Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

Earth Girls Are Easy, is good stupid fun!
I bet the commentary you and SC did was a lot of fun! I liked the look back at the 80s...among other things

There's no doubt that Earth Girls Are Easy is tremendously stupid, but what is also not in doubt for me is that it's good fun. It is just so 80s that it's unbelievable.

As you mention Citizen, Geena Davis is insanely hot in this film. And the casting of Jim Carrey and Jeff Goldlbum as aliens is inspired. I mean if you need two guys to portray weird beings from another planet you're not going to find many better candidates than those two. Goldblum's natural state in particular always seems pretty alien. In fact Christopher Walken would be another one, has he ever played an alien in anything?

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JayDee good observations and too funny and too true about Goldblum and Carrey seeming alien-esque. Walken would make a fine alien too, I don't know if he ever did play one. There was a pretty funny scene that was cut from the film, it had all of them driving down Sunset Blvd with Julie Brown signing.

I was shocked by how much I enjoyed Earth Girls Are Easy. I had very low expectations going into it, expecting it be cringe-worthy, but it's a very fun movie, despite the overwhelming stupidity. I even enjoyed the songs, which is rare for me. Like JayDee said, the movie is about as 80's as it gets, but that's part of its charm. They just don't make movies like this anymore.

And you're right, CR --- Geena Davis is sexy as all hell in the movie. I've never found her particularly attractive, but Earth Girls Are Easy is the one of the few exceptions.

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I agree completely, and I also enjoyed this movie. One of the great movie titles as well.

I also found her rather sexy in Long Kiss Goodnight. Not so much when she was the housewife but certainly when she was the ruthless, dangerous killer. Not sure what exactly that says about me!

Ruby Sparks (2012)

Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Writer: Zoe Kazan
Cast: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan,
Indie Production: Fantasy-Drama, Comedy-Romance

Synopsis: A brilliant young novelist who suffers from anxiety and writer's block, seeks the help of a psychologist who suggest that he writes a story about his dream girl....who then appears out of thin air.

Ruby Sparks is from the directors of Little Miss Sunshine, but don't expect to see that movie. For the most part it's an intelligent and unique indie film that's worth watching. Even though it's listed as a comedy romance drama, it's mainly a drama based on what happens when a 'dream partner' magical appears. There are some light comic moments but it's not a rom-com, it's more of a serious study of relationships and needs. The film also effectively works as a mystery...as the viewer tries to figure out just where did the mysterious Ruby Sparks come from.

Both the leads, Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan... who are a real life couple, shine in their roles. The ability of these two actors to portray realistic people in a movie with an very unusual event, makes Ruby Sparks work so well. There's indeed chemistry between the two actors and some very poignant and touching scenes. But don't think this is a strictly romance movie, as it has a more somber thread running through it too.

While the very last few minutes seemed tacked on, I did really enjoy the film overall. Ruby Sparks has a true indie spirit and enough polish on it to make it shine.

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I liked Ruby Sparks but not nearly as much as I was hoping to. I thought there was a real chance I'd love it but just didn't work out that way. Will definitely rewatch it someday in the hope that I like it better on that occasion

JayDee, I think I know what you mean.

Never heard of Ruby Parks before now; it sounds like something I might like, and it's got a nice cast. I really like Paul Dano as an up and comer.

Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

Director: Woody Allen
Writer: Woody Allen
Cast: Colin Firth, Emma Stone, Marcia Gay Harden
Length: 97 minutes
Genre: Romance Comedy Period Piece

Premise (spoiler free): A cynical man (Colin Firth), falls in love with a psychic medium (Emma Stone) as he attempts to prove she's a fake.

Review: The shocked look on Emma Stone's face pretty much sums up how I feel about this movie. Once again Woody Allen writes a movie that bases the lead character on Woody's own angst ridden neurosis. 30-40 years ago a Woody Allen caricature might have been funny in one of his movies, today it's just pathetic. The script is tedious, with long 'talky' scenes. There's little emotional impact, unless you count boredom. If Woody can say something in 300 words that could have been said in 10, he'll do it. I've never seen a movie with so much inane chatter.

The characters are cardboard. They seem to exist just to talk and yet we don't really ever learn or care about them. It's too bad as Colin Firth is one of the current greats working but you'd never know it from this movie.

Magic in the Moonlight has nice enough art direction with some impressive looking scenery shot in the south of France. The colors of the movie print were grossly over-saturated with fluorescent lime green grass and bright cyan water. It took me awhile to figure out why the director had done this....it was a nice try, but didn't work.

The premise of the story is a strong one and would seem to have much potential. For a so called romance-comedy there's scarce comedy and even less romance. I'm not sure how anyone could ruin a movie this badly, but Woody did.

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Ouch, disappointing review. I was looking forward to this one, but maybe not anymore.

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“Except for markf, you’re all a disgrace to cinema.”

Sean, I would be the first to say, read other reviews too. Some people on MoFo really liked it. If you like lots of stage play dialogue in your movies, maybe you might like it too. I have to review it based on how I felt and I hated it.


This is a link to a google search of the MoFo site for Magic in the Moonlight

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...pe=&as_rights=

I read your review of Ruby Sparks, and it sounds familiar. I think I may have seen it, but I don't remember a lot about it. I'll have to re-watch it and see if it's the movie that I'm thinking it might be.

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on it. I think you would at least mostly like it.

I haven't heard of Magic in the Moonlight, but I might give it a try, (eventually), even though your review doesn't make it sound very good. I'm not a big fan of Woody Allen, but I recently saw a couple of his movies that I liked, so I'm trying to watch a few more of his movies and give him another chance. Also, I like Colin Firth in the few movies that I've seen him.

Granted, I haven't seen The King's Speech yet, but so far I'm not a fan of Colin Firth and therefore have no interest in Magic in the Moonlight.

I loved Ruby Sparks, although it definitely dove into far darker territory than it needed to. This is not actually a criticism, as the bombastic scene(s) in question is / are the most memorable part(s) of the film. It found just the right balance between the fantastical and the horrific in its unconventional premise.

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I really liked some of Woody Allen's old movies like Sleeper and Bananas. I think Woody can be funny playing more or less himself. But this movie didn't work for me.

Cricket, I could easily put The King's Speech on my top 10 list, I would rate very high. I've told several non movie fans about it and they ended up loving it.

That's well said, you describe it to a tee. For me I was hoping for a far darker ending, but then that's just me.

I loved the premise of Ruby Sparks, but I don't think it ever came close to capitalizing on its potential. The film could have gone in so many interesting directions, but instead I found it rather middling with the exception of a few late scenes.

Not seen Magic in the Moonlight. Woody Allen is very hit-or-miss for me anyway. He rarely strings together two great films anymore, so since I loved 2013's Blue Jasmine, I figured Magic in the Moonlight would probably be a letdown.

I do love me some Emma Stone, though.