically in obvious halves. The first half is the blustering romance and comedic relief. The second half is completely dark. I feel the two halves were not meshed well, but that is minor and expected.

Where’s the Drama: Love, friendship, good, and evil.

Phipps: Y’all know the story. Harry vs. Voldemort; however, this movie is much like the Prisoner of Azkaban, where Harry is fighting henchmen most of the time. The love stuff is much more fun in the book, and I feel sorry for the actors as they try to turn their sibling chemistries into romance.

Goolsby: The gusto in this movie was dispersed throughout. I loved the high school drama-ness of the budding love. I also loved the darker side of the film. The subtle rifts between the characters were executed with precision.

Continuity: Hmmm…

Goolsby: I feel this movie was consistent with the last, but had a very different feeling than that last, which is surprising. I think perhaps Yates wanted to strengthen the three amigos before sending them off on the rest of the journey – wanted the viewers to feel that bond in this movie. This movie picked up right where 5 ended, and I greatly, greatly appreciate that. Thanks Yates.

Phipps: This movie generally felt different. While the last 5 were all different there was a x-factor that tied them together. I think Yates wanted to make his own mark a bit too much. Felt a bit choppy too…with love, then dark plot, comedic love, dark plot, etc, but I have a feeling I will like it better the second time around.

Delivery: Expected and surprised

Goolsby: Of course we’re so used to everyone that it is almost impossible to disappoint us. I think everyone did very well. Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint are really getting to test out their wings. I was pleasantly surprised by Tom Felton (Draco). In the last scenes I thought he did a great job. I was also happy with the portrayal of Slughorn. Congrats everyone, job very well done. I mean come on, it would be so hard to kiss someone who is more like your sister or brother than anything else. Oh oh, the whole Felix Felicis scene was so perfect it made my heart smile.

Phipps: In true Harry Potter fashion, everyone was expertly cast and portrayed their respective characters so well that this is basically a non-issue for me. Everyone gets an A.

Phipps overall: 4
Solid 4, for now. I’m sure on my second viewing, it might hop up a couple notches.

Goolsby overall: 4.5
First viewing I give it a 4.5. I would like to say it is more, but honestly I was so cheesed that I had to vent out my differences. Overnight I made peace.
Second viewing I still give it a 4.5.

Goolphipp award: 4.25 (No peanuts chucked)

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The Proposal

Goolphipp Award: 3.9 (Worth 11 Bucks)

Goolsby:
This romantic comedy delivers the goods. Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock have this weird chemistry that works in an odd way. I loved the character Andrew Paxton (Reynolds) – he was obtainable in that down to earth way. I love the dynamic of the Paxton family too. The hard working dad Joe (Craig Nelson), the fitting mother Grace (Mary Steenburgen), and the most random grandmother I’ve seen on film in a long time (Betty White). Betty White randomly does this nature dance that ends up into a rendition of “Get Low” by Lil’ Jon.

It was a good mix with a clean simple plot, not complicated or drawn out. It was evenly paced and contained all the elements you need for a grade-A romantic comedy. And that Ryan Reynolds is sure dang dashing.

Oh, just remember the dog! There is a dog that get swooped up by a hawk, and I swear, it was the best.

Goolsby overall: 4.75
As far as romantic comedies go, it was great. If I ever go to Alaska, I’m for sure going to Sitka (even though the movie wasn’t filmed there).

Phipps:
I felt that Reynolds and Bullock had about zero romantic chemistry; they had chemistry as friends or siblings, sure, but I don’t think they were feeling amour. I just couldn’t buy it. That being said, this movie was light-hearted and fun. Reynolds, of course, is hilarious and dare I say it, hunky in Alaskan flannels.

The storyline was typical, but Alaska helps…as does Betty White’s crazy character. Loved the “baby-maker” quilt. Of course, I’m always won over by crazy families and dog-snatching eagles.

It’s a good escape, but I won’t buy it...but then again, Ryan Reynolds is a stud. He can “propose” to me any day!

Phipps overall: 3
It’s middle of the road. Keep it for a DVD rental or a girl’s night out.

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Away We Go

Goolphipp Award: 2.75 (See the Cheap Matinee)

Goolsby:
Away We Go was this weird combination of sweet, sour, and ripe. I had only seen a few trailers on TV, and knew very little about the film. The basic idea, two people traveling around the US looking for the perfect place to raise a family, seemed ideal. I knew this was an off beat movie but was not prepared for the awkward abrasive segments of this movie.

The opening of the film might have been awkward for some, but I thought it was within the bounds of the normal quirkiness. What blind sided me was the character of Lily (Allison Janney). A mother of two, who belittles her children repeatedly without remorse, was too much for me to handle. The character of Lily sky rockets past funny and transforms into me covering my mouth in shock. Once the couple moved on to another destination, the film had no where but up to go.
John Krasinski, who plays the lead soon-to-be-dad Burt, was awesome. Burt scares or tries to start a fight with his wife Verona (Maya Rudolph) throughout the movie to keep the babies heart rate up. It was the random tender moments that salvaged this movie.

Oh, and one more thing. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a crazy new-age mom named LN. Craziness. I loved the stroller scene.

Goolsby overall: 2.75
It left me feeling to dazed to be a 3.

Phipps:
I’m still not sure about how I feel about Away We Go…still. I mistakenly expected something along the lines of Juno. I feel that sometimes the quirkiness was a little too quirky – like the case of Lily. It was off-putting.

The theme of “finding home” was sweet, as were the two central characters, Burt and Verona. The film’s way of presenting this theme felt really disjointed, when the movie concludes, you get it. Somehow, we all end up where we need to be, and usually, it’s a bunch of little things that push you there.

To totally get on my soap box, I liked that the movie presented that you need two committed parents…and that you have to make some kind of marital vow for things to be solid. Although there is no formal ceremony, Burt and Verona get married on that trampoline.

Quirky, strange, but I don’t feel bad about seeing it. I’m not sure I’d see it again, but it’s one of those that make you think about your own life…without making you completely depressed about the world.

Phipps overall: 2.75
Almost…but the on-purpose quirky was too much.

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