Buried

I promise this will be short; much like this film.

Well, like this film should have been.

I get it; Ryan Reynolds is trapped underground and its terrifying. I was incredibly uncomfortable during the movie; it was that intense style of film making that really makes you feel like you are in the space with him. However, I felt as though the plot lacked a serious amount of action, and it didn't follow the rise and fall of action normally associated with a story. It was more a series of events strung together while hot-boy Reynolds is suffocating to death. Don't watch this, sorry Ryan.

The Beaver

Okay. I think Mel Gibson is a hot mess who would seriously benefit from some therapy and maybe a good shopping session. It would seem as though his crazy has infiltrated his acting, leading him to choose bananas roles.

Thus, "The Beaver" was born. Gibson is the main character, a once successful business man who's life spirals out of control leaving him empty. He finds a busted old beaver puppet in the garbage and decides to use it as an alternative form of therapy. Now, as strange as it sounds, for like the first 50 minutes I thought this was cute. The beaver allowed him to rejuvenate himself, approach people with a different attitude, and get his family back together.

But then, all hell breaks lose. The beaver quickly turns to a horror film style plot line, and by the end my only response was "uhhhh, what?". I would say rent this if you want to watch the weirdness that is Mel Gibson currently, but other than that it is just going to make you have weird thoughts and worry about the sanity of people.
Really a very strange story.

Whoops.

So sorry about that whole "disappear for several months" thing. My bad.

Good news is, I've kept up with the stats and, as I expected, no one missed my movie updates. It happens. Main thing to keep in mind is that this is my personal log of movies I've seen, so no biggie if no one reads. I've been at the movie blog for 2 years now, and I have a ton of backlogged reviews to share! Since I've been blessed with a quiet Thursday morning, let's get cracking!

Just kidding. In retrospect, I really like the blog with the movie title in the top so....here goes!

Crazy Stupid Love

Apparently I'm the only crazy stupid person who had yet to see this movie! And, after watching it, I understand why!

I loved it! It was funny, quirky, sweet, and entertaining! AND OMG RYAN GOSLING. Such an attractive human being. I thought the acting and the writing in the movie was great, and there is a twist towards the end that made it even better! I loved the idea of Ryan Gosling helping Steve Carell get his groove back! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a cute lighthearted movie, with some laughs and a sweet story line as well! Also, to anyone who likes to look at the beauty that is Ryan Gosling.

Steve Carell's character has a wife (Julianne Moore) who asks for a divorce, and goes on to separate from her while realizing that his life sort of sucks. Ryan Gosling takes him under his wing, and teaches him how to get his spark back. In this process, it turns out everyone else around him is in some sort of love. Everyone has their own plight and issues, all surrounding the "heart" of the matter. It was clever and fun, and I enjoyed it!

The Devil's Double

I should preface this post with some information about movie-going in the United Kingdom versus the United States. I will never ever complain about the cost of seeing a movie in the US ever again. Today I wanted to go see Titanic in 3D until I realised that the US dollar equivalent of my ticket would be $35 dollars. No thanks. However, I have gotten a netflix type subscription service, so I can keep up on watching movies!

Today's pick was a lesser known flick called "The Devil's Double" a based-on-a-true-story drama about Uday Hussein, Sadam Hussein's lunatic son. The man is a complete nymphomaniac lunatic, and the story tells about his hiring of a double (like his father) and how that man, Latif, worked as Uday's double. It was a very hard story to comprehend, and there is no way to know how much if it was dramatised and played up for the sake of drama, but it was no doubt insane. Uday rapes and murders people all over Baghdad, and seems to have little concept of morality or consequences. I was definitely intrigued by the story and incredibly impressed by Dominic Cooper, the actor who played both Latif and Uday.

I would recommend this if you have interest in the story, but be warned it is an intense and graphic film. The good news is that there seems to be some amount of closure and consequence in the end, but it no doubt left you feeling as though maybe the fall of the Hussein empire wasn't a bad thing.

21 Jump Street

Oh dear. This movie was hilarious. It was everything I was hoping for, and made me smile from ear to ear. I'm obsessed with Jonah Hill and it totally solidified my obsession. I think it was also funnier because I was in a theatre full of British people watching a movie about American High School, and I could only hope that they were convinced that's how all of high school is in America.

The story really was funny, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are brand new cops that have to go undercover as high school students and attempt to infiltrate a drug ring. It was a good mix of laugh out loud slapstick stuff, some emotion, some making fun of the fact Jonah Hill is small, and some dramatic sequences. I really did like it, and I think there will be great quotables. If you liked the hangover, and superbad, and wedding crashers then you will like this movie. Definitely recommend it, one lonely set of thumbs way up!
Oh! And Rob Riggle is an important character, which makes it even better!!

Carnage

There isn't much to say about this film, except that I still don't quite understand it. It was the first movie I've seen in London, and I'm quickly learning that British critics don't share the same sense of humor I do.

Carnage is based off a play of the same name, and apparently the play is hilarious. I think this movie would have been funnier to me if I was married and had kids. It has an all star cast; Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Christoph Waltz, and Kate Winslet. The acting was incredible, and I really did enjoy the story but I just didn't get the uproarious laughter I thought I would. Its quite short, only a little over an hour, but it was good. Just not hilarious. Rent it, if you feel like it. Meh.

New Releases! Ides, Paris, and Rum.

