Cameron Diaz

Bad Movie

  • Title: Bad Teacher
  • IMDB: link

bad-teacher-dvdI like Cameron Diaz. I enjoyed Bad Santa. Hell, I even like Summer School. However, I don’t like all those ingredients thrown into a blender with the barest attempt at originality and the lack of any real laughs.

If you take Billy Bob Thornton‘s character from Bad Santa and put him into Mark Harmon‘s role from Summer School, then make him an aging blonde hottie obsessed with getting a boob job and tricking some rich dullard into marriage you have the script for Bad Teacher, not just the premise mind you, the entire script.

Writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg (the comedic geniuses who are responsible for Year One) waste another talented cast by phoning in yet another suprisingly unfunny comedy. If you know how these guys continue to get work please let me know. (I’m guessing that must have some incriminating pictures of several studio heads.)

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The Holiday

  • Title: The Holiday
  • IMDB: link

the-holiday-posterDirector Nancy Meyers gives us a great Christmas present – a fun romantic comedy, a chick-flick that guys can actually tolerate and enjoy. Who would have thought it possible? Merry Christmas everyone!

Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Iris (Kate Winslet) have two things in common: neither has good taste in men, and both are depressed and alone at Christmas. The two complete strangers decide to swap lives for two weeks.  And so movie trailer maker Amanda finds herself in a small British town in a cozy home with a stack of books, and Iris ends up in a posh L.A. mansion with a host of DVD’s.

As each explores their new surroundings they meet new people. Amanda falls immeadiately for Iris’ roguishly handsome brother (Jude Law), and Iris cultivates two friendships – the first with an elderly screenwriter (Eli Wallach), and the second with a composer (Jack Black) who has as much luck in love as she does.

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The Green Hornet for Dummies

  • Title: The Green Hornet
  • IMDB: link

Director Michel Gondry and star/co-writer Seth Rogen set out to do their version of the Green Hornet. They’ve succeeded. This is unlike any Green Hornet I’ve seen, and probably as far removed from my idea of who these characters are as could be done and still title the film The Green Hornet. In fact, the main character is so unrecognizable you have to wonder why even use the Green Hornet characters instead of simply making an original film.

The Green Hornet debuted on radio in the 1930’s alongside other popular programs such as The Lone Ranger and The Shadow. Since then the character has bounced around comics, low budget movie serials, and, most notably, the 60’s television show starring Van Williams and Bruce Lee.

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Knight and Day

  • Title: Knight and Day
  • IMDb: link

Tom Cruise is crazy. Crazy I tell you! And he’s soooo dangerous! Or is he? That’s the basic theme of Knight and Day which enlists Cruise to play the burned-out spy gone mad who happens upon the unsuspecting June (Cameron Diaz) on her way to her sister’s (Maggie Grace) wedding. One thing leads to another (don’t you hate it when a plane full of trained killers tries to take you out in mid-air?) and suddenly June is seeing much more of Roy (Cruise) than she bargained for.

In film, as in life, charm can both overcome and hide a number of flaws. And Cruise and Diaz make for a charming on-screen couple. Just not quite charming enough to hide a level of ridiculousness that even The A-Team dared not go. At no time should you attempt to think through the chain of events you are presented with which rely on the kind of dumb luck, chance, opportunity and fate you only find in movies of this genre.

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Shrek the Third

  • Title: Shrek the Third
  • IMDb: link

Well, the good news is the third installment isn’t the complete disaster that many saw coming.  The bad news however is it isn’t nearly as good as Shrek 2.  Still, it has some memorable moments and a few laughs, and should entertain you for most of it’s 93 minute running time.

After King Harold (John Cleese) falls ill and dies, the kingdom falls to Shrek (Mike Meyers) who wants nothing to do with ruling and only wants to take Fiona (Cameron Diaz) back to the swamp and live in peace and quiet, which will be difficult considering Fiona’s got her own baby surprise for our hero.

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