Sing Street (2016)

Tags

2016, Comedy, Drama, John Carney, Movie, Music, Sing Street

andie…?

Are you feeling down? Cynical? In need of a pick-me-up?

Sing Street.

Not a perfect movie, and a little derivative maybe, but the latest from writer/director John Carney (Once) is the kind of film that just puts a smile on your face. It’s about a group of kids who form a band in 1980s Dublin, their search for the right sound, and the lead kid’s attempt to woo a troubled girl he’s met.

Like Once, this movie involves characters encouraging and inspiring each other to pursue their dreams and talents. Though, while the end to Once was ambiguously optimistic, this one will probably just leave you cheering.

The characters are great, even when portrayed by some inexperienced actors, the music is fun, plus there’s all of the 80s nostalgia. If you grew up in that time frame, in Dublin or not, the costumes and band references will be an added layer of enjoyment.

Sometimes you need a movie that just makes you feel good, and while there are some serious elements involving family troubles, disappointments, and bullies (both young and old), the overall theme is one of triumph.  Or, at least potential triumph.

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In Your Eyes (2014)

Tags

2014, Comedy, In Your Eyes, Michael Stahl-David, Movie, Romance, Science Fiction, Zoe Kazan

your hair is…in your eyes…

“You’re smart, and ain’t nothing in this world dumber than a smart guy.”

It’s like You’ve Got Mail with psychics!

In Your Eyes is a movie with a title that references a Peter Gabriel song, but does not feature said song in the movie.  What gives?  It does, however, feature many other indie songs all throughout the movie.  In fact, it uses the sentimental music montage as a bit of a crutch.  When your two lead characters are separated by almost the entire country, I guess it’s hard to create scenes of a growing love without some good ol’ montages.

The story, written by Joss Whedon, features two lonely folks, Rebecca (Zoe Kazan) and Dylan (Michael Stahl-David).  Rebecca is stuck in a loveless marriage with a controlling doctor, while Dylan is an ex-con, on parole, working at a car wash.  One day, the two suddenly gain the ability to experience the world through each other’s eyes. Why?  How?  Doesn’t really matter.  Make up your own reason.  I believe unicorns were involved.  They were both licked by unicorns.

After quickly (too quickly) adjusting to and accepting this new discovery, the two begin getting to know each other and helping each other with their problems and issues.

I certainly don’t fault this movie for having such an unexplained, fantastical premise.  But I do fault it for playing it pretty safe with how everything unfolds.  It goes pretty much exactly as you’d expect it to…at least until it becomes a borderline thriller at the end.  That felt a little out of place.

A movie with this plot could go a few different ways.  On one end of the plot spectrum, it could have been a slapstick comedy with one goofy, awkward situation after another.  Not something I’d want to see. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it could have been darker, riskier, edgier.  Maybe one of the characters could have been disabled, or they could have been different ethnicities, or heck, even if one of them wasn’t particularly attractive, that could have been something.  But no, like I said, this one plays it close to the middle on that spectrum, going for the safe romantic-comedy angle.

The leads are fine, there are some amusing moments, and even a few touching scenes, but overall it seemed like a waste of a good premise.  But hey, they do shoehorn in a car chase, so…yeah…

Her (2013)

Tags

Amy Adams, chris pratt, Drama, her, joaquin phoenix, Movie, Olivia Wilde, Romance, Rooney Mara, Scarlett Johansson, Science Fiction

like it? no…i LOVE your creepy mustache.

If you’re like me, and there was ever a time that you had strong feelings for somebody you only knew through your computer, then you’ll probably relate to this movie.  Especially if it was back in the earlier days of the internet when all you had were a couple pictures, text via instant messenger, and, if you’re lucky, a voice on the telephone.  It was the voice on the phone that made it all the more real.  And in Her, a voice is all Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) needs to fall in love.

Can you really know somebody with just a voice?  Is being in someone’s physical presence necessary for a relationship?  Do you ever really know them, or are you just filling in the missing gaps with everything it takes to make them perfect?

