diy projects || movie reviews || joey's photos
First and foremost, I am in no way a professional movie reviewer. I don't have a degree in journalism and I've never attended a film school. I do love film though...I love original ideas and movies that challenge the viewer...I love to be sucked in and removed from reality for ninety minutes and being at the mercy of someone's imagination...I love a good documentary and seeing a situation from a different angle other than my own.
Having thrown that disclaimer out there what follows below are my humble opinions of movies I've seen in the theater or on DVD. The reviews may not be grammatically perfect (I love to use WAY too many commas for example), but they're my own honest thoughts. I hope that you'll take the time to browse through as the list grows...and maybe I'll be able to turn you on to a film or two that you may not have otherwise given a chance or heard of. Enjoy!
My best friend was in town this last weekend, and we decided to go see a film. We were stuck in Greeley, CO for the evening so our choices were limited. The decision was essentially boiled down to either the Harold and Kumar film, the new Jackie Chan flick, 88 Minutes, or Deception. I've enjoyed Ewan McGregor's performances in other films so far, and Deception seemed like a cool twisty and turny kinda gig, so in the end we settled on it.
I can see what they were going for, but in the end I felt like the execution was just off. Not even performances by the likes of Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman could save this film. The plot was so generic and predictable. Not only that, but I didn't care enough about any characters to really feel the impact of any of the "twists". The only upside to watching this film was seeing Michelle Williams (from The Station Agent) in another flick...but in the end it just wasn't enough.
We left the theater feeling cheated. This Hollywood cookie-cutter movie just couldn't hold its own, and in retrospect we honestly should have gone to see 88 Minutes...
Movie Trailer:
rating:
I've been waiting for quite some time to see Lars and the Real Girl. So when the DVD arrived last night I made sure to finish everything I was doing at that moment so that I could give this movie my full attention. I quickly cooked up some dinner, swapped out the laundry, and then sat down to watch this highly anticipated film.
The main story revolves around Lars (Ryan Gosling), a man in his late twenties that lives in the garage of the house that his brother and his brother's wife live in. He's the kind of guy who prefers to be left alone. His brother's wife constantly attempts to invite him over for meals and include him but Lars always seems to find a way out of it. Other people try to get his attention too, especially Margo (Kelli Garner...holy cute)...a girl who works with him. But Lars is a tough nut to crack and avoids contact of any form if he's at all able. At some point it all becomes too much for Lars and he seems to lose grasp of reality on some level. This is made very apparent by the arrival of his new girlfriend, Bianca. She's not like most girls...to put it mildly. In fact, she's not a girl at all, she's a sex doll that Lars has ordered over the internet. But Lars has started to have dillusions and believes that Bianca is his girlfriend in a very Quixote kind of way. She's his Dulcinea.
Lars' brother sees nothing but trouble in this situation and essentially tries to make it go away. The family doctor (played by the enteremely talented Patricia Clarkson from great movies such as Pieces of April and The Station Agent) convinces his brother to go with it, and that Lars is going through something that has to happen. This is where the film shows its tender side as we see the entire small town come together to make Bianca feel at home to help Lars out.
I really, really enjoyed this film (and even got teary eyed at one point). If you're up for a touching comedy-ish film then this is the one to watch!
Movie Trailer:
rating:
In this day and age of Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich (post The Patriot) films it's rare that we, the audience, get a chance to see a film that breaks through the mold and gives us a breath of fresh air. The whole Hollywood cookie-cutter film machine is getting old...and it seems to mock the intelligence of movie-goers. I swear, if one more remake or sequel is announced I may just cut my own wrists (ok, not really, but it made for a nice transition)...which ironically brings me to the topic of this particular review for the gem that I recently discovered titled Wristcutters: A Love Story.
I didn't know quite what to expect going into this film. I had seen the trailer and knew that it had Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous) and Shannyn Sossamon (The Rules of Attraction) in the cast (and of course an appearance by the infamous Tom Waits), and that the movie revolved around a young man that commits suicide and goes to a purgatory of sorts. One thing that drew me to the film was the character of Eugene, who was partially based on Eugene Hütz (the lead singer of Gogol Bordello and the actor that played Alex in the film Everything is Illuminated). At first glance it seemed to have the perfect blend of elements to make it seem like a very interesting viewing experience.
And interesting is exactly what it turned out to be. The three main characters, each for their own reason, go on a journey through this world that is the destination for all people who commit suicide. Zia (Fugit) is on a quest to leave the city he 'lives' in to find his girlfriend after learning she took her life shortly after he did. His buddy Eugene is just along for the ride, since he really deosn't have anything better to do. And along the way they pick up Mikal (Sossamon), a hitchhiker who is determined to find the people in charge, as she believes she has been put in this place by mistake.
The world they find themselves in is a dull one. In this place no one can smile, everything is a little worse there than it was in life, and everyone they run into is a suicide victim. But even in all of that dread there lives a tiny hint of magic, wonder, and miracles. While I was watching it I found myself wondering who actually was in charge and trying to figure out the rules of that place. It made me think...and I loved that about this film.
Being a wannabe filmmaker I realized that if I were to make a film this is what I would have wanted it to be like. It had interesting characters, a cool journey, and some witty (albeit subtle...the way I dig it) humor. Oh yeah, and the soundtrack kicks major butt!
Movie Trailer:
rating: