The Proposal (2009)

4/5

The Proposal is a delightful romantic comedy that gives just the right amount of haha and aww that you'd expect from it and throws in a few additional surprises (especially for fans of The Office). The plot follows feared book editor Margaret something or other (Bullock)--in a role that seems conspicuously similar to Meryl's Streep's character in The Devil Wears Prada--and her executive assistant Andrew something or other (Reynolds). She is at risk of deportation following a Visa fiasco and uses her position over Andrew to get him to agree to marry him so she can stay in the country. At first he refuses, then decides to take advantage of her situation and force her to promote him to editor after the marriage and divorce are all taken care of. Unfortunately, the FBI or whatever federal organization that gets involved in this sort of thing catches wind of their fraudulent endeavor, forcing them to take a trip back to Andrew's home in Alaska to prove that they are truly marrying each other out of love.

Yes, it is a ridiculously contrived scenario, but it works. It's thoroughly entertaining if you're willing to suspend your disbelief for a little bit. The acting was terrific. Sandra Bullock is as attractive as she was 15 years ago and Ryan Reynolds is as charming and charismatic as always. But what really made me love the movie was the acting by the side characters. Betty White (whom I knew from her role as Catherine Piper on Boston Legal) is absolutely exquisite. And Oscar Nuñez from The Office also has his fair share of laughs and surprises. The technical aspects of the movie are competent but unexceptional. The movie as a whole is extremely enjoyable and I actually would recommend you go out and see it if you like any of the actors involved.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1041829/

Ponyo (2008)

4/5

Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo is a wonderfully inventive, creative foray into another universe. The story follows a young boy named Sosuke (Jonas) and a magical goldfish creature (Cyrus) that he saves and names Ponyo. Sosuke lives with his mother (Fey) in a seaside village, alone on a cliff, while his father (Damon) is out at sea. Ponyo's father (Neeson) wants to get his daughter back because the future of the world depends on it. And so begins their magical story together.

The best part about Miyazaki's directing is by far the fantastic world he creates, the characters that inhabit it, and the rules they live by. It is fully-realized and awe-inspiring, and it is something I have never seen before. Much like Tim Burton's works, the movie has the potential to frighten and terrify, but instead benevolently lets us enjoy the triumphs over the catastrophes. However, the directing and the movie as a whole suffer from a few problems as well. There is no real conflict to consider except perhaps that nobody really knows what's going on, so they might "make a mistake" and cause the world to be destroyed. In fact, the audience doesn't know what's going on at all either because the background story isn't fleshed-out enough for anybody's to comprehend it. Side stories seem to be picked up and ignored almost haphazardly. And Fey's voice acting was sometimes good, sometimes downright bad--I'm sorry to report--but mostly just distracting. Overall, however, these flaws aren't that bad. If you're a Miyazaki fan, this will definitely not disappoint.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0876563/