My Review: 10 Years (7/10)

¨Now the party can start!¨

The film is about a 10 year High School reunion, and I know that the formula seems repeated and overdone but this film felt fresh and original. The cast is great and they all share a good amount of screen time. This film manages to deal with all the separate stories and characters much better than other high budget films tried to (Valentine`s Day and New Year`s Eve). I was interested in the different relationships between these characters and was hooked from the beginning. I thought Channing Tatum would be the lead character and that the story would focus around him, but it actually doesn’t; everyone gets a decent amount of screen time. There is no side story here, all the stories are equally relevant and have sufficient time to find some sort of closure. 10 Years was written and directed by Jamie Linden and this was his first film as a director. He had written the screenplays for Dear John and We Are Marshall. Here he gets to work with Tatum once again, but my favorite performance from this movie came from Oscar Isaac, who I really liked in Drive. Drive was my favorite movie from 2011, and despite the fact that Ryan Gosling carried that movie; I thought Isaac was absolutely perfect in his role as well. The chemistry he shares here with Kate Mara is amazing, and the song he performs at the karaoke bar was one of the highlights of the movie. 10 Years is not a laugh out comedy, but it has it`s funny moments. I felt like it worked best as a sort of melancholic romantic drama. The actors were all perfectly casted in my opinion and they each delivered. 10 Years was a lovely and entertaining film.

As I mentioned before the story revolves around a 10 year High School reunion. The first couple that`s introduced in the story is Jake (Channing Tatum) and Jess (Jenna Dewan-Tatum) who have been dating over three years. Jess is going to accompany Jake to his High School reunion. Before going to the party they stop to meet up with Jake`s High School buddies Cully (Chris Pratt) and Sam (Ari Graynor) who are happily married with two kids. Then they also reunite with Marty (Justin Long) and AJ (Max Minghella), and with Scott (Scott Porter) and Suki (Eiko Nijo) who are visiting from Japan. The last one that meets up with them is Reeves (Oscar Isaac), the most successful person from his class who has become a rock celebrity. Together they arrive at the High school reunion and meet up with the rest of their classmates. Cully, who was the class bully, is trying to redeem himself from his past and is looking to make amends with all the nerds. Jake is surprised when he sees  his ex-High School sweetheart, Mary (Rosario Dawson) arrive with her hubby Paul (Ron Livingston). Apparently Jake and Mary were pretty much a perfect couple during their teenage years. And then there`s Elise (Kate Mara) who always played it low in High School, but who Reeves remembers all too well as the girl who got away. There are several other supporting characters who also contribute to the overall humor and heart of the film like Garrity (Brian Geraghty), the ¨whigger¨ and his wife Olivia (Aubrey Plaza) who had never heard of that side of Garrity.

There is no novelty or breakthrough in this film. The story has been told before and we`ve seen the characters in other movies. In a way 10 Years reminded me of an 80`s John Hughes movie. The film really worked thanks to some great performances from the cast and an emotionally gripping script. I was really hooked with some of the stories and the way in which these characters interacted with each other. Despite the ten years that had gone by, these characters still remained the same deep down inside and some needed closure. I loved Isaac`s character and his song. His story and the chemistry between him and Mara was pretty intense. Aubrey Plaza really didn’t get much screen time, but I saw her as a leading lady in Safety Not Guaranteed and there is no doubt she is really talented. Tatum got to act beside his wife once again after first meeting her on the set of Step Up. There was really a lot of chemistry between so many of these characters and they all seemed like real life friends. This is an interesting directorial debut from Jamie Linden and I hope more people get to see this good movie.

  

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My Review: Safety Not Guaranteed (9/10)

¨But at the end of the day do I need someone when I'm doubting myself and I'm insecure and my heart's failing me? Do I need someone who, when the heat gets hot, has my back?¨

Safety Not Guaranteed may be a small independent film, but it has a huge heart. They may not have had a great budget to work with, but the movie felt more authentic than most big budget Hollywood movies. Safety Not Guaranteed has great comedic touches, some drama, sci-fi, and even romance. It is a complete film that connects with the audience from the very opening scene. This is director Colin Trevorrow`s first feature film and he made a brilliant movie. He had a great screenplay to work with, also from a first time screenwriter, Derek Connolly, who happened to write the story specifically with Aubrey Plaza (from Parks and Recreation) in mind to play the lead character. She was amazing in this film as was her co-lead, Mark Duplass (Humpday). The chemistry between the two lead actors was really authentic, but the film also had a great story arch for the secondary characters as well. The film was really well written and the dialogue top notch. It`s hard to come across a movie that connects with the audience so well in so many different levels. I felt this was the indie version of Back to the Future, not because the film actually takes us to the past or shows us how to get there, but because it explores the issue of why someone would want to go back. I think that is much more important in a time traveling movie than the actual adventure. The characters here had a lot of depth and there were so many things happening in such a short period of time that I really don’t know how Treverrow accomplished all of this. This is a unique film that is hard to come across, an indie that actually feels like an indie, but that isn’t afraid to explore new subject matters.

Darius (Aubrey Plaza), who has a rather anti social behavior, lives in Seattle and is working as an intern for a magazine company. When her boss, Bridget (Mary Lynn Rajskub), asks the crew to come up with ideas for the next article, staff writer Jeff (Jake Johnson) mentions an unusual article that has been published in a classified ad in a small coastal town. The ad states the following ¨Wanted: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You will get paid when we get back. Safety not guaranteed.¨ Bridget gives the project the green light and sends Jeff to that town to investigate along with two interns: Darius and Arnau (Karan Soni). When the trio arrives at the town they begin investigating the man responsible for the ad: Kenneth (Mark Duplass). He acts all mysterious and is convinced that he is being followed. When Jeff tries to approach him and volunteer himself as the time travel companion Kenneth refuses and sends him away. Darius however manages to make a connection with Kenneth and wins his trust. The interns also discover that the real reason for Jeff wanting to write an article on Kenneth is because he wanted an excuse to reunite with his High School fling, Liz (Jenica Bergere), who lives in the same town. That relationship becomes the side story to the main idea that revolves on the relationship that Kenneth and Darius begin to form as they prepare for their time travel. The real question is whether Kenneth really is building a time machine or if he´s just a messed up and crazy person.

The connection that Darius and Kenneth make is the true heart of the story. The question isn’t whether Kenneth can actually time travel or if he can really go back in time, but rather why he wants to go back and if he`s crazy or not. He does act in a rather peculiar way, but he´s also a very nice person who cares for others. That is what ultimately attracts Darius to him, his humane heart, although she isn’t quite sure if this guy is totally nuts or a genius. The film deals with these issues in a very authentic and powerful way. I really connected with this small indie film and enjoyed every minute of it. It had me laughing really hard at times, despite it not being a laugh out loud comedy. It has a lot of heart and even mixes some sci-fi elements as well to please everyone. The performances were really special, but the screenplay helped a lot as well. There were several moments and dialogues that rang really true throughout the film. I really loved this film and recommend it if you have a chance to see it.

   

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