Movie Review: Hall Pass

Are you tired of your partner giving you a headache and heartaches all the time? Have you been married for a long time and you've been feeling suffocated after not being free for so long? Do you miss the good old times when you were still single and free? Then, why not consider giving or getting a hall pass instead? A quick solution for couples who need time off from each other only to reflect and realize what they've been missing. No guaranteed positive results though. 

***CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT!***

In the movie, Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis play Rick and Fred. They are regular husbands and best friends. They are both unhappy with their sex lives and miss their good old single days. After realizing this and the tension becomes unbearable between the two couples, their wives decide to just give them a hall pass, which in this case is a week off from marriage to be exact. They rejoice when they realized that during this week off, they can actually do pretty much whatever they want without their wives getting mad at me even sleep with other women. Little did they realize that the hall pass doesn't just entitle them to do whatever they want but as well as their wives. 


With their wives and children away, Fred and Rick decide to check in at a motel just to prepare themselves for their much anticipated week off. They were off to a rocky start as they keep on trying to pick up girls at bars and everywhere else. In the end, they just make complete fool of themselves which makes them feel disappointed and down in the end. On Day One, they decide to eat first before going to a local bar but in the end they eat and drink too much which made them just fall asleep for the rest of the night. Day Two came and as they were playing a game of Golf, they decide to eat some pot brownies which didn't go so well for them. In the end, they just wreak havoc in the golf course which caused them to be kicked out of the place.


On Day Three, Rick and Fred go to Hooters and fail to impress the women there. After a few failed attempts to use their cheesy pick up lines, they decide to just get drunk in order to become more loose but in the end get too drunk and have a fight with the other customers instead. They spend the rest of Day Four inside the hotel due to a very bad case of hangover. On Day Five, they decide to go to a local coffee shop, where Rick decides to flirt with the Australian waitress called Leigh. Despite the insults being done to him by Leigh's crazy co-worker, Leigh becomes attracted to Rick, who in the end invites him to go to the same gym that she works out in. They meet later after that and before heading out for a work out, Leigh invites him to get some coffee after going to the gym. Rick accepts the invitation but decides to get into the sauna first and then falls asleep. He then blows his chance of ever having coffee with her. Meanwhile, their wives, Maggie and Grace, become closer with other men as well. Grace flirts with athlete, Gerry while Maggie finds herself attracted to Gerry's coach. 


On Day Six, Rick and Fred go to a bar called Enter the Dragon with one of their professional player friends, where Rick meets his children's babysitter, Paige, who just turned 21 and is with her aunt. Paige is attracted to Rick but he decides she's too young for him and ends up finding Leigh and dancing with her. Brent, the party's DJ, is angry at this. After the party is over, Rick goes to party at Coakley's while Fred takes a girl to his motel room. However, she gets sick and leaves before they can have sex. While going back to his room, Fred comes across Paige's aunt, who mistakes him for Rick and seduces him. He then gives her some fake oral sex which she later finds out about. Rick and Leigh end up being in a room together and as she strips for him and goes over to him to seduce him, he almost gives in but decides to turn her away. He knew now that this hall pass wasn't really necessary and that things just blew out of proportion. He clearly has a good life. He has a beautiful wife waiting for him everyday and he has good kids. What more can he ask for? 


After realization hit him, he decides to go back to his motel room and finds Fred having fake oral sex with Paige's aunt. Things go crazy after that as Brent trashes Fred's car and even assaults them. Fred then finds out that his wife got a car accident and hurries to the hospital while Brent hangs on to the roof of the car, obviously hellbent on vengeance. The police seems them and goes after them. They end up reaching the hospital while Brent gets caught by the police. As for Rick, he drives to his wife's parents home in Cape Cod, fearful that his wife might have already cheated on him without him knowing it. Meanwhile, Maggie gets seduced by Gerry's coach and almost gives in but in the end rebuffs him. Grace on the other hand wasn't so faithful and ends up bedding Gerry before getting herself heartbroken which made her have a car accident in the first place. Rick arrives and enters the home, only to see a wine bottle open and two wine glasses on the table. He then hears his wife's voice inside the room and thinks that she has someone with her inside. Rick braces himself for what he's about to see but when he opens the door, he sees his wife sitting on the bed talking to someone on the phone about Grace's accident. They eventually kiss and make up and the rest is history. Both couples went back to their normal lives and fortunately for them, the hall pass that they both gave each other made their marriages a whole lot stronger.


