The Hangover (2009), Zach Gaifianakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper
Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha, there’s plenty to love about the The Hangover. In fact, the Todd Phillips-directed comedy is one of those movies that left me with nothing bad to say.
Just to be clear though, the above statement is reserved only for this 2009 movie and not the two embarrassing ‘get as much money out of this as possible whilst we still can’ sequels that shamelessly followed. Moving on…
The reasons I love the hangover are obvious. The story is great, I saw exactly none of the surprising twists and turns coming, the casting is excellent, as is the writing and soundtrack. There’s also the great chemistry between the four main characters, resulting in a depiction of a truly believable bromance that serves the story perfectly.
Everything that happened in The Hangover felt so real to me. So much so that the brilliant Inbetweeners (2008-2010) comedy series (the UK original version) came to mind, because, it too has that combination of the believable male friendship dynamic and comedy.
There are too many great moments in The Hangover for me to pick just one. However, who, after seeing this movie has been able to say the word ‘retard’ in just one way?
I haven’t watched all the movies of this sub-genre, however, I’m committing to calling The Hangover one of, if not the most epic ‘bachelor party shenanigans’ movie ever made. The Hangover also helped wake me up to the charms of Bradley Cooper. By ‘charms’ I mean his acting talents. And yes, that suit in the hotel room scene when he and Justin Bartha’s character walk into Stu’s room definitely contributed to my charmed state. Looking that good combined with such evident swagger seldom goes unnoticed. You see, the typos on my blog aside, attention to detail has never been my problem.
Watch The Hangover again and again for an entertaining ride from beginning to glorious end.
I wonder if this story would be as intriguing if it wasn’t based on real people. Namely David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli – the two young men who were hired to arm America’s allies in Afghanistan.
I’m really hoping that the characters in this are not as annoying as the trailer music.
War Dogs is directed/co-written by Todd Phillips of The Hangover (2009). As such, perhaps I ought to be more hopeful.
Trailer 2
War Dogs Release Dates: August 19th, 2016 (US); August 26th, 2016 (UK); September 1st, 2016 (GER)…
A determined woman taking charge of her destiny and going after her dreams – especially when no one else believes; that for me is the subject matter of David O. Russell’s Joy; the movie that just got Jennifer Lawrence another Best Actress Golden Globe win.
In Lawrence’s third movie with Oscar-winning director, O’Russell, she’s joined by his other two favourite actors, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro. There’s also Isabella Rossellini, Virginia Madsen, Elizabeth Rohm and Edgar Ramirez; all of whom deliver notable performances. I found Rossellinni and Madsen’s characters particularly entertaining
Joy (2015), Isabella Rossellini, Elizabeth Rohm
The journey you get to go on in the story of Joy will make you laugh, cry and cheer. As you do at least two of the above, you may also notice the beauty in the cinematography, filming style, dialogue and the perfect pace of this movie. All these elements combined make Joy a lot of fun to watch. Another plus is the many useful lessons for aspiring business people with big, lofty ideas and dreams.
Watch it because it’s good and because you know that making it in life and business can be hard. but the question is, do you really know just how hard? Joy, who comes in the shape of a seriously badass Jennifer Lawrence is happy to show you, as well as remind you that it’s never really over until you decide.
Burnt stars Bradley Cooper. It’s a film about a talented chef’s journey to get his life back on track following one huge misstep. After watching the Burnt trailer a few months ago, I found myself unsure about how good I may end up finding the finished product.
The expectation was that I would fall in love with the food in the movie whilst enjoying learning about Cooper’s Adam Jones. Instead, I found that I didn’t fall in love with the food nor did I connect very much with Cooper’s character.
The lack of connection with the protagonist may have something to do with Adam Jones not being particularly likeable. It could also be the film’s seemingly odd structure and the feeling that the musical score didn’t fit especially comfortably.
In short, Burnt isn’t in the top ten of my favourite Bradley Cooper movies. However, there are things I liked. For example, Uma Thurman’s performance stood out, and I liked how the story brought to mind teamwork, friendship and redemption. I especially enjoyed the interesting information about the Michelin Guide.
If you’re after a good movie for food lovers, the kind that will make you wish you could reach into the screen to grab a piece of what the characters are eating, I recommend Chef (2014) and Julie & Julia (2009). Burnt is probably more for rather serious Bradley Cooper fans and those curious about the experience of a successful Chef.
American Sniper (2014)remains my favourite of Cooper’s performances. I’m not sure that 2015 was his year. However, I loved Cooper’s work in director David O. Russell’s Joy (2015).
