Not quite sure how I feel about this movie. It is heartbreakingly sad, the story of an intelligent women losing her mind to early onset Altzheimer’s. Granted, Julianne Moore as Alice is incredible. She deals with her quickly failing cognitive abilities with as much grace as possible, but all the film does is make you feel sorry for her. Her family stays by her side even when she no longer knows who they are. Little things are perhaps the saddest, like they day she can’t remember how to tie her shoes properly, or when she goes to the bathroom in her clothes because she can’t remember where the bathroom is. In the end of course, there is no swooping savior or something that makes it all right, she just fades away. As an insight for someone like myself who has never been touched by this disease, it is a fascinating picture, just not sure how good of a movie it actually is.
Into the Woods got a lot of praise when it came out end of last year. I almost saw it in theaters during my run but didn’t make it. Glad I didn’t. Not sure what the hype was about. Pretty bland movie, geared towards kids (I think?) but fairly dark at the end when people start dying in droves. Big all-star cast hides a disappointing plot, and though I’m a sucker for musicals, I could have done without the plethora of aimless songs. The movie is a re-telling of a few classic stories interwoven together, including Rapuznel, Cinderella, Jack and Giant Bean Stalk, and Red Riding Hood. Their individual tales colide with weird consequences. Overall, this is one of those that I’m sure the stage production is better than the film.
Maps to the Stars is just a strange film. It paints Hollywood society as a dark culture, with everyone sleeping with everyone to get to the top, everyone popping pills, everyone holding dark secrets, and just about everyone has some weird psychotic episode at one point or another. It is extremely well acted, so movie lovers may want to see it for the acting alone, but the plot is a bit convoluted. Much of the film is based on a twist that is revealed about halfway through, so it is hard to say anything without giving it all away, but the ending is not quite what you expect and I think the movie tries too hard to elicit a gasp from the audience.
Paddington is a cute kid’s film, based on the old children’s books. It doesn’t have the same kind of appeal to adults; I enjoyed it mostly, because it felt like the type of kids movies that were around when I was a kid myself, almost like going back in time, but perhaps because of that it doesn’t have the same adult reach that, say, the latest Pixar movies have. But it is adorable. The story is of Paddington the bear, who has lost his family and is now trying to find a new home in the busy streets of London. The family that takes him in takes time to warm up to him, and the film is mostly the antics they go through together. Cute, but not much replay value if you are over the age of 10.
I honestly don’t know why critics were so hard on The Wedding Ringer. It doesn’t pretend to be a great cinematic experience, you won’t find expert acting or story, but it is a genuinely hilarious film. Doug is a guy with no friends, so when he is getting married to gorgeous Gretchen, he needs to quickly find not only a best man, but a whole suite of groomsmen to match his popular bride’s ladies. He turns to Best Man Inc, a company that hires out wedding parties, with Jimmy to be his best man. The spend the week getting to know each other, so that Jimmy can put together the perfect fake best man, but events take them in a new direction. The jokes come from the banter between leads Josh Gad and Kevin Hart. Not as crude as some of Hart’s other material, but still edgy and loud-out-loud good at times. If you are a critic, don’t bother, there is no deep meaning here, but for everyone else, you will laugh.
Jons Movie Takes 