I was sooo looking forward to this. This was actually my first 3-D movie (I think). I saw it in IMAX, but personally, I don't think it made much of a difference. It was entertaining and deserved it's #1 box office spot, but I don't think it was as good as I was expecting. I said before that Johnny & Tim are my favorite actor/director pair, and because of that, my expectations were very high. It's probably my own fault that I left a little underwhelmed, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Surprisingly, my favorite performances were by the two queens (Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway), while Johnny's performance was just average. It will still be added to the collection, but it doesn't top Edward Scissorhands :) Overall rating: B
Under any other circumstances, I would not have paid to see this movie in theaters since it is extremely formulaic and predictable, but being the product of a Hispanic-African American pairing, I figured "what the heck" and went with family. You pretty much can predict all the jokes and stereotypes that are going to be pulled out, and they're most certainly there. It was just Guess Who with Latina substituted for white. I did laugh, of course. I was surprised by Forest Whitaker, and I don't care what anyone says, America Ferrera is beautiful. It's an enjoyable movie, but it's moreso the kind you watch on tv on a rainy day. Overall rating: C
I will say it up front: this was my favorite of all the movies I saw. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from it. I enjoyed Twilight and I've seen Rob in other films, but I was under the impression he was still "figuring himself out" as an actor. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. The whole relationship aspect of the film was commonplace, but both Rob and Emilie (who I haven't seen outside of interviews, but she's so adorable!) both delivered great performances. Rob is proving that he can be more than the stoic, brooding (but hot) vampire. The message of this film is what gets you. It's gotten a lot of slack for the ending (and I won't give it away because I think surprise only adds to integrity of the experience)--many calling it "offensive" or "cheap" on the writers' part--but the movie succeeded in honoring and telling the story of so many people through one. The ending takes you by surprise, and it shocks you, but I don't think it was done just to simply make the audience feel more for the characters; instead, it made a very real personal connection that leads one to think and to truly consider "living in the moments." The film was authentic. Overall rating: A-
*EDIT* So while still thinking about Remember Me (seriously, it's the kind of film that stays with you), I've realized what the problem is. It's all in the marketing. I don't think it was marketed properly, so audiences go in with very average expectations. The studio (Summit, which also puts out the Twilight films) presented it as a romantic drama, but I don't think that is the central focus of the story. All sorts of relationships are explored, and this is done to support a broader message about life, coping and how we choose to live. People went in looking for a love story, more than likely one with a happy ending (I've already discussed Hollywood's misrepresentations of love in Dear John, so you know how I feel about this), so it is geared more toward younger females, but I think the message could resonate with anyone. Just because Rob is in it and is part of a successful commercialized franchise, that does not mean they should alienate other audiences by catering (or appearing to, as far as the promos) to a particular group. See, this is why I need to be in film marketing! :)
Honestly, I don't even know what genre I'd label this as. But regardless, I recommend you see it ASAP!
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