Movie Review - "Rabbit Hole" (2010) ***1/2

     Well, this movie certainly hit home with me. Losing a child is probably one of the hardest things to ask anyone to deal with. As someone who has lost a child, it was very difficult for me, and still is sometimes. Over time I've come to accept it and it gets a little easier to deal with. But that first year or two is something you just can't quite describe. You go through so many different emotions, especially anger and grief, that it's easy to see how people that are really weak often get torn down by the process. You don't want to hear people say things like, "We know how you feel". No, you don't. You don't want to be around kids. You don't want to let go of things, but at the same time you don't want things around that will remind you of your child. It's so rough and each person handles it differently. Rabbit Hole is the story of how two characters named Becca and Howie handle it.

     Becca is played Nicole Kidman who earned an Oscar nomination for her role. Howie is played by Aaron Eckhart. As the movie opens, Becca and Howie seem like a happy couple, but it isn't long before we realize they are struggling a lot. Eight months ago, the couple lost their only child, a young boy who chased the family dog into the street and was hit by a car. (Thankfully, we are spared seeing this happen). They go to counseling sessions but Becca finds them useless, and quits going. Her way of handling things is very internal, we know she is thinking about it constantly, but she is backed away from the world. She starts trying to get rid of the constant reminders. She donates her child's clothes to Goodwill, takes colored pictures down off the refrigerator and spends time in her garden in solitude. Howie wants to talk about it more. He wants the memories of his child around and he wants to talk about it in class. These two ways of handling the situation will obviously clash, and when they do, the scenes happen abruptly and provide some of the most dramatic in the movie. They love each other, but don't know how to deal with things together. They each turn to a different person, someone they can talk to. For Howie, it's a lady named Gaby (Sandra Oh) from his help group sessions. The person Becca turns to, I will not reveal here because it's a brilliant move by the story, and it caught me off-guard. We don't know right away why this person is important to Becca, but when we learn the reason, it pushes this movie from good to very good for me. I think it's handled perfectly.


     This movie will not be for everyone. Like the previous film I reviewed, Blue Valentine, it deals with some serious subject matter and is not a "happy" movie by any means. The movie works because of the brilliant acting by Kidman and Eckhart. They are very real in these roles. They hit the emotions perfectly. I know, because as someone who has been through this, I could see similar reactions and emotions that I experienced myself. That they are able to play these roles so straight, without going over the top, is a testament to their acting abilities. The movie was directed by relative unknown, John Cameron Mitchell, and is based on a play by screenwriter David Lindsay-Abaire. As it's going along, you may be thinking the movie will end one way, but you may be surprised by how it turns out. Personally, I thought ending scene was very well done. It's simple, but says a lot at the same time. I give this a high recommendation, give it a shot.

Movie Review - "Blue Valentine" (2010) ****

     When watching movies, nothing makes me happier than when  you get one of these small films that didn't get much recognition, and they end up exceeding your expectations big time. Blue Valentine is one of those films like that. Give me Blue Valentine over Transformers any day of the week. This movie got on my radar around Oscar season earlier this year. I kept hearing about it as a possible dark-horse candidate for a Best Picture nomination. It didn't end up receiving that nomination, but Michelle Williams picked up a Best Actress nomination for her performance and that made it a movie I wanted to see eventually. Fast forward to July, and I finally got the opportunity to watch it. I'm glad I did.

     The premise of the movie is pretty simple, it's basically a two person showcase. Ryan Gosling is Dean and Michelle Williams is Cindy, a couple that has been together for six years in a relationship that was once strong but has fallen apart. When we first see them, it is present day and they have a young daughter named Frankie. It's obvious from the start that both parents love Frankie, but Dean and Cindy are distant to each other. The present day events are broken up by looks into the couples past. They first meet at a retirement home; Cindy is a college student who is visiting her grandmother and Dean works for a moving company who is helping an elderly gentleman move into the home. There eyes connect and instantly there is a connection. Cindy has a boyfriend named Bobby (Mike Vogel), but she likes Dean's quirkiness and eventually the two start seeing more of each other. Things are going well for the young couple but hit a bump when Cindy finds out she's pregnant. Dean flips out at first and wants Cindy to have an abortion. As the procedure is about to take place, Cindy decides she can't go through with it and walks out. As the confused couple is riding home on a bus, Dean decides to accept this fate that has been handed down and wants to raise the baby with Cindy. Back in present time, the struggling duo decide to get away to a little motel to have a weekend together. While shopping for supplies, Cindy bumps into her old boyfriend Bobby and her feelings during this encounter confuse her any more. It eventually leads to conflict with Dean and we realize that this weekend together is almost a formality to saving a marriage that can't be saved. How the movie ends may or may not be as you expect it, I will leave that for you the viewer to decide.

