by Jenny Jones

Briefly — because I will not waste anymore time on this movie — Bruno is the story of a flamboyantly gay TV host in Austria (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) who is fired from his job and black listed from the fashion world he loves. As a result, Bruno loses his long time lover and celebrity stature. In an attempt to regain the fame and popularity that he had become accustomed too, Bruno travels to Los Angeles and tries a number of “get rich quick” schemes but fails miserably at them all. He even goes so far as to try to reject his homosexuality and turn himself straight but it is only by embracing his gayness that Bruno finds true love, happiness and success. Sounds like a fairytale doesn’t it?

My mother always told me that if I didn’t have anything nice to say not to say anything at all, but in this case I think I’ll make an exception. What an idiotic waste of time this movie was. Sacha Baron Cohen IS a funny guy and he DOES create some extremely funny skits and characters but whoever keeps allowing him to write, produce and star in these crappy movies should be very ashamed of himself and must be stopped now so that I will not be subjected to a third installment of Sacha’s films.

His first film, “Borat”, although distasteful and offensive to everyone, was at least somewhat humourous. I am not condoning the crude and mocking behavior that Cohen exhibited in “Borat” but I do have to admit that it made me laugh at times. This latest film however only made me cringe and shudder in complete horror and utter disgust. Cohen’s parody of the homosexual lifestyle and the desire to be rich and famous went way beyond acceptable ridicule. His extremely vulgar language and offensive behavior in this movie felt like a desperate attempt to force laughter out of the audience instead of earning it through cleverly written dialogue or well choreographed scenes. There was absolutely nothing enjoyable about this movie. I could not wait for it to finish and at only 82 minutes, it felt like it would never end. The one positive remark that I can make about this movie is that, with all of the unpleasant scenes of sexuality and nudity displayed by Cohen and his pals, I am extremely grateful that I did not have to watch it in HD. This is definitely one movie that I can guarantee will not get a second viewing… EVER!

3/10

by Jenny Jones

“Away We Go” is a delightful depiction of one expectant couple’s journey to find a new place to lay down roots. Burt and Verona decide to cross the country visiting old friends and family members in the hopes of deciding on the perfect place to welcome their first child into the world. Along the way they experience some intensely awkward, comedic and painful situations as they witness the beautiful miracles and heart breaking tragedies that parenting has unleashed on their loved ones. At the same time they are faced with all of those soul searching questions that any expectant parents struggle with. It is a wonderfully hilarious and heart warming journey that we are fortunate to be a part of.

This movie is an absolute gem. This is one movie where the entire cast demonstrates flawless performances. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph are the perfect pregnant unmarried couple. Catherine O’Hara and Jeff Daniels cracked me up as Burt’s illiterate hippy parents. Allison Janney and Jim Gaffigan had me laughing out loud. Melanie Lynskey and Chris Messina tore my heart out and had me fighting back tears of compassion, and even Maggie Gyllenhaal was fabulous (I never like her in anything).

To add to an already stellar display of acting, the musical genius, Alexi Murdoch (Garden State soundtrack), has put together yet another sensational soundtrack that adds a whole new dimension of excellence to the film. Overall “Away We Go” is a grown up version of “Juno”. It is a witty and heart warming movie that I can not wait to watch again and again.

Video Quality

The release is 1080p in VC-1 on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) and is presented in the 2:35:1 aspect ratio. The film tends to have a warm palette with subdued colors. Fleshtones are accurate while contrast levels are solid. This results in a rather realistic looking image. Being a newer film, the print is also in near immaculate condition. Universal continues their winning day-and-date ways with this one earning an excellent “4.5 Stars”

Audio Quality

Audio is presented in DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio. Despite being a rather heavy dialogue film, the included DTS-HD track is actually quite good. The film’s dialogue is reproduced clearly with no instance of drop out. While not using the surrounds much, I was still pleased. All in all, this is a fine presentation for the subject at hand. “4 Stars”

Bonus Material

* BD-Live on this releases includes Universal’s standard “My Scenes”, which allows viewers to bookmark their favorite scenes so they can share them with people around the world via BD-Live.
* The Making of Away We Go: Director Sam Mendes takes us through what working with Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida was like.
* Green Filmmaking: In this feature we get to hear from cast members on the concept of “Away We Go” being a “green” film.
* Audio Commentary with Director Sam Mendes and Writers Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida

Overall: 9 out of 10.

by Jenny Jones

Lena is a teenage idol at her high school in East L. A. She is drop dead gorgeous, the captain of the school’s cheerleading squad and hopes to take them all the way to the Spirit Championships this year (the most sought after title by cheerleading squads everywhere). Everything in Lena’s life is perfect until her mother marries a rich, white widow from Malibu. Suddenly Lena is forced to leave her close friends behind, transfer schools in the middle of the year and move in with her mother’s new hubby and his nerdy daughter, Sky. To make matters worse Lena finds herself in the middle of a cat fight with Avery, the Barbie-like queen of the Malibu high school. And to add further insult, she is falling in love with Avery’s brother Evan, who is the most popular guy in the entire school. Will Lena run back to East L. A. and the safety of her old home girls, or will she stay and challenge Avery to a cheerleading showdown and fight for the man she wants?

Are you at all interested to know what happens to Lena and her friends? I was not, so I found it difficult to sit through. However, if you enjoyed the dance-off duels of the first 4 “Bring it on” movies you may be quite pleased with this latest installment. Be prepared for the same “Jonas Brothers” type dance tunes and overacted, over dramatic teenage bickering, corniness and immaturity.

