Cast: Analeigh Tipton, Miles Teller, Jessica Szohr, Leven Rambin, Scott Mescudi Director: Max Nichols Running time: 1 hour and 26 minutes
Analeigh Tipton is just a girl wanting to have fun after her break-up grieving period. So she meets Miles Teller online and they end up hitting off and hooking up. Every thing is going according to plan until Megan wakes up the next morning to find that she is stranded in Alec's apartment with no hopes of going anywhere because of a terrible snow blizzard. And so the one night stand they were hoping for turned into a "Two Night Stand" no one wanted.
This is the third romantic comedy style movie with 20something protagonists that I've reviewed in the last months, the others being "That Awkward Moment" ( review: http://moviereviewsbym94.blogspot.gr/2014/05/that-awkward-moment-movie-review.html ) (which Teller was in) and "Cavemen" ( review: http://moviereviewsbym94.blogspot.gr/2014/09/cavemen-movie-review.html ). And like Cavemen I have to praise Two Night Stand for the chemistry between its leads. They are very cute together. He is funny and dorky-good looking. She is beautiful, charming and has awesome hair. It's a match made in heaven. And fortunately, they are the focus of the movie, unlike That Awkward Moment.
Another strong, and often missing from this type of movies, element that Two Night Stand posses is that it is R rated and it embraces that. Unlike both of the other movies, sex plays a big part in the film (it is called "Two Night Stand" after all). They do it, they talk about it and they make it important, like it is for someone in his/her twenties.
And finally, I did enjoy the movie's light, fun and flirty moments. When it's not about something deep and/or serious, Two Night Stand is a good time. It has its funny moments. It has its hot and simultaneously adorable co-stars. And it has a light, refreshing touch to it. All in all pleasurable, until you forget all about it five minutes after you saw it.
Which brings me to this. Two Night Stand might have its light, unimportant fun but it, also, has its serious, "draggy" moments. The screenwriters try to give the movie substance by making the characters talk about thing like how difficult it is to have your parents still together,in love and how to live up to that and it feels kind of ridiculous. These types of conversations don't go well with the tone of the rest of the movie and they drag it into clichés and stereotypes. I feel like if the film had accepted its more light-hearted nature it would be a better time for the audience and the critics.
Moreover, something that bothered me with Two Night Stand is the uncharacteristic behavior of Megan and Alec. Would a reasonable and averagely intelligent person break a window and illegally enter someone else's house just to use the toilette? Or call the police on someone they like and get them thrown into jail just so that they can track them down? I doubt it, but I guess everyone threw away their thinking caps in this movie because they do all those stuff without even thinking of the consequences.
And, at last, yes I have to talk about it. Two Night Stand, like both the other movies (and many more i'm sure), seems to follow the same roc-com formula. From the drug scenes to the serious talks to the last make-up. We've seen it all before. There are so many stereotypical pieces to the movie that anything original Two Night Stand has to offer disappears.
In conclusion, I can't whole-heartedly recommend Two Night Stand but I can, also, vouch for the fact that it is not terrible.
Final thought: The opening sequence is cute (there is that word again).
Cast: Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis Director: Tom Gormican Running time: 1 hour and 34 minutes Jason (Zac Efron), Mikey (Michael B. Jordan) and Daniel (Miles Teller) are three best friends. When Mikey's wife asks for a divorce his two friends decide to stay single with him and ease him back into the dating pool. But what do you know, both of them end up finding the loves of their lives (shocker!) and start to go back on their pact. What will happen? Will their friendship survive? Will they find happiness and true love? One thing that worked about this movie was that the 3 lead characters have a nice chemistry with each other. Even though i thought (and i've heard a lot) that Daniel and Jason were kind of mean and douchy, it was somewhat fun to watch the three of them together. I would mostly contribute that to Miles Teller's charm and personality, which he brings to all of his movies (i'm a big fan as i've mentioned before). Apart from Teller's charming presence there was some humor in his character. He was the link that held the friendship together and made the movie remotely fun. I doubt i would like this movie at all (not that i like it a lot as it is) if he wasn't in it. As far as Michael B. Jordan's character goes i have to say i liked him the best. Daniel is funny, but Mikey is the kindest and nicest of the group. And in a group of douchebags that means a lot. Now, regarding Zac Efron's character. I though Jason was a blank and boring addition to the group. Efron didn't have anything to offer to the film, mainly because the character had no positive attributes. He wasn't funny like Daniel was or nice like Mickey was, so i found it hard to care about him at all. Right from the first couple of scenes i had a problem with the movie. We see Teller and Efron's characters pitch a book cover proposal to some clients and i didn't buy it for a second. They look like they are in college and even if we assume they are 26-27, like they are in real life, doesn't that agency have any senior stuff that would meet with the clients and do the important jobs? You don't become a lead book cover artist when you are in your 20s. I would believe it more if they were interns rather than cover art geniuses with huge New York City apartments. Speaking of the begging of the movie, the first scene (if i am not mistaken) is when a girl breaks up with Zac Efron even though he hadn't realised they were in a relationship (or the girl hadn't realised they weren't in one). The fact that every girl (there is another one later in the film) Jason hooks up with doesn't understand that they are only having sex, and not starting a relationship, offended me a little bit. The movie doesn't seem to get that not all women are looking for relationships and/or are idiots who mistake casual sex with dating.So, actually, i had problems with the movie right from the start. Also, the whole premise of the film (that Daniel and Jason would stay single to help Mikey) didn't sit well with me. How would that help Michael B. Jordan's character? Is it because they didn't want him to see other people in love and feel hurt and jealous that he was no longer with his wife? Like he doesn't have any other friends that are in relationships. The idea struck me as a little childish. And i doubt Mikey would object with his friends meeting girls that they like and actually being happy. Like so many other rom-coms That Awkward Moment was very predictable. Friends decide to stay single and they immediately find the perfect girl. The guy sees his girl-best friend play the piano and he realises he loves her. The other guy gives a big romantic speech in front of many people so that he can win back the girl. And finally, the third guy who thought that he couldn't move on from heartbreak ends up getting over his ex and finding someone new. You could make a list with all the cliche romantic-comedy situations that are in this movie. The predictability of the movie kept me from being excited to see how everything would play out and learning what would happen in the end. Finally, i can't not comment on the fact that SPOILER! Ellie's dad's death is so clearly just a plot devise for the movie. We meet him in Ellie's birthday party and, literally, the first scene after the party is when we learn about his death.The writers should have, at least, put another scene in between so that it's not that obvious. It felt totally manipulative and not in any way emotional. In conclusion, That Awkward Moment is widely predictable with a couple of charming characters (literally,there were 2) that can't save this movie from the drag that it is. Final thought #1: There is a book reading scene that is very painful. Final thought #2: Damn Zac Efron's tight pants, tho. My score: 19% Tomatometer: 22% m.