     Blue Valentine is not an easy movie to watch, especially if you have been in a failed relationship. A lot of things on screen hit home for me, unfortunately. But not all movies are supposed to make you happy and feel good. Life is full of ups and downs and this is a film that focuses on the down times. So why does a movie like this work for me? This movie was destined to succeed or fail based strictly on the acting. Could you believe the characters? For me, it was a homerun. Gosling and Williams both give great performances. Williams earned every bit of her Best Actress nomination and I'd be hard pressed to keep my original Best Actress choice, Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone, in front of her. I think I may still give a slight edge to Lawrence, but it's really close. Gosling deserves kudos as well, he is very believable in this role. It's a performance that makes me want to go back and see some of his earlier works. I saw The Notebook, but that just didn't work for me. Maybe some other stuff will. The movie was directed by Derek Cianfrance, a relative newcomer. If he makes more films like this, he could become a directing star. I will keep my eyes open for more of his work. In closing, I think this is a great little film and one that slipped by most audiences unnoticed. Give it a chance, I think you may be surprised.

AMC Harry Potter Legendy Adventure

     4 nights. 8 movies. 19 hours 38 minutes worth of screen time.....These are the numbers that made up the Harry Potter Legendary Adventure, presented by AMC Theatres. I decided to take this journey, and it was one that gave me plenty of trepidation at first. My exposure to the Harry Potter universe prior to this adventure was very limited. I had not read any of the books and had only seen some of the first movie. I tried watching it twice on dvd, but both times I quit before it was over because I just didn't find it very exciting. There were portions that I thought were very boring and I had come to the conclusion that this movie just wasn't my cup of tea. So, why did I decide to not only try to watch the first one again, but also all 7 other films over the course of four days??

      One of the main reasons is I simply thought it was a good deal that AMC was offering. For $40 I was getting 8 movies, including 1 in 3-D, a custom lanyard, a collectible booklet, special Potter themed 3-D glasses, and a mini movie poster. I'm a sucker for little extras like that, so I thought the price was real nice. This blog was also another major factor in my decision. I think if I only talk about movies that I enjoy, that would make this blog pretty boring and defeat the purpose of what I wanted it to be from the start. I want this to inspire discussion. I figured if I saw these films, even if I didn't like them it would be a nice topic to give my opinions on, good or bad. I want to step outside the box and take chances more often, and this was a nice way to do that.

     Before I talk about the movies themselves, I want to take a quick moment to praise AMC theatres. They did a tremendous job running this event from start to finish. Managers would meet with us before the first movie each night and thank us for being there. They would give away prizes for answering trivia questions (one of the few times when I felt completely lost playing trivia). They monitored the door so other people couldn't get in and take advantage of the showings we had paid for. Even thought the theater was only half full all week, last night during the midnight showing of the finale, they did not open our theater up for anyone else even though they could have used the extra space. When you are sitting with the same 40 or so people for 19 hours plus during a week, you tend to form a bond with them. By the end of last night, we did feel like sort of a small family. I think that's pretty cool and AMC recognized that and respected it. They had every right to open that theater last night and chose not to. Kudos to them. I have done marathons with them before with the Best Picture Showcase the last three years, and I hope they continue to offer events like this. Here's a picture of the swag we received with our package.

     So let's talk about the movies now. I'm not going to do full reviews for each film, my fingers would absolutely fall off after that much typing. So I will be talking about the series as a whole, but I will take the time to grade and rank each film later. Like I said earlier, I went into this series with trepidation, but I am coming out of it extremely satisfied. I think this is a very good series and there are times where it is a ton of fun. It starts out with a whimper though, as I was pretty worried after night one. After making it through Sorcerer's Stone finally, I thought it was nothing great but better than I remember on dvd. Film two though, Chamber of Secrets, was a big failure to me. I was completely bored watching it and there was nothing about it that was memorable to me. After the first night I was worried that I had made a big mistake, and even considered calling it quits and eating the forty bucks. I'm glad I talked myself out of that decision.

