Take two rising stars of the opposite sex, put them in a certain amount of romantic peril, slide them in front of some beautiful landscapes and you’ve got a 21st Century romantic comedy.

That’s exactly what happened with Leap Year, the Amy Adams/Mathew Goode film which Optimum Releasing are putting out on DVD, and you could be one of three lucky winners to get your hands on a copy of the DVD.

Here’s a tidy synopsis to entice,

Amy Adams (Enchanted, Julie and Julia) is Anna Brady in the charming romantic comedy Leap Year. According to Irish tradition, a woman can propose to a man on Leap Day and that is exactly what Anna plans to do in Dublin! However, once she sets off for Ireland, Anna discovers her trip is going to be anything but simple!

Anna’s journey to propose to her boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) becomes a race against time and, determined not to miss Leap Day, Anna enlists the help of surly, Irish innkeeper, Declan (Matthew Goode) to taxi her across the country to Dublin. Hilarious events unfold as the pair find themselves facing a variety of obstacles! Tensions arise, however, when Anna begins to question her feelings for Jeremy when she realises she has made an unlikely connection with Declan.

Will Anna propose in time and more importantly, who will she choose?

Gary reviewed the film here, and all you have to do is answer the following question using the form below.

In which recent film did Matthew Goode star opposite Colin Firth?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

DVD Extras:

On the Set of Leap Year

Deleted scenes

Trailer

The small print:

• This competition is open to the UK only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close Friday 16th July at 23.59 GMT
• The winners will be picked at random from entries received

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

After our break last week for the BAFTA awards the HeyUGuys podcast Mouth Off returns to bring you our tales of red carpet exploits, film reviews and a discussion of the biggest films out in the new week – Micmacs from Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Alice In Wonderland.

Dave and I also discuss the BAFTA awards and our reaction to the winners and losers, Gary pops up to review Leap Year, Extraordinary Measures and Robert De Niro’s latest Everybody’s Fine, then Brendon Connelly from /Film joins me to untangle Alice’s Adventures in the hands of Tim Burton.

You can listen in your browser below, or click here to subscribe to the MouthOff feed in iTunes, where you can also find our older episodes.

I hope you enjoy it, do let us know what you want to hear, or if you agree or disagree with us – leave your comments here, or email us on MouthOff@heyuguys.co.uk

Hope you enjoy it, see you next week!

I’m no fan of Rom-Com’s unless it’s got a Zom in the middle of it or it’s the surprisingly decent “It’s Complicated”, and I struggle to understand what is the point of them as most are so formulaic and predictable but they keep getting made with little degree of success so I entered the screening of Leap Year with little confidence and walked out at the end with little to boost my feelings towards this genre.

The film tells the story of Boston girl Anna Brady (Amy Adams) who’s waited very patiently for her long time boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) to propose to her. On the eve of his departure for a medical convention in Dublin, Jeremy leaves Anna with a pair of diamond earrings when she expected an engagement ring. With her disappointment set in Anna decides she’s going to Dublin to propose to her boyfriend on February 29th. This act being tradition in Anna’s family as she is told by her grandfather Jack Brady (the criminally underused John Lithgow) it’s how her grandmother proposed to him.

Off goes Anna to Dublin to propose but due to bad weather has to stop off at Cardiff, Wales and has to commandeer a boat to take her to Ireland where she arrives in a small town and has two days to arrive in Dublin so she can propose, who would take this pretentious Louis Vuitton luggage carrying out of towner? Step forward Declan (Matthew Goode) a stereotypical Irish Bar owner who only due to having serious money problems to keep his bar running takes on the duty to escort Anna to Dublin for a fee.

So off the two go through the wonderful setting of the Irish countryside, that takes the staring role of the film, on a road journey of convenience that blossoms into a predictable unlikely blossoming romance. Just explained the movie in 25 words! And that again is the problem of another generic Rom-Com, it’s just to predictable and with almost every

avenue leading to an inevitable conclusion that just bored me throughout, some people will like it and fair enough as Amy Adams and Matthew Goode were good together on screen and some viewers will quite happily let the film playout with its inoffensive story and charming wit but I personally cannot bare to watch anything like that again.

