Away We Go

So I had been wanting to see this movie for forever, seriously. Sadly, it's not available online anywhere and I had become the laziest Netflix DVD watcher in the world, but don't fret, I finally sent in my DVD and got this one in the mail last week and not a moment too soon. Just the fact that John Krasinksi and Maya Rudolph were in it was enough to give it overflowing amounts of potential in my mind. It's a movie from way back in 2009 and it almost turned a profit in it's release, earning about $15 million in comparison to it's $17 million budget. Hopefully it made up for it in DVD sales, but I should buy a copy just to make sure.

The plot follows Krasinski and Rudolph as two newly expecting parents as they decide where to live after Krasinki's parents tell them they're moving to Europe for two years. As they both work from home, they set out on a trip across America, and Canada, to visit various friends and decide on a place to live.

The two main characters were incredibly well written for each other. Best movie couple of the decade. If I was head over heels for 'Jim' in the office, this character blows him out of the water. He was extremely likable, quirky, cute, etc. I really enjoyed their relationship together and the scenes with these two characters were endlessly funny. Neither character was selfish and they both put their partner first in most considerations. It was a nice departure from the norm. The two main characters had some hilarious bits that were just exuding with cuteness, i.e. the airplane baby heartbeat scene and the attempted argument scene. The supporting characters, as crazy as they were, were all very entertaining. I also really enjoyed the narrative of the story and how the two main characters sort of acted as narrators bringing us along this journey and meeting new locations and eccentric characters along the way, each one of them imparting their own parenting advice as they go.

Indie soundtrack, check. Extra points for a Velvet Underground song stuck in there. Shallow depth of field, check. Unique locations, check. Soft lighting, check. Great framing and angles, check. The movie was laid-back and chill enough while everything was still very well-planned.

I loved John Krasinksi in this movie. It was so nice to see him doing some real material instead of the other couple of movies that fell a little short he's been in lately. I liked him more in this film than in The Office. Major props to Maya Rudolph as well, as she totally brought her acting chops with her. Instead of her funny one liners and characters, the funniest bits that she did was the looks she would give the other characters. Pure brilliance. Maggie Gyllenhaal also did a brilliant job playing a crazy woman. Allison Janney was hilarious. And Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels made the craziest parents you'd still love to have.

I knew I'd love this movie and it was so different than I expected but still so much more. It was refreshing to see a couple not wallowing in their own egocentricities before having a baby but taking it head-on and tackling the more important issues, like where to raise it. "Even if you gain a million pounds and I can't find your vagina, I'd still love you. I'd still love you, even if I can't find your vagina!" 

Fish Tank

So, Netflix had recommended this movie to me, oh about a million times. Unfortunately, I can't help but judge movies by their cover art and this one looked too 'eh'. Fortunately I watched the trailer and learned that it had a younger Michael Fassbender in it, and I was all in. The movie is a small British film from write/director Andrea Arnold (who also did the new Wuthering Heights). It was also shot chronologically and the actors didn't know the story more than a week in advance of the scenes they were shooting. It was only released in 15 theaters here in 2010.

The movie is about a young 15 year old girl who has been kicked out of school and spends the days with her mother, who parties way too much. As she spends her days wandering, breakdancing, and waiting for her new boarding school orders, she meets a new boyfriend of her mother's and starts to form an unlikely bond with him.

Well, the plot was a little bit depressing, but I do enjoy seeing how the 'other half' of the UK lives. The main character's motives were a little questionable at times, as I'm not quite sure she'd actually do some of the things she did, i.e. kidnapping and random urination. Yes, those two scenes did happen. Michael Fassbender's character was likable at first, then he too, fell victim to some strange choices. Overall, there was a storyline and the main character was quite complex.

The cinematography was quite nice with lots of shallow depth of field shots. There was also time spent on the non-dialogue parts of the movie; as it followed her dancing, or walking along a fence, or petting a horse. The editing and pace of the movie really mimicked how she was 'stuck' in her world.

The lead actress, Katie Jarvis, did rather well considering she'd never acted before and the director found her at a train station as she was fighting with her boyfriend. Michael Fassbender was much more energetic and youthful than I've seen him before, and it was great.

