Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

When Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) discovers that his wife (Julianne Moore) wants to end their marriage, he reluctantly faces the unwelcome prospect of single life with the counsel of the younger and smoother super-bachelor Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). Meanwhile, Cal's adolescent son, Robbie (Jonah Bobo), has formed an unquenchable crush on his 17-year-old babysitter (Analeigh Tipton) -- but is she more interested in Robbie's recently unwed father?

There is a line of dialogue in the film that reads, “Go Big or Go Home!” Well Crazy Stupid Love is as big as they come in the romance genre. You may walk in thinking it may be ordinary, but it will be impossible to walk out and not say you didn’t love the film. It is the best romantic dramedy I have ever had the pleasure of seeing and other films will have a very hard time of topping it in the years to come. I walked in with the highest of expectations and not surprisingly the film still managed to blow me away with everything it threw at me.

The typical story that comes along with these types of films are sort of threw out the window. It consistently twists your emotions to the point your laughing one moment and the next your feeling sorrow for these characters. The film takes its time to develop nearly every character and make you feel attached to them to the point you want them to be happy; you want the best in the world for them. The miniature twists the film takes is where it excels. When you think things, generally you’re wrong and the film turns on you. It’s this fantastic style of writing that turns repetition into this fresh product you think you have never seen before even though you’ve seen it countless times. This is the type of film where the risks paid off and everything came together so smoothly, you don’t even care that the ending was probably what you thought it was going to be. It never feels rushed and its climax had my jaw on the floor from both shock and laughter. It was one of those rare moments that will be imprinted in your head and when briefly mentioned, you’d immediately know what film is being discussed. Every film in this genre should take notes and strive to reach the ambitious heights Crazy Stupid Love achieved.

It all is mute though if the characters aren’t portrayed well, even the greatest written character can become corrupted with a wrong take on them from the actor, but every role was nailed to a tee. Steve Carell who started off poorly in thee leading man role fits in comfortable in his best film to date. He plays the average looking slow talking fatherly figure well and thrives with his character. It’s one of the rare times he doesn’t come off as fake trying to force a laugh out of you, instead playing it subtle and as real as possible. Simply fantastic here. Ryan Gosling on the other hand takes a dramatic shift in roles as he takes on his first comedic role. As the ladies’ man he sizzles up the screen and gets more than his share of laugh, but still manages to be at his best when his character takes a more serious turn in the film. It’s great to see Gosling in such a different manner and actually seeing his character have fun in the film for once. With this being first of three highly anticipated films for 2011, he’s off to a tremendous start already; this is his year. As for the rest of the cast Julianne Moore plays a woman you should hate but simply is too likeable to do that, she continues to be her expectable self. Emma Stone feels a bit lost in the midst of things but when they ask for her to step into the spotlight; you understand this girl will be a leading lady in Hollywood for many years to come. She’s simply terrific for her age. The film even manages to actually have substantial child role that now only gets a good amount of laughs out of you, but never gets annoying.  It may seem small but the kid seems to prevent holes in spots that matter. Simply put, this is an ensemble cast that feels just absolutely perfect.

Crazy Stupid Love is about as close to perfect as you’ll ever get in the romantic comedy genre. You’ll want to rewatch it when its over and continue to watch it every few weeks. If you had any doubts that the film looked like a chick flick, I can tell you with a guarantee, it will be one of those films everyone mentions years from now when highlighting the best films of 2011. Do yourself a favor and make sure you do not miss out on this film; it’d be a huge mistake on your part. That goes double for all the Gosling fans out there.

Overall Score: 10/10

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (2011)

 In the second installment of the two-part conclusion to the überpopular Harry Potter series, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his best friends, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), continue their quest to vanquish the evil Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) once and for all. Just as things begin to look hopeless for the young wizards, Harry discovers a trio of magical objects that endow him with powers to rival Voldemort's formidable skills.

In the second part of the epic conclusion of the Harry Potter series, no fan should walk away feeling cheated. It pulls at your heart when it wants to, it keeps you holding your breathe when it wants to, and it throws a slew of epic battles at you when it wants to. They key there is when it wants to. All of that material comes easy when your seven films deep into a series and the audience already has established many bonds with all of these characters. Often times the film seems content with showing just enough to evoke a reaction out of you rather than going above and beyond. It would have been more work, but would have ended up paying off at the end of it all. And for a film that was broken into two parts and accumulated nearly five hours of footage, they still seemed to rush crucial scenes that shed new light on characters. It’s a major disappointment for me because it they happened to be my favorite parts of the series.

