Nine Quickie Movie Reviews In One Post: Fish Tank, Beginners, We Need To Talk About Kevin, {REC} 2, Starbuck, Wendy & Lucy, Mama, Big Fan, Gunnin' For That #1 Spot
I've been computer-less for about a month now and it's driving me insane. Due to this unfortunate turn of events, which seems like it might be somewhat permanent for the immediate future, I'm lumping together my nightly reviews into one long blog. Feel free to take your time. I'll be brief and as usual, no spoilers.
Fish Tank is a coming of age story about a young British girl with hopes of using hip-hop dance as her way out of a dead end life. It stars newcomer Katie Travis, who for lack of a better word, is perfect. She displays strength and vulnerability, sometimes in the same scenes. Her relationship with her mother and sister are strained and the addition of a man, Michael Fassbender, changes everything. It's painful at times, but it's real. The soundtrack is amazing and the story transcends time periods. A must for females. I could write twenty pages on the complexity of this movie, but I'll let others see for themselves. ****1/2.
Beginners tells the tale of a man dealing with his late father's coming out and his subsequent death. Trying to juggle his life, career and his propensity to sabotage relationships, Ewan McGregor plays the main character whose best friend is his dog. The drop dead gorgeous, Melanie Laurent plays his actor girlfriend, who has demons of her own. The film sadly never seems to achieve the message it strives for and instead, seems happy to show people just feeling sorry for themselves. **
We Need to Talk About Kevin stars Tilda Swinton mother of a son who has done something awful. It's very timely, with all the mass killings present in today's news and it strikes a chord on multiple levels. John C. Reilly plays the father and the haunting Ezra Miller plays the son. Swinton is riveting, even when the dialogue and scene structure seems to wane. It's every mother's nightmare and the guilt felt by her is the real story. Difficult to watch throughout, it's worth the trip to the end. ****
[REC] 2 sequel to the incredible POV original, the sequel succeeds on it's own to create drama and fear, but fails miserably as a sequel until the final 15 minutes. Those 15 minutes just happen to be worth the wait.
Starbuck is the tale of a 42 year old slacker who has apparently made quite a bit of money donating sperm under the title name. So much so, that he finds out he's "fathered" over 500 children and about 100 of them would like to know about him. The movie takes off when he tries to contact these children anonymously, all while keeping it from his pregnant ex-girlfriend. The movie strikes many funny chords, but it's poignant on so many levels and truly shows the importance of acceptance, regardless of the circumstances. ****1/2
Wendy & Lucy is a painful exploration into loneliness and despair. Michelle Williams is a near broke young woman whose car breaks down on her trek to Alaska, with the hopes to find riches. Along the way, she loses her one and only faithful companion, Lucy, her dog. The entire movie is her frantic attempts to find Lucy and those few she meets along the way, that in many ways, show her the meaning of love. It's a difficult, bleak look at the realities of life when we have nothing and maybe it's because it hit so close to home, but Williams' performance was a tour de force for me. Something that should have garnered awards far from the independent landscape. ****
Mama was a movie I couldn't wait to see, but for the wrong reason. I thought it was directed, not produced by Guillermo Del Toro, the genius who brought us Pan's Labyrinth. The movie fails on most levels, most of all scaring us, but succeeds on others, especially with a handful, especially one, brilliant scenes. Jessica Chastain looks great and falls into complete horror cliche mode, but somehow it works. Throughout I was thinking dud, but the ending, unlike many horror movies, is sad and makes sense. ***
Big Fan stars Patton Oswalt, a comic genius in my opinion, who is a die hard NY Giants fan, who falls victim to a beating to his hero and teams quarterback. The story is all about his reconciling his love for the team with his and his family's desire to make money off of the situation. The movie fails on almost every level and I was not at all surprised to find out after viewing it, that Oswalt and co-star Kevin Corrigan, knew nothing about football before being cast. 1/2*
Gunnin' for that #1 Spot is Beastie Boys rapper, the late MCA (Adam Yauch's) inside look into the 2008 First Annual Elite 24 HS Basketball Tournament at Rucker Park. He selected eight kids to follow, all of which are current NBA players and their journey, their hopes and dreams and the hurdles they and their families face. The movie doesn't try to paint a bleak picture, but to pay homage to the game, the struggle and to the hallowed grounds of Rucker Park. Laced with an incredible rap soundtrack, the documentary will appeal to anyone who has ever laced them up and hit the blacktop.
