Four Christmas

So it's coming around to that time of Xmas and the holidays. Just had TG dinner and it was immaculate so I thought I'd sit back and watch a Holiday themed film (and yes, there wasn't anything else on to watch at the moment so why not broaden my horizons and jump back into the one field of film genre I usually tend to avoid: the screwball Comedy ;-). But wow was I surprised at how good Four Christmas actually was.

Who ever created the screen play "gets it." Watch the first 5 minutes of the movie and you'll understand what I mean....which is...We see both of our main characters interact and it's sheer genius: in a nut shell Vince Vaughn's character Brad walks up to Witherspoon's Kate and tries to pick her up. He uses all the basic boring "Interview" questions to get her interacting and she's blowing him off. Then he turns it around, starts being a very cocky self confident man, and literally says everything that, in actuality, does spark attraction (though very comedically vulgar, if said in the right tonality it will get you results etc.). We soon see that they actually knew each other but the way it was played out was genius, and from what I've seen and experienced out in the Social meat market I can say that what Vince Vaughn says to Reese Witherspoon in this film is what sparks attraction in women.

I've been dragged to my fair share of shit chick flick disasters by my older sisters and female friends and this film was not one of them.

To the critics:

Yeah, it got a bad wrap on IMDB. I guess people who actually like to see chick flicks were probably shocked and disgusted. But you could say that this film just gained another fan for the genre.

Why? Because this film is balanced. Watch Ghosts of girlfriends past, watch How to lose a guy in ten days, watch bride wars (which I saw like the first 10 minutes and then had to stop so I could go and watch grass grow). All those films have the same thing in common: They really make the male feel guilty as fuck for not conforming to what today's social norms really push for. It really makes the girls feel like dumbasses for sleeping with more than one guy.

Is it me or did every conservative American out there forget that it's 2009 and people like to have sex ;-)

By no means am I talking about a revolution and totally endorsing films that promote sexual options with plenty of partners (safely). I'm simply saying to stop brainwashing women and men by feeling guilty with what those films are instilling, which is: Get married, have kids.... blah blah blah...

Understand the reason why most chick flicks are super horrible to watch with anyone you would like to have sex with afterwards is that it they are very unbalanced and make the male feel mad guilty about not "poppin the question" or "Settling down", and make the female feel very guilty for wanting to fuck every cool guy that hits on her (I'm indifferent and choose not to judge on either spectrum, but understand that the pendulum swings both ways).

And I know these films are made independently etc. What I want to know is why more films like "Four Christmas" aren't being green lit to help balance out the influx of "Couples Retreat" and "Twilight: New Moon." Sure, Money might be a plausible answer but I think it def more complex than that.

Four Christmas is a film about "Honesty" both with yourself and your significant other and what it takes to get to that level. Not living in denial and being able to trust and respect one another.
You see all spectrums of life from each person our main characters run into, from the poor couples to the rich couples to the divorced older people (Yes, in this movie it's understood that people do get divorced and move on etc.). You see how each couple, no matter what sort of income they have, interact with each other, and it's almost real with how they acted it all out. Real is what you make of it but I did like how this film didn't try to hit people over the head with the whole "You need to have a secure job and good education in order to have a good family...."
Those traits do obviously help when trying to form a family but understand that without Trust, honesty, and respect for one another, money and a good resume will only get you so far.


Beautifully written and amazingly Cast. I thought Vince Vaughn to be a wash out doing the same ol renditions (which he still kind of does) but his performance in this film could be easily compared to that of Wedding Crashers or even the first Swingers. Reese Witherspoon was hilarious. Never saw this coming from someone like her (American Psycho, Legally Blond). On screen they had a quite a dynamic that made you wondering what they were going to say next.

As the movie progresses we begin to see each Vaughn's and Witherspoon's characters' flaws that they'd tried to keep from one another in order to look more attractive. And they had a pretty good thing going for a while until spending a couple of hours with their family members made them realize how whack it was to be living a lifestyle of fakeness (Her character never even knew Vaughn's real name etc.)

Yeah, the ending was sort of Hollywooded up but everything flowed very well in this movie. Not too long, not too short. And I can't help but big up the Diaglogue. Soooo Good ;-)

Alot of men and women who are trying to "Better" themselves, become their "best selves" will relate to this film. One like thing: I loved how this film dealt with some pretty crazy topics dealing with self esteem etc. and still was able to keep it upbeat. There was a very nice line to what they did with the comedy and the shock and awe. Well done makes of Four Christmas. Keep up the good work ;-)



Who to watch this film with: Anyone you're looking to hook up with after wards. Friends, Family. People who like to see interesting movies etc.


Who Not to watch this film with: Anyone who doesn't like to have a good time. Immature women who think sex should only be had during marriage. People who don't get good humor.
Super Religious people.

Twilight: New Moon Review

I've never read the books (for you die hard Twilight fans who just read that sentence, let that allow you to stop reading...then again allow me to instill the "you don't have to try crack to know that it's bad for you" arguement)...but hells no is that going to stop me from writing about this (I used 1.3 hours of my time to watch so now here's the trade off).

Yeah, I didn't read the novel but that doesn't mean I have no idea what the word "Entertaining" means.

There's a great term I learned about in Production class called cross promoting/marketing etc. You write a book. The publishing company of that book (considering that it becomes a big hit) is also owned by the same people who own a movie studio and toy factory and god knows what else. There used to be a law that made it impossible to be able to use cross promoting/marketing etc. I can't recall the details but that law no longer exists and everyone is using it to their advantage (I'm have no judgement on this issue, it's simply what's happening...and frankly I can't tell if it's good or bad, nor is it my place to say so ;-)

Back to this movie in question. Well, for starters it is not an entertaining movie. Yes, the New Moon movie was pretty boring and cheesy if you ask me. Should you shocked? May be not lol. While watching I couldn't help but notice the genius behind it though. They are using the same formula as the Harry Poter Series: One movie per book. And it's working amazingly. This movie gave me nothing more than that of "Please wait for the next film to come to find out what happens next." Hell. Pretty damn genius.

