The Lookout (2007) ‘Review’

So I was unfortunately only able to watch two movies while I was at the hotel last week, but it didn’t stop me from catching one more film on the trip. The van we drove down there (Zach and I, I mean) had a DVD player in it, so while he drove, I sat in the back seat and watched The Lookout, a film obviously inspired by Memento (which I haven’t seen) in some ways, and a crime drama on its own. It stars Joseph-Gordon Levitt as Chris Pratt, a once-promising high school athlete  (he played hockey and enjoys the Red Wings; Ken Kal’s voice is actually heard on the radio ;D) who made a bad decision, which changed his life drastically as he suffers a major brain injury, affecting his memory and some of his cognitive functions. So the movie continues after this life-altering mistake, and he is paired with Jeff Daniels via the government. Daniels’ Lewis is blind, and so to help Chris get back to normal, he gets to help take care of him by driving him, and whatnot. But Lewis ends up helping Chris a lot more than that by the end of the film.

Chris works at a bank as the night janitor, while he also copes with his injury. At a bar he meets a local boy, Gary (Matthew Goode, Match Point, Watchmen)  and subsequently a girl, Luvlee (Isla Fisher). Those two together change Pratt’s life all over again, and this time, for even worse. I like the build of the movie, and some of the acting is good as well, ranging from Levitt’s greatness, to Daniels’ humor and wit. Goode does a… well… good… (see what I did there?) job as well, and one of his cronies is specifically intimidating. And since I try to be a spoiler-free blog, I won’t say much about the ending, but it is done cleverly. While I don’t think The Lookout will have a lasting impression on me, it was certainly enjoyable. You watch your crime dramas from time to time and some of them feel too familiar, but it is the added quirks and twists that make the ride fun. It was nominated for some Satellite Awards, including best picture- drama (l. to No Country for Old Men), Jeff Daniels for a supporting actor, and screenplay (l. to Juno). The Satellite Awards are chosen by entertainment journalists, so that’s the criteria there. In any case, I would say those nominations are well-placed for a movie that I had previously never heard of.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) ‘Review’

 

Both of my older brothers recommended this film to me, as well as my girlfriend who (for once) saw a movie before I did. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a movie based on director Stephen Chbosky’s novel (he wrote the screenplay for 2005’s Rent), about high school with much, much, MUCH more emotional depth than something like Mean Girls. I loved Mean Girls, but the story involved a lot of heavy stuff. Freshman Charlie (excellently played by Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson)) is entering high school after some troubles in his past that aren’t thoroughly explained, and he has trouble fitting in. This may sound normal but there are a lot of bullies in this high school apparently. At a football game he meets and befriends a couple of “wallflowers”, Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller, a standout performance of his own and you may have seen him in Royal Pains). They call themselves wallflowers because the pair, along with some others, are the artsy types that like indie and classical music, art, foreign films, and Rocky Horror.

Like I said, there is a lot of heavy stuff in the movie, but there is a love story wrapped in it too. There are also some really funny moments too, especially from Miller. Logan Lerman, I thought, was excellent! He is very likable and at times possesses an incredible range of emotion, making the climax of the film a real heart-pounder. After seeing him in Percy Jackson, it isn’t like I expected much, so seeing how good he was here was great. Ezra Miller was great. Emma Watson was very good. There were a lot of supporting actors too that I liked, including Paul Rudd (I Love You, Man), Mae Whitman, and Johnny Simmons (both of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World).

I feel like this review is lacking… but I don’t want to give anything away and I don’t know if I could do it justice with my words. That sounds like a big statement but… I guess what I mean is that there is a lot going on: Each of the three main characters has a particular trait that they have to deal with, especially in a high school filled with bullies. There are several obstacles that happen, many funny moments, many intense moments, many lovely moments… See I don’t know if I can do the movie justice. I recommend Perks very highly… Actually, after reading this, I kinda want to watch it again!

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) ‘Review’

Steve Carell is back as a hapless loser (see: Dan in Real Life, Crazy, Stupid, Love) in this romantic drama with some comedic bits all about the end of the world, when an asteroid makes its way to the Earth. Carell always plays this kind of character: Likable, but infinitely unfortunate. And someone always comes along to turn things around for him, whether it was smooth-talking Ryan Gosling in C,S,L or Keira Knightley in this film, a hopeless romantic and “serial mynogomist”. When Carell and his wife learn about their impending doom, she finally gets the courage to just run away from him, literally. I mean she gets out of the car and runs as fast as she can. But Carell’s Dodge, again, is likable, and ends up consoling a crying Penny, and from there it is a road movie as they both try to find themselves, their families, or just someone to share their final hours with.

