Arthur
Blu-ray | DVD | On Demand
Directed by Jason Winer
Starring Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Greta Gerwig, Jennifer Garner, Geraldine James, Luis Guzmán
Warner Bros. Home Video
Release Date: July 15, 2011

Arthur, stars Russell Brand as the title character who’s a rich, alcoholic, heir to a business empire. Through his life, Arthur has squandered his fortune on space suits, a magnetic floating bed, telephone booth aquariums, movie memorabilia, specifically movie cars, and lots and lots of alcohol. After Arthur gets arrested for wrecking the Batmobile from Batman and Robin, Arthur’s mother (Geraldine James), the keeper of the family fortune, gives him an ultimatum: either straighten up and get his life together by marrying Susan Johnson (Jennifer Garner), or lose his inheritance. The only problem, Arthur has fallen in love Naomi (Greta Gerwig), a simple woman from Queens. Will Arthur give up everything for the woman he loves? Or will he sacrifice the one he loves for the almighty dollar? You can only find out by watching the movie.

Or by thinking logically if you’ve seen any movie that has this plot, which I’m sure you have since 80 percent of movies in existence all have this premise, according to Hunter Camp’s False Movie Facts. And that’s the main problem with the film.

No Strings Attached
Directed by Ivan Reitman
Starring Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline, Olivia Thirlby, Chris “˜Ludacris’ Bridges, Greta Gerwig, Mindy Kaling
Release date: January 21, 2011

Boy and girl are sitting on a bench underneath the moonlight, probably at some middle school dance or summer camp. They are taking a break from whatever festivity it is that they are attending. The boy looks fairly shy and nervous, anxious to get to a certain point. The girl is more opened it seems. She’s possibly thinking that the boy is going to ask for a kiss. Or maybe he will even act hastily and sneak one. This is such a wonderful set-up that evokes the impulses and feelings we feel at the ripe age of fourteen. But my naiveté works against me here. What wishful thinking on my behalf! What comes out of the boy’s mouth (a question that is usually asked to a prostitute) is well beyond his age and his image. And the girl, disturbingly, remains composed at the question. Can it be that he is addicted to sexual acts at this stage of his life and she desensitized by such pleads? What a demoralizing thought. But my senses should have been more alert for the dialogue used by these two kids. Hell, why should American comedy hold back any thing? Crude is what American comedy does best. And this is 2011, so we should come to expect this kind of humor, vulgarity, cheapness, and conventionality.

The House of the Devil
Directed by Ti West
Starring Jocelin Donahue, Greta Gerwig, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, AJ Bowen, Dee Wallace
Dark Sky Films
Release Date: February 2, 2010

When entering into The House of the Devil, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had heard some good things about it in passing, but it was one of those movies where I didn’t read one review. Even more rare an occurrence for me personally, I hadn’t even seen one single trailer for the film, making it an almost completely natural movie-watching experience. And when it was all said and done, I must admit: I might just start approaching all movies with this complete lack of prior knowledge, because it paid off big time.

The House of the Devil tells the story of an average young college girl named Sam (Jocelin Donahue) who’s in an average college girl section of her life. When she lands a new place to live and get her out of her terrible dorm living situation, it’s great news for her; but it also creates bills that she doesn’t exactly have the money for.

When she notices a job posted on a bulletin board looking for babysitters, it’s the perfect answer to some immediate income, and the cushion of a couple of months to get situated and find a much better income solution. Sadly, the job doesn’t appear to play out as she had hoped, and the stress begins to really set in. But like a blessing from above (or a curse from below), the family seeking a babysitter contacts her again in desperate need of her services. Something feels off, but she reluctantly accepts with simply no other options available to her, and has her best friend Megan (Greta Gerwig) give her a ride there to make sure everything is legit.

As always, click over for a lot more and to watch a trailer for the movie!