29. Just Go With It

               Adam Sandler. What does one think about when you hear that name? First thing that always pops in my head is Billy Madison.  Maybe then Opera Man.  But do you still think Movie Star when you hear the name of Adam Sandler? You should.

                His movies have made over a BILLION dollars at the box office and its almost a sure thing when it comes to his style of movies. His latest, which we saw at the always awesome AMC 16 in Creve Coeur,  Just Go With It is good. Really good. I can't help but wonder when people will start to look past the sophomoric, frat boy humor that he injects into his movies and see the depth that he does layer his films with.  It's not all Happy Gilmore. Bedtime Stories, Click and 50 first dates have some of the most genuine heart tugging moments  that are just as good as any other movie.

  Just Go With It is about a guy whose whole scam to pick up women is to pretend he is in a bad marriage and plays the victim to get their sympathy. But he finally meets a girl who likes him for him but then mistakenly thinks he is married. SO he comes up with a plan to ask his assistant,  Jennifer Aniston, to play along as his soon to be divorced wife. Then it escalates to where her children are involved and it just keeps going and going and going.  In fact the two child actors that play the  children steal almost every scene they are in. Great casting there.  The movie is funny, lots of improv was involved and you can tell they were having fun making this movie.  If you liked 50 First Dates then you will love this one.

Final Verdict: I think it will added to my Sandler Collection.

Other Tidbits:

-Nicole Kidman plays a minor role and it was awesome to see her express her crazy zany side. And she was really funny.

-Sandler plays a plastic surgeon so look for many of his SNL alum who appear as his patients.

5. The Others

      Another good example of why I’m doing this project.  I haven’t watched this dvd in 7 years. In fact I don’t even remember why it made the first cut of movies that we sold. But alas I DO own it and the MMB has chosen me to watch it.

      Based on the short story The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, The Others is a supernatural thriller (not a horror movie!). It stars Nicole Kidman and was produced by Tom Cruise (who was her husband at the time). I was initially really excited to watch this again. I don’t remember everything in it and was interested to see if it was worth owning. After all, at one time I was moved so much to buy the 2 disc special edition of this movie.  Have I gone mad?

      The movie is not as scary as I remember it to be.  If I had my choice the best way to watch this is in the pitch black while it’s cold. But instead I’m watching it on a sunny afternoon.  Nicole Kidman is solid. She was not golden globe nominee worthy (she was nominated) but still good.  The main thing I didn’t like about it this time around was that it took SOOOOOOOOOO long to get going.  Once the movie really kicks in about 40 minutes in it gets good.   I love how Light plays a villain in this movie. How the darkness is to be a friend.  It’s the opposite of most movies. The last 20 minutes is almost worth the entire movie. So chilling! If you love ghost stories, you must check this out.  I don’t want to go into too much detail with the off chance of spoiling the movie from some that may not have seen it yet. Don’t want to give up the “New Situation” that the family finds itself in. The ending is a doozey! 

 

Final Verdict: Worth it if you find it cheap. But not “2 disc special edition” worth owning.

Favorite Line: “Are you mad? I am your daughter!”

Other Tidbits:

-There are a lot of Catholic overtones in the movie which I find interesting due to Tom Cruise’s scientology background.

-The Old Testament story of Abraham and Isaac plays an important role in the movie as well. I found that very interesting.