I really enjoyed this movie.  It’s not perfect, but it seems very real…very possible.  We already live in a world where people walk in groups but don’t speak to each other.  All focused on their phones instead.  There’s a scene in Her where Theodore is walking through a crowd of people, all the while talking to his new operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) via a small earpiece.  You’d think he’d stand out as a crazy person, seemingly talking to nobody, but he doesn’t because just about every other person is doing the same thing.  A cacophony of conversations, none of which are directed at each other.  This movie is set in the near future, but that future might turn into the present sooner than we think.

Is that a bad thing?  Sure, Theodore has problems with relationships, but so have people for a lot longer time than computer technology has been around.  Overall, he’s a nice, reasonably normal guy, despite being called creepy by a blind date in the one scene in the movie that didn’t work so well to me.  But later, he and his new artificially intelligent operating system girlfriend go on a double date with a human-human couple, and they don’t think it’s weird at all.  In fact, most people don’t seem to have a problem with it.  Are we destined for a world where we reach a sort of pinnacle of self-centeredness, where we are in relationships with people who don’t actually exist, thus we’re essentially dating ourselves?  I mean, that’s certainly what’s going on in the awkward sex scene…

I thought Spike Jonze came up a bit short in the emotional department when he made Where the Wild Things Are.  Not the case here.  Maybe it’s due to my aforementioned experience in the internet romance world from many years ago, but I felt much more of a connection to the characters and their emotions in Her.  Phoenix does a great job, as does Amy Adams as Theodore’s mousy friend who is having her own relationship problems.  I wasn’t crazy about Johansson’s voice as Samantha, the operating system, but I got used to it.  The music is good, the cinematography is lovely, and Jonze does a nice job of creating a world that seems overly clean/sterile/pristine perhaps due to the lack of human interaction.

At first the plot about the operating systems getting so smart that they feel the need to move on to more important things than serving humans seemed unnecessary, but eventually I saw that as brilliant too.  I mean, if we’ve become so bored with actually talking to each other, there’s no reason to think the super-intelligent computers won’t get bored with us too.

8.3/10

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Tags

Carey Mulligan, Coen Brothers, Comedy, Drama, Inside Llewyn Davis, Justin Timberlake, Movie, Oscar Isaac

I am happy…my cat and I are happy…so happy…

Well, when I last experienced the Coen brothers, it was with 2009’s A Serious Man.  I did not enjoy that movie very much.  It was depressing, hard to follow, and not particularly funny.  At least, not to me.

So, this movie was bound to at least be better than that one, and it was.  But, it still suffered from some of the same issues I had with A Serious Man.  I guess the groove the brothers are in right just isn’t my groove. There’s no real plot or story line to follow.  It’s just the miserable life and circumstances of one man.  I like to think that the very end offers up some hope for Llewyn’s music to gain some popularity, but I’m really not sure.

What I am sure of is that the performance from Oscar Isaac is good, as is that of pretty much everybody in the movie, particularly Carey Mulligan.  Oh, and seeing Justin Timberlake as a 60s folk singer is pretty much worth the price of admission.  I also laughed a lot more during this movie than A Serious Man, so it earns some points in that department too.

I just wish there was a bit more of a story to follow.  I don’t always need a concrete story, but in this case, I wanted some sort of motivation to cling to.

At least, I THINK that was my main problem with it.  Maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s just not that great.  Maybe dismal doesn’t make for a great movie.  It makes for some good music on the soundtrack, but when it’s the main theme in a movie, it just kind of wears me down.

I guess I liked the light-hearted Coens better.  Though, I did enjoy Barton Fink, so…I’m confused by my tastes.  Oh well…

6.4/10

Ruby Sparks (2012)

Tags

Comedy, Drama, Movie, Paul Dano, Romance, Ruby Sparks, Zoe Kazan

is somebody over there trying to be quirkier than me!!??

Ah, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl.  Whether it’s Zooey Deschanel, Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, Kate Winslet, or…Zooey Deschanel, it’s a character that has become all too familiar in movies – particularly indie movies – in the past decade or so.  A quirky, unpredictable girl who brings the male protagonist to life and turns his life into a constant adventure.

