Valentine’s day. Some people cannot wait to spend the blessed holiday with their adorable sweetheart. Others, however, dread February 14 and stay inside all day, watching The Notebook and eating chocolate until they pass out. But whichever your fancy, Valentine’s Day strives to entertain you on this hallowed day of love. Written by Katherine Fugate (Army Wives), directed by Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries) and packed with over fifteen A-list actors this film has a lot to live up to. With a somewhat confusing plot, Valentine’s Day struggles at points to keep the audience on track with the many sub-plots. But somehow, it all works.
Valentine’s Day takes a nod from 2003’s Love Actually by showcasing multiple stories and then tying them together in the end. The plot goes from one person who is in love with someone who works with another person and so on. While on paper, Fugate’s script may seem confusing, Marshall has made the transitions between stories seamless and entertaining. The movie starts with love-sick Reed Bennett (Ashton Kutcher) proposing to his girlfriend (Jessica Alba). From the very beginning, the sickeningly cute scenes follow, one after the other, until someone’s heart gets broken and then healed by the person they were always meant to be with.
The wide range of actors that comprise the film reads like a who’s who of popular tabloids. With stars like Kathy Bates, Jennifer Garner, Jamie Foxx and Taylor Lautner, the movie appeals to almost all audiences. Each actor has their moment in the movie, whether it is Anne Hathaway’s phone calls, Taylor Swift’s ditzy teddy bear toting, or newcomer Carter Jenkins’ guitar scene. The array of actors allows all generations to be represented and all types of relationships to be showcased from elementary school puppy love to broken relationships to marriage in the golden years.
Valentine’s Day is a simple, romantic comedy and does not try to be anything else. With a few scenes of true emotion, some surprises that no one sees coming, and packed with “awww” moments, this movie is pure fun. By no means is it a classic, but Valentine’s Day is a movie anyone can enjoy, either with their loved one, or all alone.
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I enjoyed reading this review because I haven't seen the movie and have been debating on whether I should. From the looks of your review, I guess I should.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can list some of the other well known actors like Bradley Cooper, Patrick Dempsey, Eric Dane, Topher Grace, Queen Latifah, Julia Roberts, and Emma Roberts.
Maybe say how you thought Taylor Swift did acting in her first movie (I heard she didn't do too well).
I like this review, those were just some suggestions nothing that I feel is needed.
Your review on Valentine’s Day was really fun in a simple sort of way. It is definitely a review that I could see in something like a women’s fashion magazine because of its shorter length but also because of the way it’s written. You did not include an excess of information about the specific plot lines or character qualities and focus more on the basic premise of the movie. In this case I think that is a really good thing because for one, you mentioned that the movie is a bit confusing so it was good you didn’t bring that element to the review. Secondly, I think that is what the reader of a shorter, more informal review is looking for, nothing overly detailed.
ReplyDeleteYour conclusion wraps everything up quite nicely although a would perhaps like to see a little bit more of what you thought about the movie because it would feel more like a review with just a tad more criticism. I liked how you compared this movie’s structure to another movie and gave a hefty list of actors/writer/director so people know what to expect. Your syntax was a little bit confusing or off at times which kind of broke the flow of reading but that is really just a simple matter of rewording.
Hi Spike,
ReplyDeleteYour review was an easy read, which is nice. I could definitely see it in Seventeen Magazine or another woman's magazine. You do a great job of not revealing too much of the plot to us, but you still show us a little bit of what its all about. Very nice :-). I loved how you related the movie to Love Actually, because that is a movie that your audience would be familiar with.
Sometimes your style confused me. Your intro wasn't as strong grammatically as the rest of your paper, but you could definitely fix it by revising your paper. A lot of your sentences were choppy in the beginning of this piece, but you definitely picked it up throughout the rest of the paper. Overall, you did a nice job :-)
Spike,
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very good review of the movie. I really like how you didn’t start the review by talking about the movie, I like how you talked about the holiday in general to tie in the movie with the viewers. I really liked how you included the part about the director and writer and included their previous work. I thought that was an excellent detail.
