The Courage of Your Convictions

Julie and Julia

I hate people that pigeonhole a movie into a certain audience. I think there have many such complaints with the release of Julie and Julia recently because people realized that it was actually, you know- a good movie. I went into the theater alone, probably the youngest male inside (mildly surprised at how many people had come to a 4:05 Monday showing) and hightailed it for one of the back rows so nobody could see how embarrassing it was for a teenage male to be sitting alone in a movie classified by mainstream audiences as a "chick flick." True this sort of pigeonholing would ordinarily deter me from seeing such a movie but, damn it, Meryl Streep rocks! And the trailer actually had me excited for the film so fuck it all!

And I liked it (of course). Nora Ephron managed to hold my attention through You've Got Mail so no surprises considering the movie was actually supposed to be good. Meryl Streep is obviously wonderful but I was much more interested in the storyline of Amy Adams' Julie. I know Streep is more entertaining but her storyline lacks a hook for me to grab on. I understand that the drama with her stems from her seemingly futile attempts to get her cookbook published. However, we know that she eventually will since Julie Powell is reading from it in the future. Julie, on the other hand, is stuck in her dead end job, with shallow dead beat friends and finds solace in cooking but also the people that support her blog.

I was very interested in the argument that Julie and her husband have about halfway through the film. She has become completely immersed in her blog and in the emotions of hundreds of people she has never met. Amy Adams plays this moment off subtly but her final admission that she cannot be as good a person as Julia Child is quite riveting and makes you feel rather sympathetic to a character that doesn't charm quite as much as the icon she looks up to. And Chris Messima is supportive and subtle in his best Paul Rudd impersonation. I understand that Streep is remarkable in her role but, from what I have read in reviews, people insist that a movie just about her would have been better. Honestly, two hours of just Julia Child (especially when there doesn't seem to be any real drama with her) would make me go crazy. Her discovery and journey of cooking just isn't as interesting to me as the one Julie Powell takes. Maybe the performances are vastly different in quality but from a plot standpoint, I wanted Julie to succeed and cheered for her when she realized the only Julia Child she needs to worry about is the one in her head.

Grade: B

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Actress: Amy Adam's subtly
Best Supporting Actress: Meryl Streep's effusiveness
Best Adapted Screenplay: Nora Ephron and her seemlessly fractured narrative
Best Scene Stealer: Jane Lynch, who I'm convinced should play Big Bird in a biopic

One African Baby and an Ipod

Bruno

What a vexing film. At times outrageously hilarious, other times incessantly grotesque, it is maybe the most hit or miss movie this year. The trailer for Bruno blinded me so much with its hilarity that I forgot about the fact that I didn't like Borat as much as everyone else in the world did. In fact, I much prefer the shortened and varied sketches of Da Ali G show because it seems to restrain Sacha Baron Cohen's insistence on grossing the audience out. This was one of the most anticipated movies for me this summer based solely on that trailer. And it kind of disappointed me. When it made social statements about parental exploitation, gay bashing and the ridiculous talk show phenomenon, Bruno is hilarious and (almost) thought-provoking. However, scenes like the sex party, the tv show panel and the entire final sequence which looked and was pretty much staged by the producers are purely for shock value and do nothing for the progression of the film or social issues.

I found, at times, that the movie was a labor for me. I was waiting for the next scene to happen. I walked out and couldn't believe that it was less than an hour and a half. If Sacha Baron had just stuck to those good scenes, he could have made a good movie. I know for a fact that he had hours of footage to deal with but instead chose to show random people having sex on camera. I really have no complaints about the gay sex scene or the twirling penis on screen. This I think is somewhat necessary shock value. Yes, he's gay. He's not going to be as funny and oblivious as Borat. Bruno knows pretty much what he's doing and loves it. If only the rest of us could.

