2047 - Guardians of the Galaxy

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting to the point, for me, where it’s akin to the work done in the heyday of Pixar.  And given that Disney owns both them and now Star Wars, anyone who owns stocks in the Mouse are certainly going to be happy in the upcoming years.

Like most people I didn’t know ANYTHING about Guardians of the Galaxy going into this.  And I came out wondering if this was my favourite of the Marvel side-franchises.  It is so goddamn good.  It’s the most fun I’ve had in a Marvel film, including Avengers.  It starts off with a huge gut-punch - which hit me especially hard because of personal reasons - and then it involved into something that was sweet and funny and grand.  Chris Pine is an all-star, and Bradley Cooper makes Rocket more than just a wise-talking side-kick.  

My only complaint, and this is more a big-world question than anything else.  The villain’s lair/world(?) just feels so small and empty.  He wants to destroy things, a planet, but I never really got a strong sense of why - outside of the fact that it was evil and he’s evil.  If I have a complaint with this film it’s that the villain was a pretty weak cardboard cut-out - zero personality besides ‘bad’.  So that was the weak part of the film for me - that said the rest of the ensemble is so delightfully entertaining that it doesn’t hurt the overall movie like it should.  

Keep up the good work, Marvel.  The way you weave all your properties together is such a clever way of insuring viewership - but it’s also rewarding for the audience.  Keep up the quality and I’ll keep showing up.  

1958 - American Hustle

I’ve heard a variety of things about this, and it was on my list to see but I wanted to make sure I caught it in the theatres.  Can I just admit to something out of the gate?  I love Amy Adams.  The intro to their characters (her and Christian Bale) with the duelling V/O as we watch them fall in love (and fall in love with them by proxy) is such an amazing and perfect set-up to get us into this story.  Bale is an amazing anti-hero.  There’s a long portion of the film where you’re not sure if you should be rooting for him or Cooper, and that’s a delightful way to experience a film like this.  The film is hard to describe - it’s essentially about two con artists who get forced to work with the FBI, and then it becomes a cat and mouse game of whose playing who.  The film is full of amazing performances by the previously mentioned, but also Louis CK has a fun little part, and Jennifer Laurence obliterates every single scene she’s in - she’s fantastic and worth all the praise.  

I think this film has been criticized as David O. Russell trying to be Scorcese, but I didn’t care.  I loved the feel of the film, and despite it feeling a bit long by the end, I really enjoyed it.  I love that it doesn’t paint the world as black and white.  The cast is in fine form.  It’s fun, it’s sexy, it’s a film well worth seeing.  It’s not going to change your life or the way you look at the world, but it’ll entertain you - or so I hope.  I liked it a lot and it could very well be my favourite David O. Russell film (though I’ve yet to see The Fighter).  Check it out pre-Oscars if you can!

1925 - The Hangover Part III

This film got shit on a whole lot when it came out.  I didn't mind it at all.  I didn't laugh a whole lot, but I was also curious what would happen with these characters and I liked the premise quite a bit and appreciated that they didn't go back to the well with trying to have the characters be drugged again.  It feels like a nice period to the story as well as it brings the story nicely full circle with events from the first film and a lot of really strong callbacks.  I have to admit, I was always disappointed that Stu never hooked up with Heather Graham following the first film.  Big shame.
It's around VOD now if you missed it in the theatres as I did.  I don't think it beats the original by any means, but it's worth checking out if you made the effort to see the second one, for sure.

1813 - Silver Linings Playbook

I normally don't go heavily into details about new releases, but I feel compelled to do so here, so please if you haven't seen this there will be some spoilers below...

...

So let's get it out of the way - there's some really great things about this film.  Jennifer Lawrence is pretty fucking fantastic as is Bradley Cooper - and DeNiro gives a performance we haven't seen in years from him.  The first two thirds of this are a really well layer and performed character drama - and then all of a sudden it takes a hard turn into becoming what felt like something else entirely.  Like it's lead, the film itself was bipolar with how much it shifted from character to plot motivation.  Like their final dance it started off so promising and just hit a wall near the end that left a bad taste in my mouth.  Tonally and structurally it felt like an entirely different film.  I'm not sure I buy that Tiffany fell in love with him or that he'd really earned it - it felt more like a plot device than anything.  I'm actually somewhat surprised at how well received the film is given the ending.  I'm going to have to dive into reviews for it to see if I was just crazy and missed something crucial or if I'm just a jerk for not getting caught up in it all.

Still worth seeing, absolutely, but hopefully erase the hype from your mind first.  My expectations going in were pretty high and that's never fair for any film.

1674 - Limitless

I've never read the source material for this, and while I like Bradley Cooper he isn't a draw for me to see a film - I really liked the idea of the premise and I wanted to see what was done with it. 
It's more or less the story of a charming slacker who is given a miracle drug that unlocks his potential and how he manages to keep going with it.  Neil Burger keeps the film going at a really strong clip and he's very clever in how he visually represents what the world is like on and off this drug.  And now I'm going to get into SPOILER material...

