Potiche - Movie Review

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In France 1977, Suzanne Pujol (Catherine Deneuve) is the stay-at-home trophy wife of a rich man Robert Pujol (Fabrice Luchini) who runs the family umbrella factory with a tyrannical iron fist. When the workers, who are fed up their poor working conditions strike, he tries to deal with them with force only to be taken hostage. Suzanne enlists the help of former lover and communist mayor Maurice Babin (Gérard Dépardieu) and negotiates a truce. The stress causes Robert to hospitalized and with her husband indisposed, Suzanne is forced to manage the factory herself. To the surprise of everyone, she proves that she is a very capable woman and gets the factory up and running with better work conditions and even improving sales with the help of her artistic son and disbelieving daughter. However, the situation gets complicated when Robert comes back wanting to take over the factory again but now that Suzanne has been in control for several months, she realizes she is no longer content to live her life as a just a trophy wife!

Potiche, meaning trophy wife, is a French movie with English subtitles dealing with the subject of the women emancipation movement in the late 1970s. I really enjoyed the film! It was very funny and light even with such a serious topic. A lot of the jokes were about how the characters were so flippant about adultery though. The film even started with a pair of rabbits humping each other! Deneuve's character was so likable and she gave a great performance as the submissive trophy wife who left the shelf to pursue her independence. All the other actors did an amazing job as well. Funny and entertaining, this film is sure to delight audiences.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - Movie Review

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Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back and this time he is after the fabled Fountain of Youth but he's not alone in this regard. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), who is now working for the English monarch, is on a race to beat the Spanish to the fountain while the fearsome Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and his first mate, Angelica (Penélope Cruz), a woman pirate from Jack's past, are also wanting to use the waters of the fountain to prevent an unfortunate prophecy from coming true. Jack finds himself forced onto Blackbeard's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge. After a failed attempt at mutiny and finding out that his ship, the Black Pearl, is being held captive by Blackbeard, he becomes an semi-unwilling guide to the crew, sailing through mermaid infested waters to the islands that house the Fountain of Youth. With each party wanting Jack to show them the way and each having only a part of the necessary components for the fountain to work, Jack will have to use all his wits to outsmart and outplay his enemies in order to get out of this mess alive and get back his ship.

Even after three installments, On Stranger Tides proves that Pirates is still popular. Pirate fans are sure to enjoy this latest Jack Sparrow adventure as the movie is much better than the second and third movies. Jack Sparrow's outrageous craziness has been dialed down to more manageable doses in this one. The screening was in 3D but like most 3D movies, there isn't enough effects that warrants paying more for it. Just stick to the regular version of the movie - you'll enjoy it more without having to worry about the stupid glasses. There are a lot of unanswered questions (some I can't get into without avoiding spoilers) - one of being what is that "X" on Jack's face?! I thought the movie would go into detail about it but it wasn't even mentioned! Overall the story was exciting and interesting and the acting was good. Jack Sparrow can never disappoint. I enjoyed watching the old characters as well as the new ones. Loved the relationship between the missionary Philip and Syrena, the mermaid. What can I say? I'm a Little Mermaid fan. Action, adventure, danger, sword-fighting, explosions, romance, mermaids, a few zombies and voodoo - these are a few things you can expect from the movie. Also remember to stay until the end of the credits!

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides sails into theatres and IMAX this Friday, May 20, 2011.

Valentine's Day movie review

Valentine's Day movie review and Valentine's Day movie trailer. It’s a bad sign when Ashton Kutcher is the best thing about a movie. Unfortunately for Valentine’s Day, his is the only story (of way too many) that does anything unexpected.

Most of that, of course, is by design: It’s a movie called Valentine’s Day, released on Valentine’s Day weekend, and its focus is so narrowed on women that director Garry Marshall throws romantic comedy staples Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, and Jennifer Garner into the same exercise in phony Hollywood love-peddling with two hunky doctors from Grey’s Anatomy and Jessicas Alba and Biel.

To ensure no double-X chromosome is left out of Marshall’s shameless panhandling, the older demo is served by Shirley MacLaine, and teens might pay to see the canoodling Taylors, Lautner and Swift. There’s also an interracial romance angle and a gay coupling, too, just so all the bases are covered.

The trouble is, all the stories – except the one involving Kutcher, Alba, and Garner – are pretty much the same, if not in the details then certainly in the scope: Begin with happiness, experience sadness, find more happiness.