Friends with Benefits review

I was pleasantly surprised by “Friends with Benefits”, but in hindsight I should have expected it to be funny, seeing as Woody Harrelson is involved, and I’m yet to see him in a bad film.

Mila Kunis is enjoying being America’s sweetheart at the moment, and Justin Timberlake is proving himself to not be a terrible actor, and also one of the go to guys for rom coms.

Director Will Gluck supplies the pair with quips aplenty, and the fast paced nature of their on screen relationship is entertaining to watch. They throw insults and compliments back and forth like nobodies business, with Kunis snapping her lines out in excellent fashion. However, Timberlake seems slightly pompous at times with his delivery of Gluck’s smartass comebacks.

Woody Harrelson, as usual, is excellent in his roll as the gay sports editor at a magazine, constantly asking Timberlake if he is gay yet, and getting some of the more memorable lines in the film, describing himself as “strickaly dickaly” and that he wont take a ferry “unless it’s out to dinner and a show”. His delivery of the line is impeccable, and made all the better by the “bam” he throws in after to punctuate it.

Richard Jenkins also gives a terrific performance as Timberlake’s on screen father, tugging at the heartstrings just enough to produce sympathy, but not too much so as to make it all about him.

Overall a decent, modern RomCom with laughs a plenty. It’s an easy watch and one you probably won’t regret watching, if you only watch one casual sex film, make sure it’s this one. 6/10

Alpha Dog review

Recently I had the misfortune of watching “Alpha Dog”, based on the true story of a wannabe gangster who kidnaps the younger brother of someone who owes him money. I wasn’t impressed. There was questionable casting to say the least, seeing as the “gangster” was played by Emile Hirsch. Now it may just be me, but when I see Emile Hirsch, he doesn’t scream gun wielding, drug taking nutter, but more the nerdy character he played in “The Girl Next Door”, and although he probably doesn’t want to be typecast into being the go to geek guy, that’s what he is, and he should stick to roles that play into his wheelhouse.

Justin Timberlake is, surprisingly, the standout performer in a cast which includes a cameo from Bruce Willis as Hirsch’s father, Ben Foster, and emerging stars Olivia Wilde and Amanda Seyfried. He portrays his character as panic stricken and awkward at the idea of being involved in a kidnapping and the path that it takes him on, often trying to convince Hirsch’s character that they should let their hostage go.

Anton Yelchin also puts in a good performance as the teenager taken hostage, initially being scared, but then growing to enjoy his time spent with older boys. Taken under the wing of Timberlakes character, he gets drunk, stoned and laid, thinking he has made friends with the group. It is this sense of friendship that make the ending a little hard to watch.

All in all I wouldn’t bother watching it again, but I don’t entirely regret the two hours I spent watching it. I just wish it was a bit faster, that Emile Hirsch had not been cast as a tough guy, and that I was made to feel a bit more empathetic towards Yelchin’s character, rather than feeling that he was a bit of a prat for having so many chances to escape his captors, but decides not to as he is having too much fun.
5/10