Just Notes: 9GAG's 17 movies of all time

9GAG's 17 movies of all time:




I wonder, why is it Michael Fassbender always has sex scenes in his movies? Fish Tank is of no exception, he gets to have sex with both mother and daughter whilst in fact he's married with a daughter. #awkward

But then, Shame is exquisitely jarring. It makes me feel his pain, oh so acutely. Addiction is worse when you can't escape. and you end up hating yourself for ever more. I don't think I can spend time watching Shame in full, for it really scarred me the first time I watch it. oh MF, you really make me feel things that I don't want to feel...

Accepted: Simply GENIUS thought provoking FUN

 

Trailer:


The Plot:
Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) is a persuasive high-school senior who, among other pranks, creates fake IDs. His gifts do not extend to grades, however, and he receives rejection letters from all of the universities and colleges to which he applies, including those with high acceptance rates.



In an attempt to seek approval from his strict father (Mark Derwin), Bartleby creates a fake college, the South Harmon Institute of Technology (S.H.I.T.). He is aided by his best friend, Sherman Schrader III (Jonah Hill), who has been accepted into the prestigious Harmon College, and fellow rejects Rory Thayer (Maria Thayer), a hard-working girl who, due to prevalence of Legacy preferences, failed to get in to Yale University, the only school she applied to, Hands Holloway (Columbus Short), who lost his athletic scholarship after an injury, and Glen (Adam Herschman), who got a "0" on the SAT when he neglected to sign his name.


To make the "college" seem legitimate, Bartleby convinces Sherman to create a fully functional Web site for the school. Later on, with Rory's help he also leases an abandoned psychiatric hospital adjacent to Harmon College and renovates it to look like a college campus, using the college enrollment fee that his father gave to him.



When his domineering father insists on meeting the dean, Bartleby hires Schrader's uncle, Ben Lewis (Lewis Black), a former educator, to play that role.



The seemingly innocent ploy quickly spins out of control when the website, which automatically accepts any applicant, enrolls hundreds of other rejected students.



Bartleby realizes that these people have nowhere else to go, so he lets them believe that the school is real, a place where they will finally feel accepted.After a visit to Harmon disenchants him with traditional college life, he has the students make up their own classes and be their own teachers.



Students write down what they want to learn on a giant whiteboard, with classes ranging from the culinary arts and sculpting to "Taking a Walk and Thinking about Stuff," "Foreign Affairs: Hooking Up Overseas," "Rock Our Faces Off 222," and the invention of one freaky kid (Jeremy Howard) who wants to learn how to "blow shit up...with my mind."



Bartleby even goes so far as to create a school newspaper (the S.H.I.T. Rag) and a mascot (the S.H.I.T. Sandwiches).

Meanwhile, the dean of nearby Harmon College, Richard Van Horne (Anthony Heald), makes plans to construct the Van Horne Gateway, an adjacent park-like "verdant buffer zone" by which the dean hopes "to keep knowledge in, and ignorance out." He dispatches Hoyt Ambrose (Travis Van Winkle) to free up the nearby properties, but when Bartleby refuses to relinquish the lease for the South Harmon property, Hoyt sets to work trying to reveal the college as a fake.

The dispute turns personal, since Bartleby has been vying for the affections of Hoyt's ex-girlfriend, Monica Moreland (Blake Lively). Hoyt exposes South Harmon as a fake institution through Sherman, who is attempting to join Hoyt's fraternity as a legacy, but is treated with humiliation and abuse by his fraternity brothers. After having Sherman beaten up, Hoyt forces him to hand over all the files he has created for South Harmon.

Hoyt then contacts all the students' parents to expose the school as a fake. Soon after the parents come and as a result of that, the institute is shut down. However as Sherman's has taken the initiative to file for accreditation, it gives Bartleby a chance to make his college legitimate.



At the State of Ohio educational accreditation hearing, Bartleby makes an impassioned speech about the failures of conventional education and the importance of following one's own passions instead of being dictated on what to do, convincing the board to grant his school a one-year probation to test his new system.

