Serena (3/10): Course 101 on how execution and post production can ruin a film

“I think you’ve taken nine months to do about six months work.”

It’s funny that Jennifer Lawrence was given this line in a film that took over 18 months to make during post-production because for what it is, this could have been edited much better in two or three months. The narrative feels choppy and instead of focusing on the characters in this period piece they move the narrative from one act to the next without ever giving the audience anything to chew on. This is simply a flat period romance with very little chemistry that misfires on all cylinders (editing, casting, and screenplay). You can’t help but feel that there is another film in here somewhere that got lost in the editing room. Serena seemed to be a film aiming for Oscar gold because it had everything going for beginning from the romantic pairing of Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper after their incredible success in Silver Linings Playbook. Add the solid Danish director, Susanne Bier (In a Better World), and a script based on Ron Rash’s 2008 novel to the mix and Serena seemed to be a sure bet. I had high expectations for it and many were already including it as a contender for next year’s Academy Award even before it finished being produced. How could a film like this end up being so forgettable and predictable at the same time? I’d guess the blame relies on the producers who tried to cash in on Lawrence and Cooper’s success by centering the film on the romance instead of focusing on the other interesting cast members. The romance never works here because the characters are never fully developed so there is no way we can invest in their relationship. The amazing chemistry these two actors had in their previous film is completely wasted here. Everything about this film seemed disconnected and I am sure it won’t live up to the aspirations the producers and critics had for Serena. 

I have genuinely enjoyed all of Jennifer Lawrence’s performances up to this film. The setting in the woods reminded me of the first time I saw J-Law in Winter’s Bone, a film so richly invested in character development that I was expecting her to deliver another outstanding performance. That comparison to Winter’s Bone only ended up disappointing me. She is extremely over the top in this film and the emotional scenes she gets are never believable. The scenes where she breaks down and cries were painful to watch. Bradley Cooper loses his charm as well, but I guess the blame relies on the script. If you are trying to deliver a strong romantic period piece you have the right actors to do so, but the script doesn’t help build the romance. Bradley Cooper’s character catches up to J-Law on a horse and asks her to marry him and then they are married. The entire film felt sort of chopped up and fast forwarded to the key parts of the story without taking time to give the characters any depth. About 15 minutes into the movie I knew where everything was heading and it was a huge disappointment for me because I expected a lot more from this film. The secondary cast is interesting, but unfortunately very little time is given to these characters. Rhys Ifans, Toby Jones, and David Dencik are extremely talented actors and I wish the script would’ve given them more time. Unfortunately Christopher Kyle’s script misses the mark at every turn. The only positive thing about Serena was Morten Søborg's beautiful cinematography. 

Mockingjay Part 1 (6/10): Propaganda for what is to come

“I have a message for President Snow: If we burn, you burn with us!”

When Francis Lawrence took over director duty for the second film in the Hunger Games franchise we got a much more serious YA adaptation from Collins’s novel. The film had a great sense of pacing and storytelling while introducing us to the Capitol and the other districts and not just focusing on the actual Hunger Games. I thought it was a much better film than the first, but I still loved them both. They ended up in my list of the best films for the year in which they were released, so my expectations for this third film were huge considering Lawrence was back in the director’s chair. I still had some concerns about adapting the final book in two parts because the first parts didn’t work too well with the Twilight and Harry Potter franchises. My concerns turned out to be true because I did have a similar issue with Mockingjay Part 1. The entire film felt stretched, focusing on small details that didn’t do much to build the tension of the story. It actually hurt the pacing of the film that the director had worked so well with in the previous installment. This first part felt like a slow build-up and a giant filler to what will come next in the grand finale, so I couldn’t help but feel let down by what Francis Lawrence had to offer. I still enjoyed Mockingjay, but it doesn’t live up to its predecessors. 

Mockingjay is a huge departure from the previous films. There are no Hunger Games and very little action scenes here, while there is a lot of exposition and preparation for what is to come. The previous films worked as a social commentary on reality TV, while this one focuses more on advertising. Catching Fire allowed us into the Capitol where we got a glimpse of who the real enemy was, but in Mockingjay we don’t see what is actually going on in the Capitol and everything takes place mostly in District 13 where a big revolution is uprising. What all three films do have in common is the strong lead performance from Jennifer Lawrence who holds everything in place and keeps us engaged with this dystopian world Collins has introduced us to. When certain scenes in Mockingjay began to feel tedious or drag out a bit too long, Lawrence’s Katniss reminded us why we are tagging along with this franchise. She literally is the symbol of hope for the rebellion as much as she is for the franchise. This film is more political than the previous ones and we are introduced to a lot of propaganda (not just as a build-up for the next film, but actual propaganda as the Capital and District 13 try to smear each other’s credibility). The political intrigue plays out as a sort of chess game where one side tries to outdo the other. This was done really well here, but the problem was that it became repetitive, and that is where I felt the story was incredibly stretched out.

