Add The Campaign to the list of laugh-out-loud Will Ferrell (Old School, The Other Guys) movies. For as many misses as Will Ferrell has (like Case de mi padre, Land of the Lost, and Semi-Pro), he strikes gold just as often. He’s not the draw that he was at the height of his career (between 2003-2005), but he still can make me laugh as well as any other actor out there. At the same time, he plays roughly the same type of character in most of his movies. It doesn’t make him any less funny. He has gone overboard in some of his films (Blades of Glory, Anchorman), but when he lets the script come to him, he’s a lot of fun to watch on the screen.
Continue reading The Campaign (2012)
Category Archives: 2012
Amour (2012)
Michael Haneke’s (Funny Games, Time of the Wolf) Amour might not be the most depressing movie of the year, but it is the most horrifying. The plot line could be “growing old with the one you love the most while facing life’s misery.” Instead, this movie is simply about the deterioration of a wife and what an elderly husband is able and willing to do to take care of her when she can no longer care for herself. A universal belief is that we all want to age gracefully and not impose on others. A universal truth, I know, is that this does not often happen. The idea that a husband and wife can fall in love in their 20s, live 60 years with minimal health issues, and then die in their sleep on the same night isn’t realistic, no matter how much we want it to be. In all likelihood, each spouse will rely on the help of their partner. In the end, one partner will most likely care for and make the decisions of the other. That’s what this movie shows us. And it shows us to it in an oh-so-brutal way.
Continue reading Amour (2012)
The Sessions (2012)
When we come across some of the most extraordinary people or find ourselves in the most fortunate situations, we are least looking for those. At times we are presented with the greatest of gifts that, at one point, we could never have imagined and, the next, you can’t imagine how you ever functioned prior. I imagine this is how you might feel when you know you have found your lifelong partner or when you have a child. I’ve had three of these moments in my life. While I have discussed these other two moments very, very infrequently with anyone, there is one that I will share often. It involves my wonderful niece Jessica. Today (February 17, 2013) is her birthday. She just turned 25. She recently married her high school boyfriend. She’s a teacher. Besides me, Jessica is the only teacher in either of our extended families. She is as wonderful of a human being as you will ever meet. She is and has always been so sweet, kind, and intelligent. She’s wise beyond her years but still has this youthful appreciation for life’s little gems. I love her so much and am so proud to be her uncle. I was asked to be an usher at her wedding this past fall, which was one of my life’s great honors. With only a 12-year age gap between us, I do think of her as a little sister as much as I do a niece. I’ll touch on more of this later in this review.
Continue reading The Sessions (2012)
Life of Pi (2012)
Life of Pi is a visual masterpiece that film purists should not miss. If this movie is all intriguing to you, I recommend seeing it as quickly as possible. To experience the true value of this movie, it must be seen in the theater. The 3D effects are superb, but just as important is experiencing this movie on the largest screen available. As I told a friend, if you only go to the cinema a handful of times per year, there might be better movies to see. I might even recommend a film that isn’t as good as Life of Pi based on your preferences. But if your goal is to see as many great movies as you can in one year, this is not to be missed.
Continue reading Life of Pi (2012)
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
This review will be brief. Unfortunately, I need to be more well-versed to write a comprehensive review of this movie. I certainly can’t write one as well as a critic who reviews movies as their profession. I’m sure I can’t write one as well as somebody who knows the facts of the takedown of Osama bin Laden. Like the movie Lincoln, this movie is an important educational tool and should be seen by many, but as a vehicle of entertainment, it underwhelms. I told my friends after our viewing that I’m growing a little tired of movies being an hour or longer than they need to be. This is the case with Zero Dark Thirty. Not only was it over two and a half hours long, but it felt like it was two movies in one.
Continue reading Zero Dark Thirty (2012)