The institute reopens, with more students enrolling, including Sherman and Monica. Also, Bartleby finally earns the approval of his father, who is proud that his son actually owns a college. As the film closes, Van Horne is seen walking to his car in the Harmon College parking lot, only to watch it suddenly explode. Bartleby watches in astonishment as the freaky guy from earlier tells him "I told you I could do it", in that he made his psychokinetic explosions reality.

Review:
To me, Accepted is a simple take on education industry. It happens that these days, our generation lives by a certain standard that if not provoked, and flexed to a certain extent, it shall waste good talents like Bartleby's.

Of course, to some extent, it was too good to be true. but the ideals put forth are worthy. thought provoking.

Plus, I got JL and CS at their most carefree roles. JL is admirable and reminds me a lot about my younger brother who didn't graduate himself. sometimes life is more than just certificates and good job. it's about how you live your life and impacts on others.

Accepted has put JL in my good books the same way Get Over it puts Ben Foster on my map. They are both good and off-beat, a delight to put on rerun :)

Grown Ups 2: ohpleasegrowupalready!

 

the Trailer:


the Plot:
Three years after the events of the first film, Lenny Feder (Adam Sandler) has relocated his family back to his Connecticut hometown where he and his friends grew up.

In the film's opening in the Feder household, Lenny wakes up to find a wild deer standing next to his bed. Upon waking up, his wife Roxanne (Salma Hayek) startles the deer, causing it to urinate all over their home.



Eventually, Lenny is able to get the deer out of the house just in time to take his children Greg (Jake Goldberg), Keith (Cameron Boyce), and Becky (Alexys Nycole Sanchez) to their last day of school. Roxanne brings up the idea of their family having another baby, but Lenny says their family is perfect as is, upsetting Roxanne.

At the Lamonsoff household, Eric Lamonsoff (Kevin James) and his wife Sally(Maria Bello) are at odds with each other over how to raise their children. Sally believes in unwavering support while Eric prefers to be more practical with them. At the McKenzie household, Kurt (Chris Rock) surprises his wife Deanne (Maya Rudolph) with a thoughtful anniversary present, only to find that she has completely forgotten. Meanwhile, Marcus Higgins (David Spade) is waiting at a train station after receiving a letter from an old girlfriend, who tells him that he has a seventeen-year-old son Braden (Alexander Ludwig). Marcus is stunned to see a tattooed, six-foot-tall boy, who turns out to be Braden. Marcus tries to be nice and takes him to school, but Braden shows an immediate dislike toward him.

The school bus driver is wasted so Lenny takes charge of driving the bus, picking his friends along. After dropping off their kids, Lenny, Eric, Kurt, and Marcus spend the day roaming around town, reminiscing about the amazing summers they used to have when they were kids and Lenny's childhood bully, Tommy Cavanaugh (Steve Austin). Lenny argues that he could take Tommy as a kid and he can still take him. Eventually, the friends go to see Becky's ballet recital, where Lenny runs into Tommy, whom Lenny is visibly terrified of. Tommy threatens that if Lenny ever lies again about being able to beat him up, he'll publicly beat Lenny up.

Once the kids are out of school, Lenny, Eric, Kurt, and Marcus decide to visit the old quarry, where they used to swim as kids.
 

There they run into a bunch of partying frat boys (lead by Milo Ventimiglia and Taylor Lautner) who force them to jump into the quarry naked. Braden who was partying with the frat boys, witnesses this and goes off to vandalize their frat house. When the frat boys return, they swear to take revenge.

Lenny arrives home to help Roxanne set up for a 1980s-themed party for their friends. Meanwhile, Marcus begins to bond with Braden, who realizes he was wrong about his father. As all of their friends begin to arrive, Roxanne urges Lenny to consider having another baby. Lenny continues to protest the idea and is left dumbfounded when Roxanne reveals that she is pregnant.

Lenny, feeling overwhelmed by this discovery, goes off to drink with his friends. The Feder's party goes well most of the night until Tommy Cavanaugh shows up and disrespects Lenny in front of everyone, so Lenny challenges Tommy to a fight. In a surprising turn, Tommy decides to take a dive so that Lenny can look tough for his kids, and the two develop a mutual respect. Soon after, the angry frat boys arrive at the house looking for retribution for the damage to their frat house. They go on to insult the local town residents, inciting a fight. The locals hold their own against the frat boys and eventually send them running away defeated.


