Its Complicated - Meryl Streep & Alec Baldwin

Nancy Myers can write and direct rom-coms. I mean, Something's Gotta Give, What Women Want, The Holiday... many reviewers say the same and gave this movie a thumbs-up

You have to give credit when credit is due, and she rightly sticks to what she does best.

You can't fault the script or the directing. But somehow, this movie didn't do it for me. I couldn't explain why, but the GF suggested it might be because of the casting.

It is more remote to expect 60-year olds to want to shag like rabbits. If the story was casted with 40 year olds, maybe - Patrick Dempsey for Alec Baldwin; Katherine Heigl for Streep and Jimmy Fallon for Steve Martin. The kids could be a little younger and it could be a bf instead of a son-in-law that knows the details.

You cannot fault the delivery of the actors (though GF thinks there was too much over-acting on Streep's part). But maybe it was the fault of the timing - too close to Julia Child's movie. All I could think of during the movie was how much Streep was acting like Child! The cooking, the speaking of bad french, the raptuous and seemingly fake laughter... Baldwin also did not detract too much from his 30 Rock role.

But the movie did have its saving points. I figured out what was wrong with the Morgans. There was no "awww...." moments. You know, the scene which makes your nose sniffle and heart melt? There are some in this movie.

The humour as compared to the Morgans was also a lot less slapstick and a lot more "OMG... don't do that... argh..." - that is, the embarrassing situation you know is going to happen if the actor does something like open the door, or pose in front of a laptop.

That is how rom-coms are supposed to be made.

2 down, 2 more to go. New York, I love You and Valentine's Day. More comparisons to follow. =)

6.5 / 10

Time to Tackle the Sacred Cows

Who naturally are full of bull shi*t.

Did You Hear About the Morgans?

There is no way to review this movie without giving away spoilers.

You have been warned.

Most reviewers gave this movie a thumbs down. Predictable! Yawn! They said.

Well, in my opinion, they were half right.

The movie is your typical rom-com, but then again, also atypical.

The couple did start out as at each other's necks. But in this case, it was because they were married and Hugh Grant's character had been unfaithful.

That in itself was different. The lines he said about how it was a stupid mistake resonated within me, as someone who's been down that road before. His apology was real and perhaps, that made me enjoy it for more than it was.

The pairing of SJP and Grant was odd - and you could feel it throughout the movie. Odd because they didn't step away from the roles that they have been known to play all their life. SJP as the born and bred and slightly neurotic New Yorker and Grant as the bumbling Englishman with puppy dog eyes. Who would have thought that they would have gotten married in the first place?

They get thrown into this place which is out of both their comfort zones - the South of USA and the GF opines that the director resorted to slapstick to keep the funny up. And I don't disagree.

The movie was saved by Hugh Grant and Hugh Grant alone. I mean, no one else I know can deliver dry British wit the way he can. His one-liners made me laugh out more than any slapstick contrived situation could.

All in all, it was an entertaining, but forgettable movie. By all means, go ahead and watch it instead of Chaw, Old Dogs or whatever... but you won't be kicking yourself if you miss the run.

I'm actually looking forward to Its Complicated and Valentine's Day - 2 better rom-coms, or so I've heard.

Yes. I am a sucker for such crap. =)

6 / 10

Going Mad

Need a new job. Yoga instructor looks promising.

Sherlock Holmes

First movie of the new decade, and boy was it awesome.

You know its going to be good just by reading the list of whos who.

Director: Guy Ritchie
Lead: RD Jr
Musical Composer: Hans Zimmer

It was a totally enjoyable movie, with RD Jr epitomizing Holmes - both in his deep thinking gaze, but also with his cheeky disregard for rules and the law.

I didn't feel the movie was 2 hours long. I mean, there were no wasted scenes, brilliant music to accompany the scene (right down to the how u can hear the mischievousness in the music).

I had feared that the best scenes were shown in the trailer, but this was clearly not the case.

The lines were witty, the sets were amazing.

One negative point was that Jude Law put up a forgettable performance as Watson, and was clearly the weakest link in the film. However, that said, he is probably the best English actor they could have used... much better than the rough-hewn Colin Farrel whom they had intended to use initially.

RD Jr tried to put on an English accent. And he only marginally succeeded in the single lines. He reverted to his american accent when he spoke fast.

All in all, an entertaining movie. Go catch it!

4.5 / 5