Change Your Image
kickbuttpotato
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
A Case of You (2013)
Haters are gonna hate, but lovers are gonna love.
"A Case of You" is worth singling out if some great flicks like "Ruby Sparks" made you dig for more. Though, this movie is sort of reliving the dumb formula from the comparison. Okay, an honest opinion is that viewers will be fractured by the plot's predictability, but I'm buying. That doesn't prevent me from saying that the film is one of the sweet romantic comedies bolstered with energy from its young cast ensemble of bright comedians. I dunno, but call me crazy.
Sam (Justin Long) is a well-known author that suffers a block to his next book. An inspiration is what he totally needs, suffice to say. Until she meets the cute blondie coffee gal named Birdie (Evan Rachel Wood), he develops a quirky obsession. As soon as Sam learns that she was fired for frequent tardiness at work, he decided to stalk her Facebook account and decisively scan her likes, interests, and routines. Sam is the ideal manly stalker. And one by one he tries to learn what she likes to do: Play the guitar, read Darwinian, and rock climbing. This is in no doubt a rudimentary principle of we follow in order to woo our special someone, and I admire the film for having the guts to deliver it regardless of being stereotyped.
The chemistry between Long and Wood feels cheesy but endearing. Though, their kismet might be unfairly familiar but at least it's sugar-coated with their funny moment and both make it work. We also get the most of Keir O'Donnell as Sam's buddy roommate Eliot especially from his late- bloomer taboo jokes therein. And the same goes to Peter Dinklage as a gay barista and Brendan Fraser as Birdie's ex Tony. Too bad Dinklage and Fraser is alarmingly hilarious they deserve more time frame than Busy Philips and Vince Vaughn (although he's too substantial) who are both fruitless here. Also adding Sam Rockwell to the mix as the guitar lesson instructor, it gets ticklish funny.
The credits for the screenplay goes to Justin, his brother Christian, and O'Donnell themselves. Kudos to them. