October 23, 2009 in movie by justingibbs
Away We Go was more akin to a foreign film for me. It has some interesting dialog and characters but the whole time you’re waiting for the movie to start. It’s basically a road trip movie with no outer objective other than to investigate potential places to move. But there’s nothing at stake, there’s nothing to overcome, no villain to defeat. They don’t even try to create an artificial antagonist or ticking clock. No matter how cute the characters are you begin to ask just what the point is.
Tags: comedy, drama
September 13, 2009 in movie by justingibbs
Sunshine Cleaning takes a while to get going and in the end, seems more like a made for TV movie. It’s a family movie, a family with a few issues. Only thing is, the issues aren’t that big and are settled too easily – there’s no real conflict. Like when the lead breaks off her long time affair with a married man. She tells him that its over, he pauses a moment, then walks off. That’s it. Issue solved.
But probably the most annoying is all the loose ends. Subplots are begun but never finished. When the movie ends you’re left wondering, especially because you could care less about the leads story – it was never big enough to care about.
Tags: drama
May 26, 2009 in movie by justingibbs
Green Street Hooligans was a tough movie to watch, mostly due to the fact that the story never tries to justify the violence. That also might be good thing as it’s difficult to justify and could make the whole thing look ludicrous. But without justification we as an audience are always wondering what’s the point? It’s the same with modern romances, the crux of the story is built around why the two can’t be together as society has removed most road blocks – religion, races, etc. We’re constantly asking why the stars just don’t get together. In this movie we’re asking why don’t the punks just stop fighting.
The climax is also a bit extreme. The wife who is tired of the violence and moving back to America with her child, but decides to drive to the final confrontation to look for her brother. If you’re so scared to move away you’re also aware of what a colossal mistake that would be.
Tags: drama, independent