Let's just say that the movie wasn't really that memorable. There were some funny moments and some realistic ones as well. I may not have been married long but I certainly understood how they felt. I am still struggling to getting used with my married life as we speak. Owen Wilson wasn't his usual charming self in this film. I found him to be a more regular Joe here which was something new. As for Jason Sudeikis, I found his role to be annoying at first but eventually, before the movie ends, he turns his act around and becomes a relatable character. Clearly the movie centered on the two married men and their escapades but honestly, the their wives got most of the action. The movie made a good point about marriages and about giving each other hall passes. 


If you trust your partner too much then you'd give him/her a hall pass but as I have mentioned earlier, a hall pass doesn't have guaranteed positive results. What if your partner ends up enjoying his week off too much and completely goes overboard to ruin your marriage? Now, that's going to be a big problem and nobody else brought it to your relationship but yourself. I guess the key to making sure a marriage works is that there should still be personal space despite the fact that you are as one. Without personal space, it's suffocating which sometimes lead to both partners wanting to leave and go back to their past lives. I would recommend this movie to married couples who want to have a good time together and want to realize something together. It wasn't a bad movie. Just get yourself through all the chaos within the film and you'll see what the film's actually about. One question remains now though, would you ever be brave enough to give your better half a hall pass?

 The movie poster of the film...

 After a long drive from a friend's house, Maggie and Grace gets angry on Rick and Fred which leads them to giving each other their much awaited hall passes...

 One of the couples in the film: Grace (Christina Applegate) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis)

The main couple: Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Rick (Owen Wilson)

Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?

In the Lore, the big bad wolf has been a prominent part of almost every bedtime story that's being told to kids all over the world. The wolf is often the villain in all these stories. Depicted in movies and books as bloodthirsty creatures that lurk in the shadows, that devour men and animals alike and are often tricksters by nature. Some even confuse them with werewolves. In the story, Three Little Pigs, the wolf huffed and puffed and blew each of their houses down. Of course, we all know that the last pig, didn't get his house blown so was never eaten. But seriously, can a wolf really blow a house down? I think not. In the Twilight Saga and in True Blood, the wolves are more like shifters than werewolves. They can change their form from human to wolf whenever they please. In a way, we can say that they are part human and part wolf.

Which leads us to the original tale of Little Red Riding Hood where the big bad wolf ate Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother in the hopes of making a meal out of her too but unfortunately for him, a woodsman came, killed him and eventually freed Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother from his bulging stomach. In the latest Catherine Hardwicke movie, Red Riding Hood, Amanda Seyfried stars as Red Riding Hood - A young woman living in a small secluded village with a dark legacy. During the full moon, the villagers have to offer their best livestock and pray that the wolf will not take their lives instead. This practice has been handed down from one generation to another until this very day. In the movie, when one of the villagers was attacked and apparently, got killed by the so called beast, the whole village decided that enough was enough and that now is the time to end this dark legacy. So that night, they decided to hunt the wolf in it's den and it was there that they awaited their prey. The hunt ended tragically when one of the villagers was slaughtered by the rumored beast. Fortunately for them, they were able to slay it and behead it, taking it's head as their prize. With that knowledge and proof, they all went back to the village to tell everyone of the good news. Little did they know that the head of the beast that was in their hands was nothing but a mere grey wolf that lived in that den. Their merrymaking was put to a halt when a strange man came into their village. He was armed and he had many men who looked strange in their uniforms but all of them look like they mean business. It later occurred to the villagers that this was no ordinary man. He was believed to be a slayer of everything unknown. He believes that the village's problem isn't in fact just an ordinary wolf but rather of an uninterrupted werewolf bloodline. Which meant that the village is dealing with something more that they have bargained for. Like in all stories, a werewolf can change it's form, from human to a wolf. It only shifts it's shape on a full moon and in the movie, a werewolf can create more of it's kind simply by biting it's victim on a blood moon. 


The story of the movie was good, not your usual fairy tale and definitely not for kids. The best thing about the movie is that it will definitely take you for a ride. It's quite difficult to guess who the actual wolf is. I had to keep on guessing until almost the end of the movie and you'd actually be surprised as to who the actual wolf is. The soundtrack of the movie is another strong point. It is very powerful, raw, primal and yes, creepy for some. The movie certainly has a Twilight-ish feel to it but somewhat with a twist. The only downside is that the ending was rather lacking. Yes, I expected more. I felt like the ending was wrapped up quickly and thus fell short on the story development department however, the cast and everything else in the movie was great. When I was watching the movie, I felt like I was being absorbed into their secluded world. Thumbs up for the director, the cast and everybody else who made the movie possible. 


