That Awkward Moment movie review

Cast: Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis
Director: Tom Gormican
Running time: 1 hour and 34 minutes

  Jason (Zac Efron), Mikey (Michael B. Jordan) and Daniel (Miles Teller) are three best friends. When Mikey's wife asks for a divorce his two friends decide to stay single with him and ease him back into the dating pool. But what do you know, both of them end up finding the loves of their lives (shocker!) and start to go back on their pact. What will happen? Will their friendship survive? Will they find happiness and true love?

  One thing that worked about this movie was that the 3 lead characters have a nice chemistry with each other. Even though i thought (and i've heard a lot) that Daniel and Jason were kind of mean and douchy, it was somewhat fun to watch the three of them together. I would mostly contribute that to Miles Teller's charm and personality, which he brings to all of his movies (i'm a big fan as i've mentioned before). 

  Apart from Teller's charming presence there was some humor in his character. He was the link that held the friendship together and made the movie remotely fun. I doubt i would like this movie at all (not that i like it a lot as it is) if he wasn't in it. As far as Michael B. Jordan's character goes i have to say i liked him the best. Daniel is funny, but Mikey is the kindest and nicest of the group. And in a group of douchebags that means a lot. Now, regarding Zac Efron's character. I though Jason was a blank and boring addition to the group. Efron didn't have anything to offer to the film, mainly because the character had no positive attributes. He wasn't funny like Daniel was or nice like Mickey was, so i found it hard to care about him at all.

  Right from the first couple of scenes i had a problem with the movie. We see Teller and Efron's characters pitch a book cover proposal to some clients and i didn't buy it for a second. They look like they are in college and even if we assume they are 26-27, like they are in real life, doesn't that agency have any senior stuff that would meet with the clients and do the important jobs? You don't become a lead book cover artist when you are in your 20s. I would believe it more if they were interns rather than cover art geniuses with huge New York City apartments.

  Speaking of the begging of the movie, the first scene (if i am not mistaken) is when a girl breaks up with Zac Efron even though he hadn't realised they were in a relationship (or the girl hadn't realised they weren't in one). The fact that every girl (there is another one later in the film) Jason hooks up with doesn't understand that they are only having sex, and not starting a relationship, offended me a little bit. The movie doesn't seem to get that not all women are looking for relationships and/or are idiots who mistake casual sex with dating.So, actually, i had problems with the movie right from the start.

  Also, the whole premise of the film (that Daniel and Jason would stay single to help Mikey) didn't sit well with me. How would that help Michael B. Jordan's character? Is it because they didn't want him to see other people in love and feel hurt and jealous that he was no longer with his wife? Like he doesn't have any other friends that are in relationships. The idea struck me as a little childish. And i doubt Mikey would object with his friends meeting girls that they like and actually being happy.

  Like so many other rom-coms That Awkward Moment was very predictable. Friends decide to stay single and they immediately find the perfect girl. The guy sees his girl-best friend play the piano and he realises he loves her. The other guy gives a big romantic speech in front of many people so that he can win back the girl. And finally, the third guy who thought that he couldn't move on from heartbreak ends up getting over his ex and finding someone new. You could make a list with all the cliche romantic-comedy situations that are in this movie. The predictability of the movie kept me from being excited to see how everything would play out and learning what would happen in the end.

  Finally, i can't not comment on the fact that SPOILER! Ellie's dad's death is so clearly just a plot devise for the movie. We meet him in Ellie's birthday party and, literally, the first scene after the party is when we learn about his death.The writers should have, at least, put another scene in between so that it's not that obvious. It felt totally manipulative and not in any way emotional.

  In conclusion, That Awkward Moment is widely predictable with a couple of charming characters (literally,there were 2) that can't save this movie from the drag that it is.
Final thought #1: There is a book reading scene that is very painful.
Final thought #2: Damn Zac Efron's tight pants, tho.

My score: 19%
Tomatometer: 22%

m.

