"We're The Millers"

I've seen this movie twice in the past month--by choice! This film has more laugh-out-loud moments than I've had in a while.
When I picked this up at the video store (yes, they still have those...), I wasn't expecting much. I hadn't heard a lot of buzz about it. I really just got it because I have this fierce loyalty to anyone who was in "Friends", and Jennifer Aniston is my girl. She's let me down a few times, but she redeemed herself with this flick.
The main cast is made up of Ms. Aniston, Jason Sudeikus, Emma Roberts, and this really wonderful young actor, Will Poulter. I am loath to give away the plot or storyline, so suffice it to say these actors make a convincing family unit.
Along with the four main characters, you get "Bonus Day" with Nick Offerman from "Parks and Rec", and Kathryn Hahn from, well, everywhere. Do yourself a favor, and hang in there for the outtakes at the end. It will show you how the director just trusted his cast to be their funny-assed selves. It completely works.
Another actor I hope to see more of is Mark L. Young. He played "Scottie P.", and reminded me of way too many people I am acquainted with. Wow.
Keep this film for the adults. No one under the age of thirteen needs to see this. Everyone over the age of thirteen definitely should.

"American Hustle"

This was a wicked awesome way to spend Christmas day. I think that my husband and I enjoyed it a lot more than my 24-year-old son, but it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.
As usual in a strong ensemble piece, it was difficult to pick out a special performance. If I had a gun to my head, I'd have to pick Amy Adams. The camera just loves this chick (yes, I said "chick", this film was set in the 1970's). She has at least five Oscar clips in this, and she deserves to have a golden statue, (finally).
Of course, when you have Christian Bale inhabiting a role like he does,  you have something amazing to play with. I know the guy is a dick in real life, but he takes the term "commitment" to a whole new level.
The weak link in this caper was Bradley Cooper. Let's just say it was no "Silver Linings Playbook" for him. The role wasn't much of a stretch for him (not that he could have stretched in that polyester suit anyway), and it was nothing you haven't seen from him before. It was predictable competence.
Can we all just bow down to Jennifer Lawrence now? Man, that girl can peel the layers off a role like no one I've ever seen. I could watch her all day, all day.
Jeremy Renner was worth all the hairspray they used to keep his hair-do in place. He found different levels in a character that could easily have been very one-dimensional.
The cameos in this movie were worth the price of the ticket. Louis C.K. as Bradley Cooper's boss was just incredible. No one else can make me laugh, by just sitting there, quite the way that he does. Robert De Niro also makes an appearance. He, of course, is just De Niro.
I also have to say that the main character that wasn't in the credits were the costumes. I had so much fun with the fashion!
Go see this in the theatre if you can, but if you miss it there it will translate to DVD very well.

"Mud"

Once again, we chose a movie with a strong script, good direction and a cast that did justice to all the aforementioned. (Sometimes you get on a roll--either good or bad).
Tye Sheridan as Ellis, a fourteen-year-old with enormous courage and will, fairly sole the film from the more seasoned actors. Jacob Lofland as Ellis' best friend and sidekick, "Neckbone" also held his own and both ended up endearing themselves to both my husband and I.
Matthew McConaughey went to a place that diverted far to the left of his pretty-boy image. It was a welcome relief. Reese Witherspoon was also willing to appear far less put-together than she usually is. Sam Shepard serves as Mud's father figure, and he does so with his usual grace.
This is a film that examines the ideas of what the world becomes when we are raised knowing one way of believing, and what happens when all of those beliefs get questioned.
Maybe most of us will never have to have our world view expanded the way Ellis and Mud do, but if we must, I can only hope we have such wise hands to guide us back to perspective. May we all trust that it is okay to love again.

A Place Beyond the Pines

I had been wanting to see this movie for some time. I had been reading the reviews from other people, and was very excited.

I was not disappointed. 

The cast was stellar, and I was especially impressed with the young talent in this movie. Dane DeHaan as the teenage "Jason" was riveting, and reminded me first of a young River Phoenix, but then my son mentioned a young Leonardo DiCaprio, and after that Leo was all I could see the resemblance was uncanny, but the raw emotion was where they really paralleled. 

Parts of the story were predictable but even the parts you think you know, you won't. I enjoy good screenwriting, and this was a demonstration of the best.

