Tim meets the right guy for the Dinner for Schmucks in the person of Barry (Steve Carell), an IRS worker. One look at him and you can come up with the conclusion that he’s socially inept. Barry also has this weird hobby of creating dioramas out of dead mice, which made Tim think that he has the perfect man to help him win the contest.

Dinner for Schmucks has the right premise to deliver a funny movie. But the result is bland and not funny at all. The extended runtime also didn’t help its cause. At 114 minutes, it’s just way too long with lots of boring parts. Yes, it could drag you down to hell.

Barry (Steve Carell): So dare to dream. Dream your wildest dreams. You can climb the highest mountain. You can drown in a teacup, if you find a big enough teacup. And if somebody tells you that you can’t do something, you say, ‘Yes, I can. ‘Cause I’m doing it right.

I didn’t find a single funny moment in Dinner for Schmucks. Maybe we were misled to think that it was a comedy. Maybe the director wanted the audience to feel how miserable Tim’s life became after he met Barry. Because that’s the only emotion I got after watching this movie. Better skip this one even if your life depends on it.

Then he meets Molly (Alice Eve), an event planner. She’s out of his league but Kirk manages to make her fall for him. His friends offer him bad advice and his family is not really helpful in nourishing his relationship with Molly. This leads to several embarrassing moments that could have spelt the end of any healthy relationship.

But because it is a romantic comedy then you could have already guessed that things will go their way. His friends suddenly have a change of heart and said that he’s also a 10 and Molly deserves him too. Not only did he get Molly, Kirk also works on fulfilling his dream to be a pilot. Not bad for a guy who had no self-confidence and back bone at the start of the movie.

Patty (Krysten Ritter): Oh, excuse me? Are you a plane doctor? No? So shut the fuck up!

She’s Out of My League is a typical romantic comedy about two people from opposite worlds who met and fell in love with each other. It would make a good date movie and nothing more. It’s a light, feel-good movie that you can reserve for your next DVD movie date with your special someone.

Chiaki has become the resident conductor of the Roux-Marlet Orchestra and he had to move to a new place so that he could concentrate on his music. She was also struggling with her studies at the conservatory. These issues factored to the strain in their relationship. Nodame Cantabile: The Movie 2 is about how Nodame and Chiaki evaluate their priorities. Through the course of the movie, they have to choose between music and their love for each other.

The flow of Nodame Cantabile: The Movie 2 is somewhat choppy that it seemed like the director had to cut some scenes so that the movie can fit into its 2 hour long runtime. But the director made it up with a solid plot and music.

The supporting characters got the spotlight early in the movie but their subplots were quickly resolved and they were swept back into the background to make way for the main story. I didn’t even know who they were or what their relationship were with the Nodame and Chiaki.

As a standalone, Nodame Cantabile: The Movie 2 is an entertaining drama that featured great classical music. I guess I should not have skipped the first movie first. But I’m thankful for this movie because it made me discover the beauty of Nodame Cantabile. After the movie, I read the manga and watched the anime but I have yet to watch the first live action movie.

Olive welcomes the attention she got from the rumors. She pretends to sleep with a gay friend Brandon (Dan Byrd) to make him appear straight. Her lies start to balloon out of control and she wants to have her old life back.

Easy A has Emma Stone to thank for its success. Her character doesn’t feel unnatural and she earned my sympathy off the bat. And it looks like she is having fun while making the movie. She makes it believable that Olive is a nobody one day and turns into a somebody the next day.

Amanda Bynes plays Marianne, the school’s religious fanatic and Olive’s archrival. Her portrayal of the character is by-the-book when it comes to comedic stereotypes but it is nice to see Amanda acting again.

Lisa Kudrow is also another actress who is worthy of mention for her performance as Mrs. Griffith, the guidance counselor who slept with Marianne’s boyfriend Micah (Cam Gigandet). While it might just be a minor role, her contribution to the story is important. She kind of reminded me of her Phoebe character in Friends.

Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone): Whatever happened to chivalry? Does it only exist in 80′s movies? I want John Cusack holding a boombox outside my window. I wanna ride off on a lawnmower with Patrick Dempsey. I want Jake from Sixteen Candles waiting outside the church for me. I want Judd Nelson thrusting his fist into the air because he knows he got me. Just once I want my life to be like an 80′s movie, preferably one with a really awesome musical number for no apparent reason. But no, no, John Hughes did not direct my life.

Easy A has creative plot twists to keep the audience guessing and it turns out better than what I expected it to be. It is an intelligent teen comedy that featured great performance from Emma Stone. You should check it out.

In Exit Through the Gift Shop, Thierry Guetta is the filmmaker who wants to make a documentary on street art and he likes Banksy to be part of it. He has several hours’ worth of footage on tape and he thinks that Banksy’s presence will make it complete.

After successfully tracking down Banksy and recording him while doing his art, Guetta tries his best to condense all the footages into a single tape. The result is rubbish and Banksy wants to redo the editing.

Banksy: Warhol repeated iconic images until they became meaningless, but there was still something iconic about them. Thierry really makes them meaningless.

Guetta transforms himself into Mr. Brainwash, a street artist who manages to get the attention of the LA art crowd. He sells art works for a million bucks, much to the dismay of Banksy and other legitimate street artists. Guetta’s documentary about Banksy turns into Banksy’s documentary on Guetta.

Exit Through the Gift Shop is an excellent introduction to street art. Aside from Banksy and Guetta, it features other artists such as Space Invader, Zeus, Borf, and more. It is narrated by Rhys Ifans and has cameo appearances from the likes of Christina Aguilera and Beck.

