Hats Off To You, Ben Affleck!

You remember Good Will Hunting: Best Original Screenplay that catapulted then 24-year-olds Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to instant celebrity? You remember the movies Matt Damon went on to star in: Saving Private Ryan, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Departed, Ocean's 11/12/13, Invictus, and the Bourne trilogy? And you remember the movies Ben Affleck went on to star in: Forces of Nature, Pearl Harbor, Daredevil, Jersey Girl, and (gasp!) Gigli? No? Doesn't ring a bell? Probably because you either A) were wise enough to prefer a root canal over anything with Affleck's name attached to it or B) flirted with the idea of asking Regal Cinemas for your money back and then promptly forgot about the movie entirely in that same train of thought. I fell into category "B".

Apparently Ben himself wishes he could turn back time. According to an entertainment magazine, "I was definitely frustrated and wanted to withdraw from a part of my life that I was starting to hate," he says. "I was caught in that intersection of celebrity and tabloid culture, and it was beginning to upstage the movies I was trying to do." Remember "Bennifer" (Affleck's high-profile relationship with his Gigli costar Jennifer Lopez)? Shudder.

Then in 2007, Affleck decided to get behind the camera rather than in front of it with Gone Baby Gone, a haunting adaptation of Dennis Lehane's South Boston-set novel. The movie received terrific reviews, gave Ben's little brother Casey his first major leading role, and drew an Oscar nom for Amy Ryan. Not too shabby. Looked like Ben was onto something. Little did we know that three years later, his childhood hometown would be the key player in yet another Affleck-directed movie.

Curtain up on Act 2 - The Town. My friend Tiffany lives in Charlestown, the backdrop for the film, and after seeing this movie, I am in fear for her life. Ok, that might be a bit dramatic but according the statistic shown in the beginning of the film, Charlestown is infamous for producing more bank and armored-car robbers in one square mile than anywhere else in the U.S. Dear Lord. Tiffany, please buy Mace.

In The Town, Affleck (who also co-wrote the screenplay, based on Chuck Hogan's 2004 novel, Prince of Thieves), plays Doug, the ambivalent leader of a practiced heist ring, who falls in love with Claire (Rebecca Hall), a bank manager who is briefly held hostage during one of the group's robberies. I won't give anything away here, but it's definitely not your typical heist flick. Not only does The Town have a delicious supporting cast including Mad Men's Jon Hamm as an FBI agent, The Hurt Locker's Jeremy Renner as Doug's volatile ex-con buddy, and Gossip Girl's Blake Lively as Doug's drug-dealing ex-girlfriend but Affleck also studded the cast with real-life working class locals and ex-cons with thick Beantown accents. Though I'm not quick to say the movie's the best heist film I've ever seen (that title goes to Michael Mann's 1995 film Heat), it is a triumphant comeback for Affleck and a chance for him to pull out the big guns - literally.

Welcome back, Ben! Hats off to you! You may be a late bloomer but I'm sure glad you are finally showing your true colors. Now stay put behind that camera. Yours truly, Amateur Critic.

NEW: I'm adding trailers at the bottom of my reviews... starting now.

Trailer for The Town

Feeling Like A Barrymore

For any city-dweller, there are days when you simply loathe living in the city. Here in Los Angeles, it's any day you sit in traffic (read: every. single. day.) and when you are forced to deal with the crazies (my trendsetting - that's questionable - hippie-vegan neighbors). Then there are some days when you can't imagine living anywhere else. Here in La-La Land, today is that particular day.

A dear friend of mine, who happens to be an Ellen Show staff member on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank (damn straight I'm bragging!), invited me to attend a private screening of Going the Distance (the movie doesn't hit theatres until Sept. 3). The film was screened in WB's theatre, an elegant cinematic space centrally positioned on the expansive lot. Only WB employees were invited to the screening so I felt so Hollywood! with my guest pass. I was even asked to "flash my pass" at the security gate before entering the lot. After smiling coyly and wishing the security guard a good day, I walked away thinking, "I'm so made for this!"