Fish Tank is a coming of age story about a young British girl with hopes of using hip-hop dance as her way out of a dead end life. It stars newcomer Katie Travis, who for lack of a better word, is perfect. She displays strength and vulnerability, sometimes in the same scenes. Her relationship with her mother and sister are strained and the addition of a man, Michael Fassbender, changes everything. It's painful at times, but it's real. The soundtrack is amazing and the story transcends time periods. A must for females. I could write twenty pages on the complexity of this movie, but I'll let others see for themselves. ****1/2.
Beginners tells the tale of a man dealing with his late father's coming out and his subsequent death. Trying to juggle his life, career and his propensity to sabotage relationships, Ewan McGregor plays the main character whose best friend is his dog. The drop dead gorgeous, Melanie Laurent plays his actor girlfriend, who has demons of her own. The film sadly never seems to achieve the message it strives for and instead, seems happy to show people just feeling sorry for themselves. **
We Need to Talk About Kevin stars Tilda Swinton mother of a son who has done something awful. It's very timely, with all the mass killings present in today's news and it strikes a chord on multiple levels. John C. Reilly plays the father and the haunting Ezra Miller plays the son. Swinton is riveting, even when the dialogue and scene structure seems to wane. It's every mother's nightmare and the guilt felt by her is the real story. Difficult to watch throughout, it's worth the trip to the end. ****
[REC] 2 sequel to the incredible POV original, the sequel succeeds on it's own to create drama and fear, but fails miserably as a sequel until the final 15 minutes. Those 15 minutes just happen to be worth the wait.
Starbuck is the tale of a 42 year old slacker who has apparently made quite a bit of money donating sperm under the title name. So much so, that he finds out he's "fathered" over 500 children and about 100 of them would like to know about him. The movie takes off when he tries to contact these children anonymously, all while keeping it from his pregnant ex-girlfriend. The movie strikes many funny chords, but it's poignant on so many levels and truly shows the importance of acceptance, regardless of the circumstances. ****1/2
Wendy & Lucy is a painful exploration into loneliness and despair. Michelle Williams is a near broke young woman whose car breaks down on her trek to Alaska, with the hopes to find riches. Along the way, she loses her one and only faithful companion, Lucy, her dog. The entire movie is her frantic attempts to find Lucy and those few she meets along the way, that in many ways, show her the meaning of love. It's a difficult, bleak look at the realities of life when we have nothing and maybe it's because it hit so close to home, but Williams' performance was a tour de force for me. Something that should have garnered awards far from the independent landscape. ****
Mama was a movie I couldn't wait to see, but for the wrong reason. I thought it was directed, not produced by Guillermo Del Toro, the genius who brought us Pan's Labyrinth. The movie fails on most levels, most of all scaring us, but succeeds on others, especially with a handful, especially one, brilliant scenes. Jessica Chastain looks great and falls into complete horror cliche mode, but somehow it works. Throughout I was thinking dud, but the ending, unlike many horror movies, is sad and makes sense. ***
Big Fan stars Patton Oswalt, a comic genius in my opinion, who is a die hard NY Giants fan, who falls victim to a beating to his hero and teams quarterback. The story is all about his reconciling his love for the team with his and his family's desire to make money off of the situation. The movie fails on almost every level and I was not at all surprised to find out after viewing it, that Oswalt and co-star Kevin Corrigan, knew nothing about football before being cast. 1/2*
Gunnin' for that #1 Spot is Beastie Boys rapper, the late MCA (Adam Yauch's) inside look into the 2008 First Annual Elite 24 HS Basketball Tournament at Rucker Park. He selected eight kids to follow, all of which are current NBA players and their journey, their hopes and dreams and the hurdles they and their families face. The movie doesn't try to paint a bleak picture, but to pay homage to the game, the struggle and to the hallowed grounds of Rucker Park. Laced with an incredible rap soundtrack, the documentary will appeal to anyone who has ever laced them up and hit the blacktop.
Comments
Post a Comment