Sunday, January 29, 2012

Film Review: Trust (2010)


I first heard about this movie when the rating it was given by the MPAA was appealed, with director David Schwimmer (Ross from Friends, if any of you didn't know) claiming the movie needed a PG-13 rating instead of an R so that young people could see this movie and be made aware of the danger of online sexual predators. Because it's not like old people who no understanding of the internet whatsoever have been hyping up this danger to us since we were old enough to reach a keyboard, or anything...

I have a thing for Lifetime-esque social issues dramas, and had seen that my sister had watched this on my Netflix account and decided to watch it myself. I was actually pleasantly surprised. The movie revolves around a fourteen year old girl who falls prey to an online predator, and does a great job of showing the grooming process and how he's able to manipulate her into believing his progressively sketchier lies, and how and why she falls for it. I will admit though, the five times he lies about his age (getting progressively older each time) becomes somewhat comical. The aftermath of the attack encompasses the majority of this films running time, and focuses on the emotional fallout for the entire family, not just Annie's.

Catherine Keener and Clive Owen are fantastic, as they always are. This movie seems to compress it's preachiness into specific scenes (which might make you roll your eyes a couple of times) but most of the movie is truly about the family and the emotions they feel regarding the assault. Artistically David Schwimmer did a pretty good job, the directing is superb and saves this movie from being associated with typical after-school-special-fare. I would definitely recommend it.

Artistic Value- 4.
Entertainment Value- 4 (if you like this sort of more novel-like structure story. If you're into sci-fi or big Hollywood blockbusters, this movie will be torture for you).

Sunday, January 22, 2012

TV Review: Portlandia



So I had heard a lot about Portlandia from various friends telling me how great it was, and because the first season (only six episodes) was available on Netflix (my only source of entertainment, now that Megaupload is gone...) I decided to finally watch it. And I'm glad I did.

The show centers around Portland, but the entire thing could pretty easily be Bellingham. Even the houses look like they belong in Bellingham. Portlandia is a sketch comedy show that pretty much exclusively revolves around making fun of hipsters, everyone's favorite past time. If you've ever rolled your eyes at someone's obsession with free range chicken, Portland's desperation not to be Seattle, or the fact that every other person you know works part-time at the Co-Op you will love this show.

The show is surprisingly well-shot and the opening credits are beautiful in my opinion, and my favorite segment is the "feminist book store" recurring storyline. I honestly feel like this is a show we'll all remember twenty years from now, because it speaks to our current cultural environment so well. I feel like to even understand this show, you'd pretty much have to be under the age of thirty and living in the Pacific Northwest and that leaves you with a sense of local camaraderie after watching.

Artistic Value: 4- Pretty surprising for a comedy show.
Entertainment Value: 5

Friday, January 13, 2012

First Film Review: Rabbit Hole (2010)


The title and poster of this movie make it sound way more exciting than it actually is.

For the sake of full discretion, maybe I should be honest and say I am really turned off by films that are obvious Oscar bait. You know them, the films that just scream "we all want Oscars so we manufactured this film specifically for the Academy." It's blatantly obvious that's what Nicole Kidman did with this film, and she did get her nomination, although she predictably lost to Natalie Portman for "Black Swan."

In Rabbit Hole, filthy rich Nicole Kidman and her husband Aaron Eckhart are grieving the death of their four year old son. That's essentially the beginning, the middle, and the end too. No, seriously. I'm not even going to use spoiler tags in this entire post, because there's nothing to spoil. In the midst of devising ways to win the Oscar I think they forgot to write a plot. It's basically ninety minutes of grief porn.

Nicole Kidman's character is not particularly likeable, either. She comes off as judgmental, snobby, and randomly assaults people. I understand how much she was going through, but still. She was a difficult character to relate to.

The cinematography, sets, and shots of this movie were beautiful. The acting from everyone involved was superb. Artistically, this movie gets a very high score, but as entertainment, skip it.

Artistic Value: 5
Entertainment Value: 1