Reel Movies: Igby Goes Down

Director & Writer: Burr Steers

Cast: Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Bill Pullman, Susan Saradon, Ryan Phillippe, Amanda Peet, Jeff Goldblum,

Summary:

Igby Slocumb (Culkin) is a seventeen year old boy who just can't keep himself from getting kicked out of school. Born into old money, but couldn't care less. Having a schizophrenic father (Pullan), a vain un-maternal mother (Saradon), and a Republican brother (Phillippe) doesn't help much either. Having flunked out of another school, Igby realizes there must be more to life than the one he has been living. Eventually he makes his way to Manhattan, where he meets a pleather of new faces. Igby struggles with a few obstacles in order to grow up.

Review:

I've only heard great things from this movie, but maybe I missed something? Casting choice was impeccable, but the story? The tone was at times inconsistent and some scenes didn't even flow. I usually read up a bit before viewing a movie just to get an idea, but this time I didn't. I don't even think that could have helped at all. This actors were wonderful-- superb even, but everything else made me think "uh.. what?". I really wish I could have enjoyed it; I really tried. It became dull after awhile. Similarities between this and The Catcher in the Rye were not unnoticed, but even that couldn't save it.  I really don't even know what happened with this one. I wouldn't recommend this, unless someone wants to watch it to prove me wrong. I have to say 5/10. 

--J.

Reel Movies: L.I.E.

Director: Micheal Cuesta
Written by: Stephen M. Ryder, Michael Cuesta
Starring: Paul Dano, Brian Cox, Billy Kay, Bruce Altman

 

In the film L.I.E, everything comes crashing down on 15-year-old Howie Blitzer (played by the talented Paul Dano) in one week. Howie's mother has just died in a car crash. His father (Altman), who is too busy with his job and his much younger girlfriend, barely pays any attention to Howie. Without any parental supervision, Howie and his friends go  break into people's house for fun. When Howie and his friend, Gary (Kay), break into "Big John" Harrigan's home, they steal two of his prized guns from when he was in the Marines. Big John (Cox) confronts Howie on this, and Howie find out much more about Big John than he bargained from, like how Big John has a thing for younger boys. Now that he is the target of a pedophile, Howie must find away to solve all of the trouble he has gotten himself into.
 
L.I.E. is very different from any movie I have ever seen before. This movie is creepy and somewhat disturbing, but that doesn't mean it was bad. It is a barrier-breaking film that deals with weird situations dealing with pedophilia and sexuality. It is definitely unusual, but the acting was simply brilliant. Even though this was one of his first movies, Paul Dano gives an outstanding performance as Howie. He makes you really feel all the pain and suffering that his character was going through. Brian Cox was very good in the movie as well. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a movie with an edge that's really unique. I give it a 6/10.

--D.

Reel Time: Charlie Bartlett

Director: Jon Poll

Writer: Gustin Nash
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis, Kat Dennings, Tyler Hilton

Summary:

The movie Charlie Bartlett follows a rich kid (Yelchin) as he starts his first year of  public high school. Charlie has been enrolled in many private school, but gets kicked out do to his business schemes, like selling fake IDs. So when his spaced out, typical movie rich mother (Davis), Charlie is not used to all the torment he gets. So, in order to become popular, Charlie takes it upon himself to solve the problems of his classmates. With the help of his surprising new friend, tough guy Murphey (Hitlon), Charlie sets up therapy sessions in the boys bathroom and gets medication from his therapist to give out to all the kids. Charlie gains instant popularity and even a girlfriend (Dennings). But when the principal, and the father of his girlfriend, (Downey Jr.) finds out about his business ventures, all goes wrong for Charlie and this causes craziness in his school.

Review:

The movie Charlie Bartlett was definitely not what I expected it to be. The movie's star Anton Yelchin made this film extremely funny. His performance reminded me of Matthew Broderick in one of my favorite comedys, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I have to say, this was ten times worse. Even thought the movie was incredibly funny, it had no substance to it and the ending was completely predictable. This movie is not one of the high school films that you will remember for years to come, but I enjoyed it. It had its moments where you think it is absolutely hilarious, and other times where you thought "Why even bother putting that in a movie?". I'd give this a very low rating if it wasn't for the wonderful acting displayed by Anton Yelchin, Hope Davis, and Robert Downey Jr. Overall, Ill give this a 5.5/10

--D.