After all the commotion dies down, the four friends have pancakes at Eric's mom's house. Mrs. Lamonsoff (Georgia Engel) reassures Lenny that a new baby is a wonderful thing and eventually he will never be able to imagine life with just three kids. Lenny has a change of heart and returns home, telling Roxanne he is sorry and excited about the new baby, and they reconcile.

Review:
I knew I gave such a glowing review for the first film, but the sequel is too much.. There are (some) highlights but the tired run-of-the-mill jokes really bother me. I mean, please, I think you guys could find grown-up jokes that don't involve male nudity, horny old janitor, high and wasted adult, poop and such. Why stoop to low levels of funny HA??? The opening scene where the deer urinated all over is SO unnecessary! And it is odd that Roxanne has to scream when she saw Greg in nude. I mean, even though he's a teenager now, Greg is still YOUR son kan? Come on! To scream is to indicate there is some sort of detachment between a mother and her children. Don't you think so too?

urghhh.

Salma Hayek as Roxanne in this one is merely ornamental. There are scenes but she's almost invisible, only to shine a bit at the end of the movie when Lenny finally greets his unborn baby.

I also like the moral that Greg and Andre (Kurt's son) though having opportunities to drink alcohol during the frat party, had evaded to do so. This is what we should impart to our kids, even though grown-ups are not watching, you have an integrity to uphold. That it is your moral code that you should adhere to.

For a star awarded, I love that this movie is some sort of a reunion. We could see SNL players in it having fun.


And Oliver Hudson, David Spade's fellow in Rules Of Engagement was recruited as a yoga instructor. Dishy definitely but yes, still ornamental. No character development whatsoever. Pfftttt!

I also find it odd that Tommy picks the wrong time to reveal that he's a decent guy. I mean, if he truly respects Lenny as a guy, and am repentant of his past bullying, middle of the crowd is definitely not the place to confess. I mean, you could approach Lenny at another time, and yes STOP bullying him in public.

Another low point to me is Milo Ventimiglia playing frat boy role. I mean, he's a spectacular actor. To reduce him to such role is so degrading to me. Milo, you should have picked a better script than this T-T And Patrick Schwarzenegger is also wasted here. The producers could have picked other unknown faces and it won't matter a bit.

Oh, and the same opinion goes for Shaquille O'Neal's role as Officer Fluzoo. Degrading.


Regardless of the disappointments in the storyline, the film has done well to earn triple of its cost. Meaning that Adam Sandler and co has a solid support from moviegoers. Just please do it well next time, please. Lenny is such a decent guy that I wish the Grown Ups gang had a very nice closure, minus the silly (unfunny) gags. Do Grown Ups 3 better please!

The Notebook: what you want...

Trailer:


Plot:
At a modern-day nursing home, an elderly man named Duke (James Garner) begins to read a romantic story from his notebook to a fellow patient (Gena Rowlands).

The story he tells begins in 1940. In Seabrook Island, South Carolina, local country boy Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) is smitten with seventeen-year-old heiress Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams) after seeing her at a carnival, and they share an idyllic summer love affair. Noah takes Allie to an abandoned house, which he explains that he intends to restore the house.  And Allie requests to have her own spot in the house, a room to paint, overlooking the lake. It was some sort of a reaffirmation that she intends to marry him.

Later that evening, she asks him to make love to her, but they are interrupted by Noah's friend Fin (Kevin Connolly) with the news that Allie's parents have the police out looking for her. When Allie and Noah return to her parents' mansion, they ban her from seeing Noah, whom they called "trash, trash, trash". Knowing that her parents do not approve of him, Noah leaves the house, much to Allie's frustration that her fiery temper gets to her head.



The two break up, in the fits of Allie's temper. The next morning, Allie's mother announces that the family is returning home to Charleston. Desperate, Allie searches for Noah at the lumberyard but he's not there. Fin instead asks her to leave Noah alone, that it's not going to work out. She asks him to tell Noah that she loves him and that she's sorry. She leaves by asking Fin to tell Noah to write to her.

For a year, Noah writes a letter to Allie each day. But the letters are intercepted by Allie's mother (Joan Allen), leaving Allie to feel that Noah has forgotten her.

