Keith (2008)

Another review I want to quickly get done before going back to the stuff Blaine showed me that Candra found on Netflix and recommended me seeing: an independent film called Keith. 

Plot: Natalie is a popular 17 year old high schooler who thinks that she has he life figured out. She's planning to go to Duke University with a Tennis scholarship, she's doing stuff like yearbook, and has recently started dating a new transfer student named Rafael. But then she is partnered in chemistry with an odd, carefree boy named Keith who has a sort of rebellious and somewhat random view of life. She finds him annoying at first, but eventually starts to fall in love with him. So she starts trying to balance her life while both dating Rafael and hanging out with Keith while also trying to know more about him.

This movie really turned out to be a lot better then I really thought it was going to be. Not that I thought it was going to be bad or anything, but it had a more compelling story and especially a more impressive performance from Jessie McCartney then I honestly thought it was going to be. I mean granted, I don't really know much about him about him besides his song "Beautiful Soul" and his voice acting work in most of the Kingdom Hearts games. But just about from beginning to end, I just couldn't see him as Jesse McCartney. Despite my best efforts to do so, McCartney gives us this unique, random, deep and complex character that easily made me more interested in him than trying to see him as just the pop signer. And he does as excellent job in giving us this characters and I was just plain impressed at the end of the day. But that doesn't mean the stuff from the movie wasn't interesting too. Elizabeth Harnois also gives a very deep performance as Natalie as she does display very well how she's trying to juggle everything that is happening to her life whether it has to do with Keith or not. And the story does come out pretty simple at first, but later on, without giving anything away, it becomes much more deeper with its heavier themes that make it more interesting. If there is one big problem with the film that Candra and I agree on, it would be that the film does drag. There are some scenes that possibly weren't really needed, and it does take an awfully long time before we start to find out more about Keith and who he really is, and even when we do, there will be something else about him that we don't know yet that also takes a while.

And that's my review for Keith, it does drag when it comes to things like knowing more about who Keith really is, but the film still turns out to be a rather enjoyable film with a good story, and an impressive performance from Jessie McCartney. If you haven't seen this movie, I say it's worth taking a look at.

Rating: 75% 

Rio (2011)

Okay so before I review more stuff Blaine has shown me, I want to quickly get out of the way a couple other movies that I have recently seen. The first is a movie that I despised with a passion for a long time despite having never seen it. Why? Because it took the #1 slot for the box office at the time from Scream 4; a movie that I, along with many other people, find to be despicably underrated. So despite knowing that I was being silly in hating a movie I have never seen...well... I just did that anyway. But my grandparents for whatever reason bought the film recently, so during my latest visit at their place, we all took a look at Rio.

Plot: A blue macaw is capture from his home in Rio and eventually found by a little girl named Linda who takes care of him and names him Blu. Fifteen years later, Linda is grown up and owns a bookstore and Blu grown up high domesticated but unable to fly. Then a Ornithologist named Túlio comes and tells Linda that Blu is the last male of his kind and offers her to take him to Rio so he can mate with a female blu macaw in order to save his species. So they go and Blu is forces to try to mate with the female named Jewel, but then they are captured and taken to a group of smugglers and so try to escape and return to Linda.

So what did I think about this movie I so stubbornly hated? Its... actually better then I honestly thought it would be even if I was putting the whole thing about Scream 4 aside. However, it mainly revolves around its animation and the comedy rather than the story and the characters. But let's start off with the good stuff. The animation as I just stated, is very good. It's colorful, and also gives us some great scenery just from the the mere view of Rio de Janero. The songs are also very likable; The best on is easily the beginning song "Real in Rio", which was nominated for original song at the Oscars. Should it have won? *snickers* Of coarse not. "Man or Muppet" is just plainly too funny and original for "Real in Rio to have ever stood a chance. But regardless, "Real in Rio" is very catchy and has a very fun melody that can get stuck in your head fairly well. Most of the other song where much more generic, but  they still where a lot of fun... except for the villain song which is so generic that I honestly barely remember that it was there at all. Finally, the comedy is fairly good too. Granted, there are times when it is trying to hard or have some jokes that are just the farthest thing from funny. But other than that, the majority of the jokes hits its target which does lead me to laughing somewhat frequently during the film. So what is bad about the movie? Well I don't know if I would call it bad because it was still entertaining, but the story and the characters weren't all that much. Don't get me wrong, they weren't boring or anything like that. But the characters were only partly interesting but mostly generic, and the majority of the story was pretty predictable for the most part. It was still entertaining either way, but those problems are still there.

