A Little Help 2010 Movie Review

Michael J. Weithorn writes and directs his first feature film "A Little Help" which made its world premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival and is coming to DVD\Bluray on October 25th, 2011. Weithorn has written, directed, and produced, countless television series from "The King of Queens" to an episode of  "Cheers." "A Little Help" follows Laura, played by Jenna Fischer (The Office and Hall Pass), who has recently lost her cheating husband and is dealing with being a single parent to her son.

"A Little Help" tries so hard to combine drama and edgy subject matter in a comedic way. The tone and dialogue of the film were extremely similar to the Bobcat Goldthwait scripted and directed "World's Greatest Dad." These edgy scenarios don't feel interesting or all that edgy, especially when compared to "World's Greatest Dad."

I truly wanted to enjoy this film, mainly because I want Pam, from "The Office," to succeed in her film career. Her acting in the film was good enough but an actress can only recite the dialogue that she is given. The same can be said for the rest of the cast. The story as a whole might have been salvageable if its dialogue had felt either more real or more over the top, but it ends up living in a  bland dialogue purgatory forced to live out the rest of its days in unsatisfying mediocrity.

My review is probably being harder and more negative on the film then it deserves. Nothing about this film is terrible. Nothing about this film is a disaster either. I just find it frustrating to see unused potential and this film is exactly that.

Rating: 5.7

The Guard 2011 Movie Review

John Michael McDonagh's first feature film "The Guard," is an action comedy about an Irish police sergeant who teams up with the F.B.I. to take down a big time illegal drug trafficker. The sergeant is played by Irish native, Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges and Harry Potter)  the head federal agent on the case being played by Don Cheadle (Crash and Hotel Rwanda). Gleeson's character is very unusual in that his police tactics are zany at times and often illegal. With that in mind the character still seems to feel strongly when he believes something wrong is occurring or an injustice has happened. That is why this doesn't have the feel of a standard crooked police officer show like "The Shield" or "Training Day," he just comes across as weird and not shady. Cheadle's character is a classic straight laced by the book agent who doesn't vary his methods based on the situation.

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Melancholia 2011 Movie Review

The 2011 Cannes Film Festival crowd pleaser, "Melancholia", is Lars Von Trier's (Dancer in the Dark and Dogville) follow-up to 2009's horrific "Antichrist." Like "Antichrist" its main focus is visually expressing extreme emotions. "Antichrist" was essentially a horror film dealing with loss and a broken marriage. "Melancholia" is a science fiction film dealing with depression and the beginning of a marriage. Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman Trilogy and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) headlines an amazing cast that includes Charlotte Gainsbourg (The Science of Sleep), Kiefer Sutherland (The Lost Boys), and Alexander Skarsgard (HBO's True Blood).

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Attack the Block 2011 Movie Review

Joe Cornish's directorial debut "Attack the Block" has been reviewed to death, given endless critical praise, and gained a cult following before it even made it out of theaters and onto disc\media devices. It's exciting to say that all of the reviews were right. This film deserves the praise. Joe Cornish is a writing buddy of Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) with whom he co-wrote the upcoming Spielberg film, "The Adventures of Tintin." Needless to say, I expect Joe Cornish will be a household name in the near future. "ATB" is a science fiction coming of age dramedy that follows a gang of teenage criminals forced to take back their block (hood) from a swarm of angry beast like aliens. The film relies more on drama then comedy and contains many unique and intense action set pieces.

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Drive 2011 Movie Review

Denmark's Nicolas Winding Refn (Pusher Trilogy and Bronson) directs this Hossein Amini screenplay based on James Sallis's book "Drive." "Drive" follows a Hollywood stuntman/Mechanic by day, criminal getaway driver by night, played by Ryan Gosling (The Notebook and Lars and the Real Girls). Gosling's character is a quite tough guy that tends to keep to himself until he meets his neighbor, played by Carey Mulligan (Never Let Me Go and An Education), and finds himself caring deeply about her families well being. "Drive" world premiered at Cannes 2011 to rave reviews followed by it's North American premiere at TIFF 2011 a few days before it's wide release.

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Red State (2011) Movie Review

Kevin Smith (Clerks and Cop Out) who is known for his independent dialogue based comedies, writes and directs this straight up horror genre film. The film follows a group of three teenage boys who seek out to lose their virginity with a woman they met on a website designed for quick hook ups. When the teens arrive for their promised sexual encounter they find a cult of religious bigots willing to murder in the name of God.

