Still haven't seen Iron Man 3, whoops.
Six months ago or so, I signed up at gofobo.com to get early movie screenings. Up until this week, I'd only had one or two invitations and none of them were interesting/possible to see. This week, I got two and made both of them! And then I saw a third movie on Friday, unrelated to the preview site. :-D
#53: The Way, Way Back (preview) - Over the course of his summer break, a teenager comes into his own thanks in part to the friendship he strikes up with one of the park's managers. [imdb]
This is your "coming of age with a notable cast" summer movie for 2013. Strong performances and a tight script elevate it from a cookie cutter story to a more nuanced and surprising tale. The humor is genuine and comes from the story and characters, and the plot is twistier than you expect. Particular standouts: Steve Carell (playing way against either the goofball or the affable regular guy types for which he's known), Toni Collette (always up to a very high bar), Sam Rockwell (<3333333333333333, really, I pretty much schlepped up to San Mateo just for him), and Allison Janney. Liam James acquits himself well as the protagonist, despite some rough edges. Overall, it may not be eternally memorable, but it's a solid follow-up to The Descendants for Jim Rash and Nat Faxon, taking advantage of their comedy strengths while maintaining the story's heart.
And yes, Jim Rash is actually in this one, and yes, every time he was onscreen I made a high pitched "Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeean" noise in my head. Dean dean-dean dean dean.
#54: The Heat (preview) - Uptight FBI special agent Sarah Ashburn is paired with testy Boston cop Shannon Mullins in order to take down a ruthless drug lord. The hitch: neither woman has ever had a partner -- or a friend for that matter. [imdb]
I may have made loud noises at work when the invite came in around 10:00 of the same day of the screening. I've been excited for this movie for a while. It's from a Parks & Recreation writer and the same director as Bridesmaids, while also inviting the inevitable comparison to Miss Congeniality, but it is very much its own thing. Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy make a great buddycop team, and their characters are neither repetitive of their previous work nor cardboard cutouts. I laughed out loud a lot, and jumped equally high during the scenes where shit gets real (and bloody, eep).
What I loved most about it was the approach to the film, which sounds like a nonsense comment but it was really a Thing for me. They did not just replace characters who could have been male with women, nor was it a male perspective on ladycops. That they are female is not the most important fact of these characters; it informs them, the situation, and the comedy in an entirely sensible way that brought me great joy.
Also of immediate note were the PoC in prominent supporting positions, including for what (very) little romantic story exists in the plot. On the other hand, the rest of the supporting cast is entirely white and mostly dudes, which was a bummer, though the number of familiar but not overdone faces they pulled together was impressive.
I had to dock it a star on the gofobo site for a weak plot resolution with an unconvincing villain. That needed to be a lot better in a movie where business did get serious at points. Regardless, I'd still recommend seeing the movie in theatres when it comes out at the end of June. I'd watch it again.
#55: The Great Gatsby - A Midwestern war veteran finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbor. [imdb, hahah what is that summary even]
The Great Gatsby is many things to many people. For me, it's the strongest reminder of my horrible 11th grade English teacher who couldn't grok the concept of multiple interpretations of a text enough to leave it off her exams, resulting in my only less-than-A grade in English ever. Fortunately, her irrational hatred of Tom Sawyer and Jordan Baker hasn't tainted my memories of the books themselves, even if I've mostly forgotten their plots and details of characters. All I remembered from Gatsby was about four characters and the general story, which freed me from a more nitpicky review than this will be, though it's frustrating on a personal level not to be able to pick the nits.
Anyway! Baz Luhrmann made this movie, and if you didn't know that in advance, you would figure it out within ten seconds. I knew that the movie would be stylish, if nothing else, and it certainly is that. If you like what Luhrmann does, which I do, you'll enjoy looking at all the pretty from start to finish. The costume design is particularly noteworthy. The soundtrack -- okay, I was going to say "hits all the right notes" but that's awful, even for me. The soundtrack is a resounding success. Infusing the Jazz Era with hip-hop brings it home for a contemporary audience and it feels totally natural in the scene. We saw it in 3D, which was done well.
As for the movie itself, I enjoyed it. I thought it was a successful adaptation of the book (again, not remembering the details) and that they focused on the right things to tell the story in a limited time format. I couldn't tell whether they expected the audience to know the ending in advance or not. I felt the weight of knowledge added to the drama, but my friend who hadn't read the book enjoyed the suspense. It's imperfect; the framing device is just whatever and the more expository scenes tend to flop along. Fortunately, the cast brings it back up. Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, and Joel Edgerton have great tension between them and could have carried the movie without assistance from the rest, who all generally show well, too. Mulligan was especially great at bringing out Daisy.
