I Watch Movies When It's Not Beautiful Outside
"Speech and Debate"
starring: Liam James, Sarah Steele, Austin P. McKenzie, Roger Bart, Janeane Garofalo, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Kal Penn, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Skylar Astin
written by: Stephen Karem
directed by: Dan Harris
All right, perhaps I didn't or couldn't fully appreciate this film's value or meaning because I'm not a teenager facing the hypocrisies that the three main characters are facing within the story here. Perhaps I'm long past my prime of being able to remember what it was like to be a teenager (because I'm 36 years old now). Or maybe it's because I've seen these types of films over and over again, and the genre seems a bit played out, with nothing really coming out as original anymore. It's the same old story. The plight of the white, privileged and entitled teenager. Whatever the case may be, I didn't find this film that entertaining.
This is actually a film adaptation of a play, by the same name, written for the screen by the same playwright, so at least nothing really gets lost in the translation from stage to screen. Yes, there are dimensional characters, each facing their own interesting personal and educational challenges. They have typical adolescent insecurities and rebel in typical fashion as well.
The conflict begins with an all-too-familiar story of someone being offended by something, in this case, it's the school play "Once Upon Mattress." Offensive for adult content that teenagers shouldn't be portraying or exposing others to. Whatever. Well, the female lead, Diwata (Sarah Steele) takes it upon herself to lead the crusade against the offended.
The fight enrages aspiring actress Diwata (Sarah Steele), who’s eager to show the world her stagebound fury with challenging material. She finds a friend in Solomon (Liam James), a frustrated journalist who can’t work with the limitations of the school paper, hoping to find a real story to help prove his reporting skills. Realizing they can acquire stage time and command a large audience by forming a Speech & Debate club, the pair brings in Howie (Austin McKenzie) for help, with the teen previously blocked from creating a GSA club at North Salem. Now a trio of outsiders with purpose, the students embark on a perilous journey of performance, competition, and public humiliation, trying to find their voices and timing to share their gifts with the town.
Sarah Steele steals the show (pun intended) with her portrayal of Diwata- an overly confident vlogger (argh, I hate that that's actually a thing) who loves to sing and act. She does not necessarily possess self-awareness but is aware of her comrades struggles and so she considers herself the martyr to everyone's causes. She will stop at nothing to right the wrongs of injustice inflicted upon them all.
This is a film dominated by the teenagers in the story and the adults are merely roadblocks.
It's a decently paced film with a heart to the story, but it never really captured my interest.
...............................................................................
"Masterminds"
starring: Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, Ross Kimball, Jason Sudeikis, Devin Ratray, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Jon Daly, Ken Marino
written by: Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer
directed by: Jared Hess
It's kind of a shame to think (or know) that Jared Hess peaked with his debut film "Napolean Dynamite" because the odd and awkward humor was fresh at the time. He's made some less than funny films with "Nacho Libre" and "Don Verdean." Here, he returns to the obsurd humor with a story loosely based on the real-life 1997 robbery of a Loomis Fargo vault by a seemingly dim-witted employee named David Ghantt (who actually consulted on the film).
The stranger-than-fiction premise about a romantically besotted buffoon (Galifianakis) who recklessly risks imprisonment to win over the trailer-trash femme fatale (Wiig) enlisting him to commit the crime is pilfered by the film’s sense of scattershot humor.
Galifianakis’ cluelessness can tickle, but he’s having a progressively difficult time making things feel fresh. The feeling of been there, done that is beginning to stifle his performances.
Galifianakis is on the verge of becoming just as annoying as Dane Cook, a stand-up comedian who had his 15 minutes of fame and gathered his fortune, then quickly faded away and became irrelevant. Thankfully, Galifianakis has his web series "Between Two Ferns" which is comedic gold. ANd he should stick to that.
The film and story has a lot of throwaway characters, many alum from Saturday Night Live who know how to act against each other. The story seems quite unbelievable- thieving $17 million from an armored truck- and it becomes its own worst enemy when the film goes for the big, extravagant escape and fugitive storyline. It derails itself. And what I've learned from watching "Judge Judy" is if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Did they actually steal and get away with (to an extent) stealing $17 million, $2 million of which has gone unaccounted for to this day?
.............................................................................
