The Other Woman (2014)

4/5

The Other Woman is a surprisingly stellar film, funny and emotional in just the right concentrations. The plot follows Carly (Diaz) as a high-powered lawyer who discovers that the man she's dating, Mark (Coster-Waldau), has both a wife (Mann) and a second mistress (Upton). The initial premise sounds bland and cliché at first--and little more than a substandard chick flick--but it surprises time and time again. The writing is extremely well-done (e.g., "cry on the inside like a winner") and the characters feel much more fleshed out than those occupying your standard rom-com. Diaz is truly outstanding. I am not a fan of Cameron Diaz in general, but this is honestly one of my favorites roles from her entire career.

The Other Woman has a couple of flaws. First, it is filled with unusual, sometimes uncomfortable, music choices. Second, Mark's final comeuppance (despite how much we have all grown to hate him) is excessively over-the-top, indulging in way too much schadenfreude for comfort. But for all it gets wrong, it gets the most important things right. The Other Woman is a comedy with heart and strong characters that make you a little better off after watching it. And isn't that what movies are all about?

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2203939/

The Notebook (2004)

3/5

Before I start this review, I should note that there were certain distractions that took my attention away from the movie for several minutes at a time. Thus, it may be an unfair assessment. However, I remain confident in my rating within plus or minus 0.5 stars, which I don't use anyway. With that in mind, let us begin with the review.

The Notebook is a rather simple boy meets girl tearjerker love story. The title refers to a notebook detailing how the couple met and fell in love. Now a grandfather, the man reads it to his Alzheimer-stricken wife to help her get back the memories the disease stole from her. It's a tender premise, at risk of being filled with saccharine sentimentality and overwrought melodrama. For the most part, it manages to avoid the sappiness associated with its cliched and tired story, and instead infuses it with just the right amount of emotion. This is in large part due to the acting by the two leads (Gosling and McAdams), whose performances allow us to feel empathy instead of resentment for the cocky boy and rich girl who find true love in each other. As far as the story and acting goes, this is about as good a film as any other romance.

Technically, the film is about the same as your typical romantic fare. The painterly compositions could be quite stunning, but the overuse of slo-mo was a bit excessive. The simple editing served the story well, with some efficiently-cut scenes and some unnecessary ones. The dialogue, what I heard of it, wasn't particularly poetic or cheesy. All in all, this was a fairly average romance with a few good qualities and a few bad qualities. If it seems like this is your type of movie, you'll probably enjoy it. But it won't change anybody's mind about the genre.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332280/