1933 - Walk Hard: The Dewey Coxe Story

I saw this film in theatres and haven't revisited it - one thing that surprised me was the amount of cameos in the film, or at least they'd be considered that now - the little bit parts with Ed Helms and Craig Robinson, the inspired casting for both the Beatles and Elvis - even that alone make it worth watching.
When I first saw this I hadn't see the American version of The Office yet, so the thing that leaped out at me here was Jenna Fischer.  I fell in love with her the first time I watched this.  I thought that she was easily one of the most beautiful women on the planet - first because she's ridiculously attractive, especially in this film - but also because her comedy timing and chops are sensational.  It's been a delight to watch her since then - I'd love the chance to work with her.
This film still holds up - the comedy is over the top - but it sure does take a piss on bio pics - which I recall there was a plethora of around that time, so good on them.  The music is sharp, the attention to the time periods as well.  It's a really enjoyable flick that's funny and smart at the same time.  If you've never seen it and you're a music lover, or just a lover of comedy that's a bit over the top, look no further!

1899 - Hateship Loveship

All I knew about this film going in was that someone I knew liked it, and who was in the cast.  That's another beauty of just seeing a bunch of films in a festival - often you get to go in fresh to the story and world - and it's so rare these days that you get to experience a world that way.
It's the story of a sheltered young woman played by Kristen Wiig, who is fucking wonderful here.  Her subtle smile that creeps through the whole thing is so beautiful and you just want to wrap your arms around her.  What I loved most about this was that I legitimately had no idea where the story was headed, and in a very good way I was just along for the ride.  It's a film about a caregiver and a bunch of other people who have to learn to take care of themselves.  I don't want to ruin any details of this lovely little film - but if you like strong, heartfelt character pieces - this is a must-see.

1891 - Despicable Me 2

It's been about a year since I took my son to see a movie, which shames me to no end, but here we went again.  We watched the first together and it gave him some genuine belly laughs, as it did me, so I was happy to check this out with him.  The minions, obviously, steal the film - and what I like about here that was smart was that they used them as a major plot point in the film as opposed to just filling the film with more random scenes of them as a lesser movie would have done.  In fact, the minion stuff is so strong that it eclipses the rest of the film, and that's not always a great thing.
I had some story logic quibbles, which I won't bring up here in great detail.  Mostly, it just bothered me that they didn't go as far as they should have with some of the character stuff, with Gru in particular.  There were some missed opportunities.  All in all though, I quite enjoyed it, and I think I even liked it better than the original - which is nice since the second film should be better if there's a point in making it at all.
I see that there's a Minions film coming out, so I'm sure my little guy and I will find our ways over there when it's released.  If you want to see a kid's film that's pretty enjoyable for the parents as well, this is a good one!

1840 - Despicable Me

It's been a lot of fun to rediscover old films with my son, but it's just as enjoyable to experience things for the first time with him as well.  Outside of the voice actors this didn't really seem that interesting to me from the advertisements, but we watched it anyway.  It's the story of an evil villain who is in danger of losing his evil corporate funding to a young hot shot unless he steals something amazing - The Moon!  It's Steve Carell vs. Jason Segal and it's pretty damn enjoyable.  In terms of the quality of writing it's not quite up there with the Pixar team, but it's not bad by any means.  Worth checking out if you haven't, and i'm sure my little guy will drag me to the sequel that's coming out.

1794 - Friends With Kids

I wanted to see this while it was in theatres, especially since it appeared to be within the same realm of my new film (get ready for the shamless plug) SEX AFTER KIDS.  And while our films live in similar worlds this is more of the boy meets girl variety (or rather boy met girl a long time ago and is now going to fuck up what they've got going on).
This film has a powerhouse cast and everyone works really well, although I think Kristen Wiig was underused.  Without getting into any spoilers, because this is a film worth discovering fresh, I loved about the first 90% of it and just felt a tad let down by the ending.  That's not to say I didn't enjoy it all the way through but it does peter out a touch.  That being said, the other 90% absolutely makes it worth watching (I swear!) especially if you're a parent, there's a lot of great stuff in here.  Jennifer Westfeldt should make more movies - I'm a fan!  And if you see this and adore it go back to the vault and check out a previous film she wrote (or co-wrote...) called Kissing Jessica Stein.  This is currently on Netflix - so have at it!

