The Lucky One

The Lucky One (2012)
Starring: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, and Blythe Danner
Based on the novel by: Nicholas Sparks
Directed by: Scott Hicks
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Grade: A+

I loved the book that this movie was based on. And this movie was another great adaptation of a novel. U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault (Efron) returns from his third tour of duty in Iraq, with the one thing he credits with keeping him alive - a photograph he found of a woman he doesn't even know. Discovering her name is Beth (Schilling) and where she lives, he shows up at her door, and ends up taking a job offered by her mother (Danner) at her family-run kennel. Despite her initial mistrust and the complications in her life, a romance develops between them, giving Logan hope that Beth could be much more than his good luck charm. This was Efron's best performance in a movie yet and Schilling was extremely believable as a lonely single mother. Now, I just have to wait a year for Sparks' next novel, Safe Haven, to be turned into a movie (with Josh Duhamel...yay!)

The Lorax

The Lorax (2012)
Starring: Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, and Danny DeVito
Directed by: Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda
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Grade: B

The film follows the basic plot of the book, but understandably adds much to the basic structure. Ted (Efron) is a 12-year-old boy living in Thneedville, a city where everything, including the plant life, is commercialized and plastic. Wanting to impress Audrey (Swift), he seeks out the Once-ler (Ed Helms), who he hopes can tell him where to find a real tree. The Once-ler tells him a story of his past, about how he made the first Thneed and the Lorax (DeVito) who warned him of the destruction it would bring. While the movie itself is enjoyable, the characters are one dimensional, the story seems a little rushed, and the message of saving the environment is not as subtle as in other movies, such as Wall-E. While it Wall-E, you barely noticed it, in this movie, it smacks you over the head with a brick. The movie itself is gorgeous and the characters are adorable, just a little lacking in the story department.

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve (2011)
Starring: Too many people to count
Directed by: Garry Marshall
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Grade: A

This is one of those ensemble movies and the "sequel" to Valentine's Day. This movie was good but it had SO many people in it that a lot of the characters didn't get the focus they should have gotten (especially Josh Duhamel). Michelle Pfeiffer and Zac Efron are Ingrid and Paul, a lonely record company worker and the young courier who delivers to her office. She receives tickets to the hottest party in town and promises them to Paul if he will help make all of her New Year's resolutions from last year come true. Paul's roommate is Randy (Ashton Kutcher), who hates New Year's Eve. He gets stuck in the elevator with Elise (Lea Michele), who is a backup singer for Jensen (Jon Bon Jovi). While Randy and Elise bond in the elevator, Jensen is trying to win back the heart of Laura (Katherine Heigl), whom he left before their wedding. She is catering the party that seems to connect everyone together (as these movies do). After his friends wedding and on his way to the party is Sam (Josh Duhamel), the son of the record company owner. After being in a car accident, he is forced to catch a ride into the city in an RV with the priest. While in the car, he tells the family the story of last New Year's Eve and the woman he met. The mysterious woman told him to meet her in the exact spot at the same time next New Year's, if he was still interested. Stan Harris (Robert De Nero) is dying in the hospital with only his doctor (Cary Elwes) and nurse (Halle Berry) to take care of him. He isn't interested in treatment or his family being contacted. He just wants to see the ball drop. Tess (Jessica Biel) and Griffin (Seth Meyers) Byrne are having a baby, which they decide has to be born that night because of a cash prize (which may or may not be $25,000) being offered to the first baby born in the New Year. The happiest night of their lives turns into a competition with another couple to win the money. Kim (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her daughter Hailey (Abigail Breslin) always spend the holidays together. But, for the first year, Hailey wants to spend New Year's Eve with her new crush (Jake T. Austin), kissing at midnight. When Kim won't let her do that, she leaves anyway, forcing Kim to chase after her. Finally, Claire Morgan (Hilary Swank) is the manager of the Times Square Alliance and in charge of making sure the ball drops. This is made difficult by a short in the ball, causing it not only to not light up all the way but not rise into the air. Now, she has to figure out how to fix the problem before it gets even more out of hand. Overall, good idea. I just think there was too many people and that took away from the stories that were really good. They should have just kept Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron and Michelle Pfeiffer, Ashton Kutcher and Lea Michele, and Sarah Jessica Parker and Abigail Breslin and it would have been a much better movie. Plus, the blooper reel at the end is one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

Instead of three pictures as usual, I'll put one of each pairing, because I couldn't pick the best.

Charlie St. Cloud

Charlie St. Cloud (2010)
Starring: Zac Efron, Charlie Tahan, and Amanda Crew
Directed by: Burr Steers
Tagline: Life is for living.
Grade: B

I love Zac Efron. He's one of my favorite actors (and he's very cute) and I can't wait for The Lucky One to come out. I was interested to see this movie, but not so much that I went to the theater. But I did get it when it came on video. It's pretty good, but I didn't really like the supernatural edge to it. Charlie (Efron) has a very good future ahead of him, until the death of his brother, Sam (Tahan), makes him give up on life. He takes a job as caretaker of the cemetary, because he wants to carry on the relationship with his brother, so much so that he even begins to see and talk to him. But then a girl (Crew) comes into his life and messes up his relationship with his brother, because, as his brother points out, "the more you're in her world [meaning, the real world], the less you can be in mine." Overall, pretty good, well acted, especially by Efron and newcomer Amanda Crew, who you can see as the hilariously dumb Kia in She's the Man.