Dumb & Dumber (1994)

"Just when I think you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself!"

In dire need of a few laughs, I thought it would be a good idea to turn to the Farrelly brothers and first rewatched Me, Myself and Irene, which is always a pleasure. I was in the mood for some more, so when skimming over their resumé, I realized that I had never seen Dumb and Dumber. Since I just recently heard someone say nice things about it, I decided to check it out. The story is simple. It involves two loser types called Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels). A lost briefcase filled with money. The briefcase belongs to the woman of Lloyds dreams (Lauren Holly). And now, he is determined to get it back to her, and while he's at it, win her heart.

Dumb and dumber is anything but dumb. I liked it a lot. One of the film‘s strengths is that it's absolutely unafraid to be silly. It really celebrates silliness, but in a truly intelligent way. If that makes sense (I think it does). Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are at the top of their game. Sometimes, when they cast two funnymen as the leads, you can witness a certain rivalry, even if it's a friendly one. It can be tricky. They might try to upstage each other, each one of them trying to get more laughs. I really liked that this wasn't the case with Carrey and Daniels at all. They had a wonderful energy with each other, really playing with each other rather than against. They are an adorable pair, almost as lovable as Matthau and Lemmon. Just almost. But still, that's saying a lot. Even if there's a lot of silliness involved, in it's core, Dumb and Dumber is essentially a story about true friendship, about two guys being who they are, and appreciating each other for just that, flaws inclusive. The film celebrates individuality, and suggests how rewarding it is to have found a person who speaks your language, especially if it's a language not many people speak. I absolutely love movies about friendship, especially male friendship, and it's so rare you really see it explored. The story and the characters were just as touching and heart-warming as they were hilarious, and I have always dug the way the Farrellys break more emotional scenes with a comic twist to prevent them from turning into sappiness.

Dumb and Dumber must have been a blast to have been part of, and it's a blast to watch it. This movie really deserves to be called a comedy. Carrey and Daniels seem like little kids on a huge playground. Their performances are filled with so much unbiased curiosity and a genuine love for exploration. It takes a lot of seriousness, devotion and focus to come across so silly. I hate to be one of those people who scream "They just don't make 'em like that anymore!", mostly because it ain't really true, but when it comes to comedies, it is kinda true. Hollywood really doesn't make comedies like that anymore. So many "funny movies" these days are simply stupid ⎯ almost feels like there is a new studio law that says you can't be funny and smart at the same time. Like... let's not insult the stupid people who go see them! Oh man. Too bad. But times will change again.


Trailer

When in Rome (2010)

'Is this real enough for you?'

Fall is a good time for romantic comedies, so I caught up with When in Rome, one of this year‘s first releases. Although the story is a bit weak, I liked it quite a bit, hell, I even watched it twice in a row, mainly for its two leads. Josh Duhamel is a very likeable guy, and I really liked his role. He plays Nick, who‘s kinda muddle-headed, you know, he‘s always bumping into things and falling into holes, and for some reason, Duhamel doesn't do it in that annoying slapstick way, no, it actually feels real and natural, not to mention quite adorable. It must be hard being a tall actor -- you always seem out of place. I like the way he looks -- very much like a classic movie star, but that button nose kinda fucks it all up, in a very good way. He also has that wooden clumsiness going on, reminiscent of Robert Pattinson, Keanu Reeves and Ashton Kutcher. They all can't really walk, and that‘s a trait I find quite adorable (wow, I didn‘t even know I was into that. Not until now. But it totally makes sense. My last boyfriend couldn't really walk either!)

Kristen Bell is equally likable, even though her part is less attractive, or let‘s say less original. She plays Beth, your average career-oriented New York City gal who doesn't believe in love. And yeah, the film is predictable, we know Cupid will hit her hard in due time, and there are a lot of logical inconsistencies along the way, but movies like this weren't made for Einstein -- they‘re there to warm your heart, and fuck me if it didn't do it for me. I laughed a-plenty, and it was romantic enough. It was just over much too soon!

