Never Let Me Go (Movie Review)

‘Never Let  Me Go‘ is based on a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the drama is followed by a sci-fi twist that can be perceived as realistic. It is developed over three different chapters narrated by Kathy (Carey Mulligan), who tells the story retrospectively, which should give you a better sense of the story but still leaves some gaps in it. The film has a nostalgic feel all throughout, the characters are seen smiling on screen briefly; the pained feeling is always floating in the atmosphere. This thriller/drama is well done, but if it wasn’t for the ambiguity of key points to the movie it could have been better.You will be left with a hollow feeling after watching it and after being hit with a very strong closing line.

The story is set in England, it revolves around Kathy and her two childhood friends Ruth (Keira Knightley) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield), who grew up in a boarding school for special children called Hailsham. The school seems to be an orphanage as the only adults are the teachers better known as ‘guardians’, here the children are taught to take care of their bodies and obey all rules without questioning them. The children’s faith is revealed pretty early in the story and that is what sets the mood for the rest of the film. The love triangle that is formed and continues to follow the children into their adulthood is meant to be a strong aspect of the movie and although it is easy to sympathize with it, their naivety and innocence which brings them together takes away from the strength of this bond.

These three children are forced into companionship by their own loneliness and fear of a world that they don’t know. When at 18 they leave the premises of Hailsham knowing the purpose for their existence they try to explore the world around them and figure out where they came from. Kathy becomes isolated by the relationship between her friends and she suffers silently until she makes the decision to change her life, even if it is still within the realm of what she is allowed in the few opportunities they are given. When they reach adulthood they try to fix mistakes made in the past and try to change the path they were given.

Knightley’s casting as a secondary character was surprising, but by the nature of the character it is understood, she gives a good performance and even makes us pity her. Mulligan’s innocence is really convincing and her sweet and obedient attitude keep the mood of the movie steady and at some points you just want to shake her to give her some confidence. Garfield is just there, but he does play one of the strongest moments of the movie remarkably. For director Mark Romanek this is definitely a step up from One hour photo.

The movie questions ethics, humanity, relationships and how much we really understand about our own lives and our purpose on earth as well as our time in it. The story line is good but it is not strong enough to be convincing. It is worth a watch specially for the hopeless romantics, but it is also worth the wait on the DVD.

Flipped (Movie Review)

Flipped will take you back to your Junior High School years, to your first crush. One of the nicest things about it is that we get the boy and the girls point of view on different situations and we get to analyze and see how often human interactions are misinterpreted, specially when it comes to the opposite sex. The movie is set in the early 60’s giving it an all American feel to it, this helps it be so innocent which is what makes it so real an relatable. The main characters are so opposite to each other that the contrast is one of the entertaining features of it. It’s a good family film from Junior High School kids to adults.

Our female lead, Juli Baker (Madeline Carroll) is not your regular teenage girl, she’s confident and hardheaded; she’s practically an adult trapped in a girl’s body. Juli falls in love with Bryce Loski (Callan McAuliffe) the second she stares into his dazzling eyes when they are 7 years old and his family moves across the street from her. Bryce is not happy with Juli crushing on him, she doesn’t get the hint and follows him and idolizes him for years, even when he starts going out with her worst enemy. Juli is just like the rest of her family, free spirits; nature and animals are her drives. She falls in love with a sycamore three and she spends endless hours on it starting at the horizon and the beauty of it, she protests when they want to chop it down and she expects Bryce to come to her rescue; when he doesn’t she starts questioning her obsession for him. Juli’s father (Aidan Quinn) is the one that gets her, he advices her on how to perceive people and teaches her kindness by showing her how he supports his brother that is mentally retarded. Juli is grateful to have such a close bond with her family and to see that despite of the fact that they are lower middle class the one thing that matters and she doesn’t lack is love. The Loski’s are completely opposite, Bryce’s father (Anthony Edwards) is always drinking and never has anything positive to say, specially about his neighbors. Bryce looks up to his dad and takes on some of his attitude but does start to question it slowly. Bryce is also influenced by a boy he befriends in school, that talks him into disliking Juli even more. When his grandfather Chet (John Mahoney) comes to live with them he immediately realizes what an amazing girl Juli is and spends more time with her than with his own grandson. This starts changing Bryce’s outlook on the girl he’s ignored and been annoyed by for so long.

The director Rob Reiner decided to bring this touching story to life after it was given to him by his son who was reading it for school.The acting here is sensational, our lead characters are so believable and so real that they take us in all too easily. The setting of the period fits in great and gives it a homey feel to it, along with the beautiful sceneries of the country side. For its proposes having us focused on the main characters is a good tactic, but a little more background on the other characters and the not so jolly reality that they live in the sixties would make the movie more real.

The movie is enjoyable and easy to follow, it has some laughs as well as sad moments. It does teach us good values on how a family should be supportive of one another, that we should stand up for what we believe it and not let anyone step on our dreams or make us question who we are. You will come out reminiscing and with a smile on your face.  

Dinner for Schmucks (Movie Review)

One thing I can say about Dinner for Schmucks is that it was well developed. It is not sloppy in a way a lot of comedies tend to get, but it is a bit too long for a comedy. It was funny although its humor is not clever, it is more ridiculous and idiotic than anything. Nonetheless, it will make you laugh and maybe even crack up a few times. I wouldn’t rush to the movie theater to watch it, waiting for it on DVD would be the smarter option. It is inspired by a French comedy Le Dîner de Cons, which was quite successful.

The movie develops with Tim Conrad (Paul Rudd) who is working hard to get a promotion and making his almost perfect life completely perfect. He steps to the plate when one of the main guys at his office is fired and he is offered his position after a bold presentation; the catch is that he has to join his boss and the other big shots at a secret dinner to get the new position. This isn’t just any dinner, everyone must bring an extraordinary person a.k.a schmuck meaning idiot and whomever brings the most strangest specimen wins; while their idiot gets a trophy and is “released back into the wild”. Tim’s better half, whom he’s proposed to several times Julie (Stephanie Szostak) is appalled when Tim tells her what he has to do and she puts some sense into him. Unfortunately, by a chance encounter Tim is blessed with one of these rare people, Barry Speck (Steve Carell) and he is not able to turn away from this easy opportunity. Barry is an amateur taxidermist, he uses dead mice to create art pieces and his naivety pushes him over the edge to idiocy.

Barry takes over Tim’s life, he’s trying to help him but he ends up destroying every aspect of Tim’s life and plans. The more Barry “helps” the worse things get for Tim. The easy promotion is not so easy anymore. Barry forces his friendship upon Tim and teaches him that nothing is more important that sticking to one’s values and appreciating someone for who they are.

I don’t believe Steven Carell to be one of the funniest comedians of today, in this role he is the same character as in Anchorman and a bit less clever than his character in The office. The same goes for Rudd, he’s always the passive aggressive guy with a girlfriend that has to put up with the dummy. Although these are not refreshing roles for them they do fill the shoes well, Carell does a great innocent idiot. Another comedian that appears here and always does a great psycho is Zach Galifianakis. Finally, Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Concords completes the movie with his wild character.

If you’ve seen director Jay Roach‘s work such as Meet the Parents and the Austin Powers movies then you probably know what to expect. It is not a hilarious movie, except for a couple of scenes/jokes but it will give you a good giggle all throughout with its silliness and absurdity. If you want to watch a witty comedy then this would be the wrong movie to choose.

Salt (Movie Review)

Salt is THE summer’s action flick. No other actress can do an action film like Angelina Jolie, she gives an amazing performance in this one. We haven’t seen a movie by her since Wanted and that was pretty much a preview to what you can expect from her in Salt. The script was made originally for a male lead, it is rumored that Tom Cruise turned it down, which is a good thing because I doubt a male lead would have made it as successful. The movie will keep you guessing the entire running time up to the end. The one question running through your mind at every turn of the movie is: how will she get out of this one?

Since the beginning we realize that CIA officer Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is a tough female, the movie begins with her capture by the North Korean government, they try to beat the loyalty out of her, but can’t. We shortly meet Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber)her boss at the CIA and friend, he’s along on her side throughout most of the movie trying to help her. After we get a brief backstory on Salt’s life both the private and professional sides of it, we are in Washington D.C. in CIA headquarters where we meet Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor). As a CIA counter-intelligence agent he is not sympathetic to anyone specially to Salt after she is accused of being a sleeper Russian spy and she runs away to avoid being captured. This is when the action begins and where we are left to wonder: ‘who is Salt?’

Salt is married to an entomologist who is fully aware of her career path and the risks that are involved. He is one of the few reasons we ever see this character be soft, the rest of it is all tough CIA training from the fights to her assertive actions.In fact, this female character is the one that carries all the action of the movie, the other two secondary characters Winter and Peabody do very little physical work. Salt’s independence and kick-ass attitude is what keeps her going.

