Review: Bucovina Card Game (2009) [Reviewed By Clifford Kiyabu]

Directed by: Zachary Ryan Block & Sean Trimpe
Written by: Zachary Ryan Block (written by) & Sean Trimpe (written by)
Genre: Short / Action
MPAA: Not Rated
Released: 2009
Starring: Zachary Ryan Block, Azmyth Kaminski, Devon Ogden, David Serpa, Sean Trimpe.

Plot: Four Guys, one sexy woman, one hug pot of cash and a poker game that goes a little too far, and only one is walking out the victor.

Review: 7/10

The Story is about: Four characters play a theatrical game of poker in a dingy back room. They are assisted by the beautiful Baroness who handles the money and other aspects of the game. Things turn deadly as the pot gets bigger and the players more out of control.

My Thoughts: So a Hood, a Pirate, a Pusher and an Italian sit down to play a game of poker, while a sexy Baroness oversees the game plays out! No, this isn’t one of those obscenely offensive jokes; this is a five minute short called Bucovina Card Game, a short film made by newcomer’s writer and director Zachary Ryan Block and Sean Trimpe.

Bucovina is not a film that made to be moving nor does it require any development, but rather an understanding of the message it leaves you at the end, made in the traditional theme of silent shorts (But in color [Laughs]). The film presents the characters in their most stereotypical form, with a descent background music setting with our characters in their respective positions. The stage is set, and only one will come out the victor in this little short. But one question still remains, who’ll be the winner of this tale and who’ll ultimately bite the dust in the end? It would just be too easy if I was to spill beans like that and give away the film’s punch line finally don’t you think. No instead I’ll leave you with this, though the film is short and runs by rather fast (try over in five minutes fast!) it’s because of this that the film serves more as an artsy symbolic message the filmmakers are trying to get across, while at the same time throwing in some nicely done humor I might add. Overall it does leave you with a very valuable lesson to be learned “Beware The Woman Who Keeps A Company Of Liars And Thieves”, and to understand what it truly means you must see the short firsthand! Look out for this little film as it may be arriving near you very soon.

As for the acting: Well there isn’t must to say about the acting, like I said it’s a silent film which means ZERO dialogue! Does this make the quality of the short diminish? No not by a long shot, in fact it helps it out a great deal because it gives the same stylish sense of the early 1900’s silent films with only music playing in the background and the story being told through the individual characters body language. So to that degree the actors all do fairly well even though this is the first time for some of the cast. Zachary Ryan Block, Azmyth Kaminski, Devon Ogden, David Serpa, and Sean Trimpe give adequate performances in this.

Final Say: Bucovina Card Game was a pretty decent short, and though I’m not usually a fan of shorts and would have liked to have seen something longer than five minutes I still enjoyed it quite a bit. It reminded me a lot of the movie shorts that Pixar puts out (but in live action of course) with their feature length films, short and sweet but with a kick of a punch-line I recommend checking out this little short some time!

You can also see the trailer to Bucovina Card Game Here

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Review: Diary of a Bad Lad (2009) [Reviewed By Clifford Kiyabu]

Directed by: Michael Booth
Written by: Jonathan Williams (screenplay)
Genre: Crime
MPAA: Not Rated
Released: 2009
Starring: Jonathan Williams, Joe O'Byrne, Paul Birtwistle, Donna Henry, Roxanne Gregory, Michael Booth, Tom Miller.

Plot: Frustrated filmmaker, Barry Lick, sets out to attempt to make a documentary about a local businessman who he believes is involved in property rackets, prostitution, pornography and the importation of large quantities of recreational drugs.

Review: 7/10

The Story is about: A film about frustrated filmmaker Barry Licks attempts to make a documentary about a businessman, who he believes is involved in property rackets, prostitution, pornography, and the importation of recreational drugs. For security reasons Barry never uses his real name, and calls him Ray Topham. Barry recruits a team of young wannabees. Their quest leads them to two of Ray’s associates; a local cocaine supplier and ex-S&M porn actress called Joanne Miller, and the charmingly psychopathic Tommy Morghen who acts as Ray’s personal security consultant. They soon realize that Barry is out of his depth, and so they exploit him for their own purposes with both hilarious and tragic results. Diary of a Bad Lad explores themes of sex, drugs, violence, exploitation, and the desperate limits that people will go to in order to make a film.