Jennifer Lawrence has some great scenes in this film, and others that felt a bit cheesy (the nightmares for example), but during a scene where she sends a message to President Snow she gave me goose-bumps. I also enjoyed the scene where she sings “the hanging tree” lullaby. Those were the moments that drew me back to the film and reminded me why I loved this franchise in the first place. I am sure the second part of this film will work better, but the slow build-up didn’t do much for me here. I missed some of the characters that I had learned to love and that only got a few minutes of screen time here. Haymitch and Caesar provided some of the much needed comic relief in the previous films, but here everything becomes political and serious and there is little room for them. Effie is perhaps the character who comes out better this time around and Elizabeth Banks nails the role once again. The new characters didn’t do much for me and despite the fact that Liam Hemsworth gets much more screen time as Gale he doesn’t do much either. Claflin’s role as Finnick is nowhere as nearly interesting as it was in Catching Fire. Phillip Seymour Hoffman brings class once again to his role and he also stood out for me, while Josh Hutcherson shows much more range as Peeta here despite the very little screen time he’s given. So despite having a lot of interesting characters in the franchise, they really don’t get to do anything interesting in Mockingjay. Of course, the film ends with a teaser and we will all return for the grand finale despite the slow build-up because enough time has been spent on these characters and we care for them.

My Review: House at the End of the Street (4/10)

"People don't notice all the secrets around them. Even though they're right in front of them, just hiding, waiting to be found."

If you thought the title of this film was bad, wait until you actually see the movie because it is pretty much a standard film in the horror genre. I don't even think you can consider this one a horror film, because there isn't much scares; it is more of a teen romantic suspense film.  It's formulaic and by the books. Jennifer Lawrence had a perfect rating until I got around to watching this film. She didn't have much to work with and she gives a decent performance but nothing like the work we've come to expect from her these days. This is a forgettable film and one that despite having an interesting twist towards the end ruins it by extending the absurdity a bit too long in the final act. The clever twist lost its appeal for me when director, Mark Tonderai, decided to continue stretching out the scene making each second more and more unbelievable and pointless.

The screenplay co-written by David Loucka and Jonathan Mostow centers on a single mother, Sarah (Elisabeth Shue), and her teenage daughter, Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence) who arrive from Chicago to a small town to start a new life. Their new home is big and beautiful and of course they bought it cheap because the house in front of theirs has a dark past. A 13 year old girl murdered her parents four years ago and never was found. The girl's brother, Ryan (Max Thieriot), who was living with her aunt at that time now lives in that house and leads a quiet and lonely life. The neighbors aren't too friendly towards him, but Elissa who happens to have a thing with fixing broken people takes a liking for him. Her mother is worried about their new friendship, but the town's Sherif (Gil Bellows) assures her that he's never caused any trouble. But Ryan has a secret he's kept to himself all this time which explains his lonely behavior. 

House at the End of the Street is full of cliches and borrows ideas from other much better horror films. I would've enjoyed the twist more if it didn't rely so much on these cliches and would have avoided the predictable ending. There's a scene where Ryan and Elissa stare at a tree and he tells her how he sees the face of a man on it. It's a straight forward metaphor in the film reminding us that sometimes we see things that aren't really there. Storytellers have the power to make us believe or see things about certain characters that are truly not there. The film might appeal to some teens and fans of Jennifer Lawrence, but this formulaic film has bad editing and relies on so many horror cliches like the "shocking" sound effects that don't necessarily work very well. It's ineffective and uninspiring and if we had never heard of Jennifer Lawrence before we'd never consider her as an upcoming star. 

My Review: X-Men: Days of Future Past (9/10)

"Are we destined to destroy each other, or can we change each other and unite? Is the future truly set?"

I don't know if I have the right words to explain how much fun this seventh film in the X-Men franchise truly is. Matthew Vaughn revived this franchise in First Class by taking us to the past and giving the film a much more emotionally dramatic tone, focusing on the relationship between Charles and Erik. The greatest thing about that film was the cast he was able to assemble with James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult leading the pack. At first I didn't know quite what to expect when I heard Vaughn was stepping down and leaving Days of Future Past in Bryan Singer's hands. On the one hand he was responsible for the success of the first two X-Men films, but on the other hand I was let down with Superman Returns. I guess I kind of forgot this man was responsible for the superhero genre revival (contrary to popular belief, it was him with the first X-Men film not Sam Raimi with SpiderMan which came out two years later) that has dominated movie screens for the past decade and a half. Singer hasn't lost his touch and he delivers an exhilarating and entertaining film worthy of being a blockbuster summer hit. It has everything you want from a blockbuster movie: fantastic visuals, great action sequences, a perfect ensemble cast, and a story that is both fun and emotionally engaging. I don't just want cool visuals and nice actions sequences, I want to be engaged with the characters and care for them, and that is what Singer pulls off beautifully with Days of Future Past. Add the wonderful performances from Fassbender, McAvoy, Lawrence, Stewart, Jackman, and a wonderful scene with Evan Peters as Quicksilver and you have a perfect movie. This might just be my favorite superhero film after The Dark Knight due to the fact that the cast is amazing and that Singer managed to perfectly blend the best aspects of the earlier films in the franchise with the new elements Vaughn brought to the reboot. It is hard to imagine how after 7 films, Days of Future Past manages to remain so fresh and keep the audience so emotionally invested in these characters. As we reach the halfway point of the year, I must say this is the best film of 2014 so far.

