When I first heard about “Bridesmaids”, I thought “Great!!  A movie I’ll definitely be able to relate to!!”.  Having been a bridesmaid thrice, with two more tours of duty coming up soon, this was perfect for me.  Well let me just say, thankfully I was not subjected to the insanity that these bridesmaids went through!!

Annie (Kristen Wiig) works for a jewelry store, because the cake shop business that she opened a few years ago failed.  She is single, but she has a “bang buddy” who doesn’t treat her very well.  She shares her apartment with an albino-looking set of siblings who happen to be British, and are not very nice to her.  As her mother (Jill Clayburgh) says, she’s hit rock bottom.

Annie and Lillian (Maya Rudolph) have been best friends forever.  When Lillian becomes engaged, she asks Annie to be her maid of honor.  Annie accepts, and then the “fun” begins.  Also in the bridal party are:  Megan (Melissa McCarthy), who is the groom’s sister, Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey), who is married with a few sons and is tired of her husband, Becca (Ellie Kemper) a newlywed, and Helen (Rose Byrne), who is Lillian’s fiance’s boss’s wife.  Things are starting to look up for Annie, especially when she catches the eye of a cop, Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd).

Too bad for Annie, from the beginning, Helen tries to out-do everything Annie does.  From the toast at the engagement party, to the fancy wedding dress shop she gets the girls into (which unfortunately they visit after lunch that does not sit well with the ladies, if you catch my drift), to the lavish bridal shower she throws (after stealing Annie’s theme idea), she pretty much takes over the maid of honor duties and eventually becomes maid of honor (by sabotaging Annie on the way to the bachelorette party in Vegas – what follows is hilarious yet unfortunate as they do not make it to Vegas because they get thrown off the plane).   She does it in such a way that it’s subtle but it really chaps Annie’s hide.  Like Annie doesn’t have enough to deal with!!

With a running time of just over two hours, “Bridesmaids” was jam-packed with outrageous moments, and it really took its time with character development.  Nothing felt rushed, they really let this one breathe and it made it even better.

I had doubts about Kristen Wiig leading the film, but she exceeded my expectations.  She really did a fantastic job with “Bridesmaids”.  Although, I felt that a bit of her “SNL” character Penelope (the perpetual exaggerator and one-upper) was peeking through, Annie wasn’t nearly as obnoxious as Penelope.  I found myself relating to her character in more than one way.  And anyone who has participated in wedding planning, while being single, broke, and borderline depressed will also!!  I really thought Melissa McCarthy stole every scene she was in, especially on the airplane ride to Vegas.

Warning:  not for the kids!!  There was liberal use of the F word as well as inappropriate content.  Fine for us adults but not for the kiddies!!

It’s in Rio, but there aint no dancing parrots! – Swift

Oh great….another installment in the “Fast and the Furious” series.  More street racing, more scantily-clad women, more fast cars and more meat-head guys right??  Wrong!!  This is number five and probably the second best film in the series (after the original).  I thought the franchise was tired and done, but I was pleasantly surprised with “Fast Five”.

At the end of “Fast and Furious” (part four), Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is headed to jail.  Suddenly, cars zoom up to the prison bus and the film ends.  Fast forward to the beginning of part five.  Here comes former cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker, who has come a long, long way from 1998′s “Meet the Deedles”) and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) to break him out of custody.  Once Dom is free, they head to Rio de Janeiro, where they meet up with their old friend Vinnie (Matt Schulze – “The Fast and the Furious”).  Vinnie convinces them to help him with a job – stealing fancy, fast cars from a corrupt businessman Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida)  (who also pretty much rules Rio de Janeiro).  Needless to say, the job goes terribly wrong and Dom, Brian, and Mia are now really, really wanted criminals. Enter federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) who always finds who he is looking for.  He enlists the assistance of local cop Elena (Elsa Pataky) to track down the fugitives.

With nowhere to go, and wanted by both the feds and Reyes, they decide to pull one last job to guarantee their freedom – steal $100 million dollars from Reyes.  But they can’t do it alone, so they assemble a team of experts, comprised of characters from the previous installments, including Roman (Tyrese Gibson – “2 Fast 2 Furious”), Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges – “2 Fast 2 Furious”, Han (Sung Kang – “The Fast and the Furious:  Tokyo Drift” and “Fast and Furious”), and Gisele (Gal Gadot – “Fast and Furious).