My Thoughts: Are some people born… bad? These are the type of things I think about when the night strays off into the early morning hours, when my mind often wonders into the unknown, and while I will normally come up with a simple answer (Or simply make one up, whichever I prefer better) for most of the crazy things running in my noggin, I’ve always wondered, are there people who are just simply bad? The best answer I could possible come up with is yes, and no, of course. While I may believe that some people are simply bad by default, some are good people, quite good in fact who, put into the right circumstances in the right moment in time, can be corrupted into doing just about anything, including bad things; does this make them a bad person? No… does it make them cynical and easily corruptible? You betcha!

As many already know, it’s no lie that I’m a hug supporter of the indie arts, aside from being a pretty big fan of international films of course (because mainstream doesn’t seem to cut it anymore in the originality department now days.) So when I received in the mail a screener of the indie film Diary of a Bad Lad, which was sent to me by the good boys at Pleased Sheep Films over in the United Kingdom, I was thrilled to hear I’d be reviewing a film that is categorized in two of my favorite genres, because most of the film that hit’s the states that is from Europe can hardly be categorized as “Indie”, when a low budget film here in the US is easily considered big budget in some countries, so when I heard that an actual low budget indie film was hitting my neck of the woods my first reaction was purely shock and joy because this was a rare case indeed. Well, after finally watching it what can I say, other than the fact it was an incredible film that proved to be very satisfactory: Well for starters the film was a real eye opener for me, because the film projects a surreal sense of the real world in the form of a mock-doc, which symbolizes the dark and gritty world that is all around us without us knowing half the time, things that are actually going on in the world this very minute. The dark and the gritty things people take for granted now days lurking all around us that is the criminal underworld, thinking to themselves that this type of stuff couldn’t possibly happen to me, I’m out of the clear because I live in a good neighborhood, but you’re wrong, you’re never really out of the clear. Because just as the film shows, corruption and greed is everywhere especially in the least place you’d ever expect it. With a face to the gutter sense of dark humor that can only be compared as wickedly sinister with a lovely dash of black comedy. What makes Diary of a Bad Lad such an interesting piece is the fact that this film was made with the idea of being as realistically as possible so that it would blur the lines between fiction and non-fiction. And to that extent, I found myself so deeply engaged into the film’s plot that I at more than one occasion completely forgot I was watching a movie that plays out as a documentary and not an actual documentary.

Now though the film’s style (filmed like an amateur documentary) has already been overly done in the wake of the post-Blear witch project, Diary of a Bad Lad still manages to take an idea that’s been passed around more times than a groupie at a Rolling Stones concert and made it feel fresh and new again. Now that doesn’t without saying the film is perfect and flawless, because the film does in fact have its fair share of problems that did knock it down a notch or two for me. One of the problems was that, the film fallows Barry Lick (Played by Jonathan Williams) and his team of amateur filmmakers on their journey to expose the truth behind a criminal master mind that they refuse to mention by his real name and only call by a nickname which is “Ray Topham” (Played by Tom Miller). The problem is in the film they mainly go through Ray’s personal security consultant Tommy Morghen (Played by Joe O'Byrne) and an ex-S&M porn star named Joanne Miller (Played by Donna Henry) for the material they need for their documentary, the problem I had was that my understanding while watching the film was that Tommy Morghen is the main focus of the plot since he seems to be the one with the most answers, and yet I felt there simply wasn’t enough time devoted to him and instead focused on other things that wasn’t all that necessary. One scene particular that did this was the scene where Joanne invites Barry and his team over for a brief interview over her place, there wasn’t anything wrong with showing the scene as it did help develop the characters into a more three dimensional stat, but I felt that the scene ran over stayed it’s welcome after awhile and felt like it should have been cut a bit shorter. The other problem was, well it’s certainly not a problem for me, but certainly a problem for those who aren’t educated in British “slang”. Like all countries, each nation and culture has its own set of slangs that many won’t have a clue the meaning is. for example: if you where to take offense because someone walked up to you and asked if you had a fag they could bum off you, than obviously you don’t know what the question they had ask you, which means you’re even more likely not to understand half of what’s said in this film.