     The movies really start hitting their mark with the third installment, Prisoner of Azkaban. From here on out, I found each of the remaining episodes ranged from slightly above average to great. As the kids get older, and the subject matter becomes a little darker, the story really hooked me and I found myself emotionally invested in the main characters. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint all give solid performances as the primary trio of the series; Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, respectively. But there are so many memorable secondary characters, I can't possibly name them all. In fact, while the acting is for the most part a success, I feel this is one of the problems with the series. There's just TOO many characters to keep track of. More than once I found myself confused by names or faces that sort of pop up out of nowhere, or certain characters would be in one movie, disappear for a film or two, and then show up again down the road. This became a bit much. I pretty much circled the main characters to the plot (or who I thought would be) and others I just sort of pushed to the side of my brain and tried not to think about too much.

     The other flaw, and this is the one that was the most noticeable to me, was there are stretches where the story really drags to me. There are times where the exposition goes on for so long that the more they explained, the less I understood. This reached it's peak in episode 2, where at the two hour mark I'm almost begging the movie to just DO something. It eventually does, but by then I had emotionally checked out and just didn't care. This also happens in episode 5, Order of the Phoenix. The first 1:45 of that movie were terribly boring to me. However, that film was saved by an amazing final 30 minutes or so that were some of the best scenes in the series, in my opinion. Even the better films would have short stretches where I found myself checking the time, and if I do that, that's usually an automatic half-star deduction from my rankings. I just simply think pacing is a problem here quite a bit and that's the issue with trying to adapt a movie from a book.

     Despite these flaws, I think this series overall is a success and my expectations were exceeded big time. I'm not sure that these are movies that I would watch multiple times, but I'm glad I gave them a chance and I respect the Potter story now. By the time it was over, I was actively rooting for certain characters. During the finale when one of the secondary characters steps up and pulls off a heroic sacrifice, I was clapping and cheering with the rest of the crowd. I did not expect that to happen when I started this. When one of the characters dies in the next to last film, I felt my eyes tearing up and I was shocked by how much it was affecting me. I think that is the biggest praise I can give to the Harry Potter films, I don't consider myself a Potter fan, but I got to a place where I cared about the characters and what happened to them. That's important and the series succeeded there. Is this Star Wars to me? No, and it's honestly not close, but that's not a bad thing. I'd have to give it some thought, but this MAY be the second best movie series I have seen. The fact that it got better as it went along is unique and a breath of fresh air. I'd prefer this over something like Lord of the Rings any time.

    The Harry Potter story is a great success. I'm glad I watched it the way I did, where I could keep everything fresh in my mind. The arc from beginning to end was clear for the most part. The road was a little congested at times, but I was happy when I arrived at my destination. I know there are people out there who don't feel like I have gotten the complete Potter experience because I won't read the books, and they are entitled to those opinions. But I'm a movie lover, that's my art form of choice. Potter author J.K. Rowling signed off on all these films and has said she is pleased with the outcomes. That's good enough for me. I don't need to know every minutiae of detail about the Potter universe. For those who do, I completely understand the love, being a Star Wars fan who does love the minutiae of that series. My exposure to Potter is these 8 movies, and I'm glad to have witnessed them all. I could have done a lot worse.

How I rank them:
1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (3rd movie)  -    ****
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 (7th movie) -   ****
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (5th movie) -    ***1/2
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 (8th movie) - ***1/2
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (4th movie) -  ***
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1st movie) - **1/2
7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (6th movie) - **1/2
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2nd movie) - *

    