And that's my review for Rio. While the plot and characters are nothing too special, it still is an entertaining movie with it's colorful animation, enjoyable songs, and some pretty good comedy. Do I think it's better than Scream 4? Heck no! But it's still a decent flick that didn't entirely deserve all of my silly little hatred. 

Rating: 65%

Waltz with Bashir (2008)

The second movie that Blaine has recently shown me and one that is fascinating just by the content, Waltz with Bashir.

Plot: In 1982 the writer, director and star of the film, Ari Folman was a 19-year-old infantry soldier for the Israel Defense Forces during the Lebanon War. Then in 2006, he meets a friend from back then who tells him about his nightmares from the war, which leads of Folman revealing that he remembers nothing from that period of time. Later that night, he gets a vision about the night of the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut. So he starts visiting other people who where there in Beirut to try to understand what happened there and revive his memories.

Now what is really fascinating about this movie is that it's specifically made as an animated documentary. Instead of just showing us photos and footage of the war and interviews that were shot in live action like you'd get in a documentary, they give us a documentary that does give us interviews and footage (albeit very briefly with the former), but they also use the film as its own story that despite not just telling us the history behind the war, still give us a harsh but clear message about the war, or maybe just war to begin with. It may not seem right to even call this a documentary just because this was animated, which is understandable. Heck, Ari Flman had trouble getting support for the movie to be green lit because people would have trouble finding this idea to work as both a documentary and an animated movie. And if you have trouble accepting it that way, especially if you're into documentary films, I can understand why the fact that it's animated should automatically disqualify it as a documentary in your opinion. But for me and Blaine, and I think most people who have seen this movie agree that it does work. Even if it's mainly not live action like most documentaries, (heck, as far as the film implies, I doubt they could've given us much with live action), it still is telling us a story with the help of interviewing people and other means to bring its audience into the world of its subject matter. And it's written, directed and starred by a man who took part in the things that were happening. And the animation fits very well with what they where doing. It's original, it's very well made, and most importantly it captures and teaches what it was like in that war and what an impact it was bringing to people who where a part of it in a way that it can't be done with live action.


And that's my review for Waltz with Bashir. It's an original, thought out movie that uses its animation to its advantage in a way that helps show its audience what happened there and the impact that it brought on people. If you haven't seen this movie, maybe even if you're not into documentaries, it's worth checking out.

Rating: 95%   

The Conjuring (2013)

So I recently hung out with Blaine again and he had some more movies for me to see. And while I'm not really a horror kind of guy, I decided to bite and allow him to show a movie he has wanted me to see for a long time: The Conjuring.

Plot: Set in 1971, Roger and Carolyn Perron move to an old farmhouse Rhode Island with their five daughters. But after their first night in the house, Carolyn has a strange bruise and their dog Sadie is found dead. A few more mysterious instances occur before they finally decide to get help from paranormal investigators named Ed and Lorraine Warren to find out what is happening and if there needs to be an exorcism.

For what I was getting into despite not really a bit horror fan, I actually ended up enjoying this movie for what it was. I mean yes, the idea of a mysterious house and a family that has just moved to it is nothing new by any means. And to be honest, the reveal of the mystery wasn't anything new either. But for what was happening, they still made it interesting. Despite using a bunch of basically old fashioned scares, they were structured and times well enough that they were still effective. And what especially helps is that the characters themselves are interesting. Granted, not all of them are developed well enough that they stand out, I mean there's only half the the daughters had something particularly distinct about them that I can think of off the top of my head. But even with that said, they were still interesting enough that I was rooting for them and hoping that they were all going to be okay in the end. And they also gave us a lot of focus on the investigators who also have some conflicts going on with their lives that you want to see them come out of which is something new. Well...maybe there is a horror films where characters similar to Ed and Lorraine where there's something like that (I'm just speculating at this point since - again- I'm not that into Horror, leastways not if this particular style for that matter), but even if it has been done before, I don't know that, and they still are likable enough that I want to see them be able to figure things out. I think the only nitpick I can think of for this movie was the lack of focus on the daughters individually. Because again, only about half of them had anything distinct about them, and I think the youngest one was the only one that had enough focus in terms of just medium close-ups or just close-ups to be recognizable by appearance while the rest...just weren't. Granted, the focus is really meant more on the parents and the investigators and they are more interesting, I get that. But I still feel like they could've done a tad more on that. But again, that's a total nitpick and nothing else.

