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Flash Movie Review: Celeste and Jesse Forever
There have been many discussions about whether a man and woman can maintain a friendship after being a couple. In my world it has happened, easily for the most part. The girl I dated in 8th grade is still one of my closest friends today. In other relationships, there had to be a time of separation before the friendship could continue forward. I have always felt just because the love aspect did not work out, why would I remove myself from the other facets of the person, that were in synch with mine. Granted, when it comes to the issue of trust being broken, it can be very challenging to proceed with the friendship. I found this movie to be one of the smarter ones to deal with a couple’s separation. Celeste and Jesse, played by Rashida Jones (The Big Year, Our Idiot Brother) and Andy Samberg (That’s My Boy, Friends With Benefits), were going through a divorce while maintaining a close friendship with each other. On a personal level I have seen where that has been hard to do, but I gave credit to Rashida and her writing partner Will McCormack for making this intelligent story more believable. I expected Rashida to be good in this dramatic comedy and was not disappointed. The surprise for me was Andy showing more of a dramatic, serious side than his usual comedic talents. During the scenes where each character talked about seeing other people for dating, I felt they were true to life. The secondary story with Emma Roberts (Valentine’s Day, Nancy Drew) as pop star Riley had a surprise twist to it. Let us face it, relationships take some work; you have to give Celeste and Jesse extra points for working harder at it.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Campaign
I make it a point to never talk about religion or politics in my classes. Having been a witness to verbal assaults between people of opposing views, I find such behavior silly. In this age of reality television shows, how long before you think we will subject political candidates to a televised obstacle course or quiz show format? In this political year, here are two candidates who certainly would add some spice to any election race. Cam Brady, played by Will Ferrell (The Other Guys, Blades of Glory), was running unopposed for reelection. Two CEOs from a large corporation, looking for someone who would be in favor of legislation beneficial to their company, threw their money behind local tourist guide Marty Huggins, played by Zach Galifianakis (Due Date, The Hangover franchise). With Marty in the race, the campaign quickly heated up into an over the top battle–not so dissimilar from any current reality show competition. I laughed at several scenes during this comedic satire. Though I am not a fan of Will Ferrell, i found his limited acting ability worked to his advantage, in his role as the pandering incumbent. With everything these days being marketed to death, I found some of the looniness in this film not much different from what our political candidates must go through before any photo op or stump speech. The uncomplicated story was well served with the actors’ comedic talents. When the movie ended, I wondered what it would be like if we made every person with political aspirations go on a game show. Besides winning valuable gifts or prize money to fund their campaigns, we would really see what these people were made of. Stay through the first set of credits.
2 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Holiday
That sinking feeling, where your heart is at it’s breaking point, when the person you love makes it clear your love has not been enough, it can be devastating. I have been on both sides of that love equation and either way it sucks. One thing I have learned from my experiences, has been to change the routine that we were following and get into a new regime designed solely for me. This was the movie’s premise. Amanda Woods, played by Cameron Diaz (My Sister’s Keeper, What to Expect When You’re Expecting), discovered her live-in boyfriend cheated on her. Iris Simpkins, played by Kate Winslet (Finding Neverland, Revolutionary Road), was shocked when the man she loved became engaged to another woman. As if they were following my advice, the two women were pushed to the brink and had to make a change. While looking online for ideas on where to take a vacation, Amanda discovered a home exchange vacation website. And the house she chose to exchange with was Iris’ home in England, far away from her LA place. But the online pictures did not show the women what type of extra amenities could be found in their new locations. I was pleasantly surprised by this film. Though the story was easy to figure out, with very few surprises; I thought the acting and directing was exceptionally good. Jude Law (Repo Men, Sleuth) did exceedingly well in his role as Graham, Iris’ brother. What gave this movie extra punch for me was the secondary story about old time Hollywood. Maybe you and I don’t have the luxury to take a swapping house vacation, to get away from a broken heart; but, this appealing movie certainly would provide a respite, giving the heart some needed nourishment.
