The Spectacular Now (2013)

This was a good film, but I didn't like it.
Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) has charm and charisma is leaps and bounds. What he doesn't have is the drive to succeed. He has a job he likes, selling suits, but deep down, he has issues.
His girlfriend, Cassidy (Brie Larsen) has just broken up with him and he wants her back, but she can't. Sure, she really likes him, but she needs to move on and think about her future, not just live in the moment. But he will always be her favorite ex-boyfriend, a title I wouldn't really want to have.
Sutter is also an alcoholic, albeit a pretty functional one, but an alcoholic nevertheless. He drinks constantly and even carries a flask around with him at work. And then, one morning, he wakes up in someone else's yard. Aimee (Shailene Woodley) discovers him. She knows who he is, but he has no clue that she exists. Ricky (Masam Holden), Sutter's best friend, doesn't think Aimee will be a good rebound and Sutter proclaims that he doesn't have a future with her, but we all know how the movie will end, sort of.
The problem is, Aimee is much too good for him, as her friend from French Club, Kristal (Kaitlyn Dever), declares. She's right of course. Aimee is smart and even got into college in Philadelphia, though her mother won't let her go. Sutter tells her that isn't right and urges her to stand up for herself. Which she does. And she wants him to come with her. Though he says yes, the audience knows that there is reluctance behind it.
Sutter has his own problems. His parents are divorced and his mother won't let him have contact with his father. Fortunately, his sister, Holly (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) takes pity on him and gives Sutter the dad's address. Sutter is basically a younger version of his father. Dad (Kyle Chandler) is an alcoholic, broke and cares little about his son, blowing off a visit, preferring a quickie over visiting with his only son whom he hasn't seen in years. Sutter is furious and when Aimee says that she loves him, he wants her out of his car, because he knows that he is no good for her. So she gets out of his car, and is hit by another car. This is after Sutter nearly got into an accident but all she can ask is if he's okay. Aimee doesn't press charges and isn't even that mad at him, not wishing to even talk about the incident.
Sutter graduates by the skin of his teeth but doesn't follow her to Philadelphia. A broken-hearted Aimee boards the bus by herself. Sutter celebrates by getting drunk and nearly getting into another car accident. He sobs to his mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh, wasted in a small role) that he is just like his father. She says that's not true. His father only cared about himself while he always spent his whole like worrying about others. And he realizes that he's worried so much about others that he hasn't worried about himself. He can no longer live in the moment, the now, but fortunately, tomorrow also has one of those. So, he goes to Philadelphia and the film ends with Sutter and Aimee just looking at each other. You know she will forgive him. Because she's that kind of person. She's far too good for him.
That's my main problem. She knows that he is no good. She is blind to his huge problem of drinking constantly and loves him too much. Sure, he is the one who goes after and fortunately, she is strong enough to go without him, but she is in too deep. She gives her virginity to this guy (in a surprisingly tasteful sex scene) and this is how he repays her without a phone call, and she will just take him back, without any explanation. Actually, there probably will be some sort of conversation, Aimee can't just let him get away with that crap.
Despite my huge problems with the film, the acting is still great. This is Miles Teller's breakthrough role and Woodley is great. I liked her better here than in The Descendants. And the dialogue is real, very accurate. But the film wasn't as deep as I wanted it to be, but at least Sutter turned his life around, and for that, I'm very grateful. Grade: B+

Short Term 12 (2013)

