Seventh Son (5/10): An epic fantasy adventure that wastes an all star cast

“We will meet again.”

Seventh Son is Sergey Bodrov’s (Mongol) latest fantasy epic film starring Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, and Ben Barnes. It’s a big budget adaptation of Joseph Delaney’s novel, The Spook’s Apprentice, which failed to make a splash at the box office. It is set in a Tolkien-like fantasy world where supernatural forces live among humans. There are witches, warlocks, boggarts, ghouls, and many other dark morphing creatures, and then there are spooks who protect the people by hunting down these monsters. Bodrov relies heavily on the CGI effects, but the film does look good thanks to its production design. Bridges plays the sole remaining spook, Master Gregory, who is trying to hunt down the extremely dangerous witch, Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore). Malkin plans on using her powers to reunite her followers and unleash evil across the world. After losing his latest apprentice (played by Kit Harrington), Gregory must train the young seventh son of a seventh son named Tom (Ben Barnes) who really doesn’t seem to be an interesting prospect. He only has a week to train him before reaching Malkin and preventing her from fulfilling her evil plan. Along the way, Tom falls for a young witch named Alice (Alicia Vikander) who has been spying on them. She isn’t a dark witch, but is following her mother’s orders.  Seventh Son doesn’t take itself too seriously and Bodrov jumps from one action set piece to the next without spending too much time on the characters and thus not allowing the audience to think too much about the silliness of it all.

The greatest disappointment is of course the weak screenplay that never allows us to engage with the characters despite being played by a fantastic cast. It’s inevitable not to thing about The Big Lebowski when seeing Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore working together again. Moore had a fantastic year, winning the Oscar for her lead performance in Still Alice, but here she doesn’t have anything interesting to do. She plays a typical and cliched villain. Bridges goes extremely overboard with his character, reminding us that we shouldn’t take this adventure film too seriously. It’s hard to understand his drunken mumbling which will remind us of his work in True Grit. Olivia Williams and Djimon Hounsou also have some small roles in this film, so it is a huge disappointment to see such a talented cast wasted in a big budget film like this. Barnes and Vikander are young talented actors that try to do the best with the material they are given. The Swedish actress has taken Hollywood by storm after her performance in the Danish film, A Royal Affair, and she has five films coming out this year. She’s an actress I will be keeping my eyes on. 

Seventh Son has been receiving terrible reviews, but it wasn’t as bad as I had expected. The plot moves along very quickly and in a very predictable manner, but it never tries to take itself too seriously and that is Seventh Son’s greatest strength. The action set pieces are fun and the film is short (under 95 minutes). Of course it isn’t a good film either, but considering it is light for the eyes it’s not a difficult film to watch. If you’re bored you might find the film entertaining and it’s a good way to kill time, but there is nothing memorable about it either. More than anything it’s a huge disappointment for wasting such a talented cast. There’s no character development, but the impressive set designs and quick pace make up for it.    

Still Alice (7/10): Moore's powerful portrayal of a woman suffering from mental illness elevates this film

“So live in the moment I tell myself, it really is all I can do, live in the moment.”

Still Alice is a film that touches delicate subject matters, which sometimes don’t make for a compelling watch. It’s hard to sit down and watch someone suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and witness their slow deterioration as they gradually lose their mind. Somehow, Julianne Moore gives such a powerful performance that makes this delicate theme worth your while. She carries this film, and elevates it from your standard mental illness movie. Julianne Moore is on the top of her game and following her strong performance in Maps to the Stars, she delivers an authentic portrayal of a woman trying to come to grips with her terrible diagnosis. The film intelligently centers on her in a very authentic way instead of focusing on the rest of her family, like so many films tend to do when the character has hit rock bottom with their mental disease. As the title suggests, the focus is on Alice and her character is fully developed even when she is at her lowest. As an audience we sometimes tend to look away or find ways to ignore people with mental illness, and many films do so by focusing on the reaction of the rest of the family or on the loved ones as if the main character has lost his or her personality. But we are reminded in this film that Alice is still Alice, and Julianne Moore makes sure we come to grips with this. Julianne Moore will probably be nominated for her lead performance here and it wouldn’t surprise me if she wins her first Oscar after her fifth nomination. She is long overdue.

