Away We Go, The Hangover, Moon, Public Enemies
I would guess that not many people go to a movie when nothing about it seems appealing. Maybe you don't think the actors have chops. Maybe the director is completely out of his comfort zone. Maybe the story doesn't grab you much. But sometimes those movies turn out pretty well against all odds. Luckily, I have an outlet to screenings for these movies I'd rather not risk $10 on. So it's always a nice surprise to be wildly impressed with something you walked in thinking wouldn't work. That's the case with Away We Go. I've never seen John Krasinski do anything worthwhile apart from Jim Halpert. I've never been a fan of Maya Rudolph. (However, I also only know her from trying to sing in every "SNL" sketch.) Sam Mendes is all right, but his movies have never wowed me. And the story of two 30-somethings finding their place in the world doesn't appeal to me just yet. But somehow they made it work. Krasinski and Rudolph display acting skill far beyond anything I'd envisioned for them. (I never gave much thought to either doing much special.) Sam Mendes delivers a story about a couple who actually like either. And the story did, in fact, appeal to me in a few ways. The supporting cast is owed a lot, as well. Allison Janney steals her scenes. Maggie Gyllenhaal is... a wreck. Chris Messina, Melanie Lynskey and Paul Schneider stand out too. But it's really about Krasinski and Rudolph. I was like, "Yeah, they're all right." And then there's this one scene on a trampoline and I was just like, "Wow." I wasn't terribly impressed with the very end, but it's definitely a good movie. (Oh, and I have to point this out: There's a strip club scene featuring "Hercules' Theme" by Hercules & Love Affair and "Oh Sweet Nuthin'" by the Velvet Underground. Great use of music.)
A few days later I saw The Hangover and my expectations were essentially met. I know what a movie like that will deliver. It had a few good laughs and some lines that'll be funny among my friends. But there's not much more to say about that one.
Last week I saw Moon and was told to not watch any trailers or even read about it beforehand. All I knew going in was it starred Sam Rockwell, took place on the moon and was directed by David Bowie's son. (The "Space Oddity" and "Starman" jokes are just too easy.) It's difficult to do a movie about loneliness in space without bringing out some 2001 influence. So I assumed a few things that weren't necessarily true. But that had to have been done purposely. The story and Rockwell kept this one alive. A few scenes were great concepts, but I was disappointed in execution a little too often to say I was very impressed. Though, it's not like I thought my time had been wasted. I'd like to not ruin it for anyone who does want to see it. I'll just say to not watch too much on it first.
And then last night I saw Public Enemies. I really wanted to like it. I remember them filming in and around Chicago last summer. I like most of the stars and Michael Mann is one of the premier crime film directors of this era. But it just didn't get it done for me. There is excellence, no doubt. The action scenes are great. It sounds awesome. (Honestly, I thought someone was firing a gun in the theater at one point.) And the acting is pretty good. But the script and historical inaccuracies killed it for me. I thought Depp and Cotillard had good chemistry, but their relationship wasn't developed enough for me to care about them as an entity. Christian Bale's Melvin Purvis was mostly empty. Some of the dialogue was laughable. The fiction was distracting. I understand it's difficult to pull off a project like this because it needs to play out like a movie while also respecting the history, but too much was sacrificed for me to see past that. You can't just rewrite history for a movie. Well, at least I don't think you should. It ended and I thought, "That's really the cut?" I'd actually be very interested to see the, like, 4-hour edit that undoubtedly exists.
A few days later I saw The Hangover and my expectations were essentially met. I know what a movie like that will deliver. It had a few good laughs and some lines that'll be funny among my friends. But there's not much more to say about that one.
Last week I saw Moon and was told to not watch any trailers or even read about it beforehand. All I knew going in was it starred Sam Rockwell, took place on the moon and was directed by David Bowie's son. (The "Space Oddity" and "Starman" jokes are just too easy.) It's difficult to do a movie about loneliness in space without bringing out some 2001 influence. So I assumed a few things that weren't necessarily true. But that had to have been done purposely. The story and Rockwell kept this one alive. A few scenes were great concepts, but I was disappointed in execution a little too often to say I was very impressed. Though, it's not like I thought my time had been wasted. I'd like to not ruin it for anyone who does want to see it. I'll just say to not watch too much on it first.
And then last night I saw Public Enemies. I really wanted to like it. I remember them filming in and around Chicago last summer. I like most of the stars and Michael Mann is one of the premier crime film directors of this era. But it just didn't get it done for me. There is excellence, no doubt. The action scenes are great. It sounds awesome. (Honestly, I thought someone was firing a gun in the theater at one point.) And the acting is pretty good. But the script and historical inaccuracies killed it for me. I thought Depp and Cotillard had good chemistry, but their relationship wasn't developed enough for me to care about them as an entity. Christian Bale's Melvin Purvis was mostly empty. Some of the dialogue was laughable. The fiction was distracting. I understand it's difficult to pull off a project like this because it needs to play out like a movie while also respecting the history, but too much was sacrificed for me to see past that. You can't just rewrite history for a movie. Well, at least I don't think you should. It ended and I thought, "That's really the cut?" I'd actually be very interested to see the, like, 4-hour edit that undoubtedly exists.