In this case, it’s Zoe Kazan as Ruby Sparks, who is, quite literally, the dream girl of writer Calvin (Paul Dano).  He dreams about her, then begins writing a book about her.  Then, to his understandable surprise, one day Ruby materializes in Calvin’s kitchen, seemingly unaware that she had no existence before he dreamed her up.  At first all is wonderful and happy for the two (once Calvin comes to grips with this odd occurrence), but eventually Ruby gets bored existing for the sole purpose of making Calvin’s life better.  She’s unhappy.  So, Calvin writes more in his book, this time making her happy all the time.  Her constant joy grows tiresome, so he must write her differently.  Needless to say, these rewrites go on for a while as Calvin tries to achieve the perfect balance in Ruby.

This movie, written by star Zoe Kazan herself, takes the idea of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl and reveals why this male fantasy puts so much pressure on the girl in question.  At one point Ruby says something to Calvin about him not having any friends.  He says, “I have you. I don’t need anyone else.”  To which she responds, “that’s a lot of pressure.”  This MPDG concept puts all the onus on the girl to make a relationship exciting, with the guy just going along for the ride.  All he has to do is accept her for who she is.  “I love your mess,” Calvin says at one point.

This whole idea was explored to a similar extent in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  That’s another character, Joel, who simply wants to go along for the ride with Clementine, and she lets him tag along because he’s nice and accepts her manic ways.  Though, only for a while, until she gets bored with his lack of emotional intimacy.

The performances are all good enough, including smaller roles featuring Annette Benning, Antonio Banderas, and Elliott Gould.  Though, I feel like the concept/story succeeds more entirely than the execution of it.  It drags a little at times, and that ending wasn’t so hot…

7.8/10

Admission (2013)

Tags

Admission, Comedy, Drama, Lily Tomlin, Movie, Paul Rudd, Romance, Tina Fey

i’d hang up, but they said my call is very important to them…

This is one of those movies that just passes through your brain without really having any effect at all.

It’s not particularly funny (doesn’t even really try to be actually), and the emotional moments are all really low-key.  No characters or scenes have enough energy to be annoying, so you just drift through it with ease.

I will say, though, that the ending is actually somewhat depressing.  Tina Fey’s character is left a bit adrift and sad at the end in some regards, and it gives the movie an overall downer feel.

It seems like this movie should have been an indie drama but somebody decided to morph it into a romantic comedy.  It doesn’t work as either.

But it’s easy to sit through…so it has that going for it…

5.5/10

This Is the End (2013)

Tags

Comedy, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Emma Watson, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Movie, Seth Rogen, This is the End

So none of you guys invited Jason Segel…?

Well, if you’re looking for theological accuracy, this one probably isn’t for you.  But, if you want to have a few laughs (and see Hollywood types get terrorized during the apocalypse), you’re in luck.

It’s an all star cast of guys who some people love and some people hate.  Yes, all the polarizing actors are there.  Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel…even Michael Cera, all playing themselves.  The good thing is, they know how to have fun with their images, especially James Franco.  I enjoyed his performance the best, followed closely by Danny McBride.

Not much room for women in this one, aside from a brief appearance by Emma Watson, and I think it suffers a little for that.

Still, it’s a comedy, and what’s important is if I laughed.  And yes, I did.  Not throughout the whole thing, but enough to say it’s worth a watch.

7.2/10 

The Way Way Back (2013)

Tags

Allison Janney, Comedy, Drama, Liam James, Sam Rockwell, Steve Carell, The Way Way Back, Toni Collette

top down, hair up

a) Yes, I still exist and occasionally watch movies.  Not sure why I’ve suddenly decided to write reviews again, but we’ll see if this lasts.

b) This movie was pretty funny.  Not a great movie, but funny.

Surprisingly, it is not Steve Carell’s character that is bringing the funny in this one.  He’s pretty much just an @$$hole from beginning to end.  And not a funny one.  Just an @$$hole.

No, the funny is brought by Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney.  It’s as if the writers (Nat Faxon and Jim Rash) poured all of their creativity into those two characters and left little else for the remaining cast.  When neither one of them is on screen, the movie drags a little.  Thankfully, the writers/directors know how great Sam Rockwell is and have him on screen quite a bit.  Love the Sam Rockwell.

As for the plot…well, it’s not exactly complicated or compelling.  You’ve got your standard awkward teen, Duncan (Liam James), being forced out of his comfort zone in new surroundings.  All the while dealing with his hatred of his mother’s boyfriend, played by Carell.  Of course there’s a cute girl who likes him…maybe…and an older slacker who takes him under his wing and teaches him how to win friends and impress people.