Courtesy of

Focus Pictures

Run movie review

Cast: William Moseley, Adrian Pasdar, Eric Roberts
Director: Simone Bartesaghi
Running time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
  Run is the story of Danny, Sean or whatever his name is, who lives with his father and at night he "runs" through town to steal and support the family but, also, because as he says it's the only time he feels free. There is a part about his mother, his crime-lord uncle, some kids in his new school, a girl and other very stereotypical stuff. There, really, is no point in me telling you about the plot of this movie because you've probably seen 100 other movie with an extremely similar storyline. 
  But let's start with the parts of the movie that worked.Or part to be exact. The whole parkour theme of the film is pretty interesting. That was what drew me to the movie in the first place. But even that, is not great. I would have liked to see more parkour, especially since it's supposed to be a parkour movie. If i had to describe Run, i would say it's a very common flick with a little bit of parkour, rather than a parkour-centered movie.
  One of the main problems of Run is that it is full of cliched situations. From the fact that Danny keeps his parkour skills secret from his new classmates but then has to use them in front of the them to the oh-so-ordinary (and boring) love story or the third act abduction that i could see coming from miles away. It all felt so familiar. Too familiar. If you've seen anything ever, you will know what is going to happen in this movie.Not only is the plot incredibly stereotypical but the acting isn't any good,either. I though Moseley's performance was two-dimensional and, frankly, a little annoying. As was Pasdar's. Moseley was portraying Danny as a weirdly shy little boy, while Pasdar was a strict borderline abusive father. I didn't believe their relationship was a loving father-son one. And that was partly because of the acting.Finally, i have to point out a major flaw of the movie. And this is something that happens a lot in action movies but it was much more obvious in this movie. Danny would have been caught or killed multiple times during the film. However, he always magically managed to survive. As i watched the movie, there were certain moments where Daniel would be either shot by the bullets professional assassins were firing or caught by the policemen that were chasing him. The fact that he was always able to escape unscathed felt unrealistic.
  In conclusion, Run has a good premise that doesn't come to life upon execution. Not worth a watch, in my opinion.
Score:13%

m.

Courtesy of 

Koch Media

Millennium Entertainment

Palatin Media

Veronica Mars movie review

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

Divergent movie review

Cast: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Ashley Judd, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller
Director: Neil Burger
Running time: 2 hours and 19 minutes
  Divergent is the film adaptation of Veronica Roth's first-of-a-trilogy young-adult-science-fiction novel of the same name. Our female lead is Trish (Shailene Woodley) born and raised in Abriegation, one of the five factions in a futuristic dystopian world (actually only the Chicago area for reasons i don't know yet). It's the day that Trish will take the test. The test that will tell her which of the five factions is the best choice for her. The test that will determine the rest of her life.But nothing goes as planned. What will the results be? What faction will she choose? What is Divergent?
  I had heard about the book before going into the movie, read some reviews and, actually started reading it going as far as like 5 pages (i should really start reading more), so i kind of knew what, the movie, was about. That made me pretty excited to go to the movie theater to watch it (the fact that the movie critics were disappointed with the film took some of the excitement,but still).
  Let's start with the positive part of my review (it won't be long!). In all its flaws, i have to say that Divergent feels like a movie that prepares you for a much better sequel. Although i thought that the first installment of the trilogy wasn't very strong as a stand-alone film, it definitely open a "door" for something better in the future. SPOILER ALERT!!! The way it ended, and especially with the characters it ended, makes it possible for Insurgent to have a, much more, engaging storyline with more captivating and compelling leads. You've got Trish and Four, but, also, all the other characters that i found interesting, Peter!!!!! (what can i say? I have a big crush on Miles Teller), Trish's cute brother, Caleb (fun fact: the actor who plays Caleb, Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley,who plays Trish, are in an upcoming movie called The fault in our stars, based on a book of the same name, and in that movie they are a couple) and finally Four's dad. But it's not only the characters that will make the sequel (hopefully) better than Divergent, it's, also, the fact that we've passed the parts of the movie where Trish picks a faction and then trains and meets new people and all these, potentially interesting but not in this movie, activities and we are now where things become exciting. Moreover, along the same lines, i have to say that the last third of the movie, when Trish and Four learn about Erudite's plans and try and stop Jeanine Matthews from executing them, was much more riveting than any other part of the movie. Finally, i don't know if it was the character or the fact that Miles Teller was the actor portraying him, but i really enjoyed watching Peter. He appears to be more complex than the other characters in the movie. He is depicted as a "bad" guy but in the end his actions reveal that maybe he is not such a bad guy after all, maybe he just didn't understand the nature of his action.
  However, there were many things wrong with Divergent. One of the most important ones was that we, hardly, get any character development. We learn nothing about noone. No backstory, no personality traits (other than the fact that Trish SPOILER and Four are Divergents), not anything. As a result i ended up not caring about any of the leads, their fates or their relationships. And because i didn't have any real interest in Trish and Four's relationship, their moments together didn't "click" for me. I didn't feel the evolution of their connection. Also, it was done way too fast. And what i mean by that, is how quickly their relationship went from nothing to an undeserved "i love you". They met, they slept in the same room, they had 2 or 3 conversations and, suddenly, they were in love. Regarding the "i love you scene", even if we magically believe that the two of them fell madly in love in 3 seconds, the fact that Four is able to get out of the robotic state, Kate Winslet's character put him in, just because Trish told him that he loves him is ridiculous. It is such a teen-love-flick thing to happen and it annoyed me so much. The other important problem with the movie is, that the first half (maybe more) is extremely boring. I found that before the attack and unveiling of Jeanine Matthews' (Kate Winslet) nefarious plans, the pace of the film is too slow. All the specific scenes that clearly have a strong meaning in the book (like the "flying" through building or climbing the Ferris wheel scenes), here lack any emotion and thrill. Finally, i have to say (and i know i am repeating myself) that i am sure this movie is a segway to a much better sequel. Although we are introduced to the idea that the dystopian city,in which the five faction exist, is surrounded by a giant fence/dome we don't ever really dive into the subject. We, never, get told why this fence exists or what is out there. However i feel that it will, definitely, be analysed more in the future movies which brings me back to my previous point: Insurgent will be a much better movie.
  In conclusion, not a strong stand-alone movie but a first installment for a potentially good follow-up film. So, maybe, wait for the next one.
Score:57%

