Bachelorette - Booze, Cocaine, and Indiscriminate Sex (All the Good Stuff)

Movie: Bachelorette

My Rating: 4 stars

I actually liked this movie quite a bit.  This is another story about bridesmaids behaving badly (in the same vein as Bridesmaids).  And, this film is a comedy as well, but the humor in this one is a lot darker and grittier than the raunchy jokes in Kristen Wiig’s film.  All the critics that I read didn’t seem to like the movie much because they said it was too mean-spirited.  But, I didn’t really find that to be the case at all.  I think this was more a case of a film featuring unsympathetic protagonists.  Just because the main characters aren’t likeable, and engage in destructive behavior doesn’t mean a film is too cruel to enjoy.

Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, and Lizzy Caplan are the story’s protagonists.  They are beautiful, yet insecure girls, and they will be serving as bridesmaids in their fat friend’s wedding.  They can’t believe that their chubby friend (the amazing Rebel Wilson) is getting hitched before they are. These ladies were already pretty self-destructive to start out with, but this extra insult to their pride was all they needed to start really acting out.  And you know what that means—indiscriminate sex, booze, cocaine, catty jokes at the bride’s expense.  Oh yeah, and trashing her wedding dress the night before the big day.  These are some really awesome friends.  But, the thing is, they aren’t actually as terrible as the critics made them out to be.  These girls don’t actually hate their friend.  They all legitimately like each other.  They’re just so insecure because they aren’t in good relationships and they’ve never managed to make their own lives amount to anything.  And, all the jokes in the story aren’t made at Rebel Wilson’s expense.  In fact, she’s the only one in the film that comes out looking good.  She’s got her act together, and she’s got plenty of self-confidence to spare.  It’s her pretty friends who are a mess, and who are the miserable ones.

All this sounds like a movie that is really painful to watch, but I assure you that it’s not.  Well, it wasn’t for me, anyway.  I was actually able to understand the plight of all these girls.  They’re not really villains, and the movie doesn’t present them as such.  They each have their own unique demons to overcome, but they all make a good amount of progress by the end of the story (but not so much that it’s unrealistic or corny).  It may even make you feel pretty good by the end.  This movie is definitely worth a watch if you’re in the mood for a little bit of dark, trashy, (adult) fun.

Now You See Me - Cheesy Summer Fun (And Magicians)

Movie: Now You See Me

My Rating: 3 stars

I saw this movie in the theater over the weekend.  I had been pretty eager to see it.  It looked like the perfect, big, summer thriller—the kind of exciting fun I always crave around this time of year.  The trailers were pretty flashy, and intense, and they promised rousing, bank heist story.  And, I guess that’s pretty much what it turned out to be, although I do wish the writing had been a little bit cleverer.  Director Louis Leterrier decided to go in really heavy with the cheese.  Well, that’s to be expected when dealing with a story about magicians.  Those guys are always such shameless cornballs.  But, I guess I was still left with enough dramatic fun to be satisfied.

This is a heist movie.  There are thousands of them out there, and they all rely on many the same old story devices to tell their tales.  But, unless a screenwriter wants her film to be considered a cheap knock-off of some older movie, she’s going to have to come up with a couple new gimmicks each time.  And, the gimmick in this film is, of course, that the bank robbers are magicians.  They’re young, beautiful illusionists (Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, and Woody Harrelson).  And, they've each robbery set up to look like they’ve committed it by way of real magic.  This is a very useful little device, because it puts the police into a very tricky position.  Your average layperson doesn’t know how magicians accomplish most of their tricks, so it makes the police look like fools as they appear to admit that they believe in magic.  This is actually a very funny concept, and I enjoyed that part of the film very much.  Since, we the audience don’t know how the illusions are performed, we are put in the same position as the detectives—trying to guess how they’ve done it, and trying to anticipate what will happen next.  That part of the story was pretty exciting.  However, I found the resolution of the story to be a little disappointing.  The majority of the film was quite riveting, but they drove the ending right back into cheese-town.  There were lots of schmaltzy speeches, and everyone learned a good lesson by the end.  It was a little cringe worthy.  Oh well.  You can’t win ‘em all.

I think I’d still recommend this movie.  It was good clean fun—not the best movie in the world, but not terrible.  And, it was a nice, light romp for summertime.  It’s not like it’s Oscar season or anything.  I got what I went into the movie for.  So, as long as you aren’t expecting some amazing or satisfying resolution to the whole thing, I think you’ll be happy with it too.

Before Midnight - A Longitudinal Romance

Movie: Before Midnight

My Rating: 4 Stars

I recently got the opportunity to watch Before Midnight, the final installment in Richard Linklater’s trilogy about the romance between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy’s characters, Jesse and Celine.  We all remember these films as telling the story of a chance encounter on a European train that leads to a lifelong attraction between these two lovers.  We see them separate in the first film, and then reconnect in the second.  In this third film, we meet the pair again as an established couple with children.  I was particularly interested in seeing this film because of the longitudinal nature of the project.  The first two films, Before Sunrise, and Before Sunset, were released in 1995 and 2004 respectively, and the second film actually took into account the nine years that had passed between the two.  This third film does the same thing, tracking the development of the relationship, (and the characters’ physical changes) in real time. 

