Film Review: In Bruges (2008)

Ray (Colin Farrell) is a funny, begrudged rookie hit man riddled with guilt after his first job went wrong. Ken (Brendan Gleeson) is the older, experienced colleague. They are both sent to Bruges, Belgium by their boss (Ralph Fiennes) to hide out for a while after Ray's bad hit in London. Bruges is a fairytale town filled with medieval buildings and bosch art, beautiful waterways swimming with swans, and a film crew shooting a piece of "Euro trash" starring a midget in a dream sequence. Ray does not want to be here.



The movie was really entertaining and filled with dark humor and Scottish accents. You should know there is a fair amount of gore, language, and disturbing images, but they don't overdo it. Colin is just wonderful, and this character has a softer, more vulnerable feel than his usual roles. Brendan really grounds the movie, and his character becomes the hero of the show. It's definitely worth seeing, and I would watch it again in a second.

Film Review: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

This is my second favorite, if not my favorite, Wes Anderson movie behind Moonrise Kingdom. It's so detailed and chock-full of interesting dialogue, colors, textures, feeling, and story. The costumes really give you a sense of the characters (especially Margot's black eyeliner and straight blonde hair).





The characters are so thought out and unique. My favorites were the Tenenbaum children and Pagoda, the Indian butler-man who stabs Royal twice and then tends to his wound or bring him to a hospital. Margot Tenenbaum (Gwyneth Paltrow) is the sullen, secluded, adopted daughter that was a playwright as a child and smoked since the age of twelve. Richie (Luke Wilson) is Royal's favorite child, the tennis star who is in love with Margot, his adopted sister. Chas (Ben Stiller) is the business man who made a fortune when he was little and now has to raise his two boys alone since his wife died in a plane crash. Eli Cash (Owen Wilson) is Richie's best friend and a Tenenbaum wannabe that wrote a successful book and gets addicted to drugs with horrible consequences. He also had an affair with Margot, who is married to a writer named Raleigh St. Clair (Bill Murray).

 

Royal is the Tenenbaum patriarch who has not been present during most of his kids' lives, until he becomes broke and makes up a story about having cancer so he can stay with them. Etheline (Anjelica Houston) is an archeologist and mother of the Tenenbaum children, who raised the little "geniuses" by herself. She ends up falling in love with her accountant, Henry Sherman (Danny Glover).

 

This movie was very addictive and the cast is wonderful and spot on. I loved Gwyneth's moody Margot and Luke's sensitive Richie that fall in love with each other, even though it may be frowned upon. I also laughed hysterically at times (probably due to Ben Stiller or Owen Wilson). This is definitely one of my all time favorite movies; I suggest you see it.

Film Review: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

There are some Wes Anderson movies I don't like very much... this is not one of them. Bill Murray is a comedic genius, but we all knew that. He plays Steve Zissou, a Jacques Cousteau-like character who is on a mission to find a mythical shark that killed his best friend while on a dive. He takes along his crew, his estranged son he just met (Owen Wilson), a pregnant journalist (Cate Blanchett), a handful of unpaid interns, and his film crew to make the documentary about his travels. The cast is superb (Willem Dafoe plays a funny little man who thinks of Steve as a father, even though they look the same age, and Jeff Goldblum plays Steve's snobbish competition). The film itself is full of exciting moments, explosions, pirates, stop-motion animation creatures under the sea, and Bill Murray in a speedo. Not as bad as it sounds...



Wes' movies always read like a story book and are executed like a play, this is no exception. They built a ship, and cut it down the middle so they could shoot long continuous shots of Bill and other characters walking from room to room, up and down ladders (from the sauna to the kitchen to the engine room, etc.). It looks fantastic and I bet that would have been fun to work on.

The music is wonderful; it's a mix of songs I've never heard before, and ones I recognize. The imagery is vibrant and full of bold colors, like most of his movies. This is one of my favorites that Wes has made, along with Moonrise Kingdom and The Darjeeling Limited. Give it a watch.

