Movies Opening This Week: Seyfried Fatigue

In case you haven't noticed, Amanda Seyfried has appeared 3 times this year so far, and it doesn't look like she's stopping any time soon. You have to hand it to her though, she's trying to appeal to a broad audience. First, the Nicolas Sparks audience in Dear John, then the Academy of Arts and Sciences in the risque Chloe, and now it's...

Letters to Juliet
As is the tradition for romantic comedy trailers, the trailer spoils the whole movie, which by the 35 second mark, became quite predictable anyway.

The setup starts out somewhat unique enough: Amanda Seyfried's character Sophia goes to Verona, Italy to volunteer in some program that responds to letters posted on a wall that is supposed to be symbolical of the famous Shakespearean character Juliet. In Indiana Jones fashion, she uncovers a secret that's been buried for more than 50 years, and she decides to respond to it. The reply definitely comes back to its elderly sender, and thus the search begins.

Watched the trailer? Regretting it? Well, I told you, it spoils the whole movie. If you're interested in yet another Seyfried vehicle, you should not have watched it (but then I suspect you'll watch the whole movie anyway).

Personally, I'm getting tired of Amanda Seyfried's face at this point, only because she's a bit too... distinct-looking. Wow, never thought I'd get tired of an actress because of this usually positive quality.

Oh, and obviously a Taylor Swift song is never a good sign for "male moviegoer who has to be forced to come with girlfriend". You know the drill. That said, the movie at least doesn't look as bad as The Last Song. The sight of Miley is definitely so much worse than Amanda Seyfried by a hundredfold.

If you're sick and tired of white blondes having all the fun, you could always go for something a bit more... "realistic".

Just Wright
Queen Latifah, in a bit of somewhat inspired casting, is definitely muscular enough to look like a convincing physical therapist. Now, maybe this movie also spills too much of itself to actually be anything particularly worth the price of admission, but at least the trailer reveals that the movie isn't looking as bad as I thought it would be.

Basically, Queen Latifah's character Leslie Wright wants to find a man but she's having difficulty pretending to be a slut because it "just isn't her style". Apparently, the last man she went on a date with was also an NBA star and seizing the moment, Wright's friend marries NBA star. So yeah, a few moments after that basketball star gets injured and he needs to be in top shape by the finals. Instead of a slutty temptress of a physical trainer, they hire, who else but, Queen Latifah!

So yeah, you know what happens next, what with all that time together.

I guess the only movie that remotely seems watchable is left for Russell Crowe and frequent collaborator Ridley Scott, in Gladiator 2!

Robin Hood
I mean... yeah.

Robin Hood won't be the same hero of the poor flocked in green, but a man color-corrected to grayscale. Of course, the premise remains the same: he steals from the rich and gives to the poor, but this time, he also has a lot of comrades to do the job with him.

Me, I'm just thankful that Russell Crowe wasn't paired with a significantly younger woman, but Cate Blanchett. And yet, the pairing still looks and feels weird.

Whatever the case, this epic-looking film promises a lot of bow and arrow action, but the odds won't be as absurd as Avatar's, where bow and arrow eliminates robots, guns and artillery. And in case you noticed, telephones haven't been invented yet, so that's one less weapon for Crowe. (I'm sorry, I had to.)