Jolie prepared for this character by talking to former CIA agents such as Melissa Boyle Mahle who worked for the force for 16 years. She spoke of Jolie’s relentlessness of getting every aspect of the character right, asking her how she felt and what she went through; she learned how spies live. Although Mahle says Jolie in the film makes it look way more fun and glamours than it really is. Oleg Kalugin a former KGB member and spy said Salt is very real, and she is tough like a Russian spy. Tom Ridge former Secretary of Homeland security spoke of the realities of the film as seen by current events and how the government has dealt with it since the Cold-War.

If you are into action films this one is for you, it is pure entertainment. There’s bits and pieces of romance in the way but it doesn’t disrupt the action. You can compare it to current events but remember this is hollywood, which means that nothing is to be taken to heart. The main subject here is loyalty, towards family, country, beliefs etc; which is what keeps the movie going and will keep you wondering.

Killers (Movie Review)

First thought: What the heck did I just watch? This movie has a multiple personality disorder, it doesn’t know if it wants to be a romantic-comedy or an action/adventure film. It tries to be well rounded by attempting to fulfill all these genres but it fails terribly.

The story is about Jen (Katherine Heigl) and Spencer (Ashton Kutcher). They meet in Nice, France, the beautiful French Riviera gives birth to their romance. Jen is on vacation with her parents Mr. & Mrs. Kornfeldt (Tom Selleck & Catherine O’Hara) who are extremely quirky; the dad is a control freak and the mom is drunk all the time. Spencer being a professional assassin is there on a mission. They have a cheesy first date where we are supposed to believe there are sparks, because Spencer quits his secret life to settle down and live the normal suburban life he’s dreamed of with Jen. 3 years down the line Jen abruptly finds out about Spencer’s secret life and they become fugitives running for their lives. In this journey they find out their lives and friends were not what they thought them to be and it comes to an awkward and sudden end.

If you dreamed of ever seeing Kutcher speaking French and being shirtless at the same time, your dream has come true. Kutcher carries the movie on his shoulders, which is not necessarily a good thing. I was surprised to actually like him in the action scenes, that’s to say the least of his acting skills though. Heigl’s character could not get any more annoying, she’s a spoiled rich girl that whines for most of the movie.

This movie simply isn’t entertaining enough to make it worth your while, it has very few funny moments and the only good scenes are the ones where there are fights. Not even the dark humor helps it and although they try hard to keep us in suspense the predictability is what over kills it.

Furry Vengeance (Movie Review)

The family film, Furry Vengeance, lacks a lot of imagination, it seems to have gotten most of its ideas from other family films such as Dr. Dolittle and Evan Almighty. The few laughs it achieves out of the audience (and I mean children) are based on ridiculous physical humor that at some point is more distasteful than funny. The good thing about the film is the messages it carries: to conserve our forests, prevent the destruction of them to build housing and the need to respect animal’s rights and homes. Unfortunately, these are barely important points of the movie; it’s more of a story of man vs. wild carried out by nature’s pranks against the protagonist.

Dan Sanders  (Brendan Fraser) is a real estate developer who is sent to take down a forest and build a private community called “Rocky Springs”. His family Tammy (Brooke Shields) and Tyler (Matt Prokop) miss the noisy city where they used to live, Chicago. His wife tries to be supportive and make the best of their new home, but their teenage son hates having been taken away from his friends and being in the middle of a forest where there is nothing to do. Dan tries everything to please his boss (Ken Jeong) and believes the supposed year they are to live in the forest while they build the community will bring them closer to nature and that it would fly by, but he’s wrong. The animals that live in the forest soon realize what is to become of their home and begin plotting against Dan by pranking him and making his life miserable. Dan is shun by his family when he starts acting crazy, saying the animals are pranking him and also once they realize what the company he works for is to do to this natural haven.

If the film would have focused on the importance of protecting our forest and keeping family as a priority, this at least would have given it some substance. There really isn’t much to take from this film that would even be of much entertaining value for anyone. Fraser as well as Brooks have played these same roles many times, the one of the goof and the patient wife. As a cartoon this movie might have been more successful. There’s nothing new that this movie has to offer nor in the story line or characters. This is not the worse movie i’ve seen but it definitely makes the list.