After the comparative box office failure of Prince Caspian, Disney unceremoniously dumped the franchise and allowed 20th Century Fox to pick it up instead. Unfortunately it may not have been the wisest move, considering that the latest film in the series has been even more underwhelming in terms of its grosses. And I can see why; much like the first two films, Dawn Treader is absolutely unremarkable in every way. It's reasonably entertaining and passes the time well enough but everything about it seems unoriginal and derivative of any other fantasy film. Add in some sledgehammer-subtle Christian allegories and possibly the single most obnoxious child character I've ever seen in a film (in the form of the Pevensie children's cousin Eustace), and I think it's fair to say that I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again.
VERDICT: A Christmas TV time-killer, nothing more.
A romantic comedy-drama loosely inspired by the true story of a pharmaceutical rep working for Pfizer in the mid-90s, Ed Zwick's latest film features Jake Gyllenhaal as the lady-killer drug rep in question and Anne Hathaway as the beautiful, free-spirited artist he falls for. So far, so generic. What sets this apart from the average rom-com is the fact that Hathaway's character suffers from early onset Parkinson's disease, the effects of which have a huge impact upon their relationship.
I really enjoyed Love and Other Drugs. It's genuinely funny, the acting is excellent (Hathaway in particular), and as someone who has personally had family members afflicted by Parkinson's and similar degenerative diseases, the more serious moments of the film hit home quite hard for me. At the end of the day, despite the standard romantic comedy plot structure, I thought this was among the better films of 2010.
VERDICT: Entertaining and moving, a very good film.
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