Grade: B-

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Line: "That is such a Samantha thing to say"
Best Comedic Performance: Sacha Baron is still remarkable though
Most Surprising Moment: Penis. On camera.
Best Trailer
Best Use of a Song in the Trailer: "The Barber of Seville"
Best "Best Moment of the Film": The shameless parenting exhibited by the audition parents

Whatever is Written

Whatever Works

I feel like making a lot of puns about how thinly drawn this script is SO, this movie is as thin as:
-Evan Rachel Wood
-Woody Allen's stack of truly crappy movies
-Whatever is left of Larry David's hair
-The window that Boris jumps through
-Boris' willingness to live
-My patience for this movie's credibility

Ok. So this really was not as bad as it could have been. It's a very hit or miss movie. Some of the jokes had me laughing uproariously while others were really stupid. Larry David's asides to the camera were dreadful because it seemed like he was trying to make up for how silly the movie is with his go to line about whatever works (which is a myth, by the way). Be serious. There is no way you can make any overarching statement or theme about this film. It's basically around for cheap laughs.

And that's completely understandable. This was a 30-year-old script that Woody pulled out to beat the writer's strike deadline. I don't think he ever expected this film to be good so he doesn't try too hard to impress us in the movie. It's essentially a fable that takes things a bit too far. The second Patricia Clarkson shows up on screen, caution is thrown to the wind and everything starts falling apart for the movie. Threesomes. Predictable gay bar scenes. Lame attempts at a happy ending. Stupid romances between young people. In fact, when it was just Boris and Melodie married and exploring each other's psyches, I rather liked the movie. Introducing Patricia Clarkson basically transforms the movie from an exploration of marriage and love to a movie about New York's effect on outsiders (which is highly inaccurate I assume). Larry David generally endears himself to me and almost seems relatable until his marriage to Melodie. Evan Rachel Wood's accent didn't annoy me as much as I thought it would. Overall, if you cut out half the movie and change the direction that the couple goes in, I wouldn't have minded the movie.

Grade: C

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Comedic Performance: Larry David's misanthrope
Most Ridiculous Moment: So the dad is gay?

Public Frenemies

I found this film fascinating and boring. Riveting and droll. So much of it was contradictory that I could never really get into it. It's a shame that my experience was immediately ruined by the HD look of the film, but it was. I'm used to my gangster movies glamorizing the titular character and portraying him exactly how the audience is supposed to feel about him. Of course, movies today are much more complicated than the rise and fall of Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar but the look of the film attempted to make it feel contemporary as if these people could be living among us. Michael Mann makes a bold choice here but not one I would make. If you are going to make a movie about the C.I.A. versus the gangsters of yesteryear, make it the ultimate gangster movie about these "enemies." Have the ultimate Heat-like cat and mouse game that you are so well known for. Instead, we get only one real showdown between Bale and Depp (though riveting it may be). The rest of the time we attempt to get insight into the minds of both Purvis and Dillinger as well as the relationship of Dillinger and Billie and come up empty handed.

The beginning especially bored me. After being thrown off by the image I found the first couple of bank robberies underwhelming. Perhaps the lack of suspense in these banks was meant to show how easy it was to be a bank robber back then. Either way, there was no thrill to watching these men rob these banks and then supposedly act like heroes for the rest of the country. Depp is customarily smug in his role and is never asked to stray too far away from what he knows. And I'm glad Bale didn't feel the need to overdo it in a movie that requires little of him as well. No matter what he does, I will always be a Christian Bale fan. Billy Crudup is hilarious as J. Edgar and provided some lift to the movie upon his appearance.

The movie finally shifts into gear towards the middle at which point I realize that I only care for the action sequences in the film. If this is the fault of it being a gangster movie or the fault of the film itself I don't know. The shootout in the forest was awesome as was the climactic moment when Dillinger gets shot. My main fault with the film is the relationship between Dillinger and Billie, which the movie kind of hinged upon. Depp and Cotillard (when I could understand her) had no chemistry and then their relationship is so thinly drawn that when dude goes to visit her in prison after Dillinger dies I contemplated walking out because I didn't care. Everything about this film pushes me away at an emotional level and then tries to pull me back in with the way it looks and is shot. Another contradiction.

Grade: C+

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best "Best Moment of the Film": Dillinger takes a stroll through the office assigned to him

A Couple of Quirky Coms

I love both of these movies. Call me a sucker for the quirky comedy but I simply cannot resist. Call them pretentious, unrealistic, and silly but I'm always enamored with these types of movies. The Brothers Bloom and Away We Go are no exceptions.

The Brothers Bloom starts out like a Wes Anderson flick and then morphs into something much much more. Adrian Brody and Mark Ruffalo are both well suited for the snappy dialogue required by Rian Johnson. And Rachel Weisz turns in probably my favorite performance of hers. Parts of the movie were cheesy as it seems Johnson is trying to almost be more conventional but there were so many memorable parts: Penelope trying to steal the artifact, Bang Bang's karaoke, Bloom's attempts to get to know Penelope, etc.

I think something major missing from Johnson's previous work, Brick, was a cinematic touch. Too often it looked like a jumbled mess. His second feature is much more layered and regal. The cast as previously mentioned is top notch and he manages to separate himself from the Wes Anderson niche by actually having an interesting plot. Like Duplicity before it, this film takes many twists and turns and sometimes overstays its welcome (I really thought it could have ended when Penelope uncovers the initial plot) but never ceases to entertain. On a side note, seeing Adrian Brody attempt to be happy when Bloom starts to enjoy life freaked me out. He needs to always have that scared, nervous look on his face.

Grade: A-

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Picture
The Real Deal
Best Comedic Performance: Rachel Weisz's blissful Penelope
Best Scene Stealer: Rinko's mysterious Bang Bang
Best Music
Best Line: "I think you're constipated...in your fucking soul!" and "Oh fuck"
Best "Best Moment of the Film": Penelope's description of her hobbies

Away We Go, on the other hand, attempts to basically do an adult Juno. A woman becomes pregnant and tries to figure out a sense of who she is and what she should be doing with her life. Constantly trying to be a balancing act between absurdity and stark realism, this is probably Sam Mendes' best since American Beauty. As Jim Halpert(he will never be different to me) and Maya Rudolph travel around trying to find where their home is and whether they really are "fuck-ups," I became genuinely concerned and invested in where they would end up.

Essentially, the movie is a series of vignettes with a title card before each new location indicating what stage of their travels the couple is on. I take issue with people calling the movie pretentious. Basically, what critics take from the movie is that the couple only learns that they are better than everyone else. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Both Jim and Maya have their own separate quirks that endear them to the audience but also make the audience wonder whether this couple really should be in charge of a child. Sure every new person they meet is a complete caricature and is meant to show the audience that the couple is better off than them but the caricatures mean so much more to the couple. They represent the continuing journey home that the couple is trying to find. It's not so much that the couple is better than every family they meet, but rather that they wouldn't fit in to the environment that their friends are a part of.

Overall, Away We Go is anchored by strong performances by Jim Hapert and Maya Rudolph and make the caricatures seem almost plausible. Reminiscent of a good Woody Allen comedy, the film juxtaposes comedy with drama and asks serious questions about true love, one's true home and true hilarity.

Grade: B+

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Picture
The Real Deal
Best Actor: Jim Halpert
Best Actress: Maya Rudolph
Best Original Screenplay: Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida
Best Music
Best "Best Moment of the Film": The emotional climax on the trampoline

When I Grow Up I Wanna Be Famous

Two movies. Both sports themed. Both sports posing as metaphors for fame and fortune. Two very different interpretations of athletes. And I loved both of them for very different reasons.

