Do you like Ashton? What about my little doll Natalie Portman? COme on how can you not? Well in Atomic Popcorn’s latest screening you get to see both of them loving up on each other. Friends with more than benefits!

Make sure you grab tickets to Paramount’s latest comedy – No Strings Attached.

Synopsis:

In this comedy, Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) are life-long friends who almost ruin everything by having sex one morning. In order to protect their friendship, they make a pact to keep their relationship strictly “no strings attached.” “No strings” means no jealousy, no expectations, no fighting, no flowers, no baby voices. It means they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, in whatever public place they want, as long as they don’t fall in love. The question becomes- who’s going to fall first? And can their friendship survive?

Trailer:

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Make sure you check out our other free screenings in the Baltimore Area.

How do you feel about Valentine’s Day?

Are you one of those romantics who buys into it wholeheartedly, anticipating the day so you can lavish your loved one with affection and attention? Maybe you  just enjoy getting caught-up in the kitsch of candy hearts, roses and chocolates? Or are you one of the others, who thinks the holiday is a cheap and shameless ploy by the card companies to cash-in on romantic feeling? Maybe it’s all a scam by couples to make single people feel like crap? Have I hit one of your buttons yet?

Well, if you aren’t in the camp you enjoys the kitsch or wholeheartedly buys into the ethos of the holiday, then you should stay far, far away from Garry Marshall’s Valentine’s Day. It has been created with a singular, shallow purpose; cash in on the moonstruck miasma already associated with the day.

In fact, I can’t even guarantee that if you like the holiday, you will enjoy the movie. There isn’t a worthwhile character or thoughtful sentiment in the entire thing. Marshall has produced by-the-numbers claptrap before, but this is his epic of empty feeling. A mammoth herd of stars show up and tromp through several vignettes following a variety of people living through February 14th from start to finish.

I was reminded of Richard Curtis’ Love Actually, where a formidable and lively cast portrayed characters living and loving their way through  Christmas.  This movie has little of that one’s charm, and none of its substance and wit. Curtis may have packed his picture full of twee sentiment, but he had the courage of his convictions. The only conviction that V-Day has is the unfortunate belief that a well-placed pop song will cure any flat or tedious scene. There’s alot of music here as a result.

Are there any highlights? Well, if you enjoy seeing actors you recognize playing themselves and vindicating all those cheesy romantic feelings you have always had about the magic of Valentine’s Day, then maybe. Otherwise, there are snippets of humor and flashes of feeling, but they are buried underneath the grueling script which feels more like an airline schedule than a plot, making sure each thread is taking off and landing on time.

Among the cast, I found Jennifer Garner to be the most appealing and likable performer. She’s playing a woman named Julia who is circling potential romantic entanglement with her best bud, Reed, who also happens to run a florist shop on V-Day (how cute). There’s not enough here for her to do anything significant with the character, but she has the energy and the sweetness necessary to make something like this work. Maybe if the film had focused solely on her and Kutcher’s Reed it would have stood a better chance. Instead it throws us Julia Roberts, Hector Elizando, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel, Topher Grace, Patrick Dempsey, Taylor Lautner, Anne Hathaway, Kathy Bates, George Lopez and Queen Latifah. I could have done without the lot of them. Well, ok, we can keep Latifah. She’s also one of the few bright spots.

Valentine’s Day is a movie without a single surprise. If you watch the trailer right now, you will understand everything that wants to be said, and what will happen to all of the characters. You will also know if it’s a movie you will like. If you find yourself rolling your eyes, you’re better off sitting this V-Day out.

Rating: ★½☆☆☆ 

Nikki and Samantha

Spread brings a lot to the table in a pretty unknown movie with a well known cast of actors. Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, the beautiful Margarita Levieva and many other familiars. So what is the movie about, well the short of it is this, Nikki (played very well by Ashton Kutcher) is a man-whore! Yes, you heard that right.

Set in a modern-day L.A., we meet Nikki, a foul-mouthed, well-dressed, bad boy from the south who moves to L.A. with the highest of hopes of nailing models and becoming rich and famous. While sleeping his way into high society, Nikki latches on to the stunningly beautiful Sam (Anne Heche) and becomes her live-in boy toy. While continuing to work other women, Nikki lives off the life that Samantha has built on her own.

The story is a sexually charged, relationship-free soap opera between Sam and Nikki. The two don’t know what they want, who they want, or even how they got where they now are. The story follows these two into a downward spiral of sexual intimacy, to an almost pornographic level of sin. Nikki is shown to us as the pretty-boy man-whore and Samantha the ever-beautiful “cougar” that Nikki tries to nail down. Over the course of the story arc, however, Nikki is coming to the realization that this may not be the way to live. Using friends, having no home or car, relying on older women to support him – is this the life for Nikki?

Directed by David Mackenzie (of Hallam Foe and Young Adam), Spread is an iconic look at the sinful nature of sex, money, and access that Hollywood offers to only the “beautiful people”. This film, while acted well, narrows its appeal with over-the-top sex and foul language.

I am not saying don’t see this movie, I actually enjoyed it for what it was. Once and if you can get past all of the sex scenes and sexual tension of the film, the overall feel is pretty solid. The story is well told, the acting is on par and Anne Heche is a complete knockout in this film. She looks gorgeous.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Its time for yet another double dose of Under The Radar. The first of the two is the new sex comedy, Spread. Penned by Jason Dean Hall and directed by David Mackenzie, this movie will tempt you to take a plunge and see how it is. Starring Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche and Margarita Levieva, this tale about getting in the sack and falling in love comes out August 14th.

