orangerful (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
orangerful) wrote2016-01-22 01:46 pm
orangerful) wrote2016-01-22 01:46 pm
Entry tags:
movie thoughts: Inside Llewyn Davis, Jurassic World, Love & Mercy
I really enjoyed "Inside Llewyn Davis"! I checked it out because of Oscar Isaac and I had seen the clips of him singing floating around YouTube after the release of Star Wars. I really like him as an actor and I think he picks some very interesting roles.
"Inside Llewyn Davis" was definitely a Coen Brothers movie, with quirky characters and a story that was more than what it seems. I really liked how the story unfolded, with bits and pieces of Llewyn's past being revealed as the movie went on. We never get the full story about what happened before we met Llewyn, but we know he has had opportunities to go forward yet seems to be stuck in a loop. He is a man that lives in the moment, unable to think about the future. And the movie is about the pros and cons of being that kind of person (and I have a feeling that a lot of artists have that issue, maybe because thinking about the future is equated with thinking about money and Llewyn clearly associates that with selling out). I liked this movie a LOT more than I expected to, and Oscar Isaac did NOT disappoint.
"Jurassic World" on the other hand. Maybe I wanted too much from this movie? I wanted the magic and wonder of the original back and this doesn't really come close. It had some fun moments, but the direction it ended up going in didn't satisfy me. I wish they had ditched the storyline with the kids, which was clearly supposed to parallel that of Tim and Lex in the original, but fell short for me in the emotional department. And I really did not like the Claire, and I never believed for a moment that she really cared about anything. Blah, and then the whole thing with her and Owen, just...I just wanted dinosaurs dammit, not this force romance and whiny kids. DINOSAURS! It took too long to get going and the payoff just wasn't that great. It actually made me respect "Force Awakens" even more - both movies were blatant redos of their originals but TFA left me feeling happy and JW left me feeling ... meh. I just wanted to watch Owen and the raptors - the rest of that movie was just meh.
"Love & Mercy" was a TOTAL surprise for me. I had put myself on the list for it after seeing its high score on Rotten Tomatoes. I just knew it was about the Beach Boys, it had John Cusack, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti and Elizabeth Banks - all actors I LOVE!
But I was not prepared for how fantastic this movie was. I don't know why, but it hit me in a way I didn't expect. The film is about Brian Wilson and how mental illness took over his life. How the abuse he received from his father as a child bled into the rest of his life and ate away at him. How he became a man trapped by someone just as manipulative as his father. BUT it is also about Melinda Ledbetter, the woman he fell in love with and who eventually saves him.
It was just so well done, beautifully filmed, the sounds of the music and the voices in Wilson's head...the performances were all top-notch.
This one surprised me. This is the one I am telling everyone about because it really is worth watching.
"Inside Llewyn Davis" was definitely a Coen Brothers movie, with quirky characters and a story that was more than what it seems. I really liked how the story unfolded, with bits and pieces of Llewyn's past being revealed as the movie went on. We never get the full story about what happened before we met Llewyn, but we know he has had opportunities to go forward yet seems to be stuck in a loop. He is a man that lives in the moment, unable to think about the future. And the movie is about the pros and cons of being that kind of person (and I have a feeling that a lot of artists have that issue, maybe because thinking about the future is equated with thinking about money and Llewyn clearly associates that with selling out). I liked this movie a LOT more than I expected to, and Oscar Isaac did NOT disappoint.
"Jurassic World" on the other hand. Maybe I wanted too much from this movie? I wanted the magic and wonder of the original back and this doesn't really come close. It had some fun moments, but the direction it ended up going in didn't satisfy me. I wish they had ditched the storyline with the kids, which was clearly supposed to parallel that of Tim and Lex in the original, but fell short for me in the emotional department. And I really did not like the Claire, and I never believed for a moment that she really cared about anything. Blah, and then the whole thing with her and Owen, just...I just wanted dinosaurs dammit, not this force romance and whiny kids. DINOSAURS! It took too long to get going and the payoff just wasn't that great. It actually made me respect "Force Awakens" even more - both movies were blatant redos of their originals but TFA left me feeling happy and JW left me feeling ... meh. I just wanted to watch Owen and the raptors - the rest of that movie was just meh.
"Love & Mercy" was a TOTAL surprise for me. I had put myself on the list for it after seeing its high score on Rotten Tomatoes. I just knew it was about the Beach Boys, it had John Cusack, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti and Elizabeth Banks - all actors I LOVE!
But I was not prepared for how fantastic this movie was. I don't know why, but it hit me in a way I didn't expect. The film is about Brian Wilson and how mental illness took over his life. How the abuse he received from his father as a child bled into the rest of his life and ate away at him. How he became a man trapped by someone just as manipulative as his father. BUT it is also about Melinda Ledbetter, the woman he fell in love with and who eventually saves him.
It was just so well done, beautifully filmed, the sounds of the music and the voices in Wilson's head...the performances were all top-notch.
This one surprised me. This is the one I am telling everyone about because it really is worth watching.