2 3/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Killer Joe
Though Matthew McConaughey (Magic Mike, Bernie) bares his posterior again with this movie, he is not accepting your dollar bills. Oh no, he is taking much more here. As Killer Joe Cooper, Matthew was this creepy, menacing character who was a police detective with a little business on the side. He was a hired killer. It was one of the best performances I have seen out of him. Right now thinking about some of his scenes sent a shudder of dread through me. Hired by deeply in debt Chris Smith, played by Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild, Milk), to kill his mother for the life insurance money; Joe Cooper extracted much more than what this trailer trash dysfunctional family had planned. As you just read the previous sentences, I am certain you will be stunned to learn as I was, that this film was part comedy. The utterly outrageous predicaments filmed in a raw yet beautiful way by director William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) gave this movie a film noir look and feel to it. The entire cast was excellent, particularly Gina Gershon (P.S. I Love You, Bond) as Chris’ stepmother Sheila Smith; who was okay with the murder plot against her husband’s first wife. Adapted from his own play, Tracy Letts (August: Osage County, Bug) wrote the screenplay. This crime thriller’s NC-17 rating was well deserved with its brutal bloody violence, nudity and foul language. In other words, this is one of those movies you will either love or hate. In one moment I would cringe at a scene, to immediately burst out in laughter in the following; this was one intense wild movie. If you have the stomach for this type of film, you may very well be a witness to future Oscar nominees Matthew McConaughey and Emile Hirsch.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
I am guessing most of you never heard of a restaurant chain called Wimpy’s. They were one of my first introductions to a hamburger chain, when I was a little kid. Their serving plates had a border of international flags. I much preferred my definition of wimpy than how it was used here. This was my first encounter with this movie franchise, nor was I familiar with any of the books. Since I was called a variety of names growing up, I am uncomfortable with the use of any negative descriptive words towards children. For those of you who know these movies please forgive me; I wasn’t getting it. I did not understand why the main character Greg Heffley, played by Zachary Gordon (Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise, The Brothers Bloom) was considered a wimpy kid. The story was about what Greg would do during his summer vacation. Where he wanted to sit at home and play video games; his father Frank, played by Steve Zahn (Sunshine Cleaning, Employee of the Month), felt his son needed to be outside and have some fun. This led Greg into several exploits. I thought the use of lying and revenge for a base to build comedic antics was a poor idea. For me the jokes were lame and the different situations Greg got himself into were barely worth a chuckle. I guess this movie was meant for a narrow age group of children. Maybe the books were better, but on film it was boring for me. I have been called a kid at heart; I just hope they were not referring to these type of kids.
1 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Paul
Expectations can lead one down a road filled with disappointment. I try my best to avoid the pitfall of expectations, especially when it comes to movies. Now it is a different story if we are talking about chocolate–I always expect chocolate to taste good. I will admit when I received this movie, I expected nothing. Maybe I even had a slightly negative attitude about it, based on what I had heard from several people. This is a perfect example of having no expectations and discovering a total surprise. This funny film was an easy one to watch. The story was about two British friends who traveled to America, starting their vacation at a comic book convention. From this starting point the best friends Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings, played by Simon Pegg (Burke and Hare, Star Trek) and Nick Frost (Snow White and the Huntsman, Pirate Radio) set out on a road trip to visit infamous locations of an alien nature. Early on in their tour they had a surprise alien encounter with Paul, voiced by Seth Rogan (Funny People, Knocked Up), a fugitive from a government secret base. I was amused with Seth’s performance, liking him more that I usually do in a movie. Also, one of the reasons I got this DVD was because Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, Friends With Kids) was in it. She did not disappoint me in the least with her wild character Ruth Buggs. Vulgar language throughout the movie; the story was brilliantly scripted by the lead actors, Simon and Nick. With a foul mouthed, smoking alien as the star; this fun comedy was much better than yesterday’s movie I reviewed, The Watch.