I loathe to say any more about the story. I don't want to give any of it away. The one thing I will say is that it gave me a lot to think about when I am debating "nature vs nurture" with my classmates.

DeHaan was indeed the stand-out actor for me in this film, but I have to mention the rest of the cast in a definite ensemble piece:

Ryan Gosling as Jason's father, Bradley Cooper as the Hero/Nemesis, Eva Mendes (whom I usually can't stand as an actor), Mahershala Ali as the man who raised Jason as his own, and Ray Liotta as my favorite "Where have you been, Man!?!" of the movie. 

Just watch it. You will carry it with you for days.

"Extremely Loud, and Incredibly Close"

I was loath to watch this film because I kept thinking that it might be depressing and wanted to be sure I was in the right head space. I am sorry i waited so long.
The subject matter of this film is very emotionally charged. It is about 9/11, and did bring up a lot of the emotions I felt the day that the twin towers got stuck. Still, the brunt of the film focused on the process of the young boy, Oskar, who lost his father in one of the towers. 
Thomas Horn, who plays Oskar is an incredible young talent. He reminded me a bit of a young Haley Joel Osmit, but not as irritating.  Tom Hanks was Oskar's father, and appeared as flashbacks, and Sandra Bullock was his mother. The other stand-outs in the cast were Zoe Caldwell who played his grandmother, and Max von Sydow who was his usual amazing self. von Sydow  has a complicated character, and I don't want to say exactly who he plays, so as not to give too much of the story away.

Watch this film to enjoy Oskar's process and revel in the fact that we do all heal together. Oskar helps so many other people on his journey to find closure for himself. We should all be so lucky.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I rented this movie because my husband was out of town, and I suspected it was going to be a "chick flick" that he would sigh all the way through should I wait to watch it with him.

I had read excellent reviews about it. I had heard that the two young male leads were especially good, and Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller did not disappoint. This was not your typical "coming of age" film full of teenage drama and all problems with no solutions. It was deep, and heartfelt, and full of compassion for real issues.

Along with the young male leads, Emma Watson plays Sam, the girl that Charlie (played by Logan Lerman) sets his sights for right out the gate. The dance that these two, along with Ezra Miller as Sam's Step-brother, do is exciting and sometimes uncomfortable to watch. The depth of all of their wanting to love and accept their lives is palpable.
This film was lovely, and excruciating at the same time. 

Just watch it.

Searching For Sugarman

This is a documentary about a musician from the 1970's. His name was Jesus Rodriguez. He was discovered in Detroit by two producers there. They put out an album with him, but the album never went anywhere for some reason. The record label ended up dropping him after his second album dropped and didn't sell either.
Somehow, though, the first album made its way to South Africa just when the country was in transition due to apartheid. It became a cult album, and ended up selling half a million copies there, but no one knew anything about him. There were stories, though. One was that Rodriguez had lit himself on fire on stage; another was that he had shot himself on stage.
In the late 90's two men who had wondered all these years what had really happened decided to made a web site dedicated to finding out the true story.
What they end up finding out was amazing. I won't ruin the story here, but rest assured, if you invest the time it takes to watch this, you will come away with hope for humanity.
This documentary was directed by Malik Bendjelloul, and the two men at the heart of the search were Stephen "Sugar" Segerman, and Dennis Coffey. Thank goodness for amateur sleuths. Thank goodness for music with the power to heal.

"This Must Be The Place"

Sean Penn could not be farther away from how I've ever seen him, and he could not have been more wonderful. In this film he plays Cheyenne, an aging rock star put out to pasture in Ireland with his wife of 35 years played with heart by Frances McDormand.
Cheyenne's life plays out in uneventful ways from day to day. He only leaves home to spend time with a friend he mentors like a daughter, or to visit that girls mother. His routine rarely varies. He tells his wife at one point that he thinks he's depressed. She seems to feel he's just bored.
The turning point in the film occurs when he gets news from the States that his father is dying. By the time he gets there, his father has passed. While he is at his childhood home, Cheyenne finds some of his fathers writings, and these set the stage for the rest of the movie.
The writings speak of the father's passion to find the man who was his main tormentor while he was a boy in Auschwitz. Cheyenne doesn't think his father loved him, but feels a deep responsibility to take on his cause none-the-less.
This quest takes Cheyenne on a journey across miles, and across time. The people he meets along the way changed him, and this movie changed me, as only the best films can. I continue to be haunted by the images in this film, and by its message. Never have I seen a character change so much, while still remaining true to his core values and commitment. .
 The acting was strong in this film by everyone. Besides the aforementioned, Judd Hirsh, as Mordecai Midler the self-professed Nazi killer, and the great-grandson of the Nazi Cheyenne was looking for, played by Grant Goodman, were especially strong.

