Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern!

Here is the cover to Entertainment weekly which features Ryan Reynolds, courtesy of Superherohype.com

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Blu-ray Review: The Proposal

http://astore.amazon.com/popculbea-20/detail/B002K0WBYG

The Proposal
Written by: Peter Chiarelli
Directed by: Anne Fletcher
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Malin Akerman, Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen, and Betty White

Blu-ray Special Features: Exclusive to Blu-ray Deleted Scene, Alternate Ending - with commentary from director Anne Fletcher and writer Peter Chiarelli, Deleted Scenes, with commentary from writer and director, Set Antics: Outtakes and Other Absurdities from The Proposal, Feature Audio Commentary with writer and director, and a digital copy of the film.

From the box: Sandra Bullock is at her funniest in The Proposal - the fresh, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy on blu-ray Disc with its hi-def picture and theater-quality sound.

On the verge of being deported and losing the high-powered job she lives for, the controlling Margaret (Bullock) announces she's engaged to her unsuspecting, put-upon assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds). After proposing a few demands of his own, the mismatched couple heads to Alaska, where they have four short days to convince his quirky family and a very skeptical immigration agent that their charade is real. Featuring a star-studded supporting cast, including Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. nelson, and the delightfully inappropriate Betty White, this madcap comedy will have you saying "yes" to The Proposal again and again - especially in Blu-ray High Definition.

Color me surprised when I sat down to watch what was sure to be a standard romantic comedy, and found myself enjoying it more than I probably should have. The Proposal, while doing nothing to elevate the genre or being at all fresh (didn't this movie come out already as Two Weeks Notice?) is made significantly better by its fantastic cast.

Click the Rawr for the full review (and some clips from the Blu-ray).



We’re Getting Married



The plot is simple: bullock plays a hellion of a boos who everyone in the office hates. Reynolds plays her assistant who wants to be an editor. She finds out she is getting deported after her visa expires and decides to tell her bosses that she is marrying her assistant. Deals are made, hilarity ensues.

That is true. The movie is really funny. It's just not terribly original. Even as wildly unbelievable as the whole thing is, you can't help but start enjoying what you're seeing. That is 100% the work of the cast. More specifically, Bullock and Reynolds.

Bloopers – Bonus Feature



That's not to discount the rest of the cast. I'm always glad to see Mary Steenburgen and Betty White is hilarious but the chemistry between the two leads is palpable and together they bring some great work to the screen.

It is these performances that rescue The Proposal from being just a run of the mill romantic comedy, even if the ending is a bit saccharine. We're saved from any eye-rolling because we like the characters, even the initially hateable Margaret.

As for the Blu-ray, we're given a glorious picture and crisp sound and some pretty decent special features. Of course the trend of the "Digital Copy" continues. Is this really a valid special feature now a days? Especially one that drives an increase of the price. Companies are releasing 2 disc sets and charging more money for them when the only benefit of the 2nd disc is a digital copy that most people will never use.

It's a waste if you ask me.

Walk and Talk



The disc also includes some deleted scenes, one exclusive to the Blu-ray, alternate ending, bloopers, and commentary. Pretty standard stuff that add to the fun of the film itself.

Sure it's not great, but The Proposal makes for a good time all because of its cast. It's the movie that made me remember why I like Sandra Bullock so much and reinforces Ryan Reynolds as a great leading man in pretty much any kind of film.

The Proposal is available on Blu-ray and DVD now.

In the meantime, check out some more clips from the special features.

Getting to the Boat





Take the Dog





Giving Thanks





Trailer

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Blu-ray Review: Adventureland

Adventureland
Written & Directed by: Greg Motolla
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Margarita Levieva, and Ryan Reynolds

Bonus Features: Frigo's Taps - A satiric "How To" on inflicting unexpected pain (BD Exclusive), Lisa P's Guide To Style (BD Exclusive), Welcome to Adventureland - Adventureland Commercials. Orientation Training Video, Drug Policy (BD Exclusive), Deleted Scenes, Just My Life: The Making of Adventureland, Feature Commentary with Greg Motolla and Jesse Eisenberg, Picture Music Selection, Digital Copy.

From the Box:

From the director of Superbad comes Adventureland, "a smart, witty comedy" (Kyle Smith, New York Post) we can all relate to. And the sights and sounds are even more awesome on Blu-ray.

When James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) has to cancel his dream summer vacation and make some money for grad school, the only job he can get is at Adventureland, a tacky amusement park where the games are rigged and the ride make you hurl. But it's where he meets Em (Kristen Stewart, Twilight), and his rollercoaster ride to nowhere turns into the best summer ever. Filled with a carnival of colorful characters and set to a killer soundtrack, Adventureland is "the kind of adventure we could all use more of" (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times) - especially in Blu-ray High Definition.

Adventureland is a film that caught a lot of people by surprise. I don't think anyone was really quite prepared for what Adventureland turned out to be. People were expecting a comedy more in line with Motolla's previous film, the fantastic Superbad. That isn't what Adventureland is at all. In reality, it's a touching coming of age story with a lot of laughs thrown in for good measure.

That surprise aside, Adventureland is indeed one great film.

Click the Rawr! for the full review.


I must admit, I was one of those who automatically assumed this would be a gross out sex comedy akin to Superbad. I'd guess some marketing folks at Miramax are to blame for that.

