Sunday, June 29, 2014

They Came Together


92%

If the world was half as self-aware as this movie is then it would be a much better place.  From start to finish, this film knows what it is and is a champion of its craft.  They Came Together is the story of two people in and out of love and what happens in between and it is predictably unpredictable.  The film is predictable in that it tells you at the beginning what is going to happen.  The film is unpredictable by the journey that it takes you on to get from point a to point z (a lot of unexpected hilarity is b - y).

If I had my way of describing these characters it would be this:  These are the kids we never met in Camp Firewood that were being overseen by those horrendous counselors and this film is the result of the affect the camp took on them in the real world.  Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler satirize a romantic comedy couple perfectly and the supporting cast (Christopher Meloni, Cobie Smulders, Michael Ian Black, Ed Helms, and Jason Mantzoukas) bring Muphy's Law to the party - Not just everything bad that can happen, but literally everything.  

Just as in life, it is not that destination that you get to, but it is the journey that it takes to get there.  This film is completely about the journey and Michael Showalter and David Wain are your captains.  The writing style of these two is unlike any other.  When you are zigging, they pull you into a zag.  When you are zagging, they throw you off the road and when you are coasting into your destination they crash into you head on.  

At first glance, this film may seem a bit over the top, but the dryness of the jokes and the performance of the actors really make this movie down to earth and downright hilarious.  The journey is a simple one that just makes you spontaneously burst into laughter straight from your gut and does not give you an opportunity to really connect or fall in love with any character - so whatever happens to them, you are completely fine with.  

Warning:  When you watch this and you burst into laughter, make sure that you are ready for the next moment or you will miss something hilarious.  I have a feeling the more you view this, the more you will pick up on things, and the more you will love it.


This was another VOD watch for me and the headphones and screen are all I need.  He came, she came, they came together, and now lets all come and enjoy this hilarious film and give it the attention it deserves and connect with it alone in the theater.


Drew Oliver

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Happy Christmas


94%

Happy Christmas is a story of an irresponsible twenty-something that moves in with her brother and sister-in-law after she experiences a breakup with her boyfriend in Chicago.  Anna Kendrick plays Jenny who is a catalyst for all things good and bad in this real life drama and she shines in her performance.  The supporting cast (Melanie Lynskey and Joe Swanberg) work perfectly together to string this hum drum family together and add in the help of her friend (Lena Dunham) and you have a small, gritty film that imitates life and the people that we know.

(Side note - this is clearly a great case to get Anna Kendrick on Girls!  Her chemistry with Lena Dunham was fantastic and Anna could bring a lot to that already great show.  Come on Lena!)

This film is completely performance driven and everyone delivers.  I would compare this type of film to Rachel Getting Married as it follows family and trials and tribulations of someone who's life is not going the way they would like it to go.  Every action has a reaction and the long shots that the director, Joe Swanberg, went with show this drama unfold perfectly.  The cinematography, along with those long shots, make the film seem more realistic and puts you into the heart of each character.  You laugh with them, you are hopeful for them, you want to choose their actions, and then you are angry at them for what they decide and that they did not listen to you.

The only thing is that I didn't get a chance to really put my heart into Jenny's character - yes, you do see her at the bottom and starting to climb, but I needed a spark with her and I would have went a little more in depth of a feeling for her either way her choices took her.  I could relate with some of her choices and what she was doing, but without that spark I was just a spectator and not fully "in it to win it" with her.  

The timing of this movie being released and that it is titled Happy Christmas is brilliant, as it helps with the grittiness of the feel and the emotions of the actions.  I do not feel it's Christmas outside (because it is June) and I did not feel like it was Christmas in that household because of the tone and mood of the very real characters.  

Very well done and if you have seen Drinking Buddies - You will want to see this.  I am a big fan of Joe Swanberg and look forward to his next project.


I watched this with VOD and headphones on a laptop.  Just another way you can be alone in a theater and connect completely with the subject you are viewing.  


Drew Oliver

TV Review - Girl Meets World


90%

Last night I got to, somewhat, relive a big part of my childhood.  Throughout the 90's I made sure that I was home every Friday night for TGIF and their awesome lineup.  Boy Meets World was a major part of that lineup that kept me home and glued to my TV.  The rumblings of a sequel series that follows adult Cory and Topanga and their children intrigued and excited me and I could not wait for this to happen.  Last night it happened and I was not disappointed with the result and what is to come.