Bell and Duhamel have a lovely chemistry, very relaxed, very at ease with each other. They both have warm energies that feed off each other. I had a bit of a problem with the minor characters, namely the four crazy suitors that follow Beth around for pretty much the entire movie. They were all very exaggerated, and with the exception of Danny DeVito, who‘s always adorable, they were all kinda annoying (one of them was Dax Shepard). Even though these characters were crucial to the story, I wish they just could have been erased. While the dialogues are okay, the plot isn‘t that well thought-out. Yet, I somehow managed to blank out the annoying bits, and concentrated entirely on the love.

And I so had to laugh when Don Johnson appeared on the scene, playing Beth‘s father. Don fuckin' Johnson! Haha. I was madly in love with him in elementary school. I don‘t think I‘ve seen him after that. My, he sure has aged. But I guess so have I.


Trailer

Bronson (2008)

"You dont wanna be trapped inside with me, sunshine!"

Alright. After seeing Tom Hardy in Inception the other day, I was totally ready to start a week-long Tom Hardy movie marathon. Just he and I in bed with cuddly blankets and lots of ice cream. Turns out there isn't that much on his resumé yet (oh, but there will be!), and if you have your principles and don't watch James Bond movies and have sworn to never watch a Guy Ritchie film again, the possibilities quickly became even smaller. Alas, it will be a mini-marathon.

Bronson here was the one film on his resumé that interested me the most, but I gotta admit, being newly enamoured, it was a bit of a downer that Tom Hardy wasn't even gonna look like Tom Hardy here. I really like his face. But oh well, I was also kinda interested in his performance ;).

So I sat down and watched it, and I gotta say, it started out quite promising, for not even two minutes in, Tom Hardy was already showing me his penis. That‘s gotta make up for not looking like Tom Hardy! Thank you. But it was all downhill from there. It basically just shows Michael Peterson (Tom Hardy), who renamed himself after actor Charles Bronson, discovering his calling. Blessed with delusions of grandeur, he always knew he would be famous one day, he just didn't know what for. Now he knows. He will be England‘s most violent prisoner! And he will have earned it! So the film pretty much just shows him kicking everybody's ass, knocking out every authority that comes his way in prison and on the "funny farm".

I really disliked the way this film was made. It was a strange mix of hip and fast collage-style cuts and extremely overdramatized sequences and monologues Hardy performs on a theater stage. It actually reminded me quite a bit of a Guy Ritchie movie, in that it is portraying something serious as if it were somehow supposed to be hysterical, and I just happen to think there are certain topics that just shouldn't be portayed that way. I‘m all for funny, but there are boundaries. I wasn't too blown away by the movie‘s style from the beginning, but it totally lost me once we got into the mental institution. To tell you the truth, I would have turned it off if I they hadn't been showing Tom Hardy's butt on a frequent basis. It kinda felt like being handed candy every couple of miles while pulling through a river of thick shit. The way director Nicolas Winding Refn portrayed mental illness was so utterly respectless, stylized and false I didn't know whether I wanted to cry, throw rotten fruit at the screen or eat rotten fruit myself. This topic has been fucked with so many times in movies, but this must have been the peak of the low-point.

Thankfully, Bronson is soon certified as being sane and we're outta there, and the movie got a bit better once we‘re back in the "real world". The part where he is back with his parents in his childhood home actually felt genuine, and I even learned a new expression, as his uncle greets Bronson with "Well, fuck me inside out!". So yeah, the movie was good there for about five minutes, but then it was all downhill again; everything is just too damn stylized to be taken seriously. This doesn't feel like a portrait of an interesting character. It makes fun of Bronson, it exploits him, it turns him into a cartoon character. Yeah, I really think Bronson isn't a homage but an exploitation of the famous prisoner. It certainly isn‘t neutral. The longer it runs, the more it turns into a pathetic farce that got more and more embarrassing to watch. This felt like too many movies I don't like: Fight Club, anything by Ritchie, anything by Tarantino. I am not sure what the director wanted to say or do, the whole thing was one big hodgepodge. And as much as I appreciate Tom Hardy whirling his dick around more than I was hoping for, it really felt that every scene was just trying to outdo the previous one, trying to be even louder, freakier, more exploitative. So yeah, Bronson is kind of a joke, and I was glad when it was over.

