Tag: reviews

entertainment, film

The Limits of Control- review

Becca
The Limits of Control Speaks to a Limited Audience 
By Rebecca Ford

Socal.com

The Limits of Control is not a film for the masses. Many will not grasp onto director Jim Jarmusch’s affinity for the laconic. The shots held for a ridiculously long time, the outlandish characters who speak of intangible subjects and the overall sterility of this film are a deadly cocktail to those raised in a fast-moving, ADD society.

But that doesn’t mean Control isn’t a good film. Jarmusch, who brought us 2003’s Coffee and Cigarettes and 2005’s Broken Flowers, has always been known for being cooler than the rest, hipper than most and, maybe, smarter than all of us. In a film world saturated by Hollywood’s formulaic happy endings, Jarmusch is the kink in the machine.

The story of Control follows a lone stranger, played by Isaach De Bankolé, as he travels through Spain on some sort of mission. Along the way, he exchanges secret messages and matchboxes with eccentric characters.

What gets frustrating as time goes on is that audiences learn very little about the leading man. We don’t know much about his mission, or why he’s doing it, or even if he gets paid. We do know that he wears the same suit for several days, he orders two cups of espresso but only drinks one and he spends his free time at art galleries.

The overall feeling of the film is actually very similar to walking through an art gallery. You stare at a painting for a while, think, “Oh, that’s nice,” and then move on to the next. You can’t touch the art, and no matter how hard you try, you can never really feel one with it. It’s just a nice scene to look at before moving on to the next… See the rest at socal.com

entertainment, film

DVD review: Seven Pounds

Becca

The trailers for Seven Pounds before its release in theaters last December were purposefully vague and mysterious. The main character, Ben Thomas (Will Smith), has a secret, and that’s about all viewers get. He runs in the rain, meets a beautiful woman (Rosario Dawson) and somehow has the ability to change people’s lives.

If you didn’t see the film in theaters, you may still not know what the secret is all about. And you won’t when you watch Seven Pounds on DVD, either—at least not for an hour and a half…
See the review at socal.com

film

“Sunshine Cleaning” review

Becca

sunshine-cleaning-film-karesi

By Rebecca Ford

When I was in college, I went home one weekend to my parents’ house. My parents were away for the night, and my younger sister who was in high school at the time asked if she could have a few friends over. A few friends turned into a drunken high school party, where one kid threw up in the sink and clogged the disposal, and my sister passed out on her bedroom floor. Needless to say, I was left alone to clean up the mess till six in the morning.

I didn’t speak to my sister for a week after that. It was maybe the angriest I’ve ever been at her.

But that doesn’t matter because when it’s your sister, you get over it. No matter what, there’s this unspoken bond between two girls who lived through a childhood together.

That’s the bottom line with Sunshine Cleaning,” the new film starring Amy Adams andEmily Blunt. They play two grown-up sisters, struggling to make ends meet and overcome their mother’s suicide. When Rose (Adams) can’t pay for her son’s private school, she opens a crime scene cleaning company with her younger sister, Hannah (Blunt).

Much like my own sibling, Norah is young and rebellious. She’s tattooed, irreverent and lacks in direction. Her older sister, Rose, is the responsible one, who is raising a kid alone.

Sunshine Cleaning, brought to you by the producers of the lovable “Little Miss Sunshine” , has the same optimistic-in-the-face-of-sadness feel to it, finding the beauty in life—and death. It’s similar to the 2006 hit (Alan Arkin reappears, and the story is again based in Albuquerque), but not quite at the same high level of thoughtfulness.

Still, Sunshine is, well, a beam of sunlight in what’s been a dreary, sad movie season of late. Even while approaching a topic as sad as death, the film is able to reflect the beauty and promise in life and human kindness.

Death is one topic that really gets examined in a great way here. The sisters, still dealing with their mother’s suicide from when they were kids, see death in all forms, and—more importantly—the effect it has on the people left behind.

The chemistry between Adams, Blunt and Arkin is what makes this movie soar. Their comedic timing and expression sets off laughter at just the right time. All three, however, smoothly embody the sadness that comes with losing a loved one.

Because the acting is stellar, it assists in masking the fact that their characters are lacking in some development. Sure, we learn that Rose was a popular high school cheerleader who is sleeping with a married man and has some self-esteem issues now. But last time I checked, I didn’t like those types of girls in high school, and I’m damn glad that they peaked when they were mentally bullying around the less popular and parading down the halls in their cheerleading outfits. How are we supposed to root …

See the rest here.

entertainment, film

‘He’s Just Not That Into You’ review

Becca

hes9

 

By Rebecca Ford

A week ago, I was perusing the bookshelves at my local dollar bookstore, when I noticed it. There, next to a Hillary Clinton biography, it sat screaming at me with its pink and green cover.

