DVD Mini Reviews

Starting Monday, I will be revealing my Top Ten Best and Worst of 2012 lists. For now, here are the last of the DVD's I've watched for movies released this year.

Safety Not Guaranteed
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson, Mark Duplass
Plot: A group of journalists investigate a newspaper ad looking for a time travel partner.
Thoughts: Some parts of this comedy are really cute and Plaza is a great indie leading lady. However, for every sweet, funny moment, there are just as many cliches.
Grade: C

Bernie
Starring: Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Shirley McClaine
Plot: A seemingly sweet funeral director may have a very surprising dark side.
Thoughts: Every one seemed to love this movie as it's made it's way onto Top Ten lists and received award nominations. I found it to be impressive only because they managed to get Jack Black to not act like an idiot for an hour and forty minutes. McConaughey is having some kind of year, though.
Grade: C-

Sound of My Voice
Starring: Brit Marling
Plot: Two investigative journalists infiltrate a cult where the members worship a woman who claims to be from the future.
Thoughts: I absolutely loved this movie and find Marling to be stunning. It's almost impossible to take your eyes off of her. A star is born.
Grade: B

Seeking a Friend For the End of the World
Starring: Steve Carrell, Keira Knightley
Plot: Two strangers who have zero chemistry take a road trip to find the man's long lost love before the world ends.
Thoughts: Like I said, Carrell and Knightley have zero chemistry. Still, parts of this are really cute. But the ending ultimately ruined it for me. If it had ended a few moments earlier, I would have given this a much better grade.
Grade: D

The Deep Blue Sea
Starring: Rachel Weisz
Plot: A woman struggles with suicide and depression after leaving her rich husband for another man.
Thoughts: I tried to watch this once before, months ago, and I couldn't make it past twenty minutes. Still, it does get better. Some of it is visually stunning and Weisz is perfection. Still, kinda boring.
Grade: C

Damsels in Distress
Starring: Greta Gerwig
Plot: A group of college students try to prevent suicide and also dance.
Thoughts: Seriously, painful and unwatchable.
Grade: F

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Starring: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy
Plot: A group of older people move to India to live at a once thriving hotel.
Thoughts: This movie is quite charming and sweet. Of course, Maggie Smith is the queen bitch of the world. Love her. (That's a compliment)
Grade: B-

Your Sister's Sister
Starring: Emily Blunt, RoseMarie Dewitt, Mark Duplass
Plot: A down on his luck guy manages to become involved in a love triangle with his best friend and her lesbian sister while spending a weekend at a secluded cabin.
Thoughts: A really winning, cute movie with a very likeable cast.
Grade: B

Arbitrage
Starring: Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Nate Parker, Tim Roth, Brit Marling
Plot: A super rich man becomes involved in a hit and run case while dealing with a failing business / fraud.
Thoughts: A really taut, exceptional thriller / drama. Performances by Gere and Parker are electrifying and worth the rental alone.
Grade: B

Pitch Perfect
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin
Plot: A freshman in college becomes involved in an accapella singing group.
Thoughts: When this movie is at it's best, it's campy, wonderful fun, reminiscent of Bring It On. When it's at its worst, it's cheesy and silly. Still, the fun wins out in the end.
Grade: B

The Greatest (DVD)