There were a few reasonably funny scenes like when they are stuck at a cottage in the middle of nowhere with the owners and another couple and have to pretend to be a married which eventually fuels their romance to begin but that was about all that raised a smile throughout the film which was a shame but not unexpected. My wife who came along also hated it and she is fond of a Rom-Com or two so I gauge her reaction as a valuable guide to what to expect.

Overall, won’t revolutionise the genre but has a reasonable performance from Amy Adams and Matthew Goode and the scene stealing wonderful Irish countryside that will help soften the blow of its dire story and obvious conclusion. Go see if your incredibly bored or need a mindless film to go see on a date with a girl with a short attention span, but be careful she might get ideas for the next leap year in 2012 when the world apparently ends.

It would have been great marketing if there was a leap year this year but there isn’t, so it’s out on 26th instead.

Happy New Year to one and all.  It’s the beginning of a new month, new year and a new decade.  With the close of 2009, we’ve seen best of lists, worst of lists, and everything in between.  Now that we’re starting fresh with 2010, it’s time to look forward. 

In this post, I’ll be highlighting a handful of films that will be released in January.  Not every single film slated to be released will be mentioned, but I’ll try to hit upon the major titles.

So without further ado….let’s talk January! (I am located in the US so all dates are US release dates unless noted)

January 8th
This date brings 3 wide releases as well as several limited releases. First on the list:

Daybreakers (UK release Jan. 6th)
The newest entry into the vampire genre.  This one stars Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill and Willem Dafoe.  In the not so distant future a virus has turned most of the world’s population into vampires facing a shortage of human blood.  The vamps look for a way to survive while a researcher tries to find a way to save the human race. 

This film had me at “vampire” and Willem Dafoe. That’s a combo that for me, is definitely worth the time.

Leap Year (UK release Feb. 26th)
Starring Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott and John Lithgow.  Anna (Adams) thinks her boyfriend (Scott) is going to propose but he doesn’t.  She then takes matters into her own hands and travels to Ireland determined to follow a tradition where a woman can propose to a man on Leap Day.  She meets up with a local (Goode) and hilarity and chaos ensue.

This film looks to be as formulaic as it can get.  From the looks of the trailer it  follows all of the typical romantic comedy shticks there are.  You know how the story will progress and you know how it’s going to end.  But, it looks cute and possibly good for a laugh, and I like Amy Adams so perhaps it’ll be worth it. 

Youth in Revolt (UK release Feb. 5th)
Oh Michael Cera.  How you make me laugh.  Joined by Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Zack Galifianakis (yes, I had to double check the spelling as I typed that out), Steve Buscemi (I know that one by heart), Justin Long, Fred Willard and, well, the list goes on.  Awkward teenager deals with dysfunctional parents and wants to hook up with the girl of his dreams so he creates an alter ego to help him through it all.

Ok, so I know there’s more to it than just that.  But really, with that cast, that’s all I need to know.  I like Michael Cera and he plays awkward very well.  With Cera and Galifianakis I’m hoping for some serious laughs.  This one looks to be a bit darker with the alter ego, but I’m really looking forward to this one.

Limited Releases: Bitch Slap, Crazy on the Outside, In Search of Memory, Pyaar Impossible, Waiting for Armageddon, Wonderful World

January 15th
The 15th is a bit of a snoozer.  We have two wide releases and just a few limited.  I’m only going to mention one here and that is:

The Book of Eli
Starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis.  Set in a post- apocalyptic future, Denzel Washington is Eli, a lone man on a mission to protect a book that holds the secrets to saving humanity.

Denzel + Oldman = unmeasurable awesomeness.  The first trailer sold me.  I love me some post apocalyptic chaos and with both of those actors, it can’t go wrong.  Well, at least I really hope it doesn’t.

Limited Releases: 44 Inch Chest, Fish Tank, The Last Station

January 22nd
The 22nd bring us three more wide releases. 

Extraordinary Measures (UK release Feb. 26th)
This one stars Brenden Fraser and Harrison Ford.  Fraser is a father whose children suffer from a rare genetic disorder.  Ford is the doctor who might hold the key to their survival.

I got excited when I saw Harrison Ford was returning to the screen, but then felt a little let down when I saw Brenden Fraser attached to it.  However, after seeing the trailer, I may go see this one.  It looks heartfelt and like a bit of a tear jerker, but it also looks like it has a good story. 

