Wanderlust Review

Plot Summary:
A New York couple (Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston) buy an expensive studio apartment. Afterwards, the husband loses his job. They then plan to live with the husband's brother in Georgia. Along the way, they stay at a bed and breakfast which ends up being a hippie commune.

The Positives:
Wanderlust is the latest film from director David Wain, who recently directed Role Models, and produced by Judd Apatow, one of the biggest comedy producers of our generation. A lot of reviews have stated that this film is not very funny and only has a few moments of humor. I disagree with that statement, Wanderlust is very funny. All of the humor is very well placed and thought out, the gross out humor is also hilarious as well.

I also enjoyed the performances from the actors involved. Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston have a really good chemistry together, they poke fun at each other and actually act like a real couple here. Justin Theroux steals the show as the commune's leader, and the rest of the supporting cast bring a lot of laughs to the table. Overall, it looked like that the cast was having fun making this film.

I also felt it was smart to place this movie in a realistic situation: the plundering economy. I feel it makes the plot closer to home and a little more realistic to the audience. If they went with a different approach, I don't think this film would be as good as it turned out to be.

The Negatives:
Although Wanderlust is funny throughout, I feel it slows down closer to the end of the movie. There are still jokes there sure and the actual ending is a riot, but the film felt less funny during these last 20 minutes of the film. I honestly wish that they cut down the ending minutes, if they did that, I would have put it on my top comedies.

Another thing I wish they did differently was to make it less basic. I would have liked them to take a different approach as most Apatow films do and make the endings more realistic. I liked how they made the plot more realistic, but I wish that the ending was a little darker and more realistic.

Conclusion:
Wanderlust isn't a perfect Apatow-produced comedy, but it sure is a funny one. With great actors and well placed comedic timing, Wanderlust is definitely worth checking out.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Oscar Predictions 2012

In honor of today's Academy Awards, I figured it would be time to put my predictions online. My predictions will be based on who I want to win, who will win and who was snubbed for each nomination. I'm only predicting 7 of the 24 categories, the awards I care about the most. For the nominees I haven't seen a * will be placed next to the name. Here are my choices!

Best Picture:
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help*
Hugo
Midnight in Paris*
Moneyball*
The Tree of Life*
War Horse


Who Should Win: Hugo. I personally feel that this is the best film of 2011 right here. This film is Martin Scorsese's passion project, one telling the story of early cinema in a magical, beautiful way that all ages can enjoy. I feel the Academy should give the award to a film that tells old stories in a new way.

Who Will Win: The Artist. This film has won many awards already, and it is the frontrunner for the award. Unlike Hugo, it shows the magic of early cinema in an old fashioned way that is extremely entertaining and fun to watch.

Snubbed: Drive, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. These films were all worthy of the big award and each made an impact in 2011. Why these films weren't nominated still questions my mind to this day. I honestly wish the Best Picture list was 10 nominees this year so one of these films would be nominated for the award.

Best Director:
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris*
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life*


Who Should Win: Martin Scorsese. Hugo is his passion project and he made all of the decisions to why this was such a success to me. Making this a children's film, shooting it in 3D, telling the story of early cinema: all were extremely risky decisions and worked beautifully together. If he or any other director didn't use these decisions, Hugo would not have been as good as a film.

Who Will Win: Michel Hazanavicius. This man recreated the old fashioned silent film. His choices of editing, music, casting, shooting in black and white all helped recreate silent films. It is one of the smartest directing choices all year and I feel the Academy will award it to him.

Snubbed: Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive. This is one of the most original, distinctive and stylistic films I have seen all year. It's all thanks to this director's decisions of music, editing and casting. I feel this film was criminally snubbed this year and I will not understand why.

Best Actor:
Demian Bichir, A Better Life*
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy*
Brad Pitt, Moneyball*


Who Should Win: George Clooney. His performance in The Descendants is the best of his career. Here, he gives the most realistic, human and heartbreaking performances I have seen last year. This performance deserves an award to mark his successful career.