1673 - Bridesmaids

I caught this when it was in the cinema, but I was happy to find the bluray in a discount bin (WTF?!) at the grocery story.  The bottom really is falling out of the home video market when a film like this ends up going on sale for $10 just a few months after it's release.  Bizarre.
I don't think I need to regurgitate the storyline of this film since it was a pretty massive hit when it came out, and rightfully so.  It's a damn funny film.  It's got a great cast, but the story and the writing is pretty stellar as well, and I think that a lot of that comes from the mentorship of Judd Apatow.  I think I mentioned this in my first little review of this film, but I think that anyone looking to study comedy writing really needs to study this film, in particular the first part of the second half of the film.  Once things start going poorly for Annie they go really poorly.  The film carefully sets up her life and then absolutely crushes it in one massive sweep - that is how to deal with a character in a comedy - you punish the shit out of them, and all the while you keep the audience smiling.  I think that has a lot to do with why this film is such a success - sure it's funny and a tad raunchy, but as with most Apatow projects, the story is pretty damn solid.  He understands that your first job as a writer is to punish your characters as much as you can - put them through a shit-storm.
I look forward to watching the special features on the disc - the line-o-rama features on Apatow's discs are a really great insight into how they work the comedy and come up with some fantastic alternate material.  (helps to cast really funny, smart people :) ).
So if you still haven't see this, and you aren't a stick in the mud, do yourself a favor and get on it!

1592 - Bridesmaids

This is a film that I wanted to see the instant that I saw the trailer.  I've always liked Kristen Wiig, and to see her finally get a chance to shine, in combination with everyone else and just a wonderful premise was just too thrilling an idea to pass up.  And then the rave reviews came in, and kept coming.
When the film started up I was a little worried.  I think that the tone took a little while longer than I expected for me to get on board, it was more casual than I expected - but as soon as I was on board, I was hooked.  The story is full of funny, smart stuff.  Once the downward spiral hits it becomes delicious fun.  Seriously for those studying the craft of storytelling, watch this film and just pay close attention to the second half and how continually the main character is punished, to the point where you think "it can't get worse than that."  And then it does, and get worse again, and again.  More films need to take a lesson in that (myself included).
For any guys out there who are still avoiding the because they think it's a chick-flick - it's not.  Perhaps women will get a little more out of it, but let's be clear - this is a funny, funny film that just happens to be filled with women.
At a time where I don't buy nearly as many films as I used to, I can't wait to add this to my collection.
Bridesmaids  Bridesmaids (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy in Blu-ray Packaging]

1538 - Paul

This film had me excited from the trailer - and then taking a quick glance at the people involved sealed the deal.  I even chose this over The King's Speech - mostly because I just wanted to watch something fun tonight.  Pegg and Frost have had a lot of fun playing around with genre films, and now they go after the sci-fi genre, this time with Greg Mottola as their collaborator. 
It's essentially ET as a road film with Seth Rogen as the (voice of the) alien, and he's a perfect choice.  What's a lot of fun about this is the idea that the alien isn't a new visitor, but he's been here for a long damn time - he knows stuff - he knows a lot more than most humans.  The film takes a pretty damn healthy poke at religion and I wonder if it won't get criticized for it. 
What I like about the film most is just how much of an adventure it feels that we're on.  There's lots of people after the group as they go along their road trip, and it keeps the pace going - always on the move.  The cast has as much fun with the material as the audience does watching.  I am always a fan of Jason Bateman, and I find Kristen Wiig simply adorable - and it's nice to see that she's becoming better known - she deserves it.
So obviously I'm going to see The King's Speech at some point 'cause everyone keeps on raving about the damn thing - but for tonight I wanted something fun - and I got what I wanted.  If you're already a fan of this group of people then you need no recommendation from me.  This is a really fun film.