Tom Hardy should do a romantic comedy, oh yes! 'cause I was really hoping to end the evening with flashing, love-shaped eyes. Too bad this film pissed me off so much that my new and tender love for him was kinda drowned out. I'm kinda sorry he was part of this, even if his talent is obvious. His performance is intense and fearless, and even though he was made to overact like hell, he's got nice little details in his play. He‘s kinda like a crude, proletarian version of Heath Ledger, or a slightly colder, less approachable Colin Farrell. In any case, that working class badass charm really does it for me, and I really hope this stinker of a film didn't ruin the whole thing. See, I really love falling in love at the movies, and it's been quite a while since someone crush-worthy came along. Robert Pattinson must have been months ago!, and there‘s still plenty of space for more movie boys in my movie heart.


Trailer

She's Out of My League (2010)

'You being with Molly defies, like, forces of nature.'

I never would have watched this if it weren't for Jay Baruchel, 'cause to tell you the truth, the whole "nerdy loser boy gets into the pants of popular hot chick" (or vice versa) thing is something that pisses me off so much I could probably go on about it for hours. Don't worry, I won't indulge, but first of all, which girl wouldn't be into Jay Baruchel? He's hot. Plus Kirk, the character he‘s playing here, is a total sweetheart. I know I know, most girls would probably pick Brad Pitt over him, and I understand that's the crowd this kind of movie is targeted at, but that's exactly what pisses me off about this kind of story. It's like they wanna teach the people that ugly folks are okay, too. That you don't have to be ashamed if you're stuck with one. Look at how funny and charming they can be! That's more valuable than a fast car and steel abs, right? Makes me wanna puke. 'cause it kinda implies that there are actual people out there who need to be taught that personality can be a good thing, too, and that's quite a scary thought. But hey, I did try to keep an open mind about it, and I was relieved to find that She‘s Out of My League actually didn't take this whole hot-or-not rating system all too seriously either. I think they even kinda made fun of it. And that's the film's strength.

Sure sure, all of the chlichés are there, but She‘s Out of My League is nowhere as bad as it might sound. It has its moments of truth. While the chemistry between Baruchel and his co-star Alice Eve could have been a bit better, there was a certain genuine shyness about the way these two were interacting. I also liked that Molly wasn't portrayed as merely some hot babe with deficits in every other department. She was just a genuinely nice person, not the bitchy princess girls like her are normally portrayed as in movies. You actually buy she's falling for Kirk. I also appreciated that the supporting characters around Kirk, you know, the advice-giving best buds and dirty-joke-making roommates and co-workers who can be so damn annoying actually weren't that annoying here. They weren‘t too quirky, they felt real and even lovable.

I also noticed that Kirk didn't have to go through a makeover to "deserve" Molly, as it is usually the case in this type of story. The ugly girl takes her glasses off, gets a new hairdo, and who would have thought -- there‘s been a beauty underneath there all along! Now she can totally go to the prom with the hot baseball player! No, Kirk gets to be Kirk, and he is being loved for being Kirk. For a story that's based on utter superficiality, this aspect is quite deep, you gotta admit.