I'm not trying to say that films have to follow tried and true structures, but in stories like this usually the hero has to get what he wants at the end without the aid of his super powers, and for the most part that's not true here - it's a crutch from the beginning of the film and it never stops being one.  The film's end suggests that he's found a way to get off the drug and keep the effects, but because it's an epilogue that's jumped forward a year we have no way of knowing if this is true or of it's just Eddie's way of fucking with DeNiro's character as he tries to box him in.  There's something fun about not knowing, but it kind of makes you feel a bit cheated.  The other big problem with the film is that you're just never really given any reason to root for Eddie - he's a lovable loser, so there's that - and he mentions at one point knowing what he "has to do", but that he needs the money to make that happen - however he's never specific even though we're pretty sure it's about becoming president.  What happens in the final minutes would have been a far more interesting and personal storyline for the film to follow than a corporate merger.  Alas. 
So it's an okay film that has some pretty strong moments.  If you like the premise then chances are you'll probably dig it to some degree - it's far from perfect but it's worth checking out.

1595 - The Hangover: Part II

I'm coming to this a tad later than the populous.  And I have to say that I'm a little confused as to why so many people are slamming this film.  First off, granted, the first one didn't need a sequel - but when it made the kind of money that it did, what did we expect?  I mean, come on.  So the fact that this one took from the structure of the first should be no great surprise.  And there's beauty to that idea - are these three guys in the same situation as before?  Yes.  But are they the same guys?  No.  They've been through this - they're older, wiser, etc...
The first act of this film drove me a little nuts.  Zach G isn't someone I love or hate, but I found that the set-up and rationale of getting him into the film was a bit much.  I felt that the entire set-up was a bit convoluted, but I'll let that slide.  I didn't love this film by any means, but I certainly laughed out loud at parts, and that itself is worth the price of admission.  There are some wonderfully shocking things going on here, and some really fun moments.  I personally loved the bit where we learn that Alan sees himself and all his "friends" as teenagers.  One thing that was weird to me was the Paul Giamati role - kind of a waste of a solid actor if you ask me. 
So if you loved the first film you should enjoy this one - if you automatically want to avoid it because it's "too much like the original" then you're probably making the wise choice.  No one wants people to bitch and moan about the obvious.  Like I said, not a great film, but it kept me entertained with a consistent chuckle and a few random laugh out loud moments.  And Todd Phillips, in case you were wondering, you don't need a third film in this series. 
The Hangover 2 

1594 - The Hangover

It wasn't super important to me to re-watch this prior to seeing the sequel, but I hadn't revisited it since my first viewing, so I'd been meaning to check it out again anyway and see how it was on replay value. 
This is the kind of comedy that gets along a lot based on shocks in plot - a tiger in the bathroom, baby in the closet, naked dude in the trunk.  It's as if the writers were sitting around wondering just how messed up they could make these guys - and it works.  I know that I laughed my ass off the first time I saw this - an I know that going into the sequel that it's meant to be a bit of a carbon copy - so I'll be armed with that knowledge
I think plot surprises aside, this film holds up quite well, it's set piece upon set piece, but the chemistry amongst the three guys is just fantastic and the kind of thing that you can really build a franchise out of.  Great performances and solid writing (again, another example of storytellers fucking with their characters as much as possible.  I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed to know that Heather Graham will not be in the sequel - the romantic in me wanted her and Ed Helms to ride off into the sunset together.
If you still haven't seen this and you're in any way a comedy fan, it's an absolute must-see.
The Hangover (R-Rated Single-Disc Edition)  The Hangover (Unrated Edition) [Blu-ray]

1566 - Valentine's Day

When I first started seeing the posters for this I wasn't sure if I was all that interested - despite the fact that I'm a rom-com nerd, and despite the fact that this film is full an ass-load of actors that I love - it just felt like... a gimmick.  It's not, it's actually a legitimately decent flick. 
Well, it's hard to say that it's not a gimmick - cramming this many celebrities into a film is always a bit of a ploy, but the story moves along well and feels nice and balanced, we get to see the characters weaving in and out of one another's stories and that's fun.  I liked that it wasn't just about relationship love and there seemed to be some nice pleasant surprises.  I suppose my biggest grief with the whole thing is that pretty much everyone ends up happy (except maybe the one dude - I won't spoil anything here).  I think that I would have liked to of seen it balanced a little bit more with some realistic vibes that respected the idea that some people just can't get it to work on Valentine's Day. 
Despite that if you're looking for a fun and simple rom-com, then you could do a lot worse - and it's from the master Garry Marshall.  I'm actually considering watching this again with the commentary on - I think it'll be pretty insightful - or at the very least entertaining!
Valentine's Day  Valentine's Day [Blu-ray]