It was somewhat contradictory when you ended your first paragraph saying the subplots could be confusing but then in the next paragraph you state the were seamless. I also would have like a few more details about the actual movie. Even though the movie may have a lot of subplots, a general plot analysis would have been helpful. Overall I thought it was a really good review and was not overrun with clichés and too many details.
Ashley Rawlings
This review is really fun to read. Your introduction is very strong and entices the reader to want to keep reading. You talk about the holiday first rather than the movie which is a very cool approach.
ReplyDeleteI like how you do not give away too much information either. You mention how yea someone falls in love while someone is having trouble with love but you do not tell us who and how it happens. This is really good. By first mentioning that the movie was confusing you did not go into much plot which was good because you do not want to be confusing.
You said that you liked but I would have like to see what you liked about it that would make you recommend seeing it.
Also, I already wrote my post about Dear John but I like how you wrote who directed this movie and who is was written by. Yes you included Nicholas Sparks your other review but maybe include who directed and what they have directed before which is why it may not have been a good movie in your eyes.
Overall good job!!
Natalie Davis
After reading your review I thought about how hard it would be to explain a movie with so many different plot lines, and you did a great job. Your conclusion really brings together your whole review. Just by reading the line " Valentine's Day is a simple, romantic comedy and does not try to be anything else" as a reader I know what you are talking about.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to see this movie but i think you could add more of a summary. Even though there are a lot of subplots I think you will be able to do it. One idea I had would be to list different questions about the plots such as, Will Ashton get the girl? Is Taylor Swift really in love? ect.
The only part of the review that I got confused at was when you said in the first paragraph the plot was confusing, then in the second one you say that that the director "made the transitions between stories seamless and entertaining". So just make sure to make it clear to your readers what things that the director did to make the story line less confusing.
Great Job again!
Becca
I liked how your review was short, sweet, and to the point. You gave enough of a tease so that people would know what the movie was about but you didn't go into a ton of detail which I liked.
ReplyDeleteI was kind of confused by the end of your first paragraph because you said the movie got confusing at times but you didn't go into depth about how exactly that happened. It's a valid point I just think it would be good to elaborate on it a little more.
I really like the way you ended the article. It gave the reader your opinion and did so in a very concise way. I like how the last sentence wraps it all up by referring to the first couple of sentences where you talk about some people loving valentines day and others spending it by themselves.
This review was great!!! I must admit, I felt overwhelmed by this movie just from the trailers on television, so I liked how you sort of walk the reader through the plot, and referenced Love Actually to help the reader visualize what this movie is going to be like. It's also good you noted that the film can appeal to a large audience, and acknowledge the fact that while it's probably not up for an Oscar, it's still worth the outrageous price of a movie ticket. Also listing the previous works of the writer and director gave the movie a bit of credibility in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteReally good review. I saw this movie and am writing a review on it too, so I liked your summarization of the plot, picking out some parts that were interesting to note but not giving away any endings. I like how you didn't list all the actors in the movie because that would have been really overwhelming to the reader.
ReplyDeleteI also liked your introduction, instead of just jumping right into the movie, you set it up with a situation the reader might have been in.
great job!
You did a good job of telling us whether the movie worked or not. I liked that it was honest. You say it's not a classic but it didn't try to be.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few spots that were confusing because you used somewhat awkward phrasing.
The intro works. The conclusion works. Overall, it's good. It does what a review should do.
Hey!
ReplyDeleteSo I really liked this review as well. I liked your acknowledgment that not everyone who sees this movie is a fan of Valentine's Day and all that it stands for, and despite that fact everyone will still be able to enjoy it.
I thought that your summary of the plot did a good job of not divulging too much of it while still giving the reader the basic premise.
Perhaps when you list some of the fifteen actors that are in it, include the ones that really sell the movie, I am not quite sure who Kathy Bates or Taylor Lautner are, although perhaps I should.
I liked your last sentence where you stated that it was not a instant classic, but it successfully served its purpose.
Spike,
ReplyDeleteYour description of the movie really matched the vibe I got from the previews. You made it sound like a fun movie which from your review and the trailers seems like that was the goal.
There were a couple rough patches with commas at first, so smooth those out.
I liked that you included what the director and writer have done before because that clues your audience in from the beginning as to what genre this should belong to.
