Sister_Spooky Reviews

Adopted (2009)

It's Pauley Shore! What did you expect?!

[8/10 · 14 July 2010]

"The events in this film are entirely fictitious…" and if you didn't figure that out before the end credits rolled, irony is clearly not your thing. You're awesome. Good job.

Since he introduced the The Weasel in the 80s, Pauly Shore's brand of comedy has been childish and unsophisticated; make no mistake, Adopted is no exception. But for the first time in his career, his objective seems to be sincere. Pauly draws attention to some heavy subject matter, while poking fun at the ridiculousness of celebrity, and pointing out the general lack of knowledge and superior attitude that too many people have towards adoption in Africa. I wouldn't go so far as to say Pauly is all grown-up – the fourteen-year old part of me will mourn the day that he does – but he has definitely found an interesting way to reconnect with his now all-grown-up audience.

Not unlike the crude, satirical style of Sacha Baron Cohen, Pauly Shore's sense of humor can be… tricky, but the message is that you CAN be aware and be sensitive and find a way to laugh all at the same time. And after all these years, he still makes me laugh.

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Good enough... I guess.

[6/10 · 20 March 2010]

I don't care that Brad Pitt's southern accent was terrible. I don't care that it wasn't as violent as "Pulp Fiction" or the Kill Bill movies. And I don't care that I had to read subtitles for the majority of the film. What spoiled "Inglourious Basterds" for me was the lack of character development. Quentin Tarantino has a talent for creating irresistible characters that could do laundry for the entire duration of a film and we would still think to ourselves, "Ugh, if only I could be that awesome!" Each character had enormous potential, but so little time was spent exploring them individually, that they never drew me into the story. Tarantino set out to make the ultimate revenge film, and he achieved a wholly satisfactory plot, but he neglected his characters in the process. And though I shouted a victorious "f**k yeah!" every time a Nazi got what was coming to him, I also found myself thinking several times throughout the movie, "So, um... is this it?"

Sherman's March (1985)

Good documentary, but a challenge for your attention span.

[7/10 · 20 March 2010]

"Sherman's March" has some outstanding moments that capture the difficulties of relationships, but the lengthiness and lack of focus make it difficult to praise. The overall structure of the film is a clever look at the unpredictability of an artist's focus, in that filmmaker Ross McElwee set out to make a documentary about the Savannah Campaign and ended up making a film about his failed relationships. But McElwee's free-form approach to storytelling is the sole cause of the films only major flaw; at a whopping 157 minutes, it's padded with excessively long shots and pointless detours, including several attempts to find Burt Reynolds. It's impossible to become fully absorbed in the story when the subject repeatedly shifts from history lesson to love triangle to stalking celebrities. Ultimately, this film is worth viewing for its glimpses into the human condition and the interesting characters that enrich McElwee's travels (I especially like Charleen). However, much like the filmmaker, you may need to distract yourself periodically to make it to the end of this exhausting reflexive journey.

Wendy and Lucy (2008)

Understated done right.

[9/10 · 20 March 2010]

Kelly Reichardt achieves the perfect balance between subtlety and substance with "Wendy and Lucy," a modernized version of Vittorio De Sica's neorealist classic, "Umberto D." The story takes place over the course of a few painfully difficult days in the life of Wendy, a penniless young woman who is traveling to Alaska with her dog Lucy, in hope of finding stability and a place to call home. Wendy's furry travel companion disappears after her car breaks down in Oregon, and as she desperately searches for Lucy and the means to get back on the road, it becomes increasingly clear that her immediate future holds anything but stability. Viewers starved for plot and action will no doubt feel underwhelmed, but those seeking a heartbreaking story that parallels the lives of two neglected souls will certainly be pleased with this adept and thoughtful film.

Old Joy (2006)

Where's the story?

[4/10 · 20 March 2010]

"Old Joy" is a beautiful looking film featuring stunning Oregon landscapes, but the lack of story progression is so exasperating that it negates any sense of serenity one might derive from the visual. There is a lot NOT being said in this film, literally and figuratively speaking. The two men have an implied history that seems to be integral to the story, yet nothing relevant about their past is revealed within the narrative to help make sense of what we see. Flashes of budding conflict quickly give way to an atmospheric abyss that is a constant throughout the movie. Writer/director Kelly Reichardt said in interviews that she consciously left out key plot points so that the viewer can interject their own meaning. A suitable approach to writing Mad Libs, not movie scripts. Save yourself a queue spot and take a drive through a densely wooded area while listening to a Yo La Tengo CD. You'll get the gist of "Old Joy," but unlike the movie, you might end up somewhere worthwhile.

Eastern Promises (2007)

Entertaining, but not challenging

[6/10 · 27 October 2008]

Mortensen is striking in his performance as an enigmatic Russian mobster and I was thoroughly entertained, but the overall tone of the film and some key moments are inconsistent with each other. I couldn't help but chuckle when Nikolai finally finishes off the second thug in the steam room, and the climactic moment involving the infant is equally melodramatic. Furthermore, the film is not nearly as subversive as A History of Violence. Writer Steven Knight clearly intends to pose a similar question about whether violence can be justified, but I really didn't find it challenging to rationalize any of Nikolai's actions.

The Happening (2008)

Weak, weak, weak.

[3/10 · 27 October 2008]

M. Night failed in his attempt to make a darker film than his previous. The death toll is higher and the violence is bloodier, but there is no palpable threat. It lacked the air of paranoia that makes his films so gripping. The plot "twist" is yawn worthy and never really peaks. At the heart of Night's other films is always an interesting family dynamic, but there is hardly any character development in this film. The plot begins before we get any insight into the lives of the people we are expected to sympathize with. To be honest, I didn't care if they lived or died. Moreover, Night compiled a group of usually vibrant actors, and somehow got them all to deliver flat and unnatural performances. This film is a total disappointment and has absolutely no redeeming qualities.

The Tracey Fragments (2007)

Dull, dull, dull.

[4/10 · 27 October 2008]

The Tracey Fragments is uneventful, anti-climactic and unrelentingly bleak, which in this case amounts to incredibly dull. The split screen effect is a distraction at first, and though eventually your eyes do adjust, the effect is not detrimental or supplemental to the telling of this story. The filmmaker doesn't show simultaneous action, just nonsynchronous bits of each shot. I would argue its artistic merit if only I hadn't seen this done in a dozen other "experimental" films. Though Ellen Page plays a snarky, disaffected teen very well, she had better break from that role soon, or she'll be out of work before she can say aboot.

The Notebook (2004)

That is it!?

[3/10 · 27 October 2008]

I finally watched this movie after years and years of hearing how incredible it is, and I say boooooooo! I am shocked at how many people consider this to be a great film. I'm guessing these are the same people who thought Titanic was a great film. It's sappy, overindulgent, crap! It uses incredibly tired and cheap ploys to get the audience's sympathy. Its only slightly redeeming quality is the pairing of Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. He is a tremendously talented actor and she is utterly adorable. The two actors have great chemistry together on screen (and off screen apparently), but it is not enough to sustain my attention for the entire duration of the film. Boooooooo!

Once (I) (2007)

Exquisite!

[9/10 · 27 October 2008]

I had serious doubts about Once after watching the trailer. It made it seem like a sappy and contrived genre love story, but this film is anything but. It is heartbreakingly sincere and dwarfs the stereotypical sappy fare that is constantly in movie theaters. The music is beautiful, the story is sweet, and "the guy" and "the girl" are absolutely lovely. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová are great actors and incredibly talented musicians. I cannot believe the quality of this film considering that it was filmed in seventeen days and cost under $200,000 to make. It just goes to show you, big budgets are not a prerequisite for brilliant film-making. Incredible.

Lost in Translation (2003)

Where's the love?

[3/10 · 27 October 2008]

Sophia Copola relies on paralleling the lives of two lonely people to substantiate their eventual coupling. They're bonded by proximity and it's a one-dimensional set-up. I don't sense any chemistry between these two actors, and the story doesn't do much to establish a connection beyond the contrived. It's such a cheap ploy to make their significant others out to be bad guys to justify their relationship. Sophia spends too much time establishing how different Japan is from the U.S. and little time as to why these two fall for each other so quickly. The main characters joke about Japan and its culture, while exploiting it for their own amusement. The city was a far more interesting character, and yet it was treated as a wacky, disposable backdrop to these miserable people. They make no effort to appreciate their surroundings. Scarlett should have been listening to a tape on Japanese instead of whatever self-help crap she had playing. But these people don't do anything to better their situation. They're miserable because of some false sense of propriety and obligation. Because of the characters' passivity, I didn't care about them or their troubles or this movie.