It’s no surprise that this film was delivered in such an authentic way when you take into consideration that the co-director, Richard Glatzer, suffers from ASL and can’t speak himself. If a film wants to deliver a powerful and empathetic film about mental illness, then there is no better way to do so than having someone who is experiencing this first hand. Glatzer, who has co-directed his previous films with Wash Westmoreland, reunites with him once again co-writing the adapted screenplay from Lisa Genova’s novel. I know the issue has been explored many times before and one could assume it enters familiar territory, but Moore’s portrayal of the character makes this film stand out from others. For people who have gone through similar issues with a family member or close friend, Still Alice hits home, but it does so in a compassionate way. It reminds us how fragile our minds and life can be. Having Moore play a highly intelligent linguistic professor makes this all the more shocking as we see how she struggles with the disease. The most emotional moment of the film comes when Moore’s character is giving a touching speech about how she is dealing with the disease. It was a powerful moment in the movie and Moore deserves all the recognition she’s been getting for her performance. Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart both give strong supporting performances as well. The entire film rings true in its exploration of mental illness, and the performances never go over the top. Everything about this film rings true despite the delicate themes that are touched. The subject matter might not be appealing for most audiences and they may find the film tedious, but for me it hits home and I found it to be a compelling drama.

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: Maps to the Stars (5/10)

“On the stairs of Death I write your name, Liberty.”

I don’t consider myself a David Cronenberg fan since some of his recent films didn’t appeal to me and I haven’t had the chance to see his earlier movies, but I do tend to appreciate his work more than I actually enjoy it. This was the case with the incredibly twisted and dark Hollywood satire, Maps to the Stars. It wasn’t a joyful or pleasurable experience for me, but I did admire some aspects of this film. I tend to go for more straightforward narratives than surreal films so that explains why I enjoyed A History of Violence and Eastern Promises much more than his other films. Those two films remain my favorite from Cronenberg. Maps to the Stars was a major improvement from Cosmopolis, but I still had a hard time accepting some of the dark humor and Cronenberg’s hyperrealistic style. I’m sure Cronenberg fans will love this film because he uses plenty of symbols and makes fun of the vein world of celebrities. Using Hollywood itself to establish his familiar dark backgrounds, Cronenberg goes full mode with these messed-up and unpredictable characters. The film has a Greek tragedy structure as well as incorporating familiar ghost story elements to the narrative. Maps to the Stars is as insane as the world of the celebrities it tries to portray. There is also a lot of industry talk going on in this film exploring the Hollywood dynasty and the obsession people have for celebrities. 

Like in most of Cronenberg’s films the characters are difficult to sympathize with and of course it is the case once again with these self centered celebrities who seem to be completely messed up. No one does a better job than Julianne Moore who plays a manic-depressive washed up movie star. She is amazing in this film, but completely annoying at the same time. I wasn’t a huge fan of Evan Bird and John Cusack’s performances. Cusack went over the top with his character and it didn’t really work for me. Mia Wasikowska on the other hand is very subtle in her performance. She seems to pick some strange roles, but she pulls them off. Her character has scars in her body from burns, but they aren’t nearly as disgusting as the souls of these celebrities. Cronenberg seems to be obsessed with disfigured women in his films, but he makes sure we notice that what really is disfigured in Hollywood are the souls of these celebrities. I can give Cronenberg credit for his style, but I can’t say I enjoyed this film. I still don’t understand what was going on with that fire sequence in the film. The CGI was terrible and the scene looked completely fake, but I’m not sure if Cronenberg was intentionally trying to make it so considering he has a twisted sense of humor. 