Film Review: Mud (2012)

We know Mathew McConaughey is his own hero, but he's actually not a bad person to look up to. In Mud he really got his character to seem gritty and tough, but also vulnerable and good hearted, and made me root for him in the end. The boys (Ellis and Neckbone) elevated the movie and brought a real genuine feel to it. Filmed in Arkansas, it shows life on the Mississippi river, and is a portrait of small town life.



Best friends Ellis and Neckbone set out down the river following a rumor of an abandoned boat stuck in a tree after a storm. They immediately claim it for their own, until they notice the fresh groceries inside... They then encounter Mud, a homeless fugitive living on the island to rendezvous with his one true love Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). Ellis (Tye Sheridan) takes it upon himself to reunite the long lost lovers, to prove to himself that love is real, and doesn't always fail like it has with his newly separated parents. This movie is definitely one of McConaughey's best, Tye brings real heart to his role, and the shootout at the end is pretty exciting. Give it a watch.

Film Review: About Time (2013)

First, I have to say, this movie was much better than the last movie Rachel McAdams was in where she fell in love with a time traveler. That's mostly due to Domhnall Gleeson and Bill Nighy.

Tim and all the men in his family have the ability to time travel, but only to the past and within their own timelines. They can't travel to the future, because that would be silly. He uses his miraculous talent for love - love for Rachel's character Mary, love for his eclectic purple-loving sister Kit Kat, love for his ginger children, and love for his father. He can use his ability to relive the same day over and over again if he wished, or he can go back to correct a mistake like offending a lesbian, which can come in pretty handy. He later realizes he doesn't have to use time travel, he just has to live every day appreciating the little things to be happy.

 

I enjoyed this movie; Bill Nighy's wit, Domhnall's heartfelt performance, and Kit Kat's personality kept me watching 'till the end. I even came to care about Tim so much, that I was scared he was going to mess everything up with the careless use of his powers!

 

 

Film Review: Rush (2013)

This is a Ron Howard film starring Chris Hemsworth as Formula 1 driver James Hunt and Daniel Bruhl as his rival driver Niki Lauda. James and Niki compete for the world champion title in racing, and become enemies that actually need each other. The sport is very dangerous; at 180mph one wrong move and you could die. Based on a true story, this movie takes place during the '70s and follows the two young drivers as they strive for the title and butt heads with each other. James likes girls, partying, and drinking, while Niki is calculated and focused on being the best. A terrible crash burns half of Niki's face and lungs, and leaves him in a hospital bed to watch James win the races he should have been in.


The film is thrilling, and if you're like me who knew nothing about Lauda or Hunt beforehand, the ending is a surprise. For those of you who know the outcome, the movie is still worth a watch. I'm not a racing fanatic, but I still enjoyed watching Niki and James' rivalry play out. Also, it doesn't hurt that Chris Hemsworth is nice to stare at.

Film Review: The Fifth Estate (2013)

This movie was surprisingly enjoyable to watch; it felt like a very smart movie that dealt with how communication can be a force of good or evil. Benedict Cumberbatch, of whom I am a huge fan, was mesmerizing to watch as Julian Assange, and Daniel Bruhl played an interesting character as well. I couldn't keep my eyes off the white flowing hair and aussie accent on Julian - Benedict really nailed it. I thought this movie would be kind of boring because I didn't really know what WikiLeaks was and I thought "Why would I want to watch Ben in that stringy white hair and weird accent," but that's what made the character really come to life for me. I wasn't watching Ben, I was watching Julian.

 

There's some surprise guests in this movie that made me gasp at the sight of them, namely Peter Capaldi (the new Doctor on Doctor Who), Dan Stevens (Mathew on Downton Abbey), and David Thewlis (Remus from Harry Potter). This really was a very interesting movie and is worth a watch.