In the end, the movie was, well, not horrible. I like the behind-the-scene stuff, like how it was shot chronologically and the actors didn't know the storyline. But on the other hand, there were some things that were 'icky' in the movie and turned me off from the plot and disconnected me with the characters. I'm interested to see how she did Wuthering Heights. "What are you looking for? A volvo 940. What's it look like? Like a Volvo 940".

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy

So I had wanted to see this back when I heard about it coming out, mainly because of Jason Sudeikis, Lake Bell, Martin Starr, and Will Forte. Those are four super funny people; and if they're in it, the movie has to be funny as well right? The movie was given a limited release of one week in about 140 theaters and made only $200,000. I'm assuming the name scared most people away.

The movie is about a young thirty-something guy, Jason Sudeikis, who is still friends with a group from high school and they party at his dad's house in the Hamptons. His dad, Don Johnson, decides to put the market up for sale and so the group of friends decide to have the ultimate final party before the house is sold, and naturally they decide to have an orgy.

The plot supposedly was based on some party the writers went to in the Hollywood Hills where an orgy broke out and they thought how weird it was. The premise was original and had tons of potential, it was just such a shame that it wasn't very funny. It was almost as if it was trying too hard to be that really funny movie while still looking effortless. Most of the characters were well written, distinguishable, and unique it was just the humor that fell short.

I loved the costumes the characters wore in their themed parties. The soundtrack was also great and it lead me to learn of this great little band called Telekinesis and their song, 'Gotta Get it Right Now'. Listen to it; it's so fun.

Even though the movie was rather blah, the actors did a good job. Lake Bell was probably the funniest as she didn't really need anyone to play off of. I guess that sometimes you can put a bunch of funny people together but it just doesn't mesh well. It's hard to explain, I guess, because they were good and somewhat funny on their own, just as a whole the movie kinda drug along.

I was pretty disappointed, mostly because I had such high hopes for the movie. It just drug along with the plot instead of delivering much humor. Obviously, there's a lot of R rated elements in the movie although I don't remember there being much nudity, if any. "This is the worst orgy ever".

Young Adult

So I remember when I first heard about this film I thought, 'eh'. Then I heard more and more about it and it looked better and better. I am a fan of Diablo Cody's writing in Juno and somehow, for unknown reasons, I am one of two people on earth who also enjoyed Jennifer's Body. Now that I've lost the last shred of my credibility, I shall go on. This was a little dramedy from Cody and Jason Reitman and it surpassed it's $12 million budget and brought in about $20 million with it's limited release.

The movie is about a thirty-something young adult author, Mavis Gary, played by Charlize Theron, who returns to her small hometown in Minnesota after a divorce with the sole intention of rekindling with an old flame, played by Patrick Wilson. The only problem is that Wilson's character is married and just had a baby, with Elizabeth Reaser. While staying in town to work on her homewrecking agenda, she befriends Patton Oswalt who plays a former, and current, nerd who Mavis' character had ignored in high school.

The dialogue was not as crazy unique as Juno or Jennifer's Body, for sure. The characters were uniquely well written however. Mavis was just a mess of emotions, motives, and flaws, but yet you couldn't help but feel for her. I think a movie does it's job when you cringe when a character does something embarrassing, which is what I was doing during the entire baby-naming party. The plot, while perhaps probable for a crazy person, wasn't that probable in my opinion, but it was grounded in reality. There was a rising action, although slow, and a definite climax, but things just weren't extremely interesting - as far as the plot goes.

The opening sequence with the repeated soundtrack song was pretty cool. I can completely relate to listening to a song over and over. The rest of the movie had great framing and some great little scenes thrown into the mix, such as Mavis sitting on the bed dressed and simply waiting for the appropriate time to leave for the bar. The soundtrack was also pretty great.

Charlize Theron really held the movie together. I'm not sure if any other actress could've pulled off this mess of a character and still have been somewhat likable. She played the character as though she didn't know her own vulnerability, but everyone else could see it. Patrick Wilson and Patton Oswalt played off her quite well. One of the other actresses seemed a little too animated.

