nomadreader

The premise of Safety Not Guaranteed is a great one: someone places a classified ad seeking a partner to travel in time. The title is the same as the ad's last line. When Seattle Magazine  writer Jeff ( New Girl 's Jake Johnson) takes two interns (Aubrey Plaza and Karan Soni) to see who the person is. With such a great premise and a good cast, I had high hopes, but Safety Not Guaranteed  flounders between two many genres. At times it's a witty satire, at time softly poignant, at times inspiring, and at time eye-rollingly bad. I rarely knew what the filmmaker wanted from me, and while I love a genre-defining mash-up, this attempt lacked consistency and clarity of focus. For every moment I loved, there was one I hated. There were moments of brilliance, but there were also far too many moments of boredom for a film only 86 minutes long. As a first film, some of these sins are forgiveable, and I will gladly tune in to see what Derek Connolly writes next. Rating: 3 out of 5 ...

Between the more leisurely pace of summer (and my aversion to its heat) and giving up satellite, I've been watching a lot of movies (both with and without Mr. Nomadreader.) Here are my brief thoughts on some recent ones. Snow White and the Huntsman I am not one who is caught up in fairy tales or modern re-tellings, but I was curious to see this feminist version, and I'm glad I did. The film is escapist fun. The three leads, Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, and Chris Hemsworth (whom I lovingly call the talented Hemsworth), are fantastic, and they strike right the balance of seriousness and silliness. They're appropriately over the top at times, but it's never distracting. The entire film is a visual feast, and I was utterly entranced with it while I watched. Is it one that will stick with me for a long time? No, but it was entertaining, fun, and I'll gladly see the sequel. Rating: 4 out of 5 Source: Redbox Your Sister's Sister If you're looki...