BookSplotReviews Reviews

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

Weird, but in a Good Way

[7/10 · 29 March 2012]

Elizabeth Olsen's acting in Martha Marcy May Marlene is really fantastic (it may or may not be her first feature film, not sure which she did first this or Silent House). Her acting combined with the background we get make it easy to see how someone could be drawn into a cult - and stay for so long despite the abusiveness.

The interactions between Martha, her sister and her brother-in-law are downright strange at times but not in a 'hunh?' way at all. They're strange in a way that actually makes perfect sense for the characters and the experiences they've had.

I was really disappointed by the very, very, very end of the film - but I liked the other 100 or so minutes enough that I can forgive it (or forget about it). That and I really can't wait to see Elizabeth Olsen in something else.

The Descendants (2011)

Loved Shailene Woodley and George Clooney

[9/10 · 29 March 2012]

I'll be the first to admit that after seeing a few episodes of The Secret Life of the American Teenager I wasn't quite sure about all of the praise Shailene Woodley was getting for The Descendants. Nothing against her, really. I just see the show as incredibly melodramatic (maybe I haven't seen enough) and not of the same caliber as what they were talking about with The Descendants.

After seeing The Descendants, though, I can say that regardless of what I think about Woodley in Secret Life, she's amazing in the film. Pretty much everyone is, actually.

The Descendants, stars George Clooney as Matt King a Hawaiian lawyer - and land owner - who's wife is in a coma and on life support after a boating accident. It takes his teenage daughter, Alexandra (played by Woodley) to bring to his attention that his wife was having an affair.

Alexandra, the troubled older daughter, has been away at boarding school, but King doesn't seem to know much more about his ten-year-old daughter Scottie's life, either. As he attempts to repair his relationship with his daughters, he also has to cope with the possibility that his wife may not wake up from her coma.

All of that sounds dark and hard to deal with, but The Descendants is incredibly funny. And not inappropriately so, either. It's brilliant in dealing with this flawed (almost, at times, non-existent) parental relationship Clooney's character has with his daughters.

What's also fantastic is that George Clooney looks tired and a little worn out. Right? Who would ever think George Clooney looking tired would be a good thing but it is. He doesn't have his classic, handsome, movie star look throughout this movie and it's what's needed for this character. He's a guy trying to deal with his two daughters (that he does not know how to deal with) and figure out what's happening with his dying wife. He does not need to look rested and refreshed.

The Descendants is based on the novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings and while I wasn't sure about wanting to read the book before I saw the movie, I very much do now. (Something that very, very rarely happens.)

This is a movie I absolutely recommend!

The Sitter (2011)

Funnier, Better than I Expected

[8/10 · 29 March 2012]

Noah (Jonah Hill) has a 'girlfriend' and that term should be used loosely, Marissa (Ari Graynor) whose call with the promise of sex . . . if you know, Noah does some things besides drive downtown (with the kids she doesn't know he's babysitting) set the whole night into motion. Of course, it's not just what she says that makes everything happen, or Noah's attempts, it's what she asks, how he goes about it, where he has to go, what happens along the way, and how everything plays out. Which is all incredibly funny.

I wanted to see this movie because it looked funny - raunchy and crazy, yet but funny. What I didn't know was that it would have some depth if not (and don't fault it for this) heart, too.

The kids are rather archetypal, but not the kind that's usually seen portrayed. The little girl, Blithe (Landry Bender) wants to be a celebutante, wears a ton of makeup and is waayyy too into songs with lyrics inappropriate for someone her age (maybe anyone's age). There are a lot of girls (really young ones) who are into looking older, wearing makeup, etc right now. Her character and the reaction to her fit.

It's not a deep, dramatic movie so there's not big, epic scenes of emotion, but I thought the little bits (mostly wit the kids) that were put in there were nice and still fit within the story.

Overall, it's a very funny movie - even more so than I expected - there's enough just random stuff in it to keep it from being predictable even if all of it isn't the most original story line ever. It's one I'll definitely watch again.