The show focuses on Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley and her best friend Maya through their journey through adolescence.  Right out of the gate, you can see nostalgia in our two main characters as they are very much Cory and Shawn.  Riley was raised and follows in the footsteps of her father and we don't quite know Maya's story, but it is one that I am very fascinated with and want to learn more of where she comes from.  Maybe it's a trailer park, maybe its a single parent family, maybe parents just don't care, or maybe she just doesn't fit in with the rest of her family.  The dynamic between these two is going to unravel greatly as we see them get into more situations like Cory and Shawn did. 

The supporting cast gives you that first season feel of Boy Meets World with Farkle being the smart kid in class and having an interest in our two main characters (as Minkus was with Topanga).  A love interest is introduced early on as well, but he isn't world about astrology or the afterlife as Topanga was at the beginning - he seems normal.  

The awkwardness of growing up still rings true and this show is going to bring it out for this generation just as Boy Meets World did for mine.  This show has to be a stand alone and not always compared to Boy Meets World if it is to be enjoyed throughout it's lifespan.  The cast is perfect and the soundtrack is perfect.  The 10% was taken off just because it was updated a bit for how Disney shows feel today and sometimes it is deviates from the era of the sitcom in the 90s.  Again, this show needs to stand alone and not be compared to Boy Meets World and it will not be any more since we got the first show jitters out as an audience.  

I have to admit I got chills when Cory came in, again when Topanga came in, again when Feeny came in, and a big chill when the Michael Jacobs logo and soundbite came on at the very end.

I am here for the ride and I hope the show doesn't stop in some random city that may or may not have the best pie around and just leave me here without a ride or enjoyment.
  

Your living room can be just like a theater if you let the TV screen take you into it's world.  Be alone with the screen and enjoy every minute of it. 

Drew Oliver

Friday, June 27, 2014

Transformers: Age of Extinction


70%

The wettest of dreams that Michael Bay has ever had is now in movie form.  He fell asleep one night and as always has a notebook on his nightstand so that he can analyze his dreams.  He woke up and wrote this dream down in his notebook without dialogue, but very detailed "Fire, robots, dinosaurs, Wahlberg, Tucci, an attractive female, many more male actors, forward and backward driving, and spaceships.  Transformers: Age of Extinction combines all of these elements and weaves them together with poor writing and exhausting special effects.  They not only exceeded the normal amount of effects, but I was literally exhausted upon leaving the theater.  The amount of different story lines is overwhelming as well.

Now what we have to remember here is that movies are subjective in their genre and content.  I am comparing this movie to previous Transformers movies and movies similar in genre.  I am, in no way, comparing this to films that it doesn't share a topic with.  

Believe it or not, I found the acting in this movie to be very well done.  Mark Wahlberg gives a very good performance and Stanley Tucci is always at the top of his game.  The only problem with the acting is the words that they are speaking does not put the writing of this movie in a top ranking category.  Poorly timed jokes and poorly written Autobot dialogue does not stitch this movie together well.  The acting that Mark brings to the table made me want to see him start and finish the entire franchise and Shia never have been a part of it.

If you are an "action only" fan then you will have no problem jumping into this fast paced war.  There were even some people in the theater that clapped when the movie was over.  They were quickly identified as action junkies that only want that type of an experience.  There is a movie for everyone and if you are a pedal to the metal movie-goer, then this is the perfect movie for you.

I did not put a premise into this commentary because I am assuming you have seen the trailer or are familiar with this film.  This movie is getting a 70% from me due to the fact that it is better than other Transformers movies and the acting is well done.  30% deduction was due to the writing, poorly timed jokes during huge sequences, and lack of a story (or more than one going on at a time) in between the action sequences.

Although this blog is me trying to put everything in my surroundings away during a viewing, there was a man with an E-Cig 3 seats away from me with that annoying light and 4 people directly behind me laughing and ribbing the film during it's entirety.  I politely asked them to quite down and they refused, so I moved.

Remember everyone - Put your cell phones away, chat after the movie, and find a way to be alone in the theater.

Drew Oliver

Jersey Boys - The Movie


90%

I am a very big fan of live theater.  I have seen some of the greatest stage productions of all time and cannot get enough of it.  I am, however, very skeptical of film adaptations of popular stage musicals.  The stage and the screen can be two very different animals - know what I'm saying Rock of Ages?  I do get excited when I hear one is being adapted and one of my favorites is Jersey Boys.  The story of The Four Seasons and how they came about.  Just thinking that I could grab a copy of my own and watch this story whenever I wanted got me really excited.  Did it hold up to its stage counterpart?

The songs they chose to showcase and the major parts of the story that they hit one were fantastic, but without the full story and music catalog this is a watered down version of the stage - but a great stand alone film.