After getting my little rant out of the way, the film started off a bit slow and clumpy, but as the film progressed and moved into Hogwarts things kicked into high gear. A giant battle between wizards begins to take shape and people die. For the first time, viewers understand that anything can happen now; nobody is truly safe (unless you’ve read the book obviously).  The battle scenes consist of plenty of explosions and a wide range of colorful spells flying around all over the place. It’s the magical version of a war epic. Amidst all this chaos, you have the trio scrambling to find parts of Voldemort’s souls stored away in objects waiting to be destroyed. It really slows the pacing down but is a requirement the film simply cannot skip over. When the film comes to its epic showdown, thankfully the corny dialogue is cut and it’s simply the two doing a battle to death. The only complaint is for an hour long battle it sure seemed to end awfully quickly; I’m sure they could have squeezed a few more minutes out of it. It’s a triumph ten years in the making and his end comes with a smile. The first part will be the best in the series for me, but I know for many this nonstop roller coaster of a finale will leave the lasting impact many have come for.

It’s truly shocking looking back and seeing the cast of it all grow up from little children into young adults. Seeing how they started and what they have become is fascinating and all three of the gang hopefully can move onward from this and become their own person with the impressive talents they have put on display these last four films.

With the Harry Potter series coming to an end as the most successful series ever on screen, I feel a part of me feels numb. I have grown up with these characters, with these books, and how they have translated on screen. As I matured so did the material and the films. They were in a rare breed of getting better with each film and we will probably never see something of this scale again. It’s a true treat to have grown up during this time period because watching them over real time rather than all at once is something that simply cannot be duplicated for future generations. This is a series that will stay forever with its fans. Now that the journey is finally over, we can only look back and admire what Warner Brothers, JK Rowling, and the cast involved in the series were able to accomplish. I for one will miss them, but thankful for what we have received.

Overall Score: 8/10

The Ledge (2011)

This unusual, character-driven thriller follows young hotel manager Gavin (Charlie Hunnam), who steps out onto a high ledge to commit suicide. World-weary police officer Hollis (Terrence Howard) is assigned to talk him down but is tormented by traumatic issues of his own. The men find themselves debating atheism, faith and the meaning of life, and soon are embroiled in a battle of wills that has each man questioning his commitment to his chosen path.

The Ledge is a thriller that begins and ends with faith. It goes back and forth between its two leads on whether religion can really save your soul or if it’s just some pointless ploy that people have been tricked into. It never leans over to the point of being a nuisance, but I would have at least liked to see an argument for both sides of the topic. The film seems to lean heavily on the atheist side and tends to show religion as something only a crazy man could enjoy. Someone like me, who completely agrees, is fine with its stance, but it could really turn others off because it tends to be so one-sided.

Even if it turns you off, the religious aspect also sets up the thrilling scenario our lead character is put in. Will Gavin sacrifice himself to save a woman he loves? It’s a question everyone at one point in their lives thinks in their head and it’s tough. You never truly know until it actually happens to you. As he is standing on the ledge, the film uses flashbacks to reveal how this situation came to be. It feels like a pretty straight forward love affair, but once again that religious aspect of the three really tend to twist it enough to make it entertaining. It does a good enough job to get you to actually care about the fate of these two, if not just to root against the fanatic Joe (Patrick Wilson). In a sub plot that feels a little out of place but is thrown in for the similar theme on life is the negotiator who’s trying to prevent him from jumping. His wife is unfaithful and he doesn’t know if he can live with the consequences that come with it. With its little screen time, it almost feels a little unnecessary, but not a hated welcome.   

This film helps confirm what I always thought but wasn’t entirely sure of, Liv Tyler isn’t a good actress. The film manages to overcome her struggles with the help of its two leads Patrick Wilson and Charlie Hunnam. They are far from perfect but together on screen when they are arguing, they are good. The argument feels natural, flows easy, and the two seem to have good chemistry. Outside of the terrible back and forth accents of Charlie Hunnam, the two were good enough to carry the film and turn it into something interesting. It’s nice to all us Sons of Anarchy fans to see Jax finally getting leading roles, because the dude simply has the stuff to make it work.