Would I recommend it to everyone? Not really but somehow I don't feel like I wasted my time watching it. I just think it has an acquired taste that's all. Not everyone will like it but not everybody will hate it either. So, who's afraid of the big bad wolf now? I'm not. I think wolves in their many different names and forms are still somewhat fictional by nature and with all the changes in form, depending on who tells the story, without consistency, how can you be afraid of something that's still unknown? I welcome the idea that wolves are alive but I am not quite sure about the other stories that have evolved from merely a single animal. Besides, if they were real, can people actually know and differentiate them from regular people? I think not. If there are truly big bad wolves out there then I just have to wait and see for myself. Only then will I be afraid, only then will I cower in fear but for now, I am not afraid of the big, bad wolf...

Are you afraid of the big bad wolf?

The Big Bad Wolf in the story, Three Little Pigs

Everybody knows Jacob Black from the Twilight Saga books and movies

Who can ever resist Alcide Herveaux from the True Blood books and series?

The wolf from The Little Red Riding Hood children's story

From the 2011 movie, Red Riding Hood...

Movie Review: The Day The Earth Stood Still

I first saw this movie a long time ago but here I am now, writing this for all of you. Despite the time lapse, I am glad to have devoted one day for watching such a great movie again called THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly. I know that it is a remake of an original movie with the same title. However, despite the similarities of the plot for both movies, there were still differences. 


Here's a link to the 1951 original film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Earth_Stood_Still_(1951_film)


Here's a link to the 2008 remake: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Earth_Stood_Still_(2008_film)


I didn't watch it just because Keanu Reeves is one of my favorite actors. I chose to watch it because I felt intrigued about it. I have never watched the original movie therefore, I had no idea whatsoever about it. Instead of reading and knowing about the movie before going to the cinema and watching it, I decided to just go for it. Honestly, I felt disappointed not because of the movie but because of the people around me who were watching the movie. As I was silently watching and understanding everything, the group of men in front of us didn't seem to be paying attention to the flick and instead just talking to each other while eating their snacks which I found rather "UN-amusing". Besides, it is rude for I think that if they don't like the flick then it would be much better for them to just get out and leave the people watching in peace. Aside from that, after watching the movie, I have seen their faces being disappointed and their opinions being so negative.


Honestly, I couldn't care less about such things. Not now, not anymore. Maybe they just didn't get the message or the point of having had the film shown to people. I know that it is a remake but still it did have an impact to me. I know that it is a fact that the earth is dying and it's up to all of us to save it for we are the ones who have made it this way anyway. Imagine...if a messenger like Klaatu along with Gort will come to this planet we call home and bring us such a message what would we do? I can say that change is not an easy thing and that it takes time. However, we have to try that way we can prove that we are humans, the highest forms of beings in this planet. Our complex way of life should be enough to prove it but it is more of what we should be doing to prove that we deserve to exist along with everything else in this planet.


Come to think of it, sometimes I wish I wasn't human at all...I wish I was like Klaatu. Not because he is a being not like human but because he was more aware of everything around him and knows how to act accordingly. He knows the balance of life and how we should live it. If only people know of his knowledge and didn't become this way. I believe that people have changed through time and I am not happy with the changes. Man has become selfish and destructive. They only care for themselves, invent things that should be for the greater good but instead invented things that only benefited a certain person or group of people, they kill the other living things that deserve to co-exist with them, should I say more? I maybe a traitor to my kind but I feel that the earth deserves more than just us. We should change or simply step down from the pedestals we have put ourselves into.


I wish that there will more humans who will care for the earth and everything in it. When the earth dies, we die but if we die, the earth lives...That is so true. May the movie bring an awakening despite it's negative reviews. May humans repent and start a new. There may be religious similarities to the movie as Klaatu can be compared to the wrathful God in the Old Testament who was ready to punish those who needed to be punished and then changed into a forgiving and understanding God in The New Testament. However, we can't really say so. It's up to you how you understand and take it in you...Remember, the truth is out there and as an observer, I wish this planet all the best and promise to do anything and everything that I can for it to sustain life and be able to live longer...

The remake

The original version

Are You An Undomestic Goddess Or A Domestic Diva?

