Archive for the ‘Movie Reviews’ Category
There comes a point in every man’s life when he realizes it’s finally time to grow up. There comes a time when he realizes it’s time to stop running, stop hiding, and stop avoiding careers, responsibilities, and commitments. There comes a time in every man’s life when he realizes it’s time to buy a life-size, anatomically correct … doll.
Lars (Ryan Gosling) is a man who likes to be left alone. He’s friendly and people like him, but he just wants to be left alone. His sister-in-law won’t have it, she makes it her personal mission to crack him open and integrate him into modern society. Lars does what any man would do in such a situation, he turns to the internet.
Lars and the Real Girl is a film about family. Essentially, this film is one giant Bar Mitzvah, as an entire town comes together to help Lars as he transitions to adulthood. It’s clever, well-acted, and has a heart. As far as I’m concerned, Juno robbed Lars of it’s best screenplay Oscar, and I loved Juno. In it’s own dark, twisted way, Lars and the Real Girl is about a village that comes together to raise a child; a child coming of age; a child who discovers that as scary as real life is, it is a lot more fun than any childhood fantasy.
- 1,247 arbitrary stars
Tags: academy-award, Juno, Lars-and-the-Real-Girl, Movie Reviews, Movies, oscar, Ryan-Gosling
Related Posts:
Waitress is a film attempting to convince the world that life is like a good pie. Kind of bitter and salty, but when you get through the crust, it can be warm, gooey, and delicious. The film is a lot like that. It’s extremely bitter toward marriage and the dialogue is full of salt and vinegar. Even the main cast is a bunch of unhappy middle-aged women led by a woman named Jenna (Keri Russel), but as soon as you get past their bite, it’s nothing but fruit filling.
I really did not want to like this movie. It’s full of infidelity and betrays much of what I stand for. There was a certain point where I was all but convinced I absolutely did not like it, yet just like a good pie, I forgot all about that salty crust and the warm goo at the heart of the film promptly won me over.
- 143.2 arbitrary stars.
Tags: keri-russel, Movie Reviews, Movies, pie, waitress
Related Posts:
If you have ever dreamed of a real-life adaptation of a Bugs Bunny cartoon, your dreams have finally come true. Shoot ‘Em Up is torn straight from the pages of the old Looney Tunes animation slates, complete with carrots, cartoon violence, and rude, crude juvenile humor. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as clever, and some would say it borders on pornography (i.e. expression or implication which appeals to the base or sensual desires of a person and is contrary to the established moral code of the society), but it sure is fun. Sit down, turn off your brain, and enjoy … if you can stomach it.
- 137 arbitrary stars
Tags: bugs-bunny, carrot, clive-owen, looney-tunes, Movie Reviews, Movies, shoot-em-up
Related Posts:
Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) is a hard-nosed thug. He is tough and emotionless; he fears no one, not even his crime lord boss. He is quiet and lives by his own code. He is old school.
Yet, when you look into his eyes, you see something completely different. Nikolai is a character out of the old Westerns, a quiet, stoic man who lives by his own values. There’s only one problem. He’s the bad guy.
Mortensen steals this show. Naomi Watts delivers a good performance as Anna, but you hardly notice her. She is but a tool to uncover the dichotomy of Nikolai’s character. Why is she so drawn to him? Why does he make her feel safe? What drives him? This is the duality and conflict Peter Jackson was dreaming of when he cast Mortensen as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings.
Eastern Promises is a brutal film. It is dark, it is rugged, and it is tough, but it has a heart underneath all the grit. This is Nikolai’s story, and Mortensen captures the essence of that story with every glance. He speaks little, telling his story with his eyes. He is a man to be feared, but you can’t help being drawn to him. It is the same with this film.
- 297 arbitrary stars
Tags: eastern-promises, lord-of-the-rings, Movie Reviews, Movies, naomi-watts, peter-jackson, viggo-mortensen, western
Related Posts:
High School is an awkward time for most. It is a time in which new adolescents transition to adulthood and prepare for the “real” world. Some people take this time very seriously; some too seriously; others not seriously enough. Others still are far too busy dealing with more serious issues to even think about High School or what lies ahead. This is the case for Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson) in Rocket Science.
Hal Hefner has a stuttering problem. He can’t even order a slice of pizza let alone talk to anyone long enough to make any friends. He is a joke among his peers; an outcast. He is “that guy that stutters.” All that changes, however, when Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick), the snobbishly mature brunette knockout approaches Hal about joining the debate team and becoming her protégé. Her last partner was a debate legend who flaked in the final debate of the state championships. She seeks to rectify her missed opportunity.
Ginny empowers Hal. He cannot understand her motives, so her words have to be true. He is smart, he just can’t get his mouth to cooperate with his mind. Ginny gives him the courage to face this challenge, despite the laughter of his peers. With her by his side, he can conquer anything. It all seems too good to be true.
Rocket Science is a movie about High School that stays true to its subject. There are no easy answers in High School and you will find none in this film. There are no miracles; no deus ex machinas, these are real kids with real problems. In the end, it turns out they’re the same problems we all face. In the end, Rocket Science is a movie about a kid trying to find his place in the world; a kid just trying to make sense of it all.
It shouldn’t be Rocket Science.
- 214 arbitrary stars
Tags: anna-kendrick, awkward, deus-ex-machina, high-school, Movie Reviews, Movies, reece-thompson, rocket-science, stuttering
Related Posts:
Subscribe in a reader