A Serious Man (2009)

5/5

The Coen brothers' A Serious Man is a movie I would have expected at the end of their career, to explain why none of their previous films have full and satisfying explanations. The story follows a middle-aged Larry Gopnik (Stuhlbarg) as his decidedly adequate life slowly starts to crumble. His wife is leaving him to be with a recently widowed Sy Ableman (Melamed) while his brother (Kind) finds himself caught up in criminal activities. His son is listening to rock and roll when he should be studying Hebrew and his daughter is stealing money for a nose job. His physics student is attempting to bribe him to change his failing grade, derogatory letters are being anonymously sent to the committee responsible for granting him tenure, and one of his neighbors is slowly encroaching on his property line while the other is unwittingly tempting him with her nude sunbathing. What is a good Jew to do?

The writing and directing are as perfect as always. The precise, purposeful camera movements and shot compositions make the movie feel rich and complete. The editing is spot-on, with impeccable timing that both resists and embraces cuts for comic or dramatic effect. The acting by Stuhlbarg is remarkably expressive; he projects all the information you need to know about his internal emotional state from the movement of his eyebrows alone. The changes in vocal tone evoke more than the words he speaks. The way he moves his body tells the story better than the Coens' own written actions. He is the essence of this movie, and he carries the entire film exceptionally well.

You feel for Larry. Not because you know what it's like to go through a divorce or get blackmailed, but because you know that when bad things happen, they don't come alone, but all together in a ferocious whirlwind that leaves you deflated and defeated. Larry is the optimist we all hope to be; he doesn't wave a white flag without a fight. Instead he seeks out advice from a number of different rabbis. He asks them what God is trying to tell him through his suffering. But the rabbis either tell him to change his perspective, reassure him that it will all pass, or ignore him. And just as the movie seems to be approaching a resolution, just as it seems as if it will all be explained, it ends.

That seems to be how a number of Coen brothers movies go. The brothers direct each shot of each scene of each movie with purpose, but never explain the purpose behind it. But in A Serious Man we get a better clue as to their point of view. A Serious Man is apparently a modern retelling of the Book of Job, in which Job is victim to misfortune upon misfortune. He asks God why, but God does not tell him. It is not God's responsibility to explain our own life to us. Maybe it is good enough that we ask questions about our purpose in life. God has done his job. And just as the Coens have created their movies, they are not responsible for explaining their meanings to the audience. They are successful as long as they make you ask questions. Whether or not you find the answers is up to you.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1019452/

Where The Wild Things Are (2009)

3/5

Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are is a technical marvel but an emotional disappointment. The plot follows a young, lonely Max (Records) who is unable to express all the feelings he experiences as he grows up. After an argument with his mother, he runs away into the woods and finds himself in the land of the Wild Things. For those who have never read the book (or seen the trailers), the Wild Things are 8 foot tall monsters with gigantic heads. They are without a doubt the stars of the show, with phenomenal costuming and superb computer graphics. They seem so real in every sense of the word; it is an incredible feat of filmmaking prowess.

But the rest of the movie makes very little sense. The lack of a plot makes the 90 minute runtime exhausting and boring instead of engaging and exciting. Most of the characters are relatively unlikable and possess very few redeeming qualities. And what were we supposed to take from the movie? What I did like was how the film was able to conjure up the point of view of a young child who doesn't always get what he wants and doesn't understand why. The sadness on his face when other kids destroy his igloo is genuine and palpable. The way he plays with his mother's stockings when she's working effuses the loneliness he feels. Emotionally, there is much potential but it is never fully explored or satisfactorily concluded. If you like Spike Jonze and don't much care for the content then you will like this movie much more than if you love the book and don't know who Spike Jonze is. Enjoy at your own risk.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386117/

The Proposal (2009)

4/5

The Proposal is a delightful romantic comedy that gives just the right amount of haha and aww that you'd expect from it and throws in a few additional surprises (especially for fans of The Office). The plot follows feared book editor Margaret something or other (Bullock)--in a role that seems conspicuously similar to Meryl's Streep's character in The Devil Wears Prada--and her executive assistant Andrew something or other (Reynolds). She is at risk of deportation following a Visa fiasco and uses her position over Andrew to get him to agree to marry him so she can stay in the country. At first he refuses, then decides to take advantage of her situation and force her to promote him to editor after the marriage and divorce are all taken care of. Unfortunately, the FBI or whatever federal organization that gets involved in this sort of thing catches wind of their fraudulent endeavor, forcing them to take a trip back to Andrew's home in Alaska to prove that they are truly marrying each other out of love.

