Crazy, Stupid, Love. : Movie Review

 

Twisting your standard romantic comedy into something that's hilarious and refreshing.

Love is the be-all and end-all of life. It's crazy, it's stupid, but you have to put everything towards winning over your soul-mate. That is what all of the characters believe. Except Jacob (Ryan Gosling). He believes that people who are in love are pathetic. Thank God for Ryan Gosling. I've been saying that a lot recently, but it's true. He makes everything he's in better.		2011 Directed by: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa Screenplay by: Dan Fogelman Starring: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone

Cowboys & Aliens: Movie Review

Action heroes versus cowboys and aliens where thinking is not allowed.

"Cowboys & Aliens" is actually just Daniel Craig versus cowboys and aliens. It's very handy that he has an alien countdown timer bracelet on his wrist that doubles as a special alien killing machine. It works better than guns and knives which is all that real cowboys have. But Jake Lonergan (Craig) doesn't know how he got that bracelet, or what his name is, or who he is. He does know English.		2011 Directed by: Jon Favreau Screenplay by: Too many to name Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde

Submarine: Movie Review

 

Fresh, funny and twisted turns to this quirky coming-of-age tale. 

Submarine is Welsh. It opens, at least in North America it does, with a letter from its protagonist (Oliver) to Americans; educating us that Wales is a country located next to England. Although thankful that America has not yet invaded his country, Oliver informs us that this is an important film which we should treat with the utmost respect.		2010 Directed by: Richard Ayoade Screenplay by: Richard Ayoade Starring: Craig Roberts and Sally Hawkins

Good Neighbours: Movie Review

 

So much set-up, so little purpose.

Horror movies are generally not good. Good comedies, although hard to write well, are easier to find. I normally wouldn’t recommend anybody attempt a horror comedy, but “Good Neighbours” is Jacob Tierney and Jay Baruchel’s follow-up to “The Trotsky” (2009) and I couldn’t pass up that potential. The result though is something that’s not scary and not very funny.		2010 Directed by: Jacob Tierney Screenplay by: Jacob Tierney Starring: Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire and Scott Speedman

Meek's Cutoff: Movie Review

A journey not about the destination but which prejudices to fight to stay alive.

As bleak as the 1845 Oregon landscape they are traversing, “Meek’s Cutoff” is about the arduous journey three wayward families are taking. Their trip is at first to get to a better life, but later it becomes just about finding water. Although the film is less about their voyage and more about the characters and their decisions.		2010 Directed by: Kelly Reichardt Screenplay by: Jon Raymond Starring: Michelle Williams and Will Patton

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives: Movie Review

There may be something to this appealing but disturbing and possibly offensive film.

With a mystifying title like "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives", it begs viewers to be open to transcendental ideas like the belief of past lives, forms of the spiritual world, and the transformation of the human world, the animal world and nature. I am usually open to those kinds of perceptions, at least in the world of film. When this film took those forms, I could at least appreciate it, if not understand it.		2010 Directed by: Apichatpong Weerasethakul Screenplay by: Apichatpong Weerasethakul Starring: Thanapat Saisaymar

3 Idiots: Movie Review

A college comedy, and joking aside, they're not idiots.

A college comedy. You know the genre, movies where idiots get into college and then continue to behave as idiots, and usually by the end they get a girl. 3 Idiots is not such a movie. Mostly because our three protagonists are not idiots. Rancho is a smart-alecky trouble-maker but he's not an idiot. Raju and Farhan might fail a lot of exams, but they try hard and they have good hearts. Same goes for the movie.		2009 Directed by: Rajkumar Hirani Screenplay by: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi Starring: Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi and Madhavan

Beginners: Movie Review

The relationships of life told with drama, humour, subtlety, and thoughtfulness.

“Beginners” is one of those life dramas where Oliver (Ewan McGregor) has to take care of his dying father, Hal (Christopher Plummer). Except Hal has just announced that he’s gay and has hooked up with a much younger man, Andy. Oliver hasn’t been able to carry on any relationship but meets the mysterious Anna (Mélanie Laurent) just as he’s grieving over the loss of his father. Oh, and there’s a talking dog.		2010 Directed by: Mike Mills Screenplay by: Mike Mills Starring: Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer

Horrible Bosses: Movie Review

Adding coarse and sexual content to make a plot-rich story funny.

In the vein of "The Hangover" (2009), "Horrible Bosses" has three friends taking a wild trip to—well, jail, most likely. They mean well, but when you spend your free time drinking at a bar complaining about your bosses, reckless plans are bound to be hatched. But I'm glad they do. It's a premise with lots of possibilities, never quite knowing which turns they would take, and they were all hilarious.		2011 Directed by: Seth Gordon Screenplay by: Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein Starring: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis

Kaboom: Movie Review

College students that are over-sylized and over-sexed.

Described as trippy, entertaining, and very funny, "Kaboom" is actually just a very stylized version of the college-aged sexual exploration. It gets interesting when it mixes sex with a thriller plot, but colour-coating over-sexed college students doesn't make them anymore profound.		2010 Directed by: Gregg Araki Screenplay by: Gregg Araki Starring: Thomas Dekker

The Tree of Life: Movie Review

Life in the grandest, and almost inexplicable, of scales.



"The Tree of Life" is not a film that can be understood, nor can it be explained. It also does not want to be described in any one way. We jump from decade to decade, from solar system to solar system, and from era to era in the history of the planet. As specific as can be allowed, it's about life, also the universe. In parts, it's about family or childhood, but certainly, not on the whole.		2011 Directed by: Terrence Malick Screenplay by: Terrence Malick Starring: Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastian and Sean Penn

Larry Crowne: Movie Review

Too little of anything other than juvenile and cheap laughs.

Tom Hanks is a nice guy. Larry Crowne is a nice guy. But as a movie, “Larry Crowne” is only somewhat likable. Larry Crowne (Tom Hanks) is fired from his 9-time-employee-of-the-month job at U-Mart. Yes, we’re supposed to feel sorry for him, and we do, but it’s mostly played up for laughs. The most we get into the psychology or economics of the down-sizing is that “times change.”		2011 Directed by: Tom Hanks Screenplay by: Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos Starring: Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts