Last night I saw Joy, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro.
Joy Mangano (Lawrence) is an inventor, entrepreneur and multimillionaire—but it took a lot of work for her to get there.
As a single mom in the late 80s, Mangano was always thinking up ways to make life a little easier. One of those ideas led to her invention of the Miracle Mop; at the time, a revolutionary cleaning device that was self-wringing and machine washable. This film tells the story (loosely) of how she was able to sell her idea to the right entity despite a difficult dysfunctional family and no prior business experience.
Jennifer Lawrence (though a bit young to be playing Joy) dazzles as the headstrong woman who seems to solve all of her family's problems. She has a depressed mother living downstairs and a friendly ex-husband in the basement as she raises her two kids, juggles a crazy sister and works full time. But she manages to do it all as she invents what will become her breakthrough product.
De Niro plays her father Rudy just as you'd expect him to; forcefully, lovingly, borderline annoyingly. Of course, he's perfect. But unfortunately, the film isn't.
Each step taken, each word spoken, each concentrated look delivered is far too exaggerated. The camera whizzes around each scene like a drunk cocktail party guest while us audience members spend more time looking at Lawrence's hair than thinking about the developing plot.
Sure, there are brief "miracle" moments, like every time Bradley Cooper shows up as Joy's business contact. And the story itself (especially for women) is inspiring because the real-life woman went on to be an even greater success (and yes, the Miracle Mop is being re-released with a new spin TOMORROW, so she's obviously still entrepreneurial-minded).
But unlike the sincerity of director David O'Russell's other hits like Silver Linings Playbook, the heart was missing from Joy, leaving us bleached of emotion.
~~~
Showing posts with label Jennifer Lawrence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jennifer Lawrence. Show all posts
Saturday, January 02, 2016
Saturday, December 19, 2015
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
This morning I saw The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson.
I'm a big fan of The Hunger Games book series, and I loved the first two film adaptations, but the Mockingjay installments unfortunately leave a lot to be desired.
In this final curtain call, the boy who stole the heart of Katniss (Lawrence), Peeta (Hutcherson), has been brainwashed by the Big Bad Government and instead of wanting to live out his days with her, he wants to kill her. Of course, she still wants him and realizes that he doesn't have control of his mind.
He eventually comes back to the correct side of the war ... kinda. He has spontaneous, violent outbursts aimed at her from time to time, but for the most part behaves himself. They, along with their team of allies, set out to take back the world (and kill President Snow).
Donald Sutherland, as the hated leader, seems to be having a grand time in this one; less evil and more 'mad scientist' in spirit. It would be hard for anyone to think of him claiming victory when he's so jovial and Katniss is so serious.
So—what's wrong with the film?
#1 The pace. It's painfully slow for the first hour. I actually went and got a cup of coffee and when I came back they were still on the same scene.
#2 Wasted talent. Jennifer Lawrence is a gifted, sparkling superstar. She doesn't have much to do here except look sad. Look mad. Look tired.
#3 Anticlimactic action. Of course we know what's coming, but that's not what ruins it. The battle scenes just don't have the magic of the first two films. They're silly.
So—is there any reason to see it?
If you're a completist like me, it's your civic duty to sit through it. Also, it's Philip Seymour Hoffman's last film and just his mere presence—alive and breathing brilliance—is a gift.
~~~
I'm a big fan of The Hunger Games book series, and I loved the first two film adaptations, but the Mockingjay installments unfortunately leave a lot to be desired.
In this final curtain call, the boy who stole the heart of Katniss (Lawrence), Peeta (Hutcherson), has been brainwashed by the Big Bad Government and instead of wanting to live out his days with her, he wants to kill her. Of course, she still wants him and realizes that he doesn't have control of his mind.
He eventually comes back to the correct side of the war ... kinda. He has spontaneous, violent outbursts aimed at her from time to time, but for the most part behaves himself. They, along with their team of allies, set out to take back the world (and kill President Snow).
Donald Sutherland, as the hated leader, seems to be having a grand time in this one; less evil and more 'mad scientist' in spirit. It would be hard for anyone to think of him claiming victory when he's so jovial and Katniss is so serious.
So—what's wrong with the film?
#1 The pace. It's painfully slow for the first hour. I actually went and got a cup of coffee and when I came back they were still on the same scene.
#2 Wasted talent. Jennifer Lawrence is a gifted, sparkling superstar. She doesn't have much to do here except look sad. Look mad. Look tired.
#3 Anticlimactic action. Of course we know what's coming, but that's not what ruins it. The battle scenes just don't have the magic of the first two films. They're silly.
