Hi everyone! Jumping on the blog while I’m on vacation to post a spoiler-free review of Eclipse. Yes, even vacation couldn’t keep me away from a midnight showing!

Not sure what your theater experience was like but Amy and I got to ours 90 minutes before the movie and barely got seats together. The people next to us had been in the theater since 10 a.m. that MORNING to get seats. That’s insane.

If you would like to dish spoilers in the comment section, please just leave a note before you dish so people can pass over if they would like.

Movie: Eclipse

Rating: PG-13

Release date: June 30, 2010

Everyday Adventures’ grade: B+

Summary: Bella (Kristen Stewart) can’t choose between Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) so she strings both along while they fight to see who can do a better job of protecting her and ultimately win her heart. Edward presses Bella to marry him (can’t a guy give her some space please?) and Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) assembles a vampire army to descend on Forks and Bella for revenge. I swear, I don’t know what this girl has that makes men and women go after her, but bottle that sh*t up.

My thoughts: As promised, this is a spoiler-free review so there are some things I won’t discuss here. But then again, I’m sure 95% of you have read the books so I’m sure I’m not ruining everything :)

Overall, I didn’t think this was too bad. New Moon was my favorite of the books and after a diasterous first movie (really, it was bad), the previous movie really exceeded my expectations, so I was curious if this would sustain my interest. Fortunately, it did.

Unfortunately, it was not a complete home run. Here are some of the things I liked and didn’t like.

Like:

• Taylor Lautner  (and his naked torso)- Yes, his abs are still hot and now that Jacob is in love with Bella and tortured, his character continues to steal the movie. Also, ALL the girls in my theater went bananas whenever he was on screen. Good taste!
• Billy Burke (Bella’s dad) – I really love this character and I loved him more after this movie. Such sweet father/daughter moments and great one-liners. I can’t wait to see more of him in Breaking Dawn
• Jacob/Bella kiss – It was hot. Really hot and my cold, dead heart fluttered a bit, only to be inevitably crushed (that I didn’t like)
• Special effects - The effects, especially with the vampires and wolf pack, continue to be better and more “realistic” than the previous movies. New Moon stepped it up and Eclipse definitely maintained that calibur
• Bella – Sure, she’s still whiny and annoying, but she is more sure of herself and her character seems stronger than she ever came across in the books (in my opinion). It’s nice to see her grow part of “a pair”

Didn’t Like:

• Bryce Dallas Howard - Her role is small in this but I just didn’t dig her as much as Rachelle LeFevre. Recasts in the middle of a series can work (Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight) but Bryce didn’t cut it for me. She didn’t have that ruthless nature that Rachelle did
• Tent scene – Before you tar and feather me I need to say that I should re-read this part of the book and then adjust this if necessary. It just wasn’t hot for me at all. Maybe I envisioned it differently from the book but it was anti-climatic
• Kristen Stewart’s wig – She wore one in this movie because of the tragic Joan Jett cut she got and it could not have been MORE obvious that it was a wig and a bad one (remember Jacob’s from the original movie?) Poor Bella had helmet hair the entire time and I could not stop staring at the hairline. Seriously.
• Makeup inconsistency – I can admit that RPatz is an attractive man, but his pale vampire makeup was very inconsistent. He was pale in one scene and almost normal flesh-tone in the next. Yes, it did make him hotter but I just wish it would have been more consistent for him and all of the Cullens. They look totally different now, but not in a completely bad way
• Lighting - Again, this is not major but the big scene on the top of the mountain was supposed to be snowy and cold but you could see sunlight from the set coming in the back and it just looked really…fake
• Bree Tanner - I don’t remember the character too much from the book but given the recent release of Bree’s own short book, she got a lot of screen time she might not normally have had. And it wasn’t even memorable. Disappointing

Verdict: If you’ve read the books, it’s worthwhile to see but be prepared for some cheesy stuff, which I’m sure you know :) I’m still glad I saw it and recommend it!

How about everyone else? Did you see it? What did you like or dislike about it?

I went a little movie insane this weekend and now I’m  back with another review! Wha? Two reviews in one week? Yes, that’s correct!

I kept the movie seeing light this weekend and went with another comedy, but this time, unlike Killers, it was legitimately funny. Let’s take a look!

Movie: Get Him to the Greek

Rating: R

Release date: June 11, 2010

Everyday Adventures’ grade: B+

Summary: Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) is a huge rock star/train wreck (like Britney 2 years ago) and record company lackey (like Audrina used to be), Aaron (Jonah Hill) has one job, to get him to the Greek Theater in LA for a show. What could go wrong? Nothing. Everything.

My thoughts: Not bad/a little long/pretty funny. Not a bad combo. I liked the Aldous character in Forgetting Sarah Marshall because he was a raunchy guy with a good heart buried below tattoos and likely syphilis. It’s nice to see him again here in a bigger role but sometimes, the drama, sex and “woe is me” stuff wears on you. But I will say this, he is really entertaining on stage.

Jonah Hill is great in this too, playing the Tom Hanks-like good guy lead astray, a nice departure to the loser pot head characters he’s played in Knocked Up. It’s funny too that he was also in Forgetting Sarah Marshall with Russell Brand but doesn’t reprise that role here.

No, the scene stealer here really is Sean Combs. Diddy killed it. Sure, he was a little psycho and needed his mouth washed out with soap but some of his lines were hilarious. Including one with a cameo guest about being “gangster” that had me almost crying laughing. Killed it.

The guest cameos are great too and fortunately Katy Perry wasn’t one of them.

Judd Apatow was one of the producers on this movie and you can see (as with all of his films) that this laggers on a little too long and has about 10-15 minutes of footage that could easily be removed. But it’s not something that ruins this overall because it’s still funny.