The movie was heavy on the drama and light on the comedy. There was some dry and satirical humor thrown into the mix, but on the whole you felt just as depressed as the main character without realizing it until the end of the movie. Charlize proved how good she is, once again. The movie was ok. "Sometimes in order to heal, a few people have to get hurt".

Black Book

So this DVD seriously sat unwatched on my dresser for two years. No joke. I got it from Netflix on a friend's recommendation and never watched it until now. And I must say, 'wow'. This movie, which has grossed $26 million worldwide, was the most expensive movie ever produced in the Netherlands at the time it was made. Apparently it's also been voted by the Dutch public to be the 'best Dutch movie ever made'. As am not an expert on Dutch cinema, I'm not sure how true that is, but I can attest that this was an awesome movie.

The plot follows a young Jewish girl, played by Carice Van Houten, who watches as her entire family is double-crossed and shot down by the German army while trying to flee from the Netherlands. She then changes her identity and joins up with the Dutch Resistance. She is then sent behind enemy lines to work at the German headquarters as one of the top officials 'girlfriends'.

The movie's runtime is 2 hours and 25 minutes, so there's a lot of plot packed into this movie. Honestly though, I was so captivated by the story that I didn't realize until the very end just how long the movie had been. I enjoy WWII history and movies and there's been other movies with similar plots to this, but I haven't seen any that get so many angles of the war packed into one plotline. Granted, the movie wasn't based on any actual people, but rather just actual events, but still it got the Jewish, Resistance, non-resistance, German, post-war Nazi supporters, etc all as witnessed from this central character. Almost all of the characters were pretty complex, with the exception of one that seems a little too convenient for the story. None of the characters were strictly good or bad, as it is in life, and especially during war time. It took the screenwriters 20 years to write this thing, and it really shows, because it's so well fleshed out.

The set design, wardrobe, and makeup was really great. Everything was in keeping of the period. There was so much plot to cover that the editing kept a really nice pace throughout and there was really no lags anywhere to be found.

Well, this actress was phenomenal. I was shocked, completely shocked, to learn that she did her own singing in the movie because it sounded amazing. Besides her great voice, she spoke oh about four languages in the movie fluently. Oh and she did some of the hardest scenes ever. She really took the movie up to the next level. Everyone else also did a good job but she carried the movie.

I ended up really enjoying this film. It definitely sticks with you. I always love seeing WWII or even WWI movies from different perspectives than the American one. The plot was just really great in that it showed different sides of the war in that area, without using a horse to tie all the stories together. "I never thought we'd fear the liberation".

The Go-Getter

So, I also saw this one on Netflix. It said it was an indie unconventional romantic comedy with Zooey Deschanel, Judy Greer, Jena Malone, and the one and only NICK OFFERMAN. I had to watch it. It was filmed in 2005 and debuted at Sundance in 2007.

The plot revolves around Mercer, played by Lou Taylor Pucci, who sets out on a cross-country roadtrip to find his half brother following his mother's death. He steals a car in order to begin his voyage but soon begins a telephonic friendship with the car's owner, played by Zooey Deschanel. He meets up with a former classmate, played by Jena Malone, and meets three different crazy characters all played by Nick Offerman.

I thought that the script was rather original and had good dialogue between the characters. While the premise was highly improbable, it brought the characters together. I found all of the characters very quirky and unique. The hidden romantic inside of me loved the plot. It was quite cute and unconventional. It had some cliched coming-of-age/road-trip plot points but it wasn't anything distracting. The end of the movie, again was highly improbable but extremely cute.

The soundtrack was pulled off of my ipod. For real. M. Ward did about 90% of the songs used ( could this be when She & Him was formed???). Elliott Smith, The Black Keys, and some others rounded out the rest of the soundtrack. All of the songs were completely fitting with the mood of the scenes and gave it an easy-going aura to it. The cinematography had the necessary shallow depth of field for an indie comedy as well as nice subtle colorization which made the panoramic scenes quite beautiful. The way the phone conversation was edited with different actresses speaking to Zooey's voice to illustrate the main character's imagination was pretty awesome as was the Goddard nod with the spontaneous dance number.

