Reign Over Me and Blades of Glory

I have to admit that I have been watching films lately for the purpose of entertainment, no interpretation needed, just sheer enjoyment. This week we watched two interesting films: Reign Over Me and Blades of Glory.

Reign Over Me

Plot Summary provided in yahoo movies:

Former college roomates Charlie Fineman and Alan Johnson meet up again by chance on a Manhattan street corner. Five years after losing his family on 9/11, Charlie--once a successful dentist--has retreated from his life, and Alan is stunned to see the changes in his formerly gregarious friend. At the same time, Alan--who should be enjoying his beautiful wife, children and career--is overwhelmed by his responsibilities. Their rekindled relationship becomes a lifeline for the two men, who are both in need of a trusted friend at this pivotal moment in their lives.

I've shunned away from 9/11 films mainly because it's about the 9/11 disaster and I really am not emotionally prepared for that kind of drama in the middle of the week. But then it's Adam Sandler. So I consented to watching the film as I have always been supportive of Adam Sandler films no matter how odd they are. I didn't expect, though, to see him do drama after Punch Drunk Love. Heard of it? I don't blame you if you haven't.

Adam was aptly casted for the role of Charlie. His playful character gave the movie some light comedy even on heart-piercing scenes. The camera angles were not really meant to highlight his expressions but one can tell by the way he delivered his lines that he had imbibed Charlie's predisposition. The movie tackled on the painful issue of letting go of the past and moving on. Something I wish some people I know should do when they get out of heartbreaking experiences *winks*


Blades of Glory

Plot Summary provided in yahoo movies:

Perhaps nowhere in sports is the marriage of athleticism and grace more evident than in the arena of world champion pairs figure skating--the lifts, the jumps, the routines. It⿿s an elegant world, a rarefied universe, a noble place populated by the crème de la crème of skating elite. Well, it used to be. When the macho, swaggering Chazz Michael Michaels takes to the rink, he is the rock star of the arena, leaving a trail of thrashed ice and shrieking female fans in his wake. The only competitor who can match Michaels⿿ scores is the driven former child prodigy, Jimmy MacElroy. Spotted as a youth executing triple lutzes on the frozen pond of an orphanage, MacElroy was whisked away to days of endless training, and now stands as the picture of poise, the personification of the highest ideals of the men⿿s sport. Michaels and MacElroy have met in finals rounds before, but their latest head-to-head at the World Championships--when they tie for first--is more than either one can bear, and their longstanding rivalry erupts into a no-holds-barred fight. The ensuing brawl not only sets fire to the World Championship⿿s helpless mascot, but lands both athletes in hot water: Chazz and Jimmy are called before the sport⿿s governing board, stripped of their gold medals and banned from the sport for life. Now, three-and-a-half years later, both men are still trying to find their way in a world without competitive skating. Michaels has devolved into a drunken party machine, skating as a costumed evil wizard in a kiddie ice review, and MacElroy has been banished to the shoe department of a chain sporting goods store. But then, inspiration (in the form of an over-friendly, former stalker of Jimmy⿿s) strikes, and a loophole emerges. To skate again, all Chazz and Jimmy have to do is set aside their long festering hatred of one another and join forces--as the first male/male figure skating pair to compete in the history of the sport.

Waaaaa! Will was his usual Saturday Night Live self! After Night at the Roxbury, and Superstar I have been watching him humiliate himself in films over and over again. I liken the guy to our very own Jimmy Santos except that he's a whole lot funnier and very much better in the field of acting. The movie is my second Jon Heder film and well, he's as effective as he was in The Benchwarmers.

Yes, it is hilarious with all those skating stunts and the funny coined term "boobie shake". Which just makes me think... how much enjoyment would I get had the movie been Filipino made... naaaaaah!