Legion (UK release Mar. 5th)
Starring Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid and Tyrese Gibson, among others.  Bettany plays the Archangel Michael.  When God decides He doesn’t like the way things are going down here on Earth, He sends His legion of angels to clean things up.  Only the strangers trapped in a middle-of-nowhere diner with Michael can end the reign of destruction about to be brought down.

My first thought was oh, interesting concept.  Paul Bettany has surprised me in the past so I won’t pass judgment just yet.  The trailer looks interesting and really this film could either be good, or a complete waste of time.

Tooth Fairy (UK release May 28th)
Dwayne Johnson continues his assault on family movies with his latest Disney entry.  Johnson plays a minor league hockey player whose sentence for a bad deed is to act as a Tooth Fairy for one week.

I admire that this former wrestler feels free to make these family oriented films.  I have no problem with that at all.  I’ve seen his movies.  I even liked The Game Plan…the first 85 times it aired.  But I really think he should be suited up with guns and knives and explosives.  We need another big ballsy action star and it could totally be him!  But alas, now is not the time.  Perhaps his next film??

Limited Releases: Creation, Drool, The Girl on the Train, The Paranoids, To Save a Life

January 29th

Edge of Darkness
Mel Gibson stars in this thriller about a police detective who investigates the death of his daughter and finds more than he bargained for.  The cast also includes Ray Winstone.

When I saw the trailer for this I had a bit of deja vu from Ransom.  It’s been a while since Mel has done anything so I’m hoping this is a good return to form for him.  He has the intensity to pull off this type of role so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.  Personally I miss the Martin Riggs Mel Gibson of old, but I’ll hold out hope for this one.

When in Rome (UK release Apr. 23)
Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamal star in this romantic comedy about Beth (Bell), a New Yorker who is unlucky in love.  After travelling to Rome for her sister’s wedding, she swipes some coins from a “love” fountain and finds herself inundated with men proclaiming their love for her.  How can she know for sure which man is the one for her?  All of this and more will be answered on January 29th.

Another romantic comedy.  I guess since we are approaching Valentine’s Day, tis the season.  Kirsten Bell really surprised me in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and as well as the bit part she had on a show called Party Down.  She seems to have comedic chops so we’ll see how she does headlining this one.  As for Josh Duhamal, I’ve only really seen him in the Transformers films so I don’t know much about him.  He looks like he can play the part and it looks like he gets to excercise his comedy muscle as well.

Limited Releases: North Face, Off and Running, Saint John of Las Vegas

That’s the story for January.  Which films do you plan on watching?  Let us know in the comments section.  A rundown for films coming out in February will be posted closer to the beginning of the month.  Until then, happy viewing!

The new International trailer and UK poster (which is pretty much the same as the US one with a different colour background) for Amy Adams’ new movie, Leap Year has just been released by Optimum Releasing. Leap Year is directed by Anand Tucker and also stars Matthew Goode and John Lithgow. I’ve put the new trailer below the synopsis and you can click the image above to enlarge. Leap Year is released 26th February.

Amy Adams (SUNSHINE CLEANING, DOUBT, ENCHANTED) is a young woman who has an elaborate scheme to propose to her boyfriend on Leap Day, an Irish tradition which occurs every time the date February 29 rolls around. However she faces a major setback when bad weather threatens to derail her planned trip to Dublin. With the help of an innkeeper, however, her cross-country odyssey just might result in her getting engaged.

From the director of RED RIDING 1983 and AND WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER, LEAP YEAR is a charming and quirky love story which is guaranteed to leave it’s audience leaping for joy.

Here’s a trailer for a movie that you can pretty much guess the end of before it even begins but from the looks of it, guessing what may happen in between will be that little bit harder and may make you laugh.

Bing.com have the first showing of the new Amy Adams movie, Leap Year. It’s about a woman who decides that she;s going to ask her fiance to marry her on the 29th January and follows him to Dublin where he’s working. What she doesn’t bank on is that the plane hits turbulence and she ends up in Sunny Wales, obviously catch a ride with a welsh hunk (who’s actually from Essex!) in the form of Matthew Goode. The movie also stars John Lithgow (who is in the trailer but doesn’t appear on the IMDb credits?), Adam Scott and Kaitlin Olson. It’s out 8th January and you can check out the trailer below.