The Time Traveler's Wife

Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Mystery/Romance
Director: Robert Schwentke
Main Actors: Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana
Rating: PG-13 (Fine for children, but thye may not fully understand.)
Length: 107 mins.

IMDb Synopsis:
When Henry DeTamble meets Clare Abshire in a Chicago library they both understand that he is a time traveller, but she she knows much more than this about him as he has not yet been to the times and places where they have met before. He falls in love with her, as she has already with him, but his continuing unavoidable absences time travelling - and then returning with increasing knowledge of their future - makes things ever more difficult for Clare.

   Well, at the beginning of the movie I was so confused, even more confused than when my teacher tries to explain algebra or chemistry to me. Which means I was very very confused. Eventually, the confusion is straightened out. Don't worry.
   Once again we have the amazing Rachel McAdams starring in one of our movie night films- and of course she was amazing. This time her leading man was Eric Bana, who I'd never seen before- but happened to be tall, dark and handsome! Their chemistry is great, Rachel McAdams has perfected playing female romantic leads, and has so much experience in it now that it looks almost second nature to her! And Eric Bana, well Erin in particular liked her, and placed him under our "hungry/rugged" guys list. He was also very impressive in this movie. He had been visiting Clare since she was a young girl when he came there from the future. This was the part that confused me; the whole concept of him not knowing this because he hadn't done it yet was a bit beyond my mental capacity. It makes a lot more sense in the end though. This movie is based of the book which I've never actually read, but probably should so I don't know how well the script was written based on the book- I just know the movie was done very well.

   The setting of the movie, especially the meadow scene, I absolutely loved. And the relationship of Clare and Henry was so cute! Heartbreaking too, one can only imagine how hard it would be for the one you love to disappear randomly, without knowing when they will return, and for him not being able to control it in the least. I especially loved Tatum and Hailey McCann who played Clare and Eric's daughter Alba at four and five, and nine and ten. They made the somewhat strange child seem so cute, I forsee a good future in the acting world for the both of them. Possibly one of the best movie night movies coming up close to The Notebook- we gave this movie a 96%

The Last Song

Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Julie Anne Robinson
Main Actors: Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth
Rating: PG (Suitable to watch with parents/ younger siblings)
Length: 107 mins.

IMDb Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Veronica 'Ronnie' Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Tybee Island, Georgia. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father ...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer on Tybee Island with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church. The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story about love in its myriad forms - first love, the love between parents and children - that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that deeply felt relationships can break our hearts ...and heal them.


   Well, firstly I will let you know that we really do not like Miley Cyrus; so we could be a bit biased here, we will try very hard not to me. This movie is based off of the Nicholas Sparks novel which we loved and the movie, which we... not so much loved. Greg Kinnear, and Bobby Coleman were fantastic as Steve and Jonah (the dad, and son). Their relationship in the movie was hilarious, and at the end heartbreaking. Bobby was so cute, and his acting ability is well beyond his years. Liam Hemsworth was pretty good, I do think he would have been better than Taylor Lautner who was also considered for the role of Will (Caroline's opinion. hehe.).Liam's comedic timing, not to mention his overall chemistry with Miley (which was kind of one sided if you ask us) was great. Now, Miley. Miley, Miley, Miley. You are not an actress. You are a much better singer. For once, we agree with Rotten Tomatoes on this one. We didn't think that she was able to handle this type of drama/romance film, and could see her more in a comedy, but like I said before, we weren't Miley Cyrus fansto begin with.
 
   The setting for this movie was really nice. It was filmed in Atlanta Georgia, which fit really well- although it was supposed to be set in North Carolina, according to the novel. Now, we didn't agree with everything the writers did in regards to writing the script. It seems that with the Nicholas Sparks novels, they all get changed drastically- some for the good (The Notebook) and others for the bad (Dear John, The Last Song). Not saying this script wasn't good- because it was- but it omitted quite a few important parts , some which had a lot of meaning to the plot and even turned around one plotline (the church fire) completely!
 