Who Will Win: Either Clooney or Jean Dujardin. I honestly think Clooney has a strong chance to win this award, he has won early accolades for this performance. However, Dujardin has won recent awards for his performance in The Artist and later awards normally mean that a likely Oscar win. He plays the silent leading man wonderfully. I will be happy if either actor wins this award.

Snubbed: Ryan Gosling. Gosling had a strong 2011 with great performances in Drive, Crazy Stupid Love and The Ides of March. It is shocking that he wasn't nominated for any of these performances. This is the second year he was snubbed for Best Actor, last year being snubbed for Blue Valentine. Gosling has been making smart movie choices recently, so hopefully he will be nominated for the award in the future.

Best Actress:
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs*
Viola Davis, The Help*
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady*
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn*


Who Should Win: Rooney Mara. I'm so happy she was nominated for this award. I honestly feel she deserves it as well. To get this role, she had to smoke, get piercings and dye her eyebrows. For an actress to completely transform herself in a role like that, I feel the Academy should give her the award. I have accepted though that she will not win the award.

Who Will Win: Either Viola Davis or Meryl Streep. I haven't seen The Help or The Iron Lady, but both are the front runners for the award. Streep has won early accolades for her performance, and Davis has won later awards for her performance. As I said earlier, later wins equals likely Oscar win, so I think Davis will eventually win the award of the two. However, either actress winning will not shock me.

Snubbed: Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene. The younger sister of the Olsen twins has proved herself as a fantastic actress here in her debut performance. This performance is the most haunting, intriguing and daring performance I've seen from any actress in 2011. I'm shocked the Academy did not recognize her for the award, but I feel her career will grow and someday she will get nominated.

Best Supporting Actor:
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn*
Jonah Hill, Moneyball*
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners*
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close


Who Should Win: Nick Nolte. I am thrilled he was nominated for this performance. I honestly feel this is the best supporting performance of 2011. Here, Nolte gives a performance so heartbreaking, human and riveting to watch that the Academy should award to, since the Academy and the audiences love crowd pleasers. I do not think he will win the award, but I really hope that the Academy awards him this.

Who Will Win: Christopher Plummer. I have not seen Beginners, but it is common knowledge that Plummer is a lock for the award. He has won every acting award already for this performance and he has not won an Oscar yet. The Academy will give this award to him as a lifetime achievement.

Snubbed: Albert Brooks, Drive. This is the most undeserving snub of the award season. Brooks plays a character out of his comfort zone and in a brilliant, haunting way as well. He plays a heartless villain like no other and more than deserved this nomination. I feel he might have won this award, if wasn't going up against Plummer or Nolte.

Best Supporting Actress:
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help*
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs*
Octavia Spencer, The Help*


Who Should Win: Berenice Bejo. She nails the part of the silent leading lady beautifully. She has the charisma and charm that most actresses in that era had. I wouldn't be surprised if the Academy gives her a surprise win here.

Who Will Win: Octavia Spencer. I haven't seen The Help, but Spencer is a lock for this award. She has won every acting award for her performance in this film, and has been praised for stealing the show in this film. The Academy loves show stealers, so I think they will give it to Spencer as a result.

Snubbed: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants. I feel that this is the best supporting female performance of 2011. Woodley has proved herself to be a phenomenal actress outside of The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She gives another human and heartbreaking performance that deserved a nomination. I question why the Academy did not nominate her for this award, and this is one of this year's criminally snubbed performances.

Best Animated Feature:
A Cat in Paris*
Chico & Rita*
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots*
Rango


Who Should Win: Rango. This is the most unique, hilarious and daring animated films I have seen in a while. It's not afraid to be different and the animation is top quality here.