You accomplished the goal of a truthful review that still gets the reader to take your advice which is in this case see the movie. Good job!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSpike, I think you did a really good job with this review and i liked it it was a little on the shorter side. I think it was good that you introduced the holiday first then tied it into the movie. I also liked how you touched upon Love Actually and its relation to that just to give an idea of what the movie like.
ReplyDeleteYou were very good in explaining how you really felt about the movie as well, showing that although it did have a confusing plot it all came together.
Dear Spike,
ReplyDeleteAgain, good review! I appreciate your honesty, your insight, and the fact that you realize and stress the fact that the hype surrounding a movie does not make the movie.
I like how you provide a lot of background information, like the director and the writer or the person who came up with the concept for the movie. You also leave a lot to the imagination about the movie which is nice.
The only thing is that it was confusing that you said in the first paragraph that “it all works,” but then later you make it sound like it was just way to cheesy. Think about that, but overall great first draft!
-Joanmarie
Good review! I like how you state in the first paragraph that Valentine’s Day is somewhat confusing but at the same time the plot works itself out in the end. Based on the number of actors in the movie, it does not surprise me that the plot may get a little hard to follow. You also do a good job of not plot summarizing but instead hitting the main points. From your review, I get just enough information to know who the key actors are, what it’s about, and what types of scenes to expect. In the final paragraph of the review, I like how you say that that movie is “pure fun” but at the same time not a classic romance story.
ReplyDeleteSpike,
ReplyDeleteI thought you did a great job with this review. I liked how you credited the writer and director for their creation of a movie that wound up a blockbuster. Also, you did well to mention actors (most of the ones in this film, there are so many!).
A suggestion would be to summarize less and review more. What worked? Did it meet/ exceed expectations?
Just something to think about, but overall great review!
Sincerely,
Carly
Spike,
ReplyDeleteThe length is great but if you're going to go with that you need to make it more clear.
The last sentence of the first paragraph set me up to learn more about why this is a let down. The rest sugar coats it though. I think this would be a lot stronger if you took a clear stance on how you feel about this film.
Hey Spike,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great review, I could definitely see it appear in People or Glamour where females are the target reader. I assumed based on your language and tone that it was for a female audience.
I really enjoyed the clever and funny one-liners you included in the review. Usually a casual tone is easy to read, but sometimes a bit dull. This was both casual and interesting! I particularly liked the part where you said it was a great movie for any age because of the different actors. Great job.
Same goes for the Dear John review. Definitely targets young readers and keeps it light yet it captured my attention.
The only suggestion I have is to include a little more plot summary in both reviews, but not much. Don't mess too much with something that's already really good!
~Natalie G.
Spike,
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very well written review--very concise and understandable and fun to read. I liked that you really put thought into what you were critiquing and clearly did some background work in deciding what parts of the work the director and script writer were responsible for, and then analyzing that work. I also enjoyed that it seemed to be a very honest review, in that you mentioned how it may be cheesy but it had other qualities that redeemed it. I liked knowing what set it apart from other movies.
I suppose my only critique is that only part of the plot was mentioned, which was probably for the best, depending on the publication. I've already seen the movie so I can't really look at the review objectively anymore, but I think if I were reading about the movie for the first time I might want to know what happened. But it was a really great review!
Emma L.
Hey, maybe its just me but I would have liked to see you expand more on your opinion again. I do like the cohesion of the article overall, but might have liked a character to track if their performance stood out with any significance.
ReplyDeleteDoes this movie take a cliche look at Valentines Day, or does it push a decent question, challenge, opinion? You tell me, I'm glad you experimented with two shorter pieces to see which is more effective and entertaining. Overall I enjoyed reading the two separate shorter pieces, so good looks.
Hey Spike,
ReplyDeleteGreat review. Your writing flows very well and you kept the reader interested with your choice of words. Valentine's Day is not my first choice at the movie theaters; however, I am pleased to know that it is not a "mushy, gushy" love story.
I liked how you informed your readers about the director, writers, and actors. Nice job relating the cast to previous roles. Maybe add a little bit about how the cast worked together-possibly the vibe between the characters in the movie? Overall fabulous review!