Yet, I can't help but feel a certain sadness when it comes to Baruchel, the fact that he's being typecast over and over again as the nerd. And he isn't the only one this is happening to. There seems to be some sort of epidemic going around among certain young actors. Michael Cera, Jesse Eisenberg, it's even happening to Paul Dano. They‘re all stuck in Nerdland, doomed to play the hoodie-wearing supernerd until they‘re too old for it. And then what? Are they all gonna turn into Will Ferrells, still playing a teen when they‘re fifty? I wonder who‘s to blame for that. Is it them or is it the industry? 'cause there are other nerdy young actors out there that aren‘t so stuck. Seth Rogen comes to mind, or Jonah Hill. They‘re nerdy, too, but somehow they‘re also versatile and dramatic. As much as I like Baruchel, I am not sure I wanna see him play another one of those awkwardly charming guys. It just gets tired. This guy needs more challenges, more dramatic work, or he might just sink into obscurity. And that would be a shame. He's a good actor.


Trailer

Inception (2010)

'Wait, whose subconscious are we going through exactly?'

Inception was one of the movies I was most excited about getting to see in 2010, not even because of Leo, but because the trailer was so weird and mysterious. It just looked very promising. Now that I wasn't exactly one of the first people to see it, I have heard quite a lot about it -- or... actually no... I didn't hear that much about it. Conversations about it would usually go something like this:

Someone: "I went to the movies yesterday."

Me: "What did you see?"

Someone (indifferent): "Inception."

Me: Oh my God, oh my God, HOW IS IT DID YOU LIKE IT HOW WAS IT IS LEO GOOD OH MY GOD!?"

Someone: "Um. It was okay."

Me: "Hm."

Everybody was pretty quiet about this film, until a certain someone whose name I won't mention here proclaimed that it was the worst piece of shit ever. They even updated their Facebook status to let the world know how much it sucked. While this came from someone who also liked Juno, they're usually to be trusted, so I can't say this didn't have an effect on me. Okay, so maybe it was shit. But I was gonna see it anyway. Granted, with really low expectations. So I really can't say how much I would have liked or disliked it if I would have gone in there expecting the movie of the decade. That said, let me try to recapture the thoughts I had while sitting in my theater seat.

1. It's very action-ladden. 

2. Or boring?

3. There‘s little to no acting. 

4. There's very little character development, not enough information about who these people are. 

5. I am really tired of Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s self-important face. 

6. Leo is okay. Too bad he doesn't get to act.

7. Oh, I like that guy! Who is that guy? I know that guy!

(The next half hour was spent trying to figure out which movie I knew "the guy" from.) 

8. I like Ellen Page's part. Kinda tough, but still a girl. Nice female role.

9. Ugh. It's Gordon-Levitt again. Go away! Go talk about art and antiques with Ryan Gosling!

10. Why do all guys love these two guys? I don't get it.

11. I need to pee.

12. Leo in a ski suit is a strange sight.

13. I love looking at avalanches. 

14. I wonder if there's a Facebook application called "What natural disaster are you?".

15. I think there's more to this movie than meets the eye. 

Now, a couple of days later, this is what I think about this film: While I admit I was bored for large parts of it, while I admit I was expecting it to be a bit more "weird and mysterious", and while I also admit that it was a bit of a stressful movie experience due to an asthma attack and constant checking of my watch because I had to catch a train that I literally couldn't afford to miss because I had just missed a flight that should have brought me to the place where I was now supposed to take that train to -- get it? -- I also have to admit that I haven't quite forgotten about Inception, mainly because of its metaphors. I really liked the points it made about romantic relationships or marriage, if you want to call it that. I really understood Cobb‘s (Leo DiCaprio) and Mal‘s (Marion Cotillard) "dream experiments" as the world of their relationship, a place that was built on love. And then something happened, or something didn't happen, and they grew apart. They didn't share the same views anymore, and their world collapsed, and they both fell apart -- each in their own way. 

I also like that it questions reality so much. Not only the different realities of one and the same relationship, but on a larger scale. Like, what‘s real anyway? It's a question that's quite important to me, maybe now more than ever (and Leo seems to be in a similar place in his life right now, or else he wouldn't do two movies in a row that question reality). So many times in my life, the easiest, most "realistic" thing was impossible for me to get ahold of. And then something extraordinary would happen, something that seemed totally surreal to most people around me. 

