The Positively Positive

I found this movie to be the perfect “chick flick”…..and no, that’s not an insult. I’m a chick so I like chick flicks, especially when I’m in the mood to just chill out after a long, busy week. So watching this one after dealing with cleaning, cooking and everything else one does for Thanksgiving, was the perfect way to relax after the holiday.

What makes this movie great is the fact that it’s cute without trying too hard to be cute. It’s not like some movies I’ve seen where you feel like someone is standing at the bottom of the screen at all times with a little sign that says “Look! Isn’t this movie cute??”.

The premise of the movie is that a woman (Kristen Bell) goes to Italy for her sister’s wedding and in a drunken stupor, walks into a fountain of love and starts plucking out coins. Only she doesn’t know that legend says anyone who takes coins from the fountain will receive undying love from those who threw the coins in. When she gets back home, suddenly she is being stalked by a bunch of would-be Romeos. It’s these “Romeos” that I enjoyed the most, talk about great casting. They were played by Danny DeVito, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard and Will Arnett.

Trouble really comes when a man she met at the wedding before the fountain incident (Josh Duhamel), also starts pursuing Beth, she can’t tell if his desires are real or if he’s an owner of one of the coins.

Like I said, this movie is really cute and lots of fun with plenty of laughs and romance. Even though I figured out the little twist ending, I still wouldn’t say it was predictable. The cast was fantastic, as was the storyline and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for nice romantic comedy.

More Movie Reviews…
Sex and The City 2
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest Review – a guest post by Sarah Harris

If you haven’t seen the first two movies in this franchise based on Stieg Larsson’s best-selling novels (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire) I give you fair warning that there are spoilers in this review. I urge you to go out and see the movies post haste! You should be aware that there is definitely adult content, but the Millennium Trilogy may just be the best thing to come out of Sweden since ABBA Gold (20 million copies of the books sold in 41 countries…not too shabby). If you pay any attention to media hype, then you have no doubt heard about the search for the lucky actress to play heroine Lisbeth Salander in the American retooling of this series that has become a big hit internationally. A diverse array of starlets lined up to nab the spot that was ultimately given to relatively unknown Rooney Mara, and anyone who’s into the franchise is probably very interested to see how the stateside versions pan out. Until then, the Swedish films are pure gold.

So, the third (and final) movie starts up just where the second left off, with the titular girl (Salander, played by dark-eyed, tight-lipped tour de force Noomi Rapace) being airlifted to the hospital following repeated gunshot wounds (one to the noggin). Her hulking half-brother is on the run, her hated father is still alive despite the fact that she buried an axe in his head (in fact, he gets the room down the hall), and her only real friend, Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is once again doing his best to keep her out of trouble by hiring his sister to be her attorney. Throw in a secret government agency that wants to hush up the whole affair (including Salander), a trail of corruption that leads back to a now-respectable psychologist (who would love to see Lisbeth back in his care), a hulking blond giant with revenge on his mind, and a DVD from the first movie (that most of us wish we could scrub from our brains) and you have the basic elements that make up this thrilling conclusion to the series.

But there’s a lot more to this film than espionage, shady governmental goings-on, and a girl who stuck her big black boot in the whole affair. Everything about this series is stark, unsettling, and completely riveting, a trifecta of suspense that doesn’t let up in the cumulative finale. The production value has definitely improved since the first film, with better camera-work (the bird’s-eye-view shots are fantastic), a keen eye for lighting (from the blue tint of Salander’s practically sterile apartment to the fluorescent glare in the courtroom, each location is expertly lit for effect), and actors who now own the skin they’re playing in. While Rapace has BEEN Salander since the first scene, it definitely took Nyqvist a bit longer to become comfortable as exposé journalist Blomkvist. But in the last installment, he finally seems to have moved beyond the bumbling persona and melted into the thoughtful and sometimes sheepish demeanor of the character.

In short, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is a perfect culmination to an excellent series of films. The genre is not original, but in the hands of these actors, the plotlines feel new and exciting. The characters are not only compelling and complex, but even in their heightened state of tension, they beg to be accepted, to be believed, to get their day in the sun. And the film delivers more than just a couple of hours of entertainment. It wraps the audience in a world of overwhelming treachery and vengeance to be sure, but it spikes its gritty resolve with just a dose of hope, a pinch of fragility, and a sprinkle of humanity to let viewers know that despite the hardships this girl has suffered and the brutality she has dealt in kind, there is redemption for all of us, and maybe even a shot at a new life on the other side of tragedy.