As for the acting: the acting was very decent and very believable, aside from one cast member which didn’t bold well for me I found the acting in general to be the center piece of the film because it hold a very strong sense of realism that looks and feels authentic at times. Jonathan Williams did a fine job in his role, and narrating of “Barry Lick”. His portrayal of the character was humorous and yet entertainingly informative, one could easily argue that his portrayal was almost like watching a British version of Michael Moore but in an entertaining way and certainly not annoying. Joe O'Byrne and Tom Miller did fantastic jobs in the roles of “Tommy Morghen” and “Ray Topham”, they give the right amount of arrogance and “street-smart” attitude to the characters that it comes off feeling very authentic. Donna Henry and Roxanne Gregory were great as “Joanne Miller” and “Roxy”, Roxanne did a fine job in making her character come off looking and feeling young and innocently naïve, which works perfectly well for the film. Of all the actresses in this film, Donna Henry is the one that really stood out for me, because her performance was strong and demanded attention whenever shown on screen. The one performance I didn’t care for in this film was none other than Paul Birtwistle, who plays the part of “Birty”. I didn’t care for his acting and found him to be generally annoying. Nothing against the actor in particular because I’m pretty sure he’s nice down to earth fellow in real life, but onscreen I honestly did not care of his character in the slightest bit. Like I’ve said, the cast in general is fairly decent, and each and every person, no matter how small has something to contribute to the film.

Final Say: Diary of a Bad Lad was a very interesting film to watch, mainly because it’s dark and witty sense of humor grows on you with time, and though the film does have its problems, it doesn’t hurt the film significantly enough, but instead end up being a thought provoking film instead. Like a find wine, the film will begin to show its self worth with time, and though its bitter flavor is not for everyone, it’s an acquired taste that will gain a cult fallowing in no time. Over all the film is something to look into, if only the reason is to see what all the fuss is about.

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Review: Clive Barker's Book of Blood (2009) [Reviewed By Kelsey Zukowski ]

Starring: Jonas Armstrong, Sophie Ward, Paul Blair
Directed By: John Harrison
Written By: John Harrison, Darin Silverman, Clive Barker (novel)
Grade: B+

Book of Blood is the latest Clive Barker adaptation, coming from the book compiled of short horror stories that he wrote of the same title. Specifically, the film focuses on two of the stories, “Book of Blood” and “On Jerusalem Street.” I haven’t read the Clive Barker short stories myself, but from my understanding the adaptation follows the original material very closely. Fans of the original Book of Blood should be very happy with what the film has to offer. Book of Blood also does a very good job of communicating the story to a fresh audience. It focuses on development, intriguing the viewer and increasing the suspense. By the time it’s over, we are escalated from the interesting and effective, but overall fairly typical ghost story, to something much more terrifying and brutal.

Mary Florescu (Ward) is a paranormal researcher and college professor. She is a famous published author, but fears that most of her fans are more fascinated from a fiction standpoint than truly believing in what they are reading. Mary has been studying and searching for proof that ghosts are indeed among the living. She hasn’t found anything solid in the past 10 years though, just circumstantial evidence based on a hunch. She experienced hauntings as a child, which made her so determined to make the best of this experience despite how it disturbed her. Eager to finally find something substancial, Mary gets to work with her friend, Reg Fuller (Blair), even though he is a bit of a skeptic.

In one of her classes, Mary spots Simon McNeal (Armstrong), who she immediately has a connection with. She knows that he’s the one that can help her. Simon is suffering from the traumatic experience of losing his brother. He thinks he can help Mary though since he used to have paranormal experiences as a kid. Once they enter the old gothic house and spend their time together investigating the spirits it might hold, Simon’s eye for the dead suddenly comes back. Mary is so thrilled with every horrific occurrence that happens that she puts these discoveries before her own life. In time, she does a bit more investigating that leads her to believe that some of the occurrences might have been falsified. This only puts the crew off their guard for when the dead come through the highway to the world of the living, demanding to be heard through a human “book of blood.”

I really enjoyed Jonas Armstrong as Simon. He brought forth an intelligent, sly, and intriguing man, but one that also was no stranger to darkness. He went through an incredible transition and becomes a very tragic and tormented individual. Sophie Ward also did pretty well as the author and professor, Mary Florescu. She goes from being a lost woman looking for hard proof and a profound spiritual experience to someone who gets that very thing, but might be changed for the worse because of it. The two had pretty good chemistry with one another both through their supernatural plight and their forbidden intimate bond.

The film really ends with a bang, completely turning the story and one very important character upside down. It’s twisted, sadistic, and cold. There’s an interesting point about how the dead need their stories to be told. This is a common theme in ghost stories; the ghost haunts the innocent because they had a tragic or unjust death and need someone to know what happened; to set things right to an extent. Usually they scare and threaten the person a bit, but here a much more brutal and literal method of forcing their stories on a human is taken. It’s physically vicious, taking a constant toll on the body; a form of everlasting torture. Even worse, they’re permanent mental scars; stories of death and destruction forever overpowering his mind.