Based on the Days of Future Past comic book story arc written by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, the screenplay was adapted by Simon Kinberg. Set in an apocalyptic future, the few surviving mutants are struggling to fight together against sentinels created by humans to hunt them down. The few surviving mutants we see fighting in the first scene are Colossus, Sunspot, Bishop, Iceman, Warpath, Blink, and Kitty Pryde. There isn't much they can do against these sentinels that adapt and absorb their powers. Several mutants are killed during the attack, but then all of a sudden they disappear as we discover Kitty Pryde's (Ellen Page) mutation has evolved in such a way that she can send someone's consciousness back through time. By doing so they were able to send Bishop a few minutes back in time and warn them about the sentinel attack, thus altering the recent timeline and staying alive. Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) know that the mutants are facing extinction and that in order to be saved they must return to the past and undo something Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) did in 1973. Along with Charles and Magneto, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Storm (Halle Berry) arrive to the place where the rest of the mutants are hiding out. Since Wolverine is the only one who doesn't age and who can fully recover, they decide he is the only one fit to return to the past and stop Mystique from assassinating Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), the creator of the sentinel program. His murder would only fuel human's hate towards mutants and lead them to perfecting his work through experimentation with Mystique's unique DNA. Once back in the past, Logan must reach out to Charles (James McAvoy) and Erick (Michael Fassbender) and unite them in order to stop Mystique from achieving her goal and thus saving their future. 

Time traveling can be a difficult and tricky feat to pull off, but by using a similar approach to other films such as The Terminator, Singer manages to turn it into a quite simple premise. He merges both timelines perfectly in a satisfactory way. The film feels genuine thanks to some wonderful performances, strong character development, excellent pacing, and the emotional risks that are involved. In a way, I felt like Days of Future Past followed the steps of its predecessor and fixed a lot of the problems audiences had with The Last Stand, thus reinvigorating the franchise without having to reboot it. The film is inventive, original, and there are plenty of surprises. I loved every moment Fassbender was on screen as he absolutely dominates every dramatic moment. Jackman's Wolverine was always my favorite character in the X-Men franchise, and he is fantastic, but this time he has a lot of help from the rest of the cast. McAvoy also adds a lot to the emotional dramatic effect of the film on the viewer. The scene he is confronted by his future self (Stewart) is impressive. His character and Fassbender's are complete opposites despite the fact that they truly respect and care for each other. Lawrence's Mystique seems to be at the center of their struggle. All these elements combined with Singer's breathtaking visuals turn what could've been just another conventional superhero film into an epic one. Singer also knows how to balance action with dramatic moments along with some comedic ones. Despite all the memorable scenes in this highly entertaining blockbuster movie, Evan Peters stills it in the scene where they are helping Magneto escape. That is just a pure example of how Singer managed to balance all those elements together by mixing thrills with laughs. 

My Review: American Hustle (8/10)

"She was the Picasso of passive-aggressive karate."

American Hustle is an entertaining and fun film with the best performance from an ensemble cast all year. Director David O. Russell delivers a solid comedy and brings out the best from his actors which in my opinion really are the highlight of this film. I think American Hustle has been overhyped a bit, and perhaps I went to see it with way too high expectations, but despite being entertained and enjoying this I still felt like this was a bit of a let down for Russell compared with his other films. The comedy worked really well thanks to a slick and clever script, but the crime elements lacked some thrills. I also had some issues with the pacing of this film; it started off really slow and didn't pick up until halfway through the film when the science oven scene took place. A lot of credit has to be given however to the attention to detail because it really felt like a groovy 70's film. It had a lot of style and the hair and makeup in this film deserves an Oscar. In the opening scene where you see Bale's character getting a comb over you know you are in for a ride. American Hustle is an ambitious film that explores the American Dream and the need to reinvent oneself through some very memorable characters. The characters are the real center of this film.

The film is very loosely based on the Abscam political scandal that took place during the 70's in New Jersey. Irving (Christian Bale) is a successful con man who has survived thanks to keeping a low profile. He immediately falls in love with Sydney (Amy Adams) when he meets her at a party and introduces her to his world. She actually helps him thrive in his business thanks to her seductive powers, but they get into trouble with the law when an FBI agent named Richie DiMaso catches up with their illegal actions. Being the ambitious agent that he is, Richie doesn't want to settle for these small crooks and forces them to help him catch bigger fish like corrupt politicians and power-brokers. Sydney tries to convince Irving to flee the country together, but he doesn't want to leave his son with his unpredictable wife, Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) who would never let him take the boy. Things get dangerous when the mafia get involved in the scam and Irving befriends the local Mayor, Carmine (Jeremy Renner), who despite having good intentions gets caught up in the middle of the mess. Irving and Sydney will have to pull out their greatest con job if they want to come out of this alive.

