I, like most people, am not fond of sequels. However, copycats are worse than sequels. Bring in Friends With Benefits. Based on the trailer, it is the exact same movie as No Strings Attached. The only difference is they switched out Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman for Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. Or, you can say they switched out a That 70′s Show or Black Swan star. I find it hard to believe that Portman and Kunis didn’t realize they were doing the exact same movie while they were on the Black Swan set. Both movies involve corny guys and unstable women that want to have a friends with benefits/no strings attached relationship. I’m pretty sure this movie won’t do better than No Strings Attached (especially because it will face more competition). The only thing helping this movie out is that it’s not in 3-D.

I saw “No Strings Attached,” starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman, yesterday.  The movie is about two young adults that have a “friends with benefits” relationship.  Kutcher wants to pursue something serious, but Portman is doing her residency and only has time for an unattached, sexual relationship.  Here’s my take on it.

The Good: The movie is pretty funny.  Since the movie is Rated R, they can get away with more crude humor.  Also, there is diverse array of characters.  We get to know the background on every character (except for Christopher Bridges, aka Ludacris).

The Bad: The movie is somewhat long (or at least seems that way).  The movie slightly deviates from the typical romantic comedy formula in that there are two “I just can’t let you go” scenes.

The Ugly:  It’s a romantic comedy.  Guys really do hate these movies because they have the same storyline with different A-list actors.  They are easy money makers and that’s why Hollywood keeps pumping them out.

Takeaway:  If you saw “Letters to Juliet,” you’re only going up by seeing this film.

SPOILER ALERT: Kutcher and Portman end up together at the end of the film.

I do like the fact that there was a role reversal and the woman was the one resisting the relationship, BUT it still sends the wrong message to woman.  The movie misleads women into thinking that guys that are having their cake and eating it too are interested in pursuing in a serious relationship with that woman.  Like grandma always said, “why by the cow when you can get the milk for free?” I’ve seen that scenario play out time and time again.

Women usually feel unattractive when it’s “that time of the month.” However, according to researchers, women are the most attractive to men when they are on their period; their faces look better, their voices are more appealing, and their pheromones are stronger. In short, if you are looking for a man, you’re best shot is to look when you feel like staying in bed.

This was one of the many things I learned watching The Science of Sex Appeal (2009)(stream on Netflix). The film focused on how our faces, bodies, voices, and scents attract the opposite sex.

Apparently the ideal woman has a waist that is 70% of her hips. Smaller ratios are perceived as even more attractive.

Similarly, our bodily conception of beauty revolves around thirds. So,for instance, ideal eyes would be one eye length apart.

The documentary is very interesting and I suggest that everyone watch it. There were a few things that I already knew like the number pairings equilibrium, but plenty that I did not know with respect to the role ovulation plays.

SPOILER: Money for men (provider role) trumps looks, so even if biology doesn’t work in your favor, you can still land a woman significantly more attractive.

I went to see “Due Date” with my girlfriend yesterday (disappointed by the way) and I saw the trailer for Hall Pass. The movie is about two guys that get a “hall pass” from their marriage and can do whatever they want for one week. I’ve heard of real-life couples having days off, but Hollywood had to stoop and try to make a comedy out of this.

Maybe it’s me, but there’s nothing funny about infidelity (i.e. just watch Due Date). It doesn’t help that Owen Wilson is in the movie.

I’m sure this movie will make some half-ass attempt to have a theme that infidelity is wrong and that the “hall pass” was a bad idea at the end. But the damage has already been done by that point. Marriage doesn’t have to be boring and monotonous.

The one thing this movie seems to have right is that guys can’t do any better than the woman they marry. I think it’s funny when people in relationships talk about the type of woman they could be sleeping with as if they were sleeping with models when they were single. Let’s face it, most men never dated a 10 before marriage and that certainly won’t change when they develop a gut. Yeah, you may have a little more money in your pocket, but that doesn’t change the fact that you were a loser when you were broke.

My girlfriend and I went to see Just Wright with Common, Queen Latifah & Paula Patton last night.  She absolutely loved it. I thought it was okay.

