Let’s start with just talking about The Help as a movie. It translated well to screen, adapted from Kathryn Stockett’s wildly popular book by writer/direcotr Tate Taylor (Pretty Ugly People). I wasn’t a huge fan of the book—not only did it not live up to the hype but I found it kind of offensive—but the movie was a more enjoyable experience to me. This story definitely worked better with the benefit of a top-notch cast. Like X-Men: First Class before it, The Help is a study in how good actors can elevate mediocre material. The Help is about twenty minutes too long and parts of it drag, giving it some awkward pacing issues. The movie worked better and was more interesting when it focused on the home lives of Aibilene (Viola Davis, Doubt, in a performance sure to be in the mix come Oscar season) and Minnie (Octavia Spencer, Peep World, in a breakout role). I could’ve used more Aibilene and Minnie at home and less Skeeter going on dates.Continue reading “Talking about The Help is going to be complicated”
Category Archives: Reviews
They’re wrong about Rise of the Planet of the Apes
That is a lot of prepositional phrases for one title. Makes it awkward to say. From here on out, we’re calling it Apes, which should have been the title of the movie. Because it was only about the apes. Apes received an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Avatar registered at 83%. This is an important correlation because it says that everyone liked Apes and Avatar and I did not. I am in the minority on this. I know I am. I know you will all be like, “Oh, I loved Apes!” And I’ll go, “Good for you—you’re wrong, too” I disliked Apes for the same reason that I disliked Avatar, which is chiefly…
SPECIAL EFFECTS ARE NOT A MOVIE.Continue reading “They’re wrong about Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Crazy Stupid Lovjkanhfkjasnflkzvn
I used to have this conversation about Ryan Gosling’s voluntary withdrawal from acting when The Gos was on his “break”, diddling around with a band (the unbearably hipster but not half-bad Dead Man’s Bones), and people were like, “Has he abandoned us? Were we not enough? Why isn’t he calling? He said he would call! WHY DOESN’T HE LOVE US ANYMORE?” You could feel the desperation whenever he came up in a conversation during this time. Hollywood was afraid that Ryan Gosling, arguably one of the greatest talents under forty, didn’t want it anymore. Also during this time, on the waning end of his break, right before he emerged from his fortress of solitude, I saw The Gos for myself.Continue reading “Crazy Stupid Lovjkanhfkjasnflkzvn”
Attack the Block: Worth it, find it, see it
Following the summer trend of 1980’s throwbacks like Super 8 and Captain America, British sci-fi/comedy Attack the Block serves up a creature-feature that echoes back to movies like Gremlins and Critters. Where Super 8 was all wide-eyed innocence, Attack the Block is darker, grittier, and much more grown-up. I can’t say this enough—I FUCKING LOVE THIS MOVIE. I’m a huge fan of Edgar Wright’s genre parodies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and Attack the Block works in a similar vein (Wright was an executive producer on the project).Continue reading “Attack the Block: Worth it, find it, see it”
Storytelling 101: Why Captain America works
If you’ve been following me here or on LaineyGossip for the last year, you know that I’ve been nervous for Captain America. Nervous because Marvel’s plan is so ambitious that I want to see it work just to see what happens, and nervous because I like Chris Evans, generally (lately he’s been revolting, though), and I want him to break out like he’s been trying to do for ages. And if you’ve been following along you also know that my initial skepticism about Captain America: The First Avenger began morphing into cautious optimism earlier this year. I even thought it would end up the winner amongst the four superhero movies this summer, and if the weekend estimate holds, it will indeed be the big winner.Continue reading “Storytelling 101: Why Captain America works”
The end of the end of Harry Potter
It was a long time coming. First the book, then through part 1—we’ve had years to say goodbye to Harry Potter. And yet, I wasn’t ready. Walking into the theater, I got really sad. I was eighteen and a college freshman when I started my time at Hogwarts. I’m twenty-eight and an adult now. I shouldn’t be maudlin over a young adult series, yet I am. I generally don’t have a hard time leaving behind the places a good book creates inside oneself, but I never wanted to leave Hogwarts. Of all the literary worlds I’ve read about or imagined, the only one I would actually want to live in is the world of Harry Potter. Please. Like we all wouldn’t want to be there. So yes, I was choked up going into the theater and only half-ready to say goodbye.Continue reading “The end of the end of Harry Potter”
Horrible Bosses is a group hug for anyone who’s suffered under a bad boss
Which, I assume, is most of us. Right off the top, let’s get this out of the way. Horrible Bosses is not ground-breaking comedy. It’s definitely not ground-breaking filmmaking. If you’re looking for a comedy that colors outside the lines, check out Four Lions, if you want one that uses non-traditional filmmaking techniques, go see The Trip. I don’t think American comedy is hopeless—far, far from it—but I do think the best comics aren’t getting their scripts produced. Horrible Bosses could’ve gone so much further, been so much darker, pushed into truly unleashed comic territory, but at the end of the day it’s a product to be sold on the mass market which means pleasing the masses. So it’s got baby teeth where it could’ve had fangs.Continue reading “Horrible Bosses is a group hug for anyone who’s suffered under a bad boss”
Cinesnark 