Reel Time: Donnie Darko

Directed & Written by: Richard Kelly

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, James Duval, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore

Summary:

A smart and witty but delusional 16 year old boy named Donnie (Gyllenhaal) is lucky enough to be alive after a strange plane crashes into his room. Strangely fate or rather a voice inside his head brought him outside of his house.  What he was lucky to miss, however will come back to haunt him. Even though he begins a relationship with the new girl (Malone), Donnie is plagued with Frank's (Duval) words. Frank is a six-foot evil bunny who tells Donnie to commit various acts of vandalism. Everything he tells him to do has meaning, because Frank knows the world will end on Halloween. In this bizarre tale set in 1988 Virginia, Donnie must face hardships in order to save everyone he loves.

Review:

Donnie Darko-- what site shouldn't do a review on this movie? Yes, I am aware of the cult statis is has taken since being released on DVD, but I also know many people haven't seen it. I'll admit the first time I saw it, I had no idea what had happened. I enjoyed the film but was left feeling incomplete, as if I missed something entirely. Even with that said, I still thought the film was brilliant. Some of the lines in this movie made you contemplate on your life. Am I living how I should? Am I brave enough? It just makes you value your life. Donnie was such an easy character to connect with. You felt his pain and confusion. You wanted to help him. Gyllenhaal was remarkable as the rest of the cast was. However, what I enjoyed most was afterwards looking up all the information online. There are so many websites dedicated to this movie.  Everything that wasn't said in the movie made sense. I couldn't wait to watch it again-- which I did. This brilliant tale of love, sacrifice, and pain is defiantly something I would recommend. I would suggest though to watch it once, soak all that you can in, read up some information on the internet, and re-watch. You will be thrilled you did. I'd say for the first time watching it  6.5/10 & with the second time 9/10. 

--J.

Reel Time: The Virgin Suicides

Director: Sofia Coppola

Written by: Sofia Coppola & Jeffery Euginides (novel)

Starring: James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Durnst, Josh Hartnett, A.J. Cook, Hannah R. Hall, Leslie Hayman, Chelse Swain

Summary:

The Lisbon family seemed to live a normal life in 1970s rural America. Mr. Lisbon (Woods) teachs math at the local high school and Mrs. Lisbon (Turner) clings to her strong religious faith. Together they are blessed with five beautiful daughters: Cecilia (Hall), Therese (Hayman), Bonnie (Swain), Mary (Cook), and Lux (Durnst). These daughters are the talk of town by the neighborhood boys. Twenty years later the boys, now men, come together to talk of why these gorgeous girls committed suicide (not a spoiler as this was announced pretty much right away). 

Review

Chilling and visually beautiful equal the Virgin Suicides. Right away you wonder how could girls like that ever do such a thing? Coppola does a splendid job capturing the 1993 novel of the same name. She brings the movie to another atmosphere which is indescribable.  Teenage angst and rebellion shown at its best. However, I personally was disappointed at the lack character development of the sisters besides Lux. Connecting with the other four sisters was difficult to do. I felt empty at the end, but really there isn't any other way to end it. However, I would recommend this movie for sure. The R rating and title usually scare people off, which it shouldn't. An 8/10 for sure.

-- J.

Reel Movies: The Ballad of Jack & Rose

Director: Rebecca Miller

Writer: Rebecca Miller

Cast: Camilla Belle ...  Rose Slavin, Daniel Day-Lewis ...  Jack Slavin , Catherine Keener ...  Kathleen, Ryan McDonald ...  Rodney, Paul Dano ...  Thaddius

Summary:

    The Ballad of Jack and Rose is the story of a daughter (Camilla Belle) living with her father (Daniel Day-Lewis), who is dying of heart complications. The movie takes place in 1986 on an abandoned  island commune where Jack and Rose live. Jack, knowing that he is very ill, invites his girlfriend (Catherine Keener) to come take care of him and to act as a mother to Rose. When Kathleen comes to the commune with her two sons (Ryan McDonald and Paul Dano-- my personal favorite actor), Rose feels betrayed by her father, the only person she has ever loved or lived with. Rose tries to do everything to get back at her father and to get Kathleen and her family away from her. Rose begins to act wild and creates chaos in the household.

Review:

    The movie is very interesting. Jack and Rose have a bond unlike any other father-daughter  relationship I have ever seen in a movie. This movie is one that shows some disturbing things that other films won't dare include in their story line.The cast as a whole was very good. Daniel Day-Lewis, who never fails to impress, delivers a strong performance as Rose's caring yet harsh father. Camilla Belle, who I normally don't like, actually gave a good performance as a naive girl who longed for her father to be there for her always. I recommend this to anyone who likes dramas that aren't afraid to break barriers and touch upon very different subjects. I'll give this a 6/10.

--D.

