Reviews

All the dedicated Kevin Smith fans should rejoice - the great man is back in action. It's been a long time since we've seen him like this, so in a certain sense, Kevin makes a comeback with "Zack and Miri." By the way, while the title suggest something pretty vulgar the film is really only slightly more vulgar then the "Clerks" or its sequel. It's just that some of the things that clerks only talk about actually happen in "Zack and Miri." And speaking of "Clerks," the connections to it are everywhere. The opening scene sees Zack and Miri waking up, then comes the dialog's in the café Zack works for - pure clerks-style, and then of course Zack uses the said café to shoot the film - just like Kevin Smith shoot "Clerks" in the store he worked for. "Zack and Miri" are full of laughs, most of them dirty, others - extremely dirty. But unless you're going to watch it in the company of your grandma - who cares? Just look out for performances of Justin Long as a gay porn star, as well as our old friends - Jeff Anderson (video store clerk from "Clerks") and Jason Mewes (Jay). In fact it looks to be the first time that Mewes appears in Smith's movie, playing someone other than Jay, but for the same reason don't expect to see Silent Bob. But of course, don't be mislead by the porno bits and dirty jokes - "Zack and Miri" is first of all a love story, even if it's the weirdest one ever seen on screen.

When I first learned that "Show Girls" was a box office disaster and crushed by critics, I was honestly surprised. Myself, I always found the movie quite fresh and entertaining, and still do. I never owned a copy of it, but sometimes I still catch it on some channel late at night, and leave it on - as my little guilty pleasure. Perhaps it's not so valuable as a film, but what I like about "Show Girls" is that it's an ultimate girl power movie, a topless girl power movie in fact. It's not so frequent that strippers or/and prostitutes are shown as winners. And not through finding a rich prince to marry, but by simply being good enough and bitchy enough to get what they want. Nomi Malone may be quite illiterate and not very smart, but she has her body and knows how to put it to good use. Moreover, she manages to do it without loosing much dignity, seeing her own strip dancing as art. The character of Gina Gershon is, by nature, no different from Nomi, however she's made a career due to her ability to compromise and accept the rotten nature of the show biz. But Nomi is too aggressive and hot-tempered to compromise. Being celebrity may not be her thing - but she still rocks.

To be honest I'm quite amazed to see this movie so highly rated. In many ways it's just as bad as those Paris Hilton films and should be rated accordingly. Yes I do realize that "Notebook" is a chick flick and being a chick myself, I do like to watch romantic, "heart-warming" films from time to time. But to enjoy such a film I need to be able to connect with the story and sympathize with the characters, and I absolutely couldn't do that in "The Notebook." It's so pathetic, made up of clichés, mediocre acting and entirely predictable plot twists, that it feels like a soap-opera squeezed into a couple of hours. Rich girl falls for poor boy (could as well be poor girl - rich boy, but that would be Cinderella). They are having a summer romance with dances and kisses in the breaking waves. Then the summer's over - real life begins, and the lovebirds are being separated by the evil rich parents (how unexpected). The boy then writes the girl letter a day for a whole year (no kidding), but the evil mom keeps the mail to herself, and in the end he gives up. By the way, the story is set in 1930s-40s, however the historical aspect has little impact on the story, merely allowing the heroine to wear red lipstick, curly retro hairdos and dresses - this is basically the only element adding color to the story. Oh, yeah, there is war in the film too. But it doesn't seem to be a big deal. The main hero enlists and there is a quick glimpse of him on the battlefield as he watches his best friend die, but the next moment he's back home and never mentions war or his friend again. The pretty red-haired heroine, gets compassionate and is once seen helping out at a hospital for the wounded in the war - her spotless nurse's dress and hat look so picture perfect, as if she's about to pose for a magazine. No wonder she catches the eye of a certain heavily bandaged soldier. In a short while he's miraculously healed - not even a scratch left, and turns out to be a super rich-super handsome guy (what a coincidence) - a perfect candidate for a fiancé. In the meantime the poor guy is still unable to like another woman and instead gets busy restoring the old house, secretly hoping that his dream girl will be back once more in his arms. The finished house looks so impressive (and absolutely impossible to have been built by one single carpenter) that it attracts the press. When the girl see the picture of the guy and his house she faints immediately (is it a comedy after all?) and decides to take a ride to ask the guy if "he's OK." To be honest, till the last moment I had hoped that the movie will have at least one surprise in store. None. The story was getting cheesier with every minute. The fact there is a sub-plot - showing an old man reading the love story to an old woman, doesn't make the film any more original, as everything in it is as predictable as the rest.