I also loved the ending. I was already standing by the exit by that time, 'cause I really needed to catch that train. But I also really wanted to see the ending. I actually cried there. I loved how Nolan left us guessing. Again, he made a nice point with that. The last frame shows Leo coming home, and as he is greeting his children in the background, a top is spinning on the table in the foreground, taking reference to something Mal stated earlier in the film. If the top doesn't stop spinning, this ain't reality. The film ends, and we don't know whether it's gonna fall or keep spinning. It doesn't matter, because reality is something so innately individual. What might be totally real to one person can be completely surreal to the other. We don't even agree on the same reality about the most mundane, everyday things; our perception is so deeply shaped by our character and our imagination, our beliefs and experiences. So when it all comes down to it, and if you put all the action and the skiing aside, this is what I think Inception is: It shows two people disconnecting, people who do not share the same beliefs no more. As loud as all the action was, Nolan somehow managed to send a real subtle and meaningful message. I just wish he would have focused more on that. But then he would have lost the large crowd of action-hungry popcorn munchers, I guess. Still, this is a better movie than one might think at first. All in all, I think it's worth watching, and discussing. As unfocused as I was, I did appreciate its creativity, and it even touched me, especially the conflicts between fathers and sons.

Oh, and that guy‘s name is Tom Hardy. I think he was the most exciting thing about this film. Aside from the avalanche, of course. I haven't seen him in any previous films, though. Weird. I could swear I‘ve seen him before. I GUESS I MUST HAVE SEEN HIM IN MY DREAMS, THEN! And I would bet we will see a lot of him in the future.

Trailer

Movie Meme #1

Sequel that never should have been made

Um. Probably most sequels, but The Blair Witch Project II just might have been the worst.

A movie you think more people should see

Boy A

Favorite Oscar-nominated movie from most recent ballot

A Serious Man

A movie that makes you laugh every time

In Bruges

A movie you loathe

Juno

A movie that makes you cry every time

 Cinema Paradiso

Least favorite movie by a favorite actor

The Imagninarium of Doctor Parnassus with Heath Ledger and Andrew Garfield.

A movie that should be required high school viewing

East of Eden

Best scene ever

East of Eden, the scene where Cal tries to give his father his birthday present -- and is rejected once again.

A movie you didn't think you would like but ended up loving

Moon

A movie that disappointed you

The Sixth Sense

Best music in a scene

Almost Famous, in the bus, when they're singing Tiny Dancer.

Favorite film in black and white

Paper Moon

Favorite guilty pleasure movie
Little Lord Fauntleroy 

Best movie cast

Magnolia

Best action scene
The Dark Knight, where Heath Ledger blows up the hospital. So cute.

Movie quote you use most often
I use a lot of movie quotes in my daily life. My ultimate nerd goal is to one day speak only in film lines. Right now, that's the one I say the most often.
It's from Funny People. You can watch the original here.

Best villain
Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs

Most overhyped movie
Precious

A movie you've seen more than ten times
The Shining

Saddest movie death
Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy

Scene that made you stand up and cheer
That one scene from Dead Poets Society still does it for me.

Favorite romantic couple
This might seem like a weird choice, but after thinking about it for... like five days, I think I have to say my favorite couple is Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles in 10 Things I Hate About You.

Favorite kiss

Definitely Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer in Frankie & Johnny. Man, that guy can kiss.

Favorite last line
From The Apartment, when they're playing cards.
Jack Lemmon: "Did you hear what I said, Miss Kubelik? I absolutely adore you."
Shirley MacLaine: "Shut up and deal."

A Bunch of Short Reviews

Since I haven't watched many movies lately, and written even less reviews, I thought I could give you a quick recap of the movies I did watch and rewatch in the past few weeks.

