Ashley Judd & Luke Perry Get It On In ‘Normal Life’ (Movie Review)
The calendar year of 1996 saw a lot of big feature names get released such as Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, Jerry Maguire, The Rock, Scream, From Dusk till Dawn, Twister, The English Patient, Primal Fear and many more, but perhaps none more transcending for two young actors than the movie we are gathered here to discuss today…a blast from my past…Normal Life. This film may possibly boast the single greatest performances from both Ashley Judd and Luke Perry, but the cold reality of the situation is the fact that it’s also probably their most obscure and least-seen film of their careers. Now that blanket statement doesn’t hold true as it relates to myself, as I consider Normal Life one of my favorite Ashley Judd films of all-time (and Luke Perry for that matter), but I’d be hard pressed to ever talk to anyone that has seen the movie before, even in the reviewer community that I keep myself so actively engaged in. Continue reading ‘Ashley Judd & Luke Perry Get It On In ‘Normal Life’ (Movie Review)’
Something that I notice does not get enough attention regarding comedies is editing. I am not talking about the pace of a film necessarily, which I see brought up a lot; notably with Judd Apatow-produced comedies lately, which tend to feel a bit shaggy. When I say editing, I am referring more to the structure of scenes and how to create a sense of rhythm that comes from both the delivery of dialogue and actions from the characters involved and the way shots cut back and forth to best achieve a certain level of spark that makes a film click. About Last Night does not rely on much that is new in the realm of romantic comedies, but what it has is great editing that really sells the work done in the script and by the actors to show the chemistry on screen and keep things moving with a near screwball level of zaniness at times and an effectively biting tone at others. As a result, About Last Night has easily earned a high spot for me in terms of mainstream romantic comedies released in recent years.
Going into this screening last night I was fearful of only one thing. Please God! Don’t let this be a horrible remake like 2012’s Total Recall. Despite the beauty of Kate Beckinsale in it, life is too precious and short for something of that immeasurable quality. So here we are and there’s really no way around it. The twelfth of February 2014 is happening whether we like it or not. We are living in it and because we are we have a modern day PG-13 remake of the 1987 hard-R Robocop to discuss here. And guess what? It’s only been off and on and delayed since it was announced way back in 2005. How bad can this really be? Sometimes, as we seen last year with World War Z, not all delays are bad. Let’s give it the benefit of the doubt at least. So as the poster tagline for Robocop reads, “Crime Has A New Enemy,” I’m hoping by the crime they are talking about 2012’s Total Recall being made and that this film is the enemy attempting to kick its a$$! Come on! You have to be a little curious, don’t you? Read on! 
For all the great things The Monuments Men brought together in an effort to make an exciting war picture, with a good-natured twist, the film certainly felt pretty lifeless and dull. I tend to make it no secret that I am happy to embrace the marketing of films, in an effort to get me excited for them. A well cut trailer and a solid list of actors and talent behind the camera is plenty to have me happily anticipating a film. The Monuments Men had all of that and even after the film switched from its awards-friendly release date in December to February, I was still prepared to give the film the benefit of the doubt that I would at least find it quite enjoyable. The problem, as it turns out, is that screenwriter/director George Clooney and his co-screenwriter/producer Grant Heslov could not find a way to make this particular WWII story into something with more dramatic weight. There is a good cause being fought for, which is different than the norm in a war movie, but even with A-list talent, the results felt rather inert.
Let’s get one thing straight from the start. Even going into the press screening this past Saturday I was against this movie. While it looked unique and looked like it could be fun, I just did not want to invest the time in it and regret it later because you know life’s too short, yada, yada, yada. But then again, what if this was really good? What if I would be missing out on something really special? That’s a lot of what ifs, huh? Well, I guess it’s whatever it takes to get me in the seat, but I must admit that I had a small glimmer of hope that I just might like this one because like the tagline says, it’s the story of a nobody who save everybody. Aren’t all great movies like billed this? Well, most of them at least. So I figured as long as The Lego Movie can take me on a journey through the eyes of a hero and I fall for his character arc then just maybe…maybe…I might be able to have a good time with this one. If not, then there’s always popcorn to be had! So as nonsensical as this first paragraph really is, what do you say we talk about some Legos? 