What a hidden gem of a movie! Totally unexpected and with so much heart and emotion, The Greatest (which had a limited theatrical run back in April) is most definitely one of the best movies of the year! Right out of the gate, the cast is fantastic for such a small movie. Susan Sarandon, Pierce Brosnan, Aaron Johnson, Carey Mulligan, Johnny Simmons (!!), Michael Shannon (!!!), and Zoe Kravitz appear in the indie film.
Sarandon and Brosnan star as a couple dealing with the death of their eldest son, Bennett, (Johnson) in a car crash. They had marital problems before the death and their grief, and the different ways they choose to deal with it, is only pushing them further and further apart. In fact, Sarandon becomes closer to the man responsible for the crash (Shannon) who just so happens to be in a comma. Meanwhile, Brosnan becomes close to Rose (Mulligan), who shows up at their door one day, pregnant with their dead sons baby after only one night together. Then there is their youngest son Ryan (Simmons) who is dealing with the grief his own way, doing drugs and falling for a girl in his grief meetings (Kravitz).
It sounds like a typical melodramatic film but it isn't at all. The script by Shana Feste, who also directed, is so clever and interesting, jumping around to different moments, that the movie never fails to be interesting. In fact, most of the relationship between Rose and Bennett plays out entirely in flashbacks. (The title comes from a particularly intimate well-done moment in the film when Bennett says his one night with Rose was the greatest).
The performances are all top-notch and, really, what else would you expect from such an amazing cast? Sarandon is phenomenal as the mother in mourning, unable to let her son go and unable to accept Rose into their lives. Brosnan, whose character chooses to deal with the loss in entirely different way, is impressive as well. Mulligan continutes to show promise. She's not just a once and done actress who made a great movie (An Education) and will wither away and disappear. She's hear to stay and she's formidable, with her porcelain looks and mixture of vulnerability and toughness (she might have made a better Lisbeth Salander than Rooney Mara but I'll save that rant for another time). Then there's Johnny Simmons, who I adore beyond words. Mostly, my love for him has to do with the fact that he is super adorable. But he is truly impressive in this film. He's one part comic relief, one part ticking time bomb. There is a scene in one of his grief counseling meetings where he is devastating to watch.
It's a depressing movie to watch, for sure, but it is most definitely worth it.
Grade: A-

Speed Racer + mini reviews

Speed Racer - Based soley on the cast (Emile Hirsch! Christina Ricci! Susan Sarandon! John Goodman!), I thought this movie might be pretty damn good. I had my reservations, of course. A PG racing flick might be a little too kiddie - it doesn't matter who is involved. However, it is from the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix series) so I thought, if nothing else, it will look pretty spectacular. And it does look spectacular, in a sort of hyper colorful cotton candy way that is cool for about ten minutes before it makes you feel so dizzy that you feel it might make you sick. The plot itself goes from serious to over the top to campy to ridiculous without any rhyme or reason. Emile Hirsch (who I love so much) does a decent job at trying to make his cartoon character (in every sense of the word) into a real person the audience cares about. He never quite gets there but it's not entirely his fault. In fact, you can't really blame any of the actors. I guess it all looked good on paper and it's not their fault the directors turned it into a crazy, out of control, so bright it hurts your eyes carnival. Throw in an annoying little kid and a monkey and this movie is just a disaster. It really pains me to do this because I wanted to like it. For the sake of the actors (especially Emile who I have loved in everything he's ever done), I really wanted to like it. Alas, it's just too awful. It was the first movie in a long, long, long time that I wanted to walk out of.
Grade: F

Delirious - Ah, Michael Pitt. He of the gorgeous blue eyes and those lovely lips. I would watch anything with him in it based purely on very shallow reasons. Is he an exceptionally wonderful actor? I would say no although I did enjoy him in quite a few things. But maybe that's because he's gorgeous... Anyway, it helps that Delirious is actually a decent enough movie. Co-starring Steve Buscemi (!!) and Alison Lohman, it tells the story of a homeless wannabe actor (Pitt) who befriends a paparazzi (Buscemi) before falling in love with a Britney-esque pop-star (Lohman). It's a dark indie comedy that actually has a heart. The end actually almost melted my little black heart a little bit.
Grade: B


One Missed Call - One Missed Call is this intelligent socioeconomic think piece about the way instant technology is slowly destroying our communications skills with each other on a purely humane level. Or... it's just a really shitty horror movie starring some pretty people and some annoying people. Shannyn Sossamon (what were you thinking?!??!!) stars as a young co-ed who has to battle the evil spirits who travel from cell phone to cell phone. If they call your cell phone... then you die! Can you say scary? No, you can't. Because it's not. At all. Not even a little bit.
Grade: D-


