On Demand Weekly

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: ONE FOR THE MONEY (Lionsgate).

ONE FOR THE MONEY
In the illustrious words of Debbie Reynolds “Who wouldn’t enjoy a nice thong.”
By Kate Asche Wilson

If you’re in the mood for an Ang Lee inspired Academy Award nominee with a musical score that makes angels cry, and a script that Aaron Sorkin envies then turn back now. Go watch THE ENGLISH PATIENT on demand and cry by yourself in a corner. If, however, you enjoy Katherine Heigl and are willing to watch her transform from bumbling to badass in an hour and a half than ONE FOR THE MONEY is the perfect film for you.

(Courtesy of Lionsgate)

Based on Janet Evanovich’s bestselling novel of the same name, ONE FOR THE MONEY follows stereotypical Jersey girl Stephanie Plum as she finds herself thrust into the seedy world of bounty hunters, rogue cops, and Asian stoners. Portraying our heroine is Katherine Heigl who has traveled far from the drama of “Grey’s Anatomy” and found herself in the deep abyss of awkward comedy. From brazen Judd Apatow films, to hidden rom-com gems Heigl has proven herself to be more than adept at headlining a film, and paves the way for Stephanie Plum to waltz into our lives.

(Courtesy of Lionsgate)

Stephanie Plum’s journey begins after securing herself a job at her cousin Vinnie’s Bail Bonds business. Plum unintentionally discovers that an ex-flame, Joe Morelli (played by the ridiculously charming Jason O’Mara), has skipped bail, and needs to be apprehended and detained. Lucky for her a little bit of blackmail goes along way. Unlucky for him, she holds a grudge. She sets off to track him down, picks up a curious array of supporting characters along the way, and discovers that, although Morelli is convicted of murder, there’s more to the story than meets the eye.

Now for the moment of truth. Let me parcel down my thoughts into the three categories that every film should be judged on: The good, the bad, and the hilariously inappropriate.

The Good: Katherine Heigl and Jason O’ Maras’s chemistry. No matter how cheesy the writing was these two somehow made it bearable. Honestly I don’t believe Katherine Heigl was the perfect fit for Stephanie Plum, but that woman can turn any situation into something quirky and fabulously awkward. Jason O’Mara was perfect as Joe Morelli, channeling his sexy badassery to the fullest extent. Trust me you want to watch this movie just to see him with his shirt off. I even stopped cringing at Heigl’s horrifying accent when they were on screen together. Now that’s a feat.

(Courtesy of Lionsgate)

The Bad:

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: THE PERFECT FAMILY (Gravitas).

THE PERFECT FAMILY
By Amy Slotnick

THE PERECT FAMILY stars Kathleen Turner as Eileen Cleary, a devout Catholic woman who has committed more of herself to the church than to her own family. The indie premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival recently and now is available in theaters and On Demand.

Opening in a confession booth, Eileen (Turner) tells the priest she is going to hell. This is at first surprising to hear from such an observant, traditional woman, but as the story unfolds we learn what she means. Eileen has been nominated for Catholic Woman of the Year and this potential honor puts her in a state of panic. Eileen’s son (Jason Ritter) is in the process of a divorce, her daughter (Emily Deschanel) is gay, pregnant and living with her partner, and her husband (Michael McGrady) is a recovering alcoholic. If the church knew any one of these things, Eileen believes she would certainly not get the award and more importantly, would be outcast from the community.

In trying to hide her family from the church vetting process, Eileen comes to terms with their less traditional choices. She reveals her own past digressions from church doctrine and ultimately chooses family over faith.

The new action adventure SAND SHARKS starring reality star and daughter of famed wrestler Hulk Hogan, Brooke Hogan (“Hogan Knows Best,”), and Gina Holden (Final Destination 3, Fantastic Four, Saw 3D: The Final Chapter) premieres on demand.

Here are ODW's 5 Things You Should Know About SAND SHARKS

1) This is Brooke Hogan’s first feature film.

2) Corin Nemec, who was nominated for a Primetime Emmy ("I Know My First Name Is Steven" - 1989), improvises the majority of his lines throughout the film.

3) Sand Sharks or Sand Tiger Sharks are real species who swim in shallow waters near shore.

4) Sand Sharks have never been depicted before on a feature film.

5) There was a time constraint of 5 days to shoot the footage on the beach. “One of the biggest challenges of shooting a movie like this has to do with our time schedule. We had about five days at the beach where we had to do a lot of intensive action scenes that’s when we had all of our extras” – Mark Atkins (Director)

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On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: MARLEY (Magnolia).

Enter The MARLEY Sweepstakes Here

MARLEY
Bob Marley, The Third World’s Reggae Superstar…..
By Cynthia Kane

Why has it taken so long to bring a documentary on Bob Marley to the world?!

In 2008, Martin Scorsese was pegged for this project to be released for the anniversary of what would have been Marley’s 65th birthday, and it just didn’t happen. The project then went to Jonathan Demme, who in the end dropped out due to creative difference. Premiering at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, it may have taken a long time and we may have missed that 2010 anniversary year, but Oscar winning director Kevin MacDonald’s bio-doc, MARLEY is worth the wait, particularly for younger generations who only know the iconic spirit, smile and dreadlocks.

Yet even for the rest of us,

die-hard and not so die-hard fans,

MARLEY is a must.

A bio-pic in pure form – taking us from birth to untimely death – but perhaps to be more precise, this film feels like a kind of love song to Marley, yet keeps him human. A mix of talking heads, archival footage intermixed with audio voiceover and musical performance, Kevin Macdonald doesn't experiment with the genre so much as he gives us a straightforward, no nonsense version of Marley’s life, and he does it extremely well. Thus it is as accessible as it is entertaining.

Here we have the story of a man, a musician, who no matter that he was enormously talented became world-famous despite incredible odds. Part of the winning-ness of this story is that Marley was just so appealing.

Why do we like Marley so much?

From his impoverished youth as an ostracized mixed-race child (he referred to himself as half-caste) born in Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica, to his status as a leading figure of popular Jamaican music, Bob Marley is seen as a shy yet complicated man with an innate lust for life as well as music. He loved women incessantly as well, and one thing this documentary does not do is pretend he was progressive or pro-feminist. Yet… we like him all the same.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: SLEEPLESS NIGHT (Tribeca Film) .

SLEEPLESS NIGHT

By Chris Claro

Frederic Jardin’s SLEEPLESS NIGHT tells a simple story: A dirty cop steals the mob’s dope and the mob steals the cop’s son. What follow is a jangly, nerve-racking, totally entertaining thriller moves at light speed.

SLEEPLESS NIGHT (Tribeca Film)

Set primarily in a packed Paris dance club, SLEEPLESS NIGHT plays almost as a bedroom farce, with a Paris dance club as the nexus of its action. Home base for the local mob boss, Le Tarmac is the in place, it seems, for both partiers and police, and Vincent leads both the cops and the crooks through the joint as he searches for both his son and the drugs.

Jardin stages his action sequences with efficiency, particularly one in which Vincent takes on a fellow cop and makes a holy mess of the club’s kitchen. Utilizing everything from salad bowls to drawers full of utensils, the fight is a clever back-and-forth that has the wit and invention of a Road Runner cartoon.