"LOL"
starring: Sophie Marceau, Christa Theret, Lou Lesage, Jeremy Kapone, Marion Chabassol, Emile Bertherat, Felix Moati, Louis Sommer, Adele Choubard
written and directed by: Liza Azuelos
A great French film that explores the plight of teenagers, specifically a teenage girl experiencing "first love" and the heartbreak that comes with it. Very interesting characters, well developed and well written. The story plays out exactly how you expect it to, but it never seems forced or too in-your-face. This is why I tend to enjoy foreign films.
It left Netflix recently, but if you have a chance to find it, it's definitely worth checking out.
.................................................................................
"Karla"
starring: Laura Prepon, Misha Collins, Patrick Bauchau, Emilie Jacobs, Alex Boyd, Carole White, Shawn Hoffman, Adam Lieberman, Cherilyn Hayres, William Duffy
written by: Michael D. Sellers and Manette Rosen
directed by: Joel Bender
Now, here's a film to avoid. It's a creepy and oftentimes hard to watch film about a legitimately psycho and serial killer in Canada. Paul and Karla are a married couple who begin to engage in bizarre sexual activity, mostly Paul and Karla is the willing bystander. She has some strange, rather unbelievable Stockholm Syndrome, too (either that, or she's just as fucked up as Paul).
It’s Karla’s story, in essence, and although she may be the most unreliable of narrators, neither the script nor the alluring, likable Prepon encourages and skepticism.
The film sort of rests on Laura Prepon's shoulders in playing a very unlikable character, which is especially hard after she played Donna, such a lovable character on "That 70s Show" for years.
Her character on "Orange is the New Black" is far more believable and less of a stretch for her, it seems, than this character.
starring: Liam James, Sarah Steele, Austin P. McKenzie, Roger Bart, Janeane Garofalo, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Kal Penn, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Skylar Astin
written by: Stephen Karem
directed by: Dan Harris
All right, perhaps I didn't or couldn't fully appreciate this film's value or meaning because I'm not a teenager facing the hypocrisies that the three main characters are facing within the story here. Perhaps I'm long past my prime of being able to remember what it was like to be a teenager (because I'm 36 years old now). Or maybe it's because I've seen these types of films over and over again, and the genre seems a bit played out, with nothing really coming out as original anymore. It's the same old story. The plight of the white, privileged and entitled teenager. Whatever the case may be, I didn't find this film that entertaining.
This is actually a film adaptation of a play, by the same name, written for the screen by the same playwright, so at least nothing really gets lost in the translation from stage to screen. Yes, there are dimensional characters, each facing their own interesting personal and educational challenges. They have typical adolescent insecurities and rebel in typical fashion as well.
The conflict begins with an all-too-familiar story of someone being offended by something, in this case, it's the school play "Once Upon Mattress." Offensive for adult content that teenagers shouldn't be portraying or exposing others to. Whatever. Well, the female lead, Diwata (Sarah Steele) takes it upon herself to lead the crusade against the offended.
The fight enrages aspiring actress Diwata (Sarah Steele), who’s eager to show the world her stagebound fury with challenging material. She finds a friend in Solomon (Liam James), a frustrated journalist who can’t work with the limitations of the school paper, hoping to find a real story to help prove his reporting skills. Realizing they can acquire stage time and command a large audience by forming a Speech & Debate club, the pair brings in Howie (Austin McKenzie) for help, with the teen previously blocked from creating a GSA club at North Salem. Now a trio of outsiders with purpose, the students embark on a perilous journey of performance, competition, and public humiliation, trying to find their voices and timing to share their gifts with the town.
Sarah Steele steals the show (pun intended) with her portrayal of Diwata- an overly confident vlogger (argh, I hate that that's actually a thing) who loves to sing and act. She does not necessarily possess self-awareness but is aware of her comrades struggles and so she considers herself the martyr to everyone's causes. She will stop at nothing to right the wrongs of injustice inflicted upon them all.
This is a film dominated by the teenagers in the story and the adults are merely roadblocks.
It's a decently paced film with a heart to the story, but it never really captured my interest.
...............................................................................