“Fast Five” was like “Ocean’s Eleven” on speed.  The theatre was packed, and everyone was really into the movie.  And who wouldn’t be, with nonstop action, fast cars, high-speed thrills, crazy stunts, and…wait for it…a fantastic fight scene between Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson (I’ve waited so long for this one!!) . Don’t leave when the credits begin because there is an interesting scene that may possibly be a lead-in to a sixth installment.  As for what is revealed, it’s a doozy!!  If you’re a fan of the series you will not be disappointed with “Fast Five”!

Unlike Halloween and Christmas, there aren’t many movies about Easter.  Well hold on to your bunny ears ladies and gentlemen, because here comes “Hop”!!

The Easter Bunny (voiced by Hugh Laurie) is about to retire.  His son E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand) is set to take over.  However, E.B. has no desire to take over for his father.  See, E.B. has a dream…he wants to be a drummer!!  He practices drumming in his room on Easter Island, which is where Easter treats are made (think of it like Santa’s toy shop, only instead of toys, there is candy, and instead of elves, there are chicks.  They even have a flying sleigh, pulled by chicks!!).

To follow his dream, E.B. runs away from Easter Island and straight to Hollywood.  His first stop??  After consulting his Map to the Stars and Crime Scenes, he heads for the Playboy Mansion (bunnies, get it??).  Unfortunately, he’s not allowed past the gates, and he begins to get a little discouraged.

Now, let’s meet Fred O’Hare (James Marsden).  Fred is unemployed and living back at his family’s house.  His parents (Gary Cole and Elizabeth Perkins) and sisters Sam (Kaley Cuoco) and Alex (Tiffany Espensen) (who claims that she was adopted by Fred’s parents because Fred was such a disappointment) stage an intervention, where they tell Fred he has to get a job and his own apartment.  Fred is depressed and leaves to go sleep in his car.  Sam takes pity on him, and offers him the keys to the house where she is supposed to house-sit, because she is afraid of the big dogs that live there.  She also gives him a lead on a possible job.  So Fred heads to the house, oh excuse me, ginormous mansion.  Once he gets on the property though, he accidentally hits a bunny with his car.  Guess who that might be??  Yes, E.B.!!

After the unfortunate bunny-hitting incident, Fred flashes back to when he was younger, when he saw the Easter Bunny delivering Easter baskets and chocolates to his house.  That’s when he realizes, the Easter Bunny is real, and this is him!!  Once E.B. shares his dream with Fred, Fred agrees to help E.B. audition for a talent show.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Carlos (voiced by Hank Azaria) is the Easter Bunny’s most trusted advisor.  However, he is tired of bunnies ruling Easter.  He plots to overthrow the Easter Bunny and hopes that E.B. never comes back.  Then the world will meet The Easter Chick!!  Unaware of the treachery, the Easter Bunny has dispatched the Pink Berets, a trio of fierce (mostly, two were fierce, one was a little slow) female bunnies tasked with finding E.B..  They have lots of fancy gadgets and mad ninja skills.

Will Easter be saved??  Will E.B. return to Easter Island??  Will Fred ever make his parents proud??  Go see “Hop” and find out!!!

One thing I did notice that I found strange was that nobody (except for Fred) found a talking bunny unusual.  But hey, they WERE in Hollywood.
I was pleased that not all of the funny parts of “Hop” were in the previews.  I was also glad that it escaped the dreaded current “Everything Must Be in 3-D” fad.  The animation was seamlessly blended with the live-action, and the story was well-written and flowed well.  For the “Despicable Me” fans, minions do make a brief appearance.  Also, don’t leave when the credits begin to roll because there is a scene after the credits.
“Hop” is a great family flick, appropriate for the kids with enough humor, pop culture references and cameo appearances for the grown-ups (or those masquerading as grown-ups).  A very funny, egg-cellent movie.

When you are beautiful on the outside, it doesn’t matter what you’re like on the inside, right??  Wrong!!  In “Beastly”, Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) is a handsome and popular student at his private school in New York City.  He cares only about himself.  We later find out that he learned just how much looks matter from his father, whom he barely sees.  When he treats the school’s resident Goth chick Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) badly one too many times, she casts a spell on him (yes, she is a witch) that makes him look as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside (this includes odd facial piercings, tattoos, and assorted scars).   He has one year to find true love or else he will stay that way forever.