My Review: Non-Stop (6/10)

"We're midway across the Atlantic. How do you kill someone in a crowded plane and get away with it?"

That is the same question I asked myself before going into this new Neeson thriller. The premise sounded a bit silly, but the trailer had me at Liam Neeson. I will watch any action film he stars in nowadays. Neeson plays a very similar character in every one of these films (Taken, Unknown, The Grey) and they simply should've made a franchise with all these movies similar to what they did with James Bond or Mission Impossible so people will stop complaining he plays the same role (and at least this time there is an excuse for his Irish accent). Non-Stop is a fun mindless action film as long as you don't stop and analyze the plot. For the most part it really worked for me because Neeson delivers and keeps your mind off some of the plot holes, but once the final act arrives there is not much he can do to save this film. The final ten minutes are a huge let down and it almost ruined all the fun I was having during the rest of the movie. I still enjoyed this film more than Neeson's previous collaboration with director, Jaume Collet-Serra, Unknown. The cast is strong enough to carry this film past all the plot holes, and I'd rather see Neeson in a mindless action thriller over pretty much any film that has been released this year. 

Non-Stop is John Richardson and Christopher Roach's first film screenplay which stars Liam Neeson as Bill Marks, an air marshall who is going through a depressive and alcoholic stage. What appears to be a routine flight from New York to London ends up being a nightmare for Bill as he begins receiving threatening messages on his secure phone line. The message states that a passenger will die every 20 minutes unless 150 million dollars are transferred to a specific bank account. Bill decides to talk to the other air marshall, Hammond (Anson Mount), who tries to calm him down by telling him it has to be a prank. When 20 minutes go by, Bill realizes this is no prank and with very few people on the plane he can trust he has to enlist the help of the flight attendant, Nancy (Michelle Dockery) and the person sitting next to him on the plane, Jen Summers (Julianne Moore), to help him locate who the terrorist might be. 

The premise might be a bit silly, but for the most part I was still enjoying this thriller thanks to the interesting cast. The action scenes were also entertaining and for a movie that takes place almost entirely in a plane it was engaging. If you aren't demanding a film with logic, you might enjoy this mindless action film as much as I did. It's a shame that Lupita Nyong'o didn't get a heavier role because she proved in 12 Years a Slave to be a very talented actress. In this film she doesn't get to do much, but it's OK because we get to see Liam Neeson doing what he does best for most part of this film. The way its audience receives the weak final reveal at the end is probably what makes the difference in this action thriller. It is very far fetched, but as I mentioned above, it is much better than most January or February releases. I enjoyed this film because despite it not making any sense it was still an engaging and fun ride. The truth of the matter is that Neeson is the one that holds this film together and doesn't allow it to crash.

My Review: Don Jon (7/10)

"For these, and all the sins in my life, I am sorry."

I found Don Jon to be a solid feature debut from Joseph Gordon Levitt as a director who also starred in and wrote the original screenplay for this raunchy romantic comedy. He's a very talented actor, but here he gets to prove his skills as a director and a writer as well. This isn't your typical rom-com and it will probably make you feel uncomfortable from the start because it is not a family film. The writing may have some flaws and at times you may feel like JGL is hammering his message way too much, but I thought he was going for a similar style that Scorsese went for in The Wolf of Wall Street in which several excesses were repeated over and over again to make a point. I found it rather funny that despite how much the message was hammered many people still didn't get the point of the film which was much more than pointing out that pornography is a dangerous addiction that affects relationships. Yes, that is one of the messages behind this film which shows hoy pornography can affect intimacy in a relationship by turning sex into something unilateral. It's about what I can receive from a relationship instead of losing oneself in the other and actually experimenting what love really means. But the film explores much more than pointing out the dangers of pornography addiction. It also is about how disconnected we've become as a society. JGL's character is disconnected due to his addiction, his girlfriend believes love is all about the other person giving up everything for her (which is something she's learned from the rom-coms she eats up almost on a daily basis), which also turns her into someone who is looking for love in a unilateral form, his father is obsessed with sports and if his son isn't interested he doesn't consider him to be a real man, his mother is desperate for him to find a girl so she can be a grandmother, and his sister is completely disconnected and spends almost the entire film speechless on her cellphone. But despite how dysfunctional everyone is in this family, somehow the only person that really sees that Jon's relationship isn't a solid one is his sister who notices what everyone else doesn't see about Jon's girlfriends. By doing this I felt that JGL was pointing out that even that person that seems more disconnected than the rest of society might surprise us. We tend to see the problems in others, but we rarely look at our own defects. Don Jon may hammer its message, but it is not just about Jon's addiction with pornography, there is much more to it.

