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expatriate16
Reviews
About Cherry (2012)
Rotten Cherry
A movie about a hot young woman getting into the porn industry, staring James Franco and Dev Patel? Can't go wrong, right? Wrong!
What I liked: I liked the fact that without watching porn, I got to see an amazingly beautiful Ashley Hinshaw tease the camera, have sex multiple times, show her breasts, and play with herself. I enjoy any movie where young people spontaneously leave the town they have spent their whole lives in and hit the road with only the clothes on their back. My favorite part of the film was the fact that it was almost a feminist movie; at the very least it had speckles of feminism. Cherry is left and called a disgusting whore by a man (James Franco) she was falling in love with, called a huge disappointment by her mother, and loses her best friend because of how she has chosen to make money. A woman exercising control over her own body scares the living poop out of 95% of us men, but Cherry doesn't care too much about what people think.
What I didn't like: I have seen James Franco in a lot of movies (and, of course, Freaks and Geeks) and have enjoyed each and every one. I didn't even know he was in this movie until the opening credits, which was a pleasant surprise. Then, I met his horribly clichéd character; a man who dreamed of being an artist as a child, was put down, and instead became a lawyer. He know has money, but always wonders what could have been. Because of these regrets he is a drug addicted narcissist. If, before I watched, someone would have told me that Franco plays a clichéd part, I would have still assumed his acting would have been enough to make it enjoyable- it wasn't. Dev Patel, although I haven't seen him in anything besides Slumdog Millionaire, was respected in my mind. Unfortunately, he also badly plays a clichéd character. The nerdy (probably gay) best friend of a hot chick who watches said hot chick fall in love with other guys and is therefore miserable. The scene where their roommate Paco takes Patel to a gay bar is one of the most unbelievable, horribly acted, scenes in this wacky movie. The award for worst, most unbelievable scene goes to the part of the movie where Cherry and Patel first arrive in San Francisco. They have never been to the city, apparently have little to no money, and set up an interview for a room in a loft. The interview lasts less than a minute- they meet Paco, Paco shows them the room, they say they'll take it, and they begin unpacking. Seriously? I doubt this could even happen in the smallest community in America.
I can write pages upon pages about how bad this movie was, but I'm getting bored and feeling suicidal just from these short paragraphs. After posting this review, I will do everything in my power to erase the memory of this film, in order to still have some respect for James Franco.
Interiors (1978)
Saddest Woody Allen Movie Ever
If Woody Allen movies were compared to weather, most would be mostly sunny days with a few black clouds and a slight chance of rain. Interiors on the other hand would be like Portland (Oregon) in the middle of February; wet, dark, and utterly depressing.
Like most Woody Allen movies, Interiors had some (mostly dark) humor, amazing dialogue, therapists, NYC scenery, deception, and unhappiness. However, there was something about the attitudes, the dialogue which made this movie stand out from the others of Allen's jacket that I have seen. While it always takes me a few minutes post movie to digest everything that just happened, never has a Woody Allen movie produced such a feeling of dismay as Interiors.
Despite the obvious darkness, it's hard to put my finger on exactly what made this movie so much more depressing than the rest. The ending was by far the saddest scene I have witnessed (again, in Woody Allen movies), but we were already brought into a world of utter sadness.
The movie features three sisters (although one sister plays a small role), two significant others, and a couple parents. The father, at the age of 60something seems to be going through a mid-life crises. After a lifetime of supporting his three daughters financially and his slowly losing her mind wife both financially and emotionally, he is ready to movie on. He breaks it to the family over a somber dinner in quite a monotone monologue. We're shown over the next hour or so, how much the mother relied on the father for almost everything.
At the same time, we're shown the relationships of the two older sisters with their respective significant others. The older sister is a somewhat successful (and trust funded) poet, who appears loving and thoughtful. Her husband, a novelist, cannot stand the fact that she is more known than he and takes it out on her in all sorts of ways. He is a bit emotionally abusive and on a drunken evening attempts to rape the youngest sister. The middle sister is a nerdy artist on the inside, helpless middle aged woman on the outside. She is a relationship with a quiet, not too noticeable man.