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Ashley Judd, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller Director: Neil Burger Running time: 2 hours and 19 minutes Divergent is the film adaptation of Veronica Roth's first-of-a-trilogy young-adult-science-fiction novel of the same name. Our female lead is Trish (Shailene Woodley) born and raised in Abriegation, one of the five factions in a futuristic dystopian world (actually only the Chicago area for reasons i don't know yet). It's the day that Trish will take the test. The test that will tell her which of the five factions is the best choice for her. The test that will determine the rest of her life.But nothing goes as planned. What will the results be? What faction will she choose? What is Divergent? I had heard about the book before going into the movie, read some reviews and, actually started reading it going as far as like 5 pages (i should really start reading more), so i kind of knew what, the movie, was about. That made me pretty excited to go to the movie theater to watch it (the fact that the movie critics were disappointed with the film took some of the excitement,but still). Let's start with the positive part of my review (it won't be long!). In all its flaws, i have to say that Divergent feels like a movie that prepares you for a much better sequel. Although i thought that the first installment of the trilogy wasn't very strong as a stand-alone film, it definitely open a "door" for something better in the future. SPOILER ALERT!!! The way it ended, and especially with the characters it ended, makes it possible for Insurgent to have a, much more, engaging storyline with more captivating and compelling leads. You've got Trish and Four, but, also, all the other characters that i found interesting, Peter!!!!! (what can i say? I have a big crush on Miles Teller), Trish's cute brother, Caleb (fun fact: the actor who plays Caleb, Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley,who plays Trish, are in an upcoming movie called The fault in our stars, based on a book of the same name, and in that movie they are a couple) and finally Four's dad. But it's not only the characters that will make the sequel (hopefully) better than Divergent, it's, also, the fact that we've passed the parts of the movie where Trish picks a faction and then trains and meets new people and all these, potentially interesting but not in this movie, activities and we are now where things become exciting. Moreover, along the same lines, i have to say that the last third of the movie, when Trish and Four learn about Erudite's plans and try and stop Jeanine Matthews from executing them, was much more riveting than any other part of the movie. Finally, i don't know if it was the character or the fact that Miles Teller was the actor portraying him, but i really enjoyed watching Peter. He appears to be more complex than the other characters in the movie. He is depicted as a "bad" guy but in the end his actions reveal that maybe he is not such a bad guy after all, maybe he just didn't understand the nature of his action. However, there were many things wrong with Divergent. One of the most important ones was that we, hardly, get any character development. We learn nothing about noone. No backstory, no personality traits (other than the fact that Trish SPOILER and Four are Divergents), not anything. As a result i ended up not caring about any of the leads, their fates or their relationships. And because i didn't have any real interest in Trish and Four's relationship, their moments together didn't "click" for me. I didn't feel the evolution of their connection. Also, it was done way too fast. And what i mean by that, is how quickly their relationship went from nothing to an undeserved "i love you". They met, they slept in the same room, they had 2 or 3 conversations and, suddenly, they were in love. Regarding the "i love you scene", even if we magically believe that the two of them fell madly in love in 3 seconds, the fact that Four is able to get out of the robotic state, Kate Winslet's character put him in, just because Trish told him that he loves him is ridiculous. It is such a teen-love-flick thing to happen and it annoyed me so much. The other important problem with the movie is, that the first half (maybe more) is extremely boring. I found that before the attack and unveiling of Jeanine Matthews' (Kate Winslet) nefarious plans, the pace of the film is too slow. All the specific scenes that clearly have a strong meaning in the book (like the "flying" through building or climbing the Ferris wheel scenes), here lack any emotion and thrill. Finally, i have to say (and i know i am repeating myself) that i am sure this movie is a segway to a much better sequel. Although we are introduced to the idea that the dystopian city,in which the five faction exist, is surrounded by a giant fence/dome we don't ever really dive into the subject. We, never, get told why this fence exists or what is out there. However i feel that it will, definitely, be analysed more in the future movies which brings me back to my previous point: Insurgent will be a much better movie. In conclusion, not a strong stand-alone movie but a first installment for a potentially good follow-up film. So, maybe, wait for the next one. Score:57% m.
