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Fanie Fourie's Lobola [ Hits:899 ]
Review: Fanie Fourie's Lobola is better than you think. The title and movie poster conjure up what you'd imagine to be a crass, over-the-top comedy, leaning on stereotypes with a side order of cheeky romance. Thankfully, it's not. This new South African romantic comedy doesn't insult your senses, it's actually street smart and mature. Fanie Fourie's Lobola is based on the book by Nape 'A Motana. It's a curious journey into an interracial and cross-cultural relationship between Fanie, an Afrikaans "boer...
Ruby Sparks [ Hits:320 ]
Review: The girl of your dreams usually stays there, but what if she didn't? What if she lived in your mind and in your house? Describing Ruby Sparks as a high concept fantasy "romcom" is an insult to the film. It's so much more... sidestepping the temptation to distort her physical attributes, they've written the story from an emotional perspective - going to some pretty dark places. The film is delivered by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the directors of Little Miss Sunshine, the indie comedy th...
Wuthering Heights [ Hits:547 ]
Review: Wuthering Heights... the title demands a sigh and conjures up women fainting and swooning on mountain tops. Emily Bronte wrote the book with the protagonist of Heathcliff modeled on her brother, Branwell, which would suggest she had incestuous tendencies. It's difficult to blame the girl, who lost her mother as a toddler, dreamed of imaginary kingdoms and spent a bit too much time with her "creative" siblings before taking a dirt nap at age 30. Emily Bronte's Gothic classic may not have been an...
Semi-Soet [ Hits:3174 ]
Review: Semi-Soet is a sweet homegrown romantic comedy from South Africa. While Afrikaans, the film adopts strict Hollywood genre conventions making you think you've seen it all before. You probably have, but this isn't always a bad thing when it comes to romantic comedies, the predictability factor actually adds to the overall enjoyment of the happily ever after. Romantic comedies emulate that euphoric feeling of love as Ken and Barbie get themselves in various predicaments. Yes, there's a plastic fee...
Jane Eyre [ Hits:910 ]
Review: This film adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's literary classic is haunting, beautiful and moving. Director, Cary Fukunaga, envisioned a darker retelling of this Gothic romantic drama, which until now has generally been depicted as another period piece romance. As such, the Gothic elements from the novel have been emphasised in this film adaptation. Fukunaga chose to shoot Jane Eyre in Northern England, where the moors, foliage and landscapes provide an iconic backdrop, one that would usually be as...
No Strings Attached [ Hits:1535 ]
Review: No Strings Attached is not about puppets. It's a film about friends with benefits or f**k buddies, a fairly new term that has developed over the last twenty years. It's that agreed upon relational state that prioritizes sex over intimacy in a user relationship. Some would say this describes how every relationship they've been in has worked, but in this case it's a two-way street. Well, there's the problem. At some point, the sexual intimacy of a friends with benefits arrangement leads to one par...
The Back up Plan [ 2010 ] [ Hits:995 ]
Review: So far, we've established that Jennifer Lopez can actually act, dance and sing. However, her talent and charisma is very difficult to unearth in her latest outing, The Back-up Plan. This is one of those movies that should come with a complimentary sick bag. It's the kind of romantic comedy schlock that airs because of its star power and not for its content, which is disposable and embarrassing for all involved including the audience.The most immediate thing you'll notice about The Back-up Plan i...
Its Complicated [ 2009 ] [ Hits:989 ]
Review: It's Complicated... initially a statement describing one's love life as being in limbo is now a Facebook relationship status and a Nancy Meyers film, starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. The film has received added publicity during awards season for Streep's Best Actress nominations and after watching the film you can see why. She's the focus of this "I don't wanna go there" romance and shows off yet another fantastic comedy performance after her role as the flamboyant Julia Chi...
Valentines Day [ 2010 ] [ Hits:844 ]
Review: Valentine's Day brings some of the most bipolar emotions to the surface... yes, love is a complex thing. You can have a Valentine's slasher about a bloodthirsty psycho in a mask killing teens for the sheer thrill of it or a Valentine's slusher like the sickly sweet I Hate Valentine's Day starring, directed, written and conceived by Hollywood's favourite Greek (next to Zorba), Nia Vardolos. Either way, there's bound to be carnage on the battlefield of love, whether a masked killer is trying to se...
Bright Star [ 2009 ] [ Hits:847 ]
Review: Bright Star is a Jane Campion film, based on a three year romance between poet, John Keats and Fanny Brawne, starring Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish. Campion's best known for The Piano and The Portrait of a Lady, averaging a film every three years. While the early '90s could be described as her heyday, she seemed to lose some of the sparkle with more contemporary films like Holy Smoke and In The Cut. Bright Star marks a return to classic Campion cinema with a real-life love story to rival Romeo &...
