Well, the end of the year is nearly
upon us, and I finally watched the last few films I needed to reach fifty! Now, partly because 2012 is close to ending, and partly because
the blogs would have been really short, I've put the last three
movies together. I'm sorry for the lackluster reviews but in all
honesty, there isn't a huge amount I can say on them.
Before I go any further, I should
remind people of something, even though I will post this reminder for
my movie round-up of the year. The movies of 2012 I'm doing, I'm
going by Australian release date and availability at the time of
cinema release. If I can't see it with ease, and it was released at
the tail end of 2011, it counts. Hell, the film I review below, if I
remember correctly, ONE cinema in all of Victoria got it this year
(much like The Cabin In The Woods). But I finally got to see it on
DVD, so here's 50/50
Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) finds out
he has a malignant tumor in his spine, which will require
chemotherapy, and it's only a 50-50 chance of survival. He starts
seeing a therapist, Katherine (Anna Kendrick) and with her help, and
the help of his best friend, Kyle (Seth Rogen), he attempts to beat
his illness.
Much like A Dangerous Method further
on, whether or not this works for you relies a great deal on cast
interaction and convincing acting. Thankfully, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
is the lead, in what I'd say is a banner year for the guy. As an
actor who's finally getting the respect he deserves, he offers up a
damn good performance, relate-able and sympathetic.
Seth Rogen plays... well, himself.
Again. Snarky guy who can prove he has a big heart and gets a moment
to chew out a person who's done wrong. I like Seth Rogen and all, but
I have to wonder if he can play anything else. Wait, scratch that.
Monsters Vs. Aliens. He was hilarious in that. And while he's bad
here, can we give the man a challenge worthy of his skills?
Being criminally underused as Adam's
mother is Anjelica Huston, delivering perhaps my favourite
performance of the movie. Constantly doting on her son, while taking
care of a husband with Alzheimer's, it reminds me of why she's great,
and why she needs more work.
On the other end of the spectrum, Bryce
Dallas Howard plays Rachael, Adam's girlfriend seen in the first half
of the film. Her performance isn't actually bad, but from a character
perspective, she's detestable. Not wanting to support her sick
boyfriend by staying by his side while getting treatment is one thing
(it may be hard for some people to sit through and not want to burst
into tears, so it can be forgivable) but cheating on him is
unforgivable. Despite what I said about Rogen earlier, his dismissal
of her and calling her out is a highlight of the film. Good thing we
have Anna Kendrick's character, who is a much better fit.
Outside of the acting, the movie
doesn't have that much more going for it. It's pretty much about Kyle
helping Adam through his cancer and anything outside of that isn't
really noteworthy, besides Adam's interactions with Katherine.
A good effort, but I have to wonder why
people think so highly of this. I've seen much worse, but this really
doesn't add anything new to the table. I mean, not every movie has
to, but from the reactions I've seen, you'd think this was a
potential game changer. 3/5
Ages ago, I talked about a movie I
wanted to see, but was unable to since it skipped my local cinema.
And despite getting it on DVD a few months ago, I've been neglecting
it for other DVD's or new things in my life, like the stream. Well,
now's the time to finally review this movie, Martha Marcy May
Marlene.
Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) has escaped
from a cult, and reunites with her sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and
goes to live with her and her husband, Ted (Hugh Dancy). But she
never tells Lucy and Ted of her experiences, and as such, has a hard
time readjusting to the world around her.
Going off that last sentence, that's
arguably the film's biggest problem. Now, having not been through
what Martha has, I can't begin to imagine the pain and torment she
suffered. It's not the sort of thing I'd wish upon anyone and I can
understand not wanting to share it with the world at large. But tell
me, why does it seem like she has no idea how the world works? Like
when her sister tells her off for swimming naked. Martha responds
like a child that doesn't know they've done anything wrong.
Her sister and husband don't get let
off the hook, either. Not really wanting to help, just to bitch at
her and lose their patience when they have no goddamn right to.
Despite that, Elizabeth's acting is
sensational, and she carries the film. She is the best thing about
it, which is good being the title character and all.
A good film, but should have been
better. 3/5
Speaking of movies I wanted to see but
had to wait for DVD, here's the last of the year, A Dangerous Method.
Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) is
taken to a psychiatric hospital in Zurich, with a case of hysteria.
Swiss doctor Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) tries a new approach to
treating her, based somewhat on Freud's (Viggo Mortenson) own
findings, and it is largely successful, to the point where the two
men collaborate and Sabina becomes a student of psychiatry.
What makes this a hard one to review is
that there's only one question you need to ask: besides the terrific
cast, is there anything else to expect from this movie? Well, no.
Which is kind of a problem. If you don't have a good enough cast,
your movie falls apart. Luckily, everyone involved is amazing.
Michael Fassbender can put another great role under his belt, Viggo's
as great as expected and Keira is the standout. Hell, her traumatic
experience-acting is better than Elizabeth Olsen's in the movie
above!
Her chemistry with Fassbender is really
believable too, and I hope the two of them get do act together more
in the future.
If there is another aspect to note,
while the use of music is minimal, it's rather nice, and fits right
in with the movie's general direction.
If this were a play, it would be a
knock-out. As a film, it's not great, but the acting more than makes
up for it. 3.5/5
I apologize again for the lack of meat
to these reviews, if I had watched these movies sooner, I wouldn't
been pressed for time and felt the need to compact three reviews into
one blog post.
But at least now, all fifty movies for
the year are undone! And over the next week or so, I'll do a
three-part blog ranking those movies, same as last year. So, keep an
eye out for those.
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