Bridesmaids Review

Bridesmaids

Directed by: Paul Feig
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, and Melissa McCarthy

When you see from the guy who brought you “40 Year Old Virgin”, “Knocked Up”, and “Superbad”, what do you think? That it has a lot to live up to? I think so. Bridesmaids is a Judd Apatow comedy. So that means you’ll see: witty dialogue, physical comedy, and many sexual references. However now, all of these things are being delivered by a line-up of leading ladies instead of Seth Rogen, Steve Carrell, and Jonah Hill. And with that let me give you the gist of the film (SPOILER ALERT!)

Annie (Kristen Wiig) is love rejected woman with no self esteem. No scene shows it better than the opening segment between her and a hilarious Jon Hamm (Madmen, The Town) that showcases an awkward sex scene which ends in the morning with Annie having to climb over his front gate to leave. As the beginning of the movie progresses we are shown just why she is at this stage of her life, and how the tough economy killed the dream that she had followed of owning her own bakery. But nothing hits Annie closer to home then when her best friend of 20+ years tells Annie that she’s getting married.

Kristen Wiig is the perfect cast for this role, using her much acquired improvisational skills from Saturday Night Live to benefit every scene. And for once, Hollywood does a movie that doesn’t have an unrealistically beautiful star  playing an everyday Jane like Annie. It gave it a more realistic feel, and made the scenes with Annie just that much more sad, and comedic.

The movie progresses around the months leading up to the wedding. The other bridesmaids really remind you how important it is to have a complete ensemble cast, even in comedy film. And like most happy endings, Annie is able to find herself and a man who loves her for who she is. But its discovered in a quirky and unbalanced manner much like a good time at a bar on college night.

There are many different scenes throughout the film that had me spitting out my drink, and choking on my popcorn (By the way, you have to love the random inclusion of “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips as such a key memory in the movie). With this being the first movie screening I’ve seen, I wasn’t disappointed at all. Bridesmaids delivered anything that it may have promised, and truly exceeded the expectations that any of its trailers set. I had no idea how funny this was going to be, and was planning it being a cute chick flick. It’s not that at all, it’s the next produced classic to add to Judd Apatow’s resume.

7.5 out of 10

Thor Review

Thor

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, and Natalie Portman

Grab your hammers and helmets for this comic tale of about the God of Thunder! A powerful but arrogant warrior who is cast out of his world of Asgard by his father and banished to earth. While on earth, he learns what takes to be a true leader, and hero.

Okay, so Thor isn’t one of the most believable superhero tales that Marvel has created but every fan takes it for what it is. Knowing this, you have to go into the theatre with your taste for realism on a vacation. Thor doesn’t possess much of it. However, that doesn’t stop it from delivering a +1 on the right side for Marvel movie adaptations. Daredevil was crap, the first Hulk was crap, the second Hulk was reasonably good, but besides X-Men and Iron Man, that was it…until now.

Thor needed to be quality, otherwise the Avenger Movie coming out next summer wouldn’t be worth a matinee ticket (and still may not, I have my doubts). So how did Thor do? Very well actually. Marvel is beginning to find their formula for success and it consists of the right balance of humor, plot, and action much like that of Iron Man. Several times during the movie I found myself smirking at witty dialogue or choking on a funny situation. Not to mention how great Chris Hemsworth does as the mighty Thor, son of Oden. Natalie Portman plays a safe but enjoyable role as the muse of Thor who offers to help him because of the mystery that lies behind him. Anthony Hopkins is an honorable and wise, Oden. In this movie we also get a nice cameo of Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye who is tempted to almost take out our hammer wielding hero in one part of the movie not too long after Thor arrives on earth.

Throughout the movie, action is a constant, and at times it got a little busy but it always seemed to remain true to an underlying plot, and direction. For comic book fans, much of Thor almost seems like a large preview for the Avengers movie, constantly connecting the dots that intertwine the heroes in the graphic novels. Yet in the end, you don’t leave confused, but satisfied that the Avengers Movie is one step closer to be the epic movie that its suppose to be.

7 out of 10