Thoughts on the upcoming Harry Potter marathon

     Now that I got my top 100 films out of the way, It's time to move on to other reviews and projects. That starts tomorrow when I will be attending the Harry Potter movie marathon, presented by AMC Theatres. They are showing all 8 movies over a 4-night period, with 2 movies each night. It culminates on Thursday at midnight with the release of the newest film. I'm really excited about this opportunity, yet I'm worried about it too. My exposure to the Harry Potter universe is very limited. I have not read any of the books and I've only seen parts of the first movie. I've tried to watch it twice but haven't been able to finish it either time. It just didn't hook me like I thought it would. There were things about it I liked but the pacing was just off for me for some reason. So, if I didn't care for the first movie, why am I committing myself to watching all 8 films?! It's a good question.
     I guess I'm giving it a shot for a few different reasons. The marathon portion of it doesn't scare me that much. I've done the Best Picture Showcase with AMC the past few years so this won't be the first time having my butt glued to a theater seat for a long period of time. I also believe I'm getting a decent deal for seeing 8 movies in a theater. The price was only $40 and that includes all 8 pictures, along with a commemorative booklet, lanyard, and special Harry Potter 3-D glasses for viewing the final film. Hey, I'm all for freebies. I think that's quite a bit for $40. Probably the biggest reason is the fact that I do WANT to like this series. The two times I've tried watching the first film, I was home both times and there are a lot of distractions while at home. So if my mind ever starts to wander, it's too easy to pick up the the computer or something like that. At a theater, I should be a little more attentive, especially during a slower time in the movie. I'll be more invested in it. Hopefully I will like the first film better on the big screen and that will get me hooked in for the long run.
     I do fear though that I will not like it, and this will be $40 down the drain. Either way, it will be fun to take the chance and do some blogging about it. I'm looking forward to the experience, good or bad, and I hope you will come along with me for the journey. 

1 - "Star Wars" (1977)

     Shocking!!! Okay, anybody that has known me for more than about five minutes should have known what was number one on my list. Star Wars has been a part of my life from as early as I can remember. It came out when I was 2 years old, so I basically grew up with these movies. My earliest theater experience that I can remember is my Uncle Larry taking me to see The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, when I was five. I had almost every toy that came out and I would have epic battles in my room or in the backyard. If the yard in my parents house was ever dug up there would almost certainly be many remnants of figures that were victims during the great wars of my childhood. Thinking back on those days, life was just simpler then. It's for that reason why Star Wars is still such a huge part of my life today. I still have toys lying around. I have multiple versions of the movies on dvd and vhs (and soon to be Blu-ray!!). I go to conventions and hang out with "those" people who dress up. Having all of that stuff in my life appeals to that kid in me that I still have, and I hope I always have. I hope that I live to a nice old age and at that age, I hope I still love Star Wars as much as I did when I was five years old. It's a love that a lot of people don't understand, and that's perfectly fine. I just hope people out there are as passionate about "something" as I am about Star Wars. If you are, no matter how odd it may seem to others, always hang on to that passion.
      I think a basic plot synopsis is pretty useless in this case. If you are interested, you've probably already seen the movie. If you've always avoided these films, what I say probably isn't going to sway you. So it's useless. I think what I will do is answer that question I get a lot from people, "What's your favorite Star Wars film?". I figure this is the best forum to put that information out there for good. So in order, here is how I would rank them:
1. The Empire Strikes Back
2. A New Hope (the "original", for the non-fans out there)
3. Revenge of the Sith
4. Return of the Jedi
5. The Phantom Menace
6. Attack of the Clones
    So there they are, that's how I would rank them. But don't put a lot of stock in it, I still love Attack of the Clones even though it's last. I would still rather watch that than most things out there. It lacks the heart that something like Empire Strikes Back has, at least in my opinion it does, but they are all part of one big story, and that's the story that I love. And it's the story that will always be a part of me, and I'm happy with that.

2 - "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994)

