1.27.2010

48. Paper Heart
49. Case 39
50. Pandorum

Yesterday was the last day of my vacation so I wanted to squeeze in a few more before heading back to work and having my numbers level out some. I wish I didn't have to work but I need money to keep on buying these movies. As a bit of warning, the reviews may not appear right away in the future. They probably still will, given how anal I am. But you never know.


Started off with Paper Heart. This 2009 flick was dubbed a "hybrid documentary" by the filmmakers. Star Charlyne Yi is filming a documentary on love. She doesn't really understand love so she figures that discussing it with others might help her get a grasp on the subject. Along the way, she meets Michael Cera. A relationship develops rather quickly. Tensions quickly flare up though since every move they make is being filmed for the documentary.

I didn't really care for this one. Yi and Cera are essentially playing themselves in a fictionalized version of their true-life romance. They dated for 3 years, eventually going their separate ways shortly before this movie was released. The biggest problem with this one is that you never quite know what is real and what is not. Supposedly the love story between Cera and Yi is staged. What about the interviews with people? Are they legitimate or are they staged as well? I couldn't get these thoughts of my head during the movie and for that, I found myself distracted and kind of annoyed with the whole thing. You can skip this one.


Later in the day, we went with Case 39. This one stars Renee Zellweger, Bradley Cooper, Ian McShane and Jodelle Ferland. Zellweger is a child services case worker who gets Ferland's case dropped in her lap. To her it's an obvious case of parental abuse. However, sometimes things aren't always as they seem.

This is a pretty good flick. It's one of those movies that takes a bit of a turn from where you're expecting it to go. Zellweger, Cooper and McShane are all solid here. The star of this one though is young Jodelle Ferland. She's great in her role as Lillith. The story is interesting. My chief complaint about the movie is the pacing. It's a bit slow to really get started. It would have been alright if they were developing the characters but it felt more like aimless wandering. Clocking in at 109 minutes, I feel that they could have excised about 10-15 minutes and made for a better movie. Overall, I still liked it and would recommend it.

Bit of trivia on this one...this movie was actually filmed back in 2006 before Cooper hit it big with The Hangover. Its original release date was February 2008. Then, it was bumped to August 2008. From there, it was bumped back to April 10,2009. And again, it was pushed back to January 1,2010. However, it was bumped again and now no longer appears on Paramount's release schedule. You'd figure that they would try to capitalize on Cooper's popularity but I guess they've got different ideas.


After Case 39, we went with Pandorum. Odd coincidence of the night...both films were directed by Christian Alvart. Anywho...

This one stars Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid as crew members aboard a spaceship. Their destination was Tanis, a planet intended to be used as a suitable alternative to an overpopulated Earth. Upon waking from their "hyper-sleep", Foster and Quaid are dismayed to find no other crew members and have little memory of what has happened. Ultimately, they discover that they are not alone.

I'm not typically a big fan of the sci-fi/horror stuff but this was a pretty good movie. Quaid and Foster are both solid here. Good story. The effects are cool and the monsters have a look that I like. I'd recommend this one.