Mar312012

Bridesmaids

By EJ Lee | March 31, 2012 | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Alright, I know I’m so late to this, but people, “Bridesmaids” is amazing.  From start to finish, it was almost flawless.  This is not your typical wedding comedy; it disregards formula and ignores all the established norms for romantic comedies.

First off, when’s the last time you saw a movie set in Milwaukee?  This one is.  Our main character is Annie (Kristin Wiig, brilliant), a failed small business owner (a bakery) who’s barely getting by in almost every aspect of her life.  She’s immediately appealing to the viewer because of the chemistry she and her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph, equally brilliant) have.  They have a clearly established friendship that doesn’t wait for the audience to catch up.  Lillian is getting married, but this movie isn’t about her, or her relationship.  In fact, the groom doesn’t even have any lines.  The movie is about Lillian and Annie’s friendship, and the “crisis” Annie goes through as she feels further and further behind all of the other married or successful bridesmaids.

The bridesmaids are an interesting bunch, there’s the “new best friend” Helen (Rose Byrne), an unhappy housewife (Wendi McLendon-Covey), a naive new bride (Ellie Kemper) and a sort of indefinable character who’s extremely successful but very vulgar (Melissa McCarthy).  Most of the screen time goes to McCarthy, who’s hilarious, and Helen, who’s the “bad guy” of the movie.  Even this is done well though, because she’s not really the typical evil bridesmaid of all the other wedding comedies.  Kemper and McLendon-Covey are very background, which is actually my only problem with the movie; they’re introduced and sort of forgotten about, probably because there are so many other characters running around.  In addition to the bridesmaids, there’s a friendly cop (Chris O’Dowd) who Annie befriends and then sleeps with, again breaking the usual formula of the “will they won’t they” mystery.  This movie is about Annie finding love, but again it’s primarily about her friendship with Lillian, and the changes they both have to accept.

That sounds kind of serious, but luckily almost every scene of this movie is funny.  Wiig co-wrote the movie, and it makes me very eager to see more from her, because it’s so different from any typical romantic comedy, and somehow much more relatable.  Her character is ridiculous, and at times selfish, but that’s her character.  She’s consistent and stubborn, all of them are, which makes each character realistic enough as people for the viewer to disregard any question of plausibility in situations.  The jokes range from quick and clever to very (but realistically) vulgar, and at times just sight gags, like the ridiculously extravagant bridal shower Helen throws.  I don’t even want to describe it; you just have to see it.

Really, if you’re looking for a fun rental this weekend, I would very highly recommend this one.

My Londonderry NH net rating, 3 1/2 seeds.  

Images Bridesmaids a Universal Pictures (c) courtesy

Visit the Bridesmaids website for trailers and promotions.

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Mar242012

The Hunger Games

By EJ Lee | March 24, 2012 | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

After over a year and a half of hype, the first movie in The Hunger Games trilogy has been released this weekend.  The movie is based on the best-selling books by Suzanne Collins.  The story is complicated, and I was a little bit worried about how they would explain everything without sounding too obvious about it.  I’ll give you a brief plot outline, but I’m going to try not to give away too many details.

The story is set in a dystopian North America, several hundred years into the future.  The continent has gone through famines and wars, and what is left is split into twelve districts, which are controlled by the wealth obsessed Capitol.  The people of each district can’t leave them, or communicate with the other ones.  Our main character is Katniss Everdeen (perfectly acted by Jennifer Lawrence), a sixteen year old girl of District Twelve, the smallest district.  Her father died years ago in the coal mines and she was left to provide for her mother and younger sister.  The only way to keep from starving was to venture into the woods beyond her district’s borders (illegally) and hunt with a bow and arrow, joined by her friend Gale, providing game to eat and sell on the blackmarket.  Almost everyone in Twelve is in constant danger of starvation.  In addition to this, every year each District is required by law to hold a lottery in which one girl and boy between the ages of 12-18 are chosen to be sent to an arena where they fight to the death.  This is televised live – reality TV style – and viewing is mandatory.  It’s called the Hunger Games, and it is the Capitol’s way of reminding everyone of how much control they have.

So, that is a lot of backstory, but the movie is effectively able to get most of that across within the first fifteen minutes or so.  We come into the story on the day of this lottery (called the Reaping) and watch as Katniss and a boy named Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) are shortly taken away to the Capitol to prepare for the Games.  It’s a credit to the movie that this preparation doesn’t get boring, because it actually takes up almost half of the run time.  It’s all very well paced, and we slowly get to know the characters.  Peeta is an intelligent boy who Katniss can’t quite figure out; she – and the audience – spend most of the movie trying to decide if he’s an ally.  In the Capitol we meet the other tributes, as well as some adults who are supposed to help Katniss and Peeta to win by getting them sponsors who can send them life-saving gifts while they’re in the arena.