I never really belittled housewives. In fact, I even admired them for making sure that they have time for everything. From taking care of their husbands and their kids to doing endless household chores, being able to pay the bills, buying groceries and even finding time for themselves. I just women have innate abilities and one of them is being able to multi task and another is proper time management. I know that nobody can be a perfect homemaker overnight. Just like what they say, Rome wasn't build in a day and that explains the years of practice, a woman needs to go through just to be the ultimate homemaker. By that time, they can make everything seem simple. From the proper ways of cooking to the cleaning techniques. Name it! She probably already knows how to do them. Yes, it is amazing how they do it but I just never dreamed of being one. I just thought that following a daily routine of doing household chores and doing wifely duties was boring and was definitely NOT for me. But little did I know that my perspective on being a housewife will be altered in the near future. 


So, I read this book by Sophie Kinsella called The Undomestic Goddess. It was the first Chick Lit Romance novel that I've ever read and I've been in love with Sophie Kinsella ever since but this entry is not about my love for the author but rather for the realization that hit me when I finally re-read the book. I am a newly married twenty something with hopes and dreams but despite all that I am still a housewife. Why? Because I work from home and it's because of that why I can still do everything from chores to my hobbies and so on. You can say that I am somewhat different from heroine of the novel named Samantha Sweeting, who is twenty nine years old and is working as a lawyer in a swanky law firm which she intends on being a partner of. She lives in a fast paced world where she spends most of her time, relentlessly working her way to the top. Due to this she has forgotten what having a normal life is like and to be honest, she's never had one anyway. She doesn't know what a break is or even a vacation. She's the ideal career woman, empowering, domineering and knows her way with everything complicated and yet ignorant with everything simplistic. Her life seems to be going great especially when she finds out that she has achieved her biggest goal — she has become a partner at Carter Spink. Unfortunately, the joy is short-lived. Sam finds some papers buried on her desk that she apparently forgot to file — and that little mistake has cost one of their clients fifty million pounds. n a panic, Sam rushes out of the office, takes a train, and ends up in a small suburb of London, lost and terrified. She ends up on the doorstep of Trish and Eddie Geiger, who mistake her for a housekeeper come to apply for a job. Wanting only a place to crash for the night and to get her head in order, Sam unwittingly takes the job. When she finds out that she no longer has a career at Carter Spink, she decides to stick it out at the Geigers for a while. The problem? She doesn’t know how to cook or clean. And though Trish and Eddie are easy to fool, the hot gardener isn’t so gullible. In the end, the gardener falls for her and she ends up living a simple life - a life that she never expected to have - never in a million years. However, despite the book being believable, there were still some aspects that we rather difficult to fathom like the fact that a high-powered lawyer would blunder her way into a job as a housekeeper and even harder to believe that a woman who couldn't boil an egg learns how to cook gourmet meals in only a few weeks. However, if you don’t take the story too seriously, you won’t mind these unrealistic bits and instead focus on the great characters and funny situations.


I know that the book was purely fiction but if she can make the readers believe that a person who has never fried an egg her whole life can end up becoming a domestic diva then I guess it's possible in real life too. I remember not knowing any chore at all. At that time, I was naive and I disliked household chores. As much as possible, I did my best to stay away from them but I am a woman after all which is why at some, I needed to learn some too. I started from easy chores like washing the dishes or cooking rice then I ended up learning more as I get older. Now, I am doing things that I never thought I'd be doing ever! I may not yet be a perfect housewife but I am on my way there. Somehow if I continue to persevere then I might become one but for now, I must do what I have to do and hope for the best. How about you? What kind of a housewife are you?

 Thank you, Sophie Kinsella for making me realize that I was once an undomestic goddess too!

 Right on! I want to be a Domestic Diva too! Where do I sign up?

It isn't exactly glamorous but every housewife tries to find glamor in everything that they do. Not mention to reach the seemingly elusive goal to perfection that all housewives strive to get. I'm not there yet. I'm still in my experimental stage. In short, I am still Mrs. Imperfect.

Movie Review: Letters To Juliet

Do you believe in true love? How far would you go to find your first true love? Would you know if it was him or her right there then or would you wait for 50 years just to realize that he or she was the one that got away? We all want to believe that true love exists out there. In fact, we all want to have one that we don't end up losing. We all end up denying it in the end because we think that true love is just a word of mouth or a cliche that's definitely overrated. However, there are still many hopeless romantics out there that feel the same way that I do. I may be a skeptic when it comes to love at first sight or even destiny but I still want to believe that true love exists. I am hanging on to my faith despite the signs around me that tell me it doesn't. 

***CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT!***

In the movie, Letters To Juliet, Amanda Seyfried plays the role of Sophie who works as a fact checker for a New Yorker magazine. She is engaged to her workaholic chef boyfriend named Victor who invites her to go on a pre-honeymoon trip to Verona, Italy for a week. But as her boyfriend quickly turns their supposed to be pre-honeymoon trip into a business trip by spending his time researching about things related to his soon to open restaurant, Sophie decides to just do things on her own. The first place that she goes to is Casa La Guilleta (Juliet's House) which to her surprise was a popular tourist spot especially for men and women who want to write to Juliet to seek love advice. She later finds out that a group of women collects the love letters addressed to Juliet and writes back to all the people who wrote to her. At first, Sophie thinks of simply writing about the situation and thus, not really getting involved with the process but eventually, destiny stirs her elsewhere. After another day with the so called secretaries of Juliet, she finds herself drawn to a single letter that was written 50 years ago by an English woman named Claire. She wrote a letter asking whether she should have stayed with her first true love, Lorenzo or not. Sohpie felt compelled to write back to Claire even if she knew that she might not be able to get it anyway. Luckily, she did and so, Claire decides to travel to Verona, Italy with her grandson, Charlie, to find her long lost Lorenzo. 


Arriving in Verona, Charlie seeks the secretaries of Juliet to confront the person who made his grandmother go on a wild goose chase. Charlie then finds out that Sophie wrote the letter to his grandmother and they immediately dislike each other after that. Charlie disapproves of her grandmother looking for Lorenzo because he is a realist and he doesn't believe in true love. To him trying to find his grandmother's first true love is simply absurd and a total waste of their time. As Charlie is about to leave with Claire, Sophie decides to make her presence known and introduces herself. She then invites them to dinner so that Claire could meet the rest of the secretaries of Juliet. After that, Claire decides to rest and start looking for Lorenzo the next day. Curious, Sophie decides to tag along. Claire didn't seem to mind her being around but Charlie did and it both made her and him uneasy. As the movie progressed, the three of them scour the different places in Verona where supposedly different Lorenzo Bartollinis live. Only Claire knew who he was and what he looked like but Charlie and Sophie still did their best to keep up. Many things happened in their journeys and as Sophie continued to spend more time with Claire and Charlie, she realizes how much she doesn't miss Victor. Victor, on the hand, seems to be enjoying himself while attending some wine auctions in a different place in Italy, without even bothering to send a message or call his beloved. Sophie realizes that's something wrong and things get even more complicated as she gets involved with Charlie. 


On the last day of their search, Claire decides to visit the vineyard that she and Lorenzo went to 50 years ago. She then sees a young man there who looked exactly like her Lorenzo. She asks Charlie to stop the car and as they all descended from the car, they asked him if he knew Lorenzo Bartollini. Claire knew she has found the one but at the last moment, gets scared and decides to go back inside the car but as she hears a horse approaching, she turns around and sees a dashing old man approaching to meet her. She knew it was him. He knew it was her. After long moments of staring at each other and saying sweet things to each other, they decide to embrace. Charlie and Sophie smile as Claire has finally found her long lost love. Sadly, it also meant that Sophie had to go. She says goodbye to Claire, Charlie and Lorenzo and goes back to her hotel in Verona where Victor is waiting for her. After she left, Charlie felt like she needed to tell her how he felt and decides to follow her to Verona only to see her locked in an embrace with Victor. He turns his back and leaves. As they say, love moves in mysterious ways and so it did for Sophie and Charlie. I guess it just never really moved fast enough for them to realize that they were destined for each other. 


I cried as I watched this movie for I felt something powerful for Claire and Lorenzo. I can't imagine them holding on to something that has been there for 50 years without even knowing what the future holds for them. How can they have had such strong blind faith in what they felt? The idea of finding your first love after 50 years seems unrealistic, yes, but what's even more unbelievable is the fact that in the end, no matter how long they've been apart, their love has stayed strong. Honestly, even I don't know if I can have a love that can last that long. I am not perfect and I am uncertain about the things that might happen in the future. All I know is what I feel now. I hope that it will stay that way forever. Sophie is right though. What If may only be a question but such powerful words can definitely haunt you forever. I would recommend this movie to anybody who enjoys watching romantic movies whether together with their partner or not. May this movie become an inspiration to us all. I am not be Juliet and my partner may not actually be my Romeo but it doesn't always have to work that way. We must always bear in mind that to the heart, nothing else matters. As long as it beats for the one, it will beat only him or for her alone. Love knows no boundaries. It is a powerful ageless feeling that we all feel with everyone but we only strongly feel for the right one. So, if you haven't found the right one yet then don't come looking for him or for her. As they say, true love waits and if you are willing to do so then it will come to you somehow...