This entertaining and ambitious film succeeds thanks to a wonderful cast. Christian Bale and Amy Adams give outstanding performances in the lead role. Bale went through an extreme physical change gaining several pounds for his role and Adams looks sexier than ever with all the 70's glamour. They are completely believable in their roles and share several funny moments on screen. Bradley Cooper is also great as the wild and impulsive FBI agent who wants to get to the top as quick as possible. The scenes he shares with Louis C.K. are hilarious. Jeremy Renner is probably the weakest character in this film, but his quiet performance is solid. Despite all these great performances no one stands out the most as Jennifer Lawrence. She truly shines in this film and deserves an Oscar for her supporting performance. She's unstable and volatile while being very manipulative and she's just extremely funny in this movie. It is a memorable performance and Lawrence is turning out to be one of the best actresses of our generation. The cast are responsible for making this film such a fun and entertaining one. The film may not be original or groundbreaking but it is a near perfect imitation of other great films kind of like the replicas of the paintings that Irving sold. "Now who is the master, the painter or the forger?" That's Russell's question for the audience for the audience to decide.

My Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (9/10)

"Remember who the real enemy is."

Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) takes over director duty from Gary Ross in the sequel to The Hunger Games franchise which results in a much darker and better film. I know I gave the original Hunger Games film the same rating as this one, but I think I was a little too generous with the first film. Francis clearly sets the right mood and tone for this franchise by giving us a better picture of the world outside of the games. The districts and the Capitol are better portrayed here and we get a sense of who the real enemy is now. In the first film I felt like the enemies were some of the kids from the first districts, while in this sequel you get more of a sense as to why the Capitol and President Snow are the true enemies. The film takes more time to set up this world and it does so with a great sense of pacing and storytelling. The actual Hunger Games don't begin until the second half of the film, but I was ok with the buildup since it was absolutely necessary. Catching Fire gives us glimpses of what we are going to get in the next two films as sparks of a revolution begin to develop, and it also gives us new characters that are certain to play a key role in the upcoming films. These new characters are far better developed than the ones in the first film and the entire film sets things up perfectly for the grand finale. Jennifer Lawrence carries this film and she truly is a girl on fire showing both sides of her persona: her courage and her vulnerability. She balances these elements and the struggles she's going through perfectly and allows the audience to identify with her character. I don't think that two and a half hours have gone by so quickly for me as it did during this movie (I've seen 90 minute films that seemed to be longer than this) because it was just so exciting and engaging. The action during the actual games were also much better developed (no more shaky cams). Catching Fire is probably along with Star Trek Into Darkness the best blockbuster of the year.

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrece) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), the winners of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, have returned home. Katniss has turned into a symbol of hope for the people who are beginning to rebel against the totalitarian government of the Capitol under President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Katniss and Peeta's return home is short lived as they embark on a Victor's Tour around all the districts paying their respects to the falling tributes. Despite Katniss's love for Gale (Liam Hemsworth), she is forced to continue with the farce surrounding the media coverage of her relationship with Peeta. Effie (Elizabeth Banks) and Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) join Katniss and Peeta as advisors during the tour. President Snow recognizes that Katniss has become a symbol of hope for the people outside of the Capitol and therefore has a surprise for the upcoming Quarter Quell (the 75th Annual Hunger Games). He announces that for this special event a male and female tribute winner from every district will have to compete against each other in this tournament of champions. Katniss and Peeta are the chosen tributes from District 12 who will face other tributes in a special arena designed by the new Head Gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Other tributes include Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) and Johanna Mason (Jena Malone) who form an alliance with them. President Snow is planning on crushing Panem's new symbol of hope, but Katniss will do what it takes to survive and protect her loved ones.

Francis Lawrence does a much better job here at exploring the different themes that the film is trying to get across. Catching Fire is more than a simple survival tale as other themes such as government oppression, heavily marked social classes, and society's obsession with celebrities are all explored very well. The characters are better developed as well. Take Katniss for example, as she's forced to live a double life feeling hypocritical and imprisoned at times as she has to hide her true feelings for Gale. She doesn't feel like a hero and doesn't want to be that symbol of hope that's she become. She has to come to grips with her new identity and the responsibility that has come with it. Jennifer Lawrence delivers a strong performance as she shows these inner struggles she's facing while at the same time proving she can be lethal. The film is also very well adapted by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) and Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) from Suzanne Collins' novel. The returning supporting actors like Lenny Kravitz and Stanley Tucci are phenomenal once again, while the new characters played by Jenna Malone, Sam Claflin, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Jeffrey Wright have sparked my interest as to what they can bring to this franchise. They were all very well developed and add so much to a first part which in my opinion was dependent entirely on Jennifer Lawrence. She carries this film once again, but has an even more impressive supporting cast to leave us even more hooked with the cliffhanger ending. This film was great and I haven't even mentioned the amazing sets and awesome costume designs that went up a notch from last year's Hunger Games. Catching Fire is an upgrade over the original film and one you should definitely give a chance.

