No Strings Attached
--- Sarah Luo
Movie: No Strings Attached
Director: Ivan Reitman
Rating: R
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Natalie Portman
It’s not possible to just be friends with a person of the opposite sex. There’s just no way you can be best friends without developing emotional or romantic feelings for him/her. Maybe it’s not quite that strict; maybe you can be best friends with a person of the opposite sex, but you can’t be best friends and have sex without developing romantic feelings for him/her. In other words, friends with benefits can’t stay friends for long. No Strings Attached, starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, illustrate the complex relationship involved with being friends with benefits.
Although the movie itself isn’t a classic date movie, it’s still cute enough that you can watch it on a date. The image of a romantic comedy is exactly what No Strings Attached encompasses. Besides the funny incidents that Kutcher’s character gets himself into and Portman’s hilarious fear of commitment, there are small moments when the emotional strain is very tense.
Emma (Portman) and Adam (Kutcher) first meet at a summer camp when they’re in middle school. Years later, they meet again at a college frat party and realize that they’ve both changed quite a bit. A year after college, they meet yet again, finally beginning their complex relationship. Emma is now a doctor finishing her residency while Adam is a writer for a high school reality TV show. Through many random and fate-like incidents, Adam and Emma eventually get closer to each other and ultimately become friends with benefits.
The main conflict of this movie is that Adam has feelings for Emma, but she’s afraid to get emotionally attached to him because she doesn’t want to get hurt. Throughout the movie, Adam tries everything to get Emma to fall for him and even to the end, the audience is convinced that Emma refuses to budge, but like I said, it’s impossible to not develop romantic feelings for your sex buddy.
No Strings Attached is definitely a movie worth watching, but think twice before you go watch it on a date. The sexual scenes are a bit much, especially if you’re not quite as comfortable with your date yet and it’s definitely a great way to make things super awkward. Otherwise, the movie is fantastic for both guys and girls alike. Guys can learn some good dating strategies and for girls, there’s a fantastic butt shot of Ashton Kutcher. No Strings Attached is a fresh perspective on the friends with benefits relationship and it’s also a good comedy accompanied by a cute romance plot.
Celebrity Spotlight: Alex Pettyfer
--- Lena Lam
Celebrity: Alexander Pettyfer
Birthdate: April 10, 1990 (Age: 20)
Birthplace: Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England
Years Active: 2005-Present
The son of actor Richard Pettyfer and former model Lee Ireland, Alex is a great example of someone who not only followed in his father’s footsteps, but also in his mother’s as well. As a child, he modeled for the Gap (after reportedly meeting Ralph Lauren in a New York City toy store), and he also did commercials and advertisements. Later, he starred in school plays, such as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (he played the role of Willy Wonka).
In 2005, Alex stopped modeling in order to begin playing the main character Tom Brown in the British television film “Tom Brown’s Schooldays.” A year later, he appeared as 14-year-old MI6 spy Alex Rider in “Stormbreaker.” His portrayal of the character who shares his name was sincere, and made up for the other goofy characters.
Alex went on to star in the movies Wild Child (2008) and Tormented (2009). He returned to modeling in 2007, appearing in ad campaigns for Burberry in 2008 and 2009. Alex’s upcoming movies are “I Am Number Four” and “Beastly,” which will be released on February 18th and March 4th this year, respectively. The former is a sci-fi action adventure film while the latter is “Beauty and the Beast” with a modern-day twist to it.
Some interesting tidbits:
He is currently dating “I Am Number Four” co-star Dianna Agron, who is also known as Quinn from “Glee.”
He has seven tattoos, which include a Celtic cross on his chest , as well as the initials of his ex-girlfriend and “Wild Child” co-star, Emma Roberts, on his wrist.
In 2010, he won a ShoWest Award for the category “Male Star of Tomorrow”; his “Beastly” co-star Vanessa Hudgens won the female counterpart award.
And yes, I know that Vanessa Hudgens’ name may discourage some of you from watching another potentially “High School Musical”-esque film, but if you’ve watched the trailer for “Beastly,” you will have noticed the following things:
(1) Neil Patrick Harris has the awesome role of Kyle’s (played by Alex) blind tutor.
(2) Alex Pettyfer’s head is shaved for most of the film. And yet, he still hasn’t lost the charisma that is present in the character’s answer to his own question: “Should you vote for me just because I’m the rich, popular, good-looking guy? Hell yeah.” (I should also point out here that Alex reportedly gained about 12 pounds of muscle for the role.)
