A funny thing happened on the way home from the mental hospital. This is the setup for Silver Linings Playbook starring Bradley Cooper as the manic depressive on the way home after 8 months away. If this seems like a tough setup, be aware that he thinks he's more Randle McMurphy than Rain Man. Watch closely because this movie is shifting gears quicker than you think. What starts out as a gritty "just out of jail" story turns into something else. Pat Jr. comes home to Mom and Dad (nicely played by Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro) and has to adjust to being home into a world that he did not leave so nicely 8 months ago. Jennifer Lawrence plays his new friend who has problems of her own. Who's better/worse off?
Many different movies are evoked here: To name a few without giving everything away: Ordinary People, Rocky, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Rain Main, Diner. If you see the movie, you can fill in more toward the end.
I saw this one twice. The first time I gave it three stars. On second review, * * * * of 4
Like The Descendants, you have to look through some of the bad family issues to see its center.
Django Unchained
Today's Guest Review is from my cousin Jon of Tucson AZ. Like Jimmy Kimmel's Cousin Sal Iaconno (@thecousinsal) he's a witty writer.
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Today it was finally time to get back to the theatre. Only been once in last couple months due to illness. My hiatus was based on enough respect for fellow movie goers not to be the asshole coughing throughout the flick. It was a coin flip type decision. I had recommendations for one versus the previous history from the director of the other. In fact the director of the recommended movie was a negative in my mind. Then I thought about the general audience I had seen going into that movie. Had I wanted to pick up women my age or a decade older it was definitely the place to be. But that was far from my desire. The more I thought about its choice , the more I realized it reminded me of a mini series I might see on PBS or the History Channel. Not that there's anything wrong with that , but something which made it all the more the choice as a future DVD. Had I not seen a negative review in a movie column I trust ; giving it the same rating as Taken up he A$$ 2 ; there wouldn't have even been a coin flip. But the few times I bucked the reviewer's ratings i got burned. On top of that the movie was nearly three hours long. Normally anything over two hours has been drawn out to excess in my book. Despite the negatives I made a gut decision to see the latest movie from my favorite movie director.
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I had to get in a jab about a movie I keep getting hounded about to see , like it's the next Saving Private Ryan. This also served as my biased review of Taratino's latest movie.
Django Unchained was just what the doctor ordered. Not a classic Tarantino like Pulp Fiction , but another fine flick like Inglorious Bastards. Django pays homage to the great spaghetti westerns while dealing with the atrocities of slavery. Not the preacher / teacher approach of documentary style movies or shows. Instead a more humorous approach getting its point across. Paraphrasing a line ' What , you're telling me a black man can get paid money to kill white folks ' sums up the hatred and revenge feelings slaves held for their mistreating masters. Add an off the wall scientific explanation showcasing the misconceptions towards the black race. Definitely a more subtle approach to history rather than a recreation of facts I am familiar with. Toss in a great gun fighter along with an intelligent side kick and QT seems to be showing his admiration for the classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Typical of QT one can expect some graphic shooting scenes. Gotta see some bodies blown into bloody bits.
The movie is not without its flaws. Surprisingly some of the transitioning and segues were very poor. Very unlike QT movies. One beautiful scenery shot may actually be what I thought it was. I looked at the background and said to myself that sure looks like the Grand Tetons. The film credits showed some scenes were shot in Wyoming. This is a big screen movie which will not be as enjoyable on DVD. On a scale of 1 to 5 it deserves 4 stars.
Skyfall
I waited, I put it off, I thought the previous 15 Bond movies were enough... but I went to see Skyfall anyway. And I can't think of one I've enjoyed as much.
Perhaps its because this is in most respects both a reboot of the franchise, Star Trek-style by prequel/sequel version to re-introduce a younger version of the familiar characters. But it also takes a page from the Superman/Batman creation story to hint at how the orphan finds himself in a new world to escape his dark past. There are mostly hints of this: a ring, a return home, references to parents. So as they say at the end, the Bond Franchise will continue.
Most Bond films follow a checklist: opening scene: car chase/shootout. Opening credits: dreamy sequence. Cool gadgets/dark villians. Skyfall was heavier on the history. For that, it deserves a welcome thumbs up.
* * * 1/2 of 4
Perhaps its because this is in most respects both a reboot of the franchise, Star Trek-style by prequel/sequel version to re-introduce a younger version of the familiar characters. But it also takes a page from the Superman/Batman creation story to hint at how the orphan finds himself in a new world to escape his dark past. There are mostly hints of this: a ring, a return home, references to parents. So as they say at the end, the Bond Franchise will continue.
Most Bond films follow a checklist: opening scene: car chase/shootout. Opening credits: dreamy sequence. Cool gadgets/dark villians. Skyfall was heavier on the history. For that, it deserves a welcome thumbs up.
* * * 1/2 of 4
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the RIngs
Continuing my tradition of reviewing the original after seeing the sequel/prequel/remake, after seeing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure, I turned back (forward?) to the Lord of the Rings. I can say that I recommend this order.
Knowing the story of the hobbits and their reluctant quests helps bring this story about, as well as a background on dwarves, elves and the like. In this quest, Bilbo encourgages Frodo, who brings along 3 friends, giving it a Stand By Me feel. The movie owes a lot to George Lucas with shades of Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. But who would not want to emulate such successful movies?
Speaking of Star Wars and order of movies, I read a proposed order of Star Wars: The Machete Order: IV, V, II, III, VI (eliminate I entirely)
* * * 1/2 of 4
Knowing the story of the hobbits and their reluctant quests helps bring this story about, as well as a background on dwarves, elves and the like. In this quest, Bilbo encourgages Frodo, who brings along 3 friends, giving it a Stand By Me feel. The movie owes a lot to George Lucas with shades of Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. But who would not want to emulate such successful movies?
Speaking of Star Wars and order of movies, I read a proposed order of Star Wars: The Machete Order: IV, V, II, III, VI (eliminate I entirely)
* * * 1/2 of 4
Guilt Trip
Call it the Blind Side Effect: when you have a big female star/producer for your film, the film will be just like she wants it to be.
Barbara Streisand plays the mom in this movie with Seth Rogen as the son, who in planning a cross country pitch of his new product, invites his mom to join him. They don't end up sleeping in the same bed (Planes, Trains and Automobiles) but do share the same room at each hotel. Streisand gets the big scenes at the steakhouse, gets the guy and so forth.
The Seth Rogen humor is most dry, "really?", "seriously?"and resists the slapstick Farrelly touch that seems somewhat missing (See the Blind Side Effect above). But Dumb and Dumber this is not. It is fortunately a more adult movie and plays it more with a soft pedal.
* * 1/2 of 4
Barbara Streisand plays the mom in this movie with Seth Rogen as the son, who in planning a cross country pitch of his new product, invites his mom to join him. They don't end up sleeping in the same bed (Planes, Trains and Automobiles) but do share the same room at each hotel. Streisand gets the big scenes at the steakhouse, gets the guy and so forth.
The Seth Rogen humor is most dry, "really?", "seriously?"and resists the slapstick Farrelly touch that seems somewhat missing (See the Blind Side Effect above). But Dumb and Dumber this is not. It is fortunately a more adult movie and plays it more with a soft pedal.
* * 1/2 of 4
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