If you can withstand the first 20 minutes you're in for a fairly good farce comedy with some subtle humor on the side. Our film begins with a montage of inorganic imitations of famous viral news bloopers that would be pretty funny if they had showed the actual clips, since none of them exerted the same spontaneity as the originals. It then shows Meghan Miles (Elizabeth Banks) at the end of the montage having a similar "mess-up" involving cats acting uncontainable while she attempts to tell a news story. The movie continues through another 20 minutes setting up what I am now expecting to be a less-than-decent experience. Her boyfriend leaves and she doesn't get the job she's been wanting, so she goes out with her party-animal friends to a club to meet guys. This is all cliche as can be. She goes back to a guy's place, and after a romp with him she wakes up in the middle of the night and receives a call from her producer informing her that she actually did get the job if she can show up to the station the next afternoon. She goes outside and her car is towed but she can't find the name of the tow company. She then comes across some really annoying characters that are not willing to help her out as they think she is a hooker. I'm cringing. The rest of the movie continues as she attempts to get to the tow yard and ultimately, the news station. Throughout the whole ordeal these cops are trying to catch Meghan, who they think is a hooker starting all kinds of trouble.
This is a case of a film that I would not personally hail as a great movie, but one that i would watch again (but maybe fast forwarding through the first 20 minutes). Everybody in the film is pretty good with one exception--Elizabeth Banks, who doesn't give it her all as she mopes around the whole movie allowing everyone else shine around her. She's not believable as a news anchor either. I know this film is supposed to target her fans especially, and if you're one of them, then you've come to the right place. I personally watched it for Kevin Nealon, who was great. The direction was also a tad bit sloppy in the details department. The script is not all that great as far as depth and meaty dialogue goes, but it provides a few unexpected laughs. It actually starts having some pretty good moments about half way into the 2nd act. My biggest complaint from the last 2/3 of the movie comes from the characters, such as the cops or the lady at the impound lot, who are conveniently placed in these types of movies just to move along the plot. I absolutely hate it when comedies have characters that are unrealistically stubborn in order to create a roadblock to prevent the protagonist from achieving his or her ultimate goal.
It's not a crazy outrageous comedy like The Hangover or anything like that. It wants to be raunchier, but seems to hold back at times--which works, if it didn't see like it wanted to be raunchier. It's almost exclusively rated R for language. However, once you get past the setup it becomes a pretty entertaining movie. It's not a good film by any means, but definitely enjoyable for the viewers who aren't as picky. I'd personally watch it again.
Twizard Rating: 67
This film is anything but formulaic. Rosamund Pike is phenomenal, and Ben Affleck's blinking is minimal as he is at his absolute best. David Fincher keeps you on your toes, and the script is thrilling and smarter than its own good. You don't know who to root for or who you dislike more until it hits you like a ton of bricks. Very few films can justifiably jerk your emotions from one side to the other with such grace and necessity. You don't usually see the bad guy become the good guy so fluidly.
It's so fun how the film plays on its satire of gossip in the media and how the public ignorantly passes it along. You end up smiling because you and the film share the same sentiment. But it's not until the end when the movie just doesn't satisfy your need for apologies all around towards Nick (Affleck) from the public and his friends who ridiculed him. However, it does it so that we don't forget about Nick's faults amidst his wife's psychopathic development. He was a bad guy too--and catalyzed all of these events. And i guess it also accurately displays how our society would, in turn, handle being wrong too.
Admittedly, some of the symbolism is a little less subtle as the 3rd act is introduced. But if it was omitted, there would be something missing tonally.
I wonder what Nick's side of the story is from before he cheated on his wife. Did she cheat on him first? It leaves you wondering.
With the ending a little rushed and a few plot holes and details that might leave us scratching our heads (e.g. the police checking the security videos at Desi's house) Gone Girl's is too entertaining and though-provoking to hold it against it. It's a near perfect movie and ridiculously entertaining.
Twizard Rating: 99
Now, it's only natural to compare this movie to No Strings Attached which came out a few months before. Honestly, they are both good movies. However, I think that Friends With Benefits is a lot funnier and slightly more enjoyable. While I thought that the script was stretched a little too thin in this one, it has a much more relatable themes and is more fun altogether. But although both films are worth a watch, No Strings Attached is a little smarter and suffers less from cliches.