Nick Offerman was fantastic in the movie! He did three very different characters and was almost unrecognizable, except that he's my future husband so I was able to recognize him right away. Deschanel played not anything that much different from her previous roles, except maybe showed some vulnerability I haven't really seen before. She was also quite comedic - as always. Jena Malone proved that she's no longer the little girl from Stepmom with 1000% effort. She did a great job though. Pucci did a great job although he was almost too nerdy to be realistically paired up with the characters in the script, but all in all he did good.

I really enjoyed this film. It was quirky, funny, had great actors, and an amazing soundtrack. What else do you need? It is one of those small unconventional comedies, which I enjoy, but I guess isn't for everyone. "You're a jerk, jerk, jerk . . . but I like the sound of your voice".

The Names of Love

So yes, again another recommendation from Netflix - they're on a roll. It's a French film from 2010 and it's made about $4.5 million worldwide. It's won a couple of awards for best female lead and best screenwriting, which I completely agree with.

The movie is about a couple. A young free-spirited left-wing woman who sets out to sleep with right-wing 'fascists' in order to convert them to her side. She then meets a middle of the road politician who goes against her plan.

Well, at first glance the premise of the movie sounds interesting, unique, and very original - and it surely is. Not only is the premise of the movie great, the entire thing is written so well. From the crazy original scenes, i.e. forgetting to put your clothes on before riding the subway, to the way the plot is told, with their speed montage childhoods playing right next to each other. There are a lot of issues tackled in the film, from politics to the European notion of nationality and how it's constantly changing and intermingling. There's humor oozing out of every scene of the film, but still it retains it's realism and message. It was just a fantastic screenplay - vibrant, fun, funny, witty, I could go on and on.

The editing was above par and kept the pace of the movie flying by without any lulls. The color popped out of the screen and was beautiful. The soundtrack kept in tone with the scenes. The set design and location scouting was also really great in the movie and gave everything an air of realism.

The female lead was superb. She put her all into this very unique character. She even tackled the nude subway scene, which apparently the first actress cast in the role had them remove, to which Sara Forestier (the female lead) insisted they put the scene back in. That's just awesomeness right there. The male lead, Jacques Gamblin held his own. He proved to be the steady counterpart to this crazy character, and he did it so well being subtle yet humorous in his own right. Even the other actors in the movie did a good job with their smaller roles.

I ended up really loving this film. It was so fresh and fun I couldn't help but love it. And to top it all off, it was French! There's nothing better than a French romantic comedy, although this is a completely unconventional one. I'd recommend to other looking for a fun comedy with some poignant issues mixed inside with very memorable scenes. "I was changing clothes when he called and must've forgotten to put them back on when I got on the subway".

Happy Happy

So I saw this movie again thanks to good old Netflix. It's a Norwegian film and almost made it to the shortlist for the Oscars in 2011, but sadly it fell short. It's a dark sex comedy from first time director Anne Sewitsky.

The movie centers around two couples however the main main character is Kaja, the wife who is always happy (happy). The two couples live on the same property in rural Norway and appear to be happy on the outside. Once we get a closer look into the couples' lives we find affairs, homosexuality, and infertility among other things. Suddenly all of their destinies change when Kaja finds a way to really be happy.

The plot centers around these four characters and their respective searches for happiness. They are all flawed, yet empathetic. Kaja is extremely compelling as she is an eternal optimist and you can't help but root for her, even when her actions are questionable yet understandable. Almost all of the characters motives and actions make sense, are believable, and explained in the plot. I found myself enjoying these characters.

It felt like a foreign film. It had very minimal scoring in it and extensive shots of the surroundings, well except for the babershop singing group that was intermittently shown singing songs in English throughout.

All four of the main characters, were completely believable. Kaja and the neighboring husband, played by Henrik Rafaelsen, were the most enjoyable to watch. Their characters were the least flawed of the four and the two happiest, but even so they had great chemistry and made the experience fun.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. It was a nice little character study about putting up a face for the public. I also enjoy these types of movies to see what the culture is like in different places. It was enjoyable but not extremely memorable, although all of the full frontals are probably pretty memorable. "I could do it again".

Monogamy

So I saw this movie right after Ira & Abby because Netflix told me to. It had Chris Messina and Rashida Jones in the lead roles and promised to be a steamy suspenseful movie, according to the trailer. It is an indie film from a second-time director and it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival back in 2010 and was picked up for distribution last year. Unfortunately, it's widest release was only to 5 theaters.

