Magic Mike:
Now, before you say I'm gay, the only reason I saw this movie was because of the director: Steven Soderbergh. Now I heard he was going into retirement but was drawn out of this due to the intriguing script for the film, which revolved around the true story of star Channing Tatum's work as a male stripper before he made it big in Hollywood. He has directed some of the best modern films: Erin Brokovich, Traffic, Sex Lies and Videotape, and the cool horror-thriller Contagion. The plot of this film follows Mike Lane, an "entrepeneur" who owns several small businesses, and dreams of becoming a furniture designer who sells priceless, customized items at a bargain. To pay the bills, he moonlights as a male stripper at Matthew McConaughey's strip club: Xquisite. He goes by the stage name "Magic Mike", and is the most famous and well-loved of all the dancers at the club. He meets a new buddy: Adam, a slacker who lost his football scholarship due to a fist-fight with his coach. He lives with his sexy sister, Brooke, whom Mike begins to fall for. He recruits the unemployed Adam as male stripper "The Kid", who becomes just a popular as Mike. Unfortunately, they get involved in some shady activity, and their dreams begin to fall apart. The first half of the film is a very funny adult comedy, the second half being a somewhat dark drama. Funny enough, the stripping and erotic dancing is kept at a minimum, and is put in here and there to pander to the ladies of the audience. The cast is great. Channing Tatum is cool, funny, and convincing as Mike, a nice guy who just gets into fucked-up situations. Alex Pettyfer is excellent as Adam. He's got some anger issues and gets into some drug problems, making the audience both feel empathetic and somewhat angry at him. Cody Horn is good as Adam's hot but uptight sister Brooke, a medical assisstant. She tries to resist Mike and doesn't like him at first, but slowly begins to like him as her and her brother's relationship falls apart. Matthew McConaughey is funny as the over-enthusiastic, partying, egotistical strip club owner/dancer "Dallas". The male dancers all are funny and seem like brothers, being very caring and suppportive of each other. Hilarious Latino comedian Gabriel Iglesias plays DJ and ecstasy dealer Tobias. Model Olivia Munn is Mike's bisexual therapist "friend with benefits" Joanna. The direction is excellent, Soderbergh at his best. The writing is witty and funny. The film chronoicles three months: June, July, and August, and the slow decline of Mike and Adam's lives. This surprisingly dark dramady has a great script, good characters and acting, funny jokes, good direction, and a bittersweet ending. Not just for women, I recommend this film for guys too! 4/5 stars. (One note: It was awkward seeing this movie, because me and some guy with his wife were the only men in the theater. Everytime I walked out, there was a crowd of women going to see the movie.)
Moonrise Kingdom:
Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy Wes Anderson films. I like Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Life Aquatic. But this film, I didn't really like. The plot follows two young kids who fall in love, and run off into the woods of their New England island town. Their parents and the police organize a search party right before a massive storm hits. The film is written by Anderson and Roman Coppola. (Who is the son of Francis Ford Coppola, brother to Sofia Coppola, and cousin to Nicolas Cage and Jason Schwartzman, who also stars in a small role.) Schwartzman isn't the only Anderson regular in the film. Bill Murray plays the young girl (Sally)'s father, Mr. Bishop. He is overprotective and odd. Her mother, Laura Bishop, played by Frances McDormand, is a good mother, who is a very, very good friend of the police captain. Captain Sharp, played by Bruce Willis, is a decent guy, not too intelligent or brave, but a good guy. Edward Norton plays Scout Master Ward, a bumbling Khaki scout master, who has sort-of-a-crush on a police assisstant. Tilda Swinton appears as a character from CPS known only as "Social Services". The kids who play the scout troopers were funny and, well, odd. Harvey Keitel appears near the end as the Khaki Commander Pierce. Jason Schwartzman appears in a semi-cameo as Cousin Ben, a Khaki trooper, who is very odd and intelligent. Kara Hayward and Jared Gillman appear in their very first roles as the uncommon, young, lovers who are social outcasts and who are both considered "mentally unstable". There is no way to descirbe an Anderson film with using the words "quirky, odd, strange, weird, and 'out-there'". So here goes: the script is quirky, the characters are odd, the setting is a weird choice, the director is an "out-there" guy, and the music is strange. The movie's setting is in 1963, so the opening is reminiscent of that period in cinema. The camerawork is even odd. This movie was not my kind of movie, just maybe I wasn't in the mood for an Anderson film, whatever, I was kinda bored. But, if your an Anderson fan or fan of film, go see this movie. 3/5 stars.
Brave:
Now this was a good film. Do not be late to this film! The movie starts with a beautiful and funny little Pixar short called "La Luna". The plot follows Meredith, the princess of a Scottish kingdom of warriors. She logns to be a free warrior, but her mother wants her to be a proper princess. She defies her mother and the rules of the kingdom, screwing with the age-old tradition of the first-born of the warrior clans fighting for her hand in marriage. Her mother and her get into a fight, and she runs off, getting a potion from a witch that will "change her fate". She accidentally turns her mother into a bear, and must get her help before the spell becomes permanent. She must also avoid her father, who has a pregidous against bears, because a mysterious bear took his leg when Meredith was a child. The voice acting is fantastic. I don't know the voice actors, but they're convincing and excellent. The animation is stunning, and beautiful. It's so detailed and amazing, some shots look real. The characters are great. Meredith and her mother have a great relationship, constantly arguing but still loving each other. Her father is a big, lovable, fun guy, but he can be a fierce warrior when needed. The warrior clans and lords are all over-the-top and have funny personalities (One is named after the Macintosh computer, another is named after Hitchcock's "McGuffin"). Her little, mostly mute triplet brothers are a funny slapstick routine, tormenting this poor maid constantly, and pulling pranks on mostly everyone. There is no real villain in the film except for the mysterious black bear. The film is wonderfully animated and acted. It's a real treat, that almost everyone can enjoy! 4/5 stars. (The film is in memory of Steve Jobbs, who was friends with George Lucas and John Lasseter.)
Who'd have thought that a kids' fantasy film and a movie about male strippers would prove my favorite films I saw today, and two of the best this year? Next: Ted, Savages, and Batman marathon!!
Editorial note (Dec. 2, 2012): I stand by my opinions of Brave and Magic Mike, but have since grown on Moonrise Kingdom. I figured I just wasn't in the mood for Anderson at the time of day. I will go into detail more in my "Top 2012 movies" list later on.
No comments:
Post a Comment