Time for a film

12 films in one week, it certainly was a busy one. With under two months until my Top 50 of 2012, I saw Not Suitable for Children, Premium Rush, On The Road and Hick. I also rewatched Pitch Perfect and The Dictator.

I saw two fantastic movies from the last 15 years in Eyes Wide Shut and 500 Days of Summer, as well as seeing some other popular films in Juno and Deliverance. I saw Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou which was just ok and Glengarry Glen Ross which unfortunately I didn’t really enjoy.
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Not Suitable for Children (2012) – I was pleasantly surprised by this Aussie film looking at a young man who gets testicular cancer and who’s sperm isn’t viable to be frozen. It’s funny and feels real, with stand out performances from Sarah Snook and Ryan Kwanten. It’s nothing amazing but will be in my Top 50 of the year I would think as it was entertaining and brought up some great thinking points when it comes to life and continuing your legacy. B 

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) – “The leads are weak!”. This movie about Real Estate agents has a fantastic cast including Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris and Jonathan Pryce. Unfortunately, I found it to be too talky for me (it is very much a dialogue film) and I was quite bored throughout. Simply not my type of movie. Little Trivia: there are 138 uses of the F word! C+

Premium Rush (2012) – This film is certainly different. I don’t think it works though and the first 20 minutes or so will really put people off with too much jumping out of the screen. It gets into a little groove though and isn’t the worst entertainment you could ask for. The characters are all a bit strange, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a bike courier who gets more then he bargained for with a certain high priority package. Michael Shannon plays a bad cop who chases him around the streets. It’s quite a frustrating film but I did find myself quite interested. Could probably have dimmed down the constant shot changes and movement on the screen. B-

500 Days of Summer (2009) – Definitely the best JGL film I saw this week, this love story also stars the lovely Zooey Deschanel as Summer, Tom’s (Levitt) infatuation. I don’t know what about this film makes it so emotional in the end, perhaps the real, lifelike performances from the two leads. I also liked how it switches between time periods constantly, enhancing the strong emotions each way. Definitely a must see! A-

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) – After loving Moonrise Kingdom I’ve been making a conscious effort to check out Wes Anderson‘s other films, with little success so far. As usual it’s a big cast including Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum and Kate Blanchett, but it just didn’t have the charm I was after. It still wasn’t bad, just not a film I would recommend to others. B-

On The Road (2012) – I was expecting a snooze fest, and while long and a bit slow, it surprised me to an extent. I’m a Kristen Stewart fan and she shows a fair bit of skin which often kept me awake during this one! The other leads of Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley are decent, with smaller roles for Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams and Steve Buscemi also featuring. The final 15 minutes is superb and almost bumped it up to a B- as I love a good ending, however it was still too slow and long for a better grade. C+

Juno (2007) – I enjoyed this indie flick about a teen girl (Ellen Page) getting pregnant and teenage issues she and the father of the baby (Michael Cera) deal with. However, it is very overrated and I’m simply shocked it was Best Picture nominated. Olivia Thirlby was fantastic as her friend and I’m keen to check out her other films after loving her in Dredd. I used to think I liked Ellen Page as an actress, but I found her to be annoying in this one. Still, it has it’s moments and I was never really bored. B

Hick (2012) – I am a big Chloe Moretz fan so just had to check this out. Unfortunately, it feels like a bunch of supporting actors (Moretz, Blake Lively, Eddie Redmayne) playing lead roles and it simply didn’t work. The material was a bit creepy and the story goes nowhere. At times it reminded me of On the Road, Drive, Killer Joe and Trust. One particular scene is extremely similar to the elevator drive scene was interesting. C

Pitch Perfect (2012) <<< Click here for my review. My top comedy of the year! A-

Deliverance (1972) – A bunch of adults go on a canoeing trip when things take a turn for the worse. I wasn’t a big fan but there’s no denying some key scenes are magnificent, including early on. B

Eyes Wide Shut (1999) – One of the best films I have ever seen, truly mesmerising and I was glued to the screen. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman star, but really, it’s the tense build ups and accompanying soundtrack and sounds that make this movie so gripping. The time flew by even though it’s over 2 and a half hours. The ending is abrupt and threw me a little, but I still loved it and there’s a lot to take in overall. It’s a very adult film with lots of nudity, but it’s the mystery of it all that entrhalled me. A must see. A
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Over the next fortnight I will be seeing a lot of 2012 films including Les Miserables, The Impossible, Life of Pi, Cloud Atlas and The Hobbit! Which movies above did you like/dislike more than me?