 It was sad that I never got to watch this movie in a theater but that's okay. It would have been embarrassing to have cried many times while watching the film there. Besides, my partner wouldn't have enjoyed it anyway.

 Now, I am curious if there truly is a place where all those people post letters addressed to Juliet and I wonder if the secretaries of Juliet are real. What an interesting thought!

If Claire found her Lorenzo after 50 years and Sophie found her Charlie through destiny then it's possible for anybody to find their one true love. Just wait and see. You will find him or her somehow. Hang in there!~

Movie Review: The Back Up Plan

Planning - Most people love planning so much that everything in their lives are totally scheduled. Some people have a list of things to do, when to do them, what to buy, where to go, everything! I wonder how you would feel if one day you realize that you already have everything figured out and then something unexpected comes along and totally screws up with your plan? Wouldn't that just drive you crazy? 

***CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT!***

Well, in the movie, The Back Up Plan, Jennifer Lopez stars as Zoe, a single woman who owns a pet shop, who just can't seem to find a good man to be with her forever. Since she's an orphan and the only family that she has is her grandmother, she realizes that she needs to have a family of her own soon but with her standards, it was tougher than she thought. After thinking it through, she realizes that she doesn't need a man to give her a family, she just needs a sperm donor to give her a baby. She decides to be artificially inseminated. That rainy day while waiting for a cab outside the hospital, she accidentally meets Stan, a businessman who has a farm and they argue over who gets to stay in the cab. In the end, nobody won and they both ended up riding on the subway train instead. They thought they'd never see each other again but they did after Zoe sees him selling cheese at a nearby food bazaar. Stan then introduces himself to the mysterious Zoe but despite his advances, Zoe seems adamant not to let her guards down. Through a friend named Mona, Stan got her number and kept calling her eversince. He was persistent and didn't know when to quit so Zoe decided to give him a chance. 


She decided that since she isn't sure if the artifical insemination actually worked, she figured while waiting, she should date Stan for a while. That night before going on a date, she takes a pregnancy test just to make sure of what's to come. Sadly, she wasn't able to see the results until later since her dog, Nats, decided to keep the test all to himself. So, they went on a date which turned into a disaster but they ended up kissing each other in front of her New York apartment which didn't sound so bad. When she gets home, she finds out she's been knocked up. She panics after realizing that things are going way too fast and it seems that her back up plan is starting to fall apart. What's more complicated is the fact that she has let Stan get through her heart. As she now thinks of a way how to make things work, Zoe decides to tell Stan the truth.


On their next date, Stan invites Zoe to his farm and as they spent some time with each other there, they had a steamy moment which lead them to having sex. Zoe never really planned on that but it happened and now, she has to tell him the truth which she did. Naturally, Stan didn't take it seriously. Zoe decided to take off at the crack of dawn to cool off. They don't see each other for a couple of days but still ended up being together. More pressure goes to Stan as he realizes that Zoe is carrying twins. He realizes how much he should work harder now and that his plans for his life have to change too. He decides to quit night school and just get another job while Zoe still tends to the pet store. Apparently, things get way out of hand and they end up breaking it off with each other. But when Zoe's grandmother decides to get married to her long time fiance, Zoe decides that Stan is the one. On her day of labor, she gets to him and tells him how she feels. He was infuriated at first because he never really planned on leaving, he just hated that fact that Zoe always thought that he would abandon them somehow. 


Like in all good stories, there was a happy ending for almost everyone in this movie. It wasn't exactly one of the best movies of Jennifer Lopez but it definitely was an eye-opener. It just shows that sometimes no matter how hard you plan your life, sometimes fate has a few little things that it has on it's sleeve and sometimes you may not like these things but in the end, you will learn to accept all of them. Not everything needs to be planned. I guess sometimes it's more fun to be spontaneous. Just like what they always say, life is too short to waste on worries and regrets. Take risks and be more adventurous. That's the only way you can say that you lived an enjoyable life. Always playing safe is boring. I have learned that lesson a long time ago and I am still applying that lesson to my life now. Everything might not be planned in my life now but I know that things will fall into place in the future somehow. I just need to learn to adapt and simply have faith.