“He’s Just Not That Into You”

This instant-hit of tough love advice took the world of single, clingy, broken-hearted women by storm a few years back. It’s combination of honest-ugly truth and empowering mantra was just what women needed.

I admit I’d never read the thing, but with a screening of the new film a week away, I thought I should do some research.

While the book is clearly self-help, it’s also funny and not quite as painful as you’d think. Sure, the authors, Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, give it to you straight (some guys just won’t think you’re all that special), but they also remind you that you are worth someone thinking you are special.

Now, to the film. Based on the book, I would expect this film to be a lot of really insecure women crying over their men, and making excuses for their bad behaviors. And, sure, there is some of that.

But the movie surpasses the book on so many levels. It’s funny, and real, and imaginative all at the same time. I’m not saying it’s going to change the world any time soon, but it is a valiant effort in examining the messy dating game, and the causalities it can leave behind.

“He’s Just Not That Into You” tells the story of a group of interconnected Baltimore-based twenty- and thirty-somethings involved in all levels of the dating scene from casual dating to married.

The cast is all-star, to say the least. Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Connelly, Drew Barrymore, Kevin Connolly, Scarlett Johansson, Justin Long, Kris Kristofferson, Bradley Cooper and Ginnifer Goodwin play the main characters, and do it well. The real standouts are Goodwin, who plays Gigi, an insecure, and somewhat clingy single girl, and Bradley Cooper, who plays a married man whose eyes are straying towards Scarlett Johansson. Both of their performances are honest, and endearing, even when their characters are doing all sorts of embarrassing and hurtful things.

Perhaps the best thing about this movie is that we finally get to see how we act in the dating game. And the reflection isn’t pretty. Overanalysis, stalking, and passive aggressive behavior are just a few of the tricks that we all know too well.

The dialogue is genuinely funny, mostly because it’s so relatable. Often, it is secondary or tertiary characters who have the best lines. Each “chapter” of the movie is introduced with a random person talking straight into the camera (like the Sex and the City TV show of yore) about their troubles of the heart. These monologues are witty, creative, honest and a nice addition to the film.

There were a few problems with the film, especially with such a large cast of characters. While having so many main characters was important to exploring all the different types of relationships, it also meant that you had to keep straight how all these people knew each other.

Also, because—by movie magic—all of these characters are somehow connected, it begins to feel a little incestual. Really, when I thought about it, I realized there were a set of best friends, that through a chain of five hookups, had been passing around the same germs, but never realize it.

Finally, the movie can’t help but slip into the Hollywood happy endings for some of the characters. After spending two hours trying to tell us that the kind of love you see in movies is “the exception,” while most of us are just “the rule” in real life, it feels like a cop-out to give these love sick puppies their own happy endings.

But I can’t help but notice that those are the moments everyone loves. It feels so good to watch things end happily ever after, even if we know that’s not how it really works. It’s a lot like how I feel about this movie actually: You know it’s wrong to love it, but it just feels so right.

Rating: B+

………See the whole article at The Cinema Source

film

‘Cadillac Records’ Review

Becca

Beyonce Knowles as Etta James
Beyonce Knowles as Etta James

by Rebecca Ford- Los Angeles Film Examiner

 

 

 

 

The blues are back. 

 

 

The songs will sound familiar to many—Etta James’ “At Last,” Chuck Berry’s, “Maybellene,” and Muddy Waters’ “I’m a Man.” The faces are new.

Instead of making a film about any one of these pioneers of music, “Cadillac Records” is about the place they all crashed into each other—Chess Records.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Chess records, run by Polish emigre Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), became to epicenter of the future of music. The foundation for the blues, country and rock ‘n’ roll was laid—brick by brick—in those studios. “Cadillac Records” chronicles the rise of Chess records and the tumultuous lives of the musicians who called it home.

Like the Cadillacs the musicians and Chess pine after, the film is beautiful and shiny on the outside. The songs are memorable and the singers croon with the best of them. But cramming the entire history of the forefathers of modern music into 109 minutes makes the film seem rushed, and lacking in the rich details that probably filled those days….

 

see the rest here.

entertainment, film

Vicky Christina Barcelona- Review

Becca

When the closing credits rolled after Vicky Christina Barcelona, a man in the row behind me exclaimed,

“Gimme a break! I want a story. Come on Woody, I want a story.”