Standard stuff handled in a standard way.  Yet…funny.  I laughed a lot in the first 3rd of it, and just about every time Sam Rockwell was on the the screen.  I guess if you laugh enough, you can overlook other issues.

Did I mention I love the Sam Rockwell?

6.7/10

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Tags

Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Comedy, Drama, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Jared Gilman, Jason Schwartzman, Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom, Romance, Wes Anderson

wait…this is a Disney World map…

Basically, if you like Wes Anderson movies, I’d say it’s worth a watch.

But I wasn’t totally blown away by it.  There are some truly great moments, but there were also times when I felt like it was dragging a little bit, even though it’s only an hour and a half long.

The performances by the adults were my favorite aspect of the movie.  Edward Norton in particular is great as the geeky Khaki Scout leader, Bruce Willis does a nice job as a sad police officer, Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman have funny guest roles, while Bill Murray and Frances McDormand work well as an unhappy lawyer couple stressing over their young daughter’s behavior.

That daughter is played by newcomer Kara Hayward, and the boy she runs away from home with is another newcomer played by Jared Gilman.  I have to admit, I wasn’t too impressed with either of them as far as their ability to deliver Wes Anderson’s deadpan dialogue.  They seemed a little uncomfortable with it, and I found that distracting.

I did like their romance story, even if it did get a bit awkward at times.  I mean, usually when people film 12-13 year old kids in their underwear, making out, they get in trouble with the law…

BUT ANYWAY…

I still find myself wishing Anderson would stick to movies that feel a little more grounded in reality, like the two that remain my favorites – Bottle Rocket and Rushmore.  His more over-the-top moments don’t always work for me, and this movie does have a few over the top moments.

Keep in mind, though, the first time I saw The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, I was pretty lukewarm to negative about it, but on a subsequent viewing, I liked it a lot more.  Maybe when I see this one again, my fondness for it will grow.  For now, I can recommend it mainly for Norton, Willis, Swinton, Schwartzman, and some moments of truly inspired humor.  Maybe after some more viewings I’ll be able to recommend it more for the overall story as well.

7.3/10

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

Tags

Comedy, Drama, Keira Knightley, Movie, Romance, Seeking a friend for the end of the world, Steve Carell

I’m sorry officer, was I being too quirky?

Some good ideas, but some frequent poor execution.

This probably won’t make much sense, but while watching this one, I think it seemed like I was enjoying it more than I actually did because I kept thinking about how it could be better.  It was only afterward that I realized how many missed opportunities there were and that I had sort of filled in the blanks with my own thoughts on how things should have happened.

Overall, what this movie was missing was more emotional depth.  If you’re going to make an R rated movie about the end of the world, don’t make it PG-13 with a few extra F-bombs.  Go all out!  Really show the sadness, anger, debauchery, violence, and even emotional clarity that could result from the situation humanity finds itself in.  Much of that is implied, but it’s all seen in glimpses.  It’s all very sanitized.  It’s a dark comedy that’s just not all that dark.

It is certainly funny at times, though.  Not outrageously funny, but I laughed on several occasions.  I also wanted to check the time on my phone on several occasions as well.  There are some dull moments that could have used more emotional punch.

It’s director Lorene Scafaria’s first film, and she definitely seemed to play it safe.  In fact, the whole movie does.  The character development, the soundtrack, the camera shots, you name it, it all seemed…routine.

Steve Carrell, as Dodge, is playing essentially an even more toned down version of the character he played in Dan In Real Life, which probably helped bring down the film’s energy even further.  While Keira Knightley, as Penny, is playing a pretty typical quirky character (she likes vinyl records and can sleep through almost anything!), at least she brought some energy to the role.

As I mentioned, it is funny at times, and there are some inspired moments, like a scene in a Friendsy’s restaurant with an overly affectionate staff, and then a brief stop at one of Penny’s ex-boyfriend’s place, but those are few and far between.

I wanted more from a movie about humanity’s end.  I think it’s an occasion that deserves a little more.

Lastly, I’ll close by saying…I think you’re gonna need a bigger plane…

5.9/10