Review: Heartbreakers (2001)

If I were to give you a list of movies that continue to make me laugh, even after I've seen them a dozen times, that list would be short. Very short. Let me think... Well, there's Clue (1985), ummmm.... Home Alone 2 (1992), The First Wives Club (1996), Date Night (2010)... All very mature choices, indeed. To tell you the truth, I generally find that, during my first viewing of a film, there is at least one laugh out loud moment (And, boy do I take advantage of them!). The question is, will that, or those, funny moment(s) still make me laugh 12 views from now? The answer is usually no. However, with the occasional film, that answer can sometimes be a yes, and Heartbreakers is one of those films (Another mature choice...).

Love or Money? Well, if you were to ask Max Conners, her answer would most certainly be money. After a heartbreak early in life, Max decided that there was just no point to love... But she had to make money somehow. Together with her daughter, Paige, the women spend their time scheming men out of their fortunes by having them fall in love with Max, marry Max, and then have Paige seduce them. The result? A lump sum everytime. But, after years of playing this game, Paige wants to go it on her own, much to her other's dismay. With no other option, Max agress to let Paige go after she helps her with one last scam.

"There's no love. It's the trick of the brain. It's the combination of chemicals and hormones."

This movie was a lot better than I originally thought it was going to be. With the exception of Ray Liotta, who is one of my favourite modern actors, the cast didn't exactly appeal to me, and neither did the story. The basic plot of people conning other people is used a lot in the movies, and I'm sure the premise of this film has been used before. But, to my surprise, I really took to this film.

"Love is pain! Life is pain. You can't protect anybody from it, it's always gonna get you. But sometimes, life could also be good..."

As I stated earlier, most of the cast arn't exactly what I would call ideal. I usually can't stand Jennifer Love Hewitt, but she was ok in this movie. She didn't over act, and she held her own against the rest of the cast. Job well done. Gene Hackman was fine as William Tensey, but this wasn't my favourite performance of his. Sigourney Weaver was very funny as Max. She should consider doing comedy more often, as should Liotta. His performance was by far the funniest, and his scenes are some of the best in the film. But I do generally love seeing him on screen, so there may be a slight bias there.

Heartbreakers, if not the greatest film ever made, is good at doing one thing: making me laugh. 7/10

Triva: The filmmakers original ideal cast? Jennifer Aniston as Paige and Cher as Max.

Review: The Princess Bride (1987)

Based on the 1973 novel of the same name, The Princess Bride was directed by Rob Reiner, and writen by the same man who wrote the book, William Goldman. Though it originally only achieved modest success at the box office, The Princess Bride has go on to become a cult faavourite, and currently holds the 186th spot on IMDB's top 250 chart.

A grandfather reads his sick grandson a book, which opens him to world a fantasy and adventure.

"As you wish."

This movie has anything and everything a person could or would ever want to see in a film short of a car chase. It's got a pirate, a princess, a prince, sword fighting, a love story, rous's (Watch the movie!), a BFG, comedy, drama, action, danger, suspense, romance, adventure, amazing characters... Everything. And it's a fairy tale. This movie is a very unique experience.

Cary Elwes, who plays Westley, is very good in this type of role. In many of his films, such as Saw, I feel that he's miscast. It's something in his voice. It doesn't really sound right when he's being serious. He needs that comedy edge, which the Character of Westley provides. Robin Wright is also very good in her first film role as Buttercup, Westley's one true love. However, it's the supporting cast that really shine in this film. They are all hilariously spectacular in their respective roles.

"Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while."

The Princess Bride is a wonderful, lovely little film. A movie that can be enjoyed by the entire family. 10/10

Trivia: In The Princess Bride, there's a scene where Westley (Elwes) is hit over the head by the character Count Rugen, played by Christopher Guest. When filming, Elwes told Guest to actually hit him, which resulted in production being shut down for a day, while Elwes went to the hospital.

Review: The First Wives Club (1996)

When The First Wives Club was released in 1996, it was slaughtered by critics. They hated it. Audiences, however, failed to pay attention to this, and flocked to see the film despite all of the negative reviews, eventually making it the 11th highest grossing film of the year.

After the suicide of their friend, three former best friends, realizing they all share similar circumstances, decide to get revenge on their scheming, cheating, former husbands, with inspiring, yet comedic, results.

"He brought her... to my son's bar mitzvah!"

"... Is she a gift?"

The First Wives Club is a film I would describe as an easy-watch. By this, I mean that the film doesn't require much thought, but is nevertheless enjoyable. And boy is this movie enjoyable. It never fails to make me laugh, no matter how many times I see it. I really like this movie, and have done ever since I first saw it about a decade ago. It's one of those films I encourage others to see, as I find it hard to believe that anybody would, or could, dislike it (Except for the critics and scheming, cheating, former husbands, that is).

The comedic timing of the film's three main stars (Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton) is fantastic, and the women have an undeniable chemistry. They were all very well suited for their roles, as were the rest of the cast. I would have liked to have see more of Stockard Channing, though, who's screen time is limited in the film.

"Don't get mad, get everything!"

The First Wives Club is a hoot. I enjoy it every time. 8/10

Trivia: Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton all celebrated their 50th birthdays on the set of The First Wives Club, throughout the winter of 1995/1996.

Review: Titanic (1997)

Originally scheduled for release in the summer of 1997, Titanic was projected to be the biggest flop in the history of cinema. The film, which took more than two years to complete, not only ran over schedule, but over budget as well: $50 million over budget. In fact, at the time, Titanic had become the most expensive film ever made, with an estimated cost of $200 million. What wasn't expected was that Titanic would make back its budget threefold... in the US alone. Finally released in December of 1997, Titanic was a mega-hit, opening in the top spot at the box office and staying there for an un-bested 15 consecutive weeks. That's over three months at number one. Titanic would go on to become the highest grossing film of all-time, grossing $1.8 billion worldwide, and it would remain at the top for the next 12 years.