I also really liked the theme of those haunted by ghost in a young age being the ones who chase this paranormal insight. They want firsthand encounters even though this is the very thing that once terrified them so. Simon states that he hasn’t had this feeling since he saw the ghost when he was 13 years old and now that he has it back again he refuses to let go of that. The absence of it made him crave it more than ever. Mary made this her entire career and life rather than moving on from the past. Perhaps this is their way of dealing, running right towards their past fears. They serve as two different possible outcomes; one receives all of the understanding and personal gain she could imagine and the other is victimized with eternal torment.

There isn’t a ton of blood, ironically enough since blood is right in the title. The most brutal moments are at the end when we witness the actual book of blood. The image is grotesque, but more than anything else it’s what our perceptions of the all around torture that really makes it seem like such a horrid fate. The scares are creepy enough and come suddenly, giving us clues as to the characters past as well as their near future. Most of them won’t faze majority of horror fans though. Book of Blood is really more about the building of suspense along with the sudden malicious ending we are left with. Book of Blood is one of the better recent ghost story films well worth checking out.

Review: Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) [Reviewed By Clifford Kiyabu]

Directed by: Kevin Smith
Written by: Kevin Smith (written by)
Genre: Comedy / Romance
MPAA: Rated R on appeal for strong crude sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity and pervasive language.
Released: 31 October 2008 (USA)
Starring: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Jason Mewes, Katie Morgan, Craig Robinson, Traci Lords

Plot: Two lifelong platonic friends, strapped for cash and deep in debt, decide to make a porno as a quick way to make ends meet.

Review: 8/10

The Story is about: Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begins to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.

My Thoughts: Sex is one of life’s most natural and beautiful things, yet when expressing such in a certain manner that allows others to view it; it’s suddenly considered obscene, crude and very much wrong to the full extent. Yet as vial and controversial the topic of Pornography is: People cannot get enough of it. Love it or hate there is always someone somewhere out there talking, watching, or simply making porn. Of course it could easily be said that the reason behind this is because people always want what they are told is “Bad” for them. The thing is no one has had the guts to make porn a friendly topic to talk about in the public eye.

However that is until renown Writer-Director Kevin Smith came along with his controversially hilarious film. Zack and Miri Make a Porno. A comedy that isn’t afraid to tell it like it is when it comes to the ever so taboo topic! And the raunchy comedy is much more vulgar and cruder than any film I have seen in its genre in years, than again calling it raunchy actually makes it sound weaker than it actually is, a notch below soft-core porn would actually be more appropriate for a film like this [Laughs]. But don’t think this film is all about sex and nothing else, no sir; it does in fact have a magnificently written plot that has a great deal of heart and soul poured into, which believe me is a rare commodity to get out of viewing modern raunchy comedies such as this. Most filmmakers tend to void a good plot and fine quality writing just so they can expose more flesh than is actually needed on screen, but what Smith’s film Zack and Miri does that’s different than other films is offer up smart intellectual quality writing at its best, while at the same time maintaining a no holds bare sense of humor filled with obscenity. The pacing of the film goes quite nicely, although I do wish the film was a little longer than an hour and forty minutes, I mean I just felt the film could have gone on longer than it did because the end result leaves you wanting much more, but after knowing that the film was threatened with an NC-17 rating by the MPAA unless director Kevin Smith skimmed down some of the more explicit scenes in the film (Which comes natural with this type of genre) it was understandable why it felt a little cut short. However that was until I found out that it was skimmed down not once but twice because of the rating system, and only after Smith had it appealed was it finally given the hard R-rating it should have gotten in the first place.

But still, as much as it was cut down, it still remained as dirty and offbeat as his other memorable films, which believe me, is a pleasure indeed. This could easily be called Smith’s return to hard core comedy; it seemed that after his less crude more family friendly film Jersey Girl was realest, many loyal to his work had questioned his talent as a director and contemplated on rather or not he had gone soft on his audience after all these years of directing, I myself enjoyed the film but knew exactly what his fan base meant, smith is known for making films that are generally for an adult targeted audience, and even after he had made the long awaited sequel to his cult classic film Clerks, some had complained that the magic behind the first film was missing in the sequel Clerks II. However he returns to his roots of movie making with Zack and Miri, and much like his previous works back in the day, this too continues the tradition of offbeat, out of control and against the well comedy while presenting an important and strong message within the film. The thing that makes Zack and Miri such a great film is actually each of the individual characters Smith has, you can’t help but feel like you’re alongside them in the thick of it all, which could easily be understood, after all this film is partly based off the real life experience director Kevin Smith had while making his independent film (Clerks). Smith delivers a strong and stern message to his audience through his characters about hanging in there when life deals you a bad hand and how to deal with the S*** that life throws at you but does so in a manner that will have many crying with tears of laughter. Overall, Zack and Miri was a film that made me laugh and cry, and stayed with me days after I had seen it. It’s defiantly a film worth owning than alone seeing.

