Think Like A Man (2012)

Think Like A Man is a charming little romantic comedy based on the book Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man by Steve Harvey in which he lays down his beliefs and concepts on why some women have trouble in relationships and how to empower themselves by helping them understand the minds of men. I should note this is a real book for those of you who only know Steve Harvey as a 'King of Comedy'. He is also an actor, entertainer, radio personality and best-selling author.

In this movie several women come across Steve Harvey's new book (Steve Harvey playing himself) and individually make their way through a section of his 'playbook' which teaches them how to modify their behaviours in order to get the guys in their life to do the what they want. We are initially introduced to a group of guys who are friends and all adhere to particular labels like 'the player' or 'the momma's boy', 'the dreamer' and 'the non commiter'. Although still rather chick-flicky in that it caters to women, introducing the ideas through the male perspective and narrated by the hilarious Kevin Hart keeps it accessible to both sexes. And with cameo's from Ms Kelly Rowland and Chris Brown there's plenty of eye candy for all.

As soon as I heard Kevin Hart, Steve Harvey and Garbielle Union were going to be in this movie I knew I'd like it and with a plethora of other favourites of mine like Jerry Ferrara, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Taraji P. Henson, Michael Ealy, Sherri Shepherd, Jenifer Lewis and many more faces you'll recognise, I wasn't wrong.

Having a lot of characters to explain always slows a movie down some but this is easy to follow and the individual battle of the sexes are literally titled. You have "The Mama's Boy" vs "The Single Mom", "The Non-Commiter" vs "The Girl Who Wants the Ring", "The The Dreamer vs The Woman Who Is Her Own Man" and "The Player vs The 90 Day Rule Girl". Labelled like this its not hard to imagine the hijinks and fun that's going to be poked at both genders here, the playing field level.

The verdict: This is clean, honest fun with much of the comedy supplied by Kevin Hart and an adorable, young Caleel Harris (look out for the character called Duke). You should definitely give it a watch ... made for rainy days when you need a warm feeling.

This film is like: Deliver Us From Eva (2003) meets Down With Love (2003)

                                     

Purchase Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man by Steve Harvey via Google Shopping page.

Think Like A Man UK release is June 2012

Finally, I will say this ... ladies, not all your relationship problems are gonna be solved with a book, nor does it always work out like it does in the movies. This doesn't mean there's something wrong with you or all the men out there, just means you live in the real world.

And guys, there is a reason why your girlfriend probably loves all these kinds of movies... pay attention & maybe get a clue fella's ;-p

Enjoy the movie and let me know what you thought of it x

Trailer

This Means War (2012)

When I heard about this film I was instantly excited. Read my last post and you will know I think Tom Hardy is yummy; full of British charm, yet an introverted intensity and an adorable smile - again Yummy! Couple that with the the gorgeous Chris Pine, who in my opinion is one of the most charismatic guys to come out of 'Tinseltown' since Will Smith and you've got my attention.

So two gorgeous leads (three including the lovely Reese Witherspoon), and all of them accomplished in their own right - Click link to see Tom Hardy's and Chris Pine's filmography's and if you haven't seen Hardy in Wuthering Heights yet check it out on Youtube Wuthering Heights 2009. For Pine's stand out performance you must see 2009's Star Trek where he plays a sexy young Captain James T. Kirk - but worry not, you needn't be a Trekky to enjoy this movie, it is an action packed blockbuster by all accounts -  but don't be fooled into thinking Pine can only do 'cool' and 'slick'. Pine is not afraid to do ugly, just see him as Darwin Tremor in Smokin' Aces (2006) and you'll see what I mean.

Pine as Darwin Tremor - Smokin' Aces.

But back to This Means War ...

So looking forward to seeing the guys looking sexy as hell I went to see the movie and the opening scenes did not disappoint. We see Pine and Hardy's characters FDR and Tuck perched on a helipad suited and booted for a covert mission at an elegant penthouse cocktail party.

Heeellloooo!

I wasn't expecting too much of this movie as a valentines release, but with the early action it had potential to be more than just a Rom-Com and actually be Rush Hour funny ... but alas this was not to be. There's nothing wrong with the film, unfortunately it seems to have been built on a formula that takes all the successful elements from other Rom-Com, action comedies and shoves them together. Two best friends, who are near opposites, leading to humorous conflicts, check. Two guys falling for the same girl, swear it won't come between them but it does, check. The complicated yet capable woman who can't decide between two very different guys, check - honestly the movie doesn't have anything we've not already seen in the TV show Friends.

Tuck (Hardy) is the sensitive, romantic, family man kinda guy, where FDR (Pine) is the slick, smooth talking, ladies man - think Martin Lawrence and Will Smith in Bad Boys and you'll get the picture. Reese Witherspoon is the romantic failure whose pushy/opinionated friend sets up an online dating profile for her (please note the total lack of originality), even down to Angela Basset being cast as the tough black Captain/boss - the first 20 odd minutes of this movie is a walking cliché!

But then something happened... Tuck (Hardy), on his first date with Lauren (Witherspoon) smiles and his sweet little eyes twinkle and I find myself willing to give the movie another chance to grip me.

The chemistry between Reese and the guys is totally believable and Reese gives a stable performance as Lauren, delivering the mix between a lady lost in her love life yet confident and organised in her professional life. Both Pine and Hardy also deliver stable performances, Pine plays the charismatic and charming spy to perfection and I find it hard to believe he's not a little like this in real life. Hardy is the typical wry, repressed Brit that American TV and film are used to portraying.