By the end of the film, there isn't much hope for any of the characters, except maybe for the father who has remarried a bit of an idiotic woman whom the family dislikes. After a crazy life, he just wants to see a pretty face in the mornings and not have to think about too much. This wasn't the best Woody Allen movie I've seen to date, but it is by far the most depressing.
Detropia (2012)
Is it over yet?
All I ask for out of a documentary is that it teaches me something and makes me feel. Although Detropia doesn't belong in the trash heap, it did not live up to these simple expectations I have put in place. Detroit definitely has an interesting story; in the 1930's it was one of the most populated states in the country, certainly the easiest place to find a good job. Slowly (with the passing of NAFTA in the late 90's- thanks Clinton) jobs left, followed by people. Detroit has seen the largest mass exodus in the country. The film informs us that almost 10,000 houses per month are torn down because they have been abandoned. The city is in ruins. I thought this would make for a good documentary.
First of all, why is the city going through such problems. I think the directors blame the North American Free Trade Agreement, which is fine because it's probably true. However, they assume that the viewer knows all about NAFTA and exactly how it effected the Detroit auto industry. All they explain is that NAFTA happened and CEO's moved their jobs to Mexico, which caused factories to shut down. I would have appreciated a little more depth into NAFTA; maybe a 90 explanation of why NAFTA meant that companies could move down south, why it passed, who was for it, who was against it? Maybe an interview with a proponent and an opponent. Maybe try to get in touch with spokespeople from these companies. Instead we are left having to pause the movie and do our own research.
As a drifter in his early 30's, I'm interested in cities like Detroit. I think places like this are where the revolution is gaining steam. The documentary spends a few minutes describing what is happening. Very briefly they say that there is a plan in the works to move people who live on the outskirts into the city, in order to create more density. Then, they would convert the outlying area to potentially urban gardens. This is a fascinating idea, revolutionary even, yet that's pretty much all we hear about it. We are shown clips of what appears to be a town hall meeting about the proposal, and then we hear three elementary school dropouts saying, "they be playing gardens? That's dumb yo. People be shooting each other over tomatoes." That's it. That's all we're told about the future of Detroit.
Finally, I understand that a city that poor obviously has a pretty dismal education system (although that doesn't explain why the older people, who lived most of their lives during the boom, are also dumb as cow poop), but surely they could have found someone to interview who had the ability to put together intelligent sentences. The main characters are a video blogger (the closest of the bunch to an average IQ), a burned out owner of what appears to be a Blue's club, and a union leader/pimp. Are there no professors? Are there no community groups? Talk about lazy; it seems like the directors had a few friends in the area and interviewed them. Or maybe they just found the first few people they saw, and mic'd them up. Regardless, the documentary sucked. The only positive is that I'll now to more research on the city.
Vanishing of the Bees (2009)
A Must Watch if You Care About Anything
If anyone can watch this documentary without being scared out of their minds, they need to be smacked back to reality. I say this in jest of course, but seriously- the reason why we are in the situation we are in concerning honey bees (and thousands of other similar topics) is because of people's lack of caring. Vanishing of the Bees does a great job of laying out the problems with commercial beekeeping, the strange phenomenon of billions of bees disappearing, what other countries are doing, and what we can do here.
Honey bees have been looked at as prophetic for millennium; as the bees goes, so goes humanity. If this is true, then we could be in for some major problems. Although the documentary states over and over again that there is no reason for the massive amounts of bee disappearances, it also focuses on the reasons for bees disappearing, which is kind of odd. We're introduced to a number of larger beekeepers, some smaller organic one's, and beekeepers from as far away as Europe.
Much of the first half of the movie focuses on the ill moves of commercial beekeepers. The fact that almond growers were complaining about the lack of honey bees to pollinate their crops led the US government to import honey bees from Australia, via a 747. The farmer we are introduced to in Florida ships his bees to California, back to Florida, up the coast to Maine, down to Boston, and then back to Florida every year. Many big breeders make their own queens by separating a female bee, pinching something (I forgot this part), and then reintroducing it to the hive. This increases their profits, but greatly harms and confuses the bees. Although the blame cannot be put wholly on the beekeepers – honey being shipped from China (with dozens of other ingredients including milk and high fructose corn syrup) is selling for pennies on the dollar – these practices, we're told, surely contribute to the diminishing of bee populations.