Thankfully, before I saw the film I was told what I would be in for and I think that allowed me to be able to judge the film more fairly then if it turned out to be something I wasn't expecting.

As a comedy, Adventureland doesn't offer much. It is very funny at parts, most of which come from the dynamic duo of Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. There are some embarrassing moments with Jesse Eisenberg that are funny as well but the real strength of this movie is in the characters and the way the film doesn't exactly point out to you how something turns out.

The characters are charming and realistic and all played perfectly by the cast. This film is full of relative unknowns with the exception of Hader, Wiig, and Ryan Reynolds. This film was post Twilight so Kristen Stewart is probably known better now but to be honest, she slips into this role so well that I didn't even think about Twilight. For me, it's Stewart and Eisenberg who are the highlights of this film. Their story is emotional and has you rooting for things to work out for them. Kristen Stewart's performance here is sublime and elevates her so far beyond the drivel I have heard from Twilight that I'm almost convinced to actually watch those films.

The entire cast is great here. Ryan Reynolds does another admirable job here playing a surprisingly low key character. Sure he's a bit smarmy but Reynolds gives us a subtle and restrained performance.

As for the Blu-ray, the film's picture could stand to be a little clearer. It seemed a bit fuzzy at times. The sound was crisp though and the soundtrack is stellar. The disc is loaded with some hilarious special features, especially the Adventureland commercials.

Adventureland is an entertaining story about things not working out the way you'd hope, about falling in love, and about making tough decisions and going after what you realize you truly want. Its story revolves around characters who look and feel like they are real people and not Hollywood glamorization.

Adventureland is a definite must see and another plus in the career of Greg Motolla who's got a great talent to deliver both a touching drama with some extremely funny moments and a laugh riot comedy with some heart. He is the one to watch right now as Adventureland is certain to make it on many Top Ten lists.

Adventureland is available on DVD and Blu-ray now.

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Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Written by: David Benioff and Skip Woods
Directed by: Gavin Hood
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Kitsch, Will.i.am., Kevin Durand, Dominic Monaghan, Danny Huston, Daniel Henney, Lynn Collins, and Liev Schreiber

Wolverine is finally here. It's one of the most anticipated films of the summer and is now in the wild for the rabid fans to devour. So how is it? That's why you're hear right? You want to know what I thought?

Well, It's tough to describe my feelings on the movie because I found it to be just kind of blah. I didn't feel like wasting the energy to hate it and I certainly didn't like it.

Click the rawr! to find out why.

Let's start with my feelings on X-Men 3. I loathed it. I was fuming mad while I watched it in the theater. I was watching one film destroy the legacy left by one of the single best comic book movies ever made be ripped apart bit by bit. There was nothing resembling X2 in X-Men 3. None of the heart, the spirit, nothing.

So imagine my concerns a few years later with X-Men Origins coming down the pipeline. I kept an open mind, I thought the trailers looked pretty cool and gradually my excitement began to build. The opportunities for a major action epic surrounding the life and times of Wolverine are endless. There is so much story to explore that it could easily be a 2-hour plus grand film. Instead, what we got was a ninety plus cliche.

The script is lazy. The directing is better fit for a lifetime movie event than a major tent pole comic book film. The acting for the most part is okay but nothing really worth mentioned outside of Hugh Jackman who continues to keep Wolverine fresh as a character.

The film is by and by extremely pointless. This is what happens when you put people in charge of a movie that have no real care or interest in the subject matter or the characters.

You put any first time writer or director who loves these characters and you will get a film 1000 times better than this.

It is a pointless film with no real reason to exist outside of taking peoples money (which I gladly handed over unfortunately).

The characters are a joke. There is no reason for any of the characters they put in this movie to be there outside of Wolverine. By the way, his origin lasts about ten minutes. Everything else is just events that take place before the first X-Men film. Events that are shoehorned in in a way that is baffling.

None of the characters are even worthy of discussion. With the exception of Wolverine and Sabertooth, they're barely more than cardboard cutouts. My biggest disappointment was Gambit. Sure Taylor Kitsch looks the part but that's about it. He doesn't have the gravitas it takes to play Gambit and worst of all there is NO Cajun accent to speak of. They stuck him in the movie just to get people's geek radar going and really didn't have him do anything else besides flip around and fling cards (which he barely did).

Despite all this, there is a little bit of fun to be had with this movie. The fight scenes for the most part are pretty cool, if not a little repetitive and over the top. There are some good one liners from Jackman as well.

Overall, Wolverine is just a run of the mill action movie that barely surpasses the nightmarish disaster that was X-Men 3. It is at times fun but for the most part is just not up to snuff. Especially, in light of recent comic book films like The Dark Knight and Iron Man.

I honestly think that X-Men 3 did such harm to the franchise that it will take a masterpiece to fix it and if I can say so there is only one man who can restore the X-Men franchise to it's former glory and that is Joss Whedon.

Stop these ridiculous X-Men Origins ideas, scrap the lame First Class ideas and put the franchise in his hands. It will be the second coming of the X-Men and it will be glorious.

As for Wolverine? Well, it's barely worth the price of a matinee so make your choice wisely. In this time of money woes, you're probably better off saving your cash for Star Trek.

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Fireflies in the Garden Trailer

I'm a sucker for a good family drama and this looks like it will be a doozy. Don' mind the subtitles. It's an international trailer. Pretty great cast involved in this one including Emily Watson, Julia Roberts, Ryan Reynolds, and Willem Dafoe.

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