Going the Distance, starring real life on-again-off-again couple Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, follows Garrett (Long) and Erin (Barrymore), a couple who try to sustain a relationship 3,000 miles apart (she's in San Francisco, he's in New York). They meet when Erin is in NYC for the summer working as an intern for a New York newspaper. When Erin returns to San Fran at the end of the summer, they agree to a long distance relationship. What follows is a romantic comedy that tries very hard not to conform to a standard rom-com formula.

In a hopeful attempt to amuse any male audience member, Going the Distance is bursting at the seams with f-bombs, s-e-x scenes, and vulgar supporting characters (all of whom I actually adore... in other films), and Barrymore's typical sugary sweet-tomboy act (i.e. "I'm totally okay that your roommate listens to us having dirty fun time through the paper-thin walls."). Personally, I prefer Barrymore with costars she hasn't dated in real life (i.e. Adam Sandler and Jimmy Fallon). The chemistry between fictional Garrett and Erin is much too similar to the probable chemistry between Long and Barrymore. It's like watching their relationship play out on the big screen. To be fair, there are a couple of scenes and one-liners (shout outs go to Christina Applegate as Erin's overly protective sister and Charlie Day from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia who plays Garrett's roommate) that spark a collective laugh from the audience, but for the most part the film is predictable fun. It's entertaining but forgettable.

Movie aside, my VIP experience on the WB lot rocked! After the movie, I accompanied my friend back to her personal office (yeah... she's kind of a big deal, not gonna lie) for a quick tour of the Ellen Show offices (squeal!). If it wasn't forbidden to take photos, I absolutely would have clicked away! I mean, these offices house Emmy-winning writers for crying out loud!! I was awestruck to say the least. I looooove having friends in high places!

It's days like today that remind me why I love living in LA.

La Dolce Vita

Julia Robert's character, Elizabeth Gilbert, may have titled her 2006 memoir, Eat, Pray, Love but if I was Gilbert I'd have named my memoir Eat, Eat, Eat as I would've never left Italy (then again if I could suffer through India knowing I'd have Javier Bardem waiting for me in Indonesia I might not have a choice). The cucina italiana - that's right, I have Italian roots so I can pretend to know the romance language and not admit that I used Google Translator - is reason enough to stay. The pasta! The pizza! The gelato! The vino! I salivate daily watching Giada De Laurentiis cook her beloved Italian dishes on the Food Network let alone watching Julia Roberts consume an entire pizza margherita in one sitting. I knew I always liked her! However, when I read that she ONLY gained seven pounds during filming in Italy, my immediate reaction was, "Liar!" Seriously, I've been to Italy. She's lying. Trust me.

I digress. Let's talk about the movie shall we? Gilbert said it best when asked her thoughts on the film adaptation of her bestselling novel, "It was my book, but it's Julia's movie." I couldn't have said it better myself. Since Liz Gilbert appears in every scene of the movie, Ryan Murphy, director of EPL and co-creator of the hit TV show Glee, had to cast an actress who could enrapture the audience throughout the 2 hours and 30 minutes. Who better than Julia Roberts? In the words of Murphy, "To be quite honest, the reason I did it is because I wanted to work with Julia... I call her Lady Julia."

We swoon and we cheer for her during her journey of self-discovery. It's a journey of finding balance in her life. The fascinating people she befriends along the way (including characters played by James Franco, Richard Jenkins, and Javier Bardem) are her compass and her teachers, guiding her and imparting indelible life lessons and pearls of wisdom including la dolcezza di non fare niente, the sweetness of doing nothing. An Italian gentleman teaches that it's generally an American belief to feel we can only relax when we've earned the right to do so. Italians apparently don't share this same sentiment, rather, fully (and often!) relishing in the enjoyment of life (hence the copious amounts of wine!).

