1611 - Crazy Stupid Love

This film has come highly recommended - and I wanted to see it based on the storyline and actors alone - big fan of all of these people.
So, coles notes, this film is about a man whose wife randomly tells him that she wants a divorce and how he and the rest of their family deals with that. 
The one thing I kept hearing was that, if there's a complaint, maybe that it's a tad too long.  Ironically the length was fine - but it was a bit... slow in spots.  But it didn't bother me for the most part, mostly because I was just really enjoying the whole thing.  What was most impressive in this was simply the writing.  Don't get me wrong - the actors are all fantastic - the film itself is stylish and looks great (a big step up from the director's last outing - I'm looking at you 'I Love You Phillip Morris'), but when you see this film, or you revisit it, just notice how well all the threads layer and integrate over one another, and how the film never loses site that it's a comedy - no matter how intense it is at times, heartwarming and emotionally honest, the comedy stays present - it never loses site of that.  I do have two issues with the film that I'll mention below so as not to spoil - but by and large this is a fantastic film.  I recommend it highly to all.

***SPOILERS BELOW***
Okay.  So the two things that bothered me - the twist later on where we discover the greater connected between Gosling and Carrell just felt like a tad bit of a cheat.  The third connecting party was well named with a nickname that makes total sense - but their absence otherwise feels a bit forced.  Don't get me wrong, it was a wonderful reveal - but the more I thought about it the more it bothered me. 
The other thing the scene at the graduation - Carrell standing up in front of everyone was one of the very few times where I felt like the scene was being written a bit - it was a little too perfect how it went down, I found - I think that it didn't match the tone of the rest of the film perhaps and that's what bothered me.  Alas - small potatoes.  Can't wait to see it again!

1607 - Cyrus

I got around to this film a lot later than I wanted to, but better that than never, right?  I bought this DVD at a blockbuster closing sale, but I think it's on netflix as well.  Cyrus is the story of a lovable lug, John C. Reilly, who finally meets the right woman, but she's living with a needy grow-up-son, and (as expected) the two clash.
What I like in particular about how the Duplass clan approaches story telling is that it's plot by character growth.  This could have very very easily been a big broad comedy with these two men one-upping one another in outrageous ways, but I think the harder choice was to really ground this in reality and make us really feel for these characters and all of their struggles.  There is a particularly lovely device that's used where a speech/reflection from a previous or soon to come scene plays at voice-over during a scene that cleverly punctuates it.  Hill could just be a big goof, but he's human and flawed and comes to terms with that.  Most men would wonder - why put up with that shit?  But the set-u for Reilly character is perfect, and honestly, who wouldn't want to be with this smart, sexy, and fun Marissa Tomei?!  She and Reilly have a lovely chemistry together and it makes the story work because of it (not that there are story problems, far from it). 
This is by no means laugh-out-loud, but there's some great chuckles, but more importantly it's about dealing with change when you're not ready to and don't know how.  It's a lovely, lovely film and I recommend it for anyone who likes good character romance and drama. 
Cyrus  Cyrus [Blu-ray]

1092 - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

I wanted to see this last year at TIFF and then never got around to it when it was in the theaters. I'm a fan of all the actors involved, and am of the mindset that Maria Tomei is widely underused. She's more than just beautiful. She's radiant. The fractured style of this story works quite well as we get to see the motivations and perspectives at different times and for different reasons. I think that it helps to distract from a pretty simple narrative by making it more complex just through the telling. That in and of itself is a powerful choice in storytelling and it serves the film well. The stakes in this film keep rising and it works really well to the point where you wonder just how the hell they'll get out of it, or if they possibly can. I'm trying to watch heist films, etc... in preparation for something I'm working on, but I don't think this quite worked. Oh well, still worth watching :)