All Roads Lead to Rome doesn't have the romantic magic Italy deserves

Movie: All Roads Lead to Rome

Grade:   C-

Rating:   PG-13, 1 hour 30 minutes

In a Nutshell:    I LOVE Italy, which is the best thing about this rom-com.  Set to release in select theaters and On Demand in February, Sarah Jessica Parker carries this cheesy love story.  The last time we saw her in Europe, she was in Paris, starring in Sex and the City: The Movie with her glamorous outfits and co-stars. 

This time, she is racing around the Italian countryside after her delinquent teenager daughter.  She tells her daughter at the beginning of the movie how laid back and peaceful Italy is, yet the film doesn’t give us either one of those things.

This is no Under the Tuscan Sun , which I loved, although Raoul Bova, who romanced Diane Lane in that movie, is the love interest of Sarah Jessica Parker in this one.  By the way, here is a picture of me with Diane Lane!

  

Uplifting theme: 

• Love:  romantic and unconditional
• Patient parenting

Things I liked:

• Maggie puts up with a lot of terrible behavior from her daughter.  I admire her patience and determination.  I also admire how she is able to walk on Italian cobblestone streets in her high heels.
• You get to see some beautiful scenery in Italy, although not nearly enough.  Here are some pictures from my trip to Rome a couple of years ago.

    

           

Things I didn’t like:

• Summer (Rosie Day), Maggie’s daughter, is extremely unpleasant.  She’s such a bratty, ungrateful teenager and her hair looks like stringy cotton candy.  Writers Cindy Myers and Josh Appignanesi should have let us see some of her redeemable qualities so that we could have cared about her. 
• There is a lot of Italian spoken without subtitles.
• There is so much racing around that you don’t really have time to enjoy the gorgeous Italian landscape and sites.  The scenes in Rome are so short that you don’t get to enjoy that beautiful city either.
• The film is filled with constant bickering.  It’s supposed to be playful, but it’s mostly annoying.
• Tons of romantic clichés, such as “Separate rooms? I’m sorry. We only have one room left in the hotel for tonight.”

Interesting lines:

• “A woman takes what she wants when she wants it.” – Maggie

Tips for parents:   

• Some profanity.
• Lesbian innuendoes.
• Drugs and other illegal behavior.

By the way, if you get to go to Rome, be sure to toss a coin in the famous Trevi Fountain.  If you do, it means you will return.  I did it when I was in college and I DID return!

3 Days to Kill movie review

Movie Title:   3 Days to Kill

PG-13, 1 hour 40 minutes

Grade:   B

In a Nutshell:   I’ve seen this movie a million times.  Of course, I haven’t seen this actual movie before, but it sure felt like it.  It’s pretty formulaic: crusty old international spy…done.  Creepy looking villain who just won’t die…done.  Obligatory car chase scene…done.  Snarky teenage daughter who has a conflicted relationship with her absentee father…done.  Sexy vixen spy who always has a cigarette in her hand and who is too cool and hardened for her young age…done.  Absentee father trying to reconcile with his family….done.  Sweet revenge…done.

Don’t get me wrong.  If you love all that stuff (I do!), you’ll be entertained.  If you’re looking for a fresh story, move on.  Writer Luc Besson can pump out action-thrillers that will help you pass a fun hour and half with a bowl of popcorn, but not deep story lines that will spark a very long dinner conversation.  If you enjoyed his recent flicks The Transporter , Lockout and The Family , then you’ll get a kick out of this one as well.

Uplifting theme:   

• Unfortunately, many people wait until they hear the big “C” word (cancer) from their doctor to start prioritizing what’s truly important in life.  It always comes back to family.  The movie addresses the constant battle to balance work and family life. 
• The father rescues his daughter several times and she rescues him right back.

Things I liked:

•  I loved the daughter’s obnoxious ring tone I Love It (I Don't Care)   I hate that stupid song and thought it fit the bratty daughter’s personality perfectly.
• Cute twin girls.  I have a twin sister!
• The movie takes place in beautiful Paris.  You get to enjoy lots of views of the Eifel Tower.
• The comical relationship between Ethan and Mitat, the father of the twins, who he tries to get information from…professional and parenting information.  I've always enjoyed Kevin Costner who does a great job at playing the straight man with humor.
• Ethan’s wife is beautiful, played by the stunning Connie Nielsen.  She kind of reminds me of Diane Lane, whom I recently met in person!   Below is a terrible picture of me, but isn't she cute?

Things I didn’t like:

•  Kevin Costner’s gravelly voice.  He reminded me of Christian Bale’s voice in Batman's I Love It (I Don't Care) .
• There is a scene were the vixen CIA agent (Amber Heard) and Kevin Costner argue about goatees and young men right after he kills people.  It’s supposed to be witty and charming, but it’s not quite a successful effort.  3 more days on the script could have put together better playful banter for the entire movie.
• It’s silly that an experienced assassin would be flustered by almost anything.
• I hate it when rude teenagers call their dad by their first name in an act of defiance because they don’t think their dad has been a good father.  It’s been done a million times in movies and always bugs me.
• “What kind of kid doesn’t know how to ride a bike?” asks Ethan.  His daughter hurls “The kind of kid who doesn’t have a father to teach her.”  I saw that line coming a million miles away.  Of course she doesn’t know how to dance either, so they share bonding moments riding a bike and learning how to dance.  Cookie-cutter scenes.
• The names of the bad guys aren’t the most original or awe-inspiring: The Wolf and The Albino. 

Funny lines:

•  “Ethan, don’t say anything weird.”  - Daughter says to her dad when she leaves him alone with her boyfriend to talk for a few minutes

Tips for parents:   Decapitation, shooting, torture with some blood.