Two minutes into this movie I groaned “Oh my God” out loud, only to have my ten year old son respond with “Yay, this movie is totally awesome!” I was caught off guard by his reaction and decided to just sit silently for the rest of the film and simply observe my kids. They absolutely adored it! The constant teenage back talking, one-liners and spontaneous song singing and dance routines drew them in and kept them totally captivated for the entire hour and 43 minutes. They even stood up at certain parts and danced around the living room. Who knew?

Whereas, the Mickey Mouse Club meets Beverley Hills 90210 is totally not for me, it definitely appeals to the younger crowd. This was not the type of movie I would ever sit down and watch on my own, but if I am ever looking for some entertainment for the younger members of the family I’ll know exactly what to reach for.

5.5 / 10

by Jenny Jones

Before I offer my review of this movie I must confess I have not seen any of the first 3 installments of this series so I do not have any basis for comparison. Therefore I can not say if this latest addition to the “Fast & Furious” movies is any better or worse then its predecessors. But what I can tell you is that it is definitely a man’s movie! Chalked full of bad guys brandishing heavy artillery, massive sound effects, techno tunes, corny jokes… oh and don’t forget the many strategically placed “tit’n'ass” shots. This movie is not what I would call “artistic cinema” but is without a doubt 100% entertaining.

It is obvious that the characters and plot do not matter much in this type of movie so I will keep the breakdown short and sweet.

Officer Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) are back as the “good guy” fugitive and “bad boy” cop chasing down drug dealers and murderers at maximum speeds. This time they are teaming up to avenge the death of a loved one and run into a little “resistance” along the way.

That is pretty much all you need to know in the way of a story line. Just strap in, crank that system and get ready for some in your face, balls-to-the-walls action & excitement! And action aside let us not forget that the cast of characters is gorgeous and therefore quite enjoyable to look at no matter what they are saying or doing. Vin Diesel for us older chicks and Paul Walker for you youngsters out there. And don’t worry guys, there is plenty of eye candy for you too, including a little girl on girl… well I won’t ruin it for you… just watch it!

What you get with this movie is all of the typical cliches of a bad boy action film all rolled into one. Including (but not limited to) tight muscular bodies squeezed into revealing clothing, big bad explosions, massive gun fire, revving engines, smoking tires, crazy driving stunts and cheesy one-liners. “Thank you sir, may I have another?”

6.5 / 10

by Jenny Jones

Loosely based on actual events, “Nothing but the Truth” chronicles the events surrounding the attack on a country (in this case Venezuela) which is believed to be involved in an assassination attempt on the President but that is later exonerated by an under cover CIA agent whose identity is leaked to the press. This CIA operative, Erica Van Doren is played by Vera Farmigo and the not-so-lucky news reporter who got the tip and ran the story is Rachel Armstrong, played by Kate Beckinsale. When the government decides that Rachel’s informant has threatened National Security by divulging the name of a CIA member and demands to know her source, Ms. Armstrong finds herself facing time in jail until she complies with the government’s request. She then must decide what is more important… her family, her career, her integrity as a reporter one little promise she made to an informant.

One of the most unfortunate occurrences with movies today is the desire to choose a big name actor as the lead in order to draw in the audience. Regardless of their talent or suitability for the role in question, a lot of studios will bring in famous names such as Nicholas Cage or Angelina Jolie to attract audiences to their movies. In this case Kate Beckinsale is the big name actress being used to draw in a crowd. This is not to say that Cage, Jolie or Beckinsale are not talented performers because they are, but only in specific roles tailored to their particular acting type. More often then not they are simply slapped into any role and unfortunately they can not measure up to the task. In the case of “Nothing but the Truth” I felt that actress Vera Farmigo, who played under cover CIA agent Erica Van Doren would have been much better suited to play the part of Rachel Armstrong (newspaper journalist) as she is a more believable dramatic actress. But no one would have gone to see a movie, or have even rented a movie, starring a no name actress like Vera Farmigo. It is an unfortunate catch 22 in the film making business.

Another unfortunate truth about the entertainment industry is that actors who play a regular role on TV for a number of years become type cast and can never break out of that mold. Such is the case for David Schwimmer. After seeing him portray the goofy and loveable Ross Gellar for so many years on the hit sitcom Friends, it was impossible to take him seriously in a dramatic role as Rachel Armstrong’s husband.

Other big names associated with this movie that just seemed wasted in their roles include Angela Bassett (as Rachel’s boss at The Sun Times newspaper), Matt Dillon (as hot shot prosecutor Patton Dubois) and Noah Wylie (as Avril, the uptight lawyer for the newspaper).

The only celebrity that actually lived up to his typical exceptional caliber was Alan Alda who played Rachel Armstrong’s lawyer in the film. As always Mr. Alda gave me chills as he poured out his heart and soul in the emotional pleading of his client’s case.

This was a fascinating and heart wrenching story. To think that these events actually happened (although some liberties have been taken here) is shocking and tragic, but for some reason when they unfold in the movie they don’t come across as very dramatic. I had no sympathy for the journalist’s family, or more importantly for her. I felt the severity of the issues and compassion for the characters would have been stronger if someone else had played the role of Rachel Armstrong. This film touched on a very controversial and intriguing situation, one that I am glad was told however the movie itself felt too long, drawn out, slow moving and predictable. Although as you can tell, it did leave me with a lot to think about!

6.5 / 10