What Happens in Vegas - Pretty people (Ashton Kutcher, Cameron Diaz) meet cute in Las Vegas. They get drunk. They get married. Upon realizing their mistake, they decide to part (not so) amicably. Then, surprise! They win $3 million and are sentenced to do 6 months married time (I think I'd rather go to prison) before the judge (Dennis Miller) unfreezes the fortune. Can you imagine what happens next? If you guessed "they really fall in love" then you hit the bullseye! Congratulations for being such a forward thinker. It's lame and cliche. It's been done a million times before. Kutcher and Diaz are both exceedingly charming on their own but they have absolutely no chemistry whatsoever together.
Grade: D+

Young @ Heart - Young @ Heart is cute enough. It's also at times hilarious and heartbreaking. But, is cute and heartbreaking enough? Not exactly. The documentary follows the lives of about 25 senior citizens in a Massachusetts choir who cover songs like "Golden Age," "Nothing Compares 2 U," and "Schitzophrenia." (No, seriously). These songs by Bowie and the Talking Heads and the Ramones never had their lyrics mean quite the same thing as they do when they are being sung by a group of people in their 70s and 80s. There are moments when you'll laugh so hard you'll cry. And there will be other moments when you will be moved to tears for other reasons. Still, Young @ Heart at times doesn't feel like it delves deep enough. I wanted more. I wanted something else from the experience. Ultimately, it feels like something you could catch on a one hour television special and not like a full feature documentary.
Grade: C+

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - My Lord, what cinematography! The film is shot beautifully. It's a breathtaking film to watch with performances that are really top notch. I can take or leave Brad Pitt but he did a good enough job as the outlaw Jesse James. Sam Rockwell, I thought, was excellent in his supporting role, especially in his last few scenes on screen. But the star of the show is really Casey Affleck as Robert Ford. Surprise, surprise! He is the star of this movie, not a supporting actor (Sorry to burst the Academy's bubble). Jesse James dies and guess what? The story continues! Because it's not about Jesse James. It's about Robert Ford. (Spoiler...) When Robert Ford dies, guess what? The story ends! Affleck definitely deserved his Oscar nomination. He's just riveting to watch, creating such a perfectly creepy yet naively innocent character. The movie itself is fantastic. I could have done without the narration which was more distracting than anything else but ultimately I felt the movie was pretty damn great.
Grade: A-

Lust, Caution - Ang Lee's NC-17 story about war, deception and crazy sex, Lust, Caution is slow burning and completely absorbing. It follows a group of drama students who decide to take their act into the real world, portraying make believe people in an effort to get close to a man they feel is helping the war effort. Tang Wei plays a woman, once shy and naive, who gets a little too close to said man. The results are intense. It's a riveting film totally worth checking out.
Grade: B+

Enchanted, No Country For Old Men, December Movie Preview

Enchanted - Remember when Disney used to make good movies like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid? Well, they haven't completely lost their touch. Not only is Enchanted, well, enchanting (yeah, with a name like that, they are just asking for it) but also it takes you back to the golden day of Disney films which were full of evil witches, pretty maidens, poison apples and scary dragons. Enchanted is the perfect blend of animation and live action which makes it's story telling a throw back to old school classics while still feeling fresh and unique. The pretty maiden Giselle (Amy Adams) falls in love with Prince Edward (James Marsden) but when his evil step mother Queen (Susan Sarandon) finds out, she sets a trap that sends Giselle to a place where happily ever after doesn't exist - New York City. Prince Edward follows to find his one true love and, well, many a comedic thing happens. While in the Big Apple, Giselle meets a cynical New Yorker named Robert (McDreamy... I mean, Patrick Dempsey... I wonder how Dempsey feels to know there are people out there - me in particular - who only refer to him as McDreamy? That's probably weird, huh?) who she eventually falls in love with eventhough he has a super awesome girlfriend named Nancy who is played by none other than one of my lady crushes Idina Menzel. All hail Idina!!! Sorry, that's a bit off track, yes? Anyway, that's enough plot. There's a lot of singing and dancing and lots of animals and dress making. This movie is really the definition of "light entertainment." It's really such a perfect family movie. I'm a cynical bitch and I even liked the goddamn thing! The casting is just perfect. While McDreamy is not necessarily my type (I'll take McSteamy, thanks), so many women are in love with him that he really makes such a perfect modern day Prince Charming. Susan Sarandon was more or less born to play an evil stepmother / bitchy queen. I just wish she had more screentime. Unfortunately, she was usually animated or in dragon form. If they would have given her a meatier role, she would have been simply divine. James Marsden is absolutely hilarious and perfect. I'll take him over McDreamy ANYDAY! He's just brilliant. I can't really even describe what makes him so perfect for this role but he just is. You'll have to see it to understand. The same can be said for Miss Amy Adams. I think she's going to become huge thanks to this movie. Also, frontrunner for Best Actress Oscar much? My money is on her. She's simply perfect. Her perfection is just almost beyond words. No one else could have possibly played this part but her. She's simply divine. She's finally becoming the star she should have become after her great turn in Junebug. She's at this weird Julia Roberts / Julie Andrews place in her career right now. I say good for her. Anyway, the film is really just great so check it out!