But is it worth spending the last 21 days of the world getting to know a new person, in terms of love? Well this movie does a good job of building the two main characters, getting to know them just as quickly as if we were there with them as the doomsday clock ticks down. There are some funny moments, especially when there are shots of the news on the television as they try to go about their jobs with all the professionalism they can… well some of them. One shot in particular I liked was when the anchor asks the traffic reporter what the traffic is like out there, she replies: “We’re fucked, Bob” with all the cheeriness of someone who loves their job.

The movie gets pretty manic, including riots and an orgy that Dodge and Penny manage to escape. It was certainly bizarre and funny in that awkward kinda way, and of course there’s no actual nudity. But there are some serious moments as the film takes a look at, well, the end of the world. Hypothetically, who would you be with when that moment happened? It’s a scary thought and at times you can see the dread in the actor’s faces, especially Knightley who experiences a lot more emotion than Carell ever does, who just seems happy to be along for the ride, or at least is very accepting that it is happening.

My favorite part was the ending and I don’t want to spoil it, but director Lorene Scafaria in her directorial debut (she co-wrote the screenplay for Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist) does a good job, in my opinion, ending the film appropriately. I enjoyed SaFftEotW (phew) and it has some nice moments, but never gets TOO serious to the point where it is depressing.

Silver Linings Playbook (2012) ‘Review’

Well, here it is: This is the last review for Best Picture nominations, including animated. Funny enough, this was the first of the nine Best Picture nominations that I saw. I saw it with my family in theatres on Christmas day and I was lucky enough to see it again yesterday. This was also a film that I was excited to see when I saw the first promotional screen-capture in Entertainment Weekly. Seeing Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence together in a romantic comedy, written and directed by David O. Russell (The Fighter, I Heart Huckabees.. and he was an executive producer of Anchorman, I didn’t know that), I just knew I had to see it.

I say romantic comedy because that was my first thought when I heard about it. But it is actually more dramatic with some light moments, and indeed some funny ones. Cooper and Lawrence have great chemistry together on the screen as they both play young people with some traumatic experiences they are both going through in their own ways. Cooper plays Pat, a former high school teacher that just got out of a mental health institution and in the beginning of the movie you find out why. He meets Tiffany, a girl with her own problems. Like I said, they have great chemistry, and I was hooked from the first time they were on screen together.

Silver Linings Playbook is the only Best Picture nomination to have nominations in each of the four acting categories. When I started watching good movies at my brother Phil’s recommendation, I always paid attention to how good the acting could be. I am one of the people who is sometimes drawn to a movie just because of the actors in them. I think that is why I loved Sllver Linings Playbook so much. Cooper and Lawrence, like I said, have two very interesting characters and the amount of work that undoubtedly went into them is mind-boggling. Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver as Pat’s parents were both very good too, showing how hard it can be for parents when their son is suffering from bipolar episodes and lashes out sometimes.

All in all, there are some intense moments, including one of the best climaxes I have seen in a long time in the form of a dance, and such a great ending too that I of course will not spoil. In terms of the Best Picture nominations, I think I recommend this one the most. While Argo and Zero Dark Thirty may appeal to most, I recommend Silver Linings because how else could you see a romantic comedy-drama done so damn well?

Moonrise Kingdom (2012) ‘Review’

Well I don’t think I am going to see EVERY film nominated for an Academy Award this year, but I just seem to keep getting opportunities to watch more of them. Friday night, I was able to watch Moonrise Kingdom, a film by Wes Anderson and written by him and Roman Coppola. I bring this up because this film is nominated for Best Original Screenplay. I haven’t seen all of Anderson’s films but I did see The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which had a great screenplay as well. Anderson has a noticeable style, and if I saw more of his movies I would probably see the same things. It shows in the delivery, the shots, and the mood, and I was actually a fan of it in Moonrise Kingdom.

The story is simple enough, a young boy and a young girl meet and go through many odds to be together, their main obstacles being the adults around them that, for the most part, want to keep them apart. The cast includes a lot of child actors and also more popular actors like Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Edward Norton, and more. I found this movie very enjoyable because of the acting, but for the most part it was the unique style that made the movie what it was.

You would have to watch it for yourself to see what I am talking about exactly and I recommend watching this one, especially if you want to see something different. There are some bizarre moments, but the film is mostly comedy so there are plenty of funny moments. And if you end up liking Anderson’s style like I do, you’ll appreciate the kind of humor it is.