Rudo y Cursi has been on my radar since Sundance and with the Three Amigos as producers and the writer of y tu mama tambien in tow, I was expecting some kind of human drama with a soccer background. Instead, Carlos Cuaron has delivered an immensely fun and light fable of two brothers who both make it to the top of Mexican soccer and end up in a do or die game at the end of the movie. This movie does not take itself seriously and I love it for it. Luna and Bernal exude an excellent energy and chemistry together as usual and convey the right amount of wacky and fun that is needed for a fun movie like this. Sure the metaphor of soccer and rivalry and pleasing one's mother is completely bogus, but it still resonates despite the ridicule. A typical rise and fall with a brotherly twist, Rudo and Cursi both entertain and, ultimately, pay for their idiotic actions in life.

On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, the titular figure of Sugar makes it no where near the top of his sport. Several time during the movie, you expect him to finally pick up his game and make it to the majors. Instead, reality hits. He simply does not have enough talent for the big times. As he watches his aging friend get black balled because of his diminishing skills, the reality sets in that he has to quit the game he used to love in order to think about the future. As an opposition to the other movie in this post, Sugar makes it clear that sport does not make a life but rather distracts one from the reality of it. Filled to the brim with genuine pathos, I left the theater concerned about Sugar's life ahead and the lives of many immigrants struggling in the United States.

Rudo y Cursi: B-

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Most Ridiculous Moment: They shot his leg off!
Best Use of a Song: "I Want You to Want Me" as performed by Gael Garcia Bernal

Sugar: B

Drag Me to Up

I have so much to catch up on. So this is probably the most interesting double feature I have and ever will see in my life. As midnight showings would have it, neither Up nor Drag Me to Hell offered me a chance at sleep deprivation so, instead of choosing one of the two to watch on a
Friday night, we went to both with Sam Raimi's thrill fest up first:

















Drag Me to Hell

I hate horror movies. They are usually stupid, unrealistic and ultimately provide me with zero thrills or entertainment whatsoever. I've become recently a little less stiff towards the prospects of watching a horror movie but the fact that Orphan will probably make a shit ton more money than a wonderfully quirky film like The Brothers Bloom scares me more than than the former probably would if I saw it.

That being said, Drag Me to Hell is maybe the most fun I've had at a movie in a long time. It is utter brilliance. I really mean that. Sam Raimi has once again managed to subvert the genre much better than some silly Wayans could by simply setting out to scare you and then making you laugh at the fact that he scared you. The entire sequence in the parking lot is haunting and yet ridiculous.

I think it's awesome that the plot is so thinly drawn. Woman gets angry, sets curse upon woman who pissed her off, woman tries not to go to hell. Ha! That's so unrealistic that you can only have fun at a movie like this. When I kept recommending it to my friends, they would basically scoff at me because they think it's just another horror movie. They have a point. The trailer is indicative of another Haunting in Connecticut but the movie itself is so much better and essentially a fun ride. It's kind of sad that it takes cinephiles with extensive knowledge of Raimi's previous work to enjoy a movie like this but maybe the future of horror movies can learn something from this movie because it's, in a word, awesome.

Grade: A-

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Picture
The Real Deal
Best "Best Moment of the Film": The possessed donkey
Best Scene Stealer: Reggie Lee's caricature of nervous and conniving Stu
Most Surprising Moment: She still ends up being dragged to hell


Up

Wall-E is probably one of the best animated pictures ever and maybe the most daring. To follow that up (pun intended) is no easy task. Overall, I think Pixar has provided another solid entry but one that cannot rival the previously mentioned masterpiece they produced last year.

Up is great. By any standards it's one of the best movies of the year. But, as I already said, it followed an unrelentingly fun film so it was handicapped from the beginning. I'm sure that I'll like it more when I see it again but upon first glimpse, I was not blown away by the film. The montage sequence of Carl Fredrickson and his wife was as touching as everyone had said it would be. The juxtaposition of the two leads was hilarious and was accentuated by the hilarity of the talking dogs.