This narrative project reminded me very much of Michael Apted’s real life social experiment explored in the 7Up series.  The series was particularly fresh in my mind because I just went to see 56Up just a few weeks ago.  The characters in this film are fictional, and Hawke and Delpy didn’t have a relationship in real life (although, there have been rumors).  The two actors have shared the very intimate experience of writing this script together, and they do get very physical in the film.  And, I really enjoy playing with the idea of exploring the personal development of these two people in the time that passed between the films.  It’s very clear that the actors have aged and changed between films, so even though they aren’t their characters, we can still see the same kind of personal growth.  It’s the same kind of change we can see in the documentary subjects of the Up series, even before they begin talking about their lives.  We see how their weights fluctuate, and how their personal style has developed.  But, perhaps even more tellingly, we can see how some of these people have aged better than others.  The haggard expressions betray the world-weary attitude of some participants, while the youthful, open faces reflect the chipper, positive attitudes of others. 

Celine and Jesse’s relationship has visibly evolved over the years as well.  In the first film, the audience can practically feel the nervous energy coming off these hormonal teenagers as they flirt their way through Before Sunrise.  And, they each seem much more comfortable in their own skin in Before Sunset, allowing that attraction to develop even deeper.  It’s very sexy.  And, this third installment takes the project to the next level.  In this one, we meet up with two people that have become far too accustomed to one another.  They’ve almost become too comfortable, taking one another for granted, and allowing themselves to slip into endless bickering, and saying terrible things to each other that they don’t really mean.  Long-term couples can say just awful things to each other because the intensity of their arguments have ratcheted up little by little over the years.  But, this kind of intimacy brings good things with it too.  At least, that’s what the optimists say.  And, believe it or not, this movie actually did make me feel good about love and growing old with someone.  But, I did learn a valuable lesson about being thoughtful about the other person’s feelings.  I certainly recognized a few of my own bad habits in these characters’ terrible behavior, and it made me resolve to change my ways.  This film series seems remarkably accurate when it comes to tracking the development of a relationship over time.  It feels so real.  And, that’s almost a little depressing.  But, I think this series of films is still very wonderful and beautiful and important to watch.  I definitely recommend it.

Super 8 - Something of a Disappointment

Movie: Super 8

My Rating: 3 stars

I should have known better than to go into this movie expecting anything great.  But, there was so much hype for this one that I fell right into that trap.  Let’s face it—the promo material was pretty exciting.  And, regardless of anyone’s personal feelings about his work, I was always under the impression that J.J. Abrams had a pretty good reputation as a director.  But, this film is ultimately a nod to Steven Spielberg’s work.  And, that means that while much attention was paid to creating just the right atmosphere for the film, there’s a total failure to deliver a satisfying story.

This film really does do a great job creating the feeling of a small, working class town in the 70s.  The hair, the clothes, and the sets are all right.  And, I thought that J.J. Abrams really did a good job creating lots of very frightening dramatic tension while setting up the story.  It felt like the story was going to be a lot scarier or a lot more violent than it ended up being.  So, I found that part very disappointing.  I can understand how some people would be very relieved that this story didn’t turn out to be as terrifying as threatened.  But, if I’m gearing up for a horror movie, I’m going to be really upset if that’s not what I get.  I had heard that this was going to be a monster movie, and all the trailers I had seen suggested that it would be as scary and suspenseful as something like Cloverfield.  But, the creature story just kind of fizzled out for me the way that Monsters did.  It felt too childish, and not deserving of all the dramatic buildup. 

I’m not telling you not to see this movie.  I guess it ultimately has more good things about it than bad.  The child actors that star in this movie are pretty amazing—especially Elle Fanning.  And, like I mentioned before, the whole mood of the film is very impressive too.  I was really just disappointed with where the story ended up.  I really wanted something a little cleverer.  But, I guess this movie was intended for mass consumption, so a director really can’t get too squirrely with his ideas when that’s the case.  So, go ahead and rent this one, but just don’t expect any interesting twists or turns along the way.

Fast & Furious 6 - More Hammy Fun

Movie: Fast & Furious 6

My Rating: 3 stars

As usual, the latest installment of the Fast & Furious franchise was hilarious—whether they intended it that way or not.  But, I do get the feeling that by now pretty much everyone is in on the joke.  The first three films or so took themselves dead-seriously.  But, along the way, I think director Justin Lin and all the actors started to have a little fun with the movies.  And, in this movie specifically, I can tell that everyone is just delighted with what a cheese-bomb the whole thing is.  They’re playing it up, in fact.  This is definitely the most grinningly melodramatic installment in the franchise to date, and it made for a pretty raucous, silly film.

All this means that I very much enjoyed this movie.  I like watching people who are clearly having fun on the job.  And, it’s always funny to try to spot the one or two actors who aren’t quite in on the joke yet.  Yeah, it’s predictable, and corny.  The acting is maudlin and wooden, and every single stunt is wildly impossible.  But, you really just have to approach this film as a comedy—not an action film.  Although, there is still plenty of action, and excellently choreographed driving sequences for people who are still into that.  And, there are plenty of sexy ladies in tight clothes and American muscle cars too (this one adds Gina Carano to the roster of tough ladies in tight pants).  This is also the most ridiculous film in the series when it comes to the action sequences.  The stunts have always been laughably implausible with the way the actors roll out of them without a scratch.  But, these ones are comically outrageous—people jumping from airplanes into cars, harpooning tanks, and walking out of flaming helicopter crashes.  You really need to see the movie to get an idea of just how laughable they all are.

This is really a very silly movie.  It’s not good at all, but it’s quite entertaining.  It’s the perfect thing to go see in the theater during the summer with a big group of friends.  I saw this one in the theater, and everyone was laughing the entire time.  I think some of the effect might be lost if you saw this one on the small screen.  However, it’s not so good that it’s worth going out of your way to see.  But, if you find yourself with a free afternoon, and in the mood for something fluffy, this would be a good pick.