Showing posts with label Ashton Kutcher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ashton Kutcher. Show all posts

03/12/2012

Review: New Year's Eve

Originally published on www.moviemuser.co.uk and www.biggaypictureshow.com


New Year’s Eve gives us a look into the way in which we all cross over into each other’s lives on a daily basis without even knowing it, amongst a combination of romance, heartache, laughter and sadness.
With an all-star ensemble cast the audience gets to enjoy the many different plots, in what reminded me of films such as Love Actually. The film is generally good and moves at a steady pace so the audience won’t get bored as they keep zigzagging through the multiple stories, some of which are much better than others.
The story involving Michelle Pfeiffer and Zac Efron is one of the more touching, and we get see Michelle looking very dowdy, something I thought I’d never say as she gets Efron to try and fulfil her New Year wishes. Also, the interlinking story of Halle Berry nurse and Robert De Niro’s dying patient is enough to bring a tear to anyone’s eye.
Modern Family star Sofia Vergara has to get a special mention for her laugh out loud one-liners and superb comedic acting; she truly steals the show from everyone else. The same however cannot be said for Abigail Breslin who, aside from looking completely unrecognisable, will make you thing it’s baffling that she was once nominated for an Academy Award, as her performance is a little wooden and unbelievable.
The one negative aspect of the film has to be the fact that in two hours some of the stories don’t get as much time as others, therefore making you either forget about them or not care too much. A few are so perfunctory they’re barely stories at all.
Aside from that the film is very enjoyable, taking us on an emotional rollercoaster of happiness and sadness. There are quite a few points when you will hear yourself go “aww” or wipe a tear from your eye.
New Year’s Eve is surprisingly enjoyable, light-hearted and quite sweet at its core. It’s just a shame some stories couldn’t have been padded out more, but overall very good.


15/08/2011

DVD Review: Two and a Half Men Series 8


Originally posted on www.thefancarpet.com

After months of being unable to escape the media’s constant coverage of  the escapades of Charlie Sheen and his chequered personal life, you would be forgiven for forgetting that he actually had a day job acting on one of the biggest sitcoms on American television.

Now we all know he no longer has his day job on Two and a Half Men for reasons I’m sure we all know. But Charlie’s final 16 episodes in the hit comedy show have been released on DVD for your viewing pleasure, if you can call it pleasure.

The show has proved a hit with viewers and is quite funny with some laugh out loud moments, certain ones that spring to mind from watching this season have to be Charlie’s description of the orgy rules (I’m sure he already knew these prior to filming the show), an incident with a can of whip cream and a cockatoo with a rather weird fetish, which I wont discuss further with fear of spoiling it.

Along with these particular stand out moments the shenanigans of Alan at the beginning of this series are all quite amusing within themselves, especially after an incident with a pipe at his girlfriends house, but the show lacks that certain something that others have.

Where as the programme is funny, to me the episodes would be much better enjoyed if watched alone and then left for several weeks before watching the next one because after a while the jokes and scenarios become predictable and a little stale, ultimately lacking that element of surprise that hit shows such as Friends had.

Couple this with the realisation that the lead character in the show is basically a caricature of the actor playing him, it begins to leave the realm of funny and enters the realm of done before television.

The fact that the lead characters off screen personal life is more appealing, shocking, unpredictable and all round entertaining tells me that this programme has well and truly run its course, and with Charlie Sheen now off the show I don’t think even the attractiveness of new lead Ashton Kutcher could save this programme and once again make it funny.