Poor disfigured Kyle is sent to live just outside the city in a townhouse.  His father promises to visit often, but he keeps cancelling on his son (he’s not a very nice dad).  Instead, he sends Will (Neil Patrick Harris), a blind tutor to keep Kyle current with his studies.  So with only Will and his housekeeper Zola (Lisa Gay Hamilton) for company, Kyle takes to skulking around the city, spying on Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), a student at his former school whom he had several interactions with prior to his curse.  When Lindy’s father inadvertently puts her life in danger, Kyle makes a deal with her dad to keep her safe.  So she is brought to Kyle’s townhouse to live.  At first, Lindy is angry because she had to leave her friends, her school, and her dream of visiting Machu Picchu (on a school field trip) behind.  Kyle realizes that this is his chance to find the one to declare her love for him, so he sets out to win her affections.  Unfortunately, he didn’t take the time to get to know Lindy, so his expensive presents get him nowhere. It’s not until he brings her a case of her favorite candy that is he able to break the ice.

I don’t want to reveal any more, but if you’ve seen any other version of “Beauty and the Beast” you can probably guess what happens after.

The acting in this movie was good.  There was a fair amount of chemistry between the lead characters.  I especially liked Neil Patrick Harris and Mary-Kate Olsen’s performances.  Michelle Tanner she is no more!!   I thought the makeup people did a good job uglying up Kyle.  At first it was kind of hard to look at him but after a while you get used to it.  I feel this was a good, modern take on the “Beauty and the Beast” tale.  If you believe in magic and the power of love you will enjoy this movie.

Sometimes, the grass isn’t always greener…

When Rick (Owen Wilson) is given a “Hall Pass” from his wife Maggie (Jenna Fischer), he thinks he is the luckiest guy ever!!  Now he is free to live the life of a swinging bachelor for a whole week.  Maggie took the kids to her parent’s house, so no wife, no kids, and no responsibilities!!  He can go out and score with any chick he wants.

Let’s back up a bit, shall we??  Rick and Maggie are a (mostly) happily-married couple with three children.  They’ve been together forever, but sometimes relationships have unhappy patches, as theirs is in now.  Maggie feels taken for granted, and when she overhears Rick and his friends, including best friend Fred (Jason Sudeikis) debating how much they will pay for one “freebie” (a sexual encounter with someone other than their wives, and the wife is guaranteed to never find out), she later decides to let him have his freebie.

So Rick is free, and then Fred’s wife Grace (Christina Applegate, who is awesome by the way, I just realized this earlier as I watched “Don’t Tell Mom the Baby-sitter’s Dead” for about the 50th time) decides to give Fred a Hall Pass too.  She joins Maggie and her kids, and the men are free!!  However, things don’t always go as planned.  I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s just say on the first night of freedom the men were calling it a night at about 9:30.

Oh, and remember, a Hall Pass goes both ways, as Maggie and Grace soon realize.  So guys, you may be free but you wives are too!!!

There were definitely some zany situations in this movie, including: public masturbation, pot brownies consumed on a golf course (humorous complications ensue), explosive diarrhea, excessive sexual discussion (and hand gestures) when you think nobody is around but really EVERYONE in the house is watching and listening to you, and a good lesson -don’t fall asleep for hours in a hot tub, because your legs may go numb and you may need to be rescued by a naked man and his schlong may accidentally be in your face.

Overall this was a fun movie.  The story was good and so was the acting.  I was however distracted by the few characters that had majorly bad and obvious “fake bake” (aka fake tans).  I didn’t understand why they needed that.

Warning:  this one is NOT for the kids.  While there were some outrageously funny situations, there was also full-frontal male nudity, one topless woman, and very naughty language.

When I first saw previews for “No Strings Attached” I really wanted to see it.  I like Ashton Kutcher.  I like Natalie Portman.  It looked like a fun, sexy comedy.  Well, I was wrong.

Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) first met at summer camp during their awkward teenage years.  They didn’t see each other again until years later, then a few other random times after that.  They didn’t date; however, until “one fateful night” after Adam finds out that his father (Kevin Kline) is dating his ex-girlfriend.  Yuck!  After a drunken evening, Adam wakes up naked in Emma’s apartment.  That morning, they end up having sex.  Then they decide to use each other for sex, whenever, wherever.  They even have rules, like “no cuddling”, “no breakfast”, “no lying”, “no jealousy”, etc.  I don’t understand why someone would rather have a “No Strings Attached” agreement instead of a real relationship.  But I guess Emma and Adam thought it would work.  Of course, it didn’t.  Someone always catches feelings.