     The Shawshank Redemption is a film that many people probably have high on their lists as well, especially guys. It is widely considered by movie fans as one of the greatest films ever made. What's ironic about that is that NOBODY saw this movie in the theaters. Well, a few people did, including me (multiple times), but it certainly didn't attract the masses. Made on a budget of $25 million, the movie went on to make only $28 million in its entire run. It was never in the top 5 for any week it was out. It is believed by some industry "experts" that the ambiguous title of the movie scared people away. Being a huge Stephen King fan, I knew right away what the movie was about when I saw it was being made. The movie is based on a novella by King, in his Different Seasons book, called "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption". (This book also gave us "The Body", which became the movie Stand By Me. Also on my list). So Shawshank was not popular with the movie crowd, but when it hit home video, it became one of the most rented films of all-time. The word-of-mouth started spreading and the movies popularity grew, and continues to grow to this day. It is rated the number 1 movie by users on IMDB.
     The movie takes primarily in fictitious Shawshank prison in Maine. Morgan Freeman is Red, a lifer in the prison due to his murder conviction when he was a younger man. Red is the guy in prison who get things for you from the outside. Whatever it is; cigarettes, playing cards, posters, Red can get it for you, for a small fee of course. He and his prison buddies hang out in the yard everyday, placing cigarette bets on anything they can think of. They even bet on the new prisoners when they arrive, to see which one will break down and cry first. Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is one of these new prisoners. It's 1946, and Andy, who is a banker, has been found guilty of murdering his wife and her lover, and sentenced to life in prison. We know that Andy is actually innocent, due to a prologue in the film. Red bets Andy will be the first to break down, but that whole night, Andy never makes a peep. One guy does break down and is beaten to death by the brutal head prison guard Hadley (Clancy Brown). He rules the prison, overlooked by the warden Sam Norton (Bob Gunton). Andy keeps to himself at first, but eventually he approaches Red and they start to talk. Over time the two start to develop a friendship that last through many years in the prison.
      I will stop there with the plot summary. Most people have probably seen this movie, but if you haven't you deserve to witness the movies many surprises without being spoiled. The Shawshank Redemption is a great film, touching on themes of hope and freedom. No matter how strong the walls are holding us hostage, hope is the one thing people can't take away. This idea carries throughout the movie with the Andy character. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman are both at their absolute best here. The chemistry the duo has together is perfect. In the book, Red's character is not black, but this is one instance where the movie works better than the book. Freeman as Red provides the narration for our film and he is the glue that holds everything together. The movie wouldn't be the same without him. Even though it is not number one on my list, I think The Shawshank Redemption is the greatest job of film-making ever.

3 - "JFK" (1991)

     In the summer of 1990, I went on a summer vacation with my family to Washington, D.C. It was a great trip. I got to see the White House, the Capitol, all the monuments and museums you could possibly want to. But something unexpected happened on this trip and would lead to one of those weird coincidences in life. We were walking along the National Mall when we saw a tent set up with a bunch of people under it and it was in a roped off area. There were a few people standing around outside of the ropes. We were curious so we headed over just to see what was going on. That ended up being a good decision. A security guy with a shirt that said JFK told us that they were filming a movie here and the people under the tent were the cast and crew taking a lunch break. We asked if anyone famous was there and the guy said Kevin Costner was. He pointed him out to us and sure enough he was sitting there eating lunch. What happened next was even more surprising. Costner finished up his meal and came out and met the few of us who had gathered around there. He didn't stay long, but I will always remember that moment. He didn't need to come out at all, but the fact that he did will always earn him some kudos in my book.
      Because of that moment, we ended up going to see the movie when it came out the following year and in one of those things you just can't explain, it ended up being one of the best movies I have ever seen. And 20 years later, that it has remained. The movie is based on the true story of New Orleans District Attorney, Jim Garrison (Costner), who is only person to bring someone to trial for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. While the history books have taught us that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in murdering Kennedy, there are many people out there who think that just isn't plausible. Garrison was one of those people and believed that the assassination was the result of a conspiracy plotted by the government and various extreme groups. Garrison's team calls many "facts" of the murder into question and there investigation falls primarily on one man, Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones), a New Orleans socialite with government connections. JFK is directed by Oliver Stone, who does a brilliant job putting together a 3-hour movie that never once feels stale or bogged down. That is accomplished in the editing room where JFK won one of its two Oscars, the other being Cinematography. It was nominated for 6 other Oscars, including Best Picture. The movie does not hide its motives. Stone is a stout believer that there was a conspiracy in the murder and this film definitely tries to convince you. Whether you believe it or not, or just don't care either way, it's really not important to enjoying this film. The script and acting are top notch and will appeal to people, no matter what your beliefs on the event are. The cast is one of the strongest ever assembled and features supporting roles by Joe Pesci, John Candy, Sissy Spacek, Donald Sutherland, and Gary Oldman, among many others. I know this movie may not be for everyone (the profanity is abundant!), but for those who give it a shot, I think you may be surprised by what you find. A brilliant, thought-provoking look at one of the darkest moments in American history.