Lars and the Real Girl (2007) Movie Review

Bianca in a box

I have to admit I really enjoyed this movie. Its one of those movie that has a lot of heart in it. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry and then it makes you all confused as to why you're crying over a doll.

Movie Summary:

This movie tells the story of Lars (amazing performance by Ryan Gosling, the guy in The Notebook). Lars is a socially inept guy from the pain of losing his parents when he was a child. For the most part, he is a sweet and gentle guy. But he prefers to be alone and seems unable to react accordingly especially around Margo (Kelli Garner) who he seems to have a crush on. Everyone around him loves him so despite his solitary life choice. The story then goes to show that Lars' choice to be alone is not a choice at all. It seems that he has an illness. His condition deteriorates to the point of buying an anatomically correct doll and having a delusion that she is a real person. He named her Bianca and claimed they are a couple. Bianca is a wheelchair bound missionary from Brazil and they met online. However, instead of ridiculing him, everyone around Lars - his brother, sister in law, friends and everybody in town - went out of their way to treat Bianca as though she was a real girl. They gave her a warm welcome and accepted hey into their community. This turn of event eventually meant Lars was, bit by bit, more socially involved with everyone. However, good things always comes to an end. Towards the end of the movie, it was revealed that Bianca is dying. As Lars and Bianca spent their final time together at the lake, he gave her their first and final kiss. She died shortly after. At her funeral, where everyone from the town attended, he finally manage to hook up with Margo who has had a crush on him from the beginning.

Lars and the Dominatrix from Hell

What I think of the movie:

This is without a doubt one of the best movie that I've had the privilege of watching. This movie has so much heart in it. I love how the people around Lars decided to treat Bianca as their own. It's so beautiful what they did for him. The scene where Lars brought Bianca to a party - I assumed it was the first time ever Lars went to a social event - is well put together. I love how everyone talked to Lars and Bianca as though they were a couple. And then the host even danced with Bianca. And then came the part where Bianca was laying in bed sick. They came over and kept Lars company. "That's what people do when tragedy strikes. They come over and sit." Utter brilliance. They practically bend over backwards in taking care of Bianca just because they care so much for this guy and want to see him get better. Shows the power of acceptance and compassion in healing a troubled soul.

"Mrs Sue, I wanna be a doll when I grow up."

The town's acceptance of Bianca brought her to life on screen. However credit should be given where credit is due. And the guy who deserves a truck load of credit (and more!) is definitely Ryan Gosling. His portrayal of Lars is nothing short of spectacular. I would imagine it would be hard to play a character that has to act with an inanimate object. Tom Hanks did it in Cast Away with the volleyball Wilson. Well Gosling still has a long way to go before he can even begin to be compared with Tom Hanks but his acting definitely deserves the highest of praise. The way he carried the character Lars as he grows throughout the movie is amazing. In the beginning Lars was mostly quiet and avoids eye contact most of the times. When Bianca appeared in his life, you can see the twinkle in his eyes. You can see how happy he was. And when she died at the end of the movie? Oh my god! You can feel the pain in his heart. You can't help but feel his god damn pain.

Manly tears were shed.

The rest of the cast are also outstanding. Even though its obvious that this kind of movie focuses on the main actor, the ones in the background helps this movie come out on top. Emily Mortimer as Karin, the loving sister in law is for lack of a better word, perfect. Karin is shown to genuinely care about Lars, always concerned about his well being. Kelli Garner brings the warm and sweet Margo to life as the rival to Bianca. Patricia Clackson is Dagmar, the family doctor and psychiatrist who treats Lars condition in the movie. Her performance as the compassionate doctor would put any counselor to shame.

This movie is more than your average chicken soup for the soul. Its fresh and charming at the same time. Its daring yet delicate. Sincere and pure. No doubt this is one of my favorite movie of all time.

The Losers (2010) Movie Review

Don't be fooled by the cool poster

Crappy doesn't even begin to describe how bad this movie is. Yes, that is how much I hate this movie.

