MOVIE REVIEW: MARRY ME

 

Pop superstar Kat Valdez is about to get married before an audience of her loyal fans. However, seconds before the ceremony, she learns about her fiance's cheating ways and has a meltdown on stage. In a moment of inspired insanity, Kat locks eyes with a total stranger in the crowd and marries him on the spot. As forces conspire to separate the unlikely newlyweds, they must soon decide if two people from such different worlds can find true love together.

Director: Kat Coiro

Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, John Bradley, Sarah Silverman, Chloe Coleman

Release Date: February 11, 2022 

Genre: Comedy, Music, Romance

Rated PG-13 for some language and suggestive material

Runtime: 1h 52m

Review:

Marry Me is a preposterous rom-com that takes the general idea of Notting Hill and updates it with a modern spin.  Kat Coiro's film doesn't break any new ground but it's a breezy surprisingly likeable rom-com.  There's honestly no good reason for this film to be as watchable as it is almost in spite of itself.  Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson do most of the heavy lifting with both turning in charming and likable turns as the two leads.  There is a bit of real life synergy with some elements of the script veering close to some of Lopez's past relationships which makes her performance feel more grounded and authentic.  Wilson is his usual likable self with him and Lopez having a good rapport together even if they don't quite sizzle with romantic chemistry.  The film suffers from structural issues which are ingrained into the genre with the situations getting more and more ridiculous as the film heads into it's finale.  Marry Me doesn't change the genre but it doesn't really try to instead it just has fun with it's ludicrous conceit and runs with it.  

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: MOONFALL

 

The world stands on the brink of annihilation when a mysterious force knocks the moon from its orbit and sends it hurtling toward a collision course with Earth. With only weeks before impact, NASA executive Jocinda "Jo" Fowler teams up with a man from her past and a conspiracy theorist for an impossible mission into space to save humanity.

Director: Roland Emmerich

Cast: Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Peña, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, Donald Sutherland

Release Date: 2h 10m

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Rated PG-13 for violence, disaster action, strong language, and some drug use

Runtime: 2h 10m

Review:

Roland Emmerich's latest sci-fi disaster film is a campy busy mess of a film that never embraces it's overall absurdity and just have fun with it.  Emmerich's film feels more like a relic from the early 2000s with it's tired redemption arches and shoehorned product placement. Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson and John Bradley do the majority of the heavy lifting with the main story thread.  Patrick Wilson does the best he can with the material but at least he doesn't phone it in like Halle Berry who looks like she's just a collecting a paycheck here.  John Bradley is likeable as the conspiracy nerd and he seems to be the only one who's having a good time.  A secondary story thread drags the entire film down with a pointless earthbound subplot dealing with the leads kids and some overly persistent thieves.  That subplot is as ludicrous as it is boring and could probably have been excised from the film altogether and streamlined the story.  A third act reveal is a goofy fun but thematically interesting even if the movie doesn't explore it in any sort of depth.  Moonfall is the type of film that will run on cable endlessly which will make for perfect background noise.  

C-