 | | | | | |
| LAPDANCE LARRY |
| SEVENTIES SIMON |
| PHOTOGRAPHY |
| COMIC ART |
| INTERVIEWS |
| Sub-menu 1.2.1.1 |
| FESTIVALS |
| EXHIBITIONS |
The Vow
A film about a guy, Leo (Channing Tatum), trying to make his amnesiac wife, Paige (Rachel McAdams), fall in love with him again after a horrific car accident has ‘weepy’ written all over it. This is perfect warm and fuzzy Valentines Day fare and why it wasn't released on Valentines Day alongside (or indeed instead of) This Means War remains a mystery. But it should be so much more affecting than it is given the subject matter. It is the single biggest judgment against this film that it failed to make me cry - and I am a movie crier!
Its core problem is its stereotypical characters and there is none more so than that played by Tatum. Leo is a ‘mere male’ who falls into all the traps a textbook, unthinking stereotypical male would, despite the pitfalls being obvious to anyone with half a brain and the slightest sense of empathy. Who, for instance, would bring their amnesiac wife, who doesn't even remember them, home from the hospital to a noisy party of forgotten friends? That is seriously the dumbest, most insensitive idea in the history of dumb, insensitive ideas. Not a great way to rekindle your marriage! And such episodes become tiresome and excruciating to watch. Admittedly he does belatedly learn from his mistakes. It also doesn't help that Tatum has more chemistry with his workmate (Tatiana Maslany) than he does with Rachel McAdams who is supposed to be his besotted soul mate.
It is, however, a nice performance from McAdams (she oh-so-nearly made me cry); she's effectively playing two parts and she keeps her two characters nicely and succinctly separate. Of course, she only has to smile sweetly with those puppy dog eyes and I go to jelly.
It's not an entirely horrible film but it largely falls wide of the sentimental marks that would have you bawling by the end.
Stuart Jamieson
www.thevow-movie.com
|
|
| also featured |
| CURRENT COMPETITIONS! Get the Gringo Competition Thanks to Icon Movies, we have ten in-season double passes to give away to Get the Gringo! Read more >> The Women in Black Administering the sale of a deceased estate for a law firm, widower
Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) discovers a town where the children are
dropping like flies seemingly at the ghostly hands of a local vengeful
spirit - the woman of the title. Is it safe yet? After a mixed season last year of too many films that had a social agenda, is it safe now to go back to the cinema for nothing more than just a good time? Read more >> The Avengers After years on the outer, never quite making the big time, Buffyverse creator and Toy Story scribe, Joss Whedon, has finally arrived. Read more >> Mirror Mirror Funny how time and again movies with similar themes or stories seem to hit the cinema around the same time, think Deep Impact/Armageddon or even Naked Lunch/Barton Fink, and it's happening again this year with (of all things) Snow White. Read more >> American Pie: Reunion vs. Battleship In a titanic struggle to capture the hearts, minds and disposable incomes of an ever-younger audience, two films line up to do battle for the crown in the great popcorn war of 2012. Read more >> 21 Jump Street Transforming a popular TV show into a mainstream movie is very seldom a successful endeavour. Read more >> John Carter The votes are in and the result is clear: Andrew Stanton is the dud director of Pixar. Read more >> The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel There is a common complaint among older moviegoers that the majority of releases today are tailored to a specific demographic and their group gets short shift. Read more >> Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close As a clear sufferer of Asperger Syndrome, Oskar (Thomas Horn) is not short of an anxiety or two or a measure of compulsiveness. Read more >> Contraband Contraband is a continuing response to the question of where does a superstar film career go when the matinee idol good looks start to fade? Read more >> |
 |
| Stay up to date with modmove news |
| about modmove |
| What to know how we got started? Read more >> |
| read the modmove blog |
| Check out all the random stuff that didn't make it to the website! Read more >> |
| contact Us |
| If you have any queries or if you would like more information about modmove, we would love to hear from you! Read more >> |
| join our mailing list |
| subscribe to the mailing list and receive the modmove newsletter. |
| search |
| search modmove for previous news and reviews. |
Privacy Notice | Contact Us | Site Map | Copyright © 2009 modmove.com | Entertainment and Popular Culture in Review at modmove.com