My Oscars Reactions (17/24)

¨And the Oscar for Best Picture goes to Argo¨

Last night the 85^th Academy Awards were celebrated in a big way. Hollywood´s top actors made their way through the red carpet with a lot of glamour. I´m not a fashion expert so I won´t comment on who was wearing what, but I can say that everyone looked beautiful. The ceremony began with a monologue from first time host Seth MacFarlane who got some laughs out of the audience with his song ¨We saw your boobs¨ and with a sock puppet version of Flight while he was interrupted by Captain Kirk (William Shattner) who came from the future to warn him about his terrible hosting gig. He showed us some glimpses of what went wrong and MacFarlane tried to make amends by following Captain Kirk´s advice. The jokes were funny although not that irreverent as the Family Guy and Ted director has us used to. I still enjoyed his opening and I think he did a decent job hosting the Oscars, which once again ran about three and a half hours long. I know many people complain about the length of the ceremony, but I really enjoy this once a year event and loved every minute of it.

Despite opening with a surprise win for Christoph Waltz for best supporting actor, the Oscar were pretty predictable and the heavy favorites won. I loved Waltz´s performance, and he was my favorite in that category but I didn’t think the Academy would give him his second Oscar in three years. I was wrong, and I was happy about that. I was 17 for 24 in my predictions, but I knew some of the categories were going to be close races between one or two picks. So close in fact, that in one category we had a tie which hadn’t happened since the 1960´s. Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall shared the Oscar for Sound Editing. The biggest surprise of the night was Ang Lee´s victory over Steven Spielberg in the best director category. Life of Pi was one of my favorite movies of the year so I was very pleased once again with the Academy´s decision. The other categories I didn’t predict were both writing categories which did go to the favorites: Argo (adapted screenplay) and Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino). I loved Tarantino´s acceptance speech and this was his second win after Pulp Fiction. It was a long awaited win, but he finally got his moment. Brave beat Frankenweenie in the Best Animated category (a film I really didn’t like too much), Lincoln beat Anna Karenina in the Production Design category, and Inocente beat my pick Open Heart as the best short documentary. Those were my only misses; everything else went on as predicted.

Argo finally won for Best Picture and Ben Affleck got his redemption for not being included in the best director category since he was one of the producers of the film along with George Clooney. He gave one of the best speeches of the night and reminded the audience of how young he was when he won his first Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting. He never thought he would be back, but he made it and has proved to be one of the best directors of this last decade. Daniel Day Lewis won the Oscar for his portrayal of Lincoln and also gave a gracious speech. He is the only actor to have won 3 Oscars in a leading role. He made a joke about Meryl Streep who presented the award to him and his acceptance speech felt natural and authentic. Jennifer Lawrence was also a big winner as she won for her role in Silver Linings Playbook. She tripped while climbing up the stairs and also made fun of herself while accepting the award. She was gracious enough to congratulate Emmanuelle Riva on her 86^th birthday and was very classy. Anne Hathaway won for her performance in Les Miserables in the supporting role. Amour received love in the Foreign Language film category, and Searching for Sugar Man won best documentary (one of my favorite moments of the night because I really loved that doc). Adele was also a big winner for her song Skyfall which she got to perform live on the show. There was also a tribute for the 50 years of the James Bond franchise, and a tribute to musicals as well as we saw some of the cast from Chicago, Dreamgirls, and Les Miserables perform.

The awards were pretty much scattered throughout as there wasn’t one movie to take home a lot of awards as it usually happens. This is because there were a lot of strong contenders this year. Life of Pi was the big winner of the night as it took home 4 Oscars (Director, Visual Effects, Cinematography, and Original Score), Argo 3 (Picture, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing), and Les Miserables also took home 3 Oscars (Actress in a Secondary Role, Sound Mixing, and Makeup) and Lincoln only managed to win 2 (Lead Actor and Production Design) out of the 12 nominations it had. Django Unchained won two as well (Original Script and Best Supporting Actor). Zero Dark Thirty and Silver Linings Playbook each took home one Oscar, so the only Best Picture nominee to leave empty handed was Beasts of the Southern Wild, but that small independent film was a winner simply by being nominated.

It was pretty much an even race, but Argo won the biggest prize of the night in a ceremony which I really enjoyed. I thought it was one of the best in recent memory. I don’t know why people watch the Oscars if they always complain about how bad and long it is; I watch them because I really enjoy them. My favorite moments were the big acceptance speeches from Ben Affleck, Daniel Day Lewis, Quentin Tarantino, Chris Terrio, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Lawrence, and Ang Lee. If you missed them then perhaps you might want to look them up in YouTube. I also loved the musical performance from Les Mis cast, from Adele, and from Barbra Streisand who sang during the touching memorium tribute. We can´t leave out the most expected star of the show: Ted who entered with his co-star Mark Wahlberg and made some funny remarks. I thought the was a great show and hopefully next year I will improve my score, but for now satisfied with the overall picks. 

