Victor Rebikoff Welcome to the movies at PS News.
   Each week, PS News's film critic Victor Rebikoff will highlight the latest offerings from the silver screen and share his expert commentary for our information and guidance.

Crazy Stupid Love

   Directors: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, Warner Bros, Rated M, 117 mins

Date Night’s Steve Carell once again proves what a great comedic actor he is with his wonderful performance in a new romantic comedy directed jointly by Glen Ficarra and John Requa (I Love You Phillip Morris).
In the opening scenes the long-time marriage between the Weavers, Cal (Carell) and Emily (Julianne Moore A Single Man), is shown to be on the rocks after Emily confesses to having an affair with a David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon - Frost/Nixon) and demands a divorce.
Crazy Stupid Love
   This sudden change of circumstance for the Weaver family sets the storyline for the rest of this comical love triangle with the shell-shocked Cal breaking the news to his children, in particular his 13 year old son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) who has the hots for the family’s baby sitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton) - with Jessica herself also displaying a crush on Robbie’s father Cal.
   While drowning his sorrows in a local bar where he openly vents his wife’s betrayal, Cal comes to the attention of Jacob (Ryan Gosling Blue Valentine), a professional ‘womaniser’ who takes him under his wing, initially making him undertake a makeover of his appearance and then coaching him on how to pick-up women in bars.
   This leads to a number of hilarious situations including Cal having an affair with his son’s teacher which only comes to light during a parent-teacher session that is attended by both Cal and Emily.
   After some more madcap mishaps, Cal is particularly anxious to get Emily back but to make matters worse (for Cal) Jacob then falls romantically in love with Hannah (Emma Stone The Help), a young lawyer who then invites Jacob home to meet her parents - the Weavers-causing the sparks to really fly.
   Both Ficarra and Requa have really made a crazy but funny movie about a number of personal relationships that are intertwined and tangled up which is mainly due to the clever script from Tangled scriptwriter Dan Fogelman and an impeccable cast of well known actors.   Crazy, Stupid, Love is certainly not without its flaws but it is an enjoyable romantic comedy with Carell making the most of his comedic character that is further complemented by Gosling’s womanising role.
VIC'S VERDICT:   3 ½ Rubber Stamps


DVD Review

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

   Release Date 26 October 2011
   Director: Rob Marshall, Walt Disney Pictures, Rated M, 137 mins

The fourth instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise sees filmmaker Rob Marshall (replacing Gore Verbinski) at the helm, teaming up with action supremo Jerry Bruckheimer who produced all three previous Pirates movies.
   Besides Johnny Depp reprising his role as the perennial pirate Captain Jack Sparrow and Aussie actor Geoffrey Rush returning as Captain Hector Barbossa, Marshall has introduced two new characters, namely Penelope Cruz playing the feisty Spanish pirate Angelica (Sparrow’s former flame) and Ian McShane portraying Angelica’s father Blackbeard.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
   This latest adventure sees Sparrow, Barbossa, Angelica and Blackbeard (including the Spanish fleet) all going after the mythical Fountain of Youth with Sparrow initially being forced to help Barbossa and then Blackbeard after being kidnapped by Angelica.
   On reaching the fountain’s location their main obstacle is to overcome the beautiful but piranha like mermaids, one of whom must provide a tear for a silver chalice in order for the fountain’s powers to work which is obtained following the capture of the mermaid Syrena (Astrid Berges-Frisbey).
   With plenty of swashbuckling action and as exciting as the earlier movies Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides is a thoroughly enjoyable romp with both Depp and Rush providing most of the entertaining scenes, not to mention those involving Cruz and McShane who play their roles to the hilt.
   The latest ‘Pirates’ adventure comes in Blu-ray and DVD editions and includes a treasure chest of bonus features.
VIC'S VERDICT:   4 Rubber Stamps

To find out more about Victor Rebikoff click here.
Letter to Editor
print
pdf
Email a friend
Back