So—is there any reason to see it?
If you're a completist like me, it's your civic duty to sit through it. Also, it's Philip Seymour Hoffman's last film and just his mere presence—alive and breathing brilliance—is a gift.
~~~
Sunday, December 28, 2014
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Today I saw The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Julianne Moore.
I never thought the word "boredom" would ever go hand-in-hand with "Hunger Games" but unfortunately sitting through this movie proved it to be true.
In this installment, our heroine Katniss (Lawrence) agrees to become the fighting Mockingjay for President Coin (Moore) in a symbolic move for the survivors in Panem.
Never mind that she has severe PTSD from her previous exploits defending the good people, or that her partner/perhaps love-of-life Peeta still remains captive in the capitol. They figure, the more angry she is about the whole situation, the better a fighter she'll be.
Unfortunately, we barely get to the fighting by the time this film is over.
Spending time with Lawrence, Moore, Woody Harrelson and Philip Seymour Hoffman (R.I.P.) should never feel like a chore, but the endless dialog they pull out of these characters unfortunately commits that crime-against-audience.
I hurried through this book to make sure I'd finished it before seeing this, and now I wish I hadn't. Only the first fourth of the novel is truly represented here, which makes this a huge waste of about and a half.
Instead of all of the exploration, I wish they'd just have made one long film to close the franchise out.
Having to pay a full ticket price for so much chit-chat feels greedy.
~~~
I never thought the word "boredom" would ever go hand-in-hand with "Hunger Games" but unfortunately sitting through this movie proved it to be true.
In this installment, our heroine Katniss (Lawrence) agrees to become the fighting Mockingjay for President Coin (Moore) in a symbolic move for the survivors in Panem.
Never mind that she has severe PTSD from her previous exploits defending the good people, or that her partner/perhaps love-of-life Peeta still remains captive in the capitol. They figure, the more angry she is about the whole situation, the better a fighter she'll be.
Unfortunately, we barely get to the fighting by the time this film is over.
Spending time with Lawrence, Moore, Woody Harrelson and Philip Seymour Hoffman (R.I.P.) should never feel like a chore, but the endless dialog they pull out of these characters unfortunately commits that crime-against-audience.
I hurried through this book to make sure I'd finished it before seeing this, and now I wish I hadn't. Only the first fourth of the novel is truly represented here, which makes this a huge waste of about and a half.
Instead of all of the exploration, I wish they'd just have made one long film to close the franchise out.
Having to pay a full ticket price for so much chit-chat feels greedy.
~~~
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
American Hustle
Tonight I saw American Hustle, starring Bradley Cooper and Amy Adams.
The Abscam scandal of the 1970s was the inspiration for this David O. Russell film about the FBI's use of a real con man to take down members of the U.S. government. In this dramatized version, we see two clever con artists: Irving (Christian Bale) and Sydney (Adams). They have a passionate personal relationship in addition to their professional collaboration, though Irving is overweight and married.
Enter Riche DiMaso (Cooper), an FBI agent hungry for a big sting, who after catching them in the act, recruits the pair for a bigger operation. They don't have much choice to accept the challenge and do their best to make the most of it. And the audience are the lucky recipients of their sparks.
Sydney flirts with Richie, Richie abuses his boss (played by the always-hilarious Louis C.K.), Irving fights with his wife (Jennifer Lawrence) and the mayor (Jeremy Renner) acts like... well... a politician.
All of this is wildly entertaining, but nothing is as perfect as every scene-stealing moment that Jennifer Lawrence takes the screen. The whole cast is terrific, but Lawrence lights up the room with her impeccable comedic timing and charisma. Let's just say I wouldn't be too surprised (or disappointed) if she took home another Oscar this year.
Also of note is the director's brilliant use of music. Taking cues from Tarantino and Scorsese, the music is of-the-era (the deliciously gritty '70s) and just as much a part of the script as the dialogue.
The twists and turns, though not complex, are clever and the ending is undeniably satisfying.
Believe the hype about this one—it's all true.
~~~
The Abscam scandal of the 1970s was the inspiration for this David O. Russell film about the FBI's use of a real con man to take down members of the U.S. government. In this dramatized version, we see two clever con artists: Irving (Christian Bale) and Sydney (Adams). They have a passionate personal relationship in addition to their professional collaboration, though Irving is overweight and married.
Enter Riche DiMaso (Cooper), an FBI agent hungry for a big sting, who after catching them in the act, recruits the pair for a bigger operation. They don't have much choice to accept the challenge and do their best to make the most of it. And the audience are the lucky recipients of their sparks.
