17 Again (2009)

3/5

17 Again is a movie that surprised me for many reasons. It's funnier than I expected and more heartwarming than I imagined. The story is fairly simple and juvenile: faced with impending divorce, Mike O'Donnell (Perry) is transported back to his high school form (Efron), where he helps his daughter (Trachtenberg) break up with a sleazebag (Parrish) and gives his son (Knight) confidence to stand up against bullies while simultaneously winning back his wife's affection (Mann). I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone who has been living under a rock since the invention of cinema and is unfamiliar with how Hollywood works, but let's just say this movie ends in the expected manner.

The acting and the dialogue are where this movie shines. It is probably Zac Efron's best acting to date. I know that's not really saying much, but he was actually pretty good. The script was far more poignant than I thought it would be given its premise, and far more clever and witty than I gave it credit for. The basic plot of a major life change prompting someone to re-evaluate their priorities feels quite tired and trite, and this movie attempts to freshen it up with an unnecessarily silly scenario instead of a realistic, believable one. I think it could have been an awesome movie if they chose the latter route, but this decision, as well as most of the directorial traits and technical aspects, ended up making the movie mediocre, unremarkable, and forgettable. All in all, not a bad movie and above average as a form of entertainment, but I'm a little disappointed that it wasn't more than that.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0974661/

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

3/5

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is a fitting end to a rather bland film series. I'm sure the books are much more interesting (even the Wikipedia articles are far more interesting), but the movie versions just don't do it for me. They feel like simplified, truncated versions of something that might actually be good. They're made for people who have read the book; everyone else is cheated of truly experiencing the magic of the series. Nothing about these movies is thought out in a cinematic fashion, nothing is added or changed to make it fit better in movie form. It's a simple translation to a different format and that's exactly what it feels like.

That being said, the movie is fairly entertaining and enjoyable to watch. It's not a bad movie by any means. It's predictable with an appropriate amount of action to spice up the boring dialogue and plot, but being so predictable makes the whole thing advance at a laborious pace. You know what's going to happen next and you're just waiting for it to happen. Special effects were pretty crappy, acting was acceptable, and cinematography was stale. It's nice to see a finale to the series, but I think they probably should've just stuck with the written word. Obviously the fans will watch this movie no matter what I say, but nothing has changed with this movie to turn a newcomer into a fan.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1201607/

Crazy Stupid Love (2011)

4/5

Crazy Stupid Love has commas in the official title that I am intentionally omitting because they annoy me. The movie itself does not annoy me. In fact, it surprised me with its humor and heart. The plot follows Cal (Carell) and Emily (Moore) Weaver. Emily wants a divorce, and in fact she has already cheated on him with her co-worker David Lindhagen (Bacon). Cal's son (Bobo) is in love with his babysitter (Tipton), who is in fact in love with Cal. Cal starts frequenting bars, whining to no one in particular nonstop for two weeks about the impending divorce, until Jacob (Gosling) becomes so annoyed that he takes him under his wing and shows him how to assert his manhood and pick up women for one-night stands. Cal's first "success" is with a crazy teacher (Tomei) who seems excited by his honesty, but he never calls her back. Jacob, on the other hand, meets Hannah (Stone), who shakes him of his womanizing ways and turns him into a boyfriend.

There is one fantastic scene in the middle of the film that involves Cal and Emily talking on the phone, and it becomes evident that she still loves him and cares for him and misses him even if she can't live with him. It is a tender moment that is filled with genuine emotion and more complexity than you might at first assume. It almost forced a tear out of my eye. In fact, almost the entire plot seems very simple superficially but becomes much more multi-faceted just below the surface.

The acting by the entire ensemble is wonderful; everyone is able to juggle empathy with wit in fluid harmony. The directing as a whole was very effective, although it felt somewhat choppy as people were ignored for chunks at a time. On the whole, Crazy Stupid Love impressed me unexpectedly, much like Bandslam. If you had any interest in the actors or the plot, I would not hesitate to recommend this movie.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1570728/

Rango (2011)

3/5

Rango tells the story of a lizard (Depp) who stumbles into a Western. The town of Dirt is inhabited by other similarly-sized creatures, although sometimes it's really difficult to tell what kind of animal each character is supposed to be, and they are in the midst of a water shortage crisis. Rango manages to earn himself a sheriff's star by unwittingly taking out the town's predator and is soon tasked by the mayor (Beatty) with giving the townspeople hope in the face of rapidly dwindling resources. They must find out who is stealing their water and why before it's too late.