Sarah Harris writes for Adiamor Engagement Rings where you can find a large assortment of engagement ring settings, loose diamonds, and other fine diamond jewelry.

Alright, I know I don’t always come off as the girliest of girls, but really I am, I swear. I guess nothing proves that more than the fact that I joined countless other ladies who made the trek to see our favorite foursome in their second big-screen adventure.

My love for SATC started when the first film came out two years ago. Up until then, I had never seen an episode of the cable series. First of all because I didn’t have HBO, and second of all because I didn’t think I’d like a show about a bunch of girls talking about fashion (which is all I thought it was). I mean I like fashion, but who can talk about it all the time?

When the first movie came out, a few of my friends invited me along to go see it on opening weekend. They were doing a full-on Girls Night Out to celebrate, complete with dressing up in our snazziest outfits, going out to dinner beforehand and the promise of cocktails afterwards. We ended up skipping the cocktails, being too tired once the movie let out after midnight – guess none of us were quite the party girls we thought we were.

That night I discovered that Sex and The City was so much more than just four girls sitting around talking about sex, clothes and shoes….though there was a lot of that. It was also about how these women make their way in the world, battling to keep themselves happy, their husbands happy, their children happy and even their bosses happy. It’s a struggle that all women can relate to and I sure did. In other words, I was in love. After seeing the movie, I watched every single episode on DVD and loved all of them too.

The first movie focused on Carrie’s change from being a single girl, to a married one. This movie sees all the girls two years later and Carrie and John (aka “Mr, Big”) are getting into a rut. Luckily Samantha gets an offer for all of them to visit the wondrous city of Abu Dhabi. There they get pampered, ride camels……..oh yeah, and meet up with the occasional ex.

This movie is a bit more of a romp than the last one, with the exotic location, costumes and yes, even some exotic shoes. Movies are supposed to be an escape from the real world and Sex and The City 2 delivers that in spades.

My favorite bits….

The opening sequence showing Manhattan looking like the sparkliest piece of bling you’ve ever seen.

The completely over the top, ridiculously extravagant, and beautiful wedding of Stanley and Anthony.

Liza Minnelli not only officiating the wedding, but also singing and dancing at the reception. Her rendition of Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)’ had the audience in my theater clapping and cheering, me included.

Watching all the wonderful outfits and shoes the girls changed into throughout the whole film. Sigh…..so pretty.

The touching because it’s so darn true conversation between the two moms in the group, Charlotte and Miranda, over a few cocktails. I’m not a mother yet but I still recognize that sometimes you need a break and that everything’s not all picture perfect just because you get the family you’ve always wanted. The writing in that scene was superb.

The girls’ runaway adventure at the end of the film as they try to get out of their hotel and make it to the airport on time, only to discover that Carrie left her passport when she was (where else?) shopping.

Samantha getting fed up with the conservative traditions and finally telling off (and flipping off) a group of men who were displeased with her attire. Her scream of “Yes! I HAVE SEX!” as she picked up condoms that had fallen from her purse was absolutely classic.

The girls meeting the local women and discovering not only how much they have in common, but that there is a lot of fashion hiding under all the black robes.

Overall a super sweet chick flick that was the perfect escape from my life this weekend.

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More reviews at The Positively Positive….

Bones, season 5, episode 22 “The Beginning in the End”

NCIS: LA – Season 1, episode 24 “Callen, G.”

NCIS, Season 7, episode 24 “Rule Fifty-One”

current movie reviews

I was invited to check out this site and gotta say that I was really impressed by it. It is for Rogue Pictures which helped to bring some of my favorite movies to the big screen like ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and ‘Hot Fuzz’.

Going to their ‘Movies’ section, I found some really great trailers for some flicks I hadn’t heard about yet and now that I’ve seen the previews, I really want to check them out – movies like ‘Season of the Witch’ and ‘MacGruber’

I really liked the quality of the site – the previews load very easily and are absolutely perfect. Plus I like that they include other info as well, like a synopsis of the movie, statistics, etc.

Overall a very slick looking site that looks to a be a good resource for upcoming Rogue Pictures projects.

This post is sponsored by IamRogue.com