The movie is about an engaged couple living in New York, played by Messina and Jones. Messina's character is a photographer who's clients hire him to secretly stalk them and take conspicuous pictures of them. He soon becomes infatuated with one of his clients and must confront his relationship with his fiance, played by Jones.

While the premise of the movie doesn't make a whole lot of sense; i.e. who really hires someone to take secret pictures of themselves? Weird. That whole batch of nonsense could've been removed from the movie in actuality and the focus could have (should have) remained on the two leads. But alas, they did not consult me when drafting the script. Even with the 'suspense' part of the script left it, it does provide the catalyst needed for Messina's character to confront his true feelings towards his imminent marriage. The character played by Jones was very well written and a pretty awesome chick. Messina's, not so much. The trailer tries to trick you into thinking you're getting into a fatal attraction type movie, but the 'suspense' in this movie felt forced and unrealistic. I would've preferred a character study of the two leads.

The movie had all of the indie ingredients - shallow depth of field, indie soundtrack, artsy lead characters. It was nice. Again, I think the director tried to focus on the suspense part of the movie and could've played up the cinematography some more, but nothing was below par.

As an avid Office and Parks and Rec fan, I am of course a huge Rashida Jones fan. She was pretty awesome in this movie and it was nice to see her in a lead role. She's really able to play her roles with an air of realism to them. Messina did a great job as well, even if his character developed into something undesirable as the movie went along. He was able to convey his character's insecurities without being overly dramatic about it.

Well, in the end it was an ok movie. The song that Rashida Jones sings was probably the best part of the movie, and ironically pretty much summed up the entire plot. The trailer will have to believe this movie is going to be a steamy suspenseful thriller. There was no steam and the 'suspense' was artificial. It was still enjoyable to watch the two main characters in their scenes together. "I don't wanna let you down but I gotta let you go. Nothing left to do there's nothing left to say, I never really lived her anyway".

Ira & Abby

So after constant recommendations from Netflix that I would like this movie, I finally sat down and watched it. I'd been hearing all this talk about Jennifer Westfeldt and the upcoming Friends with Kids movie so I thought I'd give it a shot. The movie itself is an independent romantic comedy from 2006 written by Westfeldt, who also stars in it.

The plot centers around two thirty-somethings who decide to get married on the same day that they meet each other. One week later, they are married and have to deal with Ira's ex-girlfriend of 9 years, his therapist parents, Abby's ex-husbands, and an array of other tensions on their new marriage.

The plot was in the same style as Kissing Jessica Stein, but with more action and subplots. The dialogue was fantastic and the characters unique. There seems to be a sense of whimsy and optimism in her writing and it shows in this movie as well. I really enjoyed the different dynamics between the characters in this movie especially. It also has a great outlook on the modern notion of marriage. The character of Abby was a really great character you just couldn't help but love. Things work out a very coincidentally, as in most movies, but even so the realism isn't lost throughout most of the movie. Most of the character's actions are understandable, with a few exceptions. Overall, it was very nicely written.

The editing kept the movie going at a fairly fast pace throughout most of the movie with very few lulls. The colors, framing, and soundtrack kept everything very bright and fresh. Most of the characters got their fair share of screen time in the movie. If I remember correctly there was not one, but two, Rilo Kiley songs which, of course, makes me very happy. All of the editing, framing, scoring, sound mixing, etc kept everything upbeat and positive in the movie.

Ira & Abby (Jessica Westfeldt & Chris Messina) made the movie. They were a delight to watch on screen. Westfeldt was incredibly likable in her role. Messina, even though his character was incredibly neurotic, was almost as likable as Westfeldt and he made it very easy to empathize with his character. Judith Light and Robert Klein, who play Ira's parents, also were so very delightful to watch. They played off each other so perfectly and just added to the overall uniqueness of the movie. As seems to be a trademark, look for a cameo from Westfeldt's own husband Jon Hamm.

Overall, this was a fun movie to watch. I'd recommend to anyone else who enjoys a matter-of-fact view of modern day marriage and doesn't get lost in the superficiality of the whole institution. While highly improbable, the movie felt grounded in reality and played on a lot of antiquated notions in our society. "I can't believe you won therapy".

