ISN’T IT ROMANTIC (2019) – My rating: 5.5/10

Isn’t It Romantic is a satirical romantic comedy directed by Todd Strauss-chulson and written by Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox, and Katie Silberman. Isn’t It Romantic follows a young woman who gets hit on the head and wakes up in a parallel world where everything around her plays out like a romantic comedy. The film has grossed over $47 million and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Wilson’s performance.

Isn’t It Romantic opens in Australia, during the early 1990s, with a young Natalie (Rebel Wilson) watching the romantic comedy, Pretty Woman.  Natalie’s mother (Jennifer Saunders) crushes her spirit and enthusiasm by telling her that women like them (heavy set and not drop dead gorgeous) don’t get happy endings in real life.

Fast forward twenty-five years; Natalie is working as an architect in New York City. She has low self-esteem and is treated as a pushover by her colleagues. To add insult to injury, at a key meeting where Natalie was to present her ideas to a  new handsome, billionaire, client named Blake (Liam Hemsworth), he mistakes her for an assistant and askes her to get him a cup of coffee.  Humiliated, she storms out of the meeting and catches her friend/assistant, Whitney (Betty Gilpin) watching “The Wedding Singer”. Natalie reprimands Whitney then starts spewing cynical rants about romantic comedies and their clichés. Hoping to boost Natalie’s spirit, Josh (Adam DeVine) invites her to a karaoke bar but she declines.

**** SOME SPOILERS BELOW ****

On her way home from the office, Natalie is accosted by a mugger on the subway. After a brief struggle in which she ultimately repels her attacker, she knocks herself unconscious by clumsily walking head-first into a steel girder. When Natalie wakes up, she finds herself in a hospital and is greeted by an attractive doctor, who immediately starts flirting with her. Unnerved and confused, Natalie leaves the hospital, walks outside and notices, New York now looks and smells much better than it usually does. Suddenly, she is almost hit by a limousine, which contains an apologetic, genial version of Blake, who is now speaking with an Australian accent. Blake drops her off at home, before leaving he writes his phone number on flower petals, which he then dumps haphazardly into her upturned hat.  Still confused, Natalie enters her apartment, she finds it to be much larger and nicer than before. Her previously-unruly dog is now well-groomed and obedient, her closet is stocked with a dazzling array of clothes and shoes.  So everything looks, smells, acts and appears better in a world that seems the same but is not.

Isn’t It Romantic is not a new concept but a very cute one with a message for those who are non-emphatic or bullies to others. This is a simple story and what I call a fill in when there’s nothing else available.  The movie runs 1 hour 29 minutes and is really a teenage fantasy masquerading as an adult comedy.  You probably can predict the rest of this story and be absolutely correct.  I think it’s a decent comedy for a young person, however I don’t recommend you actually spend money to see it, unless you’re renting it from Amazon or Netflix.  Isn’t It Romantic is not due to be released on DVD until  May 21, 2019.  Check It Out!

 

INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE (2016) – My rating: 6.5/10

Summer of 2016 is not shaping up to be very good for adult movie goers. The children are having a blast. Movies like Finding Dory, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Zootopia, Alice through the Looking Glass and the Angry Birds Movie are making a killing at the box office with pretty good ratings. With a few exceptions, the adult movies like Hail Caesar, Money Monster, The Nice Guys, Neighbors 2, and Independence Day: Resurgence have been total disappointments. When I saw the supposedly dead Dr. Brakish Okun (Brent Spiner) in the trailer and heard Will Smith wasn’t going to be in the sequel, I figured Independence Day: Resurgence, “ID: Resurgence” was doomed. (I heard between unresolved money issues and lack of motivation toward big sci-fi block buster movies after his last one (After Earth) bombed was the reason Will backed out). After actually seeing ID: Resurgence, I can say (Will made the right decision) the special effects were fantastic but the overall movie stunk! Bill Pullman returned as President Whitmore and may have had the worse role of all. Sick, old and somewhat mentally impaired, the former president managed to perform some remarkable feats for someone in his condition. Speaking of condition, without saying too much, Dr. Okun displayed abilities unknown to a person who had been in his situation. I was so frustrated to see how they played the audience for stupid by even presenting the good doctor as they did. Thank goodness for one of my all time favorites, Jeff Goldblum as Davie Levinson and his father Judd Hirsch as Julius Levinson. Together they stole just about every scene they were in, adding some comedy and honesty to the story. Jessie T. Usher plays Dylan-Dubrow Hiller, Captain Steven and Jasmine Hiller’s son who is all grown up and a pilot and captain in ESD*. The gorgeous Liam Hemsworth plays Jake Morrison who is Dylan’s BFF and is a pilot and lieutenant in ESD*.  Jake’s parents were killed by the aliens in the first Independence Day, which caused him to grow up in an orphanage. Maika Monroe plays Patricia Whitmore, the former president’s daughter, all grown up and Jake’s fiancée. Sela Ward plays President Lanford who is the current president, which plays right into modern times since we are anticipating a female as president. Vivica Fox returns as Jasmine Hiller, who is now a hospital administrator and is only in a couple of scenes.  She mentions her husband’s accidental death, giving us an explanation for Will’s absence.

*FYI:  In case you are wondering what ESD stands for, here is the defination.  It’s fictional for this movie:

The Earth Space Defense (ESD) is a program that serves as an early warning system and united global defense unit against future extraterrestrial threats. It was founded by the United Nations on May 25, 1998. 

Other than the special effects, ID: Resurgence has little to offer. For me, it was too long, had too many battle scenes (they were tiring to watch over and over), had too many goofs in the story telling and didn’t really make us feel the threat. Everything seemed so routine and a lot of the fighting gear seemed cheap and a bit childish. I didn’t get the big block buster feel nor was I entertained as I usually am by these types of movies. In my opinion, no comparison to the original can be found in this sequel.  You should probably wait for the DVD or if you haven’t seen the original Independence day, rent it!

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PT 1 (2014) – My rating: 10/10

Since 2012,  I get a real birthday treat because  a version of The Hunger Games is released.  This year, The Mockingjay debuted and I, along with millions of other fans anticipated it’s arrival.  I was not disappointed.  The Hunger games, all versions,  are so fantastic I’d hate to see them end.  We started off with the world divided into districts and governed by the evil President Snow, played by Donald Sutherland.  2 kids from each district are forced to enter a competition called the Hunger Games.  It’s a fight to the finish.  Only one survivor is allowed so 25 children must die each year.  After 2 years, District 12 winners have caused controversy, thus shutting down the games.  Many VIP followers like Woody Harrelson, who plays Haymitch Abernathy and Phillip Seymore Hoffman, who plays Plutarch Heavensbee have fallen off the President Snow bandwagon and joined the rebellion against The Capital.  Julianne Moore plays President Alma Coin, who leads the districts and the rebellion.  Jennifer Lawrence who plays  Katniss Everdeen, is the Mockingjay that heads the rebellion and  gives hope and light at the end of the tunnel for the poor and the oppressed population that remain in the districts that haven’t been attacked or destroyed.  Oops, that was sort of a spoiler.  At any rate, this Hunger Games is one of the best and I for one, really liked it.  I can’t wait for part 2.  BTW:  Lenny Kravitz who plays Cinna is not in this last one, boo ho.  However, Josh Hutcherson, who plays Petta Mellark and the gorgeous Liam Hemsworth, who plays Gale Hawthorne continue to be Katniss’ love interest.  May the best man win. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt 1 is worth all your attention and most certainly, the cost of a movie ticket.