But despite decent performances I was too bored to care. If it hadn't been for the pretty faces I might well have taken a little nap.

After around 40 minutes the film had elicited only a few snickers and sniggers from me and a handful of quiet laughs from the rest of the audience. But gladly the "Recon" took the movie to the next level and it finally started to get a little funnier.

The film struggles to get the balance and mix of action and romance and comedy ... towards the end you will have started to forget that these guys are important spy agents involved in a supposedly huge case and as they jump back into the action, almost as an after thought we are again hit with a barrage of clichés which can work but seem cheesy in this movie (like the cliff-hanger in a car nearly dangling over the edge of a fatal drop, the unlikely hero and a shot that almost mirrors Bad Boy's famous movie poster.

Unfortunately this movie gets the thumbs down from me. There are no twists, it's completely predictable, the action scenes don't pack enough of a punch and other than two beautiful men this movie has little to offer. So instead of going to see this I'd advise you chuck in the DVD of Bad Boys, Rush Hour or There's Something About Mary and you'll be getting all the best bits from this movie and more.

When the DVD is released:

GIRLS: Chuck this movie on when hanging with your girlfriends - grab some wine and ooh and ah at the pretty people.

GUYS: Chuck this in for some browny points with the Mrs

In either case you wont be missing much if you talk through it or end up pashing on the sofa.

Wuthering Heights 2011

Director Andrea Arnold’s adaptation is a daring new look at Emily Bronte’s 19^th Century literary classic. The novel though hailed as a powerful, compelling read was critiqued as strange with characters so disagreeable that readers just couldn’t relate to them, and their behaviours so brutal and grotesque that they were thought beyond believability. A couple centuries on and the harsh realities of what human beings are capable of has been so thoroughly explored that we are better equipped to embrace and understand Bronte’s complex characters.

Arnold is no stranger to exploring such territories; just see Red Road or Fish Tank and you will see modern versions of equally disagreeable and somewhat un-relatable characters, committing questionable acts. But does she do justice to this beautiful and tragic story?

Wuthering Heights is the story of a young boy (later named Heathcliff) found on the streets of 18^thCentury Liverpool and taken home to join the Earnshaw family where he develops a relationship with Catherine, the younger of the Earnshaw siblings. What follows is a whirlwind of love, broken hearts, jealousy and revenge as Heathcliff is left to vie for Catherine’s attentions against the respectable neighbours - the Linton’s – to devastating consequence.

Despite being just over two hours long Arnold has cut the film down to its bare bones, omitting the next generation as well as much dialogue.

And what of the first black Heathcliff? At first sight I thought he (James Howson) didn’t quite look the part – as enamoured as I am with Tom Hardy’s dashing, yet visibly disturbed and dishevelled portrayal - Howson just looked too well to be the mad, passionate Heathcliff and despite a few uses of the N word and a slight slavery connotation the story was unaffected by Heathcliff’s colour.

The title screen graphic that follows is reminiscent of something from Skins or Shameless and I was both worried and excited. This was going to be bold and very new.

This version focuses on Heathcliff’s perspective and the heavy use of handheld cameras, close ups, first person shots and darkness force you to feel what Heathcliff feels. The first few dark, hazy shots make you empathise with Heathcliff’s uncertainty though he appears undaunted and able to hold his own. The handsome Solomon Glave is a convincing young Heathcliff, who is the strong, shrewd and silent type even in youth while Shannon Beer grows more beautiful by the scene and portrays young Cathy’s innocent wildness, budding sexuality and fickle and feisty nature excellently. The bond between the two is built up in a quiet, tender and unassuming way, although slightly unsettling, a couple of scenes are ambiguously sexual despite the age of the young couple being hard to determine.

By the time Howson reappears as the adult Heathcliff you're ready for the film to pick up pace, the back story was well explained but fans (of the book or other adaptations) will be yearning for a passion that could only be relayed with the dialogue that had been missing so far.

Howson’s verbal delivery is great; sincere and passionate but the chemistry between him and Kaya Scodelario (adult Cathy) was lacking. A big fan of Scodelario I felt she gave a sound performance but would have liked to have seen her given something meatier to get her teeth into.

The unspoken words (more often between Glave and Beer) have far more impact than the stilted monologues which at times lack emotion and conviction. Although the silent moments are amongst the best in the film by the time you’re little way past the halfway mark you may begin to find this tedious and I began to wonder how well someone less familiar with the tale would be following the plot and more so coming to understand the characters beyond just Heathcliff.

Typical of Arnold this version is gritty and realistic and her style can be felt in the attention to details (things like lack of music with a natural soundtrack and focus on certain body parts like hands or faces). The movie lacks the verbal poetry of the book but it is included visually through metaphor and analogies to nature; where the dogs are lowly and wild, the birds high up and free and the moors reflect the ever changing state of Heathcliff’s feelings. Heavy rain falls every time Heathcliff is about to have his heart broken and he is represented by the animals and vegetation - in the form of mistreated sheep, broken rabbits, stripped birds, rotting fruit and wilting flowers.

Ultimately this movie is a filmmaker’s film, beautifully shot, bold in intent yet subtle in delivery. It is a movie to be really seen not merely watched – where you must read the implications to get the full power of the plot. As visually appealing as the film is it desperately lacks the mind bending passion that drives the crux of the story and even a teenage Romeo and Juliet got a sex scene. This is a film that will grow on me the more I watch it but I still consider the ITV’s 2009 adaptation to be my favourite.

What did you think?