BradWesley123's Movie Journal- September 2014

Netflix- 1hr. 19min.
First Viewing

A few of the jokes land, and the likable cast is, well, likable, but there's nothing that hasn't been done better before, and it all just feels so sitcom-y.

Netflix- 1hr. 16min.
First Viewing

Occasionally funny, in an incredibly deadpan (and I mean INCREDIBLY) way, but too often meandering and obtuse. The cast is pretty solid, especially Offerman, and writer/director Byington clearly has a vision here, so it's not an outright flop.

DVD- 1hr. 29min.
First Viewing

Georgia O'Keeffe is an impeccably made biopic, and features a pair of commanding performances from Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons, but never does anything to differentiate itself from the glut of other TV Movie biopics.

DVD- 1hr. 25min.
First Viewing

While the story is slight and fairly typical, director Steven Knight directs with a great deal of style that keeps the movie flowing at a suspenseful pace. However, the main reason to see the film is for Tom Hardy, who gives a tour de force performance that makes the movie a must-see.

Netflix- 1hr. 29min.
First Viewing

There's nothing new story-wise in The Giant Mechanical Man, and no real interesting spin on old ideas, but it's always watchable thanks to some strong chemistry between Jenna Fischer and Chris Messina.

Netflix- 1hr. 46min.
First Viewing

Director Nick Murphy has a strong handle on visuals and mood, but less of a grip when it comes to story. The Awakening just sort of plods along without much life, only exhibiting slight vital signs when Hall is on screen (and with the occasional jump-scare that works).

Netflix- 1hr. 45min.
First Viewing

Run & Jump is fairly depressing and doesn't really offer anything new or shocking, but it's also a thoughtfully made dramedy that never shies away from it's tough subject matter, handling it with humor and tenderness. Strong in every department (writing, directing, etc.) and exceptional in casting; Forte makes another solid move after drifting away from straight-up comedy in Nebraska, but the real star is Maxine Peake, who gives a powerful performance that's nevertheless very human.

DVD- 1hr. 36min.
First Viewing

It's incredibly tedious and self-serious, and it offers nothing new to say about motherhood or daughterhood, but The Truth About Emanuel is surprisingly well made (director Francesca Gregorini gives a stronger visual style than her tepid story really deserves) and well acted enough to be a diverting 96 minutes.

DVD- 1hr. 42min.
First Viewing

The cast is unsurprisingly strong and it's relatively well made, but Hateship Loveship never feels like anything other than an amalgamation of every female led indie-flick from 2000-.

Netflix- 1hr. 25min.
First Viewing

The Motel Life is a surprisingly decent movie. The script is very uneven; never giving the plot the time it genuinely needs, but the cast, especially Hirsch and Dorff, is excellent, and it's incredibly well made. Seriously, I was shocked by the visuals on display here. Directors Alan and Gabriel Polsky and cinematographer Roman Vasyanov give the movie such strong imagery that you just wish the story had come together more satisfyingly.

Netflix- 1hr. 41min.
First Viewing

L!fe Happens has essentially the same problem that I talked about with Hateship Loveship. Except Happens has far less nuance and subtlety, and far more pointlessness and cloying. Just a bad movie.

Stray Observation: Adding any sort of punctuation or number within a film title is just stupid. Even when it's a good movie, like Se7en, it's just ignorant.

DVD- 1hr. 23min.
First Viewing

While there are a fer laugh-out-loud moments, They Came Together never comes together the way this teams last parody, Wet Hot American Summer, did. This mainly stems from the decision to go after rom-coms; the targets are so easy that they're rarely surprising. Poehler and Rudd are an incredibly appealing set of leads though, and the supporting cast injects a lot of life into the film and, admittedly, there are a few inspired jokes worth seeing.

Stray Note: First movie I rented from Redbox.

DVD- 1hr. 50min.
First Viewing

Doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's well made and it's pretty fun. Kisses the NFL's ass HARD though.

DVD- 2hrs. 2min.
First Viewing

While it is often quite meandering, Only Lovers Left Alive is an oddball indie vampire/romantic drama that excels thanks to Jim Jarmusch's smart script and direction, and excellent work from Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston.

DVD- 1hr. 52min.
First Viewing

Night Moves is likely a film that you'll respect more than like or, to put more accurately, respect rather than like. Director Kelly Reichardt has a strong grip on the mood and performances, getting some strong work out of good cast, especially Eisenberg in an against type performance, but drops the ball on the story. It goes for a slow-burn set up, but ends up with a snail-like pace throughout, not giving the audience much of a reason to stay interested.

DVD- 1hr. 27min.
First Viewing

The cast is very good and Slattery's direction is okay, but the script is a mess; alternating between overwritten and underwritten with every passing scene, God's Pocket's tone is all over the place, never gaining any sort of consistency throughout it's short runtime.

DVD- 1hr. 55min.
First Viewing

Owen and Binoche are fun to watch, and have decent chemistry, but this is just your average cheesy rom-com dolled up to look important. It isn't.

DVD- 1hr. 35min.
First Viewing

Doesn't do anything new with the "switching places" routine, nor the romantic comedy. It all goes down pretty easy though, and Kazan's great work is enough to give it a view.

DVD- 1hr. 39min.
First Viewing

Anna (as it was titled when I saw it) misses many of it's marks, and the plotting is pretty frenzied. It is also, however, a fairly entertaining psychological-mystery with a solid cast and decent ideas. It's not great, but at least it's intriguing.

DVD- 1hr. 35min.
First Viewing

What can really be said about a movie that really doesn't have much to say? This is a boring comedic-caper movie that only benefits from Brosnan's and Thompson's charms, even if this is some of their lesser work.

DVD- 2hrs.

DVD- 1hr. 57min.
First Viewing

Not as bad as I had expected. Sandler and Barrymore still have strong chemistry, and a couple of the gags land better than expected, but it still holds many of the problematic traits of Sandler's late period, especially schmaltz.

DVD- 1hr. 42min.
First Viewing

Impeccably made but incredibly self-serious. If the movie was an emotic, it would be a frowny face with a gun to it's head. With different lighting, it may have even played as a parody.

DVD- 1hr. 43min.
First Viewing

While it is a fairly indistinguishable British period-drama designed for awards consideration, it's an incredibly made one. From the costumes to the production design and everything else, the film shows an obvious craft from it's makers. It helps that the story is worth merit as well and aided by subtle direction and a solid cast (though the film does belong to lead Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who's excellent).