When we finally arrive at the arena, emotions are running high.  Things have been revealed that I will not spoil, and the stakes are increasingly higher.  Time in the arena passes quickly, and we mainly stick with Katniss as she ventures through the woods alone.  There are a few cutaways that show the controllers of the arena, who cause natural disasters whenever the time between deaths stretches on for too long.  These are new to the movies, and it is remarkably effective to the story, not to mention disturbing, to watch a room full of adults discussing the entertainment factor in twenty-three murders.  Those worried about this moving being too violent might be surprised to learn that it’s much less graphic than I expected, and – I never thought I’d say this – it could have been a little more so.  The deaths were horrific, but also didn’t feel that real – I thought the movie makers toned it down a little too far in their careful efforts of keeping this PG-13.

Overall it’s very well executed.  The pacing is great until the end (that was too rushed), and the acting from everyone was outstanding.  To be honest, I thought it was better than the books.  I know that if you haven’t read the books or aren’t familiar with the story it’s hard to look at this movie and want to go and see it based on its plot.  But, look, here’s the thing about this story: it’s supposed to be shocking and disturbing.  No one is going to see this because they’re cheering on Katniss to kill an arena full of teenagers.  It’s about an oppressive government and the things people will let happen when there is so little hope in their world.  It’s about the power of an idea, of a symbol, and of youth.  It’s about sacrifice, and the importance of staying true to yourself no matter what the people who govern you try and force you to do.  This story has real world ties, ones that are happening right now.  Child soldiers, government inflicted hunger and poverty, powerful regimes that use the media to distort and filter the truth.  These things and more are happening right now, and this movie should be looked at as a wakeup call to real world issues, and not mistaken for simple entertainment.

My Londonderry NH net rating, 3 seeds.  

Images The Hunger Games a Lionsgate (c) courtesy

Visit the The Hunger Games website for trailers and promotions.

I don’t usually do this, but a charity I work for is harnessing the power of the Hunger Games fandom to try to stop real world hunger.  Help raise awareness and fight world hunger by visiting: www.thehpalliance.org/imaginebetter.

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Mar172012

The Artist

By EJ Lee | March 17, 2012 | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

You’ve probably heard about “The Artist” by now.  A new silent, black and white movie among 3D blockbusters, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture and several other categories.   It’s the movie that brings us back to our origins.  Here’s a bit of trivia for you: did you know that movies once meant silent films?  Talkies were films that had sound.  “The Artist” is a true movie, complete with exaggerated performances, intertitles, and a magnificent and emotive soundtrack.

If you’ve ever seen “Singing In the Rain”, this movie will feel very familiar to you.  It’s pretty much a silent, darker version of “Singing In The Rain”.  Not that that’s a bad thing.  The star even looks similar to Gene Kelly; Jean Dujardin plays George Valentin, a silent movie star.  George seems like a nice, easy going guy, except for the wife he ignores.  Early in the film he runs into Peppy Miller, who’s steadily rocketed into stardom when she unintentionally gets a picture with George that makes the front page.  That picture leads to small background roles as a dancer, and eventually starting roles.  George runs into her again and realizes he is attracted to her, further complicating their relationship.

At the same time, talking pictures have begun to eclipse the appeal of movies.  George doesn’t take it seriously at first, and futilely fights against the change.  Peppy embraces it, and takes advantage of the “out with the old, in with the new” mentality that has taken over Hollywood.  She is grateful to George for kick-starting her career, but he refuses to try talking pictures, afraid that no one would want to hear him speak.  When the stock market crashes and George begins to lose everything, and Peppy can do little but watch.

The story is simple, but it’s told in such a way that the viewer can connect with George and his fear of becoming obsolete in all of the change surrounding him.  The world is moving too quickly for him to keep up with, and he is too proud to accept the help anybody is offering.  The thing about this movie though, is that it’s made in the same style that George is trying to hold onto.  What does that say about the movie then?  That perhaps this style is not so obsolete anymore, when used creatively?  I don’t know the answer, and I invite you to form your own opinion if you see it.  I highly recommend that you do, and it’s conveniently playing right here in Londonderry!

My Londonderry NH net rating, 4 seeds.  