The story centers on - and is narrated by - Jon (Joseph Gordon Levitt), better known to his friends as Don Jon for his ability to conquer women. In his voice over narration he tells us that the only things he cares about in life are his body, his pad, his ride, his car, his family which includes his father Jon Sr. (Tony Danza), his mother Angela (Glenne Neadly) and his sister Monica (Brie Larson), his church, his boys Bobby (Rob Brown) and Danny (Jeremy Luke), his girls, and his porn. He spends a great deal of his time on these things, he visits his family frequently, he works out in the gym daily, he spends time at the club with his boys looking for women and rating them on the 10 point scale, he goes to church every week and confesses his sins to the priest, and most of all he watches porn and loses himself in it. He confesses that he enjoys it even more than actual sex, but he has evidently developed unrealistic expectations from it. One night at the club, he meets Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson) and completely falls in love with her, but he continues to struggle finding true intimacy with her and building a strong relationship. Along the way he meets a fellow student named Esther (Julianne Moore) who sort of opens his eyes about love and relationships.

Despite the fact that Shame explored a similar theme recently, it's a subject we rarely see in films. Don Jon is a real exploration of modern relationships and how they've been affected from the way media and films sell sex everywhere. We are bombarded with sexual images in the media all the time creating one sided expectations about love and sex and the film opens by presenting several of these images sort of setting the tone for the rest of the movie. JGL plays a very different role from what we are used to seeing him in and he also worked out a lot for it. HIs character follows a certain routine in life, and the film makes sure it repeats this to get the point across. There are a lot of interesting points this film raises and it really is a comedy with a strong message about how disconnected we've become. The performances in this film were all solid.

My Review: Carrie (5/10)

"There are other people out there like me who can do what I can do."

And there are other people out there that have adapted the same novel that this film is based on. Brian de Palma did in the 70's and the film has reached some sort of cult status since then. I was never a huge fan of that film and really didn't care too much for this remake. I never found Carrie's character terrifying so I didn't expect this to be a horror movie either. The reason I did decide to go see this was because I really like Chloe Grace Moretz and have seen almost everything she's done. Despite how much I like her, I don't think she brought anything new to the role of Carrie and wasn't able to carry this film. The entire film felt more of a remake of De Palma's film than a reimagining of Stephen King's classic novel. This version didn't bring anything new and thus felt completely unnecessary. The bullies in this film are so stereotypical and over the top that the film felt like a comedy at times. The greatest thing about Carrie was Julianne Moore's performance as the overzealous religious fanatic. I thought she was great, but the rest of the cast didn't really convince me beside one or two supporting performances. I still didn't hate this film, but I thought it was just another average and uninspired remake. At least director, Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry) hired actual teens to play the part of High School seniors instead of older actors like De Palma did. So at least she gets some credit for that. I wanted to like Carrie because of Chloe Grace Moretz, but this just wasn't the role for her. I just never connected with this film.

Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz) is a quiet and shy girl who lives with her overprotective religious fanatic mother Margaret (Julianne Moore). Carrie is different due to the fact that she's been sheltered by her mother for so long and for that reason she gets bullied on a lot at school. She has the misfortune of experiencing her first period in the locker room at school after her gym class. Her mother has never talked to her about this so when she sees the blood she panics and begins to scream. All the girls realize what is going on and so they begin to make fun of her and pretty soon the entire school finds out about it thanks to Chris (Portia Doubleday) who uploads the video on the internet. Her beautiful classmate, Sue (Gabriella Wilde), feels bad about the way she treated her and to try to make things right she asks her boyfriend, Tommy (Ansel Elgort), to ask Carrie to prom. Carrie begins to discover that she has telekinetic powers and decides to research in school during her free time, while Chris who was banned for prom plans the perfect prank on her. Little do they know that Carrie could be a dangerous if they continue to push her.

If you've seen the Brian de Palma version then you pretty much know how the film is going to turn out. There is nothing fresh or unique about this film, but it isn't terrible either. The film has nothing to offer really and we as an audience are left waiting for the build up to the infamous prom scene. If you enjoy mindless films than you will probably enjoy Carrie, but if you were expecting a reimagining than you will leave disappointed. In a time where teenage bullying is hotter than ever, Carrie could have brought some new insight, but it failed to do so. It never says anything new about being a social outcast and in the end you have to wander what the point of the entire film was.

My Review: What Maisie Knew (8/10)

"This is my new stepfather. My father married my nanny, so Court made my mommy get married too."

What Maisie Knew is a wonderful adaptation of Henry James's novel of the same name. Writers, Nancy Doyne and Carroll Cartwright, managed to capture the spirit of the novel really well. It is a great (although difficult) film with some very memorable performances thanks to some well developed characters. Directors, Scott McGehee and David Siegel, succeeded in focusing on the small details and interior of each character rather than on the big melodramatic moments. Despite all the drama, this film always manages to stay small and let us experience things through the eyes of the 7 year old lead character. It is her memories we are seeing and the way the film was edited draws us into her character and helps us identify with the things she is going through. This film might just be one of the best movies about divorced parenting. Through the eyes of Maisie the audience can experience the difficult situations she has to go through because of her parents neglect. It is such a surprise to see how James's novel which was written about a century ago still remains so contemporary now. The film felt so real and authentic and it was easy to relate to the story as well. The directors approached this story of a dysfunctional family in a very sensitive manner and it really worked. What Maisie Knew is a very touching film and one I'd definitely recommend, especially if you like tasteful character studies of human nature. I found this film to be very emotional without being manipulative or melodramatic and definitely one all parents should watch.

Maisie (Onata Aprile) is the tender and loving 7 year old daughter of Beale (Steve Coogan), an art dealer who travels a lot for work, and Susanna (Julianne Moore) a rock star whose glory days are a bit behind her. They have a beautiful apartment in New York and seem to be living very well, but Maisie's world is shaken when her parents get divorced and fight for custody over her in court. The judge decides that they both share custody so the film follows Maisie as she lives ten days with her mother and ten with her father. When she arrives at her father's place she is sort of surprised to find her nanny, Margo (Joanna Vanderham) living their, but she is glad to have her company. Margo and Maisie get along really well and since her father travels a lot she spends most of her time with her. Then when Maisie returns with her mother she finds out that she is dating a younger man named Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgard). Lincoln has no clue about parenting and at first their relationship is kind of strange, but with her mother gone for most of the day the two begin to bond and form a special relationship. Despite her parents neglect, Maisie enjoys most of her days with her step parents who really seem to care for her more than her parents. Susanna and Beale do love Maisie and have a good relationship with her, but they are so focused on their jobs and their right to have custody over her that they actually neglect Maisie along the way.