I think my only problem with the movie is that the villain, Charles Muntz, falls flat for me. He was Fredrickson's idol but now he's trying to prove to the world that the tropical bird is real? I don't know. Overall, it seemed a little forgettable as far as Pixar movies are concerned but then again, I did see after the catharsis of Drag Me to Hell. I don't know. Either way, it will probably still be better than most movies this year.

Grade: B+

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Animated Picture
Best Montage: The life and relationship of the Fredricksons
Best Scene Stealer: Dug the dog. "I have just met you and I love you."
Best Use of a Song: The Habanera as Carl is getting out of bed

Summer So Far

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

The formula that I determined from Iron Man for a good superhero movie was a balance of good story with good action sequences. Because after all, the only thing people want from summer movies is mindless entertainment. Wolverine, in this case, succeeds completely in the mindless department. The first thing I thought about when I walked out of the theater was how bad I felt for Gavin Hood. After really touching me with the conventional yet still emotionally resonant Tsotsi, he proceeded to completely ruin his career with his Hollywood fare so far.

This film was poorly written, poorly executed and actually bored me at times. Deadpool was woefully underused as was Sabretooth. Hugh Jackman did his part but when the screenplay is so terrible to begin with, there is no way to recover. That final battle sequence looked contrived and bored me to death. Admittedly, my expectations were terrible which, coupled with my relative indifference for the first three movies, made my experience with this movie all the more miserable. I was pretty much just looking for all of the film's flaws unfortunately. And boy did the film deliver in that department.

Grade: D

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Most Ridiculous Moment: Boy Wolverine's dramatic(?) "NOOOO!"


Star Trek

I mean, there is very little I can say about this movie. It made me a fan of the show. I'm actually planning on revisiting the original tv show just to make the film all the more enjoyable. However, I must admit: I wasn't blown away. I saw it opening night in IMAX and enjoyed myself but thought it was only light fare. Which really confuses me. Have my summer expectations been so hardened by the nihilistic stylings of The Dark Knight? Perhaps. More realistically, I think the lack of eminent danger was the real deal breaker for me. I never really got a sense that the characters were ever in danger. This coupled with the failure of the villain as anything more than an angry, funny running man prevented the film from being truly great for me. However, the film is still good fun and reaffirms my belief that J.J. Abrams can do no wrong.

Grade: B+

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Scene Stealer: Simon Pegg's take on Scotty
Best Trailer
Best "Best Moment of the Film": The action sequence with Kirk and Sulu stopping the laser is incredible in IMAX.

Terminator: Salvation

I don't really agree with the critics on this one. I've been trying my best to avoid all critic's opinions of a movie until I see it this summer. When I went to Rotten Tomatoes to check on the score for this film, I was expecting a 60%, maybe 50. However, a 33%? Worse than Angels and Demons? Nay I say.

Sure the script is treacherous at the end. There are many cheesy parts but I think this was loads better than T3 even with the digitally altered Arny making an appearance. To be honest, the week preceding my viewing of this film included seeing T2 and T3 in their entirety for the first time. For the sake of avoiding another entry, Terminator 2 is probably the best action movie I have ever seen. Such depth and dense themes coupled with absolute fantastic action sequences equals brilliance.

Knowing this, Salvation obviously comes short. However, I like the idea of a brand new Terminator franchise. Essentially, the film would do better to avoid the label of Terminator since it is fundamentally a different movie. The weathered and drab look of the film is fantastic as well as the acting. I don't care what people say about Christian Bale, the script didn't ask for a dynamic and marvelous performance so Bale gave what he gives best: intensity. Overall, the ending really sucked but I enjoyed most parts of the film and I look forward to seeing the next film in the franchise. On a side note, movies Salvation reminded me of: the giant machines=War of the Worlds, the tiny arm machines=Transformers, the scene in the white room at Skynet=Mission Impossible.

Grade: B-

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Most Surprising Moment: You're gonna kill John Connor? Oh right.
Most Ridiculous Moment: "Tell them I'll be back."
Best Trailer

Hot off the Presses!

