No Strings Attached (2011)

Yeah, while watching, I really felt very disappointed, what a bummer this one is. You expect so much, much more from Natalie Portman. But then, some time after the halfway mark, there is a marked improvement fueled by that restaurant scene, let's call it the Burning Man conversation, with Emma telling Vanessa the score exactly as it is, and swaying me over towards her for the first time.But prior to that (and remember what I often mention in my reviews: First Impressions Count, they define the experience you're gonna have of the movie - very few pictures improve as they go along, so judgment is made very early on), this movie, this big star-driven effort, plods along like there's A Lot Of Chains Attached.Besides Young Emma, whom I soon began thinking should rather grace the screen again, the only really cute thing during the first half is the impressions done by that Saturday Night Live girl - Nemo and Drew Barrymore. What a scene-stealer. Then, the hilarious girl-girl scene. With somebody like Ivan Reitman at the helm, you would certainly not expect that such a drab performance by the female lead would persist all through the first half. I mean, any director watching the inflow should have noticed the under-performance. ESPECIALLY if she's NATALIE PORTMAN.But do note that unlike the other reviewers here, I am pointing out that there is an improvement as the flick progresses. I was actually mentally preparing myself for the scything comments I was gonna make about this big production that fails to deliver, but Natalie (and the script) does better further on. Too late though.Truth remains, it needed, at the very least, a partial remake.And I remember only too well that decades ago I predicted such big things for Natalie after first seeing THE PROFESSIONAL. At her best in NO STRINGS ATTACHED, she is just run-of-the- mill. I am grading on a curve, tall trees catch more wind, and all that. Maybe Natalie was taking a break here, just kicking back?

Movie Marathon V.3 # 120The only factor that made me to watch this movie is the gorgeous "NATALIE PORTMAN". Synopsis A typical romance drama revolves around Emma and Adam who opts sex over relationship but when time flies by they realizes that their relationship grew to something more intimate.No Strings Attached & Friends with Benefits shares the same story in which No Strings Attached were released some 5 months earlier to the latter. But i have watched the latter earlier. Even though i didn't felt bore watching this movie, thanks to the screen presence of Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher and also pretty good direction by Ivan Reitman. The story could have been better and some of the scenes mainly during their break-up was not even convincing and more lot of scenes were not convincing, felt like they made those scenes just to increase time..Natalie delivered overall good performance, she was pretty good in her romantic expressions and also in emotional scenes. Ashton Kutcher was also good but was overshadowed by Natalie. Kevin Kline who played Ashton's Father who is a womanizer was very funny. The background score and especially the songs were also good.Wholly, the movie is not a messy one, but not a masterpiece / great film. but is a time pass watch for NPMy rating 6.0 on 10

For starters, the answer for that question is because I expected a funny, light, sit-down-and-laugh comedy. But what'd I get? A boring, slow, and simply very bad teaching-movie-wannabe.I think the fact that I wanted to stop watching even after about 20 minutes kind of describes my image of this film. It was very hard to not do so, because the movie was full of boring, bad cut scenes which are often awkward, too. I could not laugh at all.I suspect the main problem here is that it wanted to be too serious. It certainly shouldn't have. The theme just doesn't allow that, at least not for a this kind of movie without a really surprising twist in the story. This is why the movie was so slow, instead of funny. This atmosphere spoiled the jokes. The creators must've felt it, and that's why they made a pathetic attempt after the actual ending (which, of course, is a predictable one).It also lacks a lot when it comes to the characters. They're very unnatural and badly depicted. The best example for that is Adam'coworker. I absolutely could not understand her part in the movie. The acting was also bad, but it hardly could've been better with other actors.Overall, I found this movie to be very artificial and empty. I advise you don't watch especially if you want a comedy. A better choice'd be Friends with Benefits of this kind.

The problem with this 2011 film that I see is with the writing. Would you want a doctor-to-be such as Natalie Portman portrays in this film? She is a sex-driven character who has known the Ashton Kutcher character from childhood at certain interludes of their life. Imagine saying to Kutcher when they're young adults: Come with me tomorrow. Tomorrow is the place where she brings Kutcher to her father's funeral.Portman is almost churlish in her performance. She also has a dragging craggy-like voice which can become annoying at times. The lady is a whiner in every sense of the word.Kevin Kline, who portrays Kutcher's father in the film, has the best line at picture's end when he describes to his son, while hospitalized, how we fall in love.They call these things romantic comedy. To me, it's nothing more than romantic nonsense with 2 young adults determining that their relationship shall be for physical use only. The premise here is ridiculous.