Do yourself a favor, and accompany Cheyenne in his quest. You will be glad you did.

"Argo"

When I saw the movie "Gone Baby Gone" I told my husband that Ben Affleck was going to be an amazing director. More than that, I said that he was going to be the "one to watch". With "Argo" he made my prediction come true, and I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next.
If you don't know that Ben Affleck directed "Argo" then I'd like to know what the weather was like under that rock where you've been. This amazing film was written by Chris Terrio, and was based on the book by Tony Mendez. Even knowing that license was taken with this "based on a true story" flick didn't make the suspense any less real. I loved that Affleck didn't resort to over-dramatising a story that was dramatic enough all by itself. He just let the story tell itself, and if you were a teenager during the late 70's as I was, the reliving of that particular hostage crisis was very charged. We followed it every day in our History class, and I remember trying to imagine the powerlessness of those circumstances. This movie brought it all to life.
Affleck bolstered his cause with fine actors like Bryan Cranston, John Goodman (who was in five films this year, two of which were nominated for best picture!), and my personal favorite, Alan Arkin. Arkin plays a real Hollywood producer who is asked to produce a fake Hollywood film. As far as I am concerned he did everything spot-on.
Just go to the video store, already.

Don't you have enough ideas yet?

"The Master"

Ever since Joaquin Phoenix made a very public point of saying he was leaving acting forever, I've been anxiously awaiting his return. I was definitely not disappointed by this new debut.
Joaquin, as Freddy Sutton, is a completely loose alcoholic cannon. He is unpredictable, unlikable, and abrasive. And still I rooted for him to get his shit together. The layers of pain and hard knocks that Freddie so obviously carried with him was palpable. One could only imagine that if watching this was uncomfortable, how must it have been to inhabit this being for even a short period of time, much less the months it takes to make a motion picture.Let me just say I believe that Phoenix absolutely deserved his Oscar nomination, and has this movie happened in a year without "Lincoln" in it, he may have won that golden guy.
Phoenix, of course, did not accomplish this feat by himself.
The screenplay was written and directed by  Paul Thomas Anderson. Also cast were the Philip Seymour Hoffman as the title character, and Amy Adams as Hoffman's wife. The fact that they both also received Oscar nods speaks to the strength of their performances as well as to the strength of the film.

This is not an easy movie to watch. It is full of manipulation and harsh realities. It is also full of real characters that speak in loud, unrelenting voices. Do yourself a favor and listen.

"Moonrise Kingdom"

I didn't rent this Wes Anderson film for a long time because my younger son had said it was "weird'. It was. It was weird, and wonderful and a flight back to a simpler time. I loved that that children were children, the adults were adults,  the parents were parents, and everyone was human.
It is a fantastical story about a boy who doesn't fit into a mold and a girl who doesn't fit into a mold, and how they fit perfectly with each other. The boy has no parents and has been in Foster Care. The girl has parents who don't understand her, but do love her and, with all their faults and foibles are doing the very best they can.
This film is full of color and light. It was the most beautiful movie I've seen in a very long time.
The movie was written by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, (yes, THAT Coppola family). It was beautifully directed by Wes Anderson, and the chosen cast was perfect. Jared Gilman plays the boy, and Kara Hayward plays the girl. They were exactly who they should have been--children on the cusp of puberty with more questions about life than answers, and yet an unwavering commitment to be exactly who they were.
The supporting cast was made of of acting veterans such as Edward Norton as the boyscout troop leader, Bruce Willis as the local law enforcement, Frances McDormand as the girls mother, and Bill Murray as the girls father. Everyone was delightfully quirky and sincere.

This is not a chick flick, but a human film. You will be touched.