Cast: Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Ryan Hansen, Krysten Ritter, Francis Capra, Percy Daggs III, Chris Lowell, Tina Majonno, Enrico Colantoni
Director: Rob Thomas
Running time: 1 hour and 47 minutes
Veronica Mars (the movie) is the continuation -and unofficial finale (or maybe not)- of the tv show, also titled Veronica Mars, about the now grown up Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell), ex-teen-private-investigator-now-new-york-lawyer, who comes back to Neptune, California to help ex-boyfriend Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) who is investigated for the murder of his girlfriend and famous singer.
Let me start by emphasising that i was a pretty big fan of the series back in the day. I've watched every episode about 3 to 4 times.I loved the whole LoVe thing and i really enjoyed the wittiness and quickness of the show.So if i seem harsh or neat-picky in my review, it's only because i was invested in the story and the characters for long time.
The movie does a lot of things right. Veronica is, still, the sarcastic, quick on her feet, clever (ex-)PI that we know and love. Her character makes the movie worth watching. If you were a fan of the show you will, definitely, love seeing her again. In fact, you will love watching all the characters of the show coming together. There is enough personality and shading to everyone, especially for a movie who's main focus was the mystery rather than the relationships and the human interactions. Logan, although very improved in comparisson to the series version, still has temper issue. Dick has a deep-routed (in my opinion) depression, even though he jokes about it,which is interesting and i would like to have seen more about it (both in the movie and the show). All those undertones in the characters made them more believable and relatable. On a similar note, i really appreciated how the movie didn't blame the Piz and Veronica break up on Piz. He wasn't made into the bad guy, like we've seen in so many movies. He was patient and understanding but the fact is that some relationships don't last, just like in real life, without anyone being at fault. Now, regarding the murder part of the movie, i have to say it was well done. It was intricate enough, with no apparent solution but, still, fun to try and solve. There were multiple suspects and at no point did the movie go for the easy way out. Finally, even though the LoVe relationship wasn't depicted as good as i wanted it to have been,there was a scene that i loved(the song choice made it even better). All the big LoVe fans know what scene i am talking about, the car scene. Since this scene was so perfect (for me,at least) i will not ruin it by talking about it, i will, just, quote Veronica (yes, there is narration and it is actually good) and say, "Do i get a chip for this? Pouring the drink? Swishing it? Smelling it? Leaving the bar without taking a sip?Is this what getting clean feels like?".
One of my main problems with the movie was that it was more mystery than character driven. The reason i was excited about Veronica Mars coming out with a movie continuation of the show was that i would be able to see all the characters that i loved so much on the show. And the fact that we were focused more on "who was the murderer" rather than "how will Logan and Veronica get back together" disappointed me and my inner LoVe fangirl. Similarly, i thought that both the Piz-Veronica breakup and the Logan-Veronica makeup were done too quickly. What i mean by that is that one second Veronica was in a relationship with Piz and the next she wasn't, and one second she was single and the next she was back together with Logan. I would have liked to see all those events play out more and take their time. One thing that i found strange and unnecessary was the Weevil (Francis Capra) storyline. I didn't understand how it moved the story along. I felt like it was, only, so that characters like Weevil and Celeste Kane (Lisa Thornhill) wouldn't be left out of the movie. Actually, i didn't (still don't) know how to feel about the end of that storyline, either. I'm not going to spoil it but if a sequel doesn't get made, Weevil's story ends in a bittersweet note.Moreover, something that happens a lot in movies and it frustrates me all the time is when there is a recent death or murder and the characters of the movie that should be emotionally affected don't have the appropriate reaction. Supposedly Logan had been dating Carrie Fisher (Andrea Estella) for some time before she was murdered,but we never see him really grieving her loss. Her existence (or rather her non-existence) seems to be, only, a tool for the movie to bring Logan and Veronica back in the same place (both physically and emotionally). Finally, as expected, i thought that there shouldn't be so many references to the show, but to be honest that wasn't such a big deal. I did like the one about how Leo (Max Greenfield) thought that Veronica had gone on to be an FBI or CIA or something agent, which was referring to a season 4 trailer (which only remained a trailer)(you can look for it on YouTube).
In conclusion, Veronica Mars is a pretty good stand-alone movie, but as former fan of the show i expected more from the movie.
Score: 67%
m.
Courtesy of
Warner Bros. Pictures
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
Cast: Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Lily Collins, Nat Wolff, Liana Liberato, Kristen Bell
Director: Josh Boone
Running time: 1 hour and 37 minutes
Stuck in Love features the lives of a father, his son and his daughter and how they each experience love.
The movie has a lightness and youthfulness that i really enjoyed. It's all about love, has a pretty great cast (i love Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Conneli and i am really getting into Lily Collins) and feels like a fairytale to be honest. Also, a small thing that i would like to point out is how much i like movies that end in quotes. I don't know why but every time a movie starts and/or ends with a really great famous quote i get excited and that was the case with this movie. Moreover, i thought the relationship between the father and his kids was the relationship that i would like to have with my kids, someday.Kinnear's character treated his children with respect and viewed them as his equals and not like little kids. He talked to them as he would talk to grown ups.On that note, i really enjoyed the relationship between the siblings. They obviously care about each other but not like in other movies where they either don't love each other at all or they are inseparable,have only nice things to say about each other and never fight. Finally, i found the realism of the story about the younger son and his girlfriend really refreshing. We see in the movie the period of time when they are in love but we, also, see how Liana Liberato's character had many problems that couldn't be solved by Nat Wolff's character but how he still had the illusion and desire that she would come back to him and how she didn't.
However, i had much trouble with this movie. My main problem was that any of the stories, and i am not only talking about the love stories, was not properly analysed and shown in depth. Not the relationship between Lerman's and Collins' characters,not Wolff's and Liberato's, not her drug and alcohol problems, not Connelly's and the-guy-that-i-don't-even-know-his-name relationship,not Kristen Bell's and Greg Kinnear's relationship, barely Kinnear's and Connelly's relationship and break up and not Lerman's mother's death. We never saw under the surface about any of the stories, so ultimately i couldn't really care about the characters and their fates. The relationships were unrealistic, how Collins got together with Lerman after she avoided him so much for example, and too many to cover in one movie, frankly.
In conclusion, i enjoyed it as a light,with not much substance love story. Not nearly a masterpiece but not in the top 10 worst films of the year.
Score: 54%
m.
Courtesy
Millennium Entertainment