After being confronted with these mind numbing practices of beekeepers, we're taken to France where we learn that the bees dying off probably doesn't have anything to do with this. France experienced the same problem as the US is experiencing, only it happened a half a decade before. After much studying, they learned that pesticides being sprayed by nearby farmers were killing off these populations. Protests occurred, government was harassed, and finally laws were passed banning certain harmful pesticides. Here in the US, we're told, that the EPA is in charge of making such decisions. Unfortunately, when the EPA is looking for information on pesticides, it has the pesticide industry write the report. Surprisingly, nothing has been done. In France, within a year of these poisons being banned, the bees returned as healthy and in as large of numbers as before. Seems like maybe there is an answer to, "what's happening to our bees."
Without bees, we don't eat. It's as simple as that. The pesticides being used all over the world not only kill bees, but also harm the human population. The companies – like Monsanto – who invented these pesticides also invented things like Agent Orange; chemicals that have been used to wipe out millions of innocents in times of war. Although having killed millions, we're now told (and mostly believe) that they are harmless to us and our animals. We are offered a solution though- keep bees! As someone in the documentary said (I believe it was Michael Pollen), "instead of one beekeeper with 60,000 hives, we need 60,000 beekeepers, each with one hive. GO GET YOURSELF A HIVE!
It's a shame that documentaries like this fly under the radar while multi-billion dollar movies with no educational value at all, are seen by the majority of the population.
Hollywood Ending (2002)
Another Woody Allen Movie
There are certain Woody Allen movies that I don't fully appreciate- I don't like when he films in black and white and I'm not a big fan of slapstick comedy. The movies I prefer are the witty, dialogue rich, relationship based, contemporary feasts. I also prefer Allen to star in his own movies, mostly because when he doesn't, the lead character tends to be doing an imitation of Allen. This film, although I wouldn't give it a ten out of ten, certainly featured all of these ingredients.
Once again Allen has surrounded himself with an amazing cast of actors who aren't nobodies, but aren't quite superstars. I don't know if he chooses actors based on chemistry, or if that is something that just comes together when one is working for him. Whatever it is, it is on full display throughout Hollywood Ending.
Allen, as usual, plays a neurotic, under-appreciated, genius (called Val) with a knack for speech. He's a genuine artist who has been fired one too many times and is therefore stuck working on commercials and other lowbrow jobs. He has a live in girlfriend, an actress played by Debra Messing, who is pretty much just around because Val doesn't like to sleep alone. After getting fired from his last big picture, he is dumped by his then wife, Ellie (Tia Leoni) for the head of a studio, Hal (Treat Williams).
As Val is stuck in Canada filming a commercial (that he eventually gets fired from), Ellie is in Hollywood with her new Hal, trying to get him to use Val to direct their newest film. Everyone in attendance agrees that Val is a great director, but no one wants to hire him because of his mental problems. Finally Ellie convinces to Hal to give Val a chance and things begin to look up.
The night before filming is about to begin, Val makes an emergency call to Al (Mark Rydell) because he (Val) has suddenly gone blind. Trips to the doctor reveal that there is no brain tumor (as Val had obviously expected), nor are there problems with his eyes. Instead, as his analyst (of course, it is a Woody Allen movie) explains, it is completely psycho-somatic. Pressured by Al, Val decides to not tell anyone else and attempt to direct the movie anyway.
Mayhem obviously ensues, as it's never easy to direct a movie without the use of the eyes. Al agrees to be Val's guide, but on the first day is told that he is not allowed to be on the set. Eventually, after many hilarious incidences, the movie gets made.
Although the movie comes out horrible and Val is ultimately discovered, happiness does prevail. Life doesn't often have happy endings, so when one happens in a film it tends to feel forced or corny. Not with Woody Allen; maybe it's because so many of his movies do not end sad, or because even some of the films that end happy are also sad, but Mr. Allen sure knows how to make a happy ending out of a mess.
Overall, there have been better Woody Allen films and there have been worse. I would rank Hollywood Ending somewhere near the top of his list though. It never ceases to amaze me how Allen has written and directed over 70 films, many of which have the same general plot, and yet he never seems to lose his freshness.