2 3/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: The Watch
If there’s somethin’ strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call? Oh, excuse me; I just had a flashback after watching this movie about a neighborhood watch group. Though this comedy vaguely reminded me of the movie Ghostbusters, there were some big differences. And they were not good. In this movie we had Evan, played by Ben Stiller (Tower Heist, Greenberg), a husband who was the manager of the local Costco store. Keeping active in his suburban town; Evan started a community watch with fellow neighbors Bob, Franklin and Jamarcus, played by Vince Vaughn (Couples Retreat, The Dilemma), Jonah Hill (Moneyball, 21 Jump Street) and Richard Ayoade (Bunny and the Bull, The IT Crowd-TV). During a nightly drive, the patrol hit a large foreign object in the road. Did you like the way I wrote that last line? Yes, the neighborhood boys struck down an alien, discovering the earth was soon to be invaded. What a group of heroic, brave neighborhood watchmen! Now if they could have only found a better script, this would have been a better movie. If you like jokes about male and female anatomy, this film has a plethora of them. Not only was I bored silly with the old, stereotypical humor; I could not believe the mundane acting from Stiller and Vaughn. Could these two actors have put in a little more effort in their roles? It may have helped; but honestly, the script did not provide anything worthwhile. If I were you I would not stop by for a visit to this neighborhood.
1 3 /4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Ruby Sparks
What are the keywords or qualities you use to describe what you want in a perfect mate? Ones I have heard from different friends have been funny, sweet and smart. But I have also heard people say they are looking for someone blonde or tall, with facial hair or without. My keywords have been trust, humorous, kind, along with the ability to say a sentence that begins with the words “I feel.” Imagine if you could simply order your perfect mate; think of all the time that could be saved through the dating process. This was the idea behind this movie’s story. Calvin Weir-Fields, played by Paul Dano (There Will be Blood, Being Flynn), was a famous writer being plagued with writer’s block. Not until a mysterious woman appeared in his dreams, did Calvin finally have his muse and the stuck words inside came out, flooding his anxious typewriter paper. As a writer, I know the characters inside of me feel completely real. In Calvin’s case, the special woman from his dreams called Ruby Sparks, played by Zoe Kazan (It’s Complicated, Me and Orson Welles), actually came to life. Real life couple Paul and Zoe were ideal for their characters; they should be since Zoe was also the writer of the screenplay. I loved the way the characters grew through the film, giving the audience several things to think about regarding relationships. The supporting cast was solid, adding humorous spots throughout the story. Because I enjoyed this movie, I forgave it for the predictable ending. This was an interesting movie that was not only fun to watch, but made me think about what was really important to have in a relationship.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Station Agent
I have mentioned in previous reviews, that I spent a good portion of my life trying to fit in. My goal was not to stand out and once I had my weight loss, I felt my chances became better at being just average. You can see I was not known as an overachiever. At least in my world I had the option to change myself, but what if a person had no opportunity to blend in with the majority. That is exactly why Finbar McBride, played by Peter Dinklage (Death at a Funeral, Game of Thrones-TV), decided to leave the life he knew behind after his only friend had died. Having been stared and talked about due to his dwarfism, Finbar moved into an abandoned train station on a plot of land that his friend had left him, to begin a reclusive life. But that did not turn out to be the case when he encountered Olivia Harris, played by Patricia Clarkson (Easy A, Larts and the Real Girl) and Joe Aramas, played by Bobby Cannavale (Win Win, The Other Guys). This charming movie was a joy to watch as Peter, Patricia and Bobby were wonderful in their roles. What I appreciated most about this story was the affirmation it gave me, regarding my belief that people should not be judged by how they look. This indie flavored movie came with a big heart.
3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Madea’s Witness Protection
When you think about it, I suppose you could cast Madea as an employee for the Department of Motor Vehicles or have her be a customer service representative for an insurance company. Would it really make any difference? I mean seriously, will this franchise continue until we watch Madea going into a nursing home? Tyler Perry (Madea Goes to Jail, Good Deeds) who is Madea deserves credit for keeping many people employed at his Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, along with his charitable donations. However, after seeing this tired movie, I felt he could have done much better with the script. In this latest installment; George Needleman, played by Eugene Levy (American Reunion, Taking Woodstock), was a naive businessman who was set up to be his company’s fall guy for a ponzi scheme. With an opportunity to decipher the trail of money and clear his name, Mr. Needleman with his family had to go into a witness protection type of arrangement. And that is where Madea came into the picture. I cannot tell you how bored I was with the stereotypical, low humor about the cultural differences between the families, aka races. Or having Madea say the same threatening things to people; I was able to mimic the lines in my mind at the same time. This was a lowbrow portrayal of shallow people, nothing more. Even copying a scene from the movie Ghost did nothing to make this viewing experience any more pleasurable. Mr. Perry, either write better screenplays or retire Madea already.
1 1/2 stars
moviejoltz 