The Hangover

Who:  Amber & Jonathan
What:  The Hangover
Where:  AMC Pleasure Island
Why:  It's got "Andy" from the office

I love a good 'ole raunchy comedy (Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), and this movie was no exception.  It was raunch and hilarious!

Doug (the sidekick from National Treasure) is getting married.  He is headed to Vegas with his 2 best friends (Bradley Cooper who is so cute and Ed Helms) and his future brother in law, who looks like a cave man.

They check in to a huge hotel suite, do a few shots to toast the evening then .... it's morning.  The room is trashed, a chicken is walking around, a tiger is in the bathroom, a chair is slightly on fire, a baby is crying from the closet and Doug is nowhere to be found.

The 2 best friends and the brother in-law try desperately to remember what happened the night before, but they have no clue.  Cutie pie Bradley Cooper is wearing a hospital wrist band, so they start there.  As the day goes on, and Doug is still lost, the boys discover more and more about what happened last night.  

Why is Ed Helms missing a tooth?  Why is Mike Tyson in their hotel room?  Whose baby is this?  And where is Doug?!?

As the boys drive around Vegas following their clues, each gag is funnier and funnier than the first.  If you love comedies, I highly recommend this movie!

I think the credits were actually my favorite part of the movie.

21

Who: Amber & Jonathan
What: 21
Where: @ home - free Starz weekend
Why: Looked entertaining

Smokin' Aces

Who:  Amber & Jonathan
What:  Smokin' Aces
Where:  @ home - recorded off cable
Why:  Nothing else to watch

Ok - can somebody explain this movie to me?  I understand most of it, but the ending was a little confusing to me.

Backing up, this movie was really good.  I really enjoy movies with 400 characters, like this one.  Also, I dare you to find Matthew Fox.  He's in 1 scene for about 5 minutes, and I didn't recognize him at all.

Ok, so there is a super mega mob boss who is offering $1 million dollar to any hit man who can kill Jeremy Piven (he plays such a great scummy Vegas loser).  So there are 4 sets of hit men who are on the case, as well as the FBI, who really need Jeremy Piven to testify against this super mega mob boss.

The hit men are awesome!  There is a crazy guy who loves torture.  A master of disguise guy.  3 low life Vegas bail bonds guys (they are way out of their league).  A set of girls (Alicia Keys is one), and a set of 3 INSANE brothers (seriously, they are insane).  Throw in Ray Liotta and Ryan Reynolds, and you've got yourself a drool-fest!

All these players head to Reno to find Jeremy Piven.  And I'll stop there ... I don't want to give anything away.  Since everybody gets to Reno when the movie is only 20 minutes in, you know nobody will kill him right away.  So there are a million twists and turns.  And the ending ... well, I'm going to need a little help with that.  Somebody explain it to me!

Dodgeball

Who: Amber
What: Dodgeball
Where: at home - Jonathan owns it
Why: Everything about this movie is classic - it's sports, Vegas, Vince Vaugh, Justin Long, etc ...

Love, love, love Dodgeball!   It's one of the few movies I can watch over and over and over.  Maybe it's Vince Vaugh as a good-guy cutie (I have a crush on him). And Justin Long (the Mac computer guy) getting smacked in the face and the crotch (again, and again, and again - watch the special features!) makes me smile.  Maybe it's because I'm not a guy, but getting hit in the crotch with a dodgeball makes me laugh out loud everytime.  Give Jason Bateman more screen time Hollywood!  This guy is pure gold.  And why isn't "The Ocho" on my cable provider?!?

Indecent Proposal

Who: Monica
What: Indecent Proposal
Where: Home
Why: B/C it was on TV and I needed something to do while crocheting.

How great is this movie? Robert Redford, Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson .. a GREAT line up! I can't believe it's 15 years old, wow time flies. Diane and David are a fantastic couple on a trip to Vegas. They win a ton, then they loose it all!! They're devastated and then they are offered a million dollars for Diane to spend 1 night with the rich John Gage. (Robert Redford) Will they take the offer? Will they be able to live with it if they do? What a great story, I love this movie!!!

What Happens In Vegas...

Who: Jaclyn
What: What Happens In Vegas...
Where: AMC Pleasure Island
Why: Another $6 A.M. Cinema (thanks AMC!)

This was a cute/funny movie. Normally I can't stand Cameron Diaz but she was tolerable in this, even if she did look like a $5 hooker. The story is about two people down on their luck, Joy and Jack who are played by Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. They both decide to go to Vegas to get away from their troubles and the end up meeting and marrying each other after a drunken evening. Of course, once sober, they realize it was a horrible mistake until Jack wins a 3 million dollar jackpot and then it's a different story.

The movie is very predictable but still hilarious. Ashton is typical Ashton and that works out pretty well. He doesn't do 'serious' very well, i.e. "The Butterfly Effect".

Each of their best friends stole the show in my opinion. Their snappy rips on each other are priceless. And if you do see it, stay through some of the credits as there are little "extras".

21

Who: Rochelle & Bob
What: 21
Where: (Stinky) Pleasure Island AMC
Why: Sounded good, we were available, and had free passes

This was an interesting movie. Kevin Spacey plays a professor at MIT who puts together a team of really smart people to go to Las Vegas and win big money through card counting. The main character, Ben, is this low-key brainiac who needs $300K to attend Harvard Medical School. Spacey's character recruits him to be a part of the team and the story progresses from there. The story starts out a little slow but it gets pretty exciting half way through--just stick with it. It was really neat watching "Ben" transform from this quiet, shy guy to this confident, high-roller young man. He was a good guy in the fast lane but all along he treats his mom well. He learns some valuable lessons about friendship and you get a glimpse of what it would be like to be swimming in money. The best part was when the professor asks a statistical question to his class about picking between 3 doors to win a prize. I actually knew the answer! What I found the most intriguing was that "Ben" hid his money in the ceiling of his dorm room. Wads and wads just stuffed behind a panel. While "Ben" was no doubt a genius, wouldn't it have made more sense to put that money in the bank to earn interest! Duh!