Billy Crudup plays Steven, Gilbert's ex-husband. The scenes that Roberts and Crudup share are some of the more emotionally raw in the movie. While reading the novel a few years back, I remember feeling that, during the demise of their marriage, Gilbert was a tad unfair to Steven, suddenly declaring that she was unhappy and wanted out. If I was Steven I would've thought, "Wow, thanks for the heads up!" But since I wasn't a witness to their marriage I have to assume that Gilbert's plea for divorce is for the best. During her darkest moment, she desperately cries out for help from the floor of her bathroom and it moved me to tears. During that scene in the film I thought, "Don't worry, Julia! Soon you'll be stuffing your face with pasta and all your worries will be eased with chianti!" Not to mention in real life, Gilbert ends up married to Felipe (Bardem), the Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who'd been living in Indonesia when they met. In her latest book, Committed, Gilbert frankly examines through historical research, interviews, and personal reflection what the institution of marriage is all about.

When I heard EPL was being adapted for film, I was curious to see how a book consisting mainly of internal thoughts from the author would be made visible on the big screen (also, can they make the part about India more interesting? With the exception of Richard from Texas, I became bored with Gilbert's repeated attempts to meditate properly). I needn't have worried. The movie was just as enriching if not more so than Gilbert's memoir. Bottom line, Gilbert's story could be anyone's journey of self-discovery: a mom, an aunt, a sister, a friend, a neighbor... yourself. "From ruin comes reconstruction" is a poignant line in the movie that applies not just to the Roman ruins but to the human soul.

Just for Fun: STA Travel has travel packages inspired by Eat, Pray, Love. Click here for your chance to win a trip to Italy, India, and Bali!

The Kids Are More Than All Right

The Kids are, in fact, a refreshing story about a family and a marriage (and I'm not even talking about gay marriage since the movie isn't trying to be an advocate for same-sex unions). The Kids Are All Right directed by Lisa Cholodenko simply wants to tell a story about a family. This family may be unconventional - the mother/father roles are lesbian couple Nic and Jules (Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, respectively) and their teenage children (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) are actually products of a sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo) - but they are real.

Before Paul (Ruffalo) enters their lives and upsets the fruit basket, Nic, an overprotective and overbearing doctor, her partner Jules, an earthy and free-spirited "landscape designer," and their kids are one big happy family who act like, well, a family. Rather than abusive parenting and teenage angst (I heart you John Hughes films but only because that's not my reality!) we are given conversations about the importance of writing thank you notes in a timely fashion (if my mother sees this film she will nod her head vigorously in agreement) and moving a college-bound daughter into her new dorm (does she need extra bedding? and make sure she has a desk lamp!). This is what happens after couples say "I do." The credits don't roll because it's not the end of the story. It's just the beginning. It's the happily-ever-after roller coaster of life; an adventure of building a home together through life's bumpy ups and downs and sharp right turns that catch you off guard. Enter Mark Ruffalo.

Oh, if only those teens didn't care about finding their sperm donor dad. Haven't they ever heard of curiosity killed the cat? While Ruffalo is down-to-earth in a sexy "I dropped out of college because I wanted to do rather than learn" kind of way and the kids totally take to him right off the bat, he of course causes the tension that moves the plot along. When the kids introduce Paul to their moms, Nic is hesitant about their new relationship while Jules agrees to landscape his backyard. As Jules and the kids grow closer to Paul, Nic finds herself becoming more and more isolated from the family unit she nurtured and carefully cultivated for so long.

The Kids Are All Right is not only supported by brilliant acting turns from Bening, Moore, and Ruffalo, it also plays with the full spectrum of human emotion from funny (very!) to awkward to concerning to tearful and finally to comforting. It's a winning portrayal of family life at its best and worst, with its successes and failures, and most importantly, its unconditional love for the people who know you better than anyone else.

Dream A Little Dream

It's a shame I wasn't asked to contribute my dreams to the new Christopher Nolan movie, Inception. I didn't see Leo walking through his high school hallways butt-naked and anxiously wondering when his classmates will notice that he's not wearing any clothes. And Ellen Page certainly didn't experience how unbelievably frustrating it is when, no matter how hard you try, you just can't seem to open your eyes. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in his zero-gravity hotel room, doesn't know what it feels like when your bed suddenly flips over, sending you hurtling through the earth at 100 mph. And I won't even mention the dream where all my teeth fall out. What's that about??