Argo (2012) ‘Review’

It has been a few days since I watched Argo so I will try to remember everything I thought about it, but suffice it to say that I thought it was as good as people were saying it was. And no, I didn’t have preconceived notions about it because of that either. There are several movies that people have told me were amazing before I watched it and I ended up being disappointed, Avatar and Nightmare Before Christmas to name two. While watching Argo, I could see how well it was directed and the fact that Ben Affleck got snubbed is indeed head-scratching. But when I look at the other nominees for Best Director, I can see that there is some tight competition. Argo combines a wealth of good acting, a great screenplay, and some tense moments to make this a heart-pounding ride– much like Zero Dark Thirty, even though I knew the outcome would be positive, I still had that sinking feeling that something would go wrong, and Argo kept me on the edge of my seat.

I think Ben Affleck will go down as a better director than an actor, even in this movie. He was good, but I guess when I watch him I can’t help but think about all the crap he has done too (Daredevil). But seriously, his film about the Iran Hostage Crisis was directed very well and the montage during the end credits is a testament to that. It shows pictures of the real life people along with the Hollywood stars portraying them, and whether it was his choice or it was a designer or something (because I don’t have any proof as to say who did) but the shots were selected for historical accuracy, and seeing the photos side-by-side is remarkable. Affleck did a good job showing the fear and worry from the actors, especially during the climactic escape from Iran.

The premise was fun though, and there were a lot of laughs too, especially from Best Supporting Actor nominee Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine). He is just one actor in a list of great ones that appear in this film (I personally got a laugh from hearing Tate Donovan, voice of Hercules from the Disney film, as one of the escapees.) But while Affleck won’t win Best Director for this film, I am sure he will have more chances if he keeps it up and continues to wow audiences. The screenplay is nominated and that could very well win too.

And after seeing all nine Best Picture nominations, I can tell how close of a race it could be. There are some obvious bets, but I think the Oscars could be interesting. Before I saw all of the films, I was sure Lincoln would run away with a lot. But after watching all the films, I would hope that is not the case.

Zero Dark Thirty (2012) ‘Review’

I remember where I was when I heard that the USA got Osama Bin Laden. I was at home watching TV when my brother Matt came into the room and said “We got him. We got Osama.” And I remember I was very happy– what a great American moment. And I wondered how they did it. If it was anything like the tactical raid presented in Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, it was very exciting and suspenseful to watch. I knew that the Americans were going to win but seeing it carried out was very cool to see. At the beginning of the movie, the director says via text “The events in this movie are based on first-hand accounts”, so I suppose I will have to take their word for it. The presentation in this movie was very interesting, suspenseful (again), and it takes a good look at everything that went into the ten-year search for him, at least that is the time spanned during the movie. Seeing the people involved and what they were going through (again, based on ‘first-hand’ accounts’) really added another dimension and made this movie one of the more enjoyable of the films that were nominated.

The big story in ZDT is the performance of Lead Actress Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life, The Help). She plays Maya, a CIA operative that takes one of the leads in order to find “UBL”, as he is referred to in the movie (“U” being Usama, as it is sometimes spelled). During the movie I couldn’t help but notice the unwavering determination and confidence that Chastain shows during pretty much every scene. At first she looks very nervous because her character is so young, but it quickly changes once she gets in deep into her mission. As she declares at one point in the film when someone asks what else has she done with her life: “I haven’t done anything else.” This is her sole mission, her one purpose, and anytime that a failure is present she will not let it happen. It gets to the point where she is yelling at her boss to get things done, and she will not take “no” for an answer. Her performance must have taken a lot of energy, because if I know anything from acting in plays or taking classes, holding a motivation and mood that long gets exhausting. But she does it flawlessly, and is a front-runner for the Best Actress award.

The rest of the movie is like a detective story; a friend of mine likened it to The Zodiac (the good one with Jake Gyllenhaal). To me, the movie worked well when it showed the people involved, and it made me think of how Bigelow was good at doing that with Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker. In that sense, these two movies are similar, although in ZDT, there is more time spent away from Chastain, especially during the climax when she the raid is happening. 

I believe ZDT has a good chance to win Best Picture, but I think the race is going to be close. In any case, this movie had quite a bit of “AMURICA” going on, and was definitely less depressing than The Hurt Locker, which I think makes it more accessible. Chastain is very good, and co-star Jason Clarke (as Dan) was very enjoyable as well.

There is some torture going on in this movie during the first act so that might not be for everyone. After that it becomes a suspenseful ride to see what will happen next. At least I could take solace in the fact that I knew that, just like at Zero Dark Thirty on May 2, 2011, we got him.

