Jenny Pretekin, Movie Critic

As part of my wonderful Winter Break, I have had the opportunity that watch some pretty good movies. Below are my reviews:

(500) Days of Summer: you are told upfront by the narrator, "this is not a love story." It is, however, the story of a relationship about two people who are almost meant to be together. The story is told out of order from Tom's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) point of view about the 500 days he spends with Summer (Zooey Deschanel). The movie, overall, was cute, quirky, and not your typical Hollywood love story, I really dug these apsects of the movie. What really won me over was the wardrobe that Zooey Deschanel's Summer wore. Her clothes were FANTASTIC. A wardrobe I would LOVE to own. Also to be noted: the movie has a pretty great soundtrack.

The Hangover: I had heard a lot about this movie being hilarious and strange. I had no idea how hilarious and how strange until I watched it. Definitely a classic. The groomsman (Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, and Bradley Cooper) are perfectly cast as 3 guys who loose their groom after a crazy bachelor party. What ensues is their effort to unravel the events of the previous evening, and their quest to get their friend to the altar. What happens in Vegas, really should stay in Vegas. I hear that they have already planned for a Hangover 2. I'm not really sure how that would go, but I'm interested to see if it can compare to its predecessor.

Invictus: This movie really touched me. I do not have a lot of background knowledge about rugby or the time after apartheid was abolished in South Africa and Nelson Mandela took office. However, I really appreciated Morgan Freeman's portrayl of Nelson Mandela and his effort to bring his country together with the Springbok's, South Africa's rugby team. Mandela was met with opposition from his family, friends, and government, but he moved forward with his idea that winning the 1995 Word Cup in South Africa could unite his nation. Matt Damon gave a fine performance as Francois Pienaar, captain of the Springboks. A great, inspiring movie!


On the list to see: Up in the Air, Precious, Avatar, A Single Man,
Harry Potter, and The Hurt Locker.