Margaret: Movie Review

 

Attention-seeking teenager goes through death, mortality and innocence
by way of poetry in attention-deserving "Margaret".

“Margaret” took years to get to us, seemingly even longer to play out, but tells a story so poetic and heartbreakingly real that you couldn’t imagine it any other way. Lisa (Anna Paquin) is a teenager; she’s lost in her own world by her own misguided arrogance, but she must come to terms with death and the true nature of a tragic accident.		2011 Directed by: Kenneth Lonergan Screenplay by: Kenneth Lonergan Starring: Anna Paquin and Matt Damon

Overnight: Movie Review

Typical romantic comedy with few laughs but satisfying characters.

“Overnight” starts as a typical romantic comedy but then ventures into a comedic romance, where comedy comes first. The romantic elements all seem to be part of the joke. Jenny (Rachel Blanchard) and Tom (James D’Arcy) meet in LAX fresh from disastrous break-ups (although it was over a year ago for Tom) and are both way too flighty and maladjusted to know how to seek self-comfort.		2012 Directed by: Valerie Breiman Screenplay by: Valerie Breiman Starring: Rachel Blanchard and James D'Arcy

Bernie: Movie Review

True crime comedy, Texas-style.

A dark comedy, "Bernie" is a mix of true crime and documentary. It's based on a true story and weaves a tale of a character both sympathetic and guilty, and supporting characters who are stubborn and compassionate. Grab your cowboy hats, belt buckles, and King James Bible because we are off to Carthage, Texas for a story about funerals, murder and homosexuality.		2011 Directed by: Richard Linklater Screenplay by: Richard Linklater Starring: Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey

To Rome with Love: Movie Review

All of your heart's fantasies played out in Rome with love, celebrities, death and opera.

“To Rome with Love” is a fantasy film; a comedy about people living out their fantasies. The great thing about it is that it’s subtle enough that you don’t recognize the fantasy element in all of the relationships until later on in the film. The obvious one is when native Roman, Leopoldo Pisanello (Roberto Benigni), becomes a celebrity over night. “It’s better to be a celebrity than an unknown.” And as Benigni shows, way funnier too.		2012 Directed by: Woody Allen Screenplay by: Woody Allen Starring: Roberto Benigni, Alison Pill, Woody Allen and Jesse Eisenberg

I'm Yours: Movie Review

A barren, lonely, depressed road trip to nowhere interesting.

“I'm Yours” starts in Manhattan. Rich, indulged, whiny profligates are complaining about their job on Wall Street. Robert (Rossif Sutherland) gets to hook up with the hottest woman at the bar, because apparently he deseerves to. Daphne (Karine Vanasse) is the hottest girl at the bar, and she's mysterious. And that is the entire introduction to the characters.		2011 Directed by: Leonard Farlinger Screenplay by: Leonard Farlinger Starring: Rossif Sutherland, and Karine Vanasse

Savages: Movie Review

Entertaining crime thriller devolving into nauseating romantic drama.

Have you ever wanted to see a crime thriller turned into a romantic drama? Probably not. That's why “Savages” is far from a “must see” movie. It's one of those movies that is all over the map – literally and metaphorically, in all possible ways. We go from a romantic idealistic drug world, to a crooked DEA agent, to a violent comedy-filled drug world, to a philosophy on life and love all with stops in between for a three-way romance.		2012 Directed by: Oliver Stone Screenplay by: Shane Salerno, Don Winslow, and Oliver Stone Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson

Why Stop Now: Movie Review

 

Full of comedic mishaps but strikes a decent balance of drama and comedy.

"Why Stop Now" asks the question how far would you go to get into rehab? Eli (Jesse Eisenberg) is a smart kid, a piano prodigy, and is desperate to get his mother into rehab. His mother (Melissa Leo) is an annoying, high-strung coke-addict who has to go to rehab now or else Eli will never get to live his own life. The various plot descriptions available all get the rehab misunderstanding wrong, but it doesn't matter, it's ridiculous either way.		2012 Directed by: Phil Dorling, Ron Nyswaner Screenplay by: Phil Dorling, Ron Nyswaner Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo and Tracy Morgan

Darling Companion: Movie Review

Finding a heart-warming relationship dramedy after losing the dull romantic comedy.

I know what you’re thinking, do we really need another must-love-dogs romantic comedy? Thankfully, contrary to marketing attempts, “Darling Companion” is not a romantic comedy. It’s more like an outdoor adventure, relationship dramedy, mystery. Unfortunately, it did start as if it was a romantic comedy. Mother and daughter were annoyingly commiserating on the problems of finding a good man. Then they found a dog and met a cute doctor.		2012 Directed by: Lawrence Kasdan Screenplay by: Lawrence Kasdan and Meg Kasdan Starring: Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Richard Jenkins, Dianne Wiest and Mark Duplass

Ted: Movie Review

 

Offensive, wrong and childish, "Ted" is hilarious and then it becomes a Hollywood rom-com.

The great thing about “Ted” is that they know their target audience. And they hooked us from the very beginning. It starts with a fairly well written narration about how in 1984 on Christmas eve, all the Boston kids would gather together and beat up the Jewish kid, and then the next morning they would open their presents. One little girl got a Cabbage Patch Kid — the identical one which I got on the exact same morning. They had similar clips for the rest of the audience.		2012 Directed by: Seth MacFarlane Screenplay by: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and Seth MacFarlane

Take This Waltz: Movie Review

A marriage and its possible demise as seen from three artfully crafted characters.

“Take This Waltz” is a relationship drama, a romantic comedy, or a character study, depending on how you look at it. It's about marriage; it's about the individuals in a marriage; it's about the individuals involved in the destruction of a marriage; and it's about one individual in particular. It's funny, sad, and revealing. It's heartbreakingly hilarious, conflictingly optimistic and pessimistic, and perfectly Canadian.		2011 Directed by: Sarah Polley Screenplay by: Sarah Polley Starring: Michelle Williams, Luke Kirby and Seth Rogen

Magic Mike: Movie Review

 

The lifestyle of male strippers with characters and dichotomies.

Mike (Channing Tatum) is a stripper. He’s also a contractor and furniture business entrepreneur. He’s actually a pretty stand-up young man. Adam (Alex Pettyfer) isn’t as put together, but his sister wants him to be. So when she ventures out to Xquisite, the all male dance revue, she exclaims “I was hoping it was all a joke.” I don’t blame her, I thought it was too. Mike responds, “No, but it is pretty funny.” He’s also right.		2012 Directed by: Steven Soderbergh Screenplay by: Reid Carolin Starring: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer and Matthew McConaughey