Throwback Thursday-The Invention of Lying (2009)

From the time we are very young, we are told that we must always tell the truth. But the truth is sometimes hard to hear.

Back in 2009, The Invention of Lying hit theaters. The movie told the story of Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais), a writer whose is about to lose his job. Living in a world in which lies don’t exist, everything changes when tells his first fib. Soon he has everything he has ever wanted, except for the love of his longtime crush, Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner).

If I was being generous, I would give this movie an A for effort. It genuinely tries to entertain the audience. But the reality is that it is bad. The problem is that it relies too heavily on the clichés of the romantic comedy genre. It’s one thing to use the clichés of any genre. But it is another thing to use them as a crutch and not as a narrative skeleton to build up the story and characters.

Do I recommend it? No.

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Early Throwback Thursday-Elektra (2005)

One of the hallmarks of the hard-fought for gender parity, especially in Hollywood, is that the idea of a female superhero headlining a film is no longer an anomaly. But, then like any superhero film, the question of quality, especially when compared to the source material, has to be asked.

In the 2005 film, Elektra (based upon the comic book character of the same name), the titular heroine, played by Jennifer Garner survives a near death experience. Breaking with the rest of the world, Elektra’s sole focus is her job as an assassin. Her latest assignment is protected a single father and his young daughter from a group of supernatural assassins. Can she protect her charges and perhaps regain her humanity in the process? Or will she forever run from the world?

At the time, I knew nothing about the MCU or the characters that inhabited that world. I suppose the film is ok, but when it is compared to other films within the MCU, it doesn’t quite hold up.

Do I recommend it? Not really.

Divorce Happens

The internet has been exploding yesterday since the announcement that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are divorcing after 10 years of marriage.

The coverage coming from the press is mind boggling. Questions of whom is to blame and what their exes might say about Ben and Jen are all over the internet.

It drives me bonkers. If they were John and Jane Doe  from anywhere, USA, no one, outside of their immediate circle of family and friends would give a rats ass. But because they are Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Hollywood movie stars, the entire world has to know every sordid detail of their divorce.

Divorce happens for many reasons. Even the best of couples sometimes drift apart. That’s life. I am sorry that their marriage is ending, but if that is the best decision for themselves and their children, so be it.

There are more important things to worry about than a married couple divorcing.

Time to move on, people.