I’ve always been curious about Banksky and his identity. After watching this documentary, he remains a mystery but somehow I get a feeling that I know him better than before. Exit Through the Gift Shop is an entertaining movie and a must watch for everyone.

The story was a mess. If the writers stuck with a simple revenge story then Jonah Hex could have been better. I know this is based on a comic book and they wanted it to be epic by putting the hero in a situation where he could save the world. Maybe it was impressive on paper but it didn’t look good on screen.

And there were sequences that had Hex ride at night. I had trouble discerning what was happening on the screen during those moments. The actions during those moments were confusing to say the least. And my eyes were strained because of these scenes.

Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin): Christ, woman, how many men you seeing today?

Good thing Megan Fox is there to provide eye candy. She’s easy to the eyes but I can’t say the same with regards to her acting. It was good at first but then she returned to her emotionless self as the movie progressed. Anyway she’s there not for her acting prowess anyway.

I would have said it outright that Jonah Hex was a bad movie if not for the Steampunk props and Megan Fox. It was all about eye candy without the substance. Watch it at your own risk.

The film is said to be inspired by the book Imperial Life in The Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran but the storyline is all credited to Director Paul Greengrass, who developed the original script. Right from the opening sequences, Green Zone is full of action with frantic camera-work and sharp editing. This is expected, considering the director was also responsible for The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.

General Al Rawi (Yigal Naor): Your government wanted to hear the lie Mr. Miller… they wanted Saddam out and they did exactly what they had to do… this is why you are here…

The plot comes straight out of a conspiracy theory. It makes you wonder whether Green Zone is a work of fiction or a documentary. It is nicely spun thriller that uses the politics of post-war Iraq as the background. It poses questions such as the source of the intelligence data with regards to Saddam’s WMD. In the movie, Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson), a veteran CIA operative, told Miller that there were no weapons and it was all a ruse to allow American troops to take over Iraq and install a puppet president.

Miller (Matt Damon): At least tell me how it happened. How does this happ… how does someone like you write something that’s not true? Tell me.

If I’m Matt Damon, I wouldn’t do another movie unless Greengrass directs it. Green Zone is well done and the cast did an excellent job with their parts. It is realistic and unpredictable. Plus there’s no shortage of action in this one. This is one of the great movies about the fake war, right next to The Hurt Locker.

I guess I’m not the target audience of Camp Rock 2 and I still don’t know why I attempted to watch it in the first place. It stars a pre-rehab Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers. That lineup alone, I should have known that I would not be enjoying this musical.

To be honest, I didn’t finish Camp Rock 2. I couldn’t stomach it. Maybe I’ll try to watch it again when I’m too wasted to have coherent thinking… Or maybe not. It is a Disney movie and maybe kids these days enjoy watching this sort of things. Oh well, it’s the same generation that made a beaver, smiley and Black into superstars.

Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato): This is me, trying to save something that I care about.

As for me, I don’t care about Camp Rock 2. This is made for kids who love singing along High School Musical and Hannah Montana. Hopefully they learn something from it aside from loving bad music. As for me, I’m thanking God that it’s already the final jam!

Hyu Joon was pursued by both the North and the South and betrayed by his best friend Jin Sa Woo (Jung Joon Ho). But at least he got the lovely Choi Seung Hee (Kim Tae Hee). The crew managed to compress 20 episodes into two hours. Plus they added some details that were not shown in the series. Maybe I was right all along when I said that they could have removed most of the flashbacks in the series.’

It turned out that the North Korean femme fatale Kim Seon Hwa (Kim So Yun) shot her commander Park Chul Young (Kim Seung Woo). They didn’t state whether he survives or not. But one thing’s certain though, Hyu Joon is really dead. Iris the Movie didn’t have an alternate ending but it exposed who the shooter is – Seon Hwa.

Fans can relive the series by watching Iris the Movie. It is also a must watch for those who would start with Athena: Goddess of War but haven’t seen Iris. At least you’ll have a backgrounder on the story. As a standalone, it is a good action movie. I don’t have any complaints about it, especially since Kim Tae Hee is part of it.

I enjoyed every minute of Letters to Juliet, mainly because of Amanda Seyfried. She did more than enough in portraying her character and made it endearing to the audience. She exuded beauty with just the right amount of charm, intelligence and warmth.

The rest of the cast also gave an admirable performance. Gael Garcia Bernal played the part of Sophie’s workaholic fiancé. Later in the movie, Sophie met Charlie (Christopher Egan). He was the grandson of Claire (Vanessa Redgrave), the sender of the letter that Sophie replied to. Vanessa Redgrave was credible as the elegant Claire.

Dear Claire,

“What” and “If” are two words as non-threatening as words can be. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: What if? What if? What if? I don’t know how your story ended but if what you felt then was true love, then it’s never too late. If it was true then, why wouldn’t it be true now? You need only the courage to follow your heart. I don’t know what a love like Juliet’s feels like – love to leave loved ones for, love to cross oceans for but I’d like to believe if I ever were to feel it, that I will have the courage to seize it. And, Claire, if you didn’t, I hope one day that you will.

All my love,
Juliet

Letters to Juliet has a predictable story and yet you will find yourself wanting to know what will happen next. It is a very light movie that lets you relax and enjoy the moment until the very end. It is recommended for those looking for a romantic movie. Plus you’ll get to see sights of the picturesque countryside of Italy.