You haven't seen this film yet. But you should.
It is about the foster care system in America and its fatal flaws. Grace (Brie Larson) is a line worker at a group home which deals with troubled teens. Her past is horrid but she doesn't talk about it, not even to her wonderful boyfriend Mason (John Gallagher, Jr.). Mason's past isn't spectacular either, but he lucked out and got an amazing set of foster parents with whom he's still close to after all these years.
Grace seems to be keeping it together but two events suddenly change that. She is pregnant and isn't sure about the whole thing. When she finally tells Mason, after the initial shock wears off, he's actually pretty thrilled and thinks that they will make great parents. And then there's Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) who reminds Grace tons about herself.
At the group home there is also Marcus (Keith Stanfield), who is about to turn eighteen and will age out of the system, Sammy (Alex Calloway), who hangs on to his dead sister's dolls and doesn't say anything, and Luis (Kevin Hernandez) who is probably one of the normal kids there.
Marcus has been abused and fears that shaving the hair off his head will show the marks of his past. It doesn't. Jayden's father misses picking her up for his scheduled weekend visit and she massively freaks out. She is a former cutter after all. That scene proves that Dever is probably one of the best young actresses working in Hollywood today. She is equally great in the heart-wrenching scene where she delivers a heart-breaking story featuring an octopus who sacrifices all her arms to a shark who just wants to be her friend. Grace files a report but Jack (Frantz Turner), the head of the home, but Jayden's father has already collected her. After all, he is a friend of a friend and entitled to his weekend visits. And Jayden won't admit that he beats her but only Grace understands why. Jayden's father is always looking over her shoulder. Between this and Marcus's suicide attempt over losing his pet beta fish, Grace is sent around the bend, deciding to go through with the abortion, ignoring Mason's tears and heartbreak and goes into Jayden's house. Jayden is fine, I guess, but she finally admits that her father beats her sometimes and we learn (though I had mostly predicted this) the truth behind Grace's past. Her father did beat her and rape her, resulting in her first pregnancy. And now, that man is up for parole. In fact, it was Grace's testimony that sent her father to prison. Jayden also tells the police on her father. Grace's story lent her strength and Jayden's message to Grace that she will be a great mom likewise gives Grace the strength to go through with her pregnancy.
Marcus will be fine and Grace believes that she will be too.
The film ends a month later, with Grace seeing a therapist (though she believes they don't know jack), her and Mason sobbing over the ultrasound and their baby's heartbeat. Marcus is also doing well, working at the aquarium and getting back together with a girl he first met years ago at the group home.
Now while it is called a group home, it is not a home. The kids' belongings are sorted through with gloves like in a psychiatric ward, and freedom of speech isn't really allowed. And though Grace, Mason and the others genuinely do care about the kids, they aren't parents. These kids have been dealt a raw deal, through no fault of their own. Grace is also correct, proving that she knows the kids better than any court appointed therapist. Yet, it is more about her personal journey than the flaws in the system.
Besides the importance of the plot, the acting is wonderful and it has a realism that you don't see much in films. Everyone is utterly brilliant in this film and deserve more fantastic roles in Hollywood. Don't miss Stephanie Beatriz (also appearing as the nasty Rosa in Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as another worker at the home. This is an independent film you shouldn't miss. Grade: A

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Yes, I ashamed to say that I've never seen this film before today and yes, I watched it because of Robin Williams. But he is not the lead, though he is certainly the heart and soul of the film.
Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a young thug from Southie in Boston. He works as a janitor at MIT which is where he gets discovered by solving extremely difficult equations. But his talent goes unnoticed until Dr. Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) gets him out of prison as Will's rap sheet is long and his past is troubled. Lambeau works with him on this great mathematical skills but Will also must see a therapist, something that he doesn't take kindly and his first five therapists don't pan out. Luckily, Lambeau uses his trump card, his old college roommate, Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) who is also from Southie. Though Will undoubtedly knows how to push Sean's buttons, Sean sticks with him and eventually starts getting through. But there is still the issue on what Will is going to do with his beautiful mind and the job offers certainly keep pouring in. Lambeau wants him to get a great job while Sean wants Will to follow his heart and the two get into an argument about the whole thing. Lambeau also believes that Sean wasted his talent, working at a lowly community college and writing a book that no one's read, but Sean regrets nothing, not even watching his wife's body waste away to cancer.
The film is also about Will's relationships with his old friends, Chuckie (Ben Affleck), Morgan (Casey Affleck) and Billy (Cole Hauser). Though they are certainly rough around the edges, they do care about him and want him to do something better with his life. And they are loyal to him, something that the former foster child undeniably needs. For his twenty first birthday, they even piece together a clunker car so he can drive himself to work because Chuckie isn't going to do it. Then there is Skyler (Minnie Driver). Will meets her at a bar near Harvard and impresses her with everything he knows. Though he truly likes her, he keeps her at arm's length because he fears that his past will frighten her. To be fair, if I were Skyler, his past run ins with the law would terrify me and the fight scene they have borderlines on physical abuse. Skyler wants him to let her in because he loves him but he can't tell her that back, even though he does.
Fortunately, in the end, he follows Sean's advice and steals his line and goes after the girl, even after he finally accepted a great job and opportunity for him. Instead, he dumps all of that and drives his clunker out to Stanford where Skyler has just started medical school.
Sure, the plot is basic and, on the whole, rather predictable but it was still quite enjoyable, mainly because of the relationship between Sean and Will which is the heart of the film. I thought the relationship between Skyler and Will wasn't as strong as it could have been, though they did have some great scenes together, including the one where Skyler begs Will not to do her homework for her as she needs to learn that stuff herself.
The best scene of the film is where Will turns down a job working for NSA, showing the domino effects of him solving some classified code could be and how something so simple could have such a ripple effect.
Williams' greatest scene is where he tells Will that feelings matter more than just spitting back information and his role is vastly effective.
I do have some problems with the film, mainly the odd camera angles and Driver's performance. She is miscast, to begin with and I feel that her role is underwritten (not her fault). No offense to Driver, she did not deserve the Oscar nomination.
Though I will certainly watch this film again, it falls just short of greatness and that makes me sad. Grade: A-