  

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My Review: Silver Linings Playbook (9/10)

¨The only way to beat my crazy was by doing something even crazier. Thank you. I love you. I knew it from the moment I saw you. I’m sorry it took me so long to catch up. ¨

Silver Linings Playbook is director David O. Russell’s second straight Oscar nominated film for Best Picture after the his critically acclaimed The Fighter. This film is very different from his previous work although it also has to do with family relationships in some sort of way. It is based on Matthew Quick’s novel of the same name and the screenplay was adapted by Russell himself which resulted in a really quirky but sharp script. There are plenty of hilarious moments in the movie and Russell has really raised the bar for rom-coms by mixing it with some realistic drama. These romantic comedies are very hard to come across these days, but Russell manages to deliver a nearly perfect one thanks to his sensitive direction. He did take a huge risk with this film considering its thematic was a bit tricky since the main character does require some patience and forgiveness from the viewer. He is not a very likeable character at the beginning, but if you stick with him and give him a second chance he will win you over. It is not easy to make a romantic film when you have two main characters suffering from bipolar and OCD disorders, and on top of that mix it with comedy, but Russell was very sensitive about the subject. I really love Russell’s style of direction, and you either love his movies or hate them. I really found this movie to be easy to connect with as it is a heartwarming and funny story despite the complications and tricky subject matter. Critics are calling this film crazy good, and I agree with them because it is deeply romantic despite being strange and neurotic. Besides we are all a little crazy, and I think Russell was pointing that out through every character in this film.

We are introduced to Pat (Bradley Cooper) in the very first scene of the movie, who is being discharged from a mental institution by his mother Dolores (Jacki Weaver) against medical advice. Apparently Pat was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after finding his wife, Nikki (Brea Bee), having an affair with a fellow co-worker and nearly beating him to death. He was sentenced to be institutionalized for eight months, and after doing so his mother was free to take him back to Philadelphia as long as he live with his parents and stayed away from his wife who had placed a restraining order on him. Pat is received with some surprise by his father, Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro), who had no idea he was coming home, but Is happy to have his son back who he considers a lucky charm for the Eagles’ games. Pat Sr. is a very superstitious guy and after losing his job he’s been making a living through sports gambling. Pat’s life changes when he meets another troubled woman named Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who has recently become a widow and a sex addict. Pat desperately wants to get back with Nikki and will do what it takes to win her back despite not being able to get near her. Tiffany offers to give Nikki a letter from him if he agrees to enter a dance competition with her for which they will have to rehearse extensively. Both characters suffer several meltdowns and seem to have some sort of shared neuroses, but in some odd way they end up helping one another and struggle together to rebuild their lives.

This film really deserves all the buzz that it received first from TIFF way back in September, and then from its recent eight Oscar nominations, including the big five (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay) which hadn’t happened since 2004 (Million Dollar Baby), and it also received Oscar nominations in all four acting categories, which hadn’t happened since 1981 (Reds). The cast is truly wonderful in this film, everyone gives such great performances. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence both expanded their range in this film and went way out of their usual comfort zone creating some unique characters. Lawrence especially surprised me with her quirky performance, and her entrance in the film truly shifts the momentum of the movie. I was really not sold with Silver Lining Playbook until she appeared giving Cooper´s character a lot more likeability. I loved her in two scenes; the first being the one she has a meltdown in the restaurant and goes off on Cooper and the second being the confrontation she had with Pat Sr. For those two scenes alone, Lawrence could win the Oscar. Cooper, De Niro, and Weaver were all outstanding as well. These characters were all well drawn and the actors took advantage of that delivering solid performances. The film has such a great pacing building the momentum up to the very climactic ballroom dance routine. It was something special. The message had a pretty positive outlook as Russell seemed to be reminding us that we should all look for a partner that can coexist with our craziness and not try to find one that will lead us out of it as we usually do. This was a great and optimistic film that deserves all the buzz it has been receiving.

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My Review: Like Crazy (9/10)

¨I don't feel like I'm part of your life. I feel like I'm on vacation.¨

We all know that long distance relationships can be heartbreaking and difficult to bear, but at the same time when both parties reunite they make the best of the time they have with each other. That is sort of the premise behind this small romantic (or should I say anti-romantic?) indie film, Like Crazy. Director, Drake Doremus, has made one of the best romantic dramas I`ve seen in quite some time (perhaps since 2009`s 500 Days of Summer). I was really submersed into the story and found the love story to be authentic and real. The chemistry between Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin was incredible and the tension of them being separated was what made this movie work so well for me. The love story never felt forced and the dialogue felt so real, there wasn`t one cheesy moment in the entire film. This film might be a little slow and boring for some people, it is not your typical romantic chick flick. The pacing o the film is slow at times, but it really worked for me as I was interested in what was going to happen to these two characters. The script, written by Doremus himself and Ben York Jones, felt very authentic although they say most of the dialogues between Yelchin and Jones were improvised. I really enjoyed this movie and felt the love and heartaches these characters were dealing with; a very authentic and believable love story.