Nikki’s latest conquest is Samantha (Anne Heche), a stunning middle-aged lawyer who gives him more than he’s ever had before. But then he meets a gorgeous waitress his own age named Heather (Margarita Levieva). She comes to visit Nikki at Samantha’s house while Samantha is out of town, sees what an incredible place it is… and comes to the mistaken conclusion it’s his. Unbeknown to Nikki, Heather lives by playing the same game.

When Samantha comes home, she discovers Nikki’s infidelity and he’s put out on the street. With nowhere else to turn, Nikki pulls out all the stops to win Heather over and they begin to form their own kind of bond. Sexually charged by a game of one-upsmanship, each shows the other their best grifts, and they unexpectedly begin falling in love – the one thing they can’t do in the life they lead. Soon, the truth of their unfolding relationship forces a choice between love and money, and Nikki has to decide whether he can live on his own once and for all in the hopes of finding something real.

Enjoy the trailer for Spread:

The second one to add onto the list is in the form of guitar masters. Combining the greatness of Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), the Edge (U2) and Jack White (The White Stripes) within the form of a documentary film called It Might Get Loud. The Official Selection in both the Toronto Intl Film Festival & Sundance Film Festival, how could this huge heap of awesome not attract many? This movie will roll out into theaters on August 14 or 28th, depending on where you live. Check your local theaters to see when this comes over.

Rarely can a film penetrate the glamorous surface of rock legends. It Might Get Loud tells the personal stories, in their own words, of three generations of electric guitar virtuosos – The Edge (U2), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) and Jack White (The White Stripes). It reveals how each developed his unique sound and style of playing favorite instruments, guitars both found and invented. Concentrating on the artist’s musical rebellion, traveling with him to influential locations, provoking rare discussion as to how and why he writes and plays, this film lets you witness intimate moments and hear new music from each artist. The movie revolves around a day when Jimmy Page, Jack White and The Edge first met and sat down together to share their stories, teach and play.

Enjoy the trailer for It Might get Loud:

It Might Get Loud Trailer

Little is known about the upcoming film Spread starring Ashton Kutcher other than it features one of the worst actors working in Shane Brolly. Looking at this new one sheet and the cast list, it does happen to have the hottest thing about Adventureland in Margarita Levieva. I’m none too familiar with the film or David Mackenzie’s work so here’s a plot synopsis from IMDb:

Set in modern day Los Angeles, Spread is a hard biting story about a high-end lethario, Nikki (Ashton Kutcher), who has slept his way into a life of privilege. He shares his secrets with us as he hosts parties and beds scores of women, all while living it up at the Hollywood Hills home of a middle-aged female attorney, Samantha (Anne Heche). Everything is going swimmingly until Nikki meets a gorgeous waitress named Heather (Margarita Levieva), who, unbeknownst to him, is playing the same game that he is. As the truth of their life unravels, they find themselves sexually charged by a game of one-upsmanship that has them dining at fine restaurants and crashing posh parties, until the truth of their lives forces them to choose between love and money.

The question remains as to if Kutcher will be playing his usual “yell at everything for laughs” self but it appears Levieva wants to make a career out of playing a cheap hooker. The one-sheet is below and Spread opens on August 14th.

What Happens in Vegas, usually stays in Vegas, or at least its supposed to.

That is not exactly how things play out in the romantic comedy staring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz.

The movie starts out showing us the pitiful life of Jack (Kutcher) and how he works in a wood working shop for his father. Least to say Jack is a very big slacker and its very evident in everything he does. A lack of commitment and finishing the job has stricken him throughout his life. This leads to his father firing him from the family business.

On the other side of town, we see a socialite in Joy, who we find out is not all to joyful inside. Joy is the people pleaser we all know and love, but the down side is that she is so busy pleasing others she is oblivious to whats going on around her. As a rising star on the stock exchange to a fiance to a well groomed man, she seems to have it all together. It’s not always what it seems.

We follow these two separate stories through a few drunken laughs, shoulder crying and then eventually to Vegas where they meet as their unfortunate circumstances draw them to Sin City.

The film/laughs really start when they get to Vegas. Arriving total strangers with a subsequent wingman or lady, they do as most of us would and check into a Hotel. By an error on the Manager’s part, they are booked into the same room. This is when the comedy kicks in, well sort of.

The film is a comedy at heart but I expected more from Kutcher and Diaz to pull it together. The overall feel of the film and its advertising was that it would be a very funny, laugh out loud type of film. I will let you decide on that one, but for me it was so so throughout.

The acting brought us a “seen before” feel to the movie, making me recall movies like “How to loose a guy in 10 days”, “You, Me and Dupree” and others. A movie idea that really has been done and done and done before. The sad main character, the helpful friend, the trip to get away – its been done!

Overall I would say the chemistry between the two was or felt real but the movie didn’t really deliver on what I thought it would. Yes it has its cute moments, the funny parts, the “hate humor” etc but something was missing I have yet to figure out. And yes Diaz is in her underpants and bra multiple times! This does add a little to the audience viewing pleasure.

I would suggest that most folks wait for a DVD of this movie, but if you enjoy the common chick flicks with good looking actors, than this is your ticket.

[imdb]1033643[/imdb]

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 

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