How would you feel if your girlfriend was artificially inseminated and was pregnant before you guys met? How would you feel if you knew exactly what you wanted to do with your life and suddenly fate throws something unexpected in front of you? Would you learn to adapt and accept the changes or would you just walk away and start all over again?

Movie Review: When In Rome

Have you ever wished for something in a wishing well or fountain before? Did you get what you wished for afterwards or did nothing happen then? We all want to believe in the power of wishes and how strongly they can change our lives forever. They say in Rome, Italy, there is a fountain called a Fountain of Love. It is a place where people can throw their coins in after thinking of a wish that their hearts truly desire. Nobody knows if there is any truth in this but people still keep on believing it.

***CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT!***

In the movie, When In Rome, Kristen Bell stars as Beth, a young but successful workaholic curator who can't seem to find time for love. Her life changes when she takes a trip to Rome, Italy for her younger sister's wedding. There she meets Nick played by Josh Duhamel, her brother in law's college friend and best man, who helps her through difficult situations while in the wedding. Beth thinks that maybe Nick is interested in her but when she tries to meet him outside the church, she realizes that he was seeing someone else. Feeling betrayed, she decides to drink some wine while wadding into the Fountain of Love. Out of bitterness, she decides to take 5 different coins from the fountain to prove her theory that whoever wishes in that fountain will never truly find love. She goes back to America the next day not knowing what she had done.

Back in America, she goes back to work and suddenly realizes that 4 strange men seem to know her when she has no idea who they are and where they came from. She also receives calls from Nick who was interested in seeing her again some other time. Not yet realizing what she had done, she decides to call her younger sister, who was living in Italy. She then explains to her that she needs to return the coins back to the Fountain of Love in order for the spell to be broken. She tries to avoid them all after that. Nick decides to ask her out again on a date but things don't go well on their planned date, they decide to just go back to the museum and talk. After an intimate moment together, they head back to Nick's place, only for her to find out that Nick plays poker and that perhaps he is also one of the men charmed by her spell. She decides to leave him without explaining, leaving Nick wondering why.

On the day of the gala, her younger sister calls her and tells her of another way to break the spell. All she has to do is to simply return the coins to their respective owners and she will be rid of them forever. She calls on her unwanted suitors and as she was about to give the coins, she realizes that her assistant had taken them to the gala. She decides to bring the four men with her to the gala and give them their coins there. Upon returning their coins, their memories returned to them and they too realized what had happened. With the love spell gone, Beth only has one coin left to return. It was Nick's chip but as she was about to do so, one of her unwanted suitors, the magician, decides to use it as a prop for his disappearing magic trick. As she tries to get it from him, it rolls to the ground only to find Nick. With the chip returned to Nick and with him still in love with her, she realizes that its all for real.

However on their wedding day in Rome, her unwanted magician suitor reveals to her that he accidentally gave her the wrong chip that day and that he still had the original piece that he wanted to return to her. Right there and then, Beth started to doubt Nick's love for her once again. As they were about to say their "I do's", Beth decides to say no and leave Nick hanging at the altar. She revisits the Fountain of Love where she originally picked up the coins and climbs in like before. Nick appears and climbs into the fountain. He claims that he didn't throw a chip into the fountain at all. He drops the poker chip in the water and in the background, you can see and hear the priest yelling "Free of temptation!". From that moment, Beth finally believes Nick and kisses him.

We all can find true love somehow. One way or another. We don't need to wish on a wishing well or on a fountain of love. All we have to do is to keep on believing. This movie definitely had funny moments. The unwanted suitors definitely were entertaining. Kristen Bell was a vision in this film and while Josh Duhamel may have been a bit forgettable, he is still had his moments. This wasn't exactly a perfect movie to watch however it was still entertaining.

 What is it with these European cities and their tales of love and passion? Clearly, I have never been to Europe so I can never attest to it's authenticity however majority says it's true. I guess Europe is a place to find love, passion and inspiration...

Finally, they seal their love with a kiss. What's even more romantic was they did it while standing in the Fountain of Love, never minding what others would say and that others would look. *SIGH* Isn't that just dreamy?