Who Will Win: Rango. This is also the best animated film of 2011 and it is a lock for the award. The Academy loves well animated films, as well as animated films that appeal to both children and adults. I feel since this is a Pixar-less year, Rango has the best chance.

Snubbed: Winnie the Pooh. Disney has produced one of the most nostalgic, beautiful and heartwarming animated films of 2011. I am shocked that the Academy didn't nominate this award based on the nostalgia value it brings. Not to mention, the 2D animation is quite refreshing and it is one of my favorite animated films of 2011, second to Rango.

Hope everyone enjoyed my predictions! Check out tonight's show to see if my seven predictions were correct. Comment if you want my input for another category or to put up your predictions!

Safe House Review

Plot Summary:
Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is a young CIA agent in charge of guarding notorious fugitive Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) in a safe house in Cape Town, South Africa. When the safe house is attacked, they both find themselves on the run.

The Positives:
Safe House is one of those types of action films that Hollywood likes to release every so often. Saying that, the action scenes have to work. And they do here, they're not original or do not do anything new, but for typical action scenes they are edited very well and are cool to watch.

Another thing this film does well at is the performances of the two leads. Denzel Washington is great with all that he is given here, he easily gives a suspenseful, captivating performance that is intriguing to watch until the end. Ryan Reynolds also gives a good performance here, he plays an action hero very well. It's a typical Ryan Reynolds performance, a good one, but if he was given a stronger script, I know he would have given a better performance.

One thing I really enjoyed here is the South African cinematography. I liked how they shot on location and utilized all of the tourist attractions in the area very well. Certain places in South Africa also added certain moods to the action sequences that would have been completely different if shot in America.

The Negatives:
One huge issue I had with this film was the fact that several times throughout the film it tried to be something it's not rather than a standard action film. Towards the end it tries to be a psychological thriller with a huge twist. In my opinion, the twist felt awkward and unnecessary, I feel it could have done better without it. I feel also that the film tries to be artsy at points, based on the use of editing and cinematography in certain scenes. Again, the art elements feel unnecessary and at times, felt weird to watch.

Another big issue I had was with the script. Other than the two leads, the other characters aren't given a lot of screen time and enough time to develop, which makes these characters uninteresting and not worth caring about. The dialogue here also is extremely cliche and dull, which makes the slow scenes boring. The film also follows the standard action movie plot for the most part, although at times it tries to be different, it fails at that and really nothing new is offered here.

Conclusion:
Safe House has great performances from its two leads and cool action sequences, but it is somewhat wasted by a weak script and consistently trying to be something it isn't. As entertaining action movies go, it's worth a rental at best.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Review

Plot Summary:
Still struggling with being the Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) is hiding in Eastern Europe. One day, a priest named Moreau (Idris Elba) from a secret church asks him to protect a boy from being the next anti-Christ. In exchange for doing this, Johnny could get rid of the Ghost Rider curse that has changed his life.

The Positives:
While this film is far from great, it still has some redeeming qualities. I was impressed with the CGI in this film. I really liked the new look of the Ghost Rider, it looked like a burning skull rather than a cartoony skull on fire. I feel they made it look realistic rather than goofy for a change.

I was also very impressed with the action scenes in this film. You can't expect less from the directors of the "Crank" movies. The first film lacked action scenes, but here there were plenty and they are definitely worth the ticket price alone. The camera movements and the fast-paced editing make these action scenes crazier and cooler than any other action film in a while.

As I said before, this is no means a great film, but it was still entertaining for the most part. If you enjoy the YouTube videos watching Nicolas Cage act like an idiot or act badly, then this is worth your time. Cage gives such a terrible performance here that it is absolutely hilarious to watch. Other than Cage, this film is full of unintentional humor. Although it wasn't needed, I feel without it, this film would not be as entertaining as it was.