Movie Summary:

The movie tells of a group of highly trained soldiers from the United States Special Forces consisting of leader Colonel Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, that Danny guy from Grey's Anatomy), second in command Rouge (Idris Elba, no idea who this guy is), the hacker Jensen (Chris Evans, Human Torch in the movie Fantastic Four), sniper Cougar (Óscar Jaenada), and pilot Pooch (Columbus Short). The team, aptly named The Losers, in the beginning of the movie, is on a mission to kill a man named Fadhil in the Bolivia jungle. During the mission they were betrayed from the inside by a seemingly powerful enemy named Max. The team was presumed dead and without passports or money, are stuck in Bolivia. Cue Aisha (played by Zoe Saldana of Avatar), a wanted operative from no where with the promise of money and a way back into the US in return for Max's head. So the team goes on to take revenge on Max losing Rouge to betrayal along the way. In the end, they managed to stop Max's plan to start a war but Max himself managed to escape.

What I think of the movie:

I believe the plot or storyline is mediocre. Nothing special about it. A team of highly trained soldiers out for revenge after being betrayed. Reminds me of the awesome movie A-Team. In fact it's safe to say this is the B movie version of The A Team. The Losers are The B Team. Same basic idea, less entertaining.

The B Team

First of all I find the movie try too hard to be cool. Each and every one of the characters are portrayed to be the typical cool "highly trained" soldiers but in the end the cliches and cheesy one liners only managed to give off the impression of a pathetic attempt to be stylish. I believe the plan where they intend to capture Max in Miami can be thought of by a 10 year old. I mean seriously. A critical part of the plan was to lift up the van where Max is suppose to be in with a huge magnet attached with a chain to a helicopter. Sounds cool? Hell yes! Is it cool when carried out? A big fat NO! When the helicopter is trying to stick the magnet to the van, the bad guys started shooting at the helicopter. Obviously. But the helicopter took maybe 4 or 5 minutes to make sure the magnet is directly centered on the van. All the while it never occurred to the bad guys to actually move the van. The van just stayed put in its placed, not moving an inch letting the pilot adjust the magnet ever so carefully to stick on the van. Speechless. One more thing I find idiotic about the plot. The team is suppose to be highly trained right? Yes. There is a hacker among the team right? True. Then why the hell did it took two third of the movie to figure out that Aisha is the daughter of Fadhil? Background check fail. And how did they react when they found out? They began shooting at her. That's right. Five "highly trained" United States Special Forces emptied their guns on a girl. And guess what? They only managed to scrap her shoulder and she escaped. All together now, Facepalm.

Usually hot girls with guns are a sure success. In this movie? Not so much.

The casts are highly flawed. I don't know if the blame should fall entirely on the actors or writers. Each of the characters are supposed to have their own unique characteristics. Clay, the clear headed leader, planner of all of their operations. Rouge, the hot tempered second in command, highly skilled in close combat. Jensen, the joker hacker providing the humor. Cougar, the quiet guy on the team, genius with the rifle and Pooch the laid back married with children driver. None of the team members quite got it with their characters. Clay as the team leader is indecisive and is in no way clear headed when Aisha is around. Rouge's betrayal on the team was poorly done and seems like a huge plot hole. Jensen is the very definition of cliches. A ladies man who cracks jokes at every corner. Chris Evans as Human Torch in Fantastic Four was very funny. As Jake Jensen? Not even close. Cougar gives this aura as the quiet dangerous guy. But his quiet demeanor provokes laughter rather than awe. And Pooch? He can't seem to decide whether to be the funny black guy or the serious mature one. Together, The Losers team pretty much lived up to their name.

But, I guess there is one win in this movie:

Hot chick with missile launcher!

Thank you Mr Jensen

With that I leave you with this: The Losers is one of those action movies that only have excessive action sequence to rely on but failed at that too.

Whip It (2009) Movie Review

Lean, mean, green machine

A brilliant directorial debut from one of my favorite actress Drew Barrymore, starring Ellen Page, who is on the fast track of joining Drew up there

Movie Summary:

Bliss Cavender (Ellen Page) is a 17 year old girl who is a regular contestant in beauty pageants just because her mother thinks highly of the event. She, like many teenage girls out there, don't quite share her mother's enthusiasm.

Next up, Swimwear! Owh wait, this is underage pageant.

