Whip It

Parents are always telling their children to “Follow your Dreams”, and that’s just what Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) does, no matter how unbelievable it is, in this directorial-debut of Drew Barrymore.

“Whip It” follows the story of Bliss Cavendar, an Indie-loving, unpopular teen that is continually pushed into beauty pageants by her over-bearing mother, as she makes the transition from her normal, follow-the-rules routine into her alter-ego, Babe Ruthless, the fastest, slippery Jammer (a position in Roller Derby) on the leagues worst team, The Hurl Scouts. Along the way, Bliss discovers first-love and heartbreak in the man of her dreams and has to constantly overcome mother-daughter differences. But as I mentioned before, a lot of this movie was unbelievable.

First, she lies to the Derby league about her age and she gets away with it? Come on, even though Ellen Page IS 22, she looks like she is 18 (the league age is 21)! Second, there is a part where Bliss and the man she falls in love with break into a school to go swimming in the pool? Where are the security alarms or janitors after what felt like three hours of swimming? And thirdly, since when do parents not care about their 17-year-old daughter on a school night? Although Bliss lies to her parents about taking an SAT class in order to make practice, she is gone from the time school lets out until midnight and no one is worried?

I’m not saying this movie wasn’t good, because it was (especially the names other derby members have, like Jabba the Slut and Smashley Simpson), just a lot of this movie was very unbelievable.

2 out of 4

Funny People

I went to see this movie on Friday night. I walked into the theater at 9:15 p.m., bought my popcorn and drink, parked myself in the best seat left and waited for the movie to start (which was at 9:30 p.m.). Do you want to know what time I got out at? 12:20 a.m.! This movie is just WAY to long! I was nearly pleading with the screen for it to end! And near the end, its not even really a comedy anymore, its more like a SOAP OPERA! Judd Apatow should know how to create a great funny movie, since he directed The 40-year-old Virgin and Knocked Up. Now that I got that off my chest, lets talk about the good things about the movie. First, ADAM SANDLER! I personally never really liked Adam because he was always WAY to obnoxious for the screen. Yet, somehow, he has given one of the best performances of his life! He was extremely funny in this film and was able to keep his composure ALMOST throughout it all. Just an all around great performance. Second, Seth Rogen. Is there a film this guy can’t be funny in? I enjoy watching his films so much, it almost feels like he is that one friend everyone has that just keeps the jokes a-rollin’ the whole night. And last but not least, the all-star cast! Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Aziz Ansari, and also with performances from Ray Romano, Sarah Silverman, and Eminem, just makes you laugh at how funny this movie will be JUST WITH THE CAST! How many movies can do that!?

1 1/2 stars out of 4

Bruno

Sacha Baron Cohen is at it again! The star of Borat makes sitting in the theater and watching people react to him as if he were a real person even MORE uncomfortable with Bruno, a gay t.v. host from Austria coming to America to create a career for himself. Making out with a ghost, having people in America preview his show and basically flashing a penis at them the whole time, adopting an African baby (which he says he swaped an ipod for and gave him a traditional black name, O.J.), and going to a swinger’s party are just some of the new tricks Cohen has up his sleave. But lets face it, Cohen’s movies are getting a little bland now. Borat was great, but this is just kind of a disappointment. Its just the same thing with a different title and the jokes are nowhere near as funny. And the things “Bruno” does, are just down right weird. Sometimes, you have to draw a line between comedy, and reality.

2 1/2 stars out of 4 (Note: I would advise to people old enough that they should NOT bring anyone under 10 to see this movie)

The Hangover

Wow. When i first saw this trailer, I thought “This is gonna be one of the stupidest movies I’m ever gonna see”. Boy was wrong.

It starts out with 4 friends, Phil , Stu , and Alan , going to Vegas for the weekend to celebrate their friend’s, Doug (Justin Bartha), bachelor party. After a quick drink on the roof top of Ceaser’s Palace, the movie zooms forward to the next morning to the Villa they are staying at. The room is a complete mess, a tiger is in the bathroom, a baby is in the closet, Stu is missing a tooth, the three cannot remember a single event from the previous night, and the trio’s bff Doug is nowhere to be found. As the movie progresses, the trio learn what the hell happened to them, why they have a baby, why Mike Tyson (yes, he IS in this movie, yet he strangley gives a decent performance) is trying to kill them, and where Doug is.

Director Todd Phillips, known for directing movies such as “Old School” and “Road Trip”, really pushed his stars into their element by making them give their best performances to date and allowed laughter and comedy to just flow through the film, instead of long dragged out jokes. This movie is a must see.

4 stars out of 4