The Ledge is a slow paced sometimes intense film that manages to be good if not great if you can overlook a few flaws and plot holes. The terrible reviews this film has received seems questionable because I have a hard time believing so many people dismissed it as a forgettable film; Maybe I didn’t see the same film as them. This is a must see for Jax fans and recommended watch for just about everyone else.

Overall Score: 8/10

Trust (2011)

After curious and vulnerable teenager Annie (Liana Liberato) falls into a trap set by an online sexual predator, her family begins to disintegrate, uncertain how to cope with such a devastating tragedy. Utterly consumed by rage, her father (Clive Owen) sets out seeking vengeance.

Have you ever ate a sandwich that was an just ordinary, but later on in the day, you just can’t get that particular sandwich out of your head. It wasn’t the best sandwich you ever had, but it damn well satisfied your hunger. Well Trust is like that sandwich. It does a lot of things well that turns it from an interesting watch into a great one. Its subtle approach and respectful take on its subject matter are two of its brightest qualities.

A drama centered on a rape isn’t easy to handle, specifically when it involves young teenage girl. Often times the film gets off track and spends too much time getting revenge on the rapist rather than exploring the wounds they leave on the victim and the people around her. Trust handles the matter in a tragically twisted way, keeping the rapist hidden away off screen outside of its brief yet terrifying moment. It puts the young girl into the spotlight and forces the audience to watch her become lost in a wall of manipulation. It’s a struggle to watch because you want to knock some sense into her, but it helps establish a connection with her father. He constantly wonders what went wrong, how she let this happen, and worst of all how he couldn’t save her. The key in the middle of all this mess is that you never feel cheated out of the film; it doesn’t ever turn into something glamorized nor thrilling. Its focus is Annie and that’s all that’s needed.  The one true misstep the film has is her mother. The mother-daughter bond will always be there, but the film never gives her opinion on the matter. This is something where all three are needed to overcome this travesty, but the film seems content with just two of them. It may sound small, but going with the theme of it all, it feels much bigger.

Much of the screen time is taken up by the daughter Annie and her father, Will. Very unknown Liana Liberato takes a big step into making a name for herself. She takes the character and gives it her all, shaping her into a confused girl who feels her world beneath her crumbling. It’s a vulnerable performance that deserves some recognition. Her father played by Clive Owen may be even better, but it’s a role that doesn’t seem too tough to do. Any sane person would go through the motions that he does. It still doesn’t hamper what he accomplishes, and in a few scenes is a different person who seems to be struggling more than his daughter with the rape. It’s a challenging connection between these two.

Trust is like a little piece of treasure you find hidden in a box of sand. It’s a small film that fulfills big intentions. It’s a film that you should watch and find entertaining in the way it is handled rather than the story itself. It will likely wind up being one of the best films that nobody ends up watching, but hopefully this opens your eyes to it and you give it a go.

  

Fun little Fact before I’m wrap it up. David Schwimmer directed this film. Many of you will know him as Ross of Friends fame.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Horrible Bosses (2011)

 Disgruntled buddies Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day) can't leave their miserable jobs, so they cook up a creative strategy for eliminating each other's micromanaging and maniacal employers (Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey) instead in this crackpot comedy. Peculiar advice from con artist Motherfucker Jones (Jamie Foxx) gets the scheme in motion, but the pals can't keep the wheels from flying off.

Another week into the summer of 2011 and we get yet another foul-mouthed raunchy comedy. It’s a trend that hopefully continues to happen because as I said countless times before, these are the best kind of comedies; they can do whatever they want to get you to laugh without having to worry about the underage children. Horrible Bosses combines its crude yet witty dialogue along with a great ensemble cast to make the second funniest movie of the year behind the yet to be released Friends with Benefits.

The film immediately jumps out at you introducing all three employees and the relationships each one has with their respective bosses. This was a quick and easy way to give you a taste of what all six characters will be like the rest of the film and get you laughing right off the bat. A few more showings of how terrible these bosses are and they quickly jump into the decision to kill their bosses. It’s obviously a fun subject that a lot of people imagine, I included, and what Horrible Bosses does so well is that it never feels like it has to go above and beyond to create a joke. It seems perfectly fine with simple gags and the bickering conversations between everyone. Its conclusion also feels fresh for a change, not going in the cliché way a lot tend to fall into. Its ending just seemed to fit along with the rest of its comedy and feels a lot fresher than a lot of the cliché trappings others in the genre seem to fall into.

