After Sunshine Cleaning, Smart People starts to learn How To Lose Friends & Alienate People while understanding The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

Sunshine Cleaning (2008)
Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin
Tagline : Life's a Messy Business

I was sold after knowing Amy Adams and Emily Blunt helmed this little indie vehicle. Upon watching it, there's Alan Arkin in it as well!!! (Arkin is everywhere nowadays especially after his winning of the Best Supporting Actor for Little Miss Sunshine). The movie itself is a delight, not trying to be artsy-fartsy with its simple-regular-person dialogues. Adam is extremely lovable with her girl-next-door charm, not too sugary but "plain" enough to be able to squeeze her best in every character she's in. Emily Blunt is another delight. Already stealing scenes in Devil Wears Prada alongside Meryl Streep, she's destined to shine more hopefully with more meaty characters come to her. Alan Arkin, however charming he is, was just merely repeating what he does best and somehow feels like an extension from his character in Little Miss Sunshine.

Smart People (2008)
Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page, Thomas Haden Church
Tagline : sometimes the smartest people have the most to learn

Dennis Quaid carried his character of a widowed smart-ass-i-don't-care-what-the-world-thinks language lecturer with ease. Parker really had problem broaden her scope after her stick-in-your-mind character in Sex & The City; she's really so-so here as the romantic interest for Quaid, an ER doctor. Ellen Page is good as Quaid's daughter, a replica of Quaid's personality and in constant pursue of her dad's approval and affection trying to be perfect scoring the highest SAt etc. Haden Church again proves to be born with the talent to portray scruffy unreliable jack ass as he did in , here as the adopted brother of Quaid's character.

How To Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Megan Fox, Jeff Bridges
Tagline : Brace yourselves, America. He's across the pond, and out of his depth.

Here's some little Brits flavor for you; well... Simon Pegg is here (remember Hot Fuzz???). Based on a book, it's a story of a British writer who was hired to work with a glamourous magazine in New York by Jeff Bridges character (great grey hair by the way). Kirsten Dunst is again doing her Spiderman's character here, an aspiring novel writer trapped in the hi-so working environment of a glamourous lifestyle magazine. Megan Fox is the hot siren here doing nothing really notable except being seductive and sexy. In some angle, she kinda looks like a slimmer and taller version of Salma Hayek. Oh.. the Agent Scully of X-Files fame (anyone remember her????) is here as Fox's manager.

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009)
Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin, Winona Ryder, Julianne Moore, Maria Bello, Monica Belluci, Keanu Reeves
Tagline : The life you love maybe your own. She lived many lives - except her own.

Lots of big names here and I think Penn was in a rare chance to be able to carry a title character with so many stars complimenting her. Commendable effort though I think the story sounds too familiar in a way. Ohh.. Alan Arkin is here too! Julianne Moore strikes again. The movie is directed by Rebecca Miller, wife of Daniel Day-Lewis and daughter of the famous Arthur Miller.

THE MOVIES ABOVE... ALL COURTESY OF MY BEST MATE SHERRY!!!