The Hundred-Foot Journey

Don't let Helen Mirren's above the title billing fool you, she's not the star. The film belongs to Manish Dayal who is Hassan Kadam, an Indian transplanted to a small village in southern France. His Papa (Om Puri), buys a restaurant across from the famous Madame Mallory's (Helen Mirren's). Hers has been here for decades and she is desperate for more stars, which grade restaurants in France.
Papa and Madame Mallory get along horribly at first, buying out of certain foods so the other restaurant will fail; only after one of Madame Mallory's chef burns part of the Kadam restaurant does she finally soften and fire the evildoer amongst her staff. Eventually, she and Papa form an interesting relationship, to say the least.
Now, of course, there is more. There is Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), an aspiring chef for Madame Mallory. She is delightful and extremely helpful to Hassan, who wants to be more than just a cook in his father's restaurant. Marguerite lends him books and encourages him in his endeavor, until Madame Mallory offers him a job. Then she instantly becomes threatened. He is a threat to her rise in their same career path. It takes time but eventually she returns to liking him but he also forgives her way too easily.
Then, Madame Mallory's restaurant earns its second star. Marguerite knows that it is because of Hassan and the differences he has made to classic recipes. And this is when the film sort of falls apart. Hassan goes to Paris where he has a great job in an experimental kitchen, creating all sorts of odd food combinations. Here, he is nearly a celebrity, people recognize him and want to take pictures with him. But Hassan slowly loses his passion and turns to drinking more alcohol.
Everything comes together in the end, with Hassan returning to the small village and taking over Madame Mallory's restaurant but it is his idea to have Marguerite as a business partner and, naturally, they get back together as a couple too because this is Hollywood and a happy ending all around is needed.
If I wanted to get nit picky with this film, I could and did find things wrong with the film. For example, the film starts with Hassan telling someone in immigration his past and about his passion for cooking which is odd and an immigration officer wouldn't have the time to listen to all of that. Still, the audience needed to know his upsetting past. (His mother was burned to death in a fire set by followers of a political enemy.) Also, Hassan's hands heal far too well and quickly in the nasty fire. And the romance between Papa and Madame Mallory is just odd. Also, the other siblings of the Kadam family are underdeveloped and the youngest two are almost unnecessary, though they do provide some genuinely funny laughs throughout.
But the cooking looks authentic and there is some great camera work. The sets are also fabulous and the acting is also great. And, yes, I truly liked the film, it was enjoyable. It also wasn't entirely predictable, with a few curve balls, some bigger than others, along the way. Hopefully, Dayal will be offered more roles after this because he is a good actor. This film may not change lives or even massively change how you think, but something enjoyable is needed. Grade: B+