I'll just go ahead and group these two movies. After all, the closing credits of State of Play shows the making of newspapers that is continued in the opening credits of The Soloist. They had it coming!

A few thoughts on each. I found both to be excellent examples of the power that newspapers can yield at one time or another. This is especially relevant since this very same business is being threatened at the moment. This threat seems to be alluded to by Russell Crowe when he initially dismisses Rachel McAdams' blogger (by the way, the name Della Frye? the future name of my first born) as nothing more than a sign of the apocalypse. I like my newspaper men rugged and playing against the rules. There's simply nothing better!

State of Play is driven by an excellent conspiracy theory. Coming from a passionate fan of 24, this film hit right up my alley. Crowe is fantastic and McAdams just keeps giving me more reasons to fall in love with her. I actually thought Helen Mirren was underutilized while Ben Affleck either didn't have the talent for the material or wasn't given good material for his talent. I won't give an opinion on that but simply reitorate my love for him. State of Play manages to be both plot driven and character driven and offers a memorable turn by an almost unrecognizable Jason Bateman. Simply put: a taunt thriller.

Grade: B

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Actor: Russell Crowe's ruggedness
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Scene Stealer: Jason Bateman's exasperated, hilarious club promoter
Best "Best Moment of the Film": The entire sequence in the garage is intense!

The Soloist on the other hand is a much more complex notion. I liked many parts of it while being put off by many parts of it. I think the film works best as a fight between focus and neglect. Much of the film seems to be very intentionally roughly cut. Many scenes are cut at an unexpected point. If this is done intentionally, this is excellently juxtaposed with sequences of complete focus and centeredness. These are the moments where Jaime Foxx is completely centered on the music. I like the notion of letting the audience feel the schizophrenia of Foxx's character by sometimes not explaining what they are seeing. However, the film often becomes a message about homelessness which I felt was incessant. The movie works solely as a character driven exposition of emotion.

Grade: B-

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Actor: RDJ's alcoholic reporter. Another fine turn for this come backer.
Best Use of a Song: Beethoven's 9th Symphony
Best Use of a Song in the Trailer: Prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1

Angels and Demons

I read this book last year meaning it was inevitable for me to see this movie. My expectations weren't too high (The Da Vinci code was horribly yawn inducing but in print, Angels and Demons has more potential entertainment value). After walking out of the theater with my friends trashing the movie, I was forced to subdue the shear entertainment that the film produced for me. Yes, Tom Hanks essentially phones in his role but the story is just pure entertainment. I will concede one thing though: in print, many things seem to be much more plausible than when you actually see them on screen. And adapting these books to the screen is a doomed cause from the beginning. There is simply too much prose and mythology that there is no time for on screen. Instead of respecting Robert Langdon and believing in him like I did in the books, I found him to be a pompous ass in the few chances he had to display his intellect in the film. Ron Howard seems to have been solely focused on the action and thrill seeking moments of the book when translating them to the screen. In the end, I'm fine with this. The book does offer many moments of edge of your seat thrills that kept me interested in the movie while my friends trashed it from the beginning and never relented even blaming me for the failure of the film at the end.

Perhaps I'm too invested in the book. When things got slow, I was waiting for the next twist that was about to come. When it comes to it, the books are enjoyable for the thrills as well as mythology that come with it (even if it's fabricated, it still compliments the thrill ride you are taken on). Ultimately, it is a breezy film that only half fails.

Grade: C+

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Most Ridiculous Moment: Really? Parachute away from the antimatter explosion? I knew this was coming and still thought it was ridiculous.

The Marlon Welles Awards

Introducing the Marlon Welles Awards, the awards dedicated the whatever the fuck I thought was cool in cinema year to year. Note: technical categories cut in favor of what I just described.