(500) Days of Summer [ 2009 ] [ Hits:804 ]
Review: (500) Days of Summer, surprisingly... is not about surfing. Unless of course you equate the game of love with the ocean, in which case there are plenty of fish in the sea and you've got to catch the ultimate wave, because only a surfer knows the feeling. Whether that feeling's the euphoria and sense of oneness afloat one of nature's most powerful elements or being unashamedly dumped like yesterday's newspaper, it all feeds back to one love. Now before you get too far ahead of yourself, (500) Day...
Cheri [ 2009 ] [ Hits:640 ]
Review: Chéri is Michelle Pfeiffer's movie. She's the star, the prime cougar and the backbone to this romantic drama set at the turn of the century with European upper classes in the throes of the excessive period known as Belle Epoque. Chéri, a second-rate "homonym" for 'Sherry' and 'Cherry', is an apt title for this period piece, which delves into the social and cultural excesses of the time, by indulging in the romantic and erotic affair between Lea (Pfeiffer), a renowned seductress and Chéri (Fri...
Hes Just Not That Into You [ 2009 ] [ Hits:744 ]
Review: He’s Just Not That Into You is a star-studded comedy, drama and romance. The ensemble boasts names such as: Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connelly, and introduces Ginnifer Goodwin into the fray. The film is an adaptation based on a book of the same title, written by Liz Tuccillo and Greg Behrendt. The title “He’s Just Not That Into You” is taken from a line in one of the Sex in the City episodes, and one can see a...
Last Chance Harvey [ 2009 ] [ Hits:990 ]
Review: Last Chance Harvey is a sweet, romance drama in the throes of a mid-life crisis, directed by Joel Hopkins and starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Hoffman and Thompson so enjoyed working together on Stranger Than Fiction that Last Chance Harvey seemed inevitable. It’s a Before Sunrise for 50-somethings, as an American commercial “jingle” composer travels to London for his daughter’s wedding to make amends with her, only to find her stepfather has taken precedence in her life. What ...
Adam [ 2009 ] [ Hits:1011 ]
Review: First there was Adam and Eve... which just goes to show that most relationships are anything but a fairy tale. We can't blame Eve for accepting the apple and we can't blame Adam for offering the apple. Love is a complex business and this romantic notion is the focus of Adam. Not the semi-naked guy from the garden of Eden, the guy in the astronaut suit... would've been a knight in shining armour, but to say he likes astronomy would be an understatement. Adam has Asperger's Syndrome, a condition t...
What A Girl Wants [ 2003 ] [ Hits:749 ]
Review: What A Girl Wants is a movie based on the play, ‘The Reluctant Debutante’ by William Douglas-Home as an American girl (Bynes) travels to London to meet her estranged father (Firth), who happens to be a wealthy politician running for office. The film has some parallels with Cinderella, and even makes several references to the fairy tale. The movie has a similar feel to The Princess Diaries, and welcomes another young star to the fray. Amanda Bynes is quite the find, and is like Jennifer Anis...
The Ugly Truth [ 2009 ] [ Hits:1217 ]
Review: Ah The Ugly Truth... women fall head over heels and men fall for women that make them look twice. The whole Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus game of male/female interactions has been discussed at length and whichever way you look at it... there just doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Well, that's what we thought until we watched What Women Want, as Mel Gibson discovered he had the gift. Now the flip side of the coin is exposed and girls you're not going to like it. Prince Charming is ...
The Jane Austen Book Club [ 2007 ] [ Hits:679 ]
Review: The Jane Austen Book Club does for Jane Austen what Shakespeare in Love did for William Shakespeare. Both author and playwright are deceased, yet their work remains timeless. The themes are so entrenched in the human condition that they continue to revive the words again and again. There have been countless adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, and Jane Austen’s novels are following this pattern. The Jane Austen Book Club doesn’t take us back to her day like Becoming Jane, but keeps the sett...
Lars and the Real Girl [ 2007 ] [ Hits:784 ]
Review: A delusional young guy embarks on an unconventional relationship with an anatomically-correct doll he finds on the Internet. To say that Lars and the Real Girl isn’t an ordinary love story is an understatement. Most people would expect the movie to be raunchy, what with a sex doll shacking up with a lonely guy. However, it isn’t and this may disappoint some people and bring a sigh of relief to others. Lars may be delusional, but he’s actually trying to grapple with the concept of women. He...
What Happens in Vegas [ 2008 ] [ Hits:851 ]
Review: After a debaucherous night out in Sin City, a couple find themselves married and $3 million richer… What Happens in Vegas is your typical romantic comedy Hollywood formula. This time Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher take the leads, supported by a host of familiar faces in Rob Corddry, Lake Bell, Dennis Farina and Queen Latifah. Kutcher has been involved in a number of these ‘lucky in love’ movies and it would be good to seem him tackling something with a bit more grit. He plays Jack like he...
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