Sydney flirts with Richie, Richie abuses his boss (played by the always-hilarious Louis C.K.), Irving fights with his wife (Jennifer Lawrence) and the mayor (Jeremy Renner) acts like... well... a politician.
All of this is wildly entertaining, but nothing is as perfect as every scene-stealing moment that Jennifer Lawrence takes the screen. The whole cast is terrific, but Lawrence lights up the room with her impeccable comedic timing and charisma. Let's just say I wouldn't be too surprised (or disappointed) if she took home another Oscar this year.
Also of note is the director's brilliant use of music. Taking cues from Tarantino and Scorsese, the music is of-the-era (the deliciously gritty '70s) and just as much a part of the script as the dialogue.
The twists and turns, though not complex, are clever and the ending is undeniably satisfying.
Believe the hype about this one—it's all true.
~~~
Saturday, November 30, 2013
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Today I saw The Hunger Games: Catching Fire starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson.
The film begins where the book also started, as Katniss (Lawrence) and Peeta (Hutcherson) are gearing up for their victory tour of the districts, as the winners of the most recent Hunger Games.
Spying on the wildly popular couple, the president (Donald Sutherland) calls their bluff and fears their love story act will not sustain, so therefore Katniss must be eliminated. His new gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee (a perfectly cast Philip Seymour Hoffman) soon constructs a plot to bring the victors back into the games and seal her fate.
Though all of the excitement and horrors of the games is well executed, it's the performance that Lawrence gives that truly makes the film worth seeing. Every note of emotion is pitch perfect; every complexity captured in her eyes.
I also confess to eating up the love triangle between her, Peeta and Gale (Liam Hemsworth). As with any well done triangle, I change my mind every few minutes about who I want for Katniss. My brain says Peeta will do everything in his power to make her happy from now to eternity; my heart sees the way she looks at Gale.
Only one more year until the first installment of Mockingjay hits theaters, right?
~~~
The film begins where the book also started, as Katniss (Lawrence) and Peeta (Hutcherson) are gearing up for their victory tour of the districts, as the winners of the most recent Hunger Games.
Spying on the wildly popular couple, the president (Donald Sutherland) calls their bluff and fears their love story act will not sustain, so therefore Katniss must be eliminated. His new gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee (a perfectly cast Philip Seymour Hoffman) soon constructs a plot to bring the victors back into the games and seal her fate.
Though all of the excitement and horrors of the games is well executed, it's the performance that Lawrence gives that truly makes the film worth seeing. Every note of emotion is pitch perfect; every complexity captured in her eyes.
I also confess to eating up the love triangle between her, Peeta and Gale (Liam Hemsworth). As with any well done triangle, I change my mind every few minutes about who I want for Katniss. My brain says Peeta will do everything in his power to make her happy from now to eternity; my heart sees the way she looks at Gale.
Only one more year until the first installment of Mockingjay hits theaters, right?
~~~
Friday, September 21, 2012
House at the End of the Street
Tonight I saw House at the End of the Street, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Elisabeth Shue.
Elissa (Lawrence) and her mother Sarah (Shue) are starting over. They appear to have a less-than-perfect relationship, but both are giving this new life a chance. Elissa has enrolled in school; Sarah has acquired a job at the local hospital and they've moved to the country into a beautiful rental house they can only afford because a brutal murder took place next door.
Though the event happened years ago, the property still carries the history of what happened and the town still shuns the one surviving member of the family, Ryan, who happens to be the same age as Elissa.
Ryan (Max Thieriot) seems to be a gentle, sweet guy, so Elissa soon befriends him instead of the neighbor boy that her mother favors.
What Elissa doesn't know is that his disturbed, violent sister did not drown as the community beleives—Ryan is caring for her in his basement.
He keeps this a secret as he and Elissa grow closer and Sarah tries her best to keep the two apart.
Everything after this point is a spoiler, so I won't go any further with the plot, but I will say that Lawrence does a predictably wonderful job as a tough girl with a soft heart put into terrifying situations because of her decisions.
On the same token, Shue is solid playing a mom that is probably not as smart as her girl, but loves her enough to overcome it.
The final sequences are filled with suspense and a few twists that make this better than the average bump-in-the-night horror film.
Just don't go downstairs if you don't already know what's there.
~~~
Elissa (Lawrence) and her mother Sarah (Shue) are starting over. They appear to have a less-than-perfect relationship, but both are giving this new life a chance. Elissa has enrolled in school; Sarah has acquired a job at the local hospital and they've moved to the country into a beautiful rental house they can only afford because a brutal murder took place next door.
