If one trailer in 2013 left you thinking, “That movie could either be good or terrible,” it was the trailer of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. This movie stars Ben Stiller, more or less, outside of his usual comedy genre. This movie is certainly not There’s Something About Mary or Meet the Parents. This isn’t the equivalent of Ed Helms in Jeff Who Lives at Home, Jim Carey in The Truman Show, or Will Ferrell in Everything Must Go. Those movies, each starring a comedic actor outside of their comfort zone, were more dramas, whereas this movie is both a drama and an adventure. In many regards, I appreciate the effort of Stiller venturing into something new. I think there is a place for a character of his ability in similar films. Unfortunately, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is not this movie. The movie is rated PG, and I’m not entirely sure why. This isn’t Night at the Museum. I don’t feel like the younger audiences had/would have much interest in this movie. And even if it did appeal to this group, I’m not sure Stiller is the star to lead it. Maybe, but I’m not convinced. With that said, I appreciate a movie that aims for the PG rating when it seems it could easily drift towards the PG-13 rating
Continue reading The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (2013)
Category Archives: Drama
School Ties (1992)
In many ways, Robert Mandel’s (F/X, The Substitute) School Ties is a timeless movie. Released in 1992, this movie, set around a prep school in the 1950s, is just as entertaining and essential 20 years after it was release date as it would have been if it had been, had it been released 20 years before. It revolves around a school’s honor code which has been, is, and always will be a topic that strikes at our inner core. We all view an honor code differently. We always have and will always continue to. For some of us, it’s a governing body that is more important than any criminal law. For others, it is something we sweep under the rug and forget about as quickly as we are informed about it. For most of us, it is something in between and can cause our thoughts to vary about it, to some degree, depending on time, place, and circumstance.
Continue reading School Ties (1992)
Closer (2004)
What a depressing movie Mike Nichols’s Closer was. And this is coming from a guy who loves this genre. But I’m not a fan of movies where all of the lead characters intentionally hurt other people just so they can feel better about themselves, just like I’m not a fan of people hurting other people intentionally in real life. But this movie was all of that and a bag of chips. I THINK I knew that was going on. I remember seeing previews for this way back in 2004 and thinking that this was not a movie that I had any interest in seeing. It made me think of the Woody Harrelson/Demi Moore movie Indecent Proposal for some reason, a film that I saw in theater at age 17 that I had no business seeing as a 17-year-old. Talk about a couple of movies that destroy the sanctity of marriage. So while this movie held my interest, primarily because of the actors involved, it’s a movie I’ll remember for a while that I wish I could forget instantly.
Continue reading Closer (2004)
Snow Angels (2007)
I’m a huge fan of small-town dramas (not the ones that are dispersed with quirky, sarcastic, or black humor, but the really heavy dramas), so when the unheard movie Snow Angels fell into my lap, it felt too good to be true. This movie made less than $500,000 at the box office despite some mostly positive acclaim from the critics (67% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). It stars a couple of A-list celebrities, Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, Brokedown Palace) and Sam Rockwell (Moon, The Way Way Back), and some unknown actors and actresses who gave some dynamite performances. While the moving will depress you, it is a wonderfully crafted movie that fans of these small-town dramas would most likely enjoy. Fans of Rockwell should most certainly see this movie as this is one of the finest performances of his career.
Continue reading Snow Angels (2007)
Rush (2013)
Rush is a movie that I thought would be dumb based on the trailer. If produced n the early 80s, I would have been all about it. But with so many sports movies created since then, I honestly feel like there isn’t much that is able to make it feel original. So many sports movies have the “been there/done that” approach. They retell Rocky over and over and over again. On top of that, it’s a car racing movie, which is generally something that doesn’t interest me. Also, it is Formula 1 racing, which I find far less exciting than NASCAR. I’ve never seen a Formula 1 race live, and the experience certainly doesn’t translate on the screen for me…especially the road races. Finally, the name of the movie bothered me. There is already a fantastic movie called Rush that came out in 1991 and starred Jason Patric (he was born to play the roles of troubled police detectives) and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It’s a small thing, but something that I thought Ron Howard would respect. Despite these factors going against it before the opening titles even rolled, I found the movie to be a great story, quite enjoyable, and well directed.
Continue reading Rush (2013)