The first movie I can think of that had the balls to pull the whole "We're going to end this movie with a fat 'To be contnued' sign on it" was Back to the future II into Back to the future III. And man was I livid when that happened. Imagine having seen BTTF II in the theatre and having that happen. People must have rioted. But now it's regular for that to happen. And that's exactly what this 4 part book series Twilight is doing.

Personally it's whack, but for die hard 13 year old teenie bopper fans who the love the fact that their favorite characters are now on the big screen, I understand that all logic understanding on what makes a good movie is out the window for them. They're more likely to care about how cool the Vampire guy Edward looks in his clothes or how awesome it is to be Vampire etc.

WHY am I reviewing this movie?

Becuase I want to warn everyone from having to go see it with their significant other. From what I hear the novels are very very "Teen Romance." As in, if you love watching the Day time soaps on TV you'll probably love the New Moon. Why? Because in the course of 1.3 hours NOTHING HAPPENS. Well, things happen but it's more like "TV Show" happens. TV episodes have this sort of pace where they want to keep the viewers watching for the next week. Only with Films it's kind of whack because you have to literally wait another year.

Yes, there are movies that did a great job in giving the viewers enough to chew on to where they can wait for the next sequel with out feeling robbed (District 9 is a great example of this...sequel or no sequel it stands on its own as a quite good film from start to finish ;-).

Twilight is heavy on the Romeo and Juliet love formula. Bella loves Edward just as he yearns for her. The sexual tension stems from the fact that he is vampire and she is a human which basically makes her meat for him and his vampire peeps. They go the whole movie trying to figure that out.

Sidenote: I just went on IMDB and read some reviews, and thankfully plenty people who've read all four books are very open to mention how whack of a film it is. They hate the acting, the dialogue etc. Take it from a fresh mind who has no idea what the series is about: It's simply a bad film, but if that's not enough for you take it from the die hard book fans who also couldn't stand it as a movie. The reason why bring this is up is because I love it when people use the whole "You haven't read the novels so you wouldn't understand" argument.


It's true women love the idea of this movie and they will simply pay the money to see it because it has to do with romance and vampires. The movie made 141 million its first weekend (that's how strong the books are...they have a serious fan base...it's mind blowing really, something I'm def going to do more research on).

I ended up having to watch it with a good female friend of mine (Who I love spending time with and have known for quite a while) and boy was I falling asleep. The ending of the film (which I won't ruin) was simply bad. Bad, bad, bad. An episode of Saved by the Bell would have sufficed better than that ending.


It's films like this that make me cringe at the film industry (which is based on making money first and entertaining the people second). They'd rather put out something halfass because the schedule permits it as so and because they know that they will make a killing by playing it safe (i.e PG 13 vs Rated R etc.....why not make Twilight into a very dark serious film...push the envelope etc....). It's a fine line between making movies that are entertaining to watch and movies that designed to get butts in seats or fill venture capitalist pockets (More power to them, hell, If I'd had the opportunity to invest in a film like Twilight you're damn right I would have done it. Sure it's a high cost but the risk is very minimal, even for film standards, and the gain is very very beneficial). Fans hate the film but investors love it. LOL, go figure.

Let's get into the dynamic between the characters. Edward is the all dreamy Alpha Male Vampire who can do no wrong and is desired by all females. He's very chill yet will not hesitate to act when pushed to do so. Then you have some one like Bella who is the stereo typical 'average girl.' Every woman, and believe me when I say, EVERY WOMAN sees her herself (subconsciously) as a Bella in some way/shape/form. Watching Bella go through the motions in the film will bring back memories for all these girls who, at one point in time, had crushes of the own for guys like Edward. Maybe they were dumped or too shy to act or cheated on or the guy moved away etc...The metaphors can go on for miles. Why do you think the very average looking Kristen Stewart was cast and not a heart throb like Megan Fox (which would make guys flock to see it by the millions? Kristen Stewart is the type of actress that looks like she's going to commit suicide for someone telling her she looks fat today. Had they cast a hotter chick I could have def understood why everyone in the movie would be vying for her love and attention.

They you have the Jacob were wolf character. Even the fact that he's now a Were wold can't save him from the sad slot of Wussyness he's put himself in. It's so true what they say, how a woman isn't driven by logic but by her emotions. Everything Jacob tells her is spot on yet she ends up not listening to his warnings and choosing Edward again and again because simply put, YOU CAN'T Convince a girl with LOGIC. You've got to get down and dirty with her emotions. Guys suck at this. Many men will remain door mats for women they adore to walk all over because they cannot trigger a woman's emotions.


If you simply must watch Twilight here's something for you to do so you won't fall asleep too quick: Observe the way Edward carries himself around Bella and then observe all the other men in the film and they way they carry themselves around Bella (especially the ones who also have a thing for her) There's a big difference. She's not head over heals for Edward just because he's a vampire (but yes, that is part of the formula). My point is that every guy has his own "Vampire" in him that girls will find irresistible. It's already within you. You just have to figure out a way to get it out. You can't fake authenticity. And they is no one way to do it.



Who You Should go see this Movie with:

If you must go see it with your little Sister/cousin etc. It was created for 13 years olds, sadly enough.



DO NOT SEE IT WITH:

+ Women you are trying to get intimate with. I'm talking a girl who you've never had sex with and would like to have sex with. If you go watch it with her know that you are making it all the harder to get her naked that same day. I personally don't go to the movies with girls I'd like to get intimate with but that's a whole other topic for another thread ;-)