Current categories include (but may be extended upon later):

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Original Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Animated Picture

The Real Deal (my top 10)
Best Line
Best Montage
Best Comedic Performance
Best Scene Stealer
Most Surprising Moment
Most Ridiculous Moment
Most Innovative Moment
Best Opening Credits
Best Music
Best Use of a Song
Best Trailer
Best Use of a Song in the Trailer
Best "Best Moment of the Film"


I'll have to update previous posts now. Damn.

Recent Times

I figured I should reflect on the new movies I've been seeing (while I'm still catching up on the festival films of 2008).

Coraline

I had not read the book before seeing this neither did I have amazing expectations for it when I saw it. I remember seeing James and the Giant Peach when I was a kid and thinking it was pretty cool. As I sometimes do, I waited to hear some critics opinions of it before seeing it.

As I was watching (in 3D, naturally), I was astounded. I could not believe these images were being processed in my mind at the moment. I think my favorite part of it is that there is nothing too subtle thematically about the movie. Too often movies are hindered by unnecessary metaphors and themes that seem out of place (here's looking at you, Doubt). Not here. I guess it's the fact that animated movies are supposed to attract children that they structure it so simply. By the way, there is no way that 1) children understood what the fuck was going on and 2) that movie should have been rated PG (under normal conditions). Coraline is dark, deceptive and artistically rich. I loved Ian McShane and got really excited when I heard John Hodgeman's voice. This easily is the best movie I've seen in 3D (for reasons critics have already stated) and I was emotionally invested in ways that live action movies can never do so. If this movie isn't nominated for Best Animated Picture, I will be woefully disappointed (especially since it came out in January).

Grade: B+

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Animated Picture

Watchmen

I'm really only writing about this out of necessity since I haven't seen too many new movies recently (Paul Blart is not very appealing) and since I read the graphic novel (book?) right before. I can see why so many people were anticipating the movie beforehand. I don't read many comic books but Watchmen was so rich in each issue and I was amazed by how each issue was an individual piece of art while still maintaining the general themes and plots throughout the series.

But I digress, this is supposed to be about the movie. I generally walked out of the theater feeling "meh." I wasn't blown away but I appreciated seeing the characters I had read about come to the screen. Zack Snyder didn't do anything very revolutionary in making the movie (can we please stop calling him a visionary? he has adapted two graphic novels and remade a horror classic, nothing original) but he still did justice to the novel. I was not distracted by the length simply because I was following the novel in my mind while I was watching (I think I'm immune to lengthy movies. Case in point-BenjButt was a piece of cake for me). I WAS however distracted by Snyder's incessant need to add horror aspects to the movie simply because he can. The fight scenes were rightfully brutal but a little convaluted while seeing Rorschach throw an axe into that sleazebag's head was really unnecessary. I did like Jackie Earle Haley and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (they should go on SNL's Neal Patrick Harris three name show) but thought everyone else was just mediocre. Not necessarily bad but the movie wasn't about the actors to begin with. I did warm up to the music in the end though it was distracting at first. Overall, Snyder has created something not too memorable but very safe in adhering to the novel.

Grade: B-

P.S. Now about that sex scene...

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Opening Credits
Best Trailer
Best Use of a Song in a Trailer: "The End is the Beginning is the End" by The Smashing Pumpkins
Best Montage: Opening credits
Best Use of a Song: "The Times They Are a-Changin'" by Bob Dylan during the opening credits


I Love You, Man

I'm still reflecting on this one and am actually wanting to go see it a second time to be sure about it. What I do know is that I absolutely adore both Paul Rudd and Jason Segal and thought this movie really worked if only for the leads. I actually walked out of it thinking that as opposed to many Apatow films where the leads usually get the spotlight taken from them by a far supreme supporting cast, this film was all about the leads and less about the supporting cast. Afterwards I realized that it wasn't that the supporters (Favreau, Jaime Pressley, Samberg, J.K. Simmons, the Hulk, Joe Lo Truglio and others) were necessarily bad but that Segal and Rudd were just THAT much better.