While I'm still not a huge fan of Timberlake's acting, the rest of the cast was tremendous and there's no denying that his chemistry with Kunis is near-perfect. This may be the sole reason to root for a happy ending at all. Because honestly I couldn't have felt more detached from their fates.
In slight attempts to make fun of itself, Friends With Benefits doesn't offer us anything terribly unique plot-wise, but it's truly a sum of its parts. In the long run, this is one that you're going to be rewatching before the other.
Twizard Rating: 79
With the "journey" finished, I don't like this film any more than the first installment. No character is liable, except for maybe Joe's father, and Joe can only seem to like and empathize with those who she can relate to herself. She's selfish. Finally at the end she seems to become friends with the old man, whom she knows nothing about, because he listened to her. But that all ends when she kills him. Lars Von Trier want you to love Joe so badly, and it's evident in the script. After every action she is seen as the good-guy in the end. And you have the old man who keeps telling her that she's not a bad person and keeps justifying her mistakes, when in fact she isn't a good person. But I suppose, at least, the audience sees that a little better this time around.
But the film makes some better points politically and socially, as the first film was more commentary on science and mathematical theories. The script was just as smart, but this film was just as hard to watch as the first. And I still wish they had revealed more about her mother and what caused Joe to be who she is.
Overall, there is no reason to watch these films more than once for even the biggest of fans. I watched it because I'm a Shia LaBeouf fan, but that is all.
Twizard Rating: 61
It's hard to particularly like this story so far because it calls for a very acquired taste and it hasn't resolved much of the conflicts yet. For those that do not understand film and are just looking for entertainment, you will quickly find this movie boring. It plays mostly with metaphors and uncomfortable/unrelatable situations. There is a lot of depth, but not exactly specific to any one character in particular. Meaning, there isn't much difference between characters--they seem to all be written in the same way. With that said, the script is very smart and very aware of itself and what it's saying. But I think that it serves more as a philosophical challenge than an entertaining film. I'm not getting much out of it myself, but it definitely keeps the brain moving. However, some of the logic that the two main characters conclude to is very arguable and faulty on occasion even though the narrative is unique and the metaphors are interesting.
As interesting as it is, we haven't yet delved deep enough into the actual reasons WHY the main character has her addiction. We know that her mom is a "you-know-what", but to what degree? And with its purpose being to reject religion, it comes off as very preachy if I do say so myself.
While the acting is fantastic, this film is a little too drawn out and I keep forgetting that it's only 2 hours, as it feels more like 3. And now I must sit through the second volume.
Twizard Rating: 61
From the first 30 minutes or so, I'm thinking that the script is really going to have a lot of depth. But that all changes after that. It goes from a writer's film to a editor's film. Granted, a really good editor's film. There's nothing original story-wise, but it's a really fun movie! I might sound crazy, but it was reminiscent of Home Alone at times. You see his process when defeating the bad-guys instead of just leaving it up in the air as a mystery. It's kind of like Home Alone meets Taken. Although it isn't AS ridiculous and silly as Taken tended to be. The main character is just as invincible, but at least the body count isn't usually unrealistic. But at least Taken isn't 131 minutes long.
With that said, the script leaves some details abandoned as it concludes, and it doesn't tell too much backstory (which can be a good thing for some viewers). You end up realizing that this movie is just a really gory genre film. The concept isn't terribly unique, but it's a pretty good take on that concept. It's highly entertaining, and although it's long, I didn't want it to end.
Twizard Rating: 85
The Drop is a really good movie, but what else can you expect if Tom Hardy's in it? It may be slow sometimes, and eventually you may find yourself asking for clarification, but the acting here helps encourage you to not want to look away. The depth of Hardy's character is ridiculous when you take the time to think about it. The pacing is consistent and tied together with the music creates a film that keeps your attention. You never quite know any character until the climax--then it all hits you like a ton of bricks. It's amazing. And it's impressive on a technical scale as well.
It never takes itself too seriously and Hardy is charismatic as ever. And while it doesn't break new ground as far as the crime-drama is concerned, it's perhaps one of the best servings from that genre that we've seen all year.
Twizard Rating: 97
