cerule14

I think critics have been conditioned to think that any movie with Jennifer Aniston in it these days has to suck. I happily declare that this one doesn't. It has a likable romance. The dialogue is actually funny (especially anything that comes out of Jeff Goldblum's mouth). Based on the premise - which comes off much less implausible than it probably should - I was expecting a lot more lowbrow comedy and was pleasantly surprised. And Jason Bateman is a wonderful and underrated leading man. The voice-overs are perhaps a bit insipid and probably could have been skipped entirely, but that's a minor complaint. I enjoyed the film. 7 out of 10.

What I mean by that is that this movie is not just suffering in comparison to James L. Brooks' other films. It's pretty bad all on its own. It meanders, it thinks it's cleverer than it is, and mostly I just didn't much care what happened. The only characters I cared about were Owen Wilson's immature but endearing Matty (who, at least, was not made out to be a bad guy; I give the movie props for that), and Paul Rudd's character's pregnant assistant (more of her would have been great, as she was the only one who made him interesting). I felt absolutely no love from what was supposedly the big love story. So, yeah, not making comparisons... but I'm going to go watch As Good As It Gets and forget this wasted two hours :)

And that's one of the best compliments I think you can give to a movie.

For whatever reason, I wasn't expecting much from Repo Men. But I was pleasantly shocked. It manages to be action-packed and thought-provoking at the same time. It also has this element of twisted humor that shows up occasionally throughout and works really well.

The very best thing about this movie has to be the use of music, which is brilliant. The way the chosen songs go with the different scenes ranges from demented to ironic to heartbreaking, and it's all amazingly effective.

The ending gave me chills.

8 out of 10... *rewatching end*... 8 1/2.