Yes, it is a ridiculously contrived scenario, but it works. It's thoroughly entertaining if you're willing to suspend your disbelief for a little bit. The acting was terrific. Sandra Bullock is as attractive as she was 15 years ago and Ryan Reynolds is as charming and charismatic as always. But what really made me love the movie was the acting by the side characters. Betty White (whom I knew from her role as Catherine Piper on Boston Legal) is absolutely exquisite. And Oscar Nuñez from The Office also has his fair share of laughs and surprises. The technical aspects of the movie are competent but unexceptional. The movie as a whole is extremely enjoyable and I actually would recommend you go out and see it if you like any of the actors involved.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1041829/

Clueless (1995)

4/5

Clueless is a surprisingly entertaining teen comedy that manages to stand the test of time despite being entrenched in 90's culture, lingo, and fashion. (As opposed to Swingers, which is also entrenched in the 90's, but cannot quite escape its time period.) The plot follows the popular, affluent 16-year-old Cher (Silverstone) who feels compelled to help others, and does so by taking the new girl in school Tai (Murphy) under her wing. Her unrelated ex-step-brother Josh (Rudd) is also in town to help their shared litigator father (Hedaya) with a big case and is giving Cher the headache of a lifetime. As far as teen comedies go, I have to say that this is one of the best I've seen. I loved Can't Hardly Wait in high school, but Clueless, despite its slant to girls, is definitely better.

The movie is funny, no doubt about it. I found myself laughing far more than I thought I would. The dialogue is sharp and witty and there's little lingering or pausing for jokes, making the whole movie very appropriately paced. The plot was somewhat confusing at first, trying to get everybody's names and social statuses in check, but after that it was smooth sailing. What amazed me the most about this movie is that Alicia Silverstone's outfits and hair styles still look so good, despite her dressing very fashionably for the 90's. (Compare to old episodes of Friends of Seinfeld and you'll see what I'm talking about.) Technically, there was nothing impressive about the movie. The montages were a bit kitschy, especially at the end, but nothing too off-putting. All in all, a very appealing teen comedy and one that I think everyone in our age group should see.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112697/

Paranormal Activity (2007)

2/5

Paranormal Activity was not a good movie for anyone who's seen the trailer. You've already seen all the exciting parts! And it's probably not a good movie for anyone who hasn't seen the trailer. It's just not a good movie overall. The plot follows the unbelieving Micah (Sloat) after he buys an HD camera to document the "demonic hauntings" of his easily scare-able girlfriend Katie (Featherston). It slowly progresses as a series of ominous noises, rustling bedsheets, and fickle light switches until the final climactic five minutes. And I mean slowly. The pacing is atrocious. It bores instead of building tension. Except it thinks it's building tension, so it goes on and on and on when nothing actually happens.

Being shot entirely on a cheap camera by the actors may have sounded like a great idea for a low-budget horror film trying to copy on the success of The Blair Witch Project, but it just made the movie ugly and aggravating to the viewers. I'm certain the movie would have been at least twice as good had it been shot in a traditional style; nothing was gained by being a self-shot "movie within a movie." I suppose it tried to make it seem as if it were archival footage from a true occurrence, but it didn't work because we knew it was all fake. I went to see this movie because my cousin said he was afraid to sleep afterwards. The only reason I'd be unable to sleep is knowing I wasted my money and time on this subpar "horror" flick. Pass.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179904/

Zombieland (2009)

4/5

Zombieland is a zombie movie parody in the same vein as Shaun of the Dead, but shorter, funnier, and much more palatable to American audiences. It follows a ragtag group of humans in a world overcome by zombies and the magnificently creative ways in which they kill them. There are a surprising number of genuine scares, even though it is not a horror movie (although nobody told the other previews). But there are far far more genuine laughs. The writing is sharp, witty, and observant, using the absolute minimum to get the joke across (whether it's through quick flashbacks or jump cuts) while letting the audience build the remainder of the scene themselves. The characters are rich, well-acted, and compelling, but not particularly unique.

