The Notebook

Genre: Romance 
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Main Actors: Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling
Rating: PG 13 for some sexuality
Length: 2 hrs 4 mins.

IMDb Synopsis:
The movie focuses on an old man reading a story to an old woman in a nursing home. The story he reads follows two young lovers named Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun, who meet one evening at a carnival. But they are separated by Allie's parents who dissaprove of Noah's unwealthy family, and move Allie away. Will their love last, or will it end as just another tragic love story?

   This movie was stunning, absolutely amazing. The Notebook is constantly referenced in movies and tv shows, One Tree Hill for example, and is definetely the best date movie hands down. Ryan Gosling, who has been known for doing the dark and twisty films, did an amazing job as Noah Calhoun in this movie. Rachel McAdams, well she's just amazing in everything, and even did the southern accent! Their chemistry was some of the best I've ever seen and reduced all three of us to tears!

   The setting was gorgeous, especially the scene on the water with all the birds, and the house is exactly right for this movie. They stayed very true to the 1940's time period, the cosumes (especially Rachel's) were so pretty and also stayed true to the time period. It's a great movie for dates, and for watching with friends. Would we watch it with our parents? Um, no.

   So when we watched this, we ended up crying and sat through half of the credits without speaking. We LOVED this movie and give it a 95%

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Genre:  Adventure / Comedy/ Drama / Romance
Director: Ken Kwapis
Main Actors: Amber Tamblyn, American Ferrera, Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel.
Rating: PG (Parent appropriate.)
Length: 119 minutes


IMdB Synopsis:
The movie is based on the young adult book, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, by Anne Brashares. As four best friends spend their first summer apart from one another, they share a magical pair of jeans. Despite being of various shapes and sizes, each one of them fits perfectly into the pants. To keep in touch they pass these pants to each other as well as the adventures they are going through while apart.

   The acting in this film is fantastic. Amber plays the typical pissy, angst filled, I-loathe-the-world teen, and plays it well. America is the girl with family issues and is one of the few actresses who can cry on cue without it sounding something like a dying hippo (I'm talking about YOU Nicholas Cage!). Blake is portrayed as somewhat slutty but determined and she owns the part. Alexis makes an incredible transformation as the movie progresses and everything from her wardrobe (Lisa Jensen) to her facial expressions and the way she speaks changes.  Actresses became friends during the filming and it shows through in their performance. The dinner scene with Carmen and her father's new family, Bradley Whitford started to improv and kept the entire crew laughing which made it difficult for everyone to get through the scene without laughing.


   The message in the film was basically love your friends. They will be there with you through everything. Cherish them because you never know when they will be gone. The film is a real girls night film. It passes all the criteria: Heartbreak, Attractive boys, Relateable, Funny, Love. We rate it 83%.

Fun fact: The dinner scene with Carmen and her father's new family, Bradley Whitford started to improv and kept the entire crew laughing which made it difficult for everyone to get through the scene without laughing.

Hitch

Genre:  Comedy / Romance
Director: Andy Tennant
Main Actors: Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James
Rating: PG-13 (Parent appropriate.)
Length:118 minutes

IMDb Synopsis:
In this romantic comedy, Alex Hitchins is a legendary but anonymous date doctor in New York City. Hitch advises klutzy male wallflower clients on ways to make good first impressions on the women of their dreams. To contact Hitch, a man must have a referral from one of his former clients. Once Hitch accepts you as a client, he will coach you on your first three dates; after that, you're on your own. Hitch's newest client is Albert Brennaman, a fat tax accountant in love with a celebrity client, Allegra Cole. Allegra doesn't know that Albert exists, so Albert contacts Hitch to make his dream come true. Hitch decides to make Albert a client, even though, he knows this is going to be tough. While working on this job, Hitch meets Sara Melas, a gossip reporter for a daily tabloid, who is following Allegra's every move. Sara has given up on men, and Hitch wants to cut through that layer, because he is the master of love, so he thinks.

   Let's start with the title. Sarah calls Alex "Hitch" as a play on his last name hence the title.The film is the perfect mix of funny and romantic. It's quirky comedy and cute lines leave you laughing and awww-ing throughout. No matter how many times you watch it, it never gets old. The flashback scenes are extremely well executed. The only negatives (in our opinion's) are that Eva's crying sounds a tad bit like a dying walrus and that some scenes are drawn out for way too long. You're on seadoo's. They're fun. We get it, can we move on now please?

   Hitch is chock full of awesome actors. Eva Mendes is a great actress and our favorite scene of hers was where she exposes the "Date Doctor". She and Will Smith have fabulous chemestry together. They both have that odd sense of humour that makes them people who you want to be friends with. Smith's delivery of his lines and facial expressions accompanying them are ace. His dorky mixups are adorable and he plays the part so well that you cannot help but sympathise with Hitch. Andy Tennant did an amazing job in casting Kevin James as Albert.He is perfect for the adorably geeky, clumsy loser role and it's obvious that he and Smith are friends outside of work.

   We watched this film at aroung 3am, but that wasn't the reason we were giggling uncontrollably for a while afterwards. We enjoyed Hitch and give it a 60%....Erin gave it a four and screwed everything up :P

Dear John

Genre: Romance
Director: Lasse Hallström
Main Actors: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried
Rating: PG-13 (Parent appropriate)
Length:108 minutes

IMDb Synopsis:
While John is on leave in his hometown, he finds Savannah, a college student visiting the town. Although love was unexpected, it doesn't mean they didn't find it. With the knowledge of John having to leave for the army, their love still lives, until his re-signs on due to the 9/11 attack. Troubles invade and their love put on hold. One cannot bear it anymore; can the other?


