Movie Monday: Vampires, Fake Engagements, A Road Trip, and Some Jackasses

Oh, what a week I have had! With a few of the Kansas City area Blockbuster stores closing their doors, I spent some time in a couple of them seeking out some movie deals. I seemed to have hit the jackpot. I mean, who else would resist owning movies that cost the same as if you were to just rent them? Add that to the rental program I mentioned last week, and I have a crapload of new movies to watch. I ended up watching a lot of movies, so prepare for shorter reviews this week... I don't want to bore you guys, you know. :-)

Vampires Suck



A parody film that focuses solely on the first two Twilight movies, with other pop culture references from other vampire movies/shows, like True Blood and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It also references Jersey Shore, the Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, and others.

To be honest, I have seen a lot better parodies in my day. It did well with executing both Twilight films into one, but the jokes were either too overdone or semi funny. There were moments, while watching this, I thought "You know, some of my friends will probably think that this is how Twilight should have been told." Even I thought that a few times. If you want to watch something brainless, then go ahead and watch this flick. Otherwise, if you don't happen to catch this flick, you won't be missing much. Rating: 2 out of 5 stars


The Proposal



Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is the boss from hell who discovers her Visa status has expired and that she has to be deported to Canada. In order to keep her lifestyle, she claims she is engaged to her assistant, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds). She ends up going with him to Alaska for the weekend so she can get to know him and so they can announce their "engagement" and get married.

Yes, it's a predictable chick flick... as in I knew how it was going to end when I saw the previews for it. With that said, it had a lot of funny moments: the bachelorette party, the dog/eagle incident, the naked encounter, and the surprising emergency situation initiated by Andrew's grandmother (Betty White). I enjoyed how Margaret was blown away with how her preconceptions of Alaska were blown out of the water (and eventually her realization of how much she missed doing normal family activities). It was a cute movie, but not one of my favorites in the romantic comedy department. Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Due Date



After a series of unfortunate instances, Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) and Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) are placed on the "No Fly" list. So they decide to take a road trip across the country so Peter can get home before his child is born (via c-section). While driving, they encounter a number of bizarre and unexpected events which threatens them from getting to California in time for Peter's baby to arrive.

When i first heard that this movie was made by the same people who did The Hangover, I was prepared to get some good laughs. I also expected for it to not be quite as funny. I was right on both counts. Peter immediately came off as a straight up douchebag with a stick up his ass. Once he (finally) warmed up to Ethan, I learned to like him. I was pleasantly surprised to see Jamie Foxx and Juliette Lewis with supporting roles in the movie. Like with The Hangover, Zach Galifianakis brings his own twist of bizarre characters with great comedic timing. I was pretty satisfied with the amount of laughs and "what the fuck?" moments in this film. Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars


Jackass 3 (the one that was in 3D in theaters)



The fearless group that became the Jackass team returned to theaters in 2010 with a 3D version of some of the most epic stunts performed to date. They recruited a few guests, including Seann William Scott and Rip Torn, to witness and participate in some of the many antics that made them famous in the first place.

I was feeling a little down earlier this week and was hoping to find a movie that made me laugh to feel better. This movie blew that completely out of the water. I have never laughed so much in a movie... EVER. I had to keep pausing between scenes to compose myself, only to do it again, and again. Some of the stunts that caused me the most laughter include: the wheelbarrow/bungee/pool one, the one involving a jet engine and projecting random objects, and "duck" hunting. To me, this was the best of all the movies they have made. Rating 4.75 out of 5 stars