Apparently my dreams are tame (and lame!) compared to the crazy nightmares in Inception. Somewhere between the suspenseful action sequences you'd find in a James Bond film and the sci-fi fantastical imaginings you'd see in The Matrix, lies Inception, a film about dreams. More specifically, dream snatchers. Leonardo DiCaprio (put his name up on the marquee and watch Angelenos practically drool) is Dom Cobb, an industrial spy who steals secrets when his victims are asleep and dreaming. Dom and his team of specialists, including a right-hand man (Gordon-Levitt) and an architect (Page) have developed technology to actually enter the victim's dream. Once on the premises, they can steal secrets. Dom has an even rarer ability, that of inception. He can plant an idea in someone's sleeping mind and watch it grow and take root in reality. This specialty captures the attention of a tycoon (Ken Watanabe) who hires Dom and his team to undo a business rival (Cillian Murphy).

The movie plays to your head and heart as you are constantly trying to keep up with the techniques and lingo being thrown at you - best to believe whatever they tell you and refrain from ordering a large Diet Coke as you don't want to risk a bathroom run while Leo is explaining what "somnacin" is - while feeling for Dom as he struggles with the grief and guilt of his wife's (Marion Cotillard, a beautifully cruel and tender portrayal of a woman who disrupts Dom's dreams and reality) suicide and his long absence from his children. Like Momento before it, director Nolan gets a kick out of audiences who desperately try to put the pieces of the puzzle together for two hours only to have the entire film culminate in the last ten minutes. Gotta love the "ah-ha" moment when you realize that a second viewing of this film might be necessary.

With a string of mostly disappointing summer movies, Inception is a popcorn blockbuster - not amazing but definitely fascinating and entertaining. Escape the heat and get ready for a total mind-trip that rides on a haunting Hans Zimmer score.

Just for Fun: Check out this Up and Inception trailer mash-up.

Toys...Not Just For Tots

Toy Story 3 is, without a doubt, the BEST installment of the franchise!  See it and I beg you to disagree with me.  Its animated, clever, and downright funny action-adventure story line makes you wish you didn't sell your Barbies at that neighborhood garage sale when you were thirteen, claiming you were too "old" for Mattel products.  Oh, and did I mention that Michael Keaton voices the Ken doll with the fabulous dream house outfitted with a closet that would make Carrie Bradshaw green with envy??  In fact, Michael Keaton was the selling point to getting my husband to agree that he wasn't too "old" for Woody & Co. (Sidenote: my husband has a slight obsession with MK.  Just say Mr. Mom or Multiplicity and watch his face light up like a kid in a candy store!)

11 years.  That's how long we've had to wait for the third movie.  Toy Story 2 came out in 1999 (Toy Story hit theatres in 1995.  Box office sales for both films? $850 million globally!) which means I was in eighth grade.  Eighth Grade!!  I'm now 25 and married!  So why did the third movie take so long to get off the ground?  According to articles I've read, it's a long and complicated story but you can point fingers at former Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, and the contractual tensions between Disney and Pixar.  After Eisner left Disney in 2005, Disney wound up buying Pixar under new CEO Bob Iger who appointed John Lasseter, the creative heart and soul of Pixar and the director of the first two films, to help run both studios' animated divisions which meant that Toy Story 3 was back in business.