I didn’t feel there was any chemistry between the main characters, which surprised me because usually they are both really good in their roles.  Emma was stubborn and she really irritated me.  She had this great guy but she was all “oh I’m not getting in a relationship with you because I’m scared”.  Wah.  Cry me a river.  Adam tried but not hard enough in my opinion.  He gave in to Emma’s retardery way too easily.  Overall I was disappointed with “No Strings Attached”.

I did like Lake Bell as Lucy, Adam’s spastic co-worker.  She was awkward and funny.   Kevin Kline was also good as Adam’s father.

Bottom line:  Natalie Portman should stick to dramas.  She was great in “Black Swan” and, of course, the “Star Wars” prequels, among other more serious films.  I would rather have waited for “Friends with Benefits”, set to be released in July.  Also, they didn’t play *N SYNC’s song “No Strings Attached” ever in this movie, which would have fit perfectly!!

“The Chronicles of Narnia:  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is the latest film in the Narnia series.  I haven’t read this book so my review will focus on the movie.

This time around, Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund Pevensie (Skandar Keynes) are living at their aunt’s house with their wretched cousin Eustace (Will Poutler) in England.  Their other siblings, Susan (Anna Popplewell) and Peter (William Moseley) are living with their father in America.  Eustace is a piece of work!!  Let’s just say that he doesn’t get along with his cousins very well.  One day the three are arguing in Lucy’s room when a painting on the wall suddenly starts pouring out water and they are sucked back into Narnia, where they are fished out of the sea to climb aboard the Dawn Treader.  At first, Eustace is in serious denial about everything and he is a right bloody git!!  (I spent a lot of time wishing he would fall overboard).

Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) is now a king and is set about on a voyage to find his father’s lost crew believed to be on a hidden island.  On their journey, they land on an island where an evil green mist is taking the people of his kingdom.  Pirates have taken control of the island and are sacrificing the people to the evil green mist, and Caspian is not ok with that!  They discover that they need to find seven swords (hmm, find seven things in order to defeat evil, sounds like another awesome movie series that we know and love), and place them upon Aslan’s table to conquer the evil mist.

The Dawn Treader and crew set out to find the seven swords and the source of the evil green mist.  Along the way, they encounter a very large dragon, some interesting creatures that have one big giant foot each, and a giant, terrifying sea serpent.  I want to say more about the very large dragon, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise for those who haven’t read the book.

Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) is back in a small role, as is the White Witch (Tilda Swinton), she seems to never really go away.  Susan and Peter’s roles are nearly nonexistent.  They do not return to Narnia, as Aslan stated at the end of “Prince Caspian” because they have learned everything that they could from Narnia.  So, they only appear in Lucy’s dreams.

As far as the 3D effects go, there weren’t many of them.  I wouldn’t spend the extra money for the upgrade to 3D.  In my opinion, 3D should be reserved for theme park attractions like “Captain EO” or “Muppetvision 3D” in Walt Disney World or even the Spider-man ride in Universal Studios Islands of Adventure.  It seems like a waste to use 3D for a movie where there aren’t any other sensory effects.  But that’s just my opinion!!  If you prefer 3D films, then enjoy!!  Overall, this was a good family film with action, adventure and fun.

+++More Tangled pics here+++

Once upon a time, there was a magical flower that had healing powers.  An evil witch discovered the flower, and she kept it hidden so she could use it to keep herself young.  Then, the queen of a nearby kingdom became gravely ill, and the king sent all his men out to search for the magical healing flower.  To the evil witch’s disappointment, the king’s men found the magical healing flower, and they plucked it from the ground to deliver it to the queen.  The queen drank tea made with the flower, and she became well again.  However, the queen was pregnant, and the magical properties of the flower were transferred to her baby.  The evil witch was not happy about this turn of events, and when she discovered that the baby princess had acquired the magic, she kidnapped the princess.  But the king and queen never give up hope that the lost princess would be returned.  Every year, on the princess’s birthday, the people of the kingdom release hundreds of floating candles into the sky in memory of their missing princess.