Noah and Allie have no choice but to move on with their lives; Noah and Fin enlist to fight in World War II and Fin is killed in battle. Allie becomes a volunteer in a hospital for wounded soldiers, where she meets an officer named Lon Hammond, Jr. (James Marsden), a young lawyer who is handsome, sophisticated, charming and comes from old Southern money. The two eventually become engaged, to the delight of Allie's parents, but Allie sees Noah's face when Lon asks her to marry him.

When Noah returns home from the war, he discovers his father has sold their home so that Noah can buy the abandoned house, fulfilling his lifelong dream to buy it for the departed Allie, whom by now he hasn't seen for several years. While visiting Charleston, Noah witnesses Allie and Lon kissing at a restaurant; he convinces himself that if he restores the house, Allie will come back to him. Some says he works on the house like a madman, and when he completes it, he refuses to sell it, regardless of the price offered.

Later, during a bridal gown fitting, Allie is startled to read in the newspaper that Noah has restored the house that she faints there and then. Knowing that she has to see him, Allie visits Noah in Seabrook.

In the present, it is made clear that the elderly woman is in fact Allie, who is suffering from dementia and cannot remember any of the events being read to her. Duke, the man who is reading to her, is her husband, but Allie cannot recognize him.

Back in the forties, Allie and Noah renew their relationship by spending time together, as friends. Her feelings come back to her and she questions Noah for not writing to her before. When she knows the truth, and that Noah still has feelings for her, they make love at Noah's now-restored house. In the morning, Allie's mother appears on Noah's doorstep, warning Allie that Lon knows about Noah being her first love back in Seabrook and thus has decided to follow her there. Confused, Allie tells Noah that she's going back to talk to Lon, much to Noah's frustration that they fight.





As Allie reads Noah's letters, she knows she has to confess to Lon about Noah and her feelings. He is upset but says that he still loves her. Allie tells him she knows she should be with him, but she remains indecisive.

In the present, Allie becomes briefly lucid and remembers that the story Duke is reading is the story of how they met. Young Allie appears at Noah's doorstep, having left Lon at the hotel. Elderly Allie suddenly remembers her past; after finding out about her illness, she herself wrote their story in the notebook with instructions for Noah to "read this to me, and I'll come back to you". But Allie soon relapses, losing her memories of Noah. She panics, not understanding who he is, and has to be sedated. That same night Noah is hospitalised with what seems to be another heart attack.

When released from the hospital, Elderly Noah ("Duke") goes to Allie's room to find her lucid again. Allie questions Noah about what will happen to them when she loses her memory completely, and he reassures her that he will never leave her. She asks him if he thinks their love for each other is strong enough to "take them away together"; he replies that he thinks their love could do anything. After telling each other that they love one another, they both go to sleep in Allie's bed. The next morning, a nurse finds them dead in each other's arms.


Review:
I was taken by the story. Duke's voice captivated me as he reads the Notebook to Miss Allie. no wonder this is a famous romance movie, top 12 high-grossing romance movie at the moment. Noah and Allie draw you in. He was charming, she was lovable. Though, I find issues in Allie's parents being so carefree when their daughter spends every waking hour of the summer with Noah.

The storyline is beautiful, moving even. That Duke (elderly Noah) still has faith in Allie's ability to come back, to remember him.. The scene by the counter the night before they die, moves me. If I were the nurse, I would totally do the same. James Garner delivers the lines so convincingly! to be the subject of such devotion, man, I'd love that very much.

Lon was a honorable man too. The way he understood Allie, her reservations about him and her feelings. It is a rare man to love that much but still can release her to be with her first love.  

The issue I have with this film is that it's too perfect, too easy for Allie to get her dreams. True, she longs for Noah for 7 years but we didn't get to see her suffering, merely by mentions that she cried every night for a year. Maybe it's wrong to ask for that but I have this feeling that Noah is the only one suffering. He's stuck in the same place, even the girl he's seeing, Martha doesn't get him to love her. The way she said to him, after spending time to know Allie, was touching. "At least now I have something to look forward to-", meaning now she knows she will have to move on, that at least she knows where she's heading. away.

alahai. this is a sad story by Nicholas Sparks. I know I'd cry buckets reading it..