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Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
This movie will restore your faith in Hollywood
In an era in which it is tough to find a film where you genuinely feel for each and every character David O' Russell's Silver Linings Playbook restores faith in the fact that it can still be done. It is a film that tell's a love story through the unique lens of mental illness. This unique lens allows us to look at things we take for granted such as relationships and day to day life in a way that shows how complex and difficult they can actually be. While at the same time showing how important it is to have these relationships because everyone needs the love and support of others to get through life. Whether it be dealing with mental illness or the loss of a loved one we often can't handle it alone and need aid from those who truly care to get through these times. This film shows the stresses that are put upon those who become the helpers while also showing that in the end the helping hand you reach out to others often pays off for you in the end as well. Helping others helps you and giving people a chance despite their mental condition or any other circumstance is worth it because you never know what that person has to offer unless the chance is given.
The film features one of the most beautiful, unique, slow-burning romances i've ever seen in a film and the climax is well worth the wait. It is a masterful work all around, the acting by Cooper and Lawrence as well as the rest of the star studded cast create the perfect mood and atmosphere for such a story. The tone is perfect and the issues that are dealt with in the film are handled in a gentle way that allows us to learn and observe throughout as we can see the inner workings of the characters minds via facial expression and wonderful script.
All in all I'd say this film is the best film of 2012 due to the fact that it tells one of the most beautiful love stories ever put to film in a way that not only entertains but educates and enlightens. A must see film. I didn't really delve into much of the actual plot and goings on of the film because I want you to be able to experience that for yourself, I felt that a review such as this one would show what I thought of/ took from this film in a way that would inspire others to watch it/ watch it again. Hopefully it worked. Thanks.
We're the Millers (2013)
We're the Millers Is Very Easy To Enjoy
It's not original. It's not something fresh. However it is something that is thoroughly enjoyable. "We're The Millers" Stars Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, and Will Poulter as a fake family on a mission to smuggle a "smidge" of pot from Mexico.
Their journey begins when David (Jason Sudeikis) gets robbed of his stash of drugs and money and becomes indebted to drug kingpin Brad Gurlinger (Ed Helms). As punishment and a debt settlement Gurlinger orders David to smuggle some pot he has located down in Mexico.
In an effort to look less suspicious David decides to create a fake family to cross the border with. In doing so he bands together a few misfits he normally encounters on a daily basis and thus we have "The Millers".
Jason Sudeikis is suitable as the films lead and is often effectively humorous. He fits the drug dealer role to the T and can also play the father figure in a believable fashion. His chemistry with his co-stars is high and works well.
Jennifer Aniston plays David's stripper neighbor whose life is currently down in the dumps. Aniston's body proves itself to be some sort of age defying miracle in this movie as the 44 year old plays an often scantily clad stripper in a bold, confident fashion that most 40+ women couldn't pull off. As far as acting goes she is also good, her raunchy-ness level is similar to how it was in horrible bosses and is starting to become a new trademark style for her. It works.
Emma Roberts plays her usual anti-establishment emotional girl and does it well like always. Thats her niche and she fills it well in all her roles.
Will Poulter is a relative new comer to my knowledge and gives what will probably go down as a breakout performance for him. He is often hilarious and is also the type of guy who is easy to root for. His character "Kenny" is one of the films best.
We're The Millers oozes cliché and formula. But they nailed the cliché and it works well. This film delivers from start to finish and very rarely sees a dull moment. It's funny, feel-good, and enjoyable. I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a bit of vulgarity or cliché and is just looking for a good laugh. "We're The Millers" gets a B+.
Before Sunset (2004)
Before Sunset leaves you craving more
The second installment in this brilliant series of unique films continues to mesmerize me with it's ability to entertain simply with emotional exchanges between two very connected people.
Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke turn in another set of phenomenal performances as Celine and Jesse. They are able to portray such longing for true emotional happiness and you can tell throughout that they are not totally content with their current situations. Their first meeting and the circumstances following took a lot out of both of them and hearing them discuss that is both emotional and frustrating. I say frustrating because the first movie makes you root for them so hard that it is tough to see them struggle. The fact that you emotionally feel for the characters is a testament to the brilliant writing, acting, and directing.
Both characters are developed further and we see that they are both searching for more then what they have, they both have images of themselves in their heads that are what they really truly want but are afraid to show, its riveting to see and wondrous to think about.
One thing this installment lacks that the first one had was the magical quality that came along with the fact that these two characters were meeting for the first time. However there are still qualities to this movie that make it unique and enthralling.
The film ends on a note, much like the first one, where you aren't sure what to think and just have to root for the best for the both of them. As I stated before it is both emotional and frustrating.
All in all it is another moving experience that leaves you craving more.
Before Sunrise (1995)
The Pinnacle of Romance Films
Before Sunrise is arguably the best romance film I have had the pleasure of watching. It's so real and charming that it's impossible not to like. It is fresh in the way it doesn't count on corny romance clichés or sappy-ness to show you the love between the two characters, you can literally feel it.