Jacob`s (Anton Yelchin) life changes forever when in his last year of college he meets Anna (Felicity Jones), a British student who has come to Los Angeles to study. Both fall in love immediately and the chemistry they share is unbelievable. When the year is about to end Jacob worries about their relationship since Anna has to return to England. She decides to stay during the summer despite her student visa expiring and after having gone to London for a week for a wedding she returns to the States only to find out that the Customs officer won`t allow her to enter for violating her previous student visa. Anna returns to London and is unable to fix her situation. She dreams of becoming a writer and lands a job as an assistant for a magazine editor in London, while Jacob works as a furniture designer in LA on his own. Both find the distance to be unbearable and despite Jacob`s visits to London it just doesn`t seem to work out for them. They enjoy their time together, but when it`s time to say their goodbyes everything goes sour. Eventually Jacob begins a relationship with Sam (Jennifer Lawrence), while Anna meets Simon (Charlie Bewley) in London. They both have trouble adapting to their new partners and don`t feel the same chemistry that they felt with each other. They don`t feel complete without each other and try to find the way to be together despite the distances.

Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones are really superb in this movie. Yelchin has proved he can be a good actor and we`ve seen him before in many different films, but Jones came as a surprise to me. I had never seen her before and she was just amazing in this movie. She really does give a great performance and she is the heart and soul of Like Crazy. She is truly someone to keep an eye on in the future. Jennifer Lawrence is a great actress, but she really doesn’t get too much screen time in this film and her character isn`t really developed, but it was a nice addition to the story and it is always good to see her on film. The movie actually centers entirely on Yelchin and Jones so the rest of the secondary characters are practically nonexistent. Everything revolves around the two main characters, just like when two people are in love and all they can think about is each other; the rest of the world is practically nonexistent. The ending was abrupt, but I think it played out perfectly and I really fell in love with this story. One of the best romantic (anti-romantic) films I`ve seen in quite some time.

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My Review: The Hunger Games (9/10)

"We wish you Happy Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor. "

The Hunger Games have begun and the odds are definitely in director Gary Ross`s favor as he has managed to adapt Suzanne Collins`s bestselling novel really well to the big screen. Ross has delivered a highly entertaining post apocalyptic, sci-fi, action, romantic thriller. Most fans will be satisfied with this film because it is truly entertaining and has a little bit of everything for those people who are looking for action, or for those who are more interested in the romantic story, and so on. It also has a great cast and the lead performance from Jennifer Lawrence is just brilliant. She captures the ideal female heroine who we all want to root for. She is truly the girl on fire. It comes as no surprise since Lawrence blew us all away with her performance in a small independent film called Winter`s Bone. She has already turned into a true star and proves she can have a lead role in what looks to be a very successful trilogy. The rest of the cast is also pretty interesting as you have great actors like Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Toby Jones, and Donald Sutherland, along with young talented actors like Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, and Alexander Ludwig. They`ve really done justice to the characters that were created by Collins, and I can`t forget to mention Lenny Kravitz who was also excellent as Cinna. As good as all these actors were, Jennifer Lawrence was above par and she really delivered the story and brought a lot of heart to her character. A great deal of the success this movie is having can be owed to her remarkable performance as Katniss.

Suzanne Collins has created a very creative new futuristic world with some common elements from the past. The United States doesn`t exist as a country anymore, but it is divided into twelve districts which are all controlled by the Capitol. The name of the country is Panem, and the further away the districts are from the Capitol the poorer its people. The wealthiest families live in the Capitol and in order to control the districts and avoid another uprising they have created the Hunger Games, which consists of selecting two teenagers (one male and another female) from each district and have the 24 teens face off one another until only one survivor remains. They force the entire nation to watch these games and it has become a popular sporting event, kind of like the Roman Empire did with the gladiators, except that the arena is much bigger as they have the wilderness to hide in. This serves as a reminder of what happens when the districts rebel against their capitol and at the same time it keeps the districts fighting amongst themselves so they won`t form any alliances to try to begin a revolution. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) lives in the 12^th District along with her little sister and mother. She is a hunter and is excellent with the arch. Her best friend is Gale (Liam Hemsworth). When the elections for the 74^th Hunger Games take place, Katniss`s younger sister is selected, but she takes her place instead as a tribute. The other member selected from the 12^th District is Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who is very strong and has a secret crush on Katniss. Together they must face the rest of the tributes with the help of their trainer, Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), the sole Hunger Game winner from their district in its 74 year history. The favorites are always the tributes from the first two districts because they have been raised all their lives to be prepared for these games. Cato (Alexander Ludwig) from the 1^st District and who is sadistic in nature is their biggest threat.

