Bull.

Head over to PopMatters and read my review for The Moment of Truth.

Short Take: "This Means War" and "Friends with Kids".

We get it, romance has evolved with the changing times and the movies have to adjust to the new ways in which people meet and fall in love, however this shouldn't mean that in the process we also must relinquish our human dignity, something that This is War not only suggests but encourages.
Tuck (Tom Hardy) and FDR (Chris Pine) are two CIA secret agents who are "grounded" after ruining a mission and spend their boring office time trying to meet women. Tuck is a romantic with old fashioned ways who recurs to online dating to meet someone, FDR is a playboy who beds a different woman every night. They accidentally end up setting eyes on the same woman, consumer marketing expert, Lauren (Reese Witherspoon) who by dating different men finds the perfect outlet to escape from her ex-boyfriend's shadow, try out her wilder sexual side and practice housekeeping. Where the movie suggests that Lauren is a hands on, ultra feminist woman, the plot and character development merely make her dalliances look like irresponsible promiscuity and of course, she is the only one getting accused of it, the guys and their jobs make them look like heroes who have earned the right to use their security clearance to harass the woman they think they're in love with. For all its misogyny, double standards and ultra conservative morality (you know who Lauren will pick from the very start) the film's greatest mistake is how utterly joyless it feels. Witherspoon seems to have forgotten how to be bubbly and charming, while Hardy and Pine hardly make for heroes worth pining for. The only war this movie declares is one against the intelligence and taste of its audience.

If you were one of those die-hard fans who were craving a Friends reunion, Friends with Kids should be the movie to dispel those wishes. Even if it's in no way associated to the popular TV show, the film works as a post-finale version of it, given that it un-creatively matches three women with three men to create the same dynamic as the series. Two of the couples are together and have started families, the single friends are those eternal bachelor (Adam Scott) and bachelorette (Jennifer Westfeldt) who seem to enjoy their "freedom" too much to lose it just to fit in with social norms.
In order to prove how awesome they are, the two friends decide to have a child and raise it without the typical family structure, of course their plan backfires as the movie conservatively reminds us that friends can't have sex and remain just friends, that children need two parents to be happy, that marriage is something we should all aspire to, and an assortment of other stereotypes that romantic comedies and dramas have helped perpetuate.
The problem at this point isn't whether they are right or not (morality and ethics aren't as universal as we'd think) but that movies like these pretend they will defy the conventional, only to become even more stilted and predictable themselves. The ending in Friends with Kids for example seems to be straight out of a cheesy 80s movie and the thing is that writer/director Westfeldt does not deliver it with a wink, she really thinks her movie is sincere.
More than a decade ago, Westfeldt brilliantly explored alternative sexual orientations in the wonderful Kissing Jessica Stein, if the characters in her new movie spent doing as much melancholy but hilarious soul searching as the characters in that one did, instead of screaming, cursing and dashing off dinner tables when upset we might've had our hands on a movie with some insight. Instead what we get are grownups who have replaced toys with wine, espresso machines and cursing to hide the fact that they are really nothing but kids.


Grades
This Means War ½
Friends With Kids *

Heat Wave.

Head over to PopMatters and read my review for My Week with Marilyn.

Style Sunday.

Julianne Moore has been making the rounds to promote Game Change, the movie where she plays former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Moore hasn't been sporting any pantsuits, fortunately and instead is giving us pure Hollywood glamour. She is divine in this lush Lanvin column dress. Moore rarely goes for black and white so she actually looks simply fresh in this.

Juli knows green does wonders to her complexion and it's always a thrill to see her wearing it. This avant garde Tom Ford design perfectly blends two shades of green in a dress that evokes both Joan Crawford and Tilda Swinton.

Do you love Juli on the red carpet too?

Coolest hidden secret doors and rooms of real life

This post is on something we never in our wildest dreams even thought of talking about..! The Doors..! No, not that legendary band, but, actual doors..! When you will look at these doors, you will, in fact, won't believe that they are doors. So, just have a look at the following photos of the top 10 coolest secret hidden doors and you will surely be enthralled by them. At the end of the post you would surely think of having such a wonder to hide your private stuff room, just like the Dexter's Laboratory!

First up is the Home Theater Ticket Booth Hidden Door, which will easily confuse you for literally the name. If you can be creative enough, you can give your home theater, a near multiplex look.

Second on the list is the bookcase door, which was much famous during the golden 'Dexter's Laboratory' times and hence you know these doors.

Staircase hidden doors are basically Harry Potter influenced doors and you will see what I mean when you look at them.

Fourth on the list are the Drawer Hidden doors, which (probably) were being searched by Jim Carrey in 'Bruce Almighty'.

Fifth are these Matt hidden Wine Cellar doors, which are a must have, don't you think? When everybody believes that everything is normal, only you know that some real private room stuff is hidden below the magically hidden door opening of the wooden floor.

Narnia wardrobe doors are also a fantasy come true for many movie fans. Imagine opening your closet and an entire room pops up in front of you.

Always wanted to come out of a fire place, just like those wizards on TV? Get this door fitted. This is the Fire Place Hidden Door.

Victorian Façade Hidden Garage is the ninth door type, which will make you gasp in surprise. If no one mentions it, you will fail every time, to notice that this is a door to a garage.

So many HP influences coming your way. The next on our list is the staircase hidden door, which is one of the coolest we've ever seen.

Now, this tenth one has been done in many movies. The wall painting door is again a very cool way to troll your mates.

Sheet-y Saturday.

Where we take a look at posters for upcoming features.

Up until a few minutes ago I had no idea what Moonrise Kingdom was about, now that I know, this poster is a thing of beauty. However before finding out what the plot was, the poster gave me a slightly creepy vibe, it reminded me of a Todd Solondz movie and we all know those aren't exactly fuzzy and cute.

What does the Moonrise Kingdom one-sheet say to you?

Monsieur Hitchcock's Vacation.

Head over to PopMatters and read my review for To Catch a Thief.