The acting is solid, the animation is fun, and the pacing is fluid. The plot is essentially a rehashing of Chinatown with the occasional twist and turn to make it a little bit more exciting and kid-friendly in the hopes that it doesn't feel predictable. Unfortunately, it is predictable. Adding failed plan after failed plan in the last 10 minutes doesn't make it surprising. It just makes it painful for everyone waiting for the film to end.

The best part about this movie is probably the character of Rango, who seems to be able to confabulate on the fly in a very entertaining manner. It makes for a clever script with sharp dialogue, including some excellent jokes, but on the whole I didn't get much out of it. Ultimately, the film tried too hard to satisfy too many different genres that it never really impressed me on any one of them. All in all, this is a strange but fairly mediocre film that entertains but doesn't stick with you. Watch it if it sounds interesting, but don't go out of your way to see it.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1192628/

Love On The Run (1979)

3/5

Truffaut's Love On The Run is the final piece in the Antoine Doinel series. And how thankful I am for that! The Doinel movies were always hit or miss with me, occasionally funny, sometimes provocative, usually amateurish, but never boring. Like The Man Who Loved Women, the protagonist is a womanizer who writes a book about his experiences with women. This story begins with a divorce. As he ends his marriage to Christine (Jade), Antoine (Léaud) bumps into his old flame Colette (Pisier). While reminiscing on a train about their past together, they are reminded of the harsh truth behind why they never worked out as a couple. His current girlfriend Sabine (Dorothée) dumps him, and he bumps into his mother's old lover while wandering the streets in despair. The movie continues on in this way, essentially reviewing the life of Antoine Doinel through flashbacks that are nothing more than scenes from Truffaut's old Doinel films. It was like a clip show at the end of a TV series, and it probably means more to the creator than to the viewer. Very nostalgic without any new content. Watch it to end the saga, but don't expect to see anything too inspiring.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078771/

The Man Who Loved Women (1977)

3/5

Truffaut's The Man Who Loved Women is a fascinating character study of a man who has dedicated his entire life to seducing and bedding women. Although the bulk of the movie consists of him attempting the aforementioned (and often succeeding), it's more than just a series of sexual encounters. It delves into his thought processes, his theories on man-woman interactions, and his troubled past. It's not exactly the most organized of movies, as it manages to introduce and expand on all those varied tasks somewhat haphazardly, but it does accomplish more than the plot summary might initially suggest. Part of the charm of including such disparate parts of this man's personality is that it makes it feel less written and more real, more honest. As the film progresses, the sexcapades almost intrude on the more intriguing characteristics of the man pursuing them. Unfortunately, the directing itself is as lost as the protagonist, giving the film an episodic, tumultuous feel. If only more thought had been put into the story's overall structure, I think this could have been a great film. Unfortunately, it is merely adequate.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076155/

The Color of Paradise (1999)

3/5

Majid Majidi's The Color of Paradise tells the story of a blind boy (Ramezani) who goes home from his special school for the summer. Although Mohammad enjoys talking with his grandmother (Feyzi) and playing with his two sisters (Safari, Sharifi), his father (Mahjoub) wants him to work for a blind carpenter (Fatemi) in the city instead. I had high expectations for the movie going into it, as I had just seen Majidi's previous film Children of Heaven, but nearly everything about this movie let me down. The acting is weak, so weak in fact that it takes away from the story itself. The characters are all whiny and annoying. The plot is uninspired and overly melodramatic. Not only that, it doesn't really go anywhere. Loose ends are left dangling willy-nilly. Technically, the movie was equally disappointing. There were scenes of beauty, both in terms of landscapes and human compassion, but then Majidi goes crazy with slow motion to beat it into your head. The movie isn't a bad one, but I would avoid it unless you already know you're going to be a fan.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0191043/

Children of Heaven (1997)

4/5

Majid Majidi's Children of Heaven tells the touching story of a brother and sister in Iran. Ali (Hashemian) loses his sister's shoes when he buys potatoes for his parents on his way home. Zahra (Seddiqi) is upset, but she knows she cannot tell her parents because they do not have enough money to buy new shoes. In order to make it up to his sister, Ali promises to let her borrow his shoes. But since they both need it for school, they devise a plan to share the sneakers. She wears it for her school in the morning and they switch in the middle of the day so he can wear it for his school. Unfortunately, the timing doesn't quite work out, and Ali gets into trouble for being late to school repeatedly. There is a lot more to the story than that, but I'll let you discover the rest of this crowd-pleasing movie on your own.