Once the Hunger Games begin the audience is immediately submersed into the story and Katniss`s struggle for survivor. The story is really well told and there are plenty of thrills and suspense for the audience to enjoy. The two and a half hour long movie has such a quick pace that by the end it will seem like you were only in there for an hour. The games are really that interesting and have you at the edge of your seat for almost the entire movie. I really enjoyed the pacing of this film along with the performances. It is hard to get a lot of character development with a movie that has so many things going on and that focuses almost entirely on Katniss, but we really do grow to care for several of these characters that have to face off each other. Of course there is no time to really know all 24 of them, because the story centers on Katniss and Peeta. There is sort of a love triangle going on, but the film really doesn’t delve in too deep with it. We will probably have more of that in the upcoming sequels, but most of the scenes involving Katniss don’t have to be spelled out for us. She delivers such a great performance that we can hear what she`s saying without ever having to say anything. We can read what she`s saying through her eyes alone. When I heard about the story I thought this was going to be a violent film, but it really doesn’t focus on the violence as much as it does on surviving. I really enjoyed every second of this film and it is my favorite film of the year so far.

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My Review: The Beaver (8/10)

¨This is what I believe right now: there is someone who is with you, someone who is willing to pick you up, dust you off, kiss you, forgive you, carry you, love you. So while everything may not be okay, one thing I know is true, you do not have to be alone.¨

This is Jodie Foster`s first directorial film in the last 15 years and what a risky project she decided to undertake. First of all the subject matter: a depressed man living with a puppet in his hand isn’t exactly attractive for audiences; it`s a hard sell. And the second major risk she took was trusting Mel Gibson as the lead role after all the scandals that he has undergone in the last couple of years. He is not a likeable actor anymore and most people boycotted the film due to this. It doesn’t matter what opinion you may have towards Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster made the right decision by relying on her good friend Mel and he truly carries this movie. Gibson`s performance is easily the best one I`ve seen from any actor all year long. I doubt he will be recognized by the Academy due to all the negative press, but if there is any justice left in the world he should receive several nominations for his performance. He singlehandedly carries this film and brings a lot more depth to the dark subject matter the film addresses. He transmits so much depth to his character and you can clearly identify both his personalities: the depressed one and the one who is trying to recover while assuming the identity of the beaver hand-puppet. These split personalities are clearly manifested in the film and what could have been a total disaster actually works to perfection in The Beaver thanks to Gibson. Kudos to Foster for maintaining her faith in this great actor, despite all the differences we might have with him in his personal life.

Walter Black (Mel Gibson) was once a very successful businessman as he inherited a toy company from his father, he was also a very loving family man, he lived a happy life with his beautiful wife, Meredith (Jodie Foster), and his two sons: Porter (Anton Yelchin), and Henry (Riley Thomas Stewart). Everything seemed perfect, until Walter fell into a deep depression. All of a sudden he stopped caring about his work or his family and all he wanted to do was sleep. His un-involvement affected the company which is now nearing bankruptcy, and it also has affected his family: his wife working overtime to try to suppress the hurt of a missing husband, his youngest son becoming alienated from the rest of the boys at school, and his older son fearing he might one day become like his father and suffer from depression. Meredith decides it`s time to let Walter go before he infests his family even more. Walter heads to a hotel where he considers taking his own life, but something saves him: a beaver hand-puppet. Walter begins assuming a new personality as he talks as the beaver with an English accent and tells him he will begin a new treatment. Through the beaver Walter discovers that he can interact with his co-workers and friends, thus developing his own means of therapy. There is also an interesting side story involving Porter`s relationship with the school Valedictorian Cheerleader, Norah (Jennifer Lawrence). Norah asks Porter to write her graduation speech for her since he makes money off writing papers for his fellow classmates. Porter is good at assuming other identities just like his father has done with the Beaver. He fears these similarities he shares with Walter.

The Beaver addresses the issue of depression pretty well and takes it very serious. One might assume that an adult communicating through a hand-puppet would make for a comedy, but this is a serious dramatic movie and Mel Gibson delivers through a great performance. The rest of the cast is overshadowed by him, but I still was quite interested in the relationship between Yelchin and Lawrence`s characters. This side story worked really well for me, and it also allowed us to see how similar Porter really is to his father. Jodie Foster doesn’t deliver a great performance, but that is because her character isn’t really central to the movie. She did do a great job with the direction however and really makes this movie work. She took a huge risk, but she really made The Beaver work. It is a good movie and I absolutely recommend it despite the dark subject matter. It was a pleasure to watch Gibson`s performance and this reason alone is more than enough to watch The Beaver. I think that if we were talking about an unknown Gibson, critics would be praising his performance. Sometimes it is necessary to remain unbiased as a critic and judge the performance on its own. This is a really good movie and one that should be seen.

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