3 new releases are up today for review thanks to the power of redbox and comcast for some lovely "free ondemand" coupons! I missed all three of these while they were in theaters, and it made me quite sad! Turns out I missed two good ones, and one terrible one. I'm glad it cost me $1.30 instead of $7.75 to learn this though.

"The Ides of March" (2011) features my favorites Ryan Gosling and Paul Giamatti....and that sucker Clooney, but he is so irrelevant these days. Essentially a political thrill-drama, Gosling is an up and coming media mind working for Clooney's campaign. After a few twists and turns Gosling sort of loses it and plays dirty to eventually get what he wants. Giamatti is the campaign manager for the opposing candidate and sadly doesn't play that large of a role, in regards to screen time. I thought the acting was phenomenal, on my two G's (no pun) part. Clooney doesn't act as far as I'm concerned, he just smiles and recites lines. But whatever, he did a fine job as well. This movie left me sad and in awe, and kinda of critical of the political game especially during primary season. I liked it. I would definitely recommend it.

"Midnight in Paris" (2011) Let me say this first: after Owen Wilson's suicide scare I was really concerned he would never work again, and that saddened me because I really like him. Never fear! He is back! And with an incredibly successful effort I must add! So there isn't much explaining to do on the plot, without giving away the whole story but be clear: it is a wonderful story! Who wouldn't be just enthralled with the idea of Paris in the 1920s? It sounds incredible! The music, the fashion, the art, the parties all tres magnific! I loved the presence of incredibly famous icons woven into the story line and the way in which Gil (Wilson) reacts to them. The idea that the grass is always greener is so so prevalent, and it really does make you think. The images of Paris are absolutely stunning and make you love the city so very much (even for someone like me, who doesn't really like the city at all) and the music is lovely! Absolutely lovely! It was so quintessentially French that you had to love it; it brought to light all the things people love about Paris and nothing that people hate. It was a lovely film.

"The Rum Diary" (2011)

Dear Johhny Depp,

The record now shows that I have sat through two incredibly slow films in which you starred only to be incredibly disappointed. For future reference, the audience doesn't believe that you are poor, bumbling, unable to snatch away a woman, awkward, or otherwise incapable of being a sex god. Please stop picking those roles. Its just plain annoying.

Sincerely,

Anna

This movie had so much promise. The trailer looked so good. Instead it was a 1960 political statement on injustice between rich and poor in Puerto Rico and Depp's sadsack effort to try and do something. I was utterly unimpressed and bored. The characters were incredibly strange and undeveloped and I really didn't enjoy any of the acting. The only redeeming quality was the beautiful images of Puerto Rico and the music. Other than that, I wasted 2 hours of my life. Don't rent this one. Seriously. Just rewatch The Hangover or Iron Man on tv. It will be better. I promise.

the machinist; and rocknrolla

Up today are two out of my Netflix Queue; which reminds me I need to find out how Netflix would work in the UK. Its always something, eh?

The Machinist (2004) stars Christian Bale as an insomniac factory worker who starts to lose it. I really mean lose it; sees imaginary people, distorts his own self image, and there's that pesky freezer that might actually be filled with blood. As usual Bale takes it to the extreme in the way he portrays a role. I find his dedication incredibly gripping and it always adds to the experience of his films. Its reported that he was very close to seriously hurting/possibly killing himself by how much weight he lost. I would definitely recommend this one; it was incredibly engrossing and kept you guessing. I loved it in a sick and twisted kind of way.

RocknRolla (2008) was insanely good. Gerard Butler is the big name in this one, but there are lots of other noted actors in it as well. Written and directed by Guy Ritchie it has his very classic retrospective storytelling feature and his same cinematic experience as the more well known Sherlock Holmes movies. The story focuses around numerous different groups of crooks and one lunatic son. It is set in London and just a fabulous twisted story. It literally had me on the edge of my seat till the end, and I never saw the plot twist coming. It was great. I love finding those films you didn't really hear about that end up being awesome.

Definitely add these two to your list and save them for a time kids aren't around.

Young Adult. (no, not me silly)

So I saw this movie a long time ago, and it made such a profound impact that I couldn't exactly put it into words. I sat down to write and couldn't get a thought out due to my obsession and willingness to gush the entire plot line.

Let me say this; Charlize Theron NOT being nominated is one of the biggest crimes of this award season. I thought she was incredible! I have no clue about her natural state, and how far a stretch this character was for her, but I loved it. I thought she was incredibly on point, and her portrayal of a 20 something with a dead end career was SPOT ON. Patton Oswalt also did an awesome job, and I think the writers deserve and incredible amount of credit as well.

Charlize Theron's character, Mavis, is a total whack job. She is delusional in her rationale, stuck in high school, and kind of a bitch. That being said; I strangely identified with her struggle. She made rash decisions in her youth, experienced extreme success and can't figure out that all of the things that used to be great are dead now. Her parent's still like her ex-husband more than her. She is totally crazy.

I thought this movie had a really interesting story to tell, and it reminded me that your small town shouldn't dictate what you do with the rest of your life. It takes a painfully awkward struggle for her to see this, and realize that regardless of the crap things that happen to her in the big city, its better than what would have been if she stayed in her small town. Her struggle to admit that she actually might be crazy brought tears to my eyes, and brought a subtle light on how we view ourselves. I loved this movie. Plain and simple.

Not everyone will, and those are the same people that are scared to venture out and do something.