My personal Movie Review Post: No pretension here, just movies i’ve seen recently and i’ve enjoyed (or not). I’m not choosing big blockbusters for a reason…. god love little movies that could.
1) The Squid and the Whale
Mom and dad are divorcing. The kids are caught in the middle. That’s pretty much the gist of the movie. The fact that mom (Laura Linney) and dad (Jeff Daniels) are both writers, makes things interesting as the characters are embued with an edge of quirkiness. Mom and dad are both likeable, thus the viewer (like their two kids) will also feel caught in the middle. You don’t know whether to side with mom (who has had numerous affairs within the marriage) or with dad (who is beginning to fail as a writer but remains an intellectual snob). The acting is top notch and the script is well written. I enjoyed it.
2) Bug
I had high hopes for this one. I had never seen or read the play it is based on, so I was expecting MORE. Directed by The Exorcist director William Friedkin, I expected to be scared out of my wits. I wasn’t. Actually, for a while, I was bored. My mother, who was watching it with me, fell asleep. Ashley Judd’s performance was somewhat typical as a down-and-out ex-wife of an abusive convict who is let out of jail (Harry Connick, Jr.). Michael Shannon however, did justice to his role. When he was on-screen, you just wanted to watch him. Unfortunatley, the film went nowhere. We kept waiting for something. But there was nothing. A lot of rambling. Theories. Crazy. But in the end nothing. I was completely letdown.
3) The Brave One
I watched this one at the cinema and people seemed to enjoy it. They clapped when Foster’s character Erica poked her gun through a fence and told her one-time mugger, “I want my dog back”. I thought the movie was definitely entertaining. Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard, the detective who has a more than professional interest in Foster’s character, gave enthralling performances. However, I did have a problem with Foster’s character development. I know, the mugging was supposed to be ‘life’ changing, and she repeated more than once that she was not the same person, but I found her metamorphisis a bit too dramatic. She went from a happy go lucky radio personality, to a dark, moody, and dangerous vigilante (a la comic legend Punisher?). But, if you are able to ignore that aspect, this movie is definitely a fun ride, a sort of super hero movie that is less super and more human.
4) The Chumbscrubber
I loved Jamie Bell in Billy Eliot and although his character in this movie is not nearly as endearing as Billy, I thougth the movie itself was both strange and appealing at the same time. There is no genius plot here. Bell’s character’s best friend kills himself, driving some in the suburban hell hole, manic. Glenn Close is her usual steely, creepy self as the unfortunate dead boy’s mother, who seems to go even crazier with the idea that it was ‘her’ fault. Meanwhile, some teenage jerks at school decide to blackmail Bell’s character into giving them the dead boy’s huge stash of prescription drugs. This movie isn’t Donnie Darko or Edward Scissorhands, but it is definitely looking to expunge suburbia’s supposed perfectness record. If you don’t like disturbing or dark comedy movies, this one is not for you, but if you are in the mood for a sarcastic rendition of suburbia..this one will suit you just fine.
5) Half Nelson
I will tell you what this movie is NOT. It is NOT The Freedom Writers, Dangerous Minds, Stand and Deliver, Stand By Me, or Tuesdays With Morrie. The teacher in this movie, played by a wonderful Ryan Gosling, is a horrible one. He would probably be a brilliant teacher, if it wasn’t for his pesky little drug problem. During impromptu lessons with blood shot eyed Dan (Gosling), you are not sure who cares less about school, the students or their teacher. I don’t like ‘teacher’ movies much, but like I said, this movie is NOT that. What is most disturbing however, is that just like the other teacher movies that have been inspired by real teachers, Half Nelson, although not based on anyone in particular (at least i don’t think), is also a true representation of many educators today. This movie is definitely worth the watch.