Life of Pi (2012) ‘Review’

When the nominations for Best Picture came out this year I had heard of seven of the nine (Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild were new to me.) Of the seven I knew, Life of Pi was the one I had the least interest in seeing. But after watching it, I am very happy I did, as this film surprised me greatly. Going into it, I knew it was a nomination so I assumed it was deserving of it. I also knew it was about an Indian boy on a boat with a tiger… and that’s it. Learning the story of Pi Patel (whose real name is longer and it has an interesting story itself) was made very interesting by the use of narration, as an older Patel tells his story to a writer. Ang Lee does a terrific job directing and the visual effects are really good. And this movie has 11 nominations! Touching on each part might be hard, but I can definitely say that every nomination is worth it.

The visual effects were so realistic, especially when it came to the animals. The screenplay is solid and the music is appropriate and haunting, but still full of adventure. Also, no matter what age Pi is, he is very interesting, just like the story he tells. There is great motivation, energy, and you just want to root for him the entire two-hour trip. To be honest, I was hooked within the first ten minutes of the movie because I was taken by the way the movie was presented. I can’t be certain, but I think if the events of the movie happened in real time, they would have seemed unreal and bizarre. But somehow when it is told like a story, a true story in Pi’s life, it was like a nonfiction adventure tale and you just wanted to see what happened next… how does he get out of this one? What does he do to combat the elements? The Life of Pi had me hooked from the get-go.

There is a lot of talk about religion in this movie, since Pi actually says he is following three different religions simultaneously (and teaches a fourth), but I don’t think the movie is preachy at all. It’s not like it is shoved down the viewer’s throats. And if you want a good adventure/drama film, see Life of Pi. I was surprised (as a casual viewer) and I have a feeling you might be too.

Amour (2012) ‘Review’

In the sixth Best Picture nominee I have watched, this will probably be the shortest review, as I do not know if I contain the depth needed to critique it. I can say though that I did understand it (I understood those subtitles so damn good) and that I saw a lot in it that showed which it is deserving of the nominations it has. The script was solid, and the direction was fantastic. I don’t always go for movies with shots that last between 30 seconds to over a minute, but this was done really well. I don’t think you could gain a feeling for the characters with rapidly-moving shots, although I am sure there is a way to utilize that effectively too. Amour, to me, really showed what the title was about. Throughout most of the movie, Georges has to take care of his sick wife, Anne (Best Actress nominee Emmanuelle Riva), who is suffering from a degenerative disease. He loves her so much and the movie is sort of a portrait of what love can lead a person to do.

I said I am out of my depth because of the very last scene, which leads me to believe I missed something along the way, or that there just isn’t something I get about movies because this has happened several times. (Good thing I had that disclaimer in my first blog post, ya know, how I’m not an expert). But yeah, the script and direction and acting were great, but those long shots make a movie drag on. It definitely isn’t a problem, as I got through the movie without much ‘checking the time’ (I only had to check because I have to go to work shortly after I post this). I liked the movie, but the pace would keep me away from a second viewing. Definitely deserving of the accolades, definitely makes me appreciate film as an art form.

Oh, and from when I said I didn’t get the ending to right now, I figured it out after a bit of thought. Or did I? You know how those endings are sometimes… debate as to what may have happened… But I think I thought of a good explanation personally. Watch it if you like and tell me what you think!

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) ‘Review’

Now that I’m halfway through the Best Picture nominees, I have really covered the spectrum of genres, more or less. Bloody revenge film, historic biopic, musical, rom-com, and now a movie about a little girl, her tough-yet-loving father, and a lot lot lot of water. Beasts of the Southern Wild had very little to do with a jungle as I thought it would (I didn’t really think that I was just going by the title), but it was still a touching story, and at only 90 minutes, it never dragged, it was concise, and it features Best Actress nominee Quvenzhané Wallis… oh yeah, she was 5 years old when this film was made.

The story was nice and took a good look at how Wallis’ Hushpuppy has to be strong in a tough time: floods threatening her home, no mother, and her father slowly dying. The moments that are shown range from uncomfortable and frightening to fun and cute. I smiles at scenes such as when her father and his friends tell Hushpuppy to take a crab and “Beast it!” instead of using a knife to tear it open, which then she flexes her muscles to raucous cheers. But then I was uncomfortable when the father yelled and struck her. Maybe it was a moment of tough love, however, because there are very touching scenes between father and daughter, and he wants to protect her, even though his time on Earth is reaching the end.

There is some fantastic imagery as well as narration by Wallis, and I just wanted everything to be ok for them in the end. But like with Lincoln, I won’t go out of my way to watch Beasts again. But if you’re in the mood to watch a touching story and take a relaxing moment to feel something in an Oscar-nominated film, give it a try. At only 90 minutes, you don’t have a lot to lose. Definitely worth it, but if you’re a solely-casual film fan, this might not be for you.

By the way, I left out a lot about what the movie is about, because I would want you to experience it for yourself. Just so you know 😛