m.

Courtesy of

Summit Entertainment

Lionsgate

Fact Sunday

  Today's movie fact is about The Silence of the Lamps (1991), the famous movie about Hannibal Lecter, featuring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. Even though Anthony Hopkins embodies the main character of the movie his screentime is only a total of 16 minutes.
Hope you enjoyed today's fact. Have a great day.

m.

Courtesy

Orion Pictures

Limitless movie review

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Robert DeNiro, Abbie Cornish
Director: Neil Burger
Running time: 1 hour and 44 minutes
  Limitless tells the story of Eddie (Bradley Cooper) and his crazy journey after he is introduced, for the first time, to the newest, not-so-legal, drug NZT-48. There are murders, schemes, backstabbings and everything else you can imagine. And it is all for a little clear pill. A pill that offers you limitless possibilities. A pill that offered Eddie limitless possibilities.
  I first saw this movie when i was 16 or something like that. I put it in the back of my head and since then I've never watched it or thought about it again. That was until a couple of months ago when i came across it browsing for a movie to watch. But, again, i put it in the "to watch" file and moved on. Until today. Today i decided to watch limitless one more time. And i am very glad i did.
  You probably guessed it already but i loved this movie.
   I liked how Eddie started up, as a writer who had lost his way. He was obviously smart and capable, otherwise he wouldn't have a book deal to begin with, but he had gotten himself into a hole like so many people in real life do. So Eddie was always intelligent, the drug just enhanced his potential. However, the NZT-48 was still a drug and i appreciated how that was portrayed in the movie. You see how great it felt for Eddie when he was on it but, also, how addicted he was (hint: there was blood-drinking and no one was a vampire). You realised the length that someone would go to to get  a fix and Eddie's NZT-48 addiction was no different. And in the same subject NZT-48 was not only addictive like real drugs, it, also, had very serious side effects. We see the side effects at an early stage in Eddie and at a more serious stage in his ex-girlfriend.
  One of the things i liked the most about Limitless was the ending, for a couple of reasons. First of all, the fact that SPOILER ALERT!!! Van Loon (Robert DeNiro) had learned about the drug and ended up buying a pharmaceutical company that would produce it and destroying the labs Eddie had hired so that he could have an endless supply. And all that so Van Loon could extort him was brilliant in my opinion. And most importantly believable. Van Loon was very successful, smart and competent. While Eddie came out of nowhere, was impressively brilliant (too impressively) and had risen up the corporate ladder way too fast. Van Loon was bound to notice that something was "wrong" and learn about the drug sooner or later. But on the same note, because of the drug Eddie was definitely "the smartest guy in the room", so naturally he would figure out that at some point someone would find out about his secret and try to blackmail him. What he figured out (i won't spoil it) was credible and logical. And as Eddie said at the end  "I'm fifteen moves ahead of you and everybody else".Finally, in the end there is a hint of an idea that i always found very interesting in movies (an example of a movie with the same premise especially in the end is The Ides of March). That idea is that politicians hide dark secrets behind a shiny- often false- exterior. That secret, for Eddie, is obviously the NZT but, also, the murder he committed in the begging of his drug use. For which they never found the guilty party.
  There were some parts of the movie that i found a bit unnecessary, however. The love story between Eddie and his ex-girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) was a little trivial. I felt that it didn't move the story along, give us an insight into Eddie's personality or contribute in any way to the movie. At least not in a positive one. I found myself being bored by the Lindy scenes and that took me out of a movie that i was really enjoying otherwise. Moreover, regarding the murder Eddie executed. Although it was an important plot device and i do think it was crucial in order to show the drug effects NZT had on Eddie, i believe it didn't concern Eddie as much as it should have. He got out of the whole mess way too quickly. It seems unlikely that the police couldn't find anything that would indicate that Eddie was the murderer.

