Rated: Rated PG-13 on appeal for sexual content and language

Genre: Comedy

Release Date: 9 October 2009

Runtime: 107mins

Director: Peter Billingsley

Cast: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Kristen Bell, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Kali Hawk, Tasha Smith, Peter Serafinowicz, Carlos Ponce, Jean Reno

Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are dangerously close to getting a divorce. In a last ditch effort to save their marriage, they decide to take a vacation to a tropical resort meant to help ailing couples through therapy. Short on cash, they enlist help from their friends to offset the cost through a group rate: the kid-raising Dave (Vince Vaughn) and Ronnie (Malin Akerman), the lovelessly married Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristen Davis), and the recently divorced Shane (Faizon Love) and his much younger girlfriend Trudy (Kali Hawk). The three other couples think they are just going to have fun and help their friends, but they realize they are in for having their relationships examined as well.

The main problem I had with Couples Retreat is it really was not that funny, at least not as funny as the trailers made it out to be. I probably laughed at the beginning of the movie two or three times, chuckled a few times in the middle and by the end, I just wanted it to be over. The movie just became a jumbled mess of unfunny attempts at humour, with quite the odd editing, especially during the Guitar Hero scene. It jumped from couple to couple to the point that I’m not even sure I knew what was going on anymore and nor did I care. I knew that happily ever after was to come and the sooner it came the better.

I have not read very many good reviews about this film and I do not disagree with anything that I have read. The most positive thing to come out of this movie was the pairing of Vaughn and Favreau, our favorite bachelors from Swingers (1986).

carole Uncategorized

Rated: R

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Release Date: August 12, 2005

Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins

Director: John Singleton

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund, Terrence Howard

Synopsis: Four brothers are reunited after their adoptive mother is killed during a robbery at a grocery store. Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), Jack (Garrett Hedlund), Angel (Tyrese Gibson) and Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin) all adopted by Evelyn Mercer (Fionnula Flanagan) attend her funeral and bond over memories of their mother, who took them all in when nobody else would.

While reconnecting the brother’s make a decision to find the truth behind what happened to their mother. They begin to search for local thugs and other possibilities that might have some information about what happened in the grocery store that night.

As they investigate, with little help from the authorities they discover that their mother’s death was no accident. She was intentionally killed, which infuriates the brothers who claim she was the kindest woman who saved them all from a life on the streets.

They make their presence known, as they wreck havoc all over town, with neighborhood shoot-outs and car chases in the snowy streets of Detroit. As they track down the killer they realize that their old ways of dealing with violence has consequences now.

Terrence Howard plays Lt. Green, a detective who means well but is useless. He intervenes in the brother’s revenge and tries to get them to stop creating chaos. Meanwhile there are a few other cops who might not be what they seem. The brothers can’t trust anyone.

These four actors have great chemistry together; their portrayal of brothers is very believable. Wahlberg is the head of the group, exploding in to every scene acting like a lunatic, shooting up a storm. Tyrese, Jack and Andre all play their characters excellent, getting the message across to the viewers.

Jenn Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Uncategorized