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Moneyball (2011) Movie Review

Bennett Miller (Capote) directs this Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network and A Few Good Men)  screenplay based on the novel "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game". Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds and Se7en) stars as the team manager of the Oakland A's. He seeks to find a way for his team to compete with the other teams in the league on a much lower budget. Jonah Hill (Superbad and Cyrus) is a young Yale graduate who applies economics to the drafting process of Major League baseball players.

I was lucky enough to attend an advanced screening of "Moneyball" just days after it's premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Going into the film I was especially interested to see how Aaron Sorkin would follow up writing 2010's "The Social Network."  For me the dialogue  (and Trent Reznor's score) were the most impressive elements of "The Social Network" so the writing in "Moneyball" had a lot to live up to. I felt that it easily competed with his previous work without feeling like a rehash of style or format. There's a scene in the movie in which Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill's characters are in an office juggling multiple ball player trades on three different telephones for about five minutes of screen time. This scene in someone else's hands may have come across as dull or boring but with Sorkin's writing it feels so  interesting and so alive that it stands out as one of the best scenes in the movie. The film has an overall great cast, but I was most pleased to see how well Jonah Hill performed in a dramatic role. Hill was on the acting path of being a one note comedy actor but between this and his upcoming role in the "21 Jump Street" reboot, he has breathed a breath of fresh air into his shtick, and I for one am happy to see it.

If you enjoy true story dramas, good acting, and great writing, then this is a movie for you. If you don't like baseball or find the subject matter boring in general, then I still suggest you give it a try. With great writers any subject can be interesting, besides I hate baseball.

Rating: 8.2/10

Mel Gibson's Movie on Judah Maccabee May Kick Some Dust

Mel Gibson isn't really known for his religious tolerance, or even for being polite to police officers when they catch him for misdemeanours. His drunken tirade in which he ranted about Jews being responsible for all wars, drew sharp criticism and disgust from around the world. That was an unfortunate incident, for he did not really get criticised enough, and instead got a lot of publicity which helped his name to become more common, more heard and more popular.

This was several years ago, and human memory fades away quickly. For instance, until I read about Mel Gibson's plan to make a movie about Judah Maccabe I had almost forgotten Hollywood's most controversial actor. It is only natural that he attempts yet another time to rake up a little dust, and anger a few people so that he can the publicity he needs to stay in news. I feel guilty myself, to write about him especially when he doesn't need the attention that we all give him.

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Jane Eyre (2011) Movie Review

There have been a number of movie, musical and television versions of the classic story, Jane Eyre over the years.  The story Jane Eyre was originally written by Charlotte Bronte and was first published in 1847.

In the 2011 version, Jane Eyre is played by Australian Mia Wasikowska and Edward Fairfax Rochester is played by Michael Fassbender.  The movie also features Judi Dench as the old Mrs. Fairfax.

The movie is a romantic drama that follows the story of nineteen year old Jane Eyre, from her childhood through to becoming a young woman.  At a young age, Jane’s nasty aunt sends her away to a strict girl’s school.  She grows up to become a very quiet, serious and plain person.  Jane leaves the school to begin her job as a governess.  Soon after meeting his new employee, the grumpy Mr. Rochester becomes fascinated with the new governess.  Soon after, strange things begin to happen within the house that cannot be explained, leaving Jane feeling anxious and scared.  The story has an interesting twist that you won’t expect.

It starts off a bit slow but once it gets into it, the movie keeps you wondering what is going on and what is going to happen next.  Although it is a romantic drama, it’s not a lovey-dovey story.  The connection between them is quite rigid but it makes it much more interesting.  If you’re a reader, I would definitely recommend reading the book first.  It’s a great story.  I enjoyed the 1996 version with William Hurt much more than this new version, but it is still an enjoyable movie.

Out of 5, I give this movie 3 and a half stars.

Beastly Movie Review

The movie Beastly is a modern take of the classic story Beauty and the Beast.  Starring I Am Number Four’s Alex Pettyfer, High School Musical’s Vanessa Hudgens, How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris and Mary-Kate Olsen, this is a cute spin of the story that we all know and love.

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