Clint Eastwood has not failed yet on any projects that he has brought into our lives and this piece of art is no exception.  The cinematography is beautiful to gaze upon and the sound editing makes you feel as if you are in the audience watching these 4 performers.  Eastwood also gives us something that we have yet to see at the end of a musical - a lasting curtain call.

The movie brought together 4 performers from the actual stage musical to make it more of an authentic Broadway production.  This shines during their musical performances and falls a bit flat during some of their non-singing performances.  They actors mention the names of all the songs in the Broadway hit and they sometimes are playing on the radio, but are definitely not showcased as they are on stage.

If you have not seen the stage performance or even like Broadway then I think you will love this film and you will be singing/dancing in your seats.  Christopher Walken brings some big acting chops to the screen and Clint backs up everything the actors are bringing to you.  

As I said previously, as a stand alone film this is a great one, but if you are looking for the stage production, it's close, but not all there.  Standing alone I would give this film a 90%.  Go into the movie without a previous idea of what you are about to see and let it take you away.  Let these actors take you back to a time that a lot of us romanticize with and wish we could have experienced.  Let this movie educate you on 4 guys, standing underneath a street lamp trying to find their sound.


Put your cell phones away, don't chat with your neighbor, just be there - alone in the theater.


Drew Oliver



Tuesday, June 24, 2014

How am I alone in the theater?



Tonight I went to the theater and enjoyed my second viewing of The Fault In Our Stars.  This has been a huge success and I clearly was not the only one in the theater watching this gem about love, life, and just living, but there is a point that the movie brought me in and no one else was in the theater.  This feeling, of course, has come over me multiple times while enjoying a great piece of cinema, but now I feel that it's about time to talk about that feeling that I am sure we all get at one point in any movie.  Whether you are a fan of Action, Romance, Science Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, or Comedy there is a moment in every movie where everything disappears.  If you enjoy seeing a movie at midnight and love the crowd interaction when Yoda does flips and has a light saber battle, then you relished in the silence during the battle with Darth Maul.  The silence is the moment that makes movies special for everyone, as individuals - the moment that we went to have.

My name is Drew Oliver and I want to be alone in every movie theater that I go into, and I am. This blog is going to be designed for personal experiences during a film.  I have been an avid movie-goer for a very long time and studied film at Ball State University.  I want to explore the personalization of film and how it affects us and gives us a limited time in a different reality.  The opening, rising story, climax, denouement, and the characters all give us a reason to be together and to be alone while watching a film.  This blog will focus on those moments where everything drops away and you or I become one on one with what we are watching and nothing else matters.  I am really excited about this - and I hope to hear about moments that take you out of reality and straight into the film.

Now, here are my thoughts on being alone in The Fault In Our Stars.

I will start this off by saying that I am not a fan of seeing movies on their opening night, if I know the theater will be packed and it will possibly ruin the movie for me.  So, I viewed The Fault In Our Stars on its opening night and enjoyed it.  By now, I am assuming you know the plot and/or have seen the movie.  On the night that I viewed it, there were a lot of young adults (as the novel suggests read it) and their parents.  I love the passion that everyone had coming into the movie, but everyone knew what to expect and I could feel what to expect from it.  Gasps came before gasps were needed and sobs came before sobs were ever called for and the whole audience burst out into applause after the "Douche Pants" quote happened.  I was taken in and out of this film.

I saw this film again today and it meant something else to me. Some would argue that the more you see or read something, the more important it becomes.  I disagree.  This time around, I was not going to pay attention to others and not care if the theater was packed.  I should have viewed the movie the first time as my own viewing, but I was bitter about a full audience ruining it for me.  This time, in a lesser packed theater, I heard weeping and sniffling, and it was unified.  I realize they are having their own moment and I should have had mine the first time I watched this film.

This is a chance you do not get back.  Ebert called it the "E.T. Experience."

Thanks to me paying attention to a full theater during my first viewing, I got that experience back.

Do not pay attention to your friends or others during a movie and get what you are supposed to get out of a film.  Whether you want your adrenaline pumping, your skin crawling, your tears flowing, or your date to like you - let the movie do it's work and go for the ride.

I have now explained a bit of what this blog will be about and you can go on this journey with me.  It's about the experience of the film and how it affects you as an individual and not the group you came with or the whole group of a full theater.

This blog will be about film reviews and a constant reminder of remember how movies affect us as individuals.  I will share how these movies, every week (new and of yesterday) have and will affect me.  I encourage you to think about the same thing.  There will be somewhat of a review, but I am focused on my experience in the movie.  I hope you enjoy.

Roger Ebert said, "Movies don't change the world, but they have the power to change our individual lives."

So turn your phone off ,put your arm rests down, and be alone in the theater.


Drew Oliver