   Although this definetely wasn't our favorite movie, what happened in the end and Bobby Coleman and Greg Kinnear's acting definetely made us cry, not so much Miley and Liam but whatever. Maybe we're freaks. Our rating for the Last Song was a definite 40%

Sex and the City

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance...Chick Flick!
Director: Michael Patrick King
Main Actors: Sarah Jessica Parker; Kim Cattral; Kristin Davis; Cynthia Nixon
Length: 145 mins
Rating: R (see first paragraph for details.)

IMDb Synopsis:
After moving in together in an impossibly beautiful New York apartment, Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big make a rather arbitrary decision to get married. The wedding itself proves to be anything but a hasty affair--the guest list quickly blooms from 75 to 200 guests, and Carrie's simple, label-less wedding gown gives way to an enormous creation that makes her look like a gigantic cream puff. An upcoming photo spread in Vogue puts the event--which will take place at the New York Public Library--squarely in the public eye. Meanwhile, Carrie's girlfriends--Samantha, the sexpot; Charlotte, the sweet naïf; and Miranda, the rigid perfectionist--could not be happier. At least, they couldn't be happier for Carrie. Charlotte still has the unrealized hope of getting pregnant. Samantha is finding a loving, committed relationship more grueling than she could have imagined. Miranda unwittingly lets her own unhappiness--created when Steve admits to cheating on her just once--spoil Carrie's. After a heated encounter with Steve, she happens to spot Mr. Big and tells him he's crazy to get married. She's really only thinking of her own marriage. But her angry remark gets Mr. Big to thinking.

   Okay first, this movie has a lot of sex. And I mean A LOT. That would be the reason this movie is rated R for all the sex, and nudity. And it shows EVERYTHING. This film is NOT for kids, or even preteens really. However for teens and up, and on a girls night or when you are feeling bad, this would be a very good choice :) We loved it, it had us rolling on the floor laughing at some of the lines, and we've even come to repeating some of them (ex. colour!)

    Although this movie was a bit long, it spans over a whole year, spending longer in places like halloween, new years, valentines day, and so on. The scenery in Mexico, was gorgeous that you saw, they really didn't leave the resort, and every bit of NYC you saw was perfectly suited for whatever scene they happened to be shooting. The plot, which revolves around the lives of Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte is mostly centered in on Carrie, and the fact that she was going to be the 40- year old bride, but since most people don't get their happily ever after, things happened. Of course most things ended up resolving themselves by the end, and it's a very good inappropriate feel good movie- like I said before the perfect chick flick. The acting was good, a lot better than I thought it would be, and the comedic timing was perfect. Of course these women are pretty well adapted to these characters after doing the tv show for years, so it wasn't too big of a surprise. All in all, we give the film a 75%

We'll be reviewing sex and the city 2 next month, so watch this one, then hang tight!

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)

The Ugly Truth

Genre: Comedy/Romance
Main Actors: Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler
Director: Robert Luketic
Rating: PG-14 (Don't watch it with your parents. Just... just don't.)
Length: 96 minutes

IMDb Synopsis:
"A romantically challenged morning show producer is reluctantly embroiled in a series of outrageous tests by her chauvinistic correspondent to prove his theories on relationships and help her find love. His clever ploys, however, lead to an unexpected result."

   Let's start by saying that Gerard Butler is one sexy man! He has the look that we like to call the "hungry" look (Robert Downey Jr. has this look as well. nomnom.) Butler played his role of manwhore exceptionally well and had great chemistry with Katherine Heigl. We loved Katherine's hairstyle. She played her role well enough, but it would have been minorly cringe wothy had Gerard not been her co-star.(Caroline is still upset about her leaving Greys Anatomy and has a grudge against her. That may have affected her opinion on Katherine's acting.)

   The Ugly Truth fits the genres of comedy and romance really well. This movie was funny. We giggled at the innappropriate comments and snickered at the failures. The romantic aspect of it was also great. We aww-ed and wished for a guy to say something like that to us. 
  
   Some of the conversations were dragged out to the point where we were getting annoyed, but that was really the only part that we did not enjoy. It was semi-realistic and there were little hidden messages throughout. We give this movie 78%.