The special effects were fairly disappointing. The use of text, especially when the letters were treated as parts of the scene that could get knocked over or have blood splattered on them, was clever at first but quickly became way overdone. On the other hand, the use of slow-motion, especially for killing and destruction, was always awesome. The only disappointment is that there wasn't much more to the movie than what was in the trailer. All things considered, it's an immensely entertaining comedy with a bit of blood for the boys and a bit of romance for the girls. Definitely check this out.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1156398/

Waiting (2005)

4/5

Waiting is an absolutely hilarious comedy about a group of college-age kids who wait tables at a restaurant. It's not particularly new or interesting, but it takes its simple concept and makes the most of it. From mean customers to bad tippers, imagine how you would handle the situation. And if you were stuck there, imagine what kind of games would you play in the back room to extract tiny morsels of joy out of your miserable existence. And then turn it into a raucous comedy, and you have Waiting.

The characters are by far the best part about the movie. The movie starts with Monty (Ryan Reynolds) taking a new trainee (John Francis Daley) under his wing for the day. His best friend (Justin Long) feels inadequate because of a high school friend who recently got his bachelor's in electrical engineering while he has been working at Shenanigan's for the past four years. Monty, the suave underage-chaser, has his eye on the hostess, who is just one week shy of turning 18. Naomi is perpetually angry at everyone, yelling and swearing to everybody and nobody in particular, but always puts on a smile for the customers. Raddimus is the cook who loves handjobs, showing his penis and balls to his coworkers so he can call them gay, and dropping food on the floor. I don't know why, but I apparently found this movie much funnier than the people I was watching it with. I really don't know how to else to review it except to say that it's hilarious. I loved every moment of it. Go watch it!

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348333/

The Invention of Lying (2009)

3/5

Ricky Gervais's The Invention of Lying is a fairly entertaining movie that took its clever premise in a direction I had no idea was coming. The plot started off in a contrived world where not only does everyone tell the truth, but they say what's on their mind regardless of other people's company. It made for some good moments in the beginning (for example, what's on the mind of two people on a semi-blind date, what the waitstaff is thinking when they serve you your food, etc.) but it quickly grew old and tired. And just in time, Ricky Gervais's character somehow inexplicably discovers how to lie and takes advantage of it. One day his mother is on her deathbed and he comes up with the idea of heaven to cheer her up. From there on out it becomes a completely different movie that I can't really say I was ready for.

The best part of the movie was its special guest appearances, from Philip Seymour Hoffman to Jason Bateman. They were always completely unexpected and entirely hilarious. The second best part was that the concession stand people accepted my expired coupon for a large popcorn and drink, which was most likely the cause of the single worst part about the moviegoing experience. My bladder filled up to an amount I cannot remember it ever filling up to in my 23 year existence about 30 minutes into the 90 minute movie. I tried holding out for that last hour, squirming in my seat, but after 45 minutes I simply couldn't take it any longer and skipped about 2-3 minutes of the movie to pee. It was glorious. But that middle 45 minutes were the worst. Anyway, the movie's style of humor is pretty close to what it appears in the trailer, but its view on religion may either intrigue or offend you. If you like Ricky Gervais and you're not particularly religious or you're not easily offended, then you may enjoy this movie immensely.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1058017/

State of Play (2009)

3/5

State of Play is a fairly typical journalism thriller with far too many conspiracies and plot twists to be believable, but just enough to keep you from accurately predicting the ending. The plot follows two journalists (Crowe & McAdams) writing separate articles, one on a dual homicide and another on a political sex scandal following a fatal accident, that later become linked by a far-reaching corporation and its deception. But the real focus of the movie isn't the unbelievable ending, nor is it the military conspiracy, nor is it the political cover-up. It's about two people putting their life on the line for something they believe in: discovering the truth and letting everyone know. And because you see their willingness to sacrifice everything for their ethics, you empathize with them. And because you empathize with them, the tension is remarkably palpable.

The cinematography was fairly good, but not consistently impressive. The writing was full of newspaper clichés about being the first to print the breaking story, holding the press for the ultimate story, blah blah blah. Does that stuff really happen anymore? Does anybody ever care about being the first to print a story? Does it provide them with some sort of financial gain? I've never worked in a newspaper before, but it all just seemed so overplayed and unrealistic. It didn't make any sense. As far as movies go, it's enjoyable, entertaining, and extremely gripping, but it's nothing special. If you enjoyed the trailer, you'll enjoy this movie.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473705/