Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)

3/5

Gnomeo & Juliet is a clever animated film about garden gnomes. As you can probably tell by the title, it is very loosely based on the William Shakespeare play Romeo & Juliet. Except this 3D cartoon version is a comedy instead of a tragedy. Much like Toy Story, the gnomes live in a world where real people don't know that they can move and talk. And in the Capulet and Montague gardens are blue and red garden gnomes, separated by a fence, constantly at war with each other. Gnomeo (McAvoy) meets Juliet (Blunt); the two fall in love then discover that they are on opposite sides of the fence.

For the educated viewer, you can enjoy the numerous references to other Shakespeare plays. The movie is full of subtle jokes paired with more obviously hilarious scenes. It was a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting it to be, with a light atmosphere and familiar voices. There's nothing particularly impressive about anything in this movie, but it's a solid piece of entertainment to pass away a lazy summer afternoon.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377981/

Bridesmaids (2011)

4/5

Bridesmaids is easily the funniest movie I've seen this year. Like Knocked Up and The Hangover, the humor is raunchy bordering on vulgar. And best of all, it is non-stop. The movie is about preparing for a wedding. More specifically, it is about how all the pre-wedding traditions (dress-fitting, bridal shower, bachelorette party) get butchered by the maid of honor. Annie (Wiig) is the awkward but kindhearted best friend, too exaggerated to be a real person but genuine enough that her downfalls can pull at your heartstrings. Lillian (Rudolph) is the bride-to-be, caught between the nostalgia of her humble past and the allure of a lavish wedding. Annie is, of course, the maid of honor, but after a few botched jobs, the friends have a falling out and Lillian's new best friend Helen (Byrne) takes over the wedding planning.

I neglected to mention the rest of the cast, all unique and memorable. But the one that stands out the most is the groom's sister Megan (McCarthy). She is amazing. She carries the humor and the heart in this movie as much as Kristen Wiig does. She absolutely blew me away. Her character and her portrayal adds a whole new dimension to the movie that elevates this film above most other modern comedies. I loved her.

As for the technical aspects of the movie, I was impressed that the cinematography and editing was not terrible, but not actually impressed with it at all. The writing, as you can tell by my profuse praise of the comedy in the film, is right on point. The actors add impeccable timing to make this film a riot. The story is a good length and it touches on some finer points of friendship and female-female interactions that I didn't think it would touch on. When it comes to movies, Bridesmaids has just about the whole package. I recommend it 100%.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1478338/

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

3/5

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is as weird and darkly comic as all his other movies. The plot follows the young Alice (Wasikowska) after being proposed to in front of a huge party by a wealthy lord named Hamish. She is a young independent soul who doesn't like corsets or stockings and certainly doesn't want to wed someone just because he is rich and she is getting older. But that is the option she is presented with, and the hundreds of guests in attendance seem to be pushing her towards the safe choice. She asks for some time to think it over. And with that time, she manages to fall down a rabbit hole and into "Underland," which she mistakenly calls Wonderland.

The movie is blandly quirky and innocently morbid, but somehow also reassuring and uplifting by the end. There were some funny moments (almost entirely involving Helena Bonham Carter) and some boring moments (almost entirely involved Johnny Depp). The oddness of the story didn't work for me. I found it neither charming nor endearing; it was just a charade to distract the audience from the simpleness of the story. And the visuals, while Burton-esque to a T, were filmed and/or animated poorly. Quite frankly, nobody understands 3D as well as James Cameron does right now. (That scene where Alice is falling down the rabbit hole made me almost vomit from nausea.) At first I thought Tim Burton just made bizarre movies for the sake of being bizarre, but now I'm starting to think that he doesn't really know how to make a movie that isn't bizarre. That, or he doesn't see the point in it. Still, this is a pretty entertaining movie. Watch it if you're a Burton or Depp fanboy, but don't expect anything grand.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014759/