Category: romance
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The Best Of Me [2014] ★★
Based on the best-selling weepie by Nicholas Sparks, “The Best Of Me” is a hazard to all those allergic to cheesy chick flicks, or Sparks’ flicks in general. James Marsden stars as Dawson Cole, a man who is suddenly brought back into his ex-partner Amanda’s (Michelle Monaghan) company, when the pair meet to read the will of an old friend…
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Rio, I Love You [2014] ★½
Dull follow-up to “Paris Je T’aime” and “New York I Love You” offers a range of episodes set in the Brazilian city of Rio De Janero, mostly dealing with encounter of love in a different neighborhood of the city. Most of them are slight and boring; these vignettes about the beautiful city of Rio may just…
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Endless Love [2014] ★★
Unlike popular belief, I have nothing against romantic movies. But ever since 2004’s “The Notebook” became the ultimate choice in chick flicks (mainly because of Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams), the cheesy bestsellers of Nicholas Sparks have ignited a plague of Hollywood movies. “Nights in Rodanthe”, “The Last Song”, “Safe Haven” to name a few.…
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Winter’s Tale [2014]
Next to Thierry’s Friends’ crappy gadgets, I can’t think of a worse Valentine’s gift than a ticket to see “Winter’s Tale”. How much I hate this movie? let me count the ways. I hate the way Hollywood insults audiences by deciding a surrealistic love story is what we need for Valentine’s week. I hate the…
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Labor Day [2014] ★★½
Valentine’s day is upon us. This is cue for Hollywood studios to release their romantic films. Exhibit A: “Labor Day”, written and directed by Jason Reitman (“Up In The Air”) and based on the 2009 novel by Joyce Maynard. I think it’s fair to say that moviegoers know what to expect when they see one…
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Enough Said [2013] ★★★
I’ve enjoyed most of Nicole Holofcener’s movies (“Please Give”, “Friends with Money”) but she has outdone herself with “Enough Said”. Her characters are real, richly drawn and utterly believable. With a light of comic touch, and without a whiff of pretension, she manages to explore some of the craziness of adult relationships, creating superior entertainment.…
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Manhattan [1979]
In many ways, “Manhattan” is one of Woody Allen’s best and most personal movies. His relationship with New York is a never ending love story. “He adored it. He idolized it all out of proportion”. The film offers a funny version of Allen’s real life world in which existentialism plays a major role. His character…
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About Time [2013] ★★★
There’s no reason “About Time” should play as well as it does; it’s formulaic and predictable. But it flows so well, and the cast is so likable, that it’s hard to resist. As a writer, director and observer of relationships, Richard Curtis (“Notting Hill, “Love Actually”) just keeps getting better and better. This time, he has chosen time…
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Love And Honor [2013]
Dreadful movie set during the Vietnam War and starring Liam Hemsworth (“The Hunger Games”) and Austin Stowell as two soldiers who decide to return to America while on leave. Stowell wants to see the girl who dumped him before he shipped out, while Hemsworth finds himself connecting with a pretty “journalist” (Teresa Palmer). I hate the…
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Safe Haven [2013] ★★
People crave romantic movies, be they dramatic or funny (the box-office numbers prove it) and novelist Nicholas Sparks has provided the raw material for a number of such films including “Dear John”, “The Lucky One”, and most successfully, “The Notebook”. I think it’s fair to say that moviegoers know what to expect when they see one of these…
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The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 [2012] ★★
“Breaking Dawn part 2” is being presold as the best “Twilight” movie of the series. Faint praise, indeed. And also misleading. The first movie, released in 2008, is still the most bearable because director Catherine Hardwicke dove into the adolescent angst of Stephenie Meyer’s novel without an ounce of condescension. “New Moon” on the other hand directed by Chris…
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Hope Springs [2012] ★★★
People over 60 talking about sex and — yikes! — having it! Welcome to “Hope Springs”, a comedy drama that qualifies as a waking nightmare for teens and infantile men whose definition of “hot” hovers around women in their 20’s. Screw them. In this delightful movie from director David Frankel (who previously worked with Meryl Streep in…
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To Rome With Love [2012] ★★½
There’s nothing really wrong with a Woody Allen movie set in the Eternal city, but there’s nothing really right about it either. I had a few problems with his latest film “To Rome with Love”, but I had a good time watching it and sometimes, that’s what really matters. As usual, he has assembled an…
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Magic Mike [2012] ★★
All the women in the world are lining up to see “Magic Mike”. Why? Because it stars Channing Tatum (yep that dude from “Dear John and “The Vow”) as a stripper. Sounds like the movie event of the year no? Not really. Stripping aside, the plot couldn’t be more predictable. The problem lies not entirely…
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La Délicatesse [2012] ★★½
Not every movie has to be an event, or a blockbuster. Sometimes, all I ask of a film is that it offers an entertaining diversion for a certain period of time. That’s exactly what I got from “La Delicatesse”. During this current movie season, when it’s all about superheroes and visual experience, small movies tend…
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Friends With Kids [2012] ★★½
“Friends with Kids” is a strikingly original comedy with serious undertones. Judging from the cast, it may sound like another “Bridesmaids”, while in fact it’s not. Some moviegoers may be disappointed with the lack of “vulgarity”, but I was not. This is a movie that takes its time, as it covers a long time in…
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Friends With Benefits [2011] ★★
Admit it: You’ve seen that same story about a guy and a girl who say they’re just in it for the sex so many times before and better. So why try to deny it? Yet as soon as it opens, “Friends With Benefits” wants you to know that you’re in for something completely different than…
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Crazy, Stupid, Love [2011] ★★★
Well how do you like that? A movie that is both sweet and funny. “Crazy, Stupid, Love”, from directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (“I Love You, Phillip Morris”) comes as a pleasant surprise, and in a year of crap-taculars, that is a great relief (Screw you Michael Bay once again). Much of the film’s appeal is…
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The Adjustment Bureau [2011] ★★★
I was more than willing to accept the premise of “The Adjustment Bureau”, simply because I’m a huge fan of films that deal with fate and destiny. The main issue here is that there is a “plan”, that nothing happens by chance, and more importantly: free will is a comfortable illusion. It’s an intriguing thought if you ask me, and…
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