The film can be disturbing at times because divorce and parental neglect can be rough, but the story is told in a very sensitive manner. The true star of the film is the 7 year old Onata Aprile who really delivers a powerful emotional performance. This is a girl who is forced to adapt to the different changes in her life at such a young age and despite the complexity of the role, Aprile really captures the heart of the character. Julianne Moore also stands out in her role as the neglectful parent. She really is unlikable, but she gives a memorable performance and kind of stands out as this year's best female villain. The film takes a very different perspective on divorce as it centers the action around the little girl, instead of the parents. It's the innocence through which she sees everything that captivates the audience. She has to pay for her parents sins, but she manages to adapt along the way. Aprile may not have a lot of lines in the film, but her emotions can be read through her facial expressions. She deserves a lot of recognition for her performance. Skarsgard and Vanderham play the most likable characters in this film so it is easy to like them in their lovable roles and I enjoyed their performance. This is a film you won't want to miss.

My Review: Crazy, Stupid, Love (9/10)

¨I`m so mad at you; I`m really mad at you for what you did, but I`m mad at myself too; because I should not have jumped out of that car; I should have fought for you, because you fight for your soul mates.¨

Once every year out of the dozens of formulaic romantic comedies that come our way, one or two manage to stand out above the rest. Crazy, Stupid, Love is one of those films that manages to remain fresh and original, and balance the comedy and romance well enough without relying on the usual rom-com formula. It is one of those films where the chemistry between the actors feels real, and love is actually depicted like it can be in real life. It is one of those movies that manages to surprise us by remaining fresh and never letting us know for sure what direction it is going to take on every turn. You can predict how most romcoms are going to end from the very opening sequence, and even if you might do the same in Crazy, Stupid, Love; you will definitely not expect some of the twists that come your way. It also has the perfect emotional balance that will bring you to tears at some points and laughter at others. The cast is absolutely amazing and everyone does a terrific job. This is Glenn Ficarra and John Requa`s second feature film after last year`s critical success with I Love You Phillip Morris. That film was very risky, and in a way so is Crazy, Stupid, Love because it doesn’t follow the basic formula that other romcoms do. There are several scenes that could have been a total disaster, but really worked because they served as transitions from comedy to romance to drama and so on. The script by Dan Fogelman (Cars, Bolt, and Tangled) is another highlight of the film because the dialogue in this movie was great. The actors were given great characters to work with so every piece seemed to fit in perfectly for this film.

Cal (Steve Carell) and Emily (Julianne Moore) have been married for 25 years; they live with their two children: Robbie (Jonah Bobo) and Molly (Joey King) and they seem to be living the perfect life. That is until Emily asks Cal for a divorce because she seems to be going through a sort of mid life crisis. She tells Cal that she slept with another co-worker, David (Kevin Bacon), and that is more than enough to end the marriage. Cal moves out of the house and begins frequenting bars and moping about his miserable life. At the bar Cal meets Jacob (Ryan Gosling), a playboy who always gets the girl due to his charm. Jacob promises Cal that he will help him recover his manhood with a few lessons. The first thing they do is change Cal`s wardrobe, then he teaches him how to pick up girls in the bar, and pretty soon Cal becomes an expert on seducing women. Jacob meets Hannah (Emma Stone) one night in the bar and can`t seem to get his eyes off her. Hannah doesn’t fall for Jacob`s charisma at first, but Jacob will soon discover what being in love is really about. All the characters seem to intertwine with each other at one point or another making the movie all the more hilarious. For example we have Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), the 17 year old babysitter who has a crush on Cal, but at the same time Robbie, his 13 year old son, is in love with Jessica.

It`s these love triangles and confusions that actually prove that love can be crazy and stupid at times, but wonderful at others. There is a great amount of time dedicated to each character, and the focus isn`t solely on Steve Carell and Julianne Moore. There are several more relationships that the movie deals with, but it never loses the main thread. The film balances the romance with the comedy really well, making this a very emotional film. I actually enjoyed this movie quite a bit. The entire cast was just brilliant. I loved the mope performance from Steve Carell, although we`ve seen it before in other films like Dan in Real Life. Julianne Moore is always a talented actress and she brings her game. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are very talented young actors and the chemistry between both of them was really believable. Gosling has to be one of Hollywood`s best modern young actors around. The actors who really surprised me however were the relatively unknown ones: Analeigh Tipton and Jonah Bobo; they share the funniest scenes in the film. Marisa Tomei also has some screen time, and she is great as always. Crazy, Stupid, Love is just a complete film that manages to deliver on all levels. It is my favorite romantic comedy of the year so far, and will probably be on my list of best films of the year. This is a movie you will want to go see.