The Negatives:
I was personally very disappointed with this film. I expected this film to be a great Marvel reboot similar to The Incredible Hulk and X-Men: First Class. Instead we get a stupid, trashy action film with hardly any character development and a confusing story. Most would think with a film with a plot like this, it would be a simple B-Movie. Instead, it jumps from scene to scene and plot point to plot point, making this film more confusing than it needs to be.

As I mentioned before, Cage gives a terrible performance here, but it's at least enjoyable to watch. The rest of the cast, on the other hand, is absolutely atrocious. I expect better acting from most of these people like Idris Elba and Ciaran Hinds. These actors are wasted in this film and deserve better work than this.

The script itself is the main cause to the problems I mentioned earlier. This is the same writer who brought us The Dark Knight and Batman Begins. I expected a strong and intelligent script from this guy. Instead, this is a lazily done script, one that could have been re-edited if it was looked at. I feel if this was a stronger script, this would be a far better movie.

Conclusion:
While miles better than the first film, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is still a disappointment. I expected a lot better from both the directors and writer behind it. However, the action scenes and the unintentional humor make this bad film enjoyable to watch. So, I guess you could easily say that this film is so bad that it is good.

Rating: 4 out of 10

Chronicle Review

Plot Summary:
One night, three high school students (Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan and Alex Russell) make an unusual discovery. This discovery leads them to suddenly gaining superpowers. As they learn how to control their powers, the dark side takes over one of the boys.

The Positives:
The found footage genre is a very popular sub genre in our generation. The most common found footage films are found in the horror genre. This film does it differently, it does the superhero genre this time around. In fact, I think it might be the best in the found footage sub genre.

The main thing I feel they really succeeded here is how they handled the characters. Like some superhero and found footage films, the characters are usually one-dimensional and there's not a lot of time to develop the characters. Within this film's short 83 minute running time, they develop these characters and make the audience care for them. The character Andrew is an example here, he has a terrible life with nothing going for him. Once he becomes hungry with power, his transformation to the villain is both heartbreaking and sympathetic, since he finally is fighting back. The writer, Max Landis, does a really smart job on handling these characters. He makes them more human to keep this story rolling.

I thought that the performances were really fantastic in this film. For unknowns and minor TV stars, these kids really know how to act. Dane DeHaan's performance as Andrew is brilliant, he portrays a lonely, troubled boy very well. I also was pleased with Michael B. Jordan as Steve, he is the humor of this film, he steals the show. Alex Russell plays Matt very well too, he plays the popular kid who wants to do good naturally. Overall, I see these actors going far after this film.

I also enjoyed how they utilized the found footage here. Most found footage have the issue of "shaky-cam", Chronicle lacks this issue. The camera is held carefully, and shows the action effectively without shaking the camera to show the impact. One really cool thing they do with the camera is make it float or fly in the sky with our characters. There is a lot of opportunity to do some unique camera angles and this film does not fail at showing these angles.

I was very pleased at the direction of this film. Instead of taking the action-packed approach most superhero films take, they go with a dark and realistic approach which I really enjoyed. Also, I love how director Josh Trank handles action scenes here, in particular the ending. The multiple camera angles, the way the characters fight, the whole ending in general: it just made me so nervous watching it, since we have learned to care for the characters here. This is probably one of the most suspenseful endings in recent memory right here. I honestly hope Fox still considers Trank to direct the Fantastic Four reboot, it shows he has the style to create massive action sequences on a small budget and the intelligence to create this story.

The Negatives:
While the found footage worked for this film, I felt in some scenes that it could have been better without the style. The ending for example, while it is suspenseful for all of the elements in it, I felt it would have been cooler to watch as a regular film. In fact, I kind of wish the film was in 3D, found footage or not. Some of the scenes would have handled the 3D experience very well, but I'm personally glad Trank did not use that format.

Conclusion:
Chronicle is the best "found-footage" film since Cloverfield. Packed with a smart story, well-developed characters and great performances, I don't think any other film from this sub genre can beat it. This is a "found-footage" film I hope to see sequels for.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10