Up in the Air

I would love to write a one word review of this movie. That review would look a lot like this: meh.

I sat and enjoyed this film while watching it. I left the theatre and immediately forgot why. The three leads did a great job and did indeed make it look easy. This film really didn't do anything wrong per se. I just find it hard to find many things that it did at all. The story is basic enough. George's character is happy in his life and likes his philosophy. Some women come along and make him feel some things. His life is shook around a bit. He reaches his ultimate goal and doesn't react the way he expected. He changes. That is the movie. Quite lovely and predictable. Some of the most beautiful moments were just shuffled around and moved passed too quickly to be enjoyed. I just feel like the film was a little too long and not quite as tight as it could have been. I don't really see how this movie is a contender in this year's 'Best Motion Picture' category. I certainly wouldn't call this a bad movie. There was just too little meat there for me. I did not really expect myself writing such a meh review of this highly reviewed film. I guess of all the other nominees this year, the one's that don't mean something important have at least really beautiful stories that make me love or hate life profoundly (for the most part). This movie didn't mean anything and didn't make me feel anything. If that is what it was going for, I guess it won. Maybe someday George will be a serious film that doesn't automatically get nominations just because he is a part of it.

Where the Wild Things Are

I had very high expectations for this movie and it surely did meet every single one. I was in love with everything about this film from the start. I will first mention the soundtrack, because it was perfectly done. Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs did a heck of a job scoring this movie. As far as the acting goes, young Max Records makes the perfect Max for this story. I have seen a lot of movies in my time with a lot of young actors not really cutting it, but not here. Max delivered a winning performance in my book. Just the perfect amount of adorable, vulnerable, courageous, crazy, wild, sincere, and witty. Catherine Keener shined in her scenes as always. The voice acting was top notch as well. Claire Fisher from 'Six Feet Under' (aka Lauren Ambrose) was awesome. Pretty much every voice actor was pretty fantastic. Catherine O'Hara got to be funny and that wins. Visually speaking, this movie outshines many I have seen in a very long time. There is not a wasted camera angle or scene. Every shot is full of beauty or emotion or both. Set designers need to win awards for this movie. Everything felt so real and so fantastical all at once. Spike Jonze might be my new current hero for this work of art. I was really blown away by the way this story was told on film. There could not have been a better adaptation. Beyond the movie, this story is phenomenal. I feel weird talking about how this story made me think and feel, because it is a story that is much bigger than this movie and it doesn't seem like the appropriate forum to discuss the book. All I can say is that the story's heart and feelings and fears and courage is told very very well through this film. It is a very evocative telling and it is an instant favorite of mine.

Wristcutters: A Love Story

What an interesting movie. This is a beautiful love story set in one of the most creative settings for a film I have experienced in a long time. The majority of the film takes place in a world not unlike our own where suicides are sent to reside after their 'offing.' This world is very similar to ours, only worse. This indie film was a very refreshing look at brilliant directing and writing. In a movie about suicides, one would not necessarily expect much hope, but one would be wrong. This film gives a vividly dull glimpse at a purgatorial world in a story of love and hope. The journey the main characters find themselves on is funny and insightful. We see friendship and betrayal as well as love and moments of pleasure in a land where one cannot even smile. I was really taken with this movie and I think that there is a lot here to be analyzed and appreciated. This movie brilliantly pulls off a balance between lighthearted love journey and deep substantive solemn voyage. Suicide has always been a very touchy issue in my life and I rarely can handle films dealing with it, but this movie shows a reverence and realism in its depiction of the issue that puts it forefront without fixating on it. Add all these elements in with some pretty stellar acting and this movie is a winner in my book for sure. Please check this out when you are in a solemn mood for a fun film. Someday I hope to watch and study this movie more.

American Teen

While this is not a scripted movie, fitting into the category of every other film I have written about thus far on this blog, this was a pretty freaking fantastic documentary. Maybe I love documentaries too much, maybe I love the lives of teenagers too much, maybe I love Indiana too much, but I still think this was a fascinating little film. These stories were just so complex and interesting. Even if the doc did seem a little scripted and manufactured, that does not make me love it any less. That may just make me love it more. It adds more art to the film, which I thought was very well crafted. If you are unfamiliar, this documentary follows four high school seniors through their final year at Warsaw Community High School in Warsaw, IN. Each of these young people are flawed and compelling characters that give depth to what most adults see as shallow youth. I kinda like everything about this documentary and would highly recommend it. I laughed, I (nearly) cried, I shouted with joy, and hurt with shared grief. It is into lives like these I hope to someday be able to intervene.