Bonsái (2011)
A beautifully written and acted love story
There are certain qualities that independent films tend to have- whether they were filmed in Chile or France, whether in Spanish or English. The awkward pauses, incomplete sentences, and seemingly unemotional reactions of characters are all independent traits that also appear in Bonsai. While these characteristics have always slightly annoyed me, this was the first film I've seen of this variety in which I was able to somewhat relate to at least one of the characters.
Bonsai, deep down, is a romantic dramedy bouncing back and forth through time, showing us the life of a young(ish) writer/intellectual. Julio meets Emilia at a strange party, when he randomly asks her (it's not clear how well they know each other) if he can sleep in her bed with her. After some awkward dialogue, it is revealed that they both have a great love of books, and within minutes they are making sweet love. For the rest of the story we bounce back and forth between his growing relationship with Emilia and the present, eight years later, where he is stuck in an even stranger relationship with his neighbor, a woman called Blanca.
Blanca and Julio's relationship consists of nightly visits to each other's apartments for some (yet again) awkward, but deeply intelligent conversations and passionate sex. They don't talk about themselves too deeply, instead their discussions revolve around what they are currently interested in. For Blanca, it is her translation work and for Julio it is a fake job that he has transcribing a novel for a somewhat famous writer. It appears Julio may also work at some kind of National Library, as he spends a decent amount of time there- sometimes helping out and other times selling his books.
Meanwhile, in flashbacks we are treated to Julio's uber passionate true love romance with Emilia. There's seems like an almost perfect relationship; they spend there days walking in the park, drinking bagged liquor, talking about literature, and having great conversations. At night, they read together in bed (Emilia makes a rule that they must read to each other, out loud, every night) and then, more often then not, passionately make love. One day they decide to read all seven volumes of Proust, which if done at the rate of a page per night, would take between 10 and 20 years.
In the present, Julio's fake job did involve a real interview with the semi-famous writer. Even though he doesn't get the job, he is told that the book starts with the protagonist learning over the radio that his first love has just died. Julio steals this beginning and works on a novel of his own, with the purpose of fooling Blanca into thinking he has an actual job.
The story takes a strange and sad twist at the end, as Julio experiences loss, crushing depression, and what should be joy (it's hard to tell as I don't think he smiled once in the entire film) at the finishing of his novel. Julio and Emilia never do get a chance to finish Proust together, Julio and Blanca end their relationship on very strange terms, and the famous writer is lauded with praise for his new novel.
If you like literature, dialogue, interesting characters, and heartbreak, you should go rent this grossly underestimated film.
Husbands and Wives (1992)
One of the best of a long list of greats done by Woody Allen
My partner and I, while also watching other films, are working our way through the Woody Allen library. We're making our way from A to Z and just last night watched Husbands and Wives.
What I liked: What isn't there to like? Woody Allen turned in perhaps his greatest performance to date. He was witty and intelligent without being goofy, and didn't rely too much on physical humor. As usual Mia Farrow was excellent along side Mr Allen and even stole the show at certain points. Liam Neison, Sydney Pollack, Judy Davis, Juliette Lewis, and so many others performed fabulously. The dialogue, focus on relationships, single camera shots, and the soundtrack were all on par with other Allen movies I've seen. Unlike most movies, I didn't really notice much of an arch. There were a few dramatic parts – marriages ending and coming back together, flirtation with adultery – but for the most part the film started at a dinner engagement with strong dialogue and ended much the same.
What I didn't like: I'm hard pressed to find something I didn't like, but I also don't consider it the best movie I've ever seen, so there must be something. I suppose I would have enjoyed Allen and Lewis actually having an affair. Other than that, there's nothing negative I can think of to say. A life lived without seeing this film is a live lived incompletely.
The Last King of Scotland (2006)
I overcame my ADD for this one.
I don't believe that ADD is a real disease, at least if it is it's grossly over diagnosed and mistreated. Still, I have trouble making through films longer than 90 minutes. There have been few films throughout my 33 years that have held my attention longer, but generally – even if I'm pretty captivated – I lose interest after an hour and a half. The Last King of Scotland was two hours, yet it felt like I didn't blink once.