As for the acting: this film is filled with a fantastically funny and talented cast that is built of both mainstream and adult entertainment. Funny man Seth Rogen does an incredible job performing alongside the beautiful and talented Elizabeth Banks, both of which has gained mega stratum status over the last few years, it wasn’t long ago these two where at ”supportive” actor status and never getting the lead roles, but now days these two are becoming quite commodity in demand. Well they do extremely well in this, their onscreen chemistry works on such a lovely level, that you almost want these two to really end up with each other in real life. Craig Robinson who is hilarious from the hit show "The Office" offers up that offbeat sense of humor of his in this that works so nicely it’s hard not to laugh whenever he’s on screen. Jason Mewes, who has long been Kevin Smith’s partner in crime may have returned on the big screen without his buddy backing him up as his onscreen partner, shows that he can carry pull his own weight all by himself in the role “Lester” a character I truly believe no other actor on the planet could have played better than him [Laughs.] both Katie Morgan and Traci Lords does a magnificent job in this. If you don’t know who either of them is than obviously you’re ether not old enough to be watching a film like this or too much of a prude to understand the shear brilliance of having Traci Lords, one of the all time biggest and controversial adult film stars of the 1980’s work side by side with Katie Morgan, who is easily the most well known adult film stars in the business today, the idea of having the best of two eras working alongside each other is simply brilliant, and works incredibly well. Ricky Mabe does okay, but honestly I wasn’t too keen about his performance in the film. Lastly, the film has a nice set of cameos by many well known faces in Hollywood, two of which that stood out well in the film was none other than Brandon Routh and Justin Long, who play two gay porn stars, and believe me when I say their scenes may be sort and few in the film, but trust when I say they do not fail to make you laugh until you cry.

Final Say: Zack and Miri Make a Porno was an extremely enjoyable film, and it’s easily Kevin Smith’s return to what he does best at, making people laugh and cry at the cinema. While the film may have a few lows and flaws here and there, it still a worth watching film for movie buffs alike, and a must own for any true Smith fan. I highly recommend it!

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All Rights Reserved

Review: I Love You, Man (2009) [Reviewed By Clifford Kiyabu]

Directed by: John Hamburg
Written by: John Hamburg (screenplay) & Larry Levin (screenplay)
Genre: Comedy / Romance
MPAA: Rated R for pervasive language, including crude and sexual references.
Released: 20 March 2009 (USA)
Starring: Paul Rudd, Rashida Jones, Jason Segel, Sarah Burns, Jaime Pressly, Jon Favreau, Jane Curtin, J.K. Simmons, Andy Samberg.

Plot: Friendless Peter Klaven goes on a series of man-dates to find a Best Man for his wedding. But when his insta-bond with his new B.F.F. puts a strain on his relationship with his fiancée, can the trio learn to live happily ever after?

Review: 8/10

The Story is about: Peter Klaven is a successful real estate agent who, upon getting engaged to the woman of his dreams, Zooey, discovers, to his dismay and chagrin, that he has no male friend close enough to serve as his Best Man. Peter immediately sets out to rectify the situation, embarking on a series of bizarre and awkward "man-dates," before meeting Sydney Fife, a charming, opinionated man with whom he instantly bonds. But the closer the two men get, the more Peter's relationship with Zooey suffers, ultimately forcing him to choose between his fiancée and his new found "bro," in a story that comically explores what it truly means to be a "friend."

My Thoughts: When we’re young, we are taught that when making new friends with other kids, we simply walking up to one and another and say “Hi want to be friends?” As children boys make lots of friends growing up, some of whom will end up sticking around long enough to become best friends later on as adults.

