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jharrisonplease
Reviews
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)
disastrous
Generously cribbing the best parts of "Last Night" and "Melancholia" and every generic rom- com you can think of, this shockingly dull and lifeless film will go down as my biggest disappointment of 2012 so far. As a big Steve Carrell fan I had high hopes, but he and Kiera Knightley had zero chemistry. I don't fault the actors so much as the script and the limp direction. The story is simple. It's the end of the world, so how should we all react? But the dial is set to quirky rom-com. This works for Act One. But acts Two and Three are so poorly written and thought out that by the end you literally want to see these people obliterated so they can go off and act in something more deserving of their talents. I'm sorry to sound so negative but I have seen these ideas executed much better in the past, and so have you. Perhaps the writer/director will go on to do good things but this is a calamitous and strikingly unoriginal debut.
The Woman in Black (2012)
could have been cool but...
...something went dreadfully wrong here. Daniel Radcliffe is the film's Achilles heel. He just doesn't have the heft to pull off the kind of nuanced role this movie demanded. It's partially that he's too young to pull off the love-shattered widower and partly that he's simply not a compelling screen presence. Imagine this film with, say, Fassebender or Mark Ruffalo or someone of that ilk and you'll get a sense of where this movie fails. The execution is also very messy. For a Gothic tale like this to work the structure has to be very sound; but this movie becomes a morass of cheap scares at the half-way mark and never recovers. On the positive side, the atmosphere is well established, the mystery of what it is, exactly, that's haunting the town is well done, and the conclusion was surprising and effective. But I still mourn for what this movie might have been.
Take This Waltz (2011)
michelle williams phone it in
Michelle Williams seems to phone this one in...but her phoning it in is still twice as interesting and charming as what most actresses are capable of. The problem with this movie is that the it doesn't feel genuine or emotionally deep even though it's dealing with very thorny and adult concepts and themes. And the actors, all good in other films, disappoint in a big way here So the result is that the viewer feels a bit taken advantage of. The story is basically an early life crisis. Michelle Williams is torn between the men in her life and must choose. Cliché, yes, but let's face it...most people have gone through a similar situation. But she floats through it with so little feeling that its hard for us to feel either. On to the positive. The movie looks handsome, if a little bland, and has a nice hot summer feel to it. Seth Rogen proves once again that he can be a very solid dramatic actor when he needs to be. And even though the movie doesn't work, at least it tried to do something with emotional resonance.
Daydream Nation (2010)
surprise modern classic!
Wow, what a surprise this movie was. I was ready for the typical cheesy Twilight-like lovelorn teenage romance and what I got instead was an incredibly fun ride through the dark side of those hormone-driven years. This film managed to take a lot of elements you've seen before and mashed them together in such a funny, sweet and unexpected way that it came out the other end as what will probably be thought of us a modern teenage classic. Maybe that sounds too generous...but really...this movie caught me off-guard. Reading some of the reviews by those who didn't like it all I can say is they seemed to have missed the subtlety and the humor and the way it mixes trash culture (teenage films) with artier culture (maybe French New Wave? Danish films?) in a manner that reminded me of...well...Sonic Youth. The story is simple. A teenage girl moves to a small town. Bored there she begins to sleep with he teacher who seems like he's a deep and intelligent literary-type but turns out to be emotionally needy and craven. So the girl takes an interest in a boy her age whose only romance up 'til then was with his weed-pipe. The movie crackles with energy and tension. But I should warn you, it's does not feel like your average American teen film. Those looking to have everything telegraphed to them--especially the humor--will be disappointed. For those who like their teen dreams more nuanced, this is a new classic in a tiny but fun genre.
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
summer sleeper hit (I hope)
Summer arrives and movies get big and dumb and kind of heartless. And than this thing arrives and reminds me that independent, small movies still win the day. Aubrey Plaza does exactly what she does everywhere else, but here, in this context, it works. Take a sci-fi premise and mix it with a gentle love story, add a few metaphysical Charlie Kaufman-like touches...and voilà...the perfect movie for a hot summer's day. My only issue is the the film is sometimes too twee and quirky for its own good. But overall I highly recommend. This is the work of real film- makers. Mark my words...they will make more great films in the future. The ideal date movie for those who are sick of everything else.
Like Crazy (2011)
like...almost
I love the premise. I love the actors. I love that it's low budget and obviously improvised. I even love the style. But at its heart there's something missing, something false, about the way it comes together. This is the Monkees to "Blue Valentine"'s Beatles. It's a kind of faux verite film that lacks the punch and grit and...well, genuine-ness that the genre demands. Even with all that said I have high hopes for the future of Felicity Jones, who steals every scene and proves herself a HUGE talent to be watched. She's gorgeous and sincere and almost saves the scenes that are just too over-dramatic and contrived to ring true. So overall there's a lot to like here...but it's just a little too plastic for its own good.