To be honest, I didn't think I would enjoy this movie as much as I did, but I found myself smiling time and time again. Much like Jafar Panahi's The White Balloon, the story is filled with scenes of such innocence and warmth. Majidi has done the seemingly impossible task of transporting us into the thoughts and values of these kids: finding the missing shoes is just about the most important thing in the world. I can't remember the last time my heart was pounding this hard watching a bunch of kids run. It is a testament to Majidi's ability to engage an audience and take us on the journey he wants to show us.

The acting is another marvel. The children are better than some adults working in America, and the fact that they chose just about the cutest little girl in the world to play Zahra doesn't hurt either. However, the movie is not perfect. There is this one rather bizarre interlude involving gardening and a young boy wearing pink. I'm sure there is a lot of subtle Iran-specific social commentary that I am missing, but I'm not quite sure why it was in this movie. It feels out of place compared with the rest of the piece. All in all, this is an inspiring and uplifting tale of the lengths to which we will go for our family.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118849/

Broken Flowers (2005)

3/5

Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers was--remarkably--not as bad as all his other movies. The movie actually held my interest and packs an emotional punch. The plot follows Don Johnston (Murray) on a quest to find an old girlfriend who wrote him a letter telling him he has a son. Watching Broken Flowers, I noticed that he has a unique sense of style that permeates past their dress and into their interactions and mannerisms. His style is not universal or classic, but indie and fickle. I have a feeling that I don't like Jarmusch's older movies for that very reason: they just don't age very well. But I'm finally starting to see the comedy in his films. I think it's all dependent on the actors he chooses, because Bill Murray saves the film with his seemingly effortless comic timing (moreso than Roberto Benigni in Down By Law). Murray somehow matches an apathetic outward demeanor with internal fascination. It is truly remarkable to watch him act.

Be that as it may, I'm not the biggest fan of Jarmusch's filmmaking. He still lingers on shots for far too long when editing, making every shot begin and end 1-2 seconds before and after they should. He frequently fades in and out, both visually and aurally, which probably contributes to the feeling that this movie is more like stop-and-go traffic than fluid, smooth storytelling. It's jagged and stilted, with episodic interludes and minimal overarching structure. This is probably his best movie after Night on Earth, but I'm not sure I would recommend it to anyone who isn't already a fan. It will probably be good enough to satisfy Bill Murray fans, however, as he manages to carry the entire project on his shoulders with aplomb.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412019/

Dead Man (1995)

1/5

Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man is one of the most uninteresting, meandering, meaningless movies I've seen since Truffaut's The Soft Skin. I sat there for two hours watching scenes transition to different scenes with the barest semblance of plot or purpose. The movie follows William Blake (Depp) as he makes his way from Cleveland to the West in the late 19th century. He gets mixed up in violence and must go on the run to save his life, but I think the title is meant to insinuate that he is already dead. People who like the movie will tell you it's about a man's transformation in the time of our country's transformation, but I think those people are just seeing stuff that isn't there. Or, perhaps, seeing the bits and pieces of stuff beneath all the garbage piled on top of it.

Johnny Depp kind of reminded me of Guy Pearce in this movie, and I mean that in a bad way. He has dead expressions and no depth. He sounds entirely uninterested in just about everything going on, even when he's supposed to be scared or excited. Regardless of whether his affect is intentional or not, it's simply boring and painful to watch. I don't even want to talk about the dialogue, because I'll just get upset. The script tries to be edgy and badass, but instead it's spoken by what sounds like bad student actors trying to be edgy and badass. Mix this bad acting (or bad directing, I'm honestly not sure which it is) with crappy special effects and cheesy old-time film techniques and you have an entirely laughable production. It's times like these I wish I had waited before burning an entire director's oeuvre until I knew I liked them.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112817/