Monsters University (2013)

4/5

Monsters University, the prequel to Monsters Inc., is another impressive installment in Pixar's already phenomenal canon. It tells the story of the unlikely meeting between Mike Wazowski (Crystal) and James P. Sullivan (Goodman) in the scare academy. Like the best prequels, it deepens our love for each character, enriching their personalities and unveiling their motivations. We learn how they got to where they are today, what obstacles they had to overcome, what imperfections they had to live with, what prejudices they had to endure. They become more compelling than ever before and so we treasure our time with them.

The story and animation are both absolutely charming. The pacing is spot-on, shifting from comedy to excitement to sentiment with seeming ease. It is a delight to watch and it will leave you grinning with glee. Part of what makes Monsters University so good is how good Monsters Inc. is, knowing how it all ends. And now that we have Monsters University to enjoy, Monsters Inc. becomes that much better too!

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1453405/

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

4/5

Safety Not Guaranteed begins with a glorious failure of an interview. Darius (Plaza) reveals way too much personal information to a manager at a fast food chain that is probably 5 years younger than her. Soon after she starts interning at Seattle Magazine and quickly gets acquisitioned by Jeff (Johnson) to investigate a classifieds ad. The curious ad asks for a partner with whom to go back in time. Darius does some sleuthing and discovers that the ad's author is Kenneth (Duplass), a grocery store clerk with wild theories and a wilder personality. Oh, and flippin' pinpoint calibrations.

The movie is an original but predictable quirky indie romantic comedy. It's original in the story it tells and the events that happen, but predictable in its characterization and overarching progression. Nothing about it is really all that novel or breakthrough, but the plot has an unexpected twist at the end that kind of takes you by surprise and leaves you in shock. The acting is spot-on, although I'm not sure how much of it is acting and how much of it is writing dialogue for people who already act that way in real life. The cinematography, editing, and others parts of the movie that most people don't care about are all unremarkable and far from technical achievements.

But the movie gets its power from the story it tells, and the way it tells it. The movie's thematics are textually rich and ripe for discussion. It examines the way love gets magnified, problems get forgotten, and history gets twisted by nostalgia. It takes a tender look at humanity's need for companionship, about what people are willing to do in order to have someone to be there with, someone to share an adventure with. It does this all without being overly obvious about it, just by telling a sweet story filled to the brim with true-to-life characters. They're all searching for the same thing and don't even know it.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1862079/

Funny People (2009)

3/5

Despite the rating of 3 stars, Judd Apatow's Funny People is not a mediocre movie. It's actually a great movie that suffers from some serious flaws. The plot follows star comedian George Simmons (Sandler) after he is diagnosed with AML. While depressed, he hires young stand-up comic Ira Wright (Rogen) to be his assistant and help write jokes for him. He finally starts accepting his impending death and, because of it, begins rekindling old relationships, including the love of his life, Laura (Mann). He miraculously recovers and, with his new lease on life, decides to pursue Laura and what he hopes is the key to his happiness.

Some of the scenes in this movie are incredibly powerful and moving (for example, when he first finds out about the disease, or when he fears that the drugs are making him sicker, or when he starts opening up to people, or the complicated mess they get into at the end). Some of the scenes, mostly the stand-up routines, are ridiculously hilarious. And I especially loved all the scenes where real-life comedians (Norm MacDonald, Dave Attell, Sarah Silverman, Ray Romano) play themselves. But some scenes just muddle the message and some scenes that need to be there just aren't. It's frustrating in a movie that seems so close to greatness fall so short. And it's unsatisfying. Even after 2 hours and 15 minutes, when I realized the credits were about to roll on the final shot, I thought to myself, "That's it? There's nothing more he has to say?"

The humor is actually fairly dissonant; you get the Adam Sandler humor of old mixed with the Seth Rogen/Judd Apatow humor of new and they just don't go together. I often had to force myself to laugh at most of Sandler's comedic lines. I never really found him that funny to start with, and this movie didn't change my opinion. On the bright side, the acting was effective and empathetic, from all parties, and most directorial decisions were spot-on. The cinematography was surprisingly effective at setting mood and evoking emotion with simple point-of-view shots. The editing was good for the most part, although it lagged in some parts as well. All in all, the movie was technically proficient with some very emotional scenes that ultimately leave you unfulfilled and aggravated. If you like Judd Apatow movies, you'll probably like this one, but it's definitely not as good as his other two.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1201167/