Verdict: Go see it but make it a day movie, no need for evening prices.

What did you guys think?

I can be cynical when it comes to movies. I’ve been known to watch trailers and roll my eyes, thinking I know exactly how the movie will go and end. Sometimes I’m right and sometimes I’m wrong.

So when I saw the trailer for Killers, I snipped, saying it could be a bad Mr. & Mrs. Smith remake, only actors that sizzle much less than Brangelina did on screen.

Yet, thanks to a cement mixer on my street, I fled to the theater and found myself seeing…Killers. Let’s see if I was wrong.

Movie: Killers

Rating: PG-13

Release date: June 4, 2010

Everyday Adventures’ grade: B-

Summary: It’s not exactly boy meets girl when Spencer (Ashton Kutcher) and Jenn (Katherine Heigl) meet in Nice, France, while she’s on vacation and he’s….well…not a consultant. More of a spy. Now he’s on the straight and narrow until he gets roped into some spy-related drama and Jenn realizes her dream man isn’t who she thought he was (are they ever?)

My thoughts: First, this was not as bad as I thought it would be. Much like SATC 2, my expectations were low. It’s not as similar to Mr. & Mrs. Smith as I thought it would be, but it doesn’t have a defined story arc either. I’ll get to that. For me, Ashton and Katherine don’t totally work as a couple. Yes, they have witty banter and funny one-liners, but somehow, believing they’re married and happy rather than driving each other crazy, is a bit of a stretch. So is the belief that Ashton is a spy gone good. He does look insanely hot in this movie, with perfectly tailored outfits that show off his nicely trimmed body (big thanks to the director too for the numerous shirtless scenes, THANK YOU), but the vulnerability and belief that he’s trapped in this spy life, falls flat.

Heigl, who I loved in Knocked Up and love/hated on Greys, is….okay. Her outfits are to die for (seriously, I want her character’s entire closet), but her shrilly, shreiky voice grates on you and suddenly you’re covering your ears before she even starts talking. She’s not awful, but not really developed either.

There are two plot points that aren’t in trailers that caught me by surprise and one works more than the other. In fact, the second one is so left-field that it I was shocked by its introduction and resolution and then the end of the movie. I was even scratching my head when the credits started, thinking, did I miss something?

That’s not a good sign. But there are good minor roles by Rob Riggle, Tom Selleck, Catherine O’Hara and even a cameo by Usher! What? Awesome.

Verdict: Rentable but if you want a good movie about being married to a spy, with REAL chemistry, Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a better example.

Did you see any movies this weekend? Are you a fan of Katherine Heigl or Ashton Kutcher?

I loved SATC on HBO. Seriously, my parents got me into it and I was obsessed with the fashion and tales of Miranda, Carrie, Charlotte and Samantha.

Similar to the Simpsons, you can reference just about any dating moment back to an SATC episode and when the show went off the air, it was an event in our household.

And then HBO/Michael Patrick King made the series into movies. *crickets chirping*. I was critical of the first movie because I wasn’t a huge fan of the storyline (and how long it played out on screen) and the insane product, prominent product placement. I work in communications so I get why that is important but I don’t need to be beaten over the head with it. Seriously, I’m not dumb.

Now a second movie has been released and after some bad initial buzz on Twitter, I treated to a pre-noon matinee to see if it was as bad as I feared.

Movie: Sex and the City 2

Rating: R

Release date: May 27, 2010

Everyday Adventures’ grade: C

Summary: It’s two years after the end of the first movie and Carrie/Big (Sarah Jessica Parker/Chris Noth) are having martial growing pains (after two years? Jesus), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is having trouble at home with her girls, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon)….yeah nothing really new with her and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is dealing with menopause. Remember when this show used to be good?

My thoughts: It kills me to give this a C. I LOVED this show on HBO but I don’t like how this has manifested into film. First, it’s 2.5 hours, which is a LONG time to hear Samantha climax, Carrie whine, Charlotte screech and Miranda b*tch. Really, 22 minutes is much more tolerable. The thing with this as a movie is that all the wit, charm and zingers that happened in the show just comes off as campy. You can almost see SJP going to hit her mark and make a witty comment that makes you groan rather than giggle.

I’ve heard people say this movie doesn’t have “heart” or humor and I have to agree. Even the fashion isn’t as elegant and refined as it was on the show. I still love Patricia Fields, she’s brilliant with pairing clothing and mixing trends but it just falls flat or is so over the top you are blinded by the color and patterns.

I think the other reason I was disappointed with this is way the characters have translated to film. For example, Charlotte was always a Type-A prissy perfectionist on the show but she was never shrilly and annoying like she is in the film (the first one too). Rather than be happy that she’s finally a mom, I just want her to shut the h*ll up with her complaining and shreeking, which was prominent in the Abu Dhabi sequence.

That part also fell flat for me. It was like the Brady’s on vacation, sweeping shots of these women with couture trains behind them and possibly the most tragic outfit ever on Kim Cattrall during the camel scene. Those girls are best left in New York.

But, it was great to see Aiden again. Carrie broke my heart when she cheated on him. But even that wasn’t too rewarding for obvious reasons. Despite Aiden’s sight for sore eyes, Chris Noth still looks good and zings as Mr. Big. Yeah, there is something about him in a suit that makes me giggle.

Verdict: Wait for DVD or go to a cheapie matinee. Oh and I hope there isn’t a SATC 3. Invest in the DVDs and you’ll be so much happier than you feel walking out of that theater.

Did you see SATC? What did you think?

Update: I wanted to just clarify, I didn’t loathe or hate this movie. I was just…disappointed. I think the DVDs are better