I think if you like Baz Luhrmann and maybe aren't super picky about book adaptations, you'll really enjoy this Gatsby. If you have a great love for the book's finer details or just hated the heck out of Moulin Rouge, perhaps steer clear.
#53: The Way, Way Back (preview) - Over the course of his summer break, a teenager comes into his own thanks in part to the friendship he strikes up with one of the park's managers. [imdb]
This is your "coming of age with a notable cast" summer movie for 2013. Strong performances and a tight script elevate it from a cookie cutter story to a more nuanced and surprising tale. The humor is genuine and comes from the story and characters, and the plot is twistier than you expect. Particular standouts: Steve Carell (playing way against either the goofball or the affable regular guy types for which he's known), Toni Collette (always up to a very high bar), Sam Rockwell (<3333333333333333, really, I pretty much schlepped up to San Mateo just for him), and Allison Janney. Liam James acquits himself well as the protagonist, despite some rough edges. Overall, it may not be eternally memorable, but it's a solid follow-up to The Descendants for Jim Rash and Nat Faxon, taking advantage of their comedy strengths while maintaining the story's heart.
And yes, Jim Rash is actually in this one, and yes, every time he was onscreen I made a high pitched "Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeean" noise in my head. Dean dean-dean dean dean.
#54: The Heat (preview) - Uptight FBI special agent Sarah Ashburn is paired with testy Boston cop Shannon Mullins in order to take down a ruthless drug lord. The hitch: neither woman has ever had a partner -- or a friend for that matter. [imdb]
I may have made loud noises at work when the invite came in around 10:00 of the same day of the screening. I've been excited for this movie for a while. It's from a Parks & Recreation writer and the same director as Bridesmaids, while also inviting the inevitable comparison to Miss Congeniality, but it is very much its own thing. Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy make a great buddycop team, and their characters are neither repetitive of their previous work nor cardboard cutouts. I laughed out loud a lot, and jumped equally high during the scenes where shit gets real (and bloody, eep).
What I loved most about it was the approach to the film, which sounds like a nonsense comment but it was really a Thing for me. They did not just replace characters who could have been male with women, nor was it a male perspective on ladycops. That they are female is not the most important fact of these characters; it informs them, the situation, and the comedy in an entirely sensible way that brought me great joy.
Also of immediate note were the PoC in prominent supporting positions, including for what (very) little romantic story exists in the plot. On the other hand, the rest of the supporting cast is entirely white and mostly dudes, which was a bummer, though the number of familiar but not overdone faces they pulled together was impressive.
I had to dock it a star on the gofobo site for a weak plot resolution with an unconvincing villain. That needed to be a lot better in a movie where business did get serious at points. Regardless, I'd still recommend seeing the movie in theatres when it comes out at the end of June. I'd watch it again.
#55: The Great Gatsby - A Midwestern war veteran finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbor. [imdb, hahah what is that summary even]
The Great Gatsby is many things to many people. For me, it's the strongest reminder of my horrible 11th grade English teacher who couldn't grok the concept of multiple interpretations of a text enough to leave it off her exams, resulting in my only less-than-A grade in English ever. Fortunately, her irrational hatred of Tom Sawyer and Jordan Baker hasn't tainted my memories of the books themselves, even if I've mostly forgotten their plots and details of characters. All I remembered from Gatsby was about four characters and the general story, which freed me from a more nitpicky review than this will be, though it's frustrating on a personal level not to be able to pick the nits.
Anyway! Baz Luhrmann made this movie, and if you didn't know that in advance, you would figure it out within ten seconds. I knew that the movie would be stylish, if nothing else, and it certainly is that. If you like what Luhrmann does, which I do, you'll enjoy looking at all the pretty from start to finish. The costume design is particularly noteworthy. The soundtrack -- okay, I was going to say "hits all the right notes" but that's awful, even for me. The soundtrack is a resounding success. Infusing the Jazz Era with hip-hop brings it home for a contemporary audience and it feels totally natural in the scene. We saw it in 3D, which was done well.
As for the movie itself, I enjoyed it. I thought it was a successful adaptation of the book (again, not remembering the details) and that they focused on the right things to tell the story in a limited time format. I couldn't tell whether they expected the audience to know the ending in advance or not. I felt the weight of knowledge added to the drama, but my friend who hadn't read the book enjoyed the suspense. It's imperfect; the framing device is just whatever and the more expository scenes tend to flop along. Fortunately, the cast brings it back up. Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, and Joel Edgerton have great tension between them and could have carried the movie without assistance from the rest, who all generally show well, too. Mulligan was especially great at bringing out Daisy.
I think if you like Baz Luhrmann and maybe aren't super picky about book adaptations, you'll really enjoy this Gatsby. If you have a great love for the book's finer details or just hated the heck out of Moulin Rouge, perhaps steer clear.