Before Sunrise starts on a train headed to Vienna. On this train the two main characters Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) meet for the first time when Celine ends up sitting next to Jesse. From here they begin conversing and slowly but surely revealing personal details and intimate facts about one another which creates an undeniable connection.
Julie Delpy plays Celine in such a way that makes it extremely easy to believe somebody could fall in love with her in one day by just listening to her talk and being in her presence. Ethan Hawke does the same thing for Jesse, maybe not to the same degree but it still works. The acting in this movie had to be great or else it would have been a train wreck because of the way the movie is based solely on personal connection between just two characters.
Before Sunrise boasts scenes of pure emotional joy and real, true bliss. It also has a few laughs to keep it from being too serious. The movie as a whole touches your heart in a way that makes it so you cant imagine the characters ever parting ways and root for them with all your might. It sucks you in, it makes you love the characters, their relationship and just everything else about it. It does this by using it's no frills method of just using heart-to-heart conversations to put all the characters emotions and inner workings right out on the table. The writing and directing by Richard Linklater is pristine. This movie is the pinnacle of the romance genre and deserves to and should be seen by everyone.
The Purge (2013)
An Intense Night At The Sandin Household
The Purge could be a brilliant piece of social commentary, however it throws that out the window in order to become a much less appealing predictable horror film full of unneeded violence and predictable horror movie clichés.
The film has a promising first 20 minutes that introduces us to the family led by father James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) and mother Mary Sandin (Lena Headey) and also introduces us to the idea of the purge. The purge is a 12 hour period of time in which all crime is legal, it is meant to provide people with a release so that they can "cleanse their souls". In the futuristic American setting it had been working like a charm and gained the support of many.
I would be lying if I said this movie didn't boast solid performances from a few of its actors, namely Ethan Hawke and Rhys Wakefield. Wakefield is probably the brightest spot as he very effectively portrays the main villain who gives the Sandin family a hard time. However, the problem with this film is that these performances are put to waste due to the painfully dumb script. It is unmercifully cliché and old. The main conflict is created in such a poor way that it makes the rest of the movie a joke. Had the writers found a different way to create conflict than through an ignorant child then the film would undoubtedly been a much better one.
The movie is full of your typical horror clichés and is written with a low sense of creativity. The concept itself sounds like a brilliant plot for a fresh new horror film with an underlying social commentary but that is not the route it takes. Instead it becomes a boring almost humorously dumb unoriginal effort. If you looked up wasted potential in a thesaurus you would probably see a movie poster for The Purge.
5/10
The Hangover Part III (2013)
The Third Installment Comes In Third.
Todd Phillips third and final installment to The Hangover franchise is undoubtedly the third best. Its much darker plot takes it from being an comedy driven laugh riot like the others to being a grimy hard action film that struggles to find humor.
The story does not in fact revolve around a hangover like the title and previous movies suggest, but instead opts for an action vibe centered around the search for the infamous Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong) character. Chow has stolen money from the wrong guy and it is up to the wolf pack to find him and hand him over before the man after Chow kills Doug (Justin Bartha).
The acting in this installment seemed like it had been put on auto-pilot, the characters seem a little stale and don't share the same lovable chemistry we see in the previous films. The main problem with this movie is that it doesn't feel like it belongs in the franchise. Too many eggs were put into the basket of Ken Jeong as he was made a main character and his style just doesn't work for a full 100 minutes the way it does in the 10-15 minute chunks of the other movies.
All this said, the movie does have some good points, Zach Galifankis is not as fine tuned as he's been in the past but he does create the bulk of the laughs in this one, as he did in the others. Cooper and Helms are also lesser versions of their normal selves but they do occasionally break through with some funny material.
It's darker, less funny, more rude and less of a good time then its predecessors, however it is still nice to see the gang back together one last time. The movie uses a solid soundtrack, decent homages to the other films in the series, and a few laughs to keep it from being a failure and for that it gets a 6.5/10.
Premium Rush (2012)
A Compelling Bicycle Film With "No Brakes"
The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a Bike messenger named Wilee in NYC. Wille is regarded as one of the best riders around and is known for his signature lack of brakes on his bike. One day he gets an assignment to do a pick up at a college and bring it down to Chinatown for delivery. Shortly after he learns that this is no ordinary delivery and that obstacles will be plentiful.
The main obstacle is Bobby Monday, a crooked cop played by Michael Shannon. Monday has a gambling debt he needs to settle and will go to great lengths to get the money necessary to put it behind him. When he gets a tip that a ticket worth $50,000 dollars will be getting transfered by Nima (Jamie Chung) he makes it his mission to intercept it.
The conflict in this film is compelling and Shannon does such a good job being a "bad guy" that you really root for Wilee and his crew to pull through for Nima and save the ticket. Unfortunately the movie often suffers from a poor script and lackluster acting from the supporting cast. Shannon and Gordon Levitt are great however Dania Ramierez who plays "Vanessa" is not nearly on the same level. In her defense she wasn't given the greatest lines in the world to work with, but still, she was undoubtedly a low point.
Fortunately the poor acting by some and the often cheesy script are made up for by solid action and a enthralling story. The performance by Shannon is a standout and makes the entire movie more legitimate. Certain things could've been left out and other could have been added, like maybe a little more fleshing out of main character Wilee. However, even the way it is Premium Rush is a very entertaining 91 minutes that you wont regret spending.
