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August: Osage County (2013)
I really wanted to like it...
This movie is apparently based on a play by Tracy Letts, who also did the screenplay. My question to him now is: What's the point? Was he trying to recreate The Crucible or a Shakespearean tragedy, where the ending just flops? Or in the middle of writing this, did he decide that this family was so dysfunctional beyond help, that he would just throw in the towel, give up and end the story right there? Because that's what this movie felt like: Everything was such a mess that there was no point in trying to clean it up, so he just ended the story.
The story begins with Beverly and Violet Weston, a dysfunctional married couple, where the husband is a drunk and the wife Violet (Meryl Streep) is a pill-popping junkie who suffers from mouth cancer. One can understand that Violet's condition and medication may be the cause of her being such a hateful, spiteful and bitter woman with nothing nice to say to anyone, but I think the story overplayed that a bit and used it as a crutch for why Violet was such a bitch. One day Beverly (Shepard) goes out into his boat and doesn't come back. I'm not sure how he died, and there was nothing in the film that showed him committing suicide, being murdered, etc. When Violet realizes her husband is missing, she calls her 3 estranged daughters (Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis and Julianne Nicholson) to offer her comfort and help. The three daughters are dysfunctional themselves in their own unique ways, which makes this movie even more excruciating. It makes the audience think "What the hell is wrong with this family? Did the gene pool decide to just sh** on them here??" The sheriff appears and delivers the bad news, and from there, chaos ensues.
None of the characters are like able and none of them can be sympathized with, which what I learned in Creative Writing is an important part of a story. The protagonist(s) does not have to be like able, but does need a circumstance to be sympathized with, which is what I felt this story failed at. Every bad thing that happened to each of the characters, I felt they deserved it for being such awful, hateful human beings.
Julia Roberts played the eldest daughter Barbara. Barbara was to me, the most insufferable of all the characters (but there were many close seconds). I couldn't understand what this woman's problem was, she came across just so angry, bitter, uptight and sharp-tongued. I completely understood why her sisters, husband and daughter hated her guts! Who wouldn't completely detest this woman? And the scene where she lost her temper at the dinner table and acted snarky to the doctor, all I could do was shake my head that a grown-a** woman was behaving in such a manner. At the end when she asked her husband if he would come back to her and he told her "probably not" and that he was taking their daughter with him, all I could think was "serves you right, bitch."
Juliette Lewis plays Karen, the middle sister. Although to me she came across as ditsy, flighty, shallow and a bit immature, I did not actually hate her character. I just felt she was a product of a dysfunctional family, who was starved for at least one person to treat her the way a woman should be treated. I did think she was stupid for still running off with her fiancé, even after he gave her 14-year old niece pot, and tried to fool around with her. It did make me think "what's wrong with you woman? Is your extravagant honeymoon all you care about, and not that your future husband is a pothead perv with an apparent wandering eye?"
Ivy, the youngest sister was played by Julianne Nicholson. SHE had a relationship with her first-cousin, (turning out to be half-brother) which to me was disgusting. I don't care if you had a hysterectomy and offspring are out of the question, you're sleeping with a man who is RELATED CLOSELY to you! It's already wrong if you're a distant cousin, but this man is your FIRST DAMN COUSIN/HALF BROTHER. And when she finds out about his fraternal status in relation to her, she blames Barbara and their mother? How is that either of their faults?
Wrapping this up, if you're into watching drama and a bunch of dysfunctional individuals tear each other apart, then this movie is for you. As aforementioned, it's the only thing this movie has going for it, as a narrative, it does not. I admit, it sure did a good job of building up to a prospective resolution (the viewer may assume that each character comes to their senses and everything patches up to be rosy) but the ending proves to be a disappointment, and just makes the viewer feel as if Tracy Letts decided that he was too lazy to try and create a resolution, and just gave up on the story
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (2011)
Not horrible, but not as good as the movie
This show is not horrible, but it's definitely not as good as the KFP movies. The show trails Po and the Furious Five following the Kung Fu Panda movies. Other reviewers have described Po as "not being in character", but in my opinion, it actually depicts quite well of how Po would behave now, considering his personality mixed with his newfound fame and success. However, this newfound fame and success, he does not actually deserve considering his skills still leave much to be desired, which I believe plays a part in the annoyance factor of the show. Overall, it's not the first show I would flick to on my TV, but I'm not going to say I hate it.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
One of the few worthwhile movies in a while
To me, the movie was quite entertaining. I believe the cast delivered their roles quite well, and that it portrayed the antics, manipulation and dirt of Wall St. in an entertaining manner. Leonardo DiCaprio pulled off that "rich young wide-eyed guy" role quite well, in my opinion. I did think they overdid it with the drug use, although there were points where it became quite humorous. The "antagonist" if you could call him that, did come off in the way he should have: a devotee trying to do his job, even if he did take it to a boy-scout level of douchebaggery (is that even a word? LOL). I did not think Jonah Hill fit in his role though, I think they could have chosen another actor with a better persona of what his character was. Will this movie be the next Avatar or Lord of the Rings? No, by no means will it ever be. Will this movie win any awards? No, by no means will it ever win any awards (perhaps maybe a small nomination, but no wins). It is also quite long, almost 3 hours. If sitting through a movie longer than 100 minutes is not your thing, then I wouldn't recommend this movie.
Sanjay and Craig (2013)
Nickelodeon is going down the tubes
I had nothing else on TV to watch, and had some time to kill. I love cartoons and animations, so I decided to check out this show. I have heard yay or nay about it, but from watching this show, I can say that I am disgusted with what Nickelodeon has become and who they're hiring to create shows for them. The creators of this show look and act like they're on crack, and it reflects in their work. This show is about a kid and his talking pet snake and their weird adventures with the weird individuals they encounter. And the humor is all bathroom or bodily secretion-related, one simply cannot watch this show if they have a weak stomach. I checked the TV guide, and I do not see any episodes airing any time soon, so I desperately hope that Nickelodeon gets a clue and pulls this horrible piece of GARBAGE off the air.
Out of the Furnace (2013)
Hard to follow, horrible story-writing, decent acting
I have nothing against Christian Bale, I think he did a fine job in The Dark Knight. However, it seems that after The Dark Knight, the movies he's been in have just gone downhill. Out of the Furnace was no exception. The story-writing was choppy, very difficult to follow. I also was baffled by the random scenes that had NOTHING to do with what was currently happening, thrown in between of what was currently happening. That made the story extremely confusing. Was the screen writer and director trying to experiment with some new form of cinema? (And if they were, it does NOT work, I hope they don't try to take that concept to the patent office.) Also, the drama was slow and seemed to build up, but slowly decline backwards. It was like a kid pulling a wagon up a steep hill, nearly reaching the top, but letting go of the wagon and letting it roll back downhill, without actually making it to the top. I also was confused as to where the climax was. I don't think this movie really had one. The acting wasn't bad, in fact, it was very good. However, the screen writing SUCKED. I actually was upset when this movie ended, I felt like I was dooped an hour and a half of my time. I really hope whoever wrote this script, directed this film & produced it, will never work again.