Long before Claire Danes began earning multiple Emmy Awards as the bipolar Carrie Mathison on Showtime’s knock-out series Homeland, she starred in lesser-known independent movies like Brokedown Palace, Igby Goes Down, and 2005’s completely underappreciated Shopgirl. I watched this movie for the first time back in 2008 or 2009 and was blown away by how awesome and authentic it felt. This was long before Homeland. I have since watched every episode of Homeland (including seasons 1 and 2 twice each), so it was cool to re-watch Shopgirl, knowing everything that I know about the character she plays on the television show that earned her fame. Ironically, this was the first movie that Steve Martin (Parenthood, Three Amigos!) wrote. It turns out he’s written dozens of films (including Three Amigos!, Roxanne, LA Story, The Jerk, and Bowfinger), but this was his first non-comedy. The difference was that with Shopgirl, he wrote the novel in addition to the screenplay. And let me say that he did a great job. I had a couple of problems (which I will include below), but for the most part, he killed it. I would not read this review unless you’ve seen this movie. It’s going to be chock-full of spoilers. I would love to hear your thoughts on it if you have had a chance to see it. If you haven’t, you can just stop reading now and check out the movie.
Category Archives: Drama
The Gambler (2014)
Rupert Wyatt’s (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Star Trek 3) The Gambler is a movie that should have done better both with critics and at the box office. Accruing just $33 million domestically and a 46% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, this movie deserved a better fate. Sure, it has its flaws, but 98% of all movies do. One factor against The Gambler was that it wasn’t striking the right audience. The first preview of this movie was a quick 30-second throwaway commercial during a ball game. I do not recall seeing a more extended trailer for this movie in the theater. When I saw the television commercial, it made it seem like a shoot-’em-up action flick. That’s not what it was at all.
Freedom Writers (2007)
If this movie had not been based on a true story, I would have given it a meager score (less than 50%). Even though it was based on a true story, it felt very cheesy and overly sentimental, with way too much overacting. Its design evoked emotion and tugged at our heartstrings, making us believe that one person can make a difference simply by caring. If this story were fiction, it would be utterly unrealistic. And just because it is based on a true story doesn’t mean the real-life events played out exactly as shown in the movie. I’ve learned that “based on a true story” differs from “the following story is entirely true.” My most life-altering experience of this is Remember the Titans. When I discovered how many changes were made to make this story a more moving movie experience, I became very skeptical of Hollywood. Keep in mind that, even though Remember the Titans came out in 2000, I did not realize how glamorized Hollywood made it until a few years ago, when I was surfing the Internet and decided to look into the history of Virginia high school football. When I saw that the TC Williams Titans did not beat Andrew Lewis High School in the state championship game 10-7, but rather defeated them 27-0, I began to wonder what else Disney embellished in the telling of this story. It turned out that they embellished a ton.
Ex Machina (2015)
Sometimes, when you see a movie that you know nothing about, you are treated with an unknown little treat – a film that will stick with you forever. Ex Machina is the movie this year. My comparison here is to the Brad Pitt/Morgan Freeman gem Seven. It was a movie I knew nothing about. I had only heard that it was a movie I must see through word of mouth. Seven probably has a place in my all-time top 25 forever. That’s how good it was. But a lot of this initially high rating was because of how in awe I was when I saw it in such a small, rickety stage theater converted into a movie theater in Lexington, VA, in the fall of 1997. Now, Ex Machina is not in the class of Seven. But like Seven, it is a gripping, carefully scripted movie that will stay with you long after you watch it. Ex Machina will challenge for best movie of the first half of 2015.
Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Joshua Marston’s (The Forgiveness of Blood) Maria Full of Grace is one of the best foreign-language films I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, I watched this movie on the heels of another foreign-language film (A Girl Walks Home At Night), which, despite its 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I found incredibly dull and had no interest in reviewing. So I was unsure about watching another subtitled movie the next day, but I am glad I gave it a fair chance. It’s a great movie that tells a heart-wrenching and believable story.