And that's my review for The Conjuring. It may have a familiar kind of story, but they make work with well structured and timed scares, and more importantly, a lot of characters that are likable enough that you do genuinely want to see them pull through from what is happening to them. If you haven't seen this movie and are looking for a few scares, I'd say give this one a shot.

Rating: 85% 

Fargo (1996)

So a little over a week ago, my family decided to take a night of us just watching dark comedies. One was In Bruges and the third one I didn't watch because I got tired, but the first one was a movie I've heard of but have never seen until then. So fellow film buffs rejoice, this is finally my take on Joel & Ethan Coen's Fargo.

Plot: In 1987, Minneapolis car salesman Jerry Lundegaard who is desperate for money hires a couple of guys named Carl and Gaear to kidnap his wife and hold her ransom for $80,000 to his wealthy father-in-law and boss, Wade. So Carl and Gaear succed in kidnapping Jerry's wife, but along the way to their hideout, they are pulled over and are forced to kill the cop that stopped them and two teenagers that just happened to be driving by. This brings to the attention of a 7 month pregnant local police chief named Marge to investigate the murders and find the culprits.

So did I find this movie to be as great as it has been claimed? To quote Marge, "Oh yeah, you betcha!" This film knows that it's a dark comedy and it plays it off very well. It's full of blood and murder and has some sad moments, but it also has some twisted yet quirky comedy with a story that -when you think about Jerry's situation - is both tragic and yet can be seen as a little funny. And a lot of it comes from its cast that all give great performances. I mean you have Steve Buscemi who pretty much speaks for himself and William H. Macy who also has some memorable moments, but by far, the best performance bar none is Frances McDormand as Marge. She is the one that really makes this movie. I was finding this movie to be all well and good with everything else, but from the moment Marge's out there just doing her job and talking to her fellow officers, that's when this started to be a great movie. Just the way she talks and interacts with all of the other characters just makes it so delightful whenever she's on screen. Whether she's on the job or doing something else, she's just taking everything in a optimistic chipper attitude that you can't help but just like instantly. It's also very likable how smart she is, I mean she's a local cop who is 7 months pregnant and yet for the most part is just figuring things out with ease. And thinking in hindsight, I agree with Doug Walker when he talked about this character in his top 10 favorite characters when he talks about how she takes pleasure in the simple things in life and how she defends what is right to the point where she eventually has to explain that what the other characters are doing is wrong. McDormand won best actress for this performance and Marge is ranked # 33 in AFI's list of top heroes. And after seeing this film, I can easily say that it doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

And that's my review for Fargo. It's a great film that delivers with its violence and dark comedy with a great cast which includes a tremendous performance from Frances McDormand as Marge. If you haven't seen this movie yet, I definitely say check it out. You won't be disappointed.  

Rating: 100%

The Expendables 2 (2012)

We have less than a month until the third movie, so let's dive into what I got out of The Expendables 2.

Plot: After rescuing his rival Mauser in China, The Expendables start to relax once more for a job well done. But Ross finds himself forced to take another mission from the CIA operative Mr. Church, to retrieve an item from a downed airplane in Albania. But when they get there, things get out of hand as they encounter international criminal and arms dealer Jean Vilain who takes the item for himself and kills a young Expendable named Billy. So The Expendables are off to get the item back while also wanting revenge for their friends death.