The easiest reason this comedy works is its cast. They are great together. You know it’s great when you have a hard time figuring out who you loved the most. Of the employees, Charlie Day seems to steal the show. He’s got a fast and weird sense of humor that ends up on the receiving end on most of the laughs. Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis are the other two; Sudeikis keeps up with Day for the most part but unlike Bateman doesn’t need anyone to play off of to be funny. He creates his own jokes that stray away from what the other two are doing and is pretty damn funny.  The best roles have to be the bosses. Kevin Spacey essentially plays himself, but plays the complete asshole to perfection. The film makes you want to actually kill him. The other two are the two brightest spots of the film because Aniston and Farrell are allowed to go outside their norm and play characters they are obviously having a blast with. Farrell and his comb over is great as the cokehead bad boy. He gets the least amount of screentime, but does a lot with what he gets. Aniston impresses me most because this is exactly the type of role I’ve always known she could pull off but never chooses too. She creates the most laughs with her absolute vulgar dialogue with Charlie Day. The two should end up creating a spin-off prequel of their own, I’d watch it. I am positive now that if Aniston would have starred in Bad Teacher instead of Diaz, it would have been double as fun.

Horrible Bosses is another comedy to add to the long list already released. It will be one of the funniest films you see this year. Its comedy is spot on and flows in a way that never does the film have a downtime. It keeps you laughing consistently the whole way through. I’d have a hard time picturing someone not at least enjoying this, but I have a feeling people will come to love this. It’s the type of film that shows the product you get when you take a creative risk in Hollywood. This is the type of film you should make time to see soon rather than later. So do it.

Overall Score: 8/10

Dogma (1999)

Fallen angels (Matt Damon and Ben Affleck), a gnarly demon (Jason Lee) and a half-baked apostle (Chris Rock) walk among America's cynics and innocents and duke it out for humankind's fate in director Kevin Smith's 1999 comic meditation on religion. A modern-day battle against evil takes place in suburban New Jersey, after an abortion clinic worker (Linda Fiorentino) gets a higher calling from two clueless prophets (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith).

Way back before the new millennium was upon us, Kevin Smith was on a roll. He had directed three well received films that would go on to become cult classics. His fourth film, Dogma, would do the same, but not before it underwent a giant slew of controversy. The film is essentially a complete mockery of the Catholic Church. This film was a giant risk for all parties involved and in the end everyone benefited from it for the better. It is one of the rare moments in Hollywood where their money hungry mouths didn’t come first.

I’ll be the first to say I didn’t understand every little quib that Kevin Smith threw at us that poked fun at the religion, and there were even times when I didn’t even have a grasp of what they were talking about, but for most of the film I knew enough to smile at the humor being shown during those moments. Ntothing is ever laugh out loud funny, but that seems to be because it essentially isn’t a comedy; but a light drama with plenty of comedic ploys.  The actual story is highly entertaining to watch as you watch two Angels try to get back into Heaven. Their journey works because it equally divides its time between them and the group trying to stop them.

The film wouldn’t even be remotely successful if the characters didn’t all gel together. Chris Rock is slightly more appealing than normal as Rufus the forgotten thirteenth apostle, Alan Rickman as the dickless angel, Hayek as Serendipity, and the always enjoyable Jay and Silent Bob. They all have a flow and chemistry together that makes their adventure worthwhile and their little bickering’s to each other feel as important to the story as the journey itself. The true stars were Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as Bartleby and Loki, the two angels looking to find a loophole back into heaven. They easily lure you in with their fast paced but smooth conversations about whatever is on their mind. It happens in their actions too; they do what they want, and killing happens to be what they feel like doing. They are the stars in a fairly entertaining team up once again.

While the ending was good enough, part of me wonders if it was supposed to be funny or dramatic, and upon further viewings, I still don’t have an idea. Over the years it has developed a cult following that comes with just about every Kevin Smith flick; they tend to overrate the film to a degree, and even though it’s not Smiths best effort, it’s awfully close. You haven’t already taken the time to watch Dogma, do it.

Overall Score: 7.5/10