   Dear John is a film adaptation of the novel of the same title by Nicholas Sparks. Two out of the three of us have read the novel and throughout the movie we were saying that it wasn't at all like the book. Certain scenes weren't even in the novel and some were changed so drastically. It should have been kept like the novel.

   Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried have fantastic chemestry. Their relationship is basically every girls dream. Is it cliche? YES. Is it adorable? OH MY GOD YES. Tatum is incredibly attractive and Amanda is the typical indie girl.

   The lack of (there is some though) cheesy romantic music is great! All in all, the movie was cute and that is really all I have to say about it. It was a classic Sparks-Novel-Turned-Movie scenario. If you've seen The Notebook (you should see it if you haven't, it's qiute good.), you know what I mean.78.3%
  

Valentine's Day

Genre: Comedy / Romance
Director: Garry Marshall
Main Actors: Uhm... Ashton Kutcher and Jennifer Garner ?
Rating: PG-13 (Sex and nudity and such, so don't watch it with your parents.)
Length:125 minutes

IMDb Synopsis:
More than a dozen Angelenos navigate Valentine's Day from early morning until midnight. Three couples awake together, but each relationship will sputter; are any worth saving? A grade-school boy wants flowers for his first true love; two high school seniors plan first-time sex at noon; a TV sports reporter gets the assignment to find romance in LA; a star quarterback contemplates his future; two strangers meet on a plane; grandparents, together for years, face a crisis; and, an "I Hate Valentine's Day" dinner beckons the lonely and the lied to. Can Cupid finish his work by midnight?

   There aren't any disticnt main characthers to this movie! There are some great (and nommy) actors, but the closest thing to a main actor is Ashton Kutcher, and I'm not even sure that is accurate. The entire movie was basically a mash-up of actors, acting (and not incredibly well) as if they are in love. The movie is corny and quite unrealistic, but cute nonetheless.

   To be honest, there isn't much to say about this movie. When we weren't staring at Eric Dane or Ashton Kutcher and drooling, we were chatting about other things. It was quite predictable too.

  Meh. That's what I have to say abou this movie. Meh. It was okay. Nothing special, but it wasn't terrible. We give this movie 58%. Yeah... (Caroline is the only one who liked it, hehe)

Alice in Wonderland

Genre: Adventure / Family / Fantasy
Director: Tim Butron
Main Actors: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska
Rating: PG (Parent appropriate)
Length:108 minutes

IMDb Synopsis:
Alice, an unpretentious and individual 19-year-old, is betrothed to a dunce of an English nobleman. At her engagement party, she escapes the crowd to consider whether to go through with the marriage and falls down a hole in the garden after spotting an unusual rabbit. Arriving in a strange and surreal place called "Underland," she finds herself in a world that resembles the nightmares she had as a child, filled with talking animals, villainous queens and knights, and frumious bandersnatches. Alice realizes that she is there for a reason--to conquer the horrific Jabberwocky and restore the rightful queen to her throne.

   First of all, I'd like to comment on how much of a FREAKING GENIUS Tim Burton is. Not to mention that when you pair Johnny Depp and Burton, you always get magic and a terribly fantastic film. I would gladley marry this creative and possibly drugged up man if he weren't much much older than I am and currently with  the lovely Helena Bonham Carter.

   Mia Wasikowska is a fabulous actress and she portrayed Alice Kingsley incredibly well. The wonder! The delight! I've no doubt that she was exactly what Tim wanted her to be. She's really cute and the dresses she wore were gorgeous.

   Back to Tim Burton being a genius- DID YOU SEE THE MOVIE!? Oh my god the imagination (or drugs) that someone would need to think up such beautiful and colourful scenes.Everything about this movie was amazing. We give this movie... 90% ? I think my math is off. 98% seems more accurate.

Sherlock Holmes

Genre: Action/Mystery/Suspense
Director: Guy Ritchie
Main Actors: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams
Rating: PG-13 (Watch it with your parents? Sure, I did! Nothing overly embarassing in this.)
Length: 128 Minutes

IMDb Synopsis:
After finally catching serial killer and occult "sorcerer" Lord Blackwood, legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson can close yet another successful case. But when Blackwood mysteriously returns from the grave and resumes his killing spree, Holmes must take up the hunt once again. Contending with his partner's new fiancée and the dimwitted head of Scotland Yard, the dauntless detective must unravel the clues that will lead him into a twisted web of murder, deceit, and black magic - and the deadly embrace of temptress Irene Adler.

   Once again we are starting by saying Robert Downey Jr, yum!!! 45 years old and still looks amazing :) As always he has his quick wit, hilarious comments, and sarcasm that leave us rolling on the floor. Rachel McAdams was very good in this, and even though she was practically the only actor  who didn't have a british accent, you hardly noticed.

   Costumes were gorgeous, perfect for the era, hair was nicely done as well. The action scenes were cool, for the first 2 minutes. Sometimes it seemed as though they dragged on forever, which drives me absolutely crazy. The scenery, especially the bridge scene, was so well done! The fights, the scenes with Irene Adler, and how Holmes sums everything up in the end = amazing. We give this movie an 85%