New Low

So, this was another Netflix recommendation and as it was an indie microbudget romantic comedy, I was all in. The movie was written, directed, and edited by it's star, Adam Bowers, in 2010 and premiered at Sundance.

The movie is about the ultimate slacker, played by Adam Bowers, who must decide if he should be with a girl as low, mean, and lazy as himself or one of the best people he's ever met.

The plot is very simplistic however there is a story and direction to the movie. There was potential for this to fall into the mumblecore arena, but it escaped that fate by keeping a nicely paced plot. The dialogue was rather witty and satirical in most of the scenes. I've heard one critic comparing the screenwriting to that of Woody Allen, and I wouldn't go that far. Perhaps a teenage Woody Allen with no experience? The characters, well just the main character, did ramble like a Woody Allen protagonist and was very self-depreciating. Other than that, I didn't see that many similarities. While some of the dialogue was witty and satirical, the story line wasn't that compelling to keep me completely interested. I found myself just wishing to get to the end to see what he decides instead of enjoying the journey.

There was shallow depth of field used in almost all of the scenes, which is usually very cinematic looking however the framing of the shots was not well thought out and it took away from the story. It made it look cheaper than it should have. The editing was choppy as well. In a lot of scenes, he cut in a little too early so it looked as though the actors were waiting to say their lines. That was distracting as well, in my opinion. Some of this stuff might not matter to others.

The main character was likable enough, even if he was a lazy asshole. He was very believable in his role however. Jayme Ratzer, who plays the love interest on the same level as the protagonist, also did a great job and brought some comedy to her role as well. Unfortunately the other actress was not as believable and looked stiff in the movie.

Overall, there was a lot of bottled potential in this movie but a lot of it remained untapped. It wasn't a bad movie nor was it that memorable for me. It just could have used a little finessing. It definitely had a local indie feel to it. At the very least it was interesting to see how modern-day dating is for normal people."That's the problem with loving a person. It keeps you from seeing how unlovable they really are".

Spork

So, I watched this as a result of a Netflix recommendation and the movie looked so crazily unique that I couldn't pass it up. This is a microbudget indie from first time writer/director J.B. Ghuman back in 2010.

Ok so here is a brief synopsis of the movie; It's about a 14 year old hermaphrodite who identifies as a girl who lives in a trailer park after her mother died. Her only friends are her stuffed dog and neighbor, Tootsie Roll. Amid constant bullying at school, she decides to enter a dance competition with Tootsie Roll's help. With the support of her unemployed brother and mother who's buried in their yard, she finds the courage to stand up to the group of blonde-haired girls who worship Britnery Spears at her school.

The story deals with tons of controversial issues, however it's always upbeat and quirky and deeply rooted in comedy. The main character is so crazy, frazzled, and dirty, yet you empathize with her immediately. All of the other characters in the movie are so very colorful and interesting from the 'love interest' who adores Justin Timberlake, the strung out brother's girlfriend, to the boy who hand writes the fortunes for the cookies at his mother's Chinese restaurant. The story is not very predictable and the dialogue really plays on the issues at hand. Oh, and there's a musical sequence!

The movie was so colorful and fresh that it was just a blast to watch. There were some really great cinematic choices, with the hand-drawn CGI, 80's and 90's references, musical sequences, obvious stunt doubles, etc. As you can see from the pictures, the coloring and framing of the movie was very beautiful. The soundtrack was also extremely unique, but fit in well with the rest of the film.

Most of the actors in the film were teenagers and they did fairly well given their ages. There were likable and kept your interest throughout the film. The characters were so out there that it would be hard for anyone to pull off those roles flawlessly.

In the end, this was a hugely unique and well done microbudget indie. The effort and money was well spent in all aspects of the film, instead of just one as some of the other micros seem to do. This movie really easily could have spun out of control but the director kept the focus in the right direction and it didn't get too crazy. Even though the plot sounded like something foreign, it turned out to be a very relatable movie. It's definitely not a film for everyone though, but if an energetic 80's and 90's themed Napoleon Dynamite sounds interesting to you, then I'd recommend this film.