New Moon (2009): Much better than Twilight, and the best directing of all the three movies in the series. The big downer is that there's hardly any Robert Pattinson in this one (WHAT THE FUCK???), who kinda was the only reason to watch this in the first place, duh. But that gave the other vampire characters a chance to develop a little further, become more personable -- and the werewolf guys had more opportunities to take off their tops. But I really dug the whole werewolf thing. That was cool. I was really surprised at how much better it was than the first part. This is the first time I've actually liked a sequel better than the original film. Liked Kristen Stewart here. I also liked that her character was much less girly than in the beginning, and that she turned into this badass biker chick, hehe. I also liked Taylor Lautner. There's something so genuine about him, I really like that. Great soundtrack and much better pacing.

Eclipse (2010): This one‘s much better than Twilight, too, with a little weaker directing than New Moon. They're hiring new directors for every part, which kinda sucks because that way, the films don't get to carry a distinctive signature, but I guess that's probably the whole point of the series: These are movies that are being produced, not directed. More Pattinson here, yay. This one has some corniness, and the whole we-need-to-get-married-before-we-can-have-sex thing that kept slipping into the story really pissed me off, but the film gets a juicy kick in the butt from the good chemistry between Pattinson and Lautner. These two work well together. 

Funny People (2009): As you might have noticed, I dearly love this film, and it was time for a rewatch. It so holds up to multiple viewings. I still laugh as much as I did when I watched it for the first time, and I am still moved by Adam Sandler's performance. By now, I know these lovable characters so well that it's like meeting dear old friends. Love this one, will never tire of it.

The Lake House (2006): I know, I know, this one makes no sense whatsoever, and it's tough trying to turn your head off when it‘s desperately struggling to find some logic. Yet this is still one of those movies I turn to when I am in a girly mood and need a dose of Keanu and some good ole' fashioned romance. Just the kiss at the end is worth the watch.

The Yellow Handkerchief (2009): Do not watch this film unless you're in the mood to kill yourself. It's plain torture. Three random characters on a road trip to nowhere, doing nothing, but in a most pretentious way. Worst directing I have seen in a long time. There's a couple of actors in it that I really like, but hated them here. Maria Bello. Eddie Redmayne, really like that guy, but he was kinda playing a dumb kid in this, and that so didn't fit him. Kristen Stewart, as much as I hate to say it, is nothing without good direction. William Hurt -- never liked him, never will. He's as pretentious as this film.

Paper Man (2009): Such great talent (Jeff Daniels, Ryan Reynolds, Lisa Kudrow, Kieran Culkin) wasted on a movie that lacked any sort of logic, appeal or charm. Bad writing, bad directing. Married couples probably shouldn't make movies together.

Julie Johnson (2001): This is a simple story about two women leaving their husbands, moving in together and falling in love (with each other). As usual, I loved Courtney Love and that warm, naive energy of hers. It also stars Lily Taylor as a housewife with dreams of becoming a scientist. The film makes an interesting point about relationships, their frustrations and challenges, which are really the same, no matter whether you're heterosexual, gay or whatnot. It's a fairly enjoyable watch while it lasts, but by the time it's over, you've probably already forgotten it. 

Amelia (2009): About the life of Amelia Earhart. With Hilary Swank and Richard Gere. Can't say a whole lot about it, only managed to pull through for about eight minutes. So it's probably not that great.

Match Point (2005): Wanted to rewatch this one because I constantly hear it mentioned when people are discussing their favorite Woody Allen movies. I saw it when it came out, and wasn't too crazy about it, but since people love it so, I thought I probably must have missed something and decided to go look for it. However, my opinion about it didn't change. I find it quite mediocre. I think Jonathan Rhys Meyers is excellent in this film (I was quite surprised by that). He and Scarlett Johansson have a strong erotic chemistry and plenty of positive tension, and I liked how much space Allen gave them to just interact, but that's really the only thing that stands out here. Maybe the people who name this film as Allen's best are people who either aren't too familiar with his other work, or just don't like his usual style and tone. 'cause that's what bothers me most about this film -- it's such an untypical Woody Allen film. I hardly recognize his signature. So why watch it? It's like eating pistachio ice cream that tastes like vanilla. Match Point is definitely not Woody‘s best movie.