The Good: Lots of attractive people in it. Paula Patton (for the fellas). Dwight Howard (for the ladies).  Positive depiction of an NBA player.  Common’s character is very down to earth.  He’s very close to his mother (Phylicia Rashaad) and is quite the gentleman.  He’s not a womanizer, even though he’s extremely smooth.

The Bad:  The storyline.  What’s likelihood of a franchise NBA player choosing Paula Patton (even though she’s a golddigger) for Queen Latifah, Patton’s Godsister with a heart of gold).  I hate how movies, almost always make good looks and a great personality mutually exclusive.

The Ugly: The acting.  Common is one of my favorite emcees, but he’s a pretty bad actor.  This isn’t a small role in Smoking Aces or Wanted; Common was the star in this film.

Even though I thought the movie was okay, I still support it because there’s a deficiency of romantic comedies with a majority Black cast.  If I’m not mistaken, the last one before this was The Last Holiday with Queen Latifah (again) and LL Cool J (another rapper).

Up In the Air

I rented “Up in the Air” staring George Clooney this past weekend.  I’m a Clooney fan and this movie did not disappoint.  The story is basically about a man whose job is to fire people.  This job causes him to travel nearly 300 days out of the year.  This is okay for him though because he likes being alone.  He eventually meets a woman on this travels that likes the fast-paced life as much as he does and he becomes quite fond of her.  He’s never been married before and has no plans to settle down.  However, he eventually starts to fall in love with this woman, Vera Farmiga.  The only problem is that he shows up unexpected at her door, he discovers that she’s actually married with kids.

So what did I gather from this movie? 1) Life happens short and you can’t play around forever.  Most women aren’t willing to wait around for guys that want to live an extended bachelor lifestyle.  2) Women can be sneaky.  3) Honesty is the most important part in a relationship.  People inevitably get hurt when fail to delineate rules and leave things “up in the air.” Get it?

Why Did I Get Married Too? is a sequel to Tyler Perry’s hit 2007 movie.  The movie chronicles four Black couples and their unique problems:  communication; suspected infidelity; trust after infidelity; joblessness (and leaving the past in the past).  With the exception of the communication issue in Janet Jackson (Patricia) and Malik Yoba (Gavin), I think that the plots involved well-developed salient issues in society.

One of the big issues in the movie was Tasha Smith (Angela) wanting the passcode to her husband Michael Jai White’s (Marcus) phone.  He wouldn’t give it up to her and she suspected that something was wrong with it.  Marcus had a history of cheating and Angela suspected that it was still going on.

We constantly emphasize openness in relationships.  There’s probably a problem if you cannot let your significant other see your phone.  We are of the opinion that if you have nothing to hide, then it’s not a big deal.  Tyler Perry (Terry) tells Marcus that he willingly let his wife Sharon Leal (Dianne) see his phone.

I don’t want to spoil the movie, but I recommend that you see it.  I laughed for most of the movie and was on the edge of my seat for some of the most intense scenes.  The consensus in my theatre was that everyone liked it.  However, I’ve talked to lots of people that hated the film.  So I guess it’s something that you’ll just have to see for yourself.

Oh yeah, I left this out (I thought I included it the first time). The ending to the movie is horrible. I haven’t met one person that likes it. If When you see it, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Book of Eli

I know I’m two months late, but I saw Book of Eli yesterday and had to comment on it. I’m not going to spoil the movie because I think you all should see it.

As an action film fanatic, I love this movie. Lots of blood and gore to get your adrenaline pumping. But most important to this film is its message. This movie is FULL of symbolism and is pretty deep.

From the Manogamy perspective, I thought the movie was really good. Denzel Washington, as Eli, is a man on a mission. He is frequently placed in situations where women can get him off track. Keep in mind that there are very few people, especially women, left on Earth after “the war.” Nevertheless, he constantly remains composed despite being tempted by women, such as Mila Kunis (who most men would give in to).

There are so many driven men out there that have let women get them off track. Stay on your path fellas.

Picture Source: Collider