The Break-Up

We've decided to continue the summer tradition of semi-frequent movie going. Semi-frequent being up from occasional movie viewing with the sporadic "On Demand" rental thrown in for good measure. The tradition started out in earnest a few years ago when we saw Troy (and then a couple of other movies which obviously didn't make a very good impression) at the start of the summer at the "big theater" up closer to New Brunswick than we really like to go.

So far this summer we started things right by going with Dave to the Ziegfeld to see Mission Impossible III. Okay to be honest the only good thing about that was the company and the theater, the movie left a bit to be desired. Say goodbye to your career Tom Cruise.

Then we hit up Lincoln Square for the Code, which was an adventure as most movie going in Manhattan is.

This past weekend we tried something new. We went to a matinee at the Marketfair (still can't convince the husband to go to the Princeton Garden Theater-- something to do with the fact that he claims one doesn't go to the movies to watch said movie on a screen comparable to that of your tv at home-- oh, pish, I say!) Anyway, I digress.

At this matinee showing we were both mesmerized that the ticket prices were somewhat discounted and that at 12:35 on a Sunday virtually no one was in the theater. For whatever reason we then gorged ourselves on movie snacks (in total two excessively large sodas, each which were marketed as "medium", a nacho, jumbo hot dog and pretzel nuggets-- all being really more than we would usually consume in a day let alone in one two hour sitting). The snack indulgence cut into our matinee ticket savings to say the least.

Movie snacks and half empty theater aside, our film choice left much to be desired. What can I say, I was taken in by the whole marketing campaign. I wanted to see The Break-Up. More than "Friends with Money" and certainly more than "Rumor Has It" or "Derailed" (though Derailed did have Clive Owen, a bonus). I got suckered in to wanting to see the movie. The husband went along out of husbandly duty, but perhaps he also knew better. All I can say is now I totally owe him, I am so having to go see the newest Jet Li movie after this disaster.

First of all, its not funny. Not even a little bit. One maybe two chuckles. Vince Vaughn? He looked like a beached whale until the end where in the reshoots he had actually lost so much weight that they wrote it in to the script. Poor Vincent D'Onofrio always plays the "Bug" from the Men in Black movies and Jennifer Anniston is just generally unlikeable.

The whole movie from start to finish seemed like one big PR move to say: "This is what happened. Things with Brad and I blew out of proportion, then I realized we weren't right for each other and I broke up with him, now I've moved on and I'm happy." "And oh, ps. this whole thing with Vince is just for the publicity, we'll be done in two weeks."

Then again I should have known, I tend to think a good indication of a movie is in the previews. The previews showing before The Break-Up included a Cameron Diaz/Kate Winslet movie I've never heard of and a movie about teenagers who start their own technical institute. Harold and Kumar's trip to the White Castle was better! (As an aside, may I just say, this Kate Winslet movie... "The Holiday"... they've paired the poor woman up with Jack Black. Explain to me how Kate Winslet could be in Titanic with Leonardo diCaprio as her love interest, being the "biggest movie" of all time, then the girl puts on a few pounds and she's cast opposite Jack Black?!? There truly is no justice in Hollywood.)

Finally, to round out the weekend we watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Starz (or perhaps it was Encore...either way I was surprised it was on tv since the DVD came out approximately five minutes ago). Must say, better film. More entertaining and Angelina Jolie strange as she may be is just a better match for Brad Pitt.

Next on our list?

Casino Royale. The previews have sucked me in and though I was initially a big naysayer for the casting of Daniel Craig, after seeing Layer Cake I can understand the concept.

And of course, a shout out to Snakes on a Plane.