Grade: B

No Country For Old Men - It's very hard for me to review this movie. It almost doesn't really seem like a movie to me. It's more than a movie. It's better than a movie. It's almost like a piece of art, amazingly beautiful. You just want to stand and look at it for hours and hours. The Coen Brothers have definitely crafted a masterpiece here. They knock it out of the park with this violent, pretty western drama. No Country For Old Men is slow-moving and character driven. It's violent and bloody and absolutely beautiful. There's humor aplenty but it is definitely a tough and gritty story. This is a thriller that doesn't disappoint or skimp on the thrills. Javier Bardem gives the absolute best performance of his career (of the year? ...so far). His portrayal is one of unrelenting evil, true derangement. It's a performance about a human being with no humanity. It's one of the greatest psychopathic characters ever captured on film. Yes, ever. The greatest thing about his character is that he is absolutely not cliched in the tiniest way. It's a character whose lunacy and craziness you can enjoy. It's a frightening, terrifying, masterful performance. I felt absolutely nervous and excited every time he graced the screen. Josh Brolin is great as well. He's really had a great year since he was also impressive in Grindhouse / Planet Terror. If Bardem didn't steal this movie in every way possible, you'd surely spend more time talking about Brolin's great performance. Then there's Tommy Lee Jones (who is not too old to be one of my movie star boyfriends). He isn't used much but he's used well. His scenes pepper the movie and add a great understated effect. He's also had a hell of a year with this performance along with his great turn in In the Valley of Elah. Then there's Kelly MacDonald. If it's a slow year in the Best Supporting Actress race (but, really, with all those Atonement women, how could it be?), she could sneak in there. Her final scene on screen is just a revelation to watch. The cinematography (by Roger Deakin) is breathtaking. There are scenes in this movie which are just up there with the best scenes I have ever seen in a film. There is one scene featuring Bardem in a gas station which has little to do with the actual plot development but which is still just a pleasure to watch. I'm not going to talk plot at all because it's better if you go into something like this knowing as little as possible. Be prepared for it to be slow-paced and violent. That's all you need to know. Other than the fact that it's one of the two best movies of the year (unless December REALLY wows me). It's just a masterpiece.

Grade: A+

December Movie Preview

December 5 - Juno hits New York and Los Angeles. At this point, I am tempted to drive to New York just to see this movie. I won't... but that's how much I want to see it. Ellen Page, Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Allison Janney... my god. This movie looks fantastic.

December 7 - Atonement starts it's limited release. It looks like my kind of love story - epic and potentially tragic. Plus, I love James McAvoy. The Golden Compass opens as well. I wasn't interested in it at all until Inge told me some background on it. Perhaps I'll see it now. I mean, Eva Green and Daniel Craig are in it so that's a plus! Grace is Gone opens in limited. I really hope John Cusack is as good as everyone says he is here. I really hope he'll finally get an Oscar nomination. Unfortunately, the race is probably too heavy at this point.