I loved everytime the two of them had any sort of interaction. I loved the interweaving of Rush mania (continuing the theme of bringing back old bands from the Kisstastic Role Models). And I absolutely adored watching Rudd struggle with trying to make a guy friend. I don't think I've still had an opportunity to think about whether the movie worked because of the actors solely or because of a combination of the actors and the script. This was not an Apatow film (John Hamberg=Meet the Fockers? really?) but it had everything having to do with one. I'll definitely see it again to be sure about it.

Grade (tentative): B

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Comedic Performance: Jason Segal
Best Line: "I'm slappin' da bass!"
Best Music
Best Use of a Song in the Trailer: "Campus" by Vampire Weekend, "Guero" by Beck

Adventureland

I literally just got back from seeing this movie and I have to say this is the best movie I have seen this year so far.

Too often teenage coming of age tales get bogged down by some mission that the protagonist has to go on (Superbad, Nick and Norah, The Wackness...these are just ones I've seen recently and by the way, I love Superbad) but Adventureland is much more than just a vehicle for James Brennan (the fabulously layered Jesse Eisenberg) to get rid of his virginity. He already went through the high school years and we meet him as he's about to finally escape from his hometown to something artistically better. But of course he doesn't have money and needs to work at a shitty theme park to pay for his art. The trick about this movie is that sentimentality is perfectly blended with comedy to make outlandish statements like "I think I'm falling in love with her" seem plausible. Adventureland doesn't try to be anything besides Brennan's exploration of his life through his job at a theme park. On the other hand, Nick and Norah tries to be a love letter about New York while The Wackness tries to be something about the 90s and self realization.

Adventureland doesn't do anything like this. It is set in the 80s but you couldn't tell through Brennan's attire or through his actions. The setting just serves for comedy in the way everyone else is dressed and how everyone is obsessed with Rock Me Amadeus. Case in point, any time Lisa P. seems to be overly challenged, she can just dance her way out of it. Every single love scene in the movie is shot without irony by Greg Mottolla and you can tell he loves every single frame he has shot. I thought Kristen Stewart showed amazing range throughout the movie and I'm eager to see what she has to give in the future. Jesse Eisenberg is wonderfully layered as he escapes from the awkward Michael Cera stereotype set before him to become an awkward kid who realizes he is awkward is isn't bogged down with untouchable earnestness (as in, Michael Cera in Superbad). Brenna is an artistic intellectual who simply has not much experience is trying to woo girls. If he does one thing better than Cera it's sarcasm.

And the supporting cast is just as good and hypocritical. I like how Martin Starr's Joel claims to be in love with Lisa P. at the beginning supposedly driven by his male impulses but then gets mad at Brennan for pursuing his own impulses. See, this is real life. There are no perfectly moral characters in the real world and everyone says things that oppose other things they believe in. In a similar fashion, Ryan Reynolds is a stock type character as the rocker who uses stories to get girls yet he also has his own shit to deal with. He is married against his will and releases his frustration in seducing other girls. And the movie doesn't waste time with setting up some kind of rivalry between Brennan and Connell. That's real. I also like how the movie didn't try to make Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig the center of attention in every scene they're in. Of course they steal all their scenes ("I ran out of googly eyes a while ago...", "just give me a reason!") but they're not set up to.

In the end, yes Brennan goes to New York and tries to get Emily back and succeeds but Mottolla makes it seem like it really doesn't matter how long they last afterwards. The fact is that Brennan finally has realized that he wants to pursue what he wants and not what is convenient to him (Lisa P.). I absolutely adored the experience inside the theater and wanted to watch it again immediately. Everyone and anyone that had something to do with this movie gets "big ups" from me (thank you Ali G.)

Grade: A-

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Picture
The Real Deal
Best Scene Stealer: Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig's duo
Best Music
Best Use of a Song: "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco
Best Use of a Song in the Trailer: "Blister in the Sun" by The Violent Femmes