Fast forward seventeen years….Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) has been locked in a tower for seventeen long, lonely years.  She spends her time painting, reading, and dreaming, with a cute little chameleon named Pascal as her only friend.  Sure, she gets visits from the evil witch Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy), who tells her all about the scary things out in the world.  Rapunzel is too terrified to even want to leave the safety of her tower!!  But Mother Gothel knows she has to keep Rapunzel in the tower, because she uses her for her own personal fountain of youth.  You see, when they sing a special song, the magic happens, Mother Gothel reverse-ages, and Rapunzel’s hair grows.  Oh yeah, and her hair is about 70 feet long now.

Rapunzel is no damsel in distress though.  When it comes down to it, Rapunzel discovers that a frying pan makes a handy weapon.  When Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), thief, discovers Rapunzel’s tower while fleeing from castle guards, Rapunzel takes him hostage (she ties him up with her hair!!) and then forces him to help her escape.  Rapunzel has been keeping track, and she knows that in a few days, the floating lights will appear and she wants to see them up close and personal.  Rapunzel has no idea that the floating lights are in memory of the lost princess, who is actually her!!  What happens next is a fun adventure involving some thugs in a pub, a mean horse named Maximus (he was really funny) and a little romance thrown in for good measure (this IS a Disney movie, after all!!).

What I liked:  There was more humor in this movie than a lot of other Disney animated films.  Since this is the 50th animated feature by Walt Disney Pictures, I was glad to see that it still had all the charm and wonder of the first animated feature, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, and it will leave you with that feel-good, happy feeling.  The visuals were amazing, very rich and colorful.  There were no talking animals in this one, but the chameleon and the horse were very expressive and humorous.  The songs were catchy, and I especially enjoyed hearing Zachary Levi (TV’s Chuck Bartowski) sing.  I thought the main characters reminded me of Aladdin (a thief with no family) and Jasmine (a rebellious princess).  I also noticed a spinning wheel (like the one from “Sleeping Beauty”) up in Rapunzel’s tower.  I’m sure there were more nods to other Disney films that I missed.  Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi were awesome in this movie.

What I didn’t like:  Rapunzel spent the whole movie barefoot.  I would think her feet would be killing her, what with all the running around she was doing.  I’m sure she could have found shoes somewhere (or a pair of scissors?)

Don’t believe when people say this is a rip-off of “Shrek”.  I like the “Shrek” movies, but they are never as good as Disney films.  Disney animated pictures have that certain something that other animated movies lack.  This is a perfect addition to your holiday festivities, add Tangled to your must see list.

“High school was a horror movie, and this is the sequel…”

///More images here\\\

When Marni (Kristen Bell) was in high school, she was, well, to put it nicely, your typical geek. Between the braces, the bad complexion, the coke-bottle glasses, and the unfortunate word that her initials spelled out – “MOO”, Marni was an easy target for the school’s bully, JJ (Odette Yustman, think Megan Fox only not skanky and a lot more pleasant).

Fast forward eight years, and Marni is now a successful Public Relations agent who was recently promoted to Vice President of one of her firm’s offices. More good news – her brother is getting married!! Now the bad news – his fiancé is the one and only JJ, Marni’s high school nemesis, who now goes by the name Joanna. Marni arrives home for the wedding and is surprised to discover that Joanna pretends not to remember her and the horrible way she treated her back in high school. But Marni didn’t forget.

Next we meet Joanna’s rich, jet-setting Aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver), who lo and behold, has a history with Marni’s mother Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis). Now there are two generations of bullies and the bullied in this wedding!!

Even though it’s been eight years since high school, Joanna picks up where she left off and continues to torment Marni. Then, when a series of unfortunate incidents causes Marni to look just as she did in high school, Marni decides that enough is enough. Tired of the abuse, she decides to show Will what Joanna is really like. So she digs up the high school’s time capsule video and plays it at the rehearsal dinner. What happens next is complete chaos.

I thought this movie was fast-paced and didn’t drag. There were several funny scenes, including a dance rehearsal at the wedding planner’s studio and another part when Gail goes to visit Ramona in her lavish hotel suite. And of course, everyone knows there is going to be a girl fight between Marni and Joanna. That was funny too!!

I can’t forget to mention notable performances by Betty White (the “It Girl” of the moment), Kristin Chenowith (as the wedding planner with a flair for performances) and Kyle Bornheimer (as Tim, Joanna’s ex-boyfriend who still has a thing for her, big-time and isn’t afraid to show it. Tim was quite amusing in a sad sort of way).

Will the wedding go on? Will Joanna apologize to Marni for making her high school years a living hell? Check out “You Again” for the answers. A fun, comical film with a great cast and a super soundtrack.