This off-beat comedy was my favorite film of the Newport Beach Film Festival and I wish this film the best in the future. Interviewing actor David Barrera, I was better able to understand the overall message of the movie that was not crossing the border and making it to America, but actually forgiveness and human understanding. The movie took a heavy topic (crossing the border) and used humor to make it more relatable. Both main actors, Mando Alvarado and Michael Ray Escamilla were at the screening. Chatting with them I was able to learn both their backgrounds, which are in improvisation, which explains the comfortable acting and reacting in the film. I really believed the characters were cousins and I felt like I was on this journey with the characters.

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This movie is about sacrifice, and it’s so refreshing to watch a complex movie with such a simple plot. Clint Eastwood plays the character of the angry, racist veteran Walt Kowalski flawlessly. Walt loses his wife and is left all alone in a predominantly Asian/African-American neighborhood. Walt is extremely racist and sees all Asian people as the “savages” he fought in the Vietnam War. He is a kind man stuck in the body of a bitter veteran. The only person who can bring him outside of himself is his next door neighbor, Thao, who Walt calls “Toad.” The kindness of his neighbors and the horrible attitude of his own family help Walt to realize that holding onto unrealistic prejudice only poisons his own life. The way in which Walt transforms as a person through the film is truly inspiring. I definitely recommend this movie because aside from all the hype it’s a movie that will make you laugh, cry, become angry, and become hopeful all at once. Definitely SEE IT because Fandango.com users gave it a Must GO.

Wanna look like Isla Fisher in Confessions of A Shopaholic? All you need is some Gucci, Valentino with a dash of Burberry and Marni and there you go, fabulosity. Thus, this weeks’ THE POP SHOP is inspired by the movie, Confessions of a Shopaholic (read our review here.) In lieu of the movie, I am [...]

When I saw the previews for this movie, I’m not going lie, I was super excited to see another romantic comedy with Kate Hudson. Unfortunately, after this I left the theater wanting to re-watch “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” The movie centers around Liv (Kate Hudson) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) who are childhood friends who have both dreamed of having June weddings at the Plaza Hotel in New York. At age 26, both are somehow engaged at the same time and decide on two different dates in June, but when one is forced to change her date, the real claws come out. The pranks they play on each other are classic, like extra tanning oil or blue in the hair dye, which is pretty hilarious. Unfortunately, I knew all these parts were coming because they were in the previews. I agree very much with Betsey Sharkey of the LA Times who says the movie, “…keeps searching for a heart, but never quite finds it, and the movie loses its way as a result.” The film is funny at times, but as a whole I would recommend DITCHING it.

“Dress: Zac Posen. Belt: Todd Oldham Vintage. Bag: Gucci,” begins my favorite film of ’09. Rebecca Bloomwood (played by Isla Fisher) enters the scene and immediately commands the attention of the audience with her over-the-top outfit and bubbly personality. Isla Fisher played the part of Rebecca with such comedic ease that I didn’t want the movie to end. Rebecca Bloomwood loves to uncontrollably shop and will do anything to get a Gucci sweater at 50% off. But, alas, she is swimming in debt (who can’t relate to that) because of her overspending. There is not a single sample sale in New York that Rebecca does not got to. Even when she’s in Shopaholics Anonymous she leaves the meeting early to go to a sample sale. She has always dreamed of writing for a fashion magazine, but she has no way to get her foot in the door until she gets an interview for a savings magazine, which is so not her life. However, she excels at her job and writes a column that relates shoe shopping to investing and gains overnight celebrity status.

Deal of the Week for Guys

Victor Osborne Bowler Hat, $88.

Deal of the Week for Girls

Cheap Monday Leather Skirt, $45.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” was one of the longest movies I have ever seen, and no boat sunk so it was really not worth it! The movie is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born old and gets younger with age. Brad Pitt surprised me in the movie because he really held his own opposite Cate Blanchett, who is by the far the best actress of our generation. He discovers many different, interesting characters along the way but still doesn’t have the power to stop time to be with the woman he loves. My favorite character in the film was played by Taraji P. Henson, who was Brad Pitt’s mother. Throughout the film she is extremely kind and never let Benjamin feel like an outsider. The cinematography of the film is breathtaking and it deserves being nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. However, I would love the movie if it was half the length. I recommend renting it because you can have an intermission and I promise you will enjoy it way more that way. I say RENT IT.