December 14 - Alvin and the Chipmunks? Me thinks not. I am, however, very excited about seeing I Am Legend. If there's one person I trust saving the world, it's Will Smith. The Kite Runner and Youth Without Youth open in limited release. Which means I probably won't see them this year.

December 21 - Charlie Wilson's War looks surprisingly better than I thought it would. Tom Hanks has an inherent charm about him. Put him with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Julia Roberts and Amy Adams and, wow. What a line-up! When I see the trailer for National Treasure: Book kof Secrets, all I can think is: "Helen Mirren and Ed Harris are better than this." P.S. I Love You opens and looks... cutesy. That's not a good thing. The best parts are probably the parts with Lisa Kudrow from the trailer. Skip. Sweeney Todd opens as well. I'm disappointed that they are trying to hide the fact that it's a musical. Embrace it! Then there is Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Might be hilarious. Might be stupid. We'll see.

December 25 - Alien vs. Predator - Requim opens. No, I'm serious. The Bucket List opens in limited release probably just so Jack can try to get another Oscar nomination. Hell, I would give it to him but that's just me. The Water Horse opens for all the little kiddies. I'd say skip it and go see Enchanted again.

December 26 - There Will Be Blood opens in New York. Again, maybe I'll drive there just to see the showdown between one of the great (Daniel Day-Lewis) and one of the upcoming greats (Paul Dano).

December 28 - Two limited releases that I would love to see open in limited: Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream (eventhough the buzz is NOT good. Still, I would see anything Woody does. And I would recommend anything Woody does... unless it has the words "Jade Scorpion" in the title) and The Orphanage, a creepy Spanish horror movie.

In the Valley of Elah, Feast of Love, and more!

In the Valley of Elah - There are people who didn't like Paul Haggis' directorial debut Crash because it was soapy and over-dramatic. I absolutely loved Crash but I do understand where said critics are coming from. The thing about In the Valley of Elah is that it proves that Haggis embraced one of the most wonderful tools a director has in his arsenal: restraint. Instead of going with the interconnected multiple story lines, Elah follows one main story throughout the film. Instead of going for the overly-emotional, this film embraces understated performances, namely from Tommy Lee Jones who is just spectacular in this movie. It is actually very brave of Haggis to make serious changes to the style that won him Best Picture at the Oscars. It's even more impressive that it works so well for him. To the story, Hank (Jones, in his best performance) goes searching for his son (Jonathan Tucker - although he's barely in it) and he meets a lot of military people who don't really want to tell him much. He tries to get help from the cops. At first they don't want to help him find out where his son is either. He starts investigating by himself but is soon joined by a cop played by Charlize Theron. One of the things I like about the movie is it doesn't preach it's message. Clearly, it's got quite a few negative things to say about the war in Iraq but it's all done very subtley and the film isn't a two hour tirade against it. Tommy Lee Jones' performance could quite possibly be the best of his career. He is the strong, silent type and brings so much emotion to the role. Theron is strong as well but nothing to write home about. Sarandon may be a tad underused but she's powerful and perfect when she's featured. The film isn't necessarily long (2 hours) but it feels long. At first I wasn't sure I liked the ending but the more I think about it, the more I do. I was waiting for a conspiracy, the other shoe to drop, so to speak. But, sometimes, the motives for things aren't so cut and dry. War changes people. In the Valley of Elah is a strong film about the effects of war on people. It's also a solid crime thriller. I'm not sure it will win Best Picture but there will probably be at least three Oscar nominations (Jones, Sarandon, Screenplay). It's an easy film to get interested in. It's captivating and very moving.

