Friday, June 8, 2012

MOVIE MOVIE WEEKEND

Gentle Readers,

It's raining.
It's pouring.
But I doubt if I'll be snoring.
The frogs are so loud.
They gather in a crowd.
The plague keeps me awake all night.
I look like a fright.

This is me.
Although I am thankful for life-giving water after a year-long drought, my backyard is a pool, making it difficult for the dogs to find a place to go, if you know what I mean. If this downpour continues, soon I shall have my very own tadpole pool.

Well, let me tell you about two movies.

The first is We Need To Talk About Kevin.

This movie is brilliant. It's well made and the acting is superb.

However, it is frightening. It is shake-you-to-your-very core scary.

And I don't mean it has zombies. Eva (Tilda Swinton) is young Kevin's mom. John C. Reilly plays Franklin, Eva's husband and Kevin's dad. Two young men play Kevin -- one as a young child and one as a teenager. The young actors have an amazing talent for portraying Kevin's malevolence.

But why is Kevin evil?

Franklin is partly to blame with his boys will be boys attitude.

Some of the blame may rest with nature.

So how much blame rests with Eva? She can be incredibly patient with Kevin and incredibly cruel to him. Remember how doctors used to say that if a child was autistic it was because the mother was cold and uncaring?

I hate that (disproved) theory, so I was reluctant to blame Eva because although Kevin is not autistic, he is incredibly vicious and inhuman. But then I woke up and remembered that we see events from Eva's point of view.

ONE CAN NEVER COMPLETELY TRUST A FIRST-PERSON NARRATOR.

We see what Eva allows us to see, and it is horrifying. If you experience health problems, are prone to sleepless nights after seeing something frightening, or are just plain very sensitive, then I recommend you not watch this movie. Otherwise, please watch and learn. You will see an outstanding film with a strange bluegrassy/country score that fits its weirdness perfectly.

We Need To Talk About Kevin is new to DVD.

A slightly older movie is my second choice for this week. It's called Limitless and stars eye-candy man Bradley Cooper, whose talent is so much better served here than in those dumb Hangover movies.

I started out thinking, I like this movie. It's stylized. It's cool. I like the score. I like the acting.

But it has a drug problem and needs to go into rehab. Cooper's character, Eddie, is a writer who doesn't write -- even though he actually has a book contract! What wouldn't we all give for that?

Then Eddie takes a pill that provides him with limitless abilities and intelligence. Before long, I started to feel that the movie glorified drug use. When Eddie faces death because of the drug, I started to think the movie was headed in the right direction -- because a drug used illegally and incorrectly can cause such harm.

I don't want to tell you what happens with the drug and Eddie. It would spoil the movie for you. But I was not pleased with the end. You might want to watch this movie so you can see that Bradley Cooper really isn't just another pretty face, but I wouldn't let kids watch it. If older teens see it, then you should have a family discussion afterwards.

I recommend these movies with trepidation and with warnings. If they're not a good fit for you, then watch a silly comedy that won't damage your psyche.

I hope you have a lovely weekend. I hope to see the sun shine.

Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug


















24 comments:

  1. I borrowed the Kevin movie so I could watch it. I didn't think it would be as good as the book was and it wasn't, because it dealt with the narrative completely differently, but it was still completely gripping, I agree. Tilda Swinton is just amazing at whatever she does.

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    1. Very interesting that the book is so different. Usually I want to read the book on which a movie is based, but this one, I don't know. I think Tilda Swinton is amazing, too.

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  2. I saw Limitless and thought it was okay, I guess. I haven't seen Kevin, but it's in my Netflix queue. Luckily I am not usually bothered by creepy movies. I find most horror movies (like the slasher or some animal or giant insect leaping out at you) boring, to be honest. If I am going to watch any kind of thriller I like it to have a good plot and prefer the psychological, twisted ones--LOL! I just watched Murderous Intent (2006)--speaking of twisted--LOL! Kind of the meeting of two young psychopaths--and it was okay. The plot was a bit convoluted, but the acting was good. Definitely had a creep factor. ;)

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    1. I don't like horror/slasher movies. We Need To Talk About Kevin is an intelligent movie.

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  3. Sounds like I'm going to be sticking to Ratatouille again...how can you go wrong with a cute furry animal, food, and Paris!?!

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    1. I've never seen that. Is the furry animal a rat? Cuz if it is, fageddabout it. I'm so freaked out by rodents that I don't even like Mickey Mouse anymore.

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    2. It is about a rat so you may want to skip it ;) My mom has always been a big lover of rodents and always wanted a rat for a pet (much to my dad's dismay!) so I find them adorable...unless they are wild and infesting my house!

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    3. I cannot think of any rodent as adorable. Seeing a rat in the alley by a friend's house or smashed by the dogs -- ewwwwwww! Your poor dad.

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  4. Like the poem and the rhyme.

    Kevin - I want to watch it because of how you tell the story.

    First person narration( cannot trust) - true in a sense because you only get the perspective of one person.

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    1. Thank you, Peaches! Sometimes a first-person narrator is spot on accurate, but we always have to question how we know the narrator is telling the truth.

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  5. Thanks for these detailed reviews. I have heard of the first film and I think I would like it if I was in the mood for something serious. Great observation about the first person narrative. I would not have thought of that, probably. I never thought of Bradley Cooper as eye candy. He has never done anything for me. Maybe he would as an actor in a more serious role.

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    1. At the beginning of Limitless, Bradley Cooper's character is a slob. But when he's without limitations, he cleans up very nicely.

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  6. Dear Janie, I always enjoy your movie reviews. This time, neither film appeals to me, but I will be picking up today the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" and I'm looking forward to watching it. Someone told me that the Indian actor who was a star of the movie I saw last week--"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" is also in "Slumdog." I'm eager to watch his career.

    Peace.

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    1. You were my audience (in my head) when I wrote the reviews. I didn't think you would like these movies. I want to know what you think of Slumdog. I'm not a fan of that movie, but it won a lot of awards.

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  7. I keep meaning to rent 'We need to talk about Kevin' sounds like a great film.

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    1. I think it's great for some people. If you can read my description and still want to see it, then I'm sure you'll be fine.

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  8. I prefer a movie that is scary minus vampires and zombies. I always get a feeling that, although my life might suck rocks at times, I at least will never be the one checking the basement after the lights go out. . . without a flashlight. . . and
    then. . . .

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    1. lotta joy, You really make me smile. Stay out of the basement and keep at least a dozen emergency lights in your house.

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  9. I hate scary movies as it stays in my head for weeks and puts me off. So I think will watch the second instead.
    www.thoughtsofpaps.com

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  10. you could go swimming in your backyard! so fun! and the movie Limitless makes me angry because I have all these random facts, all this knowledge in my head, but I can not access it the way the drug in the movie allows them to . haha, I wish I had the drug, I would use it for good... hahah, good intentions pave the way to hell . but I would still like to try.

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  11. I don't believe I care to swim out there with the frogs, but I've suggested to the pups that they dog paddle. My head, too, is full of random knowledge. It does me little good. Probably makes people call me the "know it all."

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  12. I have seen the shorts to the Kevin movie it looks interesting but me I rarely watch movies...........

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    1. Then I won't try to talk you in to starting, Jo-Anne.

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