  In conclusion, Limitless was a great film that was thrilling, interesting and fast-paced and in the same time realistic, serious and dramatic. I recommend it without a doubt and i hope everyone enjoys it.

Score: 91%

m.

Courtesy

Relativity Media

The English Teacher movie review

Cast: Julianne Moore, Greg Kinnear, Michael Angarano, Lily Collins, Nathan Lane
Director: Craig Zisk
Running time: 1 hour and 33 minutes
  The English Teacher is the story of an English teacher, her old student and his play. Linda (Julianne Moore) is a high school English teacher that lives a pretty ordinary life until she runs into her old student Jason (Michael Angarano) and gets a look at his play. Now she is determined to get "The Chrysalis" produced along with the help of Jason and Carl (Nathan Lane),the drama teacher. But things don't go as expected. What will happen to the play? And what will happen to Linda Sinclair?
   I like Julianne Moore and she was one of the reasons (the other one was Gregg Kinnear) that i started watching this movie. And unfortunately i can't say I'm glad.
  But first thing's first. There were some positive things about "The English Teacher" that are worth mentioning. A big part of the movie was Kinnear's , Dr. Sherwood's, relationship with his son Angarano, or Jason as was the character's name. Their relationship is obviously damaged but what was very interesting and what i really appreciated was that it wasn't all blamed on the father or all on the son as we see in many films these days.They both made mistakes and they were both to blame and that was depicted nicely in the movie. It was an element that made "The English Teacher" more realistic and relatable, in my opinion.
  I, also, really enjoyed Nathan Lane's character, Carl. Carl is the drama teacher that tells stories about how he met famous theater directors and producers and how they all saw a rare talent in him. I saw Carl as a very common and everyday kind of person in the way he tried to cover up his own insecurities and fears by trying to impress others with made up over-the-top stories. I feel that Carl as a character is someone very flawed and very human that exists in all of us. More in some and less in others. One incident in the movie that stands out about Lane's role is when he confessed to lying about how he met some famous theater guy (i can't remember who) but still by the opening night he was back to his old tricks.
  Now regarding the weaknesses of the movie and the main characters. My main problem was that non of the characters are developed, have any real backstories or have personalities to be honest.
  Linda is portrayed as a simple, passionate woman who is stuck in a boring life but that's all we get. In order to understand her and understand her decisions (like why she slept with a former student) we need to know a little more about her life previous to the "incident", meaning the random one night stand, or more about her family and the people that contributed to who she is at this point or her interests, we know she likes literature but the movie doesn't even get deeper into that, or anything really. She is just blank and dull and the audience has no connection to her whatsoever. In fact the way this character is depicted in the film seems pretty unlikely. Why now?? Why this student?? Hasn't she met anyone talented before??What is so special about Jason??
  Which brings me to my second point. Jason. Jason is obviously disturbed in some way so that he makes up such elaborate lies about his relationships with his father,his mother and anything else he lied about. What was his childhood really like and what really happened with him and his father?? and where is his mom?? Why he lied about her being dead?? and so many more questions i could ask but i won't because i don't to bore you. 
  The same goes for all the characters in "The English Teacher". No one has any substance, character development or backstory. But it doesn't just stop there. The infamous play is a very mysterious thing in the movie considering it's such a main thing.But that doesn't get developed either. What i've gathered from watching the movie is that there is a daughter, her mother is dead, she has an Irish stepmother, she has a father and at some point she is transformed  into some kind of insect (?). The whole thing of "The English Teacher" is that there is a play that is so wonderful, so sad and so perfect that it needs to be produced but we don't know anything about it (except the bug thing). We are supposed to have such strong feelings regarding the play, like the movie characters, that we become filled with excitement, anxiety and worry about what will happen. But we're not. We don't care at all about what will happen with the play. Or at least i didn't.
  And that's not the only problem about the play. How can it be so perfect and how can Linda and Carl love it so much but still change its ending?? How can they fight so hard to keep it intact but end up changing the most important thing about it and it still staying great?? I'm sorry but i don't buy it and it pisses me off a little bit because it's so unrealistic. You don't get a masterpiece from changing the ending of a play in order to make it safe to be a high school production. It doesn't work like that.
  And finally, i found the whole love story between Moore and Kinnear unnecessary. It feels forced not  because of the acting but because of its nature. And what i mean is that it is only incorporated to the story to keep the audience interested. Not every story has to have a love story and a happy ending. Most great stories don't. 
   In conclusion,"The English Teacher" has a nice concept and some funny bits and situations but it would be a million times better if it was an indie drama about a teacher, her old student and his play.
Score: 28%

m.

Courtesy

Cinedigm Entertainment

Tribeca Film