Time Traveler's Wife - Movie Review

Time Traveler's Wife (PG-13) 107 Minutes C-
Time out of mind

Starring Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana, Arliss Howard, and Ron Livingston

Fantasy, romance and drama- sometimes these three things go hand in hand. In 1990 America fell in love with Demi Moore as she fell in love with Patrick Swayze's ghost. In 2006 Sandra Bullock and Keenu Reeves fell in love via a magic mailbox in The Lake House, while last year we watched the divine Cate Blanchett love a backward aging Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Time Traveler's Wife is the latest paranormal love story showcasing an inconvenient (not to mention impossible) romantic quandary. Claire (McAdams) has been in love with Henry (Bana) all her life. When she was a little girl he would appear, disappear and reappear naked in the woods. Naturally, she kept a diary of his appearances and provided clothing upon his arrival. This part of the story is not only creepy, it screams pedophilia.

The film as a whole isn't horrible, and if you read the book you may have a different perspective all together. But it is syrupy sweet, full of mushy melodrama and features plenty of Eric Bana (bare) butt shots. Yet despite his rear-end he's probably the best thing about the film. He adds a little grit and humility that balances out McAdams' overabundance of wide-eyed cutsyness and puffy-lipped pouting (also cutesy).

If you read Audrey Niffeneggar's novel or you're a fan of fantastical-romance-drama-impossible love scenarios, I'd say rent it when it's available on DVD. For everyone else... not so much.
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Bonus DVD Review
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (R) 96 minutes C
It's hard not to like Cox

DVD release date - April 8, 2008
Starring John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Tim Meadows, and Kristen Wiig

Walk Hard is a parody of numerous pop-icon biopics, most notably 2005's Walk the Line which chronicled the life of Johnny Cash.

This film is stupid! Some of it funny stupid, most of it stupid stupid. But the music is surprisingly great and unbelievably catchy. Matter of fact, after watching the film I promptly went to my computer and ordered the soundtrack from Half.com.

There's a plethora of cameos which normally means nothing, but if you're a music nerd like I am this only adds to the idiotic charm of the film.