Grade: B

Feast of Love - Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this movie. I thought it was going to be just another sappy, cheesy love story. But I was pleasantly surprised. It's a funny, smart, sexy, tragic story about relationships - not just romantic relationships but the relationships we form with different people in our lives. The movie stars Morgan Freeman as Harry, a college professor who is struggling with the death of his son to a drug overdose and who extends his leave of absence at the University of Portland. Meanwhile, he becomes a sort of father figure to numorous other characters including Bradley's (Greg Kinnear) hopeless romantic but bad luck with love coffee shop owner. At first he's married to Kathryn (Selma Blair). But then she leaves him for another woman. Next he gets married to Diana (Radha Mitchell) who is having an affair with a married man, David, played by Billy Burke. The affair was going on before she met Bradley and it continues up until she marries Bradley and then continues when she leaves Bradley for David. While Bradley is unlucky in love, star crossed young lovers Chloe and Oscar (Alexa Davalos and Toby Hemingway - each prettier than the other) fall in love at first sight and their passion and love overcomes the fact that they have no money, only a dream for the future where they'll live in a house with a foyer. This film peels back the layers of humanity and explores the different personalities within people. The number of intimate moments (so much nudity) and personal insecurities are too many to count and list. But isn't that like in real life? This film is very realistic. Very rarely do you see movies like this on-screen. Is it a little watered down? Sure. But it's more realistic than most 'romance' movies. The best story line probably follows Freeman and Jane Alexander as an interracial couple hurting deeply from the loss of their son but the strength of their relationship allows them to deal with the grief in separate ways. It's no light-hearted chick flick. Thank God! It's interesting and tender and heartbreaking and just plain realistic. It's not a romantic drama. It's a human drama and it's surprisingly endearing.

Grade: B-

Hot Fuzz - The movie is mostly funny and well done. Lots of great action film throw backs. However, it's about 25 minutes too long. Still, enjoyable. Grade: C+

The Game Plan - Ugh. There were a few things I laughed at so it makes it better than Good Luck Chuck, for sure. The Rock isn't a great actor but at the very least he has charm and charisma. Predictable. Whatever. Grade: D+

October Movie Preview

October 5 - I'll be rushing to see Feel the Noise since I love urban dance movies. The Heartbreak Kid, I guess, is the big draw. I'm not really a fan of Ben Stiller's but I'll check it out anyway. In non-movie news, the new season of Friday Night Lights premieres. If you don't watch it, you don't know what you're missing. It's the best show on television. Period.

October 12 - Michael Clayton opens wide. I can take or leave George Clooney but I'll be there because of Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson (who looks like he rocks this movie!). Elizabeth: The Golden Age opens. Cate Blanchett will probably be Oscar nominated. The movie stars a lot of pretty people - Cate, Clive Owen, Abbie Cornish, Samantha Morton. Too bad the whole thing just looks so unnecessary. Lars and the Real Girls opens in limited so if you live in a city you can see Ryan Gosling have sex with a blow-up doll. Color me jealous. Then there is a potentially good / potentially bad movie starring one of my movie star boyfriends (I should make a list of them all, huh?). We Own The Night stars Joaquin Phoenix and I'll be there because he's SEXY.

October 19 - The coolest idea for a vampire movie EVER opens, 30 Days of Night and it stars Ben Foster so you know it's going to be way cool. Some probably-dumb sports movie spoof called The Comebacks open. Jan from The Office is in it. Too bad that won't make me go see it. Ben Affleck's directorial debut Gone Baby Gone opens. It stars his younger (cooler) brother Casey Affleck. It's based on a book by the guy that wrote Mystic River. It may be awesome. We'll see if Ben is a better director than he has been an actor lately. Rendition opens. It stars lots of Oscar winners/nominees (Meryl! Reese! Jake! - Peter Sarsgaard gets no love in the trailer because he's never been nominated). I sort of think this movie has TRAINWRECK written all over it. Reservation Road opens in limited. More Joaquin although the movie looks like an In The Bedroom rip-off. Things We Lost in the Fire opens. It stars Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro. The trailer is, quite possibly, the worst trailer ever made. I have faith in Benicio. I do NOT have faith in Halle. Wristcutters: A Love Story opens in very limited release. With a name like that, man, you know it's my kind of movie.

October 26 - The trailer for Dan in Real Life only makes me feel sad for Steve Carrell and his choice of films as of late. But it doesn't matter almost because no one is going to see that movie. Wanna know why? Saw IV opens. I liked the first one, hated the second one and loved the third one. We'll see where this one falls in the spectrum.