Posts tagged advice
“Is Anybody There” Yes, There Is
May 7th
Yes, There Is
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
IS ANYBODY THERE? is a film with a fairly familiar story about the contrast between youth and old age, but it has one thing in it that makes it stand out above all the others and that makes it worth seeing: Sir Michael Caine.
Caine doesn’t like to be called “Sir,” even though he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2000, and he doesn’t like to be referred to by his title, which is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE.
Pretty good for a Cockney kid who was born Maurice Micklewhite, but who has been making movies for more than 50 years, i’n’t it?
Here he plays “The Amazing Clarence,” a retired magician who checks himself into “a residence home for the elderly” that is run by a young couple with a 10-year-old son named Edward.
Edward isn’t happy to meet Clarence at first, because Clarence is given Edward’s old room, which Edward was hoping he would get back after the previous resident had died in it. In fact, Edward asked his parents, “Can I have my room back now that Arthur’s dead?”
Edward is fascinated with ghosts and the idea of people dying, and he had put his tape recorder under the bed of his room’s previous occupant in order to record the very moment when he died.
Clarence and Edward take a reluctant liking to each other, and Clarence gives Edward some practical advice, telling him, “Your life changes, Buster, and not always for the better.”
Clarence also teaches Edward some magic tricks, which Edward uses at school in order to impress his classmates.
Edward then convinces Clarence to put on a magic show for the residents of the old-folks home, and despite some polite resistance at first, Clarence is eager to perform, but to say that one of his tricks ends not quite how he planned it would be a major understatement.
Along the way, both Clarence and Edward help each other out in their respective troubling times, and you will probably predict how you think the story is going to end, but you could also be very wrong.
You will also never forget who is appearing in the film and what a privilege that is.
IS ANYBODY THERE? answers its own question with a resounding “Yes, there is.”
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“He’s Just Not that Into You” Advice Movie from Hell
Feb 25th
Advice Movie from Hell
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU is one of those unfortunate movies that has everything going against it.
First of all, the title is too long and awkward, but it is the same title as the advice book for women on which it is based.
Second of all, a lack of audience is built into it, because it is a chick flick that gals don’t even have to bring their guys with them to see.
If any guys are dragged along to see it, they will feel as if they are attending a lecture, because it is nothing more than a chick flick for gals who want to feel good about themselves, and that is all it is.
However, that is only if they are in a good relationship. If they are in a bad relationship or no relationship at all, then they will feel bad about themselves.
And if they are in a good relationship and drag their guys along with them to see it, the movie will just give the guys some bad ideas that the gals won’t want their guys to learn.
The cast is pleasant enough. The movie stars Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, and Drew Barrymore as the gals, and Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long, and Ben Affleck as the guys, with Kris Kristofferson thrown in as a cameo as the father of one of the gals.
However, how is this for advice? One of the gals says to another one, “There are no rules anymore.”
And one of the guys who is giving advice to the most pathetic gal in the movie says to her, “If a guy doesn’t call you, he doesn’t want to call you.”
Here is the plot: Some of the characters are in a relationship and some are not, although they would like to be except for the one guy who says and acts as if he doesn’t want to be.
One couple is married, but guess what. Another couple have been together for seven years and are not married, but guess what. And some are just friends with each other, but guess what.
HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU is pathetic in its desperation and is nothing more than an advice movie from hell that is based on an advice book from hell.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Confessions of a Shopaholic – Movie Trailer
Feb 13th
A Manhattan shopaholic (Isla Fisher) whose buying sprees have buried her in immense debt lands a columnist gig dishing out financial advice in this Touchstone comedy based on Sophie Kinsella’s series of books. P.J. Hogan (My Best Friend’s Wedding) directs, with producing duties being handled by Jerry Bruckheimer. Rebecca Bloomwood (Fisher) can’t seem to break her habit for making impulsive purchases, and while she’s always decked out in the latest styles, her credit card bills are as thick as a telephone book. If Rebecca could somehow manage to land her dream job at a high-profile fashion magazine, perhaps she could transform what is now a simple addiction into something that could really benefit her professionally. When Rebecca becomes an advice columnist at a financial magazine published by the same company as her favorite fashion magazine, her fresh approach strikes a chord with readers and she quickly becomes the toast of the town. Meanwhile, her bank account is still bone dry, wreaking havoc on her love life and placing her career in jeopardy. As Rebecca teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, she gradually begins to reassess her priorities in life. Joan Cusack, John Goodman, Hugh Dancy, and Krysten Ritter co-star in the Touchstone Pictures production.