It's 1996, and Brock Lovett, a treasure hunter, has set out with his team on a deep sea expedition of RMS Titanic, in search of an expensive necklace called the Heart of the Ocean, which was lost in the sinking of the ship over 80 years ago. Though Lovett and his crew fail to find the diamond, they do find a drawing of a lady wearing it. After news of the find is broadcast on television, Lovett is contacted by Rose Calvert, who claims the woman in the picture is her. Brock invites Rose to his expedition in the Atlantic, where she tells him and his crew the story of what happened to her on the Titanic.

"I'm the King of the World!"

I've always had somewhat of a fasination with the Titanic. My father used to buy books about the wreakage, and the sight of all those possessions, once belonging to someone onboard the ship, lying on the ocean floor draws such emotion from me. This movie does an excellent job at conveying that emotion.

I've loved Titanic since my first viewing of it in 1998. The love story at the centre of the movie is beautiful, but that's not why I love the film. It's the attention to detail and historical  accuracy of the picture that makes me love it. I believe that James Cameron, the director, writer, and producer of Titanic, did a wonderful job at trying to make the film as historically correct as possible. Times are changing. Likely, some of the information we know to be true about the Titanic now will one day be proved false, so Cameron was never going to be able to make Titanic 100% accurate, even if that was his intent. I admire his efforts, though.

"Oh Mother... SHUT UP! Don't you understand? The water is freezing, and there arn't enough boats; not enough by half. Half the people on this ship are going to die."

The cast of characters is comprised of both real historical figures, and ficticious creations from the mind of Cameron. Titanic's two main characters are Jack and Rose, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, resepctively. DiCaprio seemed to be the reason why so many people went to see Titanic back in 1997/1998, and it's not hard to see why. Even then, he was an excellent actor, and does a good job in the role. However, I believe that this movie belongs to Winslet. She delivers the best performance of the film. The rest of the cast are also outstanding in their roles, particularly Gloria Stuart (Old Rose) and Kathy Bates (Molly Brown), who are the standouts in the supporting cast.

Titanic is one of my five favourite films, and for a movie that runs over three hours long (We all know how much I hate long movies), that's saying a lot. 10/10

Trivia: You'd have to be living under a rock to not know that James Cameron's latest feature, Avatar, did phenomenal at the box office. It did so well that it replaced Titanic as the highest grossing movie of all time, but that's only in dollars, not in movie tickets. If we take inflation and the rising price of cinema tickets into account, then Titanic still reigns supreme over Avatar. However, if it is tickets we're going by, Titanic was never number one in the first place, or number two, three, four, or five. Nope, if it's the number of tickets that matters, Titanic ranks 6th. "What ranks first?" might you ask: 1939's epic, Gone With The Wind.

Movie Quote of the Day

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

- The Princess Bride (1987)

My Top Ten Movie Tunes: Disney

I love a good Disney movie, but there's one thing I like better: A good Disney song. Yes, despite my love of the... Genre? Can we call it that? Anywho, despite my love of it, I do appreciate its songs just a little bit more. I think it has something to do with the fact that Disney movies tend to make me cry, whether they're sad or not. For example, The Lion King (1994), a great movie that has that horrible scene in it where ***SPOILER*** Simba's father falls to his death. Now, this could easily make somebody shed a tear, but have you ever heard of someone crying simply because of the movie's beautiful scenery paired with the perfect song... Oh yes, I'm that bad. And that was only in the opening minutes of the film. So, as you now see, it is far easier on my tearducts to listen to Disney music as opposed to watching the movies. This brings me to my list: My top ten Disney movie tunes, in no particular order (Except for the first one!):

"Under the Sea" From The Little Mermaid (1989)

"You dream about going up there, but that is a big mistake."

"Kiss the Girl" From The Little Mermaid (1989)

"Yes, you want her. Look at her, you know you do."

"You'll Be in My Heart" From Tarzan (1999)

"Why can't they understand the way we feel? They just don't trust what they can't explain."

"Circle of Life" From The Lion King (1994)

"There's far too much to take in here; more to find that can ever be found."

"You've Got a Friend in Me" From Toy Story (1995)

"... But none of them will ever love you the way I do. It's me and you, boy."

"A Whole New World" From Aladdin (1992)

"Tell me, Princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?"

"I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" From Hercules (1997)

"You swoon, you sigh. Why deny it? Uh-oh!"

"Let's Go Fly a Kite" From Mary Poppins (1964)

"With your feet on the ground, you're a bird in flight with your fist holding tight to the string of your kite."

"Beauty and the Beast" From Beauty and the Beast (1991)

"Bittersweet and strange. Finding you can change. Learning you were wrong."

"When You Wish Upon a Star" From Pinocchio (1940)

"Fate is kind. She brings to those who love the sweet fulfillment of their secret longing."

Trivia: Of the ten songs listed above, eight were nominated for an Academy Award (All but "Let's Go Fly a Kite" and "I Won't Say (I'm In Love)"). Of the eight songs nominated, five took home the oscar ("Under the Sea", "You'll Be in My Heart", "Beauty and the Beast", "When You Wish Upon a Star", and "A Whole New World"). All three of the songs that lost in their category were beaten by other Disney songs. In the cases of "Kiss the Girls" and "Let's Go Fly a Kite", they were beated by songs from their own films, and "You've Got a Friend in Me" was passed over in favor of "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas (1995). I don't know what they were thinking with that one...

Movie Quote of the Day

"Old age... It's the only disease, Mr. Thompson, that you don't look forward to being cured of."

- Citizen Kane (1941)