It seemed pretty telling of the quality to me that a film by acclaimed director Jason Reitman would be practically swept under the rug, given its low profile release at the end of January, but I had a desire to see it anyway. I have been a fan of Reitman’s previous films (including Juno, Up In The Air, and Young Adult), so I was more or less pleased at the prospect of seeing another film from him. While I was not familiar with the novel by Joyce Maynard, which this film is based on, I could get behind a Jason Reitman film that stars Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet. Unfortunately, while these leads deliver fine work, as that generally comes with casting good actors, the film slipped away from being a poetic coming-of-age story and moved towards being a melodramatic piece of work, finding more in common with familiar Nicholas Sparks dramas.
A few days ago I was discussing the HBO series Entourage with some friends and going over how it began as a fairly entertaining series, but eventually amounted to some conflict that could be extinguished with the simple mantra of, “Vince and the gang are going to be alright.” The show mainly relied on the easy-going dude chemistry between the guys (and Jeremy Piven), as they lived lives of luxury in Hollywood. While the setting and premise are very different, That Awkward Moment had me thinking of Entourage quite a bit. This dude-focused romantic comedy has fairly low stakes, features a group of people who are all fairly successful and especially well-dressed, and it never seems like there is much going on to threaten their existence. I am not saying the world needed to be crashing down around them, but it is a fairly standard comedy that was rarely very funny and essentially amounted to the mantra of, “Zac Efron and the gang are going to be alright.”
One of the best things about The Past, writer/director Asghar Farhadi’s follow up film to 2011’s Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film, A Separation, is that it makes me want to see all of Farhadi’s previous films. Once again working with a fairly straight-forward, reality-based premise as the subject for a drama, Farhadi is certainly proving to be one of the best voices in film, when it comes to examining familial relationships. What makes this impressive is how gripping I have found his films to be, despite being incredibly limited as far as any sort of flashiness is concerned. With The Past, there are no broad characters, the film has almost no music or score whatsoever, and the film’s stakes are entirely personal to the specific people involved. Still, The Past was another standout from 2013, as it is so great at being the film it is trying to be.
After my last go around with Paranormal Activity 4 in 2012, I swore myself off the franchise for good. I made childish comments such as I don’t care how long this franchise carries on, I want nothing to do with it. When they announced the delay of the fifth film this past year from its lavish Halloween spot to a January play date, I just chuckled heavily. What movies play in January? A million arms raise high. I pick the loudest screaming one. The answer they all shout out unanimously is not very good ones. And then the unthinkable happened. Reports as of recent started flooding in on my RSS feeds saying low and behold, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones actually isn’t that bad and that revered writers praised it for reinvigorating their interest in the franchise and further installments. Say whaaat?! I can’t blame this on dirty ears and not hearing the information correctly. I actually read this with my own two eyes on more occasions this past week than I care to openly admit. So you can see my conundrum here, can you not? How can I not see this? Can all my fellow reviewers in the business be so wrong? I just had to take one for the team and take the plunge last night to find out. 
I have made it no secret that I have been a fan of the Paranormal Activity franchise. While not every entry has been great, they have just the right effect on me, given that I enjoy horror films, but am rarely scared by them. Something about this series has worked well enough to have me tense in the theater, but more so the night after seeing the film. It must be the combination of a good audience experience, some of the clever ideas in creating the buildup and payoffs, and the attempts to keep these entries grounded by using the ‘found footage’ aspect. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones worked for me more than I expected it would. It has to do with some change ups of the format, but I do also continue to enjoy the simplicity of this series, even as it continues to develop its mythology and include bigger special effects.