Get On Up

This film was a disappointment.
 James Brown (Chadwick Boseman) had an interesting life, from his humble and cruel beginnings as a child abandoned by both of his parents and forced to live in a brothel to his rise to fame and insistence that he knows the business when he, in fact, only received a seventh grade education. The film covers it all, but it misses the mark, failing to make a huge impact on its audience.
Sure, there are great scenes, like the one where Mr. Brown (he insists on the formality of last names throughout) tells the audience not to come up and dance on the stage. These are his own people and they have disappointed him, badly. And the one where his friend, Mr. Bobby Byrd (Nelsan Ellis) tells him that he's always only taken care of himself, which is true, because if he didn't do it, then no one else would have.
And the scene where his mother arrives to see him after the Apollo, he tells her firmly not to tell anyone that she's proud of her baby because she is not his mother, they both know that that isn't true. That is actually the only time he seems vulnerable in the whole film.
Now, Brown doesn't really know what true loyalty is. He is in prison when he meets Mr. Byrd while he's still in prison, in for five to thirteen years for stealing a suit. But luckily Mr. Byrd takes pity on him and invites him to stay at his mother's house and join his gospel group. Mr. Brown repays him by banging his sister and abandoning the band when they hit it big time. Sure, that actually wasn't his idea, it was the record company's and the band would remain as background at his insistence but that just won't do. But, at some point, Mr. Brown and Mr. Byrd make up, but that is left unclear in the film, leaving a huge plot hole that needs filling. Then when Mr. Byrd decides to break away from Brown for good and create his own record, Mr. Brown proclaims that he will not have his support, believing that his fame is a birthright for him and him alone.
Mr. Brown is also cruel to his second wife, Deedee (Jill Scott) by smacking her around when she wears something low cut around other men and he is furious when she doesn't answer the phone when he calls her. Yet, she is still attracted to him. But his personal life isn't the focus of this film. He fines his employees if they do something wrong and despite earning tons of money, he still manages to owe the government back taxes. He hints that after everything he has done, sell millions of records and settle a riot, he shouldn't have to pay the government anything.
And Brown continues having trouble with the law, angry at his one employee when she uses the bathroom and has a police chase in his car and spends some in jail before returning to his career.
As I've said, there is more than enough material in his life to create a good film, but this one falls flat, jumping around too much, trying to cover too much ground. That is a shame because Boseman is fantastic, dancing his heart out, nailing every line and scene that he is in and his performance is wasted on this film. He owns the film. Everyone else is fine, but the film belongs to him, certainly delivering one of the best performances I've seen this year on film, so far. Also, the aging make-up is considerably better in this film than in Jersey Boys. And the music is also good. This film has all the ingredients to make a great film but it doesn't mix them properly. Grade: B

Expecting Amish

Yes, I watched this lame Lifetime Original Movie and, despite, its numerous issues, I will watch it again.
Hannah (AJ Michalka) is Amish but struggling with her lot in life. Her mother has died so she has tons of extra responsibilities. She is also supposed to marry Samuel (Jean-Luc Bilodeau), because that has always been the plan. However, at the last minute, she decides that she will go on Rumspringa with some others and journey to Los Angeles. At first, she is such a party pooper, not joining the others, including Mary (Alyson Stoner). She finally does shed her Amish clothing and goes to a frat party where she literally almost trips over Josh (Jesse McCartney). He is finishing up his degree in computer science and works part-time as a DJ, which is how he impresses Hannah.
Naturally, the film becomes incredibly predictable. Josh and Hannah hang out, though, at Hannah's insistence, only as friends but after an almost kiss, she tries to completely sever things with him. Of course, that doesn't completely work. On her last day there, before returning to Lancaster, PA (pronounced incorrectly throughout the film), she is walking along the beach and runs into him and things get serious. She decides that she would like to stay with him, but first, she must return to her old life to break ties with them properly.
However, once she has returned, she is back to her old compliant self, putting off what she really wants to do. And then, in yet another plot twist, things get serious. Hannah is pregnant. Of course she is. This is what always happens on Lifetime movies. Now, I would have thought Josh would have been smarter than that and actually used a condom, which leads to rant number one. Number One: If you're going to be stupid enough and have sex before you're emotionally ready and with someone you don't know that well, don't be even stupider, use protection. In fact, I think unless the guy tells the girl, a condom is assumed. Hannah might not have known about protection, but Josh has no excuse whatsoever. People need to stop treating sex like it is something casual when it isn't. And these two people aren't ready to be parents, which I'll get to later.
Though Josh did give Hannah his old cell phone (which she takes into town for charging purposes, answering one of my questions), she tells Samuel the news first. Yeah. Samuel decides to act like the good guy and will claim the baby as his own, which means that both of them need to get baptized and married as quickly as possible, as Josh will want nothing to do with her now that she's pregnant and will force her to do something bad or will be alone in the cold, cruel world and have a baby to deal with. Though Hannah agrees to this plan, she does so with only half a heart. Still, she decides to do the right thing. She calls Josh (this is not something you should be telling a person over the phone, not that she had much choice in the matter) and says that she expects nothing from him because they only knew each other for a few weeks and she tells him the news anyway, hanging up with Josh barely having the time to react.
Fortunately, Josh is not a complete idiot, though probably close. He drives all the way from Los Angeles to Lancaster and begs her to come with him in front of her family and the whole small village, including Samuel. Awkward is right Josh. I knew the l-bomb would be dropped and it was, twice, with both Josh and Samuel fighting over her and telling her what she wants. She finally says that they need to stop talking for her, which is true, but only Josh realizes that she's right. He leaves.
Which means that the ball is her court. At the eleventh hour, she decides that she can't be baptized and changes back into her English clothes, packs her suitcase and prepares her good-byes. Samuel calls her ungrateful and calls out her pregnancy in front of everyone. She is shunned from the community and somehow, someway (she threw her cell phone into a pond) meets up with Josh and they have a nice reunion. Now, I have no clue where they met up, as she couldn't have gone across country, but whatever, just a lame plot hole.
The film, then, jumps eight months, leading me to predict that Hannah has had the baby, a little girl and named the baby after her mother. All of which turns out to be true, but instead of showing us, it is read to us in a letter mailed to her father. Yes, a cheap ending. Literally, it was cheaper to just tell us in a letter than showing them happy in Los Angeles.
Though the film isn't spectacular, it still gives the viewer some serious issues to ponder. Did Hannah really make the right choice? I think she did because Samuel would have held it over her head that he married her so her child wouldn't be a bastard. But at what cost? She abandoned her siblings, perhaps ruining their lives in the process. And I feel that no one really cared much about the baby. I was glad that Josh loved Hannah for just being Hannah, but you don't get that the baby was that important, though the letter says otherwise.
Mechanically, the film doesn't have any major issues. There are the plot holes and the acting is inconsistent. Michalka is rather wooden throughout. Now, I think part of this was by design as the Amish people in this film seem to be rather unemotional, but even when she is with Josh she doesn't brighten up much which bothers me.
Now, I could probably rant a lot more about this film, though I've gotten my main points across. Grade: B-

