Completely flying under the radar in an otherwise crowded December release schedule (Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Concussion, Joy, The Hateful Eight, The Revenant) is Adam McKay’s (Step Brothers, The Other Guys) The Big Short, a movie that is neither short on star power or storytelling. While most will find this movie riveting, it will, unfortunately, hit a little too close to home for many viewers. This movie, while at times challenging to understand, will leave you dumbfounded that what happened actually happened not in some far-off land in a time long ago, but right here in our own backyard just a few years ago. I promise not to explain this movie and then talk about some of the pros and cons. I will do my absolute best not to provide spoilers in this review.
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Category Archives: Marisa Tomei
The Wrestler (2008)
Darren Aronofsky’s (Black Swan, The Fountain) The Wrestler was my most anticipated movie of 2008. Professional wrestling is my guilty pleasure. I don’t watch it every week, and I never order a pay-per-view (okay, maybe Wrestlemania now and then), but I know what is happening. I also have a few compilation DVDs of some of my favorite wrestlers. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) really is a soap opera in an alternative form. When I first heard a movie coming out called The Wrestler, I figured it would be some lame comedy that made fun of the world of professional wrestling. When I heard that it was not, but was being referred to as not just one of the top 10 movies of the year but the performance of Mickey Rourke’s (A Prayer For The Dying, 9 1/2 Weeks ) career, I knew it was a movie I would see just as quickly as I could. The main problem was that I had to wait forever to see it. It was only filmed in cities like New York and Los Angeles for the longest period. Once it came closer to Washington DC, it was still in just one theater which was not very close to my house. Finally, some two months after dying to see the movie, I got my wish when it came to our local artsy theater. By then, the film could not live up to its hype.
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Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
Crazy, Stupid, Love. is a terrific, lighthearted romantic comedy. In many of my reviews, I’ve stated that 2010 was the best year for movie releases, despite not having that one super scary or laugh-out-loud funny movie that you would expect a great year to have, I have also noted this to be the case. While 2011 has yet to come close to measuring up to 2010 (based on what I’ve been seeing/reading about the fall/award season releases), it has had some good movies. It’s had three films already that I would put in my Top 20 comedies of all time. I don’t think any of these are in that Top 10 range, but Horrible Bosses, The Hangover Part 2, and Crazy, Stupid, Love. All fall into that second tier. I believe Bridesmaids will also fall into this group once I see it. In terms of pure comedy, Crazy, Stupid, Love. doesn’t have as many laughs until your stomach hurts movies, but I would say that it is the best overall movie in this group. This movie had the potential to be great, but like many good movies that don’t reach that elevated status, there is a flaw in the screenplay that is very hard to ignore.