Fool's Gold (Widescreen Edition)

This a film that defies criticism. It wasn't made to win awards. If memory serves this flick was released around Valentine's Day to cash in on those taking their sweeties or intended sweeties to something lighthearted and romantic. "There Will Be Blood" just wouldn't cut it. In a nutshell, this is cinematic cotton candy. I saw this film about two days ago and it's pretty much escaped my memory banks. As was intended. This could be characterized as a screwball action-adventure comedy though it falls a little short of Grant-Dunne or Powell-Loy. That said the teaming of Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson sets off kinetic sparks. They project both intelligence and sexual heat that is palpable. The presence of Donald Sutherland as a mega-millionaire is always inviting. Sit back and enjoy the show and remain optimistic that McConaughey and Hudson will one day appear in a vehicle that has a little more meat to it.

I'll admit it, I got into "Failure To Launch" and gave it 4 stars. This on the other hand is a new low for all involved, which basically means it's barrel scraps. It's labeled as a romantic comedy, yet their were no real romantic moments, and the majority of the comedy comes from two minor gay cooks. Sure, there are other redeemable elements, but they're few and far between. It's National Treasure at sea, except less exiting, less humorous, and more juvenile (Wow, that's pretty bad). First the bad elements.

With the exception of a few Kate Hudson (although I would've preferred another Sarah Jessica Parker outing) and the general rough jerk-persona of Matthew McConaughey, the acting is bad to pathetic. The villains being the worst offenders, with not even that Cosby kid showing one bit of prose. Ray Winstone is bad as always, along with the main villain, Bunny, and his white hired gun. And poor old Donald Sutherland gives possibly the WORST performance of the movie, and/or his career. Matt's sidekick doesn't add to anything either. The story is unoriginal, and obviously little to no thought went into this treasure tale, so I won't dwell on the plot. The action is also mostly uninteresting.

Good elements? Well, Donald Sutherland's screen daughter does well as a stupid and ditsy Paris Hilton like character. There is some good humor involved, again mostly coming from two minor gay guys, and a few of Hudson's comments.

Amazingly, it could've been much worse, but not by much. Being from the director of "Hitch," you'd expect something a bit more quality, but this movie has more holes than Hugh Hefner's water bed. This movie all but fails in what it set out to do, and I wouldn't even recommend this for renting. There's plenty of better date movies out there, so just say "NO!" to this movie, and move along. Not much to see here.

Real Score: 1.5

Here I thought this was going to be a cheesy chick-flick romance, but that's not all I got. If I had to sum it up, I'd call it National Treasure at sea. There was romance, of course, since the premise of the movie revolves around the hero and heroine and their failed marriage. But most of the plot and action are not about that at all, and it focuses heavily on the search for the buried (sunken) treasure.

To add to it, there's a lot of action (and violence) combined with comedy reminiscent of Bad Boys. People being flippant in serious situations and that sort of thing. The characters are an interesting mix that add to the story, and while the ending is a little predictable, getting there is all the fun.

I very much enjoyed this movie even though I went into it with low expectations. I say throw out your preconceived notions based on the promos and give it a try (if you like the National Treasure/Bad Boy type movies, of course).

Benjamin Finnegan (Matthew McConaughey) in search a ship wreck with gold and other treasure alienates his wife Tess (Kate Hudson,) defaults on a loan from the local bad guy Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart) and misplaces a boat.

Yet he finds a clue to the treasure and must placate Bigg Bunny, regain the appreciation of his wife, find a sugar daddy to finance his expedition and beat a rival to the claim. The sugar daddy turns out to be Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland). Nigel is on his own quest to regain if he ever had it the affection of his flibbertigibbet daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena.)

Who will find the treasure (if there really is one)?
Will love or at least lust reappear to our forlorn treasure hunting couple?
Will daddy ever get the respect of this daughter?
Will we get board watching this formula movie that tries too hard?

I watched the Blu-ray version and even though it could not save the movie, they did a terrific job on the seascape and other visuals.


The Skeleton Key (Full Screen Edition)

Maybe the movie isn't a 5 starer, but the fact that it's an easy / fun movie to watch puts it over the top. The music fits and adds to the enjoyment. Sutherland, Hudson, and MM do a good job. One of those movies you can watch a few times and still enjoy it.