Images The Artist  (c) courtesy

Visit the The Artist website for trailers and promotions.

 

 

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Mar102012

Friends With Benefits

By EJ Lee | March 10, 2012 | Posted in Around Town, Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

It’s been quite a while since I reviewed “No Strings Attached”, but at the time I promised to return with a review of “Friends With Benefits”, which has the exact same plot.  Well, here we are many months later, with that review.

“Friends With Benefits” is about a young man named Dylan (Justin Timberlake) who has been recruited by a head hunter to come to New York City and interview for a graphic design job.  This head hunter is an attractive young woman named Jamie (Mila Kunis, who I like more with every new movie) who convinces Dylan to stay in New York and accept the job.  Both of them have also just been dumped, and are “done with relationships for a while”.  The two become fast friends and have good chemistry, and eventually one night they decide to become “friends with benefits”.  The difference here between this movie and every other one that has this premise is that neither person has feelings for the other at this stage.  A refreshing take on this concept.  In addition, this movie (unlike “No Strings Attached”) is rated R, which should be something of a requirement when taking on this concept.  The humor they are able to use because of the rating makes this movie.

As you have probably guessed, it all goes wrong eventually, and there is a big friendship-ending scene and then eventually a make-up scene.  Formulaic and predictable.  This movie really tries to be self aware, and at first this works well, but halfway through it becomes cliché, despite the running joke of trying to avoid being cliché.  The secondary characters are also very “movie like” and predictable.  As with “No Strings Attached”, there is the wildly eccentric single parent, the gay best friend, and the all-knowing sibling.  Again, boring and overused.  The movie tries really hard to break the mold of the romantic comedy, but it can’t even come up with new character ideas.  Everyone has the usual traits and quirks, the same commitment and/or intimacy issues, etc.  Show me some original ideas.

The movie was entertaining enough, sure, and the two main characters were relatable.  I like Justin Timberlake much better than Ashton Kutcher in “No Strings Attached”, but this movie lacked Natalie Portman, so it’s hard to say which the overall better movie was.  If I had to recommend one, I’d recommend “Friends With Benefits”.  The humor was better, and both main characters were likeable.  Either way though, you’re not getting a great movie, so I’d really just recommend that you watch Bridesmaids (review to come).

My Londonderry NH net rating, 2 seeds.  

Images Friends With Benefits a Sony Pictures (c) courtesy

Visit the Friends With Benefits website for trailers and promotions.

 

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Mar032012

Once

By EJ Lee | March 3, 2012 | Posted in Columns | Tagged | Comments (0)

We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled program of reviews of new releases next Saturday, until then check out one of my favorite movies that’s available on DVD!

“Once” is a musical for people who don’t like musicals.  There are no show stopping dance numbers and its characters don’t break into song every scene.  The characters are Guy and Girl, (they actually aren’t named in the movie so for our purposes I’ll call them that), who meet on a Dublin street one night when Girl hears Guy passionately singing about love he lost.  He is works for his father as a Hoover repair man, and is a busker in his spare time.  Girl asks him about the song and is almost too inquisitive, but they strike up a “date” for the next day after she says that her Hoover needs to be fixed.  They meet the next day and have lunch, and Guy asks to hear her play piano after she tells him that she plays in a shop because she can’t afford her own.  This is the first test of how this musical works.  Both characters are singing and playing a song Guy writes, but it doesn’t feel awkward or forced at all.  The camera lingers on the two in close-up, admiring their chemistry for almost the entire 4 minutes of the song.  It’s a beautifully orchestrated scene; it makes the viewer focus on the music and share the thrill the characters are having at finding someone to share the music with. once

Unlike usual musicals, this one isn’t all about the big orchestrated soundtrack.  All the music here is actually probably played live; in fact one song is spontaneously played and the director liked it so much he kept it in.  The two characters are the ones who wrote the songs too.  The whole thing just has a really genuine, real life feel that is extremely rare in movies these days.  The writing and acting is realistic, as though someone just found these two people and decided to follow them around with a camera for a week.

