jerry maguire Tagged Articles at Cinematical

So it's a couple days before Valentine's Day, and you HAVE to get your movie-loving significant other/friend/family member/offspring something because that's what the TV commercials told you to do -- and so we've come along with five last-minute ideas that aren't necessarily V-Day specific, but should satisfy nonetheless.

1. A Copy of Jerry Maguire and U Complete Me Pillow Cases

2. The Film Snob's Dictionary
Are you a film snob dating someone who doesn't understand half the silly references that spew out of your mouth each and every single day? Then how about you pick up a copy of the Film Snob's Dictionary for that special someone and help exploit the movie geek inside all of us.

3. A Copy of High Fidelity and the USB Mixtape Memory Stick
High Fidelity, because it's an awesome movie, and then show your Me Generation partner that mix tapes are still all the rage by picking up this very cool USB Mixtape Memory Stick, which holds 60 minutes worth of music and comes in the form of an old school cassette tape - complete with liner notes so you can scrawl out your track list and make it personal.

4. Romantic Movies
Because it's the perfect time to cozy up next to that special someone and throw a little romance into your DVD player. Amazon has some great deals on romance DVDs (through February 16), with up to 48% off on Art-House Romance, up to 50% off on the Nicholas Sparks collection, 50% off on movies for lovers and 50% off on movies for haters.

Two things I enjoyed about Definitely, Maybe, which came out on DVD today: the cheesy jokes about New York City in the early '90s and the fact that it is a chick flick for guys. What I mean by the latter is that the movie seems targeted to females yet it caters more to the male viewer. It's basically a male fantasy: Ryan Reynolds tells the story of how he dated three beautiful women (played by Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz and Elizabeth Banks), one of whom he married and later divorced -- meaning he's now single again. And he also got a cute, precocious daughter (Abigail Breslin) out of the deal who becomes beneficial to him in his return to bachelorhood.

But then is it really a chick flick? I guess it is if you count romantic comedies in that grouping, though the genre has never necessarily been aligned with the term, nor vice versa. And in the age of Judd Apatow, it's more likely that any new romantic comedy is actually a guy movie. Do many men realize it's a movie for them, though? Probably not. Though chick flicks are typically movies primarily populated by women characters and/or a female protagonist (think Steel Magnolias), romance films not made by either Apatow or the Farrelly brothers may be thought of as being for the ladies, even if they feature a male lead, like Reynolds in Definitely, Maybe.

I'll admit I've always been confused about chick flicks as a term. I apparently enjoy many so-called chick flicks, including even (especially) Beaches. So, I may not be using the term correctly in this list. However, I am a guy and I know what guys want. So, I'm going to do this my way, and answer the following question: What other films may have been initially perceived by males as being made for chicks but which turned out to be more for them (us)?

This particular Cinematical Seven took awhile to sort out. First, I needed to decide whether I would focus solely on women who play sports in film or if I should open it up to women who play sports and/or appear in sports films. As you can see from the photo above, I went with the latter. Then I needed to decide whether I would only select drop-dead gorgeous women, or if there was room for the girl next door in the list as well. I'm sure you sympathize with the tough choices I had to make this afternoon. Anyway, in honor of Superbowl Sunday (Go Giants!), here are my picks for the hottest sports girls on film (a title which took me all of about an hour to come up with -- after all, there are so many different ways to write it):

Kelly Preston as Avery Bishop in Jerry Maguire -- She's harsh, she's intimidating and she doesn't exactly use those legs to kick a long field goal. Before Jerry (Tom Cruise) had his moral epiphany and wound up wooing the adorable Dorothy (Renee Zellweger), he was attached at the hip to the cunning, yet super sexy Avery. She'd come a long way from Space Camp, and after watching Jerry Maguire, I was extremely jealous that John Travolta got to spend every boot camp with this gal.

First off, it pains me that I cannot bring to you the 18 or so stills from The Dark Knight that hit the net overnight. Pains me! While you can still find them on the smaller movie blog ... s, Warner Bros. has requested that the pics come down from larger sites. And since I'm going on vacation in 24 hours (coupled with the fact that it's Friday), I don't feel like dealing with any lawyers at the moment. But they're around ... you just gotta look.

That being said, my impending two-week voyage overseas has got me thinking a lot about road trip movies lately. Plus, it's summertime, and if you haven't taken in a screening of National Lampoon's Vacation at some point within the last two months, then you should be ashamed of yourself. So last night, as I was casing my DVD collection for something to take on the trip with me, I came across Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown. I have no problem saying how much of a Crowe fan I am -- the guy has a way of turning me to mush with his dialogue, and I've openly wept on occasions (the scene in Almost Famous when William bursts out of the restaurant in search of Penny Lane, while Elton John tells us "The New York Times said God was dead," is one example).

So why Elizabethtown? Well, this was a strange film for me because, when I first saw it, I was at a preview screening with my father. This was the first and only preview screening I've ever attended with my dad (who's love for movies turned me on to writing about them in the first place), and when we walked out of the theater, I was convinced Elizabethtown was my favorite film of the year. I've since watched the film three more times, with each viewing depressing me more and more. The problem with Elizabethtown (a road movie about a guy coming to terms with his father's passing) is that, as with most Crowe films, it's based on his own experiences. Thus, him being too close to the subject matter caused Crowe to make a "Cameron Crowe Movie," instead of another enjoyable, original piece of work. So what we get in Elizabethtown are pieces of Maguire and Famous smashed together, with the shell of a real-life story somehow trying to pop out from time to time.

Why did I like it so much after that first screening? I've come to the realization that it wasn't so much the movie as it was experiencing it with my father. Knowing that some day he'll pass on, and I'll most likely be on the road somewhere attempting to come to terms with our own relationship. Which brings me to this question for you: Have you ever let a movie experience taint your feelings on the movie itself?

No, they're not remaking that classic Rodney Dangerfield flick (although I wouldn't be surprised if a remake shows up once Vince Vaughn ages a bit more); the Hollywood Reporter tells us that Cuba Gooding Jr. has signed on to star in a new edgy teen comedy called Harold, which some are saying is in the vein of Napoleon Dynamite. Pic will be produced and financed by City Lights Pictures (The Ten, Brooklyn Rules) and M.E.G.A. films. The deal was announced during the Cannes fest, and the powers that be are hoping to begin filming in August with intentions to finish the flick in time for the Sundance Film Festival. Five months ain't a lot to work with, so I imagine a cast and a director will be announced fairly soon.

The film follows this dude named Harold; a "premature balding young teen" who's finding it hard adjusting to life in high school. (Um, excuse me, but if this is going to be based on my life then I think I'd like a little compensation.) Cuba Gooding is said to be playing the school's janitor who befriends Harold and helps guide him through this rigorous time in his life. I'm not sure what's worse: losing your hair at 16 or knowing that your best friend in the world is the janitor at school? Sheesh, talk about a prequel to The 40 Year Old Virgin. Although he won an Oscar for asking us to "Show him the money!," Cuba Gooding was, instead, shown a number of crappy roles. Rat Race? Snow Dogs? Boat Trip? Someone stop me before I become dizzy. With Daddy Day Camp (directed by the very awesome Fred Savage of Wonder Years fame) on the way, it doesn't appear his slate is improving anytime soon. That is, unless Harold becomes the next Napoleon Dynamite. Hmm, perhaps Jon Heder and Cuba Gooding should team up on Show Me How to Build A Successful Career Off One Good Role?