Leap Year Review

Director: Anand Tucker Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan Cast: Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Kaitlin Olson, Adam Scott Time: 99min Age Restriction: PG

Genre:
Romantic Comedy

Summary Review:
Leap Year is an insubstantial rom-com that is kept afloat by its charming stars and beautiful locations.

Synopsis:
Anna (Amy Adams) and Jeremy (Adam Scott) have been dating for four years and the night finally comes when Anna expects Jeremy to propose to her once and for all.

When he doesn't, she decides to follow him to Dublin, Ireland and propose to him on 29 February, according to an old Irish tradition that women can propose to men on leap years.

Her trip, however, does not go according to plan and she ends up having to rely on Declan (Matthew Goode), a rough-around-the-edges Irishman, to get her to Dublin.

Leap Year is very much a chick flick. A worldwide study has shown that the accent found to be sexiest to women is the Irish accent and I'm sure Matthew Goode will have many hearts aflutter.

The storyline of Leap Year is frail and predictable and the characters seem to be an American's clichéd idea of the Irish, but the jokes are sweet and there is an engaging chemistry between Adams and Goode. The spectacular Irish countryside and jaunty music further add to the charm of Leap Year.

500 Days of Summer Review

Director: Marc Webb Screenplay: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend, Chloe Moretz Time: 95mins Age Restriction: 13LM

Genre:
Romantic comedy

Summary Review:
If you’ve ever been confused, bruised or amused by love, this film will engage you fully, giving you several belly laughs and perhaps a few tears while you’re at it.

  
Synopsis:
As the narrator himself points out so adamantly, 500 Days of Summer is not a love story, but “a story of Boy meets Girl”. It follows the meeting and subsequent relationship of said Boy (Tom) and Girl (Summer). Boy is looking for his soul mate; Girl doesn’t believe in love.

Therein lies my only reservation about the movie’s values: they’re not married, not even in love, but they’re living together? Having sex? If they break up, it’s going to hurt bad enough without the separation of souls in a union as intimate as sex.

As always, Zooey Deschanel is simply lovely as the Summer of the title and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is equally endearing as Tom. By the way, if during the film you’re wondering where the heck you’ve seen him before (as I wondered), he recently appeared in G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, has been in several TV sitcoms and shows, and had a significant role in 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You.

One of the must-see films of this season; this is a beautiful, bittersweet story that hits very close to home and was nominated for two Golden Globes.