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

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The Open Road (2009)

Tags

Comedy, Drama, Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake, Kate Mara, Mary Steenburgen, The Open Road

acting is hard... 😦

PG-13

Justin Timberlake, Jeff Bridges, Kate Mara, Mary Steenburgen

Amon: I tell ya, in 82 years of hangin’ around, there’s one thing I’ve figured out.  One thing I know for sure.
Carlton: Yeah?  What’s that?
Amon: I can’t tell you.
Carlton: …What?
Amon: I want to, I really do, but I can’t put it into words right now.
Carlton: …Any reason you would bring it up at all then?
Amon: Just felt like talking…

Carlton (Timberlake) is a struggling minor league baseball player living in the shadow of his famous father who was also a player.  When Carlton’s mother has a heart problem and is admitted to the hospital, she tasks Carlton with going to Ohio, finding his father, and bringing him back to Texas to be there for her.  Finding him is easy, but getting him to come back is the tricky part.

Typical road movie.  Lessons learned, father-son bonding, minor hijinks.  In such a by the numbers movie, you’d hope the performances and characters would be so good that they carry the movie.  Doesn’t really happen here.  The performances are adequate, though I thought Jeff Bridges was over the top with his laid back, spaced out, folksy routine.  It just seemed forced.

Timberlake is pretty much just exasperated the entire movie, and I guess he’s pretty good at that.  Not sure how much acting range he has, but he doesn’t get to show much of it here.  Neither does Kate Mara as Lucy, Carlton’s ex-girlfriend who is still a good enough friend to accompany him on this trip to find his father.  She’s not exactly the most interesting character either.

It’s hard to even write much more about this movie because it’s so routine.  Everything you expect to happen will happen.

Vampire giraffes!!

See?  Didn’t expect that, did ya?  Yeah, the movie could’ve used more surprises like that.

Rental car companies will actually give you a Hum V sometimes.

10 – 2 for the routine, predictable story – 2 for the dull characters – .4 because we don’t even see all that much interesting scenery along the way = 5.6