"Masterminds"
starring: Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, Ross Kimball, Jason Sudeikis, Devin Ratray, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Jon Daly, Ken Marino
written by: Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer
directed by: Jared Hess
It's kind of a shame to think (or know) that Jared Hess peaked with his debut film "Napolean Dynamite" because the odd and awkward humor was fresh at the time. He's made some less than funny films with "Nacho Libre" and "Don Verdean." Here, he returns to the obsurd humor with a story loosely based on the real-life 1997 robbery of a Loomis Fargo vault by a seemingly dim-witted employee named David Ghantt (who actually consulted on the film).
The stranger-than-fiction premise about a romantically besotted buffoon (Galifianakis) who recklessly risks imprisonment to win over the trailer-trash femme fatale (Wiig) enlisting him to commit the crime is pilfered by the film’s sense of scattershot humor.
Galifianakis’ cluelessness can tickle, but he’s having a progressively difficult time making things feel fresh. The feeling of been there, done that is beginning to stifle his performances.
Galifianakis is on the verge of becoming just as annoying as Dane Cook, a stand-up comedian who had his 15 minutes of fame and gathered his fortune, then quickly faded away and became irrelevant. Thankfully, Galifianakis has his web series "Between Two Ferns" which is comedic gold. ANd he should stick to that.
The film and story has a lot of throwaway characters, many alum from Saturday Night Live who know how to act against each other. The story seems quite unbelievable- thieving $17 million from an armored truck- and it becomes its own worst enemy when the film goes for the big, extravagant escape and fugitive storyline. It derails itself. And what I've learned from watching "Judge Judy" is if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Did they actually steal and get away with (to an extent) stealing $17 million, $2 million of which has gone unaccounted for to this day?
.............................................................................
"LOL"
starring: Sophie Marceau, Christa Theret, Lou Lesage, Jeremy Kapone, Marion Chabassol, Emile Bertherat, Felix Moati, Louis Sommer, Adele Choubard
written and directed by: Liza Azuelos
A great French film that explores the plight of teenagers, specifically a teenage girl experiencing "first love" and the heartbreak that comes with it. Very interesting characters, well developed and well written. The story plays out exactly how you expect it to, but it never seems forced or too in-your-face. This is why I tend to enjoy foreign films.
It left Netflix recently, but if you have a chance to find it, it's definitely worth checking out.
.................................................................................
"Karla"
starring: Laura Prepon, Misha Collins, Patrick Bauchau, Emilie Jacobs, Alex Boyd, Carole White, Shawn Hoffman, Adam Lieberman, Cherilyn Hayres, William Duffy
written by: Michael D. Sellers and Manette Rosen
directed by: Joel Bender
Now, here's a film to avoid. It's a creepy and oftentimes hard to watch film about a legitimately psycho and serial killer in Canada. Paul and Karla are a married couple who begin to engage in bizarre sexual activity, mostly Paul and Karla is the willing bystander. She has some strange, rather unbelievable Stockholm Syndrome, too (either that, or she's just as fucked up as Paul).
It’s Karla’s story, in essence, and although she may be the most unreliable of narrators, neither the script nor the alluring, likable Prepon encourages and skepticism.
Such a stance places pic in a morally precarious position, as Karla tells of her seduction of handsome beau Paul (Misha Collins), with her sexually aggressive behavior that somehow slipped into nasty sex games led by Paul, involving Karla’s younger sis Tammy (Cherilyn Hayres), with whom Paul is obsessed.
Karla’s eventual murder conviction was based on Paul’s videotaping of a session in which Tammy was poisoned by Karla; druggy action here indicates a grayer area, however, in which Tammy’s death could have been accidental. The downhill spiral into a nasty co-dependency — Paul’s hunger for raping and killing young women nurtured by Karla’s subservience and willingness to let him do whatever he wants, including repeatedly slugging her in the face — is much less enlightening and involving than it should be. There’s a certain darkly suffocating quality to the chamber drama played out by these two sick souls, but the fact that the film is more willing to explicitly show Paul’s constant beatings of Karla than the worst aspects of the killings underlines who is to be seen as the victim here. Yet, if there’s a dramatic case to be made for Karla not being partly responsible for the grisly crimes, the film never makes it, and a closing credit text stating evidence and testimony of Karla’s involvement and lack of remorse comes off as a particularly weak last-minute gambit to provide a balanced telling of the saga.
Her character on "Orange is the New Black" is far more believable and less of a stretch for her, it seems, than this character.
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