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karishma-5
Reviews
Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
I laughed, I cried, I gasped, I cursed - This movie was EXCELLENT!
I put off watching this film until this past weekend because I wasn't sure if it would be worth my money. I was unduly concerned. The film was worth every penny. I might actually go watch it again. The story was heartfelt, moving, entertaining and very well directed and acted. Initially I thought I would be bored by the whole stranger-gives-sad-sap-a-makeover-to-make- him-cool bit but it was done in a very refreshing way. I thought the chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell was terrific and they should honestly do another film together.
Emma Stone's scenes with Ryan Gosling were very romantic when I least expected them to be. I thought that the romance angle would be the same old boring stuff but it really wasn't. All around, this movie surprised me. I would definitely recommend people go check it out.
Cyberbully (2011)
Important and moving plot - poor execution.
I want to preface this review by saying that I have been bullied all my life - it started (as far as I can remember) back in the 6th grade. My family and my friends allowed me to be strong in the face of the bullying and I always fought back (not physically but with my words). Nonetheless, not everyone has that kind of strength to resist the hate and not everybody survives through it. I really appreciate that there is so much awareness and action surrounding this issue, but I have to be honest, this film was poorly directed and written. The acting was well done and it's probably the only thing that saves the film over all. I felt the characters were very weak, underdeveloped and it was very hard to feel truly sympathetic towards the protagonist (Emily Osment's character Taylor) because she came across as extremely shallow and silly. The plot line with her best friend really needed to be better developed. In general the movie had real potential but it just didn't make the cut. I am normally a very emotional person but I did not shed one tear with this film. Not because I do not consider the subject matter to be serious but more so because the emotional moments just didn't seem real because of a lack of connection with the protagonist and poor story development. The most convincing moment was when Taylor's mother is in the car with her talking about her fears.
Additionally, there was another film that came out in 2005 with Alexa Vega in a similar role and situation. That story had better development and a slightly better script. You should check it out. I kind of feel like Emily Osment is being wasted on these kinds of low budget films. I wish they had done this in a bigger way. She could have really given this character and story a serious punch. She is a very talented girl.
The Defenders (2010)
An Awesome Show that is NOT UNREALISTIC - or at least not as unrealistic as some.
I absolutely love this show! Of all the LAW shows on TV right now...CBS has my two favorites! The Good Wife and The Defenders. This show is funny but smart, entertaining but realistic (at least somewhat). And the chemistry between the two lead actors is phenomenal! I love it! I'm not a professional critic but I swear to you, if you give this show a chance, you will not turn away from it. :)
The cases are unique, because of the setting (Las Vegas), and the script is genuinely well written. In a time where intelligent writing is rarely found on anything by the big networks, this show is definitely a class act. Which is not surprising considering it comes from CBS, the only network to have a drama on the top 10 Nielson shows on a consistent basis (I am referring to NCIS - the only show that is able to compete with Dancing with the stars and other reality shows that seem to be overtaking the ratings game).
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
Great direction and acting given the material.
Before I launch into a review of the movie, I need to specify that while I love Stephanie Meyer's writing style, I'm not particularly crazy about the Twilight series for the following reasons: 1) Bella is one of the weakest characters I have ever seen and no matter how much Stephanie Meyer claims that she is strong, I disagree. 2) Edward is unreal in every way possible. 3) The only real characters don't get nearly enough attention, these being Jasper and Jacob. 4) I have a basic aversion to obsessive romances.
Now, having said all that, there is something about the story that caught me when I watched the first movie (Ihad never even heard of the books at the time).
The first movie was good (not truly great), but to be perfectly honest, I prefer the second one, and I think the credit goes mainly to the director. Chris Weitz's graphics work is amazing as usual and though there were weak points in the film (which I will not mention as I don't wish to prejudice anyone), I thought that the manner in which he managed to pull out emotions from all the actors in this installment was much better than the first movie. Additionally, I much prefer the colors in this second installment as opposed to Hardwick's version (the blue overlay was too much for me, too fake spooky when it needed to feel more real.)
Kristen Stewart's acting in this installment, I personally feel, is better than what she did in the first one. She wasn't as wooden for one and I really felt her pain this time.
Robert, unfortunately didn't live up to my expectations of him. But then,I've never been team Edward so that might have been part of the problem(although I am definitely Team Robert, and will definitely go check out Remember Me, which looks really good based on the trailer.)
Taylor Lautner carried this movie from beginning to end in my opinion. Since I happen to know that they used his facial expressions for the wolf, I am even more impressed because the wolf was amazing!!! Taylor is maturing quite quickly and as such I understand why his facial expression remained a certain way for most of the time and anyone who doesn't get it, is basically missing out on the tone of the entire series.
I do, however, feel like Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning were wasted in this movie owing to their small roles (which they performed to perfection). They have me anticipating the Breaking Dawn movie with baited breath.
Everybody else did as well as can be expected.
The weakest point though was the script. I definitely think Mellisa Rosenberg needs to be fired. No offence to her, but she is just not doing a good enough job to improve one Stephanie's work, which is much needed.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed the movie and when it ended, my reaction was like What???? It's over??? Already???
And to me, that's a good thing.