Even if he didn’t have a cool accent or good looks, Alex would still be able to win people over with his quick smile (or grin), charm, and sweet personality. He was certainly welcome on the set of “Glee” when he accompanied Dianna there in 2010. Whether you’re into Disney “princessy” movies or action/spy movies, you should definitely keep your eye on this rising star.
TV Show Spotlight: Fairly Legal
--- Christy Lin
According to Dictionary.com, “mediation” is a noun that describes the “action in mediating between parties, as to effect an agreement or reconciliation,” or as I understand it (read: in stupid speech), “mediation” is someone hired and paid to be mom. It honestly doesn’t sound all that appealing to me. I mean, come on, shouldn’t we as adults be mature enough to figure shit out ourselves? Who the hell wants to be forced into settling an argument that has been deemed too trivial for court and involving parties too overdramatic to move on? Well, Kate Reed I suppose, and with a band leader like USA Network and band mates like White Collar to pull it along, mediation just became a rather entertaining career choice.
Overall, USA’s new television drama Fairly Legal isn’t bad. It’s definitely not as great as other original dramas, such as Burn Notice or last year’s Covert Affairs, but it does have its good qualities. First off, it faithfully follows in the footsteps of what I like to think of as the network’s “show style.” Basically, you take a career, in this case mediation, engage it with a little dry humor, a little romance, and then leave most of the seriousness intact. A couple shows will add action and explosions for the sake of the male demographic, but Fairly Legal doesn’t rely on that. It’s more about the emotional side of the spectrum. What you end up taking from the pilot episode is that protagonist Kate Reed (Sarah Shahi) solves problems, big problems, without any idea of how to deal with her own. Her father is dead, she’s sleeping with her ex, oh, and she’s living on a boat docked somewhere in a boatyard in the San Francisco Bay. I admit, the situation is slightly overdramatized, but holy schneikes have you seen her ex, I’d never let that man go! but there is a certain ease that comes with wanting to like Kate’s character. She just wants things to be fair and she’s not afraid to find the flaws in the system to make them so.
Unfortunately, the pilot did not have me totally convinced that this is going to be a sure fire hit. Like the show’s take on the legal system, it has flaws. One of my biggest beefs with it is that everything pretty much gets laid out flat for you. There is hardly any room left for character development after the first hour, and as far as I can see, there is not much of an underlying plot to progress with, which is what has made USA shows so successful before. I actually found that the one element I was most curious about was Kate’s relationship with Justin (Michael Trucco), her Assistant District Attorney ex-husband.
This all could be a huge blow to the potential success of this show if it is not resolved soon. There definitely needs to be some big plot points coming into play, or else this will all just turn into some cheesy west coast version of Gossip Girl. I am keeping my fingers crossed though. I’m hoping for something, because to be fair, I wouldn’t mind seeing Kate again, or Justin, or better yet, that guy on the boat who likes to surprise Kate every morning. Yeah, I’ll at least be watching a few more episodes in this season, and definitely praying for the best.
TV Show Spotlight: Supernatural
--- Angela Zhang
Supernatural is an American drama/horror television show that airs on The CW. It is currently in its sixth season and is still running strong with the support of a highly dedicated fanbase.
The show tells the tale of two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester. When we are introduced to them in the first season, the brothers are on a journey to find their father John, who had gone missing during a 'hunting' trip. However, they are no ordinary hunters; their job is to hunt down supernatural beings such as ghosts, demons, and every other thing imaginable (and unimaginable) that goes bump in the dark.
This is the premise for the first season of Supernatural. As the seasons roll on, the plot becomes beautifully complex and intricate, with thrilling twists and turns that force the brothers to not only face monsters from legend and lore, but the monsters within themselves (sometimes quite literally).
I'm being a little vague on the storyline because if I go any deeper, there will be spoilers abound. So just give it a chance! You may like what you see, especially because Sam (played by Jared Padalecki) and Dean (played by Jensen Ackles) are pretty damn fine, in my humble opinion. The chemistry between the actors is brilliant, the plot is awesome, and despite it being emotionally heavy at times, Supernatural knows when to take a step back for a breather. The writers are tuned in to the fandom and current and past pop culture, often cracking jokes in the show referring to things from the fans, such as referring to Sam as a 'moose' and using fandom terms such as 'slash'. There are also plenty of quirky guest characters, as well as some great recurring main characters who join the show later. Although I may be a bit biased since I am a fan, it stands to truth that I wouldn't be a fan if the show wasn't as great as it is. It may have a few flaws, but overall, it is a show worth checking out.
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