One day, she came across a flyer for a roller derby exhibition bout between Hurl Scouts and Holly Rollers. She and her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat) went to check out the contest and Bliss unexpectedly took an interest in the sporting event. After lying about her age, she entered the try outs for the team Hurl Scouts. Being a small girl that she is, her high speed on the skates gave her the extra edge and she got accepted in the team. The Hurl Scouts consists of mature single mother Maggie Mayham (Kristen Wigg), butch Bloody Holly (Zoe Bell), sarcastic Rosa Sparks (Eve) and crazy Smashley Simpson (Drew Barrymore). Despite having Razor (Andrew Wilson) as their coach, the team usually opts to do whatever they think is fun on the tracks. Bliss - aka Babe Ruthless when she puts her skates on - who is faster than any girl on the team, quickly became the ace. The movie then turns on a little romance when she met a young rock guitarist, Oliver (Landon Pigg). However a series of events turns Bliss's world upside down. Her best friend Pash got arrested for underage drinking at one of the derby tournament, Oliver cheated on her while on tour with his band and her team mates found out she is below the required age of 21 to be able to compete in the tournaments. She needed one of her parents to sign a letter of consent for her to continue the game which was a problem since they were not too happy about what happened to Pash and finding out her new past time. After patching things up with her parents, she finally made it to the final game of the tournament against biggest rival Holly Rollers.

Let's get jiggy with it

What I think of the movie:

This is the kind of movie you watch when you want to sit back and relax after a long day of work. The tone of the movie is light and you don't need to think much to enjoy this movie. Its fun, quirky and downright entertaining. The scenes with the Hurl Scouts are never boring. They're are the type of happy go lucky bunch that you would love to hang out with. Always having fun and laughing all the way. I love the scene where they lost a bout but still celebrated being number two even though as Razor sarcastically put it, "We came in second out of two teams. Nice."

Group hug anyone?

Although this is mostly a fun, upbeat movie, it is not without some dramatic scene. This is shown when Bliss is faced with conflict. Having proved that she is a tough girl on the tracks, her world shattered when she is faced with one problem after another. It was an emotional battle both with herself and the people around her. Eventually this lead to her becoming stronger which is shown when she confronted her biggest rival Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) in the final round against the Holly Rollers.

Like always, everything comes down to a staring contest

The casts are splendid. Ellen Page as Bliss aka Babe Ruthless is simply superb. Although I've only seen her in two other movies (Juno and Smart People), she is no doubt my new favorite actress. Her character Bliss is an awkward, down to earth girl. But when she puts her skates on, she is ruthless and her eyes glimmer with determination. The scene where she hit rock bottom and finally broke down and cried is, for lack of a better word, flawless.

Breaks yer heart dunit?

The rest of the casts are commendable. As individuals they don't stand out much. But together, they are perfect. The chemistry between them is amazing. You can clearly see they enjoy working with each other. Its easy to assume that these people are great friends off set which translates to a great performance on screen.

Laughter is after all an orgasm triggered by intercourse between sense and nonsense

Owh and Jimmy Fallon as "Hot Tubs" Johnny Rocket, the commentator of the games, is frickin' hilarious.

"Live from Saturday Night!"

Overall this is the movie to watch when you want to unwind at the end of the day. It'll cheer you up any day of the week.

The Very First Post

Hello there

Like so many blogs out there, the very first post is usually a greeting to no one in particular and a disbelief announcement that the blogger has finally decided to create a blog. I guess mine's no different that all the other first post out there.

Hello to no one in particular and Oh My God! I can't believe I just decided to create a blog.

Got that out of the way. Moving on.

This blog is in no way going to be my personal every day diary where I write about my everyday life. This is not going to be a chronicle of what I ate, who I ran into, what I saw that day and so on and so forth. It's not like my life is not interesting. I find my life very interesting. At least to myself. However that does not mean I find it necessary to convey my life to others.

I have a basic idea of what this blog is going to be. My main plan for this blog would be the place where I write my reviews. Movie reviews to be exact. I love watching movies and I do have quite a strong opinion on each movie that I watched. If I like or dislike a certain movie, I have a reason why. It may be because of the storyline or the casts. The setting or the unpredictable twist at the end. And usually I have the urge to write how I feel towards these movies. But so far I've written maybe 2 or 3 reviews. The main thing that's preventing me from writing reviews for all the movies that I watched would be because I have no dedicated space to put them in. Well I guess that ends now.

The reviews I'm going to write are not necessarily going to be written on movies that are still in theaters. There are mostly going to be written on the ones that have been out for quite some time now. Old movies if you may. Although I love movies, I don't actually go out and watch them every single weekend. I have my own favorite genre of movies and I tend to find those from the video store and watch them. Usually after I read the summary and decided they are going to be worth spending 2 hours of my life on.

From time to time I guess the reviews may cover TV series and even music but since I don't have an extensive knowledge on them, I'm going to stick to the one I'm good at.

I guess that would be all for the very first post. I look forward to start my writing in the following posts.

Goodbye to no one in particular