As an adult some men will make friends through other sources other than the childhood school yard, such as the work place, and meeting new friends through other friends. You could say that there ‘s an un-official guide to making friends when you look at it from a different stand point, however there is one question this un-heard of yet commonly used guide has yet to have answers for us. If a man is in his 30’s and have never had any real guy friends, how does he go about making real legitimate guy friends in today’s day and age? I was extremely stumped with trying to figure out the answer to this question after watching the film I Love You, Man. A romantic comedy about bromancing, for those who don’t know the term of bromancing, bromance is the term used when two straight men shear a none sexual love and affection for each other (Information found via Wikipedia.) Call me old fashion, but I personally don’t care to use any word that combines the word “Bro” and “Mance” together as one word, perhaps it’s my inability to evolve into a more modern age man, but I prefer to use the term “Friendship” when referring to a friend. Anyway despite what I just said, the meaning of bromancing works extremely well for the film as it does present some of the most awkward of scenes between the main characters that sprout into some very hilarious moments that had me surprisingly laughing aloud. What really makes the concept so hilarious is the fact that: in all honesty this is a subject many guys probably will never encounter in their lifetime, and before going further, let me point out that there is a big difference between making a friend and making a best friend, and that one shouldn’t be confused with the other.

So the film jumps right into the concept of how a man in his mid-30’s who is getting married to the woman he loves and is happy having her as the closest thing he has to a friend, only to suddenly feel the need to makes a best guy friend before after over hearing his wife’s girlfriends talking about how awkward and utterly humiliated the wedding will be if he doesn’t have a best man, the message the film gives is it’s not as simple for grown men to makes friends as easily as one would like, because as evolved as man have become, we are very much still in that stone age sense of not being able to move past our common fears and experiencing the awkward feeling of rejection and making a fool of one’s self in front of their fellow man. The film is a very comedic and yet sometimes honest take on the horrid subject that is incredibly hilarious and touching, and will have moviegoers feeling good afterwards. The only problems I had was a few problems. The first being the fact that the film’s main plot is surrounded by awkward style humor which believe me I have no problem with at all because it does work nicely, however it does take its toll at times and some of the scenes can get a little over done to that point where you just feel bad for the characters rather than laughing your butt off at the scene. The film’s pacing does move a little slow at first which does drag on a little bit which unless you believe that patience is a virtue you might have some problems waiting before the main plot picks up, however it does make up for itself when the potty mouthed humor begins with the main plot. The only other problem I had was regarding the choices made on a couple of cast members in the film, which I’ll get into in just a bit don’t you worry, but know beforehand that this negative part is easily forgiven by me after the fact awesome legendry rock back RUSH is not only mentioned and their music played throughout the film’s course, but they themselves make a nice cameo performance in it.

As for the acting: the acting is pretty solid, with the exception of a few bad apples. Paul Rudd is a fairly decent actor with an adequate résumé of past films, however I do find it sad to see that as an actor he is stuck in a cul-de-sac or a safety-net if you will of ‘safe films’, it seems that he only does comedies in today’s day and age which is a bit disappointing because I remember it wasn’t too long ago when he was a young and up and coming actor that was starring or co-starring in film of different genres, but now only seems to stick to the funny films and nothing more. However he does in fact do pretty well for himself in this film with his awkward sense of humor which works nicely, though I will recommend he at least try to explore a much broader horizon in the future or otherwise he may end up becoming a one trick pony. Rashida Jones gave a very enjoyable and entertaining performance, her ability to give a pleasing performance comes from the fact she is a lovely blend of sexy and humorous, she can make you laugh and look naturally attractive on screen without having to wear a pound and a half of makeup just to look half as good, which is a pleasantly rare commodity to have. Funny man Jason Segel from T.V’s "How I Met Your Mother" and from last year’s box office hit “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” gave a rather un-entertaining performance in the film, and it’s partly due to his inability to show more aggression in character, it’s nothing personal, I have nothing against the guy, he did after all do incredibly well in FSM with his style of comedy, but sadly his acting came off rather lazy in this time around with a performance that is so laid back that you hard notice any effort what-so-ever from his part. The rest of the cast did fairly well, from well known names like: Jon Favreau, Jane Curtin, J.K. Simmons, and Jaime Pressly just to name a few, all did fantastic jobs in their roles, the only one I didn’t quite a agree with was actor Andy Samberg, don’t get me wrong, the man is a hilarious comedian, but an actor he is not! Trust me when I say: I got as much enjoyment out of his performance in this film as I did with his 2007 lackluster film “Hot Rod”.

Final Say: I Love You, Man is a cleverly witty and let loose fun comedy that will have you laughing you butt off, and despite its flows it makes up greatly for itself as a great laid back and let loose film that fits perfectly as a date night film for couples looking to spend the night indoors on the couch, and a damn good time for your average moviegoer. I highly recommend it!

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