Now once again we have a movie where it's meant to be just a bunch of action with a ton of action stars with a story that we shouldn't really care about just like the first movie... except it's done a million, bajillion, kabillion times better. This movie delivered what I wanted to get from the first movie and it delivers it big time. Not only do we have sooooooooo many more action scenes than the first movie, but when they do give us those scenes, they're not just big, they're epic. Just the first scenes of the movie alone proves it - not just with all the big guns, explosions, and all that great stuff, but also with these big tanks, a chase in a river, and just so many bad guys to kill in various ways. On top of that, not only do we get more actions stars, but they take advantage of all of them. We even finally see Bruce Wills and Arnold Schwarzenegger join in the fighting, and we also get Chuck Norris in this movie. I mean I'm more familiar with this guy's reputation than his work, but when I saw him in the climax, he was pretty awesome. And while the characters in of themselves are in no way memorable (as expected) we still got a lot more time with the other Expendables both in action and in down time. And while there's nothing too memorable about the down time moments, it's very clear that the writers put a lot more effort into it so that there would be an enjoyable amount of charm (so to speak) when they're just hanging around and talking. Now does that mean that there aren't any cheesy moments? Of coarse not! There are more than plenty of moments where the dialogue is plain stupid. But what makes it work compared to the first film is that they know that it's bad and yet they still decide to have fun with it. I mean I don't know about you guys, but I'm especially fond of when they made references to their own movies - particularly Schwarzenegger and Willis. And once again, it's the big fight at the end that's the best part of the movie. But this time we have everyone joining in the fight with their own guns and such and it goes on for a while and it's just a ton. of. fun. Ultimately, that's the main word I would use to describe this movie: fun. This film just learns from the mistakes that the first film had, and for the most part just goes all in with their concept, and when they do it's just a whole bunch of delightful, mindless, epic, fun.

And that's my review for The Expendables 2. It's still not a movie to watch if you actually wanted thought out characters or story for whatever reason. But nevertheless, its giving us a whole bunch of action stars in one big action movie just like the first movie, but with more stars, less focus on dialogue and story - but is still more thought out when it does - and more action that is bigger, more epic, and just a whole ton of fun to watch. If the first movie didn't quite reach that point for you like it didn't do for me, this is the movie that makes up for it big time. Now we just have less than a month to find out if the third movie can somehow be just as good if not maybe but possibly not likely better than this... seriously, I hope it turn out good and all but...man the climax in this movie is just... how are they honestly going to top that at all?

Rating: 75% 

Paul (2011)

Okay so I have that whole thing about the first Expendables out of the way, so before I get to the second one, let's finish the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy and Paul marathon with...well... Paul.

Plot: Graeme and Clive are two British are two comic book enthusiasts who come to America to to Comic-Con in San Diego and then travel through the country visit sites of UFO sightings. Along the way they come across an alien named Paul who is on the run from the US secret service and is trying to find a way back home. So Graeme and Clive agree to help Paul try to get home while also being chased by the secret service.

So how does Paul turn out? It's not exactly Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's best work, but that doesn't mean it's bad. While the idea of an alien wanting to go home or some agency trying to get it and things like that are nothing new, it does have some likable characters and some nice jokes. Pegg and Frost once again give us a likable duo as this time they're a couple of nerds that are trying to help this alien. Maybe because I'm basically a nerd myself, but just how nerdy they are from the way they talk about stuff or in some scenes speak Klingon just makes them easily likable for me. Paul himself is okay, though at times it feels weird that it's an alien voiced by Seth Rogen. I get that it's a comedy and so it makes sense to use a guy like him to voice Paul, but... I don't know when you consider the mere look of Paul, him having a voice like Rogen's seems a little off. The rest of the cast is also pretty likable with actors like Jason Bateman, Jane Lynch, and of coarse, Sigourney Weaver as "The Big Guy." And again, there are some decent funny moments too. I think the funniest moments for me where some of the scenes with the rednecks. There are some problems with the film however. I think the main one is that the film is a little uneven. There are some moments where you're not sure something is meant to be funny or serious. The biggest ones for me is when one of the supporting characters is caught in an explosion and another dies. I won't give away who or how, but what makes those moments uneven are the face that these characters were made to be funny in a certain style, and the way they where defeated and/or killed was more or less tasteless, which I don't think that's what they were trying to do. Another big example for me, which is also my biggest problem with the film is how they started to discuss religion and the universe and things like that. Now sure, that is a little too easy for me to say as a Christian and so not be okay with that, but even with that said, it does take us away from the comedy that this movie is focusing on. Jeremy Jahns more or less feels the same way, stating how the film was acting rather preachy against Christianity as if the writer had an agenda or something.

And that's my review for Paul. It has it's moments of being uneven with things like getting rid of some characters or acting a bit preachy against Christianity, but otherwise, it's a nice film with okay comedy, a good cast, and some likable performances. It's not the best Pegg and Frost has to offer, but it's not bad.

Rating: 60%