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My Review: The Kids Are All RIght (9/10)

¨Marriage is hard…sometimes, you know, you`re together for so long, that you just stop seeing the other person. You just see weird projections of your own junk.¨

Many people may go into this movie expecting to see a feel good film about two lesbians, but it is actually a movie about marriage and the difficulties that this entices. This is one of the best family dramas of the decade, and it also has a good dose of comedy as well. I really enjoyed this film. At the beginning it felt sort of awkward, but as we get to know each member of the family we identify some elements with our own family. Why does this film work so well? First of all the entire cast in this film is excellent. It is very difficult for me to point out one person because everyone in this film is brilliant. The performances felt so real and natural and even the kids were more than all right, they were great in this film. Director Lisa Cholodenko also did a terrific job with the direction despite not receiving an Oscar nomination in that category. However the Academy made up for it by giving her a Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay nod. After the excellent performance from the cast, I think the best thing about this movie was the screenplay which Cholodenko co-wrote with Stuart Blumberg (The Girl Next Door and Keeping the Faith). The screenplay is sharp and has some very witty dialogue in it as well. The characters are very well developed and they avoided the classical Hollywood stereotypes. The family is unconventional, but we can relate to some of the things they go through and clichés are avoided very well.

Nic (played by Annette Bening) is a physician who has an apparently happy life alongside her wife Jules (Julianne Moore) and their two kids Laser (Josh Hutcherson) and Joni (Mia Wasikowska who recently played Alice in Tim Burton`s Alice in Wonderland). When I say that they live an apparently happy life it`s not because there is anything wrong with them, but they do struggle through the regular issues any other family does. Nic seems to be a little of a control freak and tries to control Jules and her kids, they get along pretty well, but they seem to be going through a sort of mid life crisis. Jules is currently unemployed although she wants to begin a landscape design business. Joni has just turned 18, she`s a very smart girl and is getting ready for college, while Laser is a great athlete who is curious about meeting his father. Nic and Jules both used the same sperm donor in order to get pregnant with Joni and Laser. Since Laser is only 15 he is not legally old enough to ask for the information at the clinic so he gets Joni to do it for him. The kids secretly arrange a meeting with their sperm donor, Paul (Mark Ruffalo), who is in his late thirties and owns an organic restaurant and garden. Paul is a cool guy who wants to meet the kids and they get along pretty well. At the beginning it`s awkward for them, but they get to know each other and want to continue their relationship, although it ends up complicating things in the long run as Paul infiltrates their lives.

Lisa Cholodenko manages to balance pretty well the drama with the comedy. There are very emotional and tense situations, but there are also very funny moments like when Jules and Nic (or as the kids call them: the ¨moms¨) want to know if Laser is gay because he hangs out so much with his buddy. The cast was so good that it`s impossible for me to single out one performance in this film. Annette Bening was great as Nic and she deserves her best actress nomination, but I don`t see how she is the main character and Mark Ruffalo only got a nomination for best supporting actor. I think he has almost as much screen time as either one of the moms. And why not nominate Julianne Moore as well? She was equally as good as the rest of the cast. The movie is just terrific and the actors had great material to work with. When Ruffalo`s character showed up in this film and complicated things for the family the movie really began to pick up and I found myself enjoying it even more. The movie is not about two lesbians being discriminated so that we feel sorry for them, but rather about marriage itself and the everyday complications any family faces in life. This is a family where each member loves each other very much, but they make stupid decisions which end up hurting those people they love the most and that is something many marriages can identify with. Overall I think this was a great film and probably will be on my top ten list for 2010.

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