Notting Hill (1999)

Last night my wife wanted to watch a movie with me and chose Notting Hill, a film neither of us had seen. Notting Hill was released the week we graduated from high school, and would have been a perfect date movie for us to go see. After all it had only been 11 days since I asked Lisa to be my girlfriend. Unfortunately, I never had the sense to take her. While I had heard good things about the movie, a romantic comedy is not something a guy just watches on his own normally. Thanks to my wonderful bride, I was able to enjoy this movie while retaining my man card.

Notting Hill went on to be nominated for three Golden Globe awards. One for best picture, and one each for best actor/actress in a comedy/musical for Hugh Grant and the beautiful and talented Julia Roberts.

The film is your typical romantic comedy plot line. Poor boy gets the girl, looses the girl, gets her back. Along the way both have transformations of character and come out of the crisis even more in love, and better for the experience.

With that said, this movie is extremely funny. My wife and I were laughing throughout much of the movie. Roberts and Grant had great chemistry, and worked well together. The movie had some great dialog and banter. The cinematography was typical for a film filmed mostly indoors on sets that are supposed to be inside. There was one time morph sequence that was exceptionally well done, cute, and effective.

All in all my wife and I both thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The next time your girl wants to curl up on the couch and watch something romantic, pull up Notting Hill on Netflix, etc. You will enjoy the comedy, she will enjoy the romance. It is a win-win for you. I give the film 8/10.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)

If you are like me, when you first heard they were making a movie based upon the classic television series Mission Impossible, you were stoked. Then after watching the film, and each subsequent sequel, you felt disappointed. Well the string of disappointments is over. Ghost Protocol finally delivers a movie worthy of the franchise name.

When the MI team is framed for the bombing of the Kremlin, it falls to Ethan and a few agents to clear the organization's name, bring the real terrorists to justice and prevent nuclear war.

Tom Cruise may be bat-shit-crazy, but he certainly delivers a brilliant performance. Each of the main characters delivers superb, in-character performances. While the story is of course so far fetched as to have no semblance of reality, it fits for the franchise. The story successfully blends action, mystery, comedy and drama to create a well rounded mood.

The movie is rated PG-13 for action and violence, which is a fair rating. This movie is bound to make a ton of money, and may even see some nominations at the various awards shows. I would encourage you to go see this film on the big screen. I give it a 9/10.

The Descendants (2011)

George Clooney plays Matt King, the descendant of Hawaiian nobility. He is a lawyer and the executed of the family trust worth billions to him and his cousins. When a new law forces the trust to sell off its property the Kings begin looking for a buyer. Tragedy strikes when Matt's thrill seeking wife is critically injured in a boating accident. Matt finds himself trying to gather his children, deal with his wife's coma, keep up his practice and proceed with the sale of the family trust. When Matt finds out his wife had been having an affair, Matt's world is thrown even further into chaos as he struggles to come to terms with the pain and provide guidance for his immediate and extended family. This movie is an emotional drama/comedy that leaves you sympathizing with the main characters. Each actor delivers an exceptional performance. I was particularly impressed with Clooney's performance. Each character has depth and different facets to their personality. The writing is exceptional and the cinematography is beautiful. Some will feel that the movie moves too slowly, but I feel it is paced appropriately for the story being told. The Descendants is rated R primarily for language. While I believe that teenagers would be fine watching the movie, they will probably be bored. I would encourage you to see this film. I give it a 9/10.