movies: March 2007 Archives

I managed to sit back the other night and watch this DVD. I've seen the movie before - just never from start to finish and almost never the complete, un-edited version.

Several of the actors are some of my favorites. Even my wife ( who isn't really a big fan of watching TV and movies at home ) decided to watch it with me. She was dozing off from time to time about two-thirds of the way through, but woke up in time to see the end. I find it difficult to express how I really feel about Fargo. It's a bit of a strange one in that, for me, it has real appeal besides the excellent character acting. I imagine that this movie is one that you either really like or really hate.

A good friend of mine, Aleah, asked me to review this DVD. I admit, this isn't a movie I would have originally put into my queue. I've watched a couple movies this week that I would have been more likely to review.

For example, I watched Freedomland. Now that was a strange movie. I also watched Lady in the Water, an M. Night Shyamalan movie. More than likely, I would have selected Lady in the Water to review. But, the way I see it, if you're going to review DVDs you need to step out of your comfort zone and expand your horizons.

So, it is with mixed emotions that I must reveal that I secretly enjoyed this movie. Read on to find out why.

Friday night I finished watching Failure to Launch. In keeping with my goal to review one DVD a week, I ( for lack of another DVD to review ) decided this movie would suffice for my weekly review. I had originally planned on reviewing another movie, but I had some problems with three out of the four I received in the mail.

I imagine they are using some sort of machine to clean their DVDs. Only one of the DVDs was watchable in it's entirety. There were scuffs, or something, that caused the movie to freeze up terribly. Being the reliable service I previously mentioned, DVD Avenue sent replacements within a couple days.

Failure To Launch is about a thirty-something guy, Tripp, ( Matthew McConaughey ) still living at home with his mom ( Kathy Bates ) and dad ( Terry Bradshaw ). He has everything it takes to move out from under his mother and father's roof, but appears to lack the ambition to move out on his own without a push. After mom and dad go to a friend's backyard bar-b-que, they learn that their neighbor's son had recently moved out - with a little help.

Enter Paula ( Sarah Jessica Parker ), an entrepreneur, an . . . interventionist . . . if you will. She specializes in convincing young, capable bachelors that it is high time they vacate their parents' homes. With a few simple steps, like becoming their girlfriend, creating an emotional situation to draw out sympathy, and allowing them to teach her something, she gains their trust and builds their confidence. Little does Paula know, but she is falling for Tripp and the two fall in love.

In a simple twist, one of Tripp's thirty-something, slacking friends catches Paula with one of her other clients. Tripp eventually finds out that Paula was hired by his parents and is not the true love he thought she was. However, the two are re-united with the help of Tripp and Paula's friends and the two live happily ever after - but no longer at Tripp's parent's house. Failure to Launch is definitely a date movie. The corny, predictable humor was funny at times, but not all the time. I truly prefer Matthew in other roles such as Contact and Two for the Money.

Something new - something different . . .

Since I really don't want to make this place of mine specific to any single topic, but yet, I want any loyal visitors to be able to rely on me doing something regularly. And as you may know . . . regularity is something us old folks really favor. I get DVDs from a service called DVD Avenue. They're a great service and they rent movies from all genres ( including adult ) as well as games ( Playstation, Xbox ).

I think their rates are very competitive and have no complaints about turnaround times between movie return and getting a new one in the mail. They work just like Netflix. Since I have this stream of movies coming and going I thought it would make for a great opportunity for regular posts in the form of movie reviews. Some of the movies you might have heard of - or seen - but I'm going to do it just the same. With that said . . . on to the first review of Idiocracy . . .