Elf

As a general comment, the larger Jon Favreau gets, the less good his work seems to be. I don't mean that in a "fattist" way; just saying. Like, clearly he ain't starving; and we all know that starving artists are the greatest.

Fortunately for all of us, Elf -- Favreau's second proper feature as director -- despite being made deep into his "healthy-eating period", is very fucking funny, if not necessarily the best film ever made. At least, I laughed a shitload. I was like some sort of demented idiot at times, with the crazy laughing and all.

I've got, like, a brazillion reviews to get through, so I'm keeping some of 'em brief. Want fun and laughter? Watch Elf. But you might want to wait till Christmastime for maximum seasonal effect. I score it 69 points out of 100.

The Break-Up

As you might have imagined, The Break-Up tells the story of the dissolution of a relationship. The couple in question are played by Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughan.

After dinner one evening with both families at their flat, Aniston and Vaughan have a bit of a falling-out. It ends with her saying it's over; he leaves the apartment. When he returns later that night, she's asleep in their room, and he takes the sofa-bed.

You know right there that this whole thing could likely have been resolved by him joining her in bed, or by her waiting up for him. We've all had arguments with our partners, so we recognize how little things can get blown out of proportion in the aftermath of a row.

There's a sad inevitability to the ensuing events, even though the film is peppered with humour. Both leads put in great efforts, and Aniston really shines. Not for the first time, she impressed me. Vaughan is Vaughan, only bigger than ever. And of course wherever Vaughan is, you also get Jon Favreau. Yeah, we loved you both in Swingers, guys, but isn't it enough already? (That said, the gag about not being Columbo was reasonably funny only because you were both in Made with Peter Falk.)

A good film. I enjoyed it while watching it. I laughed; I got that it was sad. But I don't think I'd watch it again. Perhaps it's just not that sort of film, though.

The scores
Acting: 14
Story: 12
Direction: 13
Enjoyment: 13
Involvement: 14
Total: 66