The main character is Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) who seems to be a spoiled Scottish man. The movie opens with him having graduated medical school. Him and a number of classmates strip their clothing and jump into a river, maybe showing his wild and untamed side. The next scene involved him at a dinner with his parents. His father seems to be a disciplinarian who, while proud of Garrigan, has snide comments. I wish there would've been more depth into Garrigan's family and the relationship between him and his father, as it may relate to the way he interacted with General Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) later in the movie.
Garrigan seeks adventure before settling down to his life of medicine and picks a spot at random to volunteer. He chooses Uganda (after a failed attempt in which his finger landed in Canada) and within ten minutes of the movie starting, we are transported to this colorful African country. It's 1970' only a couple decades have passed since the end of colonial rule, although the British still have a major influence. The white Garrigan moves freely, even getting off of the bus to have sex with a woman (his sexual desire will play a huge role later). It is against this background and with a carefree attitude that Garrigan starts his volunteer time a religious organization giving shots to Ugandan children.
While driving with Sarah Merrit (Gillian Anderson), his bosses wife, he is stopped by the military. At first nervous, the pair seems to relax when they're informed the General has been in an accident and needs medical attention. They arrive at a scene where the car driving General Amin hit a cow. There are armed soldiers who look like they are no older than 18 and have little experience handling the rifles they are in command of. Garrigan helps Amin, then brazenly steals a gun from the hood of a car and puts the suffering cow out of its misery. After a moment of tenseness, Amin takes a liking to Garrigan and trades shirts- giving the young man his General's shirt in exchange for shirt with the Scottish flag.
Back at the reservation Garrigan's attempt to make out with Merrit is rejected, although there is obvious passion. Shortly after, Gerrigan gets a call from Amin's men informing him that the General would like a meeting. In Amin's office, Gerrigan is offered a job as the General's physician which, after rejecting, he eventually accepts.
The rest of the movie moves quickly, with Gerrigan becoming the General's closest and most trusted adviser. There are clues throughout the movie that Amin is a tyrant, but nothing solid. A British diplomat keeps trying to get the attention of Gerrigan, who rejects the man and his request for information concerning the General. Around this time, Garrigan becomes interested in one of the General's wives, Kay Amin (Kerry Washington); bad things await.
The General buys Garrigan a new car and immediately asks for a ride. Gerrigan accepts and on the way armed militants attempt to kill the General. They manage to get away, but the rest of his team is killed and the General suspects everyone. By this point, Gerrigan is noticing more shady happenings occurring around the General. There is one other man whom the General trusts, but one night Garrigan sees the man at a hotel talking with some white men. Due to the paranoia of the General and Garrigan, he confesses to the General what he saw at the hotel.
Days later Garrigan is convinced to attend a meeting with the diplomat and a writer for the NY Times who has been reporting on the genocide committed by the General. It turns out that number two's meeting with the white men was because they represented a pharmaceutical company. Nothing underhanded. Now the man has disappeared, which makes the nervousness and guilt of Garrigan grow exponentially. Another personal complaint happens now; in addition to wanting more information about Garrigan's relationship with his father, I would like to know about what's going through his head while things go from great to bad to horrible.
The General is going crazier and crazier and eventually kicks out all British and threatens to expel all non- state run media as well. Garrigan asks if he can go home, but is rejected. That night at a party for the General, Garrigan sleeps with Kay. They are almost caught and when Garrigan returns home his house has been ransacked and his Scottish passport has been replaced with its Ugandan counterpart. Kay and Garrigan keep the affair going. Then things get crazy.
Kay gets pregnant and while attempting an abortion, gets caught by the military. This leads to Garrigan finding her body – with arms, legs, and head cut off – at his hospital. He freaks out and, following the advice of the diplomat (his new best friend) attempts to kill the General. He is caught, tortured, and left for dead. In the end he escapes and we public opinion of the dictator quickly drops; power is lost soon after.
All in all, some beautiful performances were given. It bothers me when the main character is an African, but played by a USian- was it really that hard to find an actual African? When all is said and done though, there isn't much to complain about.