The two characters share an attraction but don’t go crazy trying to push it;  they understand each other’s limits and are content to remain playing music and building the friendship.  Girl convinces Guy to record some of his songs in Once The Movie 530 a real studio, and then to go to London to try to get a record deal.  They spend the week rehearsing and recording, and by the end they suddenly realize what they face.  Girl has no telephone and Guy doesn’t know where he’s going to end up; they probably won’t be seeing each other again.  You really feel for the characters as they try to stretch out their final hours, but are so careful to tiptoe around their attraction to each other just as real people would.  The ending is so realistic and perfect that it makes you rather cynical of other movies for a while after you’ve seen it.  Really it’s just a delight of a movie; everything just feels so real that you forget that you’re technically watching a musical.  I will say this though: put on subtitles.  Irish accents can be really difficult to understand and it’s 10 times more enjoyable when you’re positive what the characters are saying.  This is a fantastic movie though, and the soundtrack is just as good.  Even if you’re not a musical Three and one Half seeds on EJ Lee's Movie Rating Systemperson you’ll enjoy this one.

My Londonderry NH net review, 3 1/2 seeds
Images Once a Fox Searchlight (c) courtesy

Visit the Once website for trailers and promotions.

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Feb252012

2012 Oscar Predictions

By EJ Lee | February 25, 2012 | Posted in Columns | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

It’s that time of year again! Tomorrow night at 7pm on ABC are the 2012 Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal.  Here are my picks for this year’s winners:

Best Picture

“The Artist”

“The Decendents”  

“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

“The Help”

“Hugo”

“Midnight In Paris”

“Moneyball”

“War Horse”

“The Tree of Life”

Will Win: This award is a real toss-up this year.  The three real contenders in my opinion are “The Artist”, “The Descendents”, and “Midnight in Paris”.  I don’t think “The Descendents deserves a win, nor do I think some of the others in the category even deserved a nomination.  Where is “Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”?!

Should Win: Hugo One of my three favorites of the year, this film did an extraordinary job of giving us a real history lesson on the origins of film within a brilliant, fictional world.

Shouldn’t Be Here: “Moneyball” or “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Best Director 

Woody Allen “Midnight in Paris”

Michel Hazanavicius “The Artist”

Terrence Malick “The Tree of Life”

Alexander Payne “The Decendents”

Martin Scorsese “Hugo”

Will Win: Woody Allen

Should Win: Martin Scorsese I’d be happy to see Woody Allen take this one, but I think Scorsese did a slightly better job with his film (interesting how both of them did fictional stories that contain real people and actual history).

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn”

Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”

Nick Nolte, “Warrior”

Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”

Max Von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Will Win: Christopher Plummer

Should Win: N/A I’m not qualified to make a judgment on this, having not seen enough of the performances.

Shouldn’t Be Here: Jonah Hill?  Please.  Not a great movie, not a great performance.  He really didn’t have that much to do in that movie.

Best Actor

Demian Bichir, “A Better Life”  

George Clooney, “The Descendents”

Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”

Gary Oldman, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”

Will Win: Another toss-up.  Will it be George Clooney, who is a current favorite?  Or Jean Dujardin, for his brilliant work in the silent film, “The Artist”?

Should Win: Jean Dujardin

Shouldn’t Be Here: Clooney was good but not “best”, and the same goes for Brad Pitt.

Best Supporting Actress

Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”

Jessica Chastain, “The Help”

Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”

Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”

Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Will Win: Ocatvia Spencer Absolutely deserved.  The award could go to any of the women in “The Help” and be deserved.

Shouldn’t Be Here: I don’t know whether or not she should be here, not having seen it, but I was surprised that Melissa McCarthy got the nod for “Bridesmaids”.  It’s rare to get a nomination for a comedy in the style that “Bridesmaids” was in.

Best Actress  

Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”

Viola Davis, “The Help”

Rooney Mara, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”

Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”

Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn” 

Will Win: Viola Davis A win for her would be well deserved for her performance.

Should Win: Rooney Mara Best performance of the year without question.  But the movie’s subject is a touchy one, some say too much so for the voter’s demographic.  Unlikely that she’ll win, which is truly unfortunate.

Best Original Screenplay

Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”

JC Chandor, “Margin Call”

Asghar Farhadi, “A Separation”

Michel Hazanavius, “The Artist”

Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, “Bridesmaids”

Will Win: Midnight In Paris I’d be happy to see him win.  It was a wonderfully written movie, especially for one being so full of famous authors.

Should Win: “The Artist” Just because it’s a silent movie, so I think it’d be funny.

Best Adapted Screenplay  

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, “The Descendents”

John Logan, “Hugo”

George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, “The Ides of March”

Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, “Moneyball”

Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughn, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Will Win: “The Descendents” I love Jim Rash, but I wasn’t that impressed with this movie.

Should Win: “Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” Not even nominated. What the heck is up with this movie and the lack of recognition it’s getting? Among the actual nominees though, it should go to “Hugo”.

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