Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Review of the Reviews

 

Silver Linings Playbook






      Silver Linings Playbook was released in 2012 and Bradley Cooper plays "Pat Solatano", a man with bipolar disorder who is released from a psychiatric hospital and moves back in with his parents, played by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver. Determined to win back his estranged wife, Pat meets recently widowed Tiffany Maxwell, played by Jennifer Lawrence, who offers to help him get his wife back if he enters a dance competition with her. The two become closer as they train and Pat, his father, and Tiffany examine their relationships with each other as they cope with their problems.

      After reading a few reviews of this movie, this is a few different things that I found. There was an outstanding number of good reviews for this movie, which is already a good sign. Andrew O'Hehir, from salon.com, said, "It's a rom-com that succeeds in revitalizing that discredited genre where so many others have failed, injecting it with the grit and emotion of realist drama rather than with amped-up whimsy or social satire or montages of people walking on the beach." Also, Lisa Schwarzbaum, from Entertainment Weekly, stated, "A crazy beaut of a comedy that brims with generosity and manages to circumvent predictability at every turn."

    
     Out of all the positive comments, I came across some that weren't as nice. Rex Reed, from the New York Observer, stated, "There's nothing wrong with the overrated Jennifer Lawrence that some serious acting lessons couldn't improve. The rest of the actors are pretty much on their own." As you can see, this critic has something against Jennifer Lawrence as a actress. Another tough critique, made by Keith Uhlich, "It's impossible to shake the sense that what felt thrillingly, cohesively alive in the director's earlier movies plays here with more laurel-resting creakiness than go-for-broke verve."


   I agree with the quote,"a crazy beaut of a comedy that brims with generosity and manages to circumvent predictability at every turn." I think this quote explains the movie pretty well and it makes someone who has never seen it more interested in it. I didn't expect things to happen in this movie, every scene is unpredictable


   If I was looking at these reviews, deciding whether or not I wanted to see the movie, I would have to agree with all the positive ones. On the Rotten Tomatoes website, almost every single review was a positive one. The few that were not positive, they were not very convincing to as why the movie was not great. 


   If I was reviewing this movie, I would want to make sure how much of a connection the two main actors had and how that really made the movie flourish. The plot is one that you don't see too much of, which is why it makes it unique. I think everyone should see this movie, it doesn't have one specific intended audience, it is relatable and interesting to all age groups. 


Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Film Intro Survey




1. What is the first movie that really made a strong impression on you?

Signs made a strong impression on me because when I was 8 I watched it for the first time and the aliens in it really freaked me out and still to this day, I don't like it very much.

2.  What are 3-4 of your favorite genres?

Drama, Comedy, Action/Adventure, and Horror

3. What are 3-4 of your least favorite genres?

Silent, War, Western, and Foreign

4. What are your five favorite films?

The Breakfast Club, Wild Hogs, The Dark Knight, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Limitless

5. List three characteristics of what you consider to be a good movie.

Intriguing, sense of humor, and relatable

6. What are some of your least favorite movies?

Spring Breakers and The Wolf of Wall Street

7. List three characteristics of what you consider to be a bad movie.

Bad acting, boring story-line/plot and pointless

8. If you have any favorite directors, list them.

John Hughes

9. If you have any favorite actors/actresses, list them.

Heath Ledger, Bradley Cooper, Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Jennifer Lawrence

10. List three films that you consider important films for people to see.

The Breakfast Club, Ghost Busters, and Caddyshack

11. What's your oldest favorite film?

Caddyshack

12. What's the best movie that you've seen in the last two years?

Unbroken

13. What are the next five films on your "queue?"

Interstellar, Fight Club, Sherlock Holmes, Gone Girl, and American Sniper