It's like they couldn't d code whether to rip off woody Allen or Wes Anderson. The bits don't work either.
Reviews
7 Reviews
The Bag Man
(I) (2014)
It just ain't good
4 July 2014
This script is so bad at times that I imagine it is a spoof. It's just bad. There are a couple of things that keep me going like what is the big secret. But, not even a cast of interesting folks can redeem this clumsy dialog. It never seems to achieve whatever it is that it is trying to be. The scenes disjointed. The characters are cliché. The music is nostalgic noir. It fails to be quirky film that resists categorization. It is just an awkward repertoire of floundering, disjointed scenes. I'd say it's worth a buck at the Redbox. It is still not worth the time. Clearly the author does not get motivation. I am really left wondering why Deniro and Cusak would sign on for this. Maybe if it was all unknowns and a self-funded venture, I'd give it some credit.
If you haven't seen this yet, heed this advice (spoiler but not much)
1 June 2014
Warning: Spoilers
If you haven't seen this yet, many of the posts here that point out some script issues are accurate, but the issues are overshadowed by the things that work and the gorgeous cinematography.
Here's where I may offer up the slight spoiler: If you watch this avoiding getting caught up the expectations of the trite Hollywood plots. 1) This is not the story of a helpless loner who learns to overcome fear and take a chance. Actually, he is a pretty interesting guy with some adversity and meaningful backstory even if it is not thoroughly developed. (This is regarding only the 2013 version.) 2) Don't get hung up on the evil corporate jerk vs. the "everyman" at the downhome company storyline. It is relevant, but not essential to the story, at least not the standoff between the two characters.
If you can get past those temptations there is a really beautiful, pertinent story here. It has everything to do with the ongoing Life double-entendre and the encounter. It has more to do with Andy Warhol than Don Quixote. I won't go into much more than that. That would be too much of a spoiler.
Here's where I may offer up the slight spoiler: If you watch this avoiding getting caught up the expectations of the trite Hollywood plots. 1) This is not the story of a helpless loner who learns to overcome fear and take a chance. Actually, he is a pretty interesting guy with some adversity and meaningful backstory even if it is not thoroughly developed. (This is regarding only the 2013 version.) 2) Don't get hung up on the evil corporate jerk vs. the "everyman" at the downhome company storyline. It is relevant, but not essential to the story, at least not the standoff between the two characters.
If you can get past those temptations there is a really beautiful, pertinent story here. It has everything to do with the ongoing Life double-entendre and the encounter. It has more to do with Andy Warhol than Don Quixote. I won't go into much more than that. That would be too much of a spoiler.
Penny Dreadful
(2014–2016)
Barely a spoiler... Undecided verging on ambivalent
20 May 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Thus far there has been enough to keep me coming back. I'm waiting, but have yet really gotten anything really juicy enough to sink my teeth into plot wise. This could be one heck of a set up for a cool ride, or it could just fart and fizzle away.
The use of actual characters from British Romantic Fiction and Lore, while potentially fun, post-modern spectacle, seems contrived. There is a pregnant pause before each character introduces himself. Not quite as heavy-handed as a drum roll, but, nonetheless a club over the head.
I don't have a problem with gratuitous gore and sex. It seems apropos for the subject matter and period. I do have a bit of a problem with the gratuitous and drawn out philosophically Romantic, grandes cinematique (joking) moments. Not unlike "Cloud Atlas," it's a bit flabby at points. Maybe that was all part of the Romantic period, as well.
Yet, I am a sucker for this Romantic stuff, so I'll give it a few more episodes. There is at least one interesting story line buried in the fluff. I get why people like it. I think if I were twenty years younger, I'd be glued.
That being said, episode three brought some of the laborious setup to bare. I am now more intrigued.
The use of actual characters from British Romantic Fiction and Lore, while potentially fun, post-modern spectacle, seems contrived. There is a pregnant pause before each character introduces himself. Not quite as heavy-handed as a drum roll, but, nonetheless a club over the head.
I don't have a problem with gratuitous gore and sex. It seems apropos for the subject matter and period. I do have a bit of a problem with the gratuitous and drawn out philosophically Romantic, grandes cinematique (joking) moments. Not unlike "Cloud Atlas," it's a bit flabby at points. Maybe that was all part of the Romantic period, as well.
Yet, I am a sucker for this Romantic stuff, so I'll give it a few more episodes. There is at least one interesting story line buried in the fluff. I get why people like it. I think if I were twenty years younger, I'd be glued.
That being said, episode three brought some of the laborious setup to bare. I am now more intrigued.
Goon
(2011)
This is my favorite movie right now.
9 April 2013
Warning: Spoilers
This is essentially what the movie Rocky would look like in real life! It avoids being simply a remake of Slapshot (hockey movie) and some of the general sports clichés. This movie has soul and heart, not to mention blood and some knocked out teeth.
I enjoy immensely that none of the characters are particularly heroic in any conventional way. It is not a Cinderella story unless Cinderella discovers that she actually is good at cleaning floors, and that's her life's calling. Even the love story is beautifully low key. Things make sense in this movie the way the main character's life makes sense because it just does. AND that is why Blatt is incredibly heroic.
The pranks: one complaint I have about a lot of movies is that it they are simple stories wrapped around a couple of pranks, and we watch the pranks in the previews then go and see them in the theatre. In goon, there are pranks and one liners, but the characters deliver them as they would in real life... maybe its that the characters deliver them rather than the writer.
A kind of violent flick that is totally refreshing.
I enjoy immensely that none of the characters are particularly heroic in any conventional way. It is not a Cinderella story unless Cinderella discovers that she actually is good at cleaning floors, and that's her life's calling. Even the love story is beautifully low key. Things make sense in this movie the way the main character's life makes sense because it just does. AND that is why Blatt is incredibly heroic.
The pranks: one complaint I have about a lot of movies is that it they are simple stories wrapped around a couple of pranks, and we watch the pranks in the previews then go and see them in the theatre. In goon, there are pranks and one liners, but the characters deliver them as they would in real life... maybe its that the characters deliver them rather than the writer.
A kind of violent flick that is totally refreshing.
This Is 40
(2012)
I gave it a 10 because I didn't think anyone else would.
6 January 2013
First and foremost, this is the first movie I have seen in years that actually has something to do with my life. I read through the threads, and I wasn't surprised that people found it depressing. They were probably expecting to see Knocked Up or I Love You Man. It lacks the stoner cool single guys being all zany about porn. Instead the comedy comes from things that forty somethings deal with: mortgage, kids, hormones, diet, expectations, etc. I rarely get to see a movie about people my age or having problems and solutions that don't involve guns, drugs, superheroes, cartoon birds, and people who have 8 figure life styles without ever having a job. Okay, so he's a groovy record co. guy, and she has a chic boutique.... Definitely way more California than my life, but still it is pretty real to life. I will concede that there are some gags that don't quite work, but like I said: I'm stickin' up for this one because I think it is getting a bad rap based on expectations. Thanks to Judd Apatow for making a movie about life instead of (hip jobs aside) hyper-situational life.
Can't understand why the critics aren't on board
24 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
My wife and I saw this today. The theatre was filled with sobs. Grown men, big redneck men, and Gangtas too, all weeping like babies. Don't go to see this movie if you expect to see the 40 Year Old Virgin!
I have been waiting for a movie like this, though. I have been yearning for a movie about the human condition as opposed to action melodrama and 3D spectacle. Even though the premise of this one may be a hyper-real situation, the investigation of human priorities is astute. Okay, it ain't hard sci-fi, the accuracies of how the grid would respond, etc. may not be there, but the message is loud and clear and greatly needed these days.
It was the third movie I saw this weekend that dealt with common heroics. I for one want to see more of that. Given the previews and past Steve Carell pictures, I get why some of the public will walk away bewildered and perhaps disappointed, but I don't get why a professional film critic would pan this unless he/she is just plain being cynical to stand out in some way because love is a boring topic these days. I guess if Steve Carell had a brilliant flash and raced against time, spies, the military, and attack drones to deliver the key solution to a secret lab at the top of a cliff.... well, that would be missing the point.
I have been waiting for a movie like this, though. I have been yearning for a movie about the human condition as opposed to action melodrama and 3D spectacle. Even though the premise of this one may be a hyper-real situation, the investigation of human priorities is astute. Okay, it ain't hard sci-fi, the accuracies of how the grid would respond, etc. may not be there, but the message is loud and clear and greatly needed these days.
It was the third movie I saw this weekend that dealt with common heroics. I for one want to see more of that. Given the previews and past Steve Carell pictures, I get why some of the public will walk away bewildered and perhaps disappointed, but I don't get why a professional film critic would pan this unless he/she is just plain being cynical to stand out in some way because love is a boring topic these days. I guess if Steve Carell had a brilliant flash and raced against time, spies, the military, and attack drones to deliver the key solution to a secret lab at the top of a cliff.... well, that would be missing the point.
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