Letters to Juliet

The classic 'never realized romance' comes onto the screen in this cliche of a movie, like many we have seen before. And not just the never realized romance, but they threw in a will they or won't they new romance in the thick of it as well, just to tease us.

Main character Sophie, played by Amanda Seyfried, ventures to Italy with her fiance (well, sort of, I mean come on...where is the ring Sophie?) and ends up on an adventure of sorts on her own instead. Sophie is a budding journalist who attempts to play Juliet in writing Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) a letter of reply after 50 years of silence regarding her long lost love. Claire visits Italy with her grandson, all go on an adventure to find the long lost love, and of course Sophie and grandson Charlie (Chris Egan) end up falling in love in the process. What is a girl to do? In love with two men and in the heart of Tuscany! This is just too painful! I was honestly surprised that Vanessa Redgrave accepted this odd role in the first place. She is a legend for goodness sake, and been in more leading roles then I can count. Her performance was not up to par in this film, though I believe it wasn't a fault of her own at all.

I had not seen Christopher Egan in any other role before this one, which, unfortunately for him, did not work in his favor. Though he was more lively then Amanda Seyfried, he still fell flat a bit for me. He is cute, don't get me wrong, and did deliver his lines well and with some passion, but all in all, the performance was not extremely memorable.

Which bring us to Amanda. Oh Amanda Amanda....what were you thinking? Well, maybe the point is that she just plain wasn't thinking at all. Honestly, this role could have been SO much more then what was given to it. I usually adore Amanda (Mama Mia anyone?), but her performance was completely non-existent throughout the entire film. Yes, the dialog was extremely limp which would make it hard for any actor. But, her expressions and passion were not even present, she didn't bring anything to the main character! She was flat out boring, sad to say. Lines were boring, expressions were boring, there were even multiple scenes with her just walking around looking bored out of her mind. Not animated at all and definitely did not bring ANYTHING to this role. Sorry Amanda....

I think that this story could have been more light, funny, charming, and smart. It felt like it was simply thrown together without much thought to it. Honestly, the editing was odd, the music didn't fit, the lines were stuck in in weird places. Or just plain cheesy lines like "Can you move? Only my lips!" and "When we are speaking about love, it is never too late." Please make it stop!

Though the overall film it did appeal to my romantic side, I could not look past the awkwardness of some scenes, lines, and script. I think this film could have been 100 times better if told correctly. The only redeeming part of it was the beautiful Italian countryside, which made me want to hop on a plane as soon as possible. I give it a three diaper day, mediocre.

Bummer.....

The Last Song

A movie that I had waited a long time for! Not seeing movies in theaters much anymore, my sense of patience is severely tested when it comes to waiting for them to come out on DVD!! But thankfully, I was one of the first on Netflix, and my good friend decided to make it a girls night, which made the waiting worth it. :)

I honestly didn't have many expectations for this film, other then knowing I would inevitably cry (come on...it is Nicholas Sparks we are talking about), and most likely it would be somewhat of a romance cliche. Which, of course, it did turn out to be on many levels.

Based off of one of the famously tear-jerking Nicholas Sparks novels, The Last Song actually comes to us not as a date-night romantic, but more as what appears to be the attempted platform to launch Miss Miley Cyrus into the atmosphere of her career. Though sadly, neither one was attained. This movie was enjoyable to watch as a whole, but unfortunately had no sense of real-life what-so-ever. And to give Miley a little credit, I guess it would be difficult to give a convincing performance when what you are saying isn't all that intelligent anyway. The story didn't seem to flow, and other then Miley's little brother in the film, the script was really disjointed and rather boring.

Oh Miley Miley.....not sure what advice I would give you if you were standing in front of me this minute. Miley played the main character of Ronnie in the film; an angry, dramatic, and self-centered teenager who hates the world for her parent's divorce, hates her father for leaving, and hates her mother for shipping her off to Georgia for the summer. And all this after she has turned her back on her amazing talents as a pianist and apparent song writer for no reason that I can recall. THEN, she ends up meeting a really gorgeous, and rather perfect it seems, guy who tries to sweep her off her feet, and only ends up hating him as well, which I again can't recall the reason for. I guess he lied about something.....hmmm....I don't know. Anyway, let's just say that she is angry at the world....poor her.

I believe that Cyrus really tried in this role, but the end result was not anything to write home about. Her overall performance was mediocre at best, and at times rather pathetic (sorry Miley!). She was definitely trying way too hard and not producing enough. One film critic actually says "Disney starlet Miley Cyrus becomes an early contender for worst actress of the decade in this painful attempt at a romantic tear-jerker." Yikes!!! She was though, in the end, very boring and unbelievable.

The dashing Liam Hemsworth plays Will, Ronnie's love interest during a whirlwind summer of drama and sea turtles. Though Will was fun to watch, he really did seem to be trying too hard just like his counterpart. A little more believable then Cyrus, I think that he still missed the mark and came off as an overzealous teenager just excited to relay a few lines on camera. Him and Cyrus had no chemistry, but it sure did look like they enjoyed kissing in the ocean!

Which brings me to the real stars of the show and the only two performances worth raving about! The lovely Greg Kinnear, as the father, and little brother Jonah, played by Bobby Coleman.

I feel that Kinnear is a steadfast and immovable actor, in that he can really pull off anything that is thrown at him and still make it look realistic. Even working with Miley Cyrus didn't through him off! And THAT my friends is a feat!

However, the biggest star of the film has to go to Mr. Bobby Coleman. I have never seen this adorable kid before, but I sure hope that I get to again. He performed beautifully! His lines were spot on, his emotions were realistic, he was funny when he was meant to be funny, serious when meant to be serious, and could pull of an overly sarcastic line with precision! I can't say enough about this little genius! He stole the show in a big way, and I was left thinking that I would have loved to see more of him and less of his overly dramatic sister!

All in all, this movie was definitely watchable, and even enjoyable in spots. I do admit that I love the soundtrack as well, and am intrigued enough to go read the book for myself. However, my main thought once the credits rolled was not about the storyline, actors, script, or even the music, but "where in the world did they film that movie?" And..."why can't I go there now?" :) It definitely didn't make my list of favorites, but was really fun to watch with an amazing girlfriend. I give it a three diaper day.....mediocre. Sorry Miley, you just didn't convince me!