(500) Days of Summer Review

For Valentine's Day, I figured I'd review my favorite romantic movie ever, which would be (500) Days of Summer.  There is so much good to say about this movie, I'm not sure where to start.  I'd like to thank Matt Holt for letting me know about this movie.  Can't thank you enough.

I'll start like I seem to always start, with the acting.  Zooey Deschanel is absolutely perfect for the role of Summer.  She is supposed to be someone everyone should hate, but for whatever reason we can't bring ourselves to.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who's felt that exact same way about someone, and for everyone who hasn't felt that way, good for you.  It's a sucky feeling.  But enough about my feelings.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tom) proves here that he's not just the kid from Angels in the Outfield; he can actually act.  All the supporters are there either to provide comedic relief from the intense story or provide insight into Levitt's train of thought.  Overall superb job on the acting front.

The acting isn't the reason the movie is great to me though.  It's different from pretty much all other romantic movies because it's actually realistic.  I challenge anyone who watches the movie to claim they can't relate to anything that happens during the film.  We sympathize with Tom because we've been there and know what it feels like to be in his position.

I just watched today for the 4th time, and it is extremely rewatchable.  The expectations vs. reality scene still hits home with me.  Different scenes probably hit home with different people.  It's definitely worth checking out and sticks with you for a while after you watch it.
Overall: 9/10

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Summer: I woke up one morning and I just knew.
Tom: Knew what?
Summer: What I was never sure of with you.

Expectations vs. Reality (500) Days Of Summer Movie Scene
(Sorry, the only version I could find had subtitles)

The King's Speech Review

Before I watched The King's Speech, I figured it was an overrated movie that didn't deserve all the awards it was getting.  It seemed like the kind of movie that was made just to get Oscar recognition and not because it's actually good.  However, after watching it, I can see why it gets a lot of critical acclaim: because it's very good.

The acting is incredible from all parts in the movie, Colin Firth doing the best job.  I'm on board for him to win the Oscar for his incredible performance as King George VI.  If I didn't know better, I would've actually thought he had a speech impediment and it wasn't acting.  Geoffrey Rush does a great job too as his speech therapist Lionel Logue.  The chemistry between him and Firth is fantastic. 

The movie plays out like a romantic comedy, except instead of a couple it's about a king and his speech therapist.  After every fight or disagreement they have, one of them inevitably feels guilty and wants to apologize.  In this way, I thought the film was a bit formulaic at times, but the superb acting makes up for some predictable plot devices.

I wouldn't put The King's Speech in the top 5 of the year, but it's definitely top 10.  I did find myself checking my cell phone once for the time, which is never a good sign.  It felt about 10 or 15 minutes too long to me.  Overall, the great acting makes up for a few minor qualms I have with the movie. 
Score: 8.5/10
Also, Christopher Nolan did so much better at directing than Tom Hooper did in this movie.  Just saying.  Biggest Oscar snub ever.

Hard Candy Review

Tonight, after watching the NFL Championship games and hating that the Steelers are in the Super Bowl once again, I rewatched Hard Candy with my family.  The first time I saw it, I thought it was a decent psychological thriller and didn't think much about it afterwards.  However, upon further review, it's not only very rewatchable, but also has subtle perks in the film that I would challenge anyone to notice the first time around.  I'm not going to do plot summary here, but I'm not gonna worry about spoiling the movie for anyone, so if you don't want spoilers, watch the movie before you read on.
The thing that stood out to me as I watched Hard Candy again the most was the overall color scheme.  Director David Slade uses contrasting colors often to portray the mood of the characters or the overall scene.  For the first 30 minutes, colors are vibrant and make the viewer feel a certain sense of comfort, even though a 14 year old girl (Haley) is about to go to a much older man's house (Jeff).  When the tables turn after Jeff is drugged and tied up, the colors reflect the change by changing to dark, gloomy shades of grey.  Throughout the rest of the movie, every scene changes colors quite a bit.
The acting is decent, Ellen Page doing a bit better job than Patrick Wilson.  Page really lets the ambiguity of her character shine, with the viewer wondering who she really is.  The movie poses the question of who the real villain is.  Jeff never admits to killing anybody, although it is proven he is a pedofile, and Haley (if that is her real name) drives Jeff to kill himself.  
Hard Candy is a psychological thriller much deeper than the highly renowned castration scene and is a must watch if psychological thrillers are a preferred genre of yours.
Overall: 8/10

Similarity to Mark Zuckerberg

Well, this is my first blog ever.  Instead of hashing out a completely boring bio of myself, I figured the best way to let everyone know exactly who I am is to compare myself to someone famous.  After watching The Social Network for the third time, I see more of myself in Mark Zuckerberg (at least the one portrayed in theaters) than anyone else I know.  Allow me.
Our greatest similarity is our lack of a fashion sense.  His wardrobe almost perfectly matches mine. Never wear anything but t-shirts, jackets, shorts, and flip-flops.  This isn't necessarily a part of his personality, but nonetheless a similarity.
I also think most people would agree that I'm not the most social person in the world.  People have called me an asshole before for what they would describe as "inappropriate behavior", but I really couldn't care less.  There's no need to appeal to everyone in the world. You like me, fine.  If not, whoop-de-freakin-doo.  My small circle of friends is all I need to satisfy myself.  People are not to be trusted.
I've tried blogging before but stopped after a few weeks.  I hope this lasts longer because it's nice to have somewhere to let my thoughts ring out.  I'll probably write mostly about sports and movies, but if anything crazy happens to me, it'll go on here.  Until next time, I leave you with the best scene in The Social Network.