In Toy Story 3, Andy is all grown up and going to college.  Andy (voiced by John Morris) is the owner of the beloved toys including Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Slinky Dog (Blake Clark), and Barbie (Jodi Benson, who also voiced Ariel in The Little Mermaid).  Andy's decision to put his childhood friends in the attic or donate them to Sunnyside Day Care is a pretty tough decision for every child making the transition to young adulthood.  How long should one hold onto that childlike innocence?  When are toys from your past no longer needed in your future?  And what do your toys do when they think you've outlived their affections?  For Woody and the gang, they get ready to embrace day-care life until they begin to comprehend that Sunnyside is more of a dictatorship than a democracy, run by cold-hearted Lots-o'-Huggin Bear, the Southern-accented, strawberry-scented leader of the day-care toys.  Now it's up to the Gang to bust out of day-care and get back to Andy before he leaves for college.  Richard Kind, Teddy Newton, Whoopi Goldberg, and Timothy Dalton, along with Keaton, voice new Sunnyside toys who partake in all the fun-packed (and emotional!) action.

Those of us who have grown up with the Disney/Pixar franchise have matured with Andy.  At some point we all threw our toys into the dusty chest in the corner to make room for more adult toys like cars, cell phones, and computers.  For me, it was my stuffed animals.  Feeling too guilty to give them up, my three favorite bears still sit on a chair in my childhood bedroom at my parent's house.  Someday, these lovable bears will bring joy to my son or daughter just like they brought me joy all those years ago.

And now that I know of the horrors toys face at day-care, donating them is entirely out of the question.

Sex and the Sand Dunes

Last week, thousands of women slipped into their six-inch Manolos, grabbed their Vuittons, and met the girls for a cosmopolitan before heading to the theatre in groups of four to see the much-anticipated sequel to the first Sex and the City blockbuster.  As for me (and yes I'm going to brag about this), I happened to be in Las Vegas for Memorial Weekend and saw SATC2 in true Vegas VIP style - in a private screening room that resembled a home theatre complete with large, cozy reclining chairs and the kind of leg room that makes you wish your legs were six inches longer just to take advantage of all that extra space!  Oh yeah, and I even got to munch on bottomless popcorn.  For an amateur critic, there was nothing amateur about this movie-going experience.

The movie, which takes the gals out of their beloved NYC and places them in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (another city synonymous with extravagant spending), was all kinds of couture cheesy but what else were you expecting?  Note to SATC fans: PLEASE don't see this movie if you have difficulty getting past the fact that the fab four don't always bend to Middle Eastern culture and gender roles.  For crying out loud people, it's Sex and the City for heaven's sake!  If the ladies weren't dripping in couture while riding camels, I would have been sorely disappointed.  As writer-director Michael Patrick King brilliantly puts it, "It was 110 degrees and they're out there in their Hermes and Chanel.  I mean it's crazy!  And it should be.  This movie never stops being big."

Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, Samantha, and... Liza?  Yes, Liza Minnelli guest stars in the sequel as the officiant of Stanford and Anthony's nuptials and even performs her own rendition of Beyonce's "Single Ladies."  Penelope Cruz, Miley Cyrus, and Tim Gunn also have cameos.  And then of course there's Aidan.  If the producers were intent on making this movie bigger than Big, they sure pulled out all the stops!

SATC2 picks up two years after Carrie and Big (finally!) tied the knot.  Carrie's (Sarah Jessica Parker) about to publish her fourth book and ponders what it means to be a married woman.  Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is struggling with the challenge of raising two young children (and then there's the braless-brogue speaking nanny...), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is dealing with a new boss from hell, and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is fighting the onset of menopause.  Each woman, in her own way, is resisting traditionally defined roles.  In the words of Cattrall, "To transport these emancipated new-millennium women to a world that has not changed, in a lot of ways, since biblical times was a fascinating idea... Using that kind of tension to comedic effect was very clever."

And just like Miranda's character was in this film (refreshing!) so too was the idea to put a movie about a lavish, exotic, five-star vacation on the big screen in the middle of a recession.  Hasn't escapism been the main draw of cinema throughout the generations?  I mean, who wants to see Carrie & Co. wearing polos from Target and shopping in thrift stores?  Boring!!

Sure SATC2 may not be as popular among the legions of extremely loyal female fans as the first movie, but I guarantee that you'll leave last season's Havaianas at the door in favor of this season's more fashionable Jimmy Choo's.