- Dont have sex with your friends. Dont have friends with your sex. This is the message to take away from Friends With Benefits, the umpteenth film to tackle the question. Different actors, different panties, same conclusion. The panty-wearers this time around are triple-threat Justin Timberlake (star of song, screen and viral videos) and Mila Kunis (who last got naked with Natalie Portman in Black Swan). Timberlake plays Dylan, an L.A. webmag designer who gets head-hunted by Jamie (Kunis) to be CQs New York art editor. After having been burned before, both sides endeavor to be like George Clooneysex, with no permanent ties. When Jamie and Dylan discover that theyre on the same page they waste no time in hopping into the sack. The only problem about demystifying sex is that they skip the unknowns and head straight into married territory, talking about their day and current events during the act. And soon after they talk turkey (sandwiches, that is) the sex-bickering thing gets irritating. There are side plots explaining how the duo ended up this wayJamies mom (Patricia Clarkson) is a promiscuous free-spirit and Dylan has mommy abandonment issuesbut mostly we just get to see a lot of JTs ass.
And while the film goes out of its way to make fun of formulaic romantic comediesvia a cheesy movie-within-a-movie starring Jason Segel and Rashida Jonesit inevitably falls into the same traps, complete with the grand gesture and bended knee. Strong supporting players (Clarkson, the excellent Richard Jenkins) and bits by Emma Stone, Andy Samberg, snowboarder Shaun White, Jenna Elfman and Woody Harrelson nevertheless fail to make Friends With Benefits memorable.
Good selection of extras on the blu-ray disc including commentary with director Will Gluck (Easy A), Timberlake and Kunis, plus expletive-laden gag reel, pop-up trivia, interviews and more.
- A mystery, a historical tragedy and a family drama rolled into one, Sarahs Key shifts between 1942 and 2009, as American-born reporter Julia (Kristin Scott Thomas) delves into one of the darkest periods in recent French history. During the Second World War, more than 13,000 Jews, mostly women and children, were rounded up and held in inhumane conditions in the Vel dHiv velodrome before being transported to camps. As Julias apartment is renovated, the history is made all-too-real: her French inlaws bought the apartment when a Jewish family was flushed out.
Sarah (Melusine Mayance) was a young girl when her family was snatched by French police trying to make German quotas. The film finds the perfect balance between Sarahs horrific past and Julias present day struggles with her distant husband (Frederic Pierrot) and teenage daughter.
Scott Thomas, a resident of France, has no problem with the French language that runs throughout (most of the film is subtitled), and her performance is riveting. An equally moving performance by young French actress Melusine Mayance makes the films most poignant scenes heart-wrenching. A succinct and carefully crafted adaptation of Tatiana De Rosnays best-seller. No extras on the standard disc.
- A Better Life is the movie the Tea Party doesnt want you to see: a powerful portrait of illegal immigration that leaves an indelible mark. Its a big departure from Twilight: New Moon director Chris Weitz, who crafts a small but mighty film about a man trying to build a better life for his son.
In East Los Angeles, gardener and single dad Carlos Galindo (Demian Bichir, remembered lately as Mary Louise Parkers latest husband on Weeds) is desperate to improve his lot in life before gangs get a hold of his teenage son (Jose Julian). Carlos steady job is ending, but he gets the opportunity to buy a truck and equipment and go into business for himself, his ticket out of the bad neighbourhood and bad school (which looks precisely like a penitentiary). The truck, representing every penny Carlos saved and borrowed, is stolen. In one heart-breaking scene, he chases down the truck and into the path of a police officer, but knowing that even a casual conversation with the law could mean deportation, Carlos has to find another way to track down his lifes savings.
The image of Carlos bedding down on the couch is more telling than any of his monologues about growing up in Mexico, as is the disappointment in his eyes when his son rebuffs him. The quiet moments make this movie, testament to Bichirs ability to say it all with a troubled brow. A very good film that personalizes one of the most contentious political issues of the day.
Commentary, deleted scenes, and a music video are included on the standard disc.