Extant: Re-Entry (Pilot)

This show was interesting, certainly not completely what I was expecting.
Molly Woods (Halle Berry) has just returned from a year-long solo mission in space performing experiments and the like while all alone with the computer program Ben, who may or may not be like HAL. But something strange happens. An alien appears, but his image is not captured on the camera so Molly deletes it because it can't be explained.
Needless to say, that odd event has some life changing consequences. Upon returning to Earth, her doctor and friend, Sam (Camryn Manheim) informs her that she's pregnant. After all those years of infertility, she's finally pregnant. Molly doesn't fully understand and doesn't tell her husband, John (Goran Visnjic).
The other main plot involves John and his work in robotics. Because the Woods were unable to have children of their own, he built them one. Ethan (Pierce Gagnon) is a six-year-old robot they've raised as though he was a human. But he's not human. His emotions are too stiff, such as when his father is questioned by the foundation whom he works for, as to whether there is a kill switch for these creations. Ethan also is not nice, stiff and angry and plain old mean to his mother. And he might even have violent tendencies and lack of compassion for other humans. His whole existence might just unravel before the season ends.
As for Molly's pregnancy, it's probably a plant by the very people she works for. She's an unwilling guinea pig in their evil but unknown plan. A cover-up of ridiculous proportions. Even her therapy sessions are being watched by others.
Even though this show isn't what I expected, it does draw you in so I will probably watch the rest of the season. As for the acting, it's pretty good. Berry is great with an extremely emotional face. And, boy, does she look good. Visnjic, as her husband, is also pretty good, but he may be having an affair with his assistant, played by Grace Gummer, daughter of the lovely Meryl Streep. Gagnon, as the son, is just odd. I mean, he's a great child actor fully inhabiting the role but the character is just odd and creepy. The supporting cast hasn't been given enough to do yet for me to judge them yet, but the acting is at least acceptable.
Also, the technology of the near-future is pretty good, though it is not fully explained and perhaps inconsistant and the fashion is still modern day.
Nevertheless, it is probably one of the best dramas I've seen this season, but then again, I haven't seen too many. I just hope that this show doesn't turn stale and redundant. Grade: B+