Saturday, November 23, 2013

The Counselor movie review

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt
Director: Ridley Scott
Running time: 1 hour and 57 minutes
  The Counselor is a movie about a lawyer who decides to get in business with the wrong side of the law. He decides to get into the drug scene (although I'm still not sure what he would be doing exactly). But things don't go the way they were supposed to and now the Counselor is left trying to figure out how to get himself out of the, very serious, trouble he is in.
  What i will say about this movie is that it is "interesting". And what i mean by that is that because it is so extremely over the top it generated a certain fascination in me to see what's next. Every scene is more ridiculous than the previous and that kept me at the edge of my seat. I was never bored and the movie is almost two hours (so that should say something).I, also, have to say that i found the movie pretty hilarious and i don't know if i should put this on the pros or the cons column because it's not supposed to be funny. The dialogue between almost anyone in the movie is so random and tries to be so serious at the same time that it becomes comedic. It was so weird that i couldn't help but think "what the hell are they saying??". One of my favourite examples of this kind of conversation was when The Counselor was talking on the phone with Jefe, a high-ranking cartel member, and he would answer every question The Counselor asked with a very "deep"-sounding nonsense. It  was so great.Furthermore, I actually did really like one of the characters. Westray (Brad Pitt) was an interesting addition to the film even though his appearances were limited.
  The Counselor is very flawed in my opinion. First of all it's a big mess, to be honest. It has a very basic structure. The audience can definitely follow the events but the story is limited and interrupted by crazy and random scenes that are only there to shock the viewer (like the car thing or the snuff film thing). It is all over the place. The movie tries to tell a story but it ends up just showing you scenes in a chaotic way. It really bothered me and took me out of the whole thing. You don't see substance, you don't get to know anyone (not even The Counselor or his motives) and you don't care about anyone's fate in the end. It didn't feel like a real movie to me but rather a big pile of  aimless moments. Moreover,even though non of the characters is worthwhile Penelope Cruz's character is even worse. She has no purpose until the end. She is just a plot device .
  In conclusion, funny but intentionally, messy and with  a great cast that can't save the movie from being what it is. If you are really bored watch it for the ridiculousness of it. 
Score: 32%

m.
Courtesy
20th Century FOX

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Some Girl(s) movie review

Cast: Adam Brody, Jennifer Morrison, Mia Maestro, Emily Watson, Zoe Kazan, Kristen Bell
Director: Daisy von Scherler Mayer
Running time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
  The movie starts off with Adam Brody,who is never named through the film and is credited as man, in a hotel room waiting for Sam (Jrnnifer Morrison) his ex-girlfriend. And after that he waits in a hotel room for Tyler (Mia Maestro). And then Lindsay (Emily Watson). And Reggie (Zoe Kazan). And Bobbi (Kristen Bell). Adam Brody is on a "tour" to find and talk to his ex-girlfriends before he gets married. And he does. And many things happen.
  Fun little fact: the movie is based on a play by Neil LaBute that ran in both London and New York City. And the screenplay for the movie was, also, written by Neil LaBute.
SAM (Seattle). Sam is the high school sweetheart. The girl from school that Brody's character broke up with before leaving for college.He didn't want to stay in his hometown and have a mediocre life. And he knew that was what Sam would end up having. 
Sam's story is greatly relatable for many people and that is what i loved about it. It is something out of real life and that makes it all the more genuine and realistic. I, also, feel that it was the best one to start off with. It was the most simple one of all of them and a great way to ease us into the whole movie.
Sam's reaction was spot on. Not too dramatic but not apathetic either. It was the perfect way for an everyday, girl-next-door woman to react. It was the perfect way for someone like Sam to react.
TYLER (Chicago). Tyler is the adventurous girl. She is the girl with whom Brody experimented and got more in touch with his wild side. However, as Adam Brody discovers throughout their talk in the hotel room, she isn't really one of the girls he "wronged". He just thought she was because of the pain he felt while he was with her. But that pain was, in reality, for the girl he broke up with to be with Tyler. That pain was for a girl that comes up later in the list.
What i really enjoyed about this story is that it is a very suitable continuance from the previous story. After having relationships with sweet yet somewhat ordinary girls, Brody was attracted to the adventurous and unfamiliar wild-girl. It seems natural that Brody chose to get involved with Tyler at the point in his life where he was experiencing his life in a new light, after leaving home.
And like Sam, i thought that Tyler's reaction was perfect. It was obvious that even though Brody's character had made an impression, he wasn't someone she would stay very long with. But she was still hurt, even though you could tell she was tough, when he told her that she wasn't that important to him after all. That she was a "second" choice.
LINDSAY (Boston). Lindsay is the older woman who is, also, married. She got together with Brody's character when he started working at the school she was a teacher at and they started having an affair. They were eventually caught and she stayed and faced the consequences while Brody ran away and left her alone.
Lindsay blames Brody not only for leaving her when the times got tough but, also, for the affair they were in.
On the other side, Brody's character regrets abandoning her but doesn't feel that the affair was something to be guilty about.
My opinion about Lindsay's story and her reaction, which i won't spoil but it was a little bit extreme, is that Lindsay was not forced into the affair by anyone and she was the only one involved with someone else at the time. So she only has to blame herself. However it was understandable that  she blamed Brody too, especially after the way he treated her. 
So i feel that Lindsay's story was the one that was the most educational. She did something she regretted afterwards and she managed seeing Brody again in a human way but she, also, taught him a lesson and tried to make him understand that his actions affect others.
REGGIE (Seattle...again). Reggie is Brody's best friend's sister. She is the young girl that had a crush on him. But, at the same time, she is the girl with whom things went too far. The girl that was the most affected by Brody's behavior without him even realising it.
Reggie is, also, the girl that, in my opinion, got the most out of Brody's visit. In all the visits you could tell that Brody's reasons for the "tour" down memory lane were selfish. It was obvious that by the end of these conversations the person that was most benefited was Brody. However, in Reggie's case she was the one that walked out another person. A free person that was no longer carrying baggage from her past.
Reggie's story was the point where you understood how serious the movie really is. That it isn't just another movie about love but a movie about human behavior and human interactions.
BOBBI (Los Angeles). We have arrived. We are at the last stop of the exes train. We are at Bobbi's story. Remember the girl that Brody left in order to be with Tyler?? Well that girl is Bobbi.
Bobbi's story is the most crucial in the whole movie, hence it's the last one. SPOILER ALERT!! For me the most important thing in Bobbi's storyline (more important than the mike itself) is that Bobbi saw Brody's true nature from the start. She called him out on his bullshit before she even discovered the truth.She was a badass.
As far as the microphone goes, i really didn't see it coming (and maybe i should have). I knew his reasons for all of this were self centered but i didn't realise how much. And, frankly i loved it. I didn't see it coming but i did believe it in a second.
Which brings me to another major point. Brody's character was an asshole. BUT you didn't realise it right away. The script is so good that as the movie progresses the more you start to understand what kind of person Brody really is. You can't tell right from the begging but as you move forward in the story pieces start to click and his character starts to reveal himself. It's pretty great to watch.
Now back to Bobbi, as expected Brody comes to the conclusion (genuine or not) that she is the one for him. But she still leaves him realising that he is still the same person and that he will never change.
And that is what makes the ending so great (both; the one with Bobbi and the very end of the movie). You see that even with all the things that happened throughout his journey he learned nothing and he didn't grow at all from the experience. You understand that not everyone can change and it's fascinating to watch.
  In conclusion, a great movie in my opinion. A real dive into the human soul and a testament to human behavior and its consequences. A must-watch.
Score: 92%

m.
Courtesy
Leeden Media