Reel Movies: House of D

Director: David Duchovny

Writer: David Duchovny
Staring: Anton Yelchin as Tommy Warshaw, Robin Williams as Pappass, Erykah Badu as Lady, David Duchovny as Tom Warshaw(older)/Narrator

Summary:

    House of D is the story of an artist's named Tommy (David Duchovny) life as a teenager that he has not shared with his family. He decides to tell his son about the events that happened to him when he turned thireen, just like his son is about to. The the movie is in New York in the 70s  when Tommy was about to turn thirteen. The movie follows the young Tommy Warshaw (played by one of my favorites, Anton Yelchin) as he tries to survive life with his mother, who is abusing medication as a result of Tommy's dad dying of cancer. Tommy's best friend is Pappass (Robin Williams), a 40-year-old mentally challenged man who works as a janitor at Tommy's private boy's school. Throughout the movie, Tommy seeks advice from "Lady"( Erykah Badu), a troubled women who is locked up in the women's House of D jail facility in Manhattan. As the movie goes on, Tommy's life goes into a downward spiral, and not even Lady can help him now. He is the only person who can help him overcome the hardships that life throws at him.

Review:

    Anton plays Tommy Warshaw beautifully in this story of friendship, betrayal, death, and finding his place in life. I have to admit, I did shed a few tears when Anton started crying. It was completely convincing, and he was pretty much the best part of the movie. Even though I didn't like how Robin Williams portrayed a mentally ill man, the movie did have some wonderful acting by the rest of the cast. I do recommend this movie, and i think it deserves more attention than it received when it first came out. I would give this a 7/10.

--D.

Reel Movies: Rocket Science

Director: Jeffery Blitz

Writer: Jeffery Blitz

Starring: Reece Thompson, Anna Kendrick, Vincent Piazza, Aaron Yoo

 

 Summary:

Rocket Science is the story of Hal Hefner (Thompson), a boy with a speech impediment that prevents him from doing simpler little tasks, like ordering pizza at his school cafeteria. Having been suffering this for years, Hal likes to be left alone and prefers not to say anything at all. It doesn't help much either that he has a violent older brother who torments him, his dad has just left his mom, and his mother's lover (who is also the father of Hal's best friend) has just moved in. But when Ginny Ryerson (Kendrick), the school's top debater is looking for a new partner, Hal is quick to say yes and Ginny makes inspires him to try his hardest to conquer his speech problem and be successful on the debate team. As it turns out, Ginny is using Hal for the wrong reasons, and Hal is then determined to get back at her.

Review:

    This movie is definitely one of my favorites. Reece Thompson does a wonderful job of portraying Hal. You can definitely relate to the anger and aggression that Hal builds up in himself do to his problem. You can really sympathize with him and that makes him so relatable and great to watch. Vincent Piazza, Anna Kendrick, and Aaron Yoo give great performances. This movie is very interesting and I absolutely recommend this to anyone. Its a different kind of heart warming tale. It makes you really think about the way other people live their lives and get through the obstacles of life, in addition to trying to over come the complications they were born with.

I give this 8/10.

-- D.

Reel Movies: Lars & the Real Girl

Director: Craig Gillespie

Writer: Nancy Oliver

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider

 

Summary:

    One of my favorite indie movies of 2007, Lars and a Real Girl, is definitely a must see for fans of the comedy/drama genre of films. The story follows the socially awkward Lars Lindstrom (Gosling), a man who enjoys being left alone because of the emotional pain he is hiding inside. His sister-in-law Karen (Mortimer) starts worrying about him and why he is no looking for a significant other, but her worrying drastically increases when he does find comfort in a women--a plastic women which he has ordered online. Ignoring the real purpose of the sex doll, Lars forms a bond with the doll; he even names her Bianca. As Lars becomes more attached to her, his brother (Schneider) and sister-in-law have to get the whole town to go along with his delusion. With the help of a therapist and the support of the town, Lars and his family get through this very awkward time in all of their lives. The movie wonderfully portrays how confusing and troubling times can bring a community closer together.

Review:

    Ryan Gosling definitely desires praise for portraying the puzzled yet lovable Lars. Its far cry from his breakout role in The Notebook, but I actually enjoyed him more in this film. There is a little bit of Lars in everyone. It's that emotional baggage inside that is holding us back from really living out our lives to the fullest. The film is truly beautiful, even with its strange tale. This movie is definitely one of those rare, bittersweet ones that makes you wonder if you should be sad or happy with the conclusion.  This is a must-see for independent film lovers who enjoy a good, quirky movie.

Overall, I give it a 7.5/10

-- D.