Though the event happened years ago, the property still carries the history of what happened and the town still shuns the one surviving member of the family, Ryan, who happens to be the same age as Elissa.
Ryan (Max Thieriot) seems to be a gentle, sweet guy, so Elissa soon befriends him instead of the neighbor boy that her mother favors.
What Elissa doesn't know is that his disturbed, violent sister did not drown as the community beleives—Ryan is caring for her in his basement.
He keeps this a secret as he and Elissa grow closer and Sarah tries her best to keep the two apart.
Everything after this point is a spoiler, so I won't go any further with the plot, but I will say that Lawrence does a predictably wonderful job as a tough girl with a soft heart put into terrifying situations because of her decisions.
On the same token, Shue is solid playing a mom that is probably not as smart as her girl, but loves her enough to overcome it.
The final sequences are filled with suspense and a few twists that make this better than the average bump-in-the-night horror film.
Just don't go downstairs if you don't already know what's there.
~~~
Saturday, March 31, 2012
The Hunger Games
On Thursday night I saw The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson.
To catch up with the rest of society, I read the source material fast and feverishly (just last weekend) in advance of seeing the film. I'm very glad I did.
1) Because the book was better.
2) Because I may not have understood everything without the details explained in the novel.
For the few people who haven't read it or seen the movie, The Hunger Games explores a dystopian future on the site of the former North America, where 13 districts of people are governed by a Big Bad Capitol. In punishment for the uprising that killed the prior society, they must sacrifice 24 of their young during annual "hunger games" where the kids fight to the death—with only one surviving.
The story focuses on poverty-stricken Katniss (Lawrence) who has become an expert hunter to feed her family after her dad's passing in the coal mines. When her younger sister is chosen to be a fighter ('tribute') in the games, she unselfishly volunteers to go in her place. Her partner in the games, from the same district, is Peeta (Hutcherson) who's family runs the district bakery.
They are soon whisked into a whirlwind of 'training' for the games with their drunken host Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) and reserved stylist Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). Among their entourage, it's decided that the angle the two will portray to win over sponsors (and the watching public) is that of star-crossed lovers. Peeta is happier about this than Katniss, to say the least.
After a clever entrance, which featured the two fighters literally on fire, they are positioned as underdogs who may actually have a chance at winning, after all. They're both clever, and Katniss has mad skills with a bow and arrow.
Everything leading up to the games is very faithful to the book and well executed. Once the battles begin, the story begins to drag and a few of the details (the only district to 'riot' after a tributes' death is the predominantly black one - really??) stray.
It's still entertaining, but the shaky camera bits I could have done without, and the pure heart of the novel I would've liked to see a lot more.
Nonetheless, the characters were well-cast and the dialog was close enough to be satisfying.
~~~
To catch up with the rest of society, I read the source material fast and feverishly (just last weekend) in advance of seeing the film. I'm very glad I did.
1) Because the book was better.
2) Because I may not have understood everything without the details explained in the novel.
For the few people who haven't read it or seen the movie, The Hunger Games explores a dystopian future on the site of the former North America, where 13 districts of people are governed by a Big Bad Capitol. In punishment for the uprising that killed the prior society, they must sacrifice 24 of their young during annual "hunger games" where the kids fight to the death—with only one surviving.
The story focuses on poverty-stricken Katniss (Lawrence) who has become an expert hunter to feed her family after her dad's passing in the coal mines. When her younger sister is chosen to be a fighter ('tribute') in the games, she unselfishly volunteers to go in her place. Her partner in the games, from the same district, is Peeta (Hutcherson) who's family runs the district bakery.
They are soon whisked into a whirlwind of 'training' for the games with their drunken host Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) and reserved stylist Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). Among their entourage, it's decided that the angle the two will portray to win over sponsors (and the watching public) is that of star-crossed lovers. Peeta is happier about this than Katniss, to say the least.
After a clever entrance, which featured the two fighters literally on fire, they are positioned as underdogs who may actually have a chance at winning, after all. They're both clever, and Katniss has mad skills with a bow and arrow.
Everything leading up to the games is very faithful to the book and well executed. Once the battles begin, the story begins to drag and a few of the details (the only district to 'riot' after a tributes' death is the predominantly black one - really??) stray.
It's still entertaining, but the shaky camera bits I could have done without, and the pure heart of the novel I would've liked to see a lot more.
Nonetheless, the characters were well-cast and the dialog was close enough to be satisfying.
~~~
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