Seven Pounds

I finally saw 'Seven Pounds' starring Will Smith and Rosario Dawson. This movie is so desperate to maintain its mystery that it leaves the viewer with too little information to actually care about the main character. I believe this beautifully sentimental story could easily have been told in a straight forward and understandable way. The plot for the first 45 minutes jumps from various points in the past to the present in such a way that confuses more than expounds. There is actually quite little that can be said about this movie that does not give away too much of the plot. Rosario was grand and saved the film for me. Her performance was real and her character had depth and beauty. Woody Harrelson's character even gave me more to care about than Will Smith's. I guess that isn't very fair, but I just wish this film could have been better in very small and fundamental ways. In this blog, it has been established that I cannot cry, but even if I were able to, I am not sure this very emotional and sentimental movie would have been able to bring it out of me. If you have not seen this movie and ever do watch it, please pay attention. You will be able to pick up pretty quickly on the mystery of the movie and you might even be able to enjoy it after that. I did figure out what was going on quite early, but was still unable to connect with the main character. I think I was distracted by the filmmaking choices. I guess that is all I have to say about that. Will Smith is getting pretty close to it, but he still has not been able to make a truly bad movie. Maybe someday he will slip up.

Heights

How did I not know about this movie? Why is it so freaking good? I stumbled upon this film while checking out facts about Rufus Wainwright online (so I don't fall behind on my obsessive knowledge of the man). Rufus has a small role in this brilliantly cast film about the city I love. 'Heights' takes place over the course of 24 hours telling the story of several interconnected individuals surviving in NYC. Glenn Close rocks it as Diana Lee with the help of the following individuals:

Elizabeth Banks - Isabel Lee
James Marsden - Jonathan Kestler
Jesse Bradford - Alec Lochka
John Light - Peter Cole
Rufus Wainwright - Jeremy
Eric Bogosian - Henry
George Segal - Rabbi Mendel
Andrew Howard - Ian
Isabella Rossellini - Liz
Matthew Davis - Mark
Michael Murphy - Jesse
Chandler Williams - Juliard Macbeth
Bess Wohl - Juilliard Lady Macbeth

Each of these individuals simply blew me away. There is nothing too dramatic, inspirational, life-altering, or profound about this movie, except in its simple and perfect way of telling a not too interesting story. The film just holds up in every possible way. The writing is strong and the plot keeps things moving. You know enough and are left guessing in all the right ways for all the right reasons. I could not call the ending happy, but it is very right. This movie just fits well. Its pieces fit well together. The actors fit into their roles. The drama fits well with the comedy. The theme fits well in the world. The whole thing fits me, as well. Set in NYC, starring Rufus Wainwright, about photographers, actors, and artists, featuring The Scottish Play; it just fits. I am so happy that I found this film. I may have talked it up too much, but I do hope you check it out. It is very simple, but very beautiful and just a nice movie.

Ponyo

'Ponyo' = adorable film. This Japanese film by Hayao Miyazaki is a simple and tender story with beautiful themes and very pretty art. Though I really did enjoy the voice actors in the English adaptation of this movie, I think I would have enjoyed the film just as much in the original Japanese with subtitles. Maybe that is just me. Regardless, I really liked this cute little film. The premise is a little more complicated than it needed to be, but the messages were pretty clear: humans are only mostly awful and don't judge based on appearances. The second theme was predominant in the film, thankfully. Early in the plot, Sōsuke's mother tells Sōsuke not to call the man she just referred to as a 'weirdo' because, it's not right to judge people on the way they look. Her words and this message are brought up again a few times throughout the film and then are revealed to be the basis of the test that Sōsuke must pass in order to save the world (for the most part). It is a very simple theme for a very simple movie. I don't mean this in a negative way at all. The plot held together well and I found myself laughing out loud at times and emotionally vulnerable at others. This is the point of this sort of film. All in all 'Ponyo' wins for me. I highly recommend a viewing of this adorable film when the opportunity arises. It is short and very sweet. Please enjoy it someday.

Gigantic

Crap. I have so little to say about this movie I just painfully sat through. Here is a very appropriate review I just found on netflix.com:

"This movie was going along great...until the end when it just came to a halt, leaving a few things still unexplained. The story is just a complete mess of random occurences and scenarios that seem to serve little or no purpose (as much as I like Zack Galifianakis, what the hell was the point of his character's random attacks? They were the most interesting part of the movie, and they seemed to just leave that whole conflict unresolved). Also, I've seen Paul Dano do some great acting, so why did he only have one facial expression the entire movie? It's a just a pointless movie that wastes a lot of great talent."


The only thing I could add is that Zooey Deschanel was acceptable in this film.

I got nothing.

Someday I may watch this again and get it.

(500) Days of Summer

My interest in this movie since I heard about it months ago was more of a roller coaster than the film, which made me sad. After seeing it, I can say that I am happy I did. This was a funny telling of a story I had heard about a million times before. The telling of the story was pretty creative and the characters and acting helped make it worth it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was adorable and Zooey Deschanel played the part of the highly desirable young woman quite well. It always frustrates me when a movie tells me that the leading lady/man is gorgeous beyond measure and other fawn at the sight, because often the actor/ress or character cannot live up to that hype. Zooey/Summer pulled it off. I was enthralled with her beauty and presence. She did end up breaking my heart, but isn't that always the way. The music was pretty rockin'. Two Regina Spektor songs give a movie quite a bit of cred, IMO. There was even a impromptu choreographed dance break in the middle of the film. It made my heart happy. I recommend renting this one with your current date/signif. other sometime. It made me wonder if maybe someday I might meet my Autumn.