7/10
Ruby Sparks (2012)
A "Spark" Of Originality
Ruby Sparks is a film that is different from most romantic movie's I have ever seen. It star's Paul Dano as Calvin, a writer whose first novel was a huge hit but is yet to write anything since. He is bitter about relationships due to the poor ending to the only one he's ever had. This coupled with his father's death has sent him to therapy. In one of his sessions he is encouraged to write about a girl who likes his dog Scotty despite the fact it is sloppy and pee's incorrectly. He proceeds to go home and has a dream about this girl and is stuck to his typewriter the next day typing out her whole life story. Thus we have our title character Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan).
This movie is based on Calvin's realization that he can control Ruby, as he wrote her into existence. It show's how in relationships it is nearly impossible to make things perfect, it gives us insight into the fact that nobody is perfect and it shows how hard it can be for others to accept those imperfections. However, the most important lesson I believe this movie teaches is that said imperfections MUST be accepted if you want to be truly happy.
The lead performance by Paul Dano is quite good. He displays a full range of emotion throughout the film. Zoe Kazan plays a very lovable Ruby Sparks, she makes Calvin's complete fixation with her character believable. Chris Messina plays Calvin's brother Harry and is often a quite humorous voice of reason. Antonio Banderas also makes an appearance as Calvin's step- father and is consistently funny.
The movie as a whole is a funny, emotional ride. It chronicles the importance of being willing to accept others for what they are and how trying to change them causes nothing but turmoil. The score is very well incorporated and often heightened the dramatic scenes.
All in all, Ruby Sparks was a fun and likable movie, much like its namesake character. I would recommend a viewing of this to anyone who enjoys a good heartfelt film.
8/10
The Great Gatsby (2013)
A Visually Stunning Roller-Coaster Ride.
Baz Luhrmann's version of the epic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a visually stunning roller-coaster ride.
The story follows bond salesman Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) as he meets his illustrious next door neighbor Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). He quickly learns that Gatsby is looking to meet up with his long lost love, Daisy (Carey Mulligan), who also happens to be Nick's cousin.
The movie starts off in an abrasive, loud, overwhelming manner that at the time seems confusing, yet as the movie goes on it becomes more clear. It features lavish party sequences at the Gatsby mansion that are beyond the wildest imagination. The realization is made that these wild scenes are merely to set up the legend that is Jay Gatsby.
As the story continues we learn some things about Gatsby's past. We learn of his love for Daisy and how it dates back 5 years. A man like Gatsby with such wealth and fame could have had any woman he wanted yet the only one he ever had a shred of interest in was Daisy, and to me that is what makes it such an intense, emotional love story.
The performances in the film are mostly phenomenal. Leonardo DiCaprio does a wonderful job playing the Gatsby character who is constantly toeing the line between edgy and calm. He makes it very easy to believe that his character Gatsby has a great deal of love for Daisy and that he very much cares about her each and every thought. Tobey Maguire does a solid job portraying our narrator and co-main character Nick Carraway. His nervous acting style works perfectly for this role as the character he plays is one that hasn't seen much and still doesn't know or understand much about the world he is being thrust into. Carey Mulligan plays Daisy very convincingly often being forced to show strong emotion, whether it be nerves or fright and so on. Joel Edgerton does a good job portraying the womanizing and intimidating Tom Buchanan.
The modern soundtrack works here and there, it certainly doesn't match the time period but it does spice things up.
All in all this latest version of The Great Gatsby is a success. The goal of any movie is to entertain and this certainly does that with mesmerizing visuals and strong emotional performances. The Great Gatsby is no 100% of what it could be but it is undoubtedly very close.
8/10
Elephant (2003)
A unique adventure
Elephant is a film that is much too dark to like whole-heartedly. However it can be appreciated for what it is. In my opinion, at it's core Elephant is an expose of how actions people may think have no effect can actually have one beyond measure. This film depicts numerous members of a high school in Portland, Oregon going about their daily routines. They range from artsy, nerdy, jocks, and any other social cliché you can imagine. You get to see how they interact, how they are each unique and how they are all oblivious to what is going on around them. It seems like it is trying to show how much of a melting pot a high school is.
As I said before this film is very dark, you getting a stronger sense of this fact in every new scene until it all comes together in the terrorizing climax. There isn't much dialogue in the film and characters are often shown as they walk down the hallway. This makes it so this is the type of film where you have to be very attentive throughout in order to make an attempt at understanding what the film is trying to portray.
I feel that this film is not supposed to be an entertaining one. It would be near impossible to create an entertaining movie with such horrid subject matter ( I will leave the climax a mystery so you can feel the full shock it provides). It is instead an informational piece showing how people can affect one another without being aware, and how something so big can be going on without even making a ripple until it's too late.
The film runs only 81 minutes but packs the punch of a 3 hour epic. It is certainly not a movie I will be adding to my favorites list anytime soon, but it is definitely one I will recommend. It can be interpreted for hours and shows something that normally goes unseen.
6/10