I haven’t so far been all that excited about the summer selections, when Friday rolled around I just hoped that there would be something that looked better than Thor or Transformers. Both Captain America and Friends with Benefits got decent reviews so when deciding which to see I decided not to decide.
I’ll admit I thought Captain America looked dumb, I like a good comic flick but maybe it’s just my lack of familiarity with this story. It hasn’t permeated our culture so it’s not as much one of the ones I want to see how they reinvented it. And not being familiar I can’t really tell if there was much reinvention. For those like me, it’s set in the World War II era, a wimpy guy gets a super soldier serum and fights the science guys crazier than the Nazis.
And although the movie was entertaining I am trying to put my finger on why I didn’t think it was all that. It followed the path, likable hero, crazy villain, strong and sexy romantic interest… and yet… Chris Evans is a good looking man but his likable-wimp-turned-hero ended up sort of bland. And the 1940s setting even with some futuristic challenges didn’t quite engage. That’s not to say that I might not be excited by a reinvention of the series in present day.
As for FWB it’s entirely what it should have been. To start with Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake are both really likable. I’m quickly becoming a huge Mila Kunis fan, gorgeous and funny is a good combination and if she keeps getting good material (check out Black Swan if you missed it) I’m ok with that. And I’ve never been particularly pro or con with Timberlake but he is continuing to prove his acting chops between movies (check out Social Network if you missed it) and repeated performances on SNL if nothing else.
The movie isn’t revolutionary, it’s yet another take on the standard romcom but the script gives them both decent material to play with. The movie pushes a bit into the crass funny, we are focusing on the sex after all, but mostly just develops fun and of course flawed characters. I’ll even try not to hold it against them that they mock the unrealistic romantic comedy and then end up fulfilling it, I’d just be happy to find unrealistic apartments as good as theirs.
Notable dvd releases 7/26:
- My Dog Tulip – Tempted by this story of a man and his dog, I happened to catch the Ebert where he raved about it.
- Source Code – I missed and might catch this Jake Gyllenhaal try to stop a train explosion again and again flick.
- Trust – Might pass on this Clive Owen and Catherine Keener dark film about the impact of a sexual predator on a family.
1 Comment
Posts like this breigthn up my day. Thanks for taking the time.