Category: Home Video

The Way Way Back is an independent movie released by Fox Searchlight Pictures in 2013.  It was written and directed by the Academy Award winning duo Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (Community) (they won for The Descendants by the way).  This movie continues their winning ways.  They know how to write touching and funny characters.

The story is about Duncan (Liam James) a teenage boy on vacation with his mother (Toni Collette) and her jerky boyfriend (Steve Carell) Trent.  He is having a hard time dealing with the divorce and his mother dating, and to make matters worse Trent is critical of Duncan’s every move.  As luck would have it Duncan meets Owen (Sam Rockwell) a local waterslide owner who takes Duncan under his wing.

The writing is very good in this film.  Faxon and Rash are proving to be a power writing couple.  The dialog is sharp and witty, and it gives the actors the ability to act to their full potential.  Even though if you think back and look at the story it seems a bit contrived, when you are watching it all play out it is engrossing.

The actors are all great.  I love Sam Rockwell, and he once again shows why he is one of my favorite actors.  He is able to play the loveable looser Owen so well in this movie that I want to hang out with him and work at the waterslides for the summer.  Steve Carell’s Trent is a complete jerk in this movie, and you will hate him by the end of this film.  He never slides back in to lovable dork Michael Scott from The Office.  Liam James as Duncan is a believable teen in crisis.  You just want to give him a hug the whole film.

This was a great film to watch.  It makes you both love and hate the characters in it.  If there was ever a doubt about Faxon and Rash’s talent, they have squashed it.  I can’t wait to see what they do next.  Until then you should check out The Way Way Back!

 

We Are The Millers was a surprise hit in 2013, proving the bankability of a funny concept and a likable cast.  The film was released by Warner Bros and New Line Cinema, and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (DodgeBall).  While the film wasn’t wonderful, it was a funny way to spend an hour and fifty minutes.

The story follows David Clark (Jason Sudeikis), a down on his luck pot dealer, as he convinces a band of misfits to pretend to be his family while he smuggles weed in to the country from Mexico.  His “family” includes Kenny (Will Poulter) a lonely kid in his apartment building, Casey (Emma Roberts) a homeless girl from across the street, and last but not least Rose O’Reilly (Jennifer Aniston) a broke stripper.

This movie progresses predictably.  They all start off hating each other, but soon they start to enjoy the idea of being a family.  It is lazy writing, and it causes the film to drag in parts.  Still even with its obvious plot, the cast has talent and chemistry, so it is easy to watch.

Jason Sudeikis and Will Poulter (Also in the excellent ‘Son of Rambow’) really stand out for me in this movie.  Poulter plays the sweet kid who just wants to be with people so well that you just want to hug him, and Sudeikis looks like he is always just about to loose it, but with a smile on his face.  Seemingly channeling Chevy Chase from the National Lampoon films.  Aniston and Roberts are also quite good, but the boys steal the show.

We are the Millers is not going to be added to my favorite films list any time soon, but it is a kind of funny movie with a great cast.  I enjoyed myself, and there are much worse flicks out there.  If they make a sequel, I hope they tighten up the script.

 

Gravity was one of my favorite films from last year, so I was thrilled to get the Blu-ray from my wife as a birthday present.  My thoughts on the movie haven’t changed much since I saw it last year, but I am still going to give my review of the disk, and the difference between the small and big screens.

Sadly this movie isn’t quite as awe-inspiring on a TV as it is in the theaters.  I have a fairly large TV (60″), but it just can’t compare to the feeling of having space seem to wrap around you like it did at the cinema.  That being said, it is still a great movie, and exciting to watch.  If you missed it in theaters, you still need to watch it now.  Just know that you missed something special by skipping the theater last year.

The transfer on the disk is flawless, I didn’t see any grain or screen particles whatsoever.  The sound is equally well done.  While you should use Speed Racer to test the color of your TV, you will want to use Gravity to test your black levels.  If the darkness seems gray to you, you need to adjust your set or get a new one because this movie has really deep and true blacks.

The Blu-ray set has a decent making of so you can see how Alfonso Cuarón made space come to life.  It is worth watching at least once, but the movie is the true star here.

If you missed Gravity in theaters, I feel sorry for you, but you should still watch this excellent film at home, or at whoever’s house you know that has biggest TV.  Just tell them that you will bring the movie and the pop-corn.  I am sure that they will be glad you shared this wonderful movie with them.

It is believed in Hollywood that movies headlining women can’t make much money, but Frozen and The Heat have done their best to disprove that misconception.  The Heat came out in June of 2013 from 20th Century Fox, and is your typical foul mouthed buddy cop movie, but the twist is that it stars two women.  Not just any women, but Oscar winner Sandra Bullock, and comedy “it girl” Melissa McCarthy.  They were a blast to watch in this movie.

The plot is pretty much the same as any other buddy cop movie:  Straight laced by the book FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) has to work with a foul mouthed slob of a local Detective, Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy).  Together they have to take down a high profile and mysterious Boston drug lord.

Despite the fact that this movie has been made like 3,564,456 times, the writers pack enough jokes and action in the movie that you will be too entertained to care.  They really went all out with this movie, and didn’t treat it like just another generic buddy cop flick.

The two leads are fabulous in this movie.  They play off each other perfectly.  Whoever had the idea to put these two together, I hope is rolling around in all the money this movie made because they deserve it.  There is not a scene that doesn’t have a laugh or twelve.  Bullock and McCarthy know how to be funny, and they really know how to be funny together.  I could see The Heat becoming the next Lethal Weapon franchise.

I think you can tell that I liked this movie.  Like all comedies, not all of its jokes land, but there are so many of them, and so many good ones that it more than makes up for the couple duds.  I know Bullock has had trouble with sequels in the past (Speed 2, Miss Congeniality 2), but I would love to see more Heat movies.

The Great Gatsby is a 2013 film released by Warner Brothers Pictures, and directed by Baz Luhrmann.  It was a major hit for the studio, and it was Luhrmann’s most successful film to date.  There is no doubt after watching this movie that Luhrmann has a gift for visual flare, but he may need to work on his dramatic direction a bit more.

If you have somehow missed the classic 1925 novel’s plot that this film is based on, I will bring you up to speed.  The film follows Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) after he moves in next door to Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio).  A man known for throwing the greatest parties in all of New York City.  Gatsby has a thing for Carraway’s cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) who is married to an unfaithful jerk Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton).  They all drink and party a lot, and no one is happy.

This story works well as a book because it is really short; however, it is hard to watch in this film because it is really long.  I Think I could have read the book in less time then it took to watch this movie.  If they had shortened this film up by at least a half hour it would have made a world of difference.

The movie still has its moments because of the amazing spectacle that is the first half of this film.  Luhrmann brings 1920’s New York to life in glorious fashion.  Crazy parties, fast cars, great fashion, and then he mixes it all together with a hip and current sound track.  When all of this is going on it reminds us that film is a visual art, and that there is nothing wrong with a grand visual feast.  Sadly the second half of the film abandons all that and deals with the drama of the story.

This leaves the very talented cast, who were playing larger than life characters to match the pomp and circumstance of the first part of the film, out to dry.  Since now they have to try and shift gears and try to act in a character drama.  It doesn’t jive, and the editors should have taken a hatchet to most of it.

If you like the 1920’s, or crazy visual effects this movie is still worth watching.  It just looks cool.  It is a shame that it comes to such screeching halt in the second half.