While I doubt the portly man knew Woody (Allen), he seemed to know even less about his films. His newest endeavor, starring Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, and Javier Bardem, has the signature Woody moves– love triangles and trysts and quirky characters. Moreover, everything and nothing happens at the same time.

The story begins in the beautiful, romantic, whimsical city of Barcelona, where two American tourists have come to live for the summer. The analytical and pragmatic Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and her best friend, the unpredictable Christina (Johansson) could not be more different. They meet Juan Antonio (Bardem), a local artist, who invites them for a weekend trip of sight-seeing and love-making. There, they learn of Juan Antonio’s ex-wife (Cruz), a passionate, yet volatile woman who’s not afraid to use knives and guns.

While there are plenty of good, solid actors in this film, Cruz shines. Her character is both crazy and lovable, beautiful and complete mess. She seems most comfortable in her native language, which soars through the film like a bat out of a hell.

I’ve been to Barcelona a few times in my life. It really is a city of possibility, and Woody brings that to the highest level. Sure, a complete stranger will fly you to a small, romantic town and then sweep you off your feet and in to bed. Sure, his crazy ex-wife will teach you to photograph like you never have before. Sure. With a background of Gaudi design and the bustling of a beautiful city, how could it not happen?

Woody Allen’s films often transcend the need for an epic ending, for a life-shattering turn of events. Sometimes, crazy stuff happens, and then other stuff happens. For the man in the audience, that wasn’t enough. But sometimes, that’s all there is.

film

Mamma Mia!

Becca

I’ve always wanted my life to be a musical. For my friends and lover to break out into song during emotional moments of my rollercoaster life would make it all the better. And in musicals, all that messy stuff always works itself out right before the ending.

So when MAMMA MIA came out as a movie, I was pumped. 70’s ABBA music? Meryl Streep? Colin Firth? Greece? How could this be anything but AWESOME?

I discovered that I could never hate a musical. The singing always lifts my spirit, no matter how ridiculous. I’ve seen the live musical, and I loved it. The film could never live up to that, but it does have its own benefits.

If you’ve never heard the story before, it’s about Sophie (played by Amanda Seyfried–who CAN sing) who is about to get married, and wants her father to walk her down the aisle. The only problem is that she is not sure who her daddy is because her mom (Meryl Streep–whose amazing acting masks the fact that she can’t sing) slept with three different men around the time of Sophie’s conception. So, Sophie invites the three men (Colin Firth–who can sort of sing; Stellan Skarsgard–who doesn’t sing; and Peirce Brosnan–who should NOT be allowed to sing) to her wedding in order to find out who really is her father.

 While the singing is obviously not up to par with the musical, the scenery makes up for it. Shot in Greece, the cliffs and water and beaches are breathtaking. The camera work takes full advantage of the picturesque locations.

I’m glad I saw it. Heck, I’d even buy it because it makes me feel that good. Life (and film) really is better in song.

Men at Sea
Men at Sea
film

Lars and the Real Girl- Review

Becca

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a film, and I am going through withdrawals, so I thought I’d whip out my thoughts on my latest viewing, Lars and the Real Girl.

Lars

I remember hearing about this movie when it was out in theaters back in October, and again when it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay, but I somehow missed it. So, Netflix provided me with yet another reason to love those little red envelopes of love (sidenote: did you know red envelopes are also a traditional way to give money in Chinese culture?)– a second chance.

When explaining the plot of the movie as “a guy who has a life-size  doll as his girlfriend,” it’s pretty easy to assume it is a cheesy, low-blow joke movie of the “Dumb and Dumber” genre. But that is far from the case. “Lars and the Real Girl” is so great because while it runs the risk of being over the top, the writer succeeds in making a beautiful, sweet film instead. That’s talent.

Ryan Gosling plays Lars, who lives in the garage of the house he shares with his brother and pregnant sister-in-law. He’s a little odd- anti-social and maybe obsessive compulsive. He hates to be touched, and isn’t the most social guy. But then he gets a girlfriend, sort of.

Gosling is one of the few actors who could have really made this role sing. He’s endearing in a deer-in-headlights sort of way. It’s perfect for Lars.

The magic of this movie is the way an entire universe is created. Where a town loves Lars so much that they go along with his delusion. And learn something along the way. It’s a really smart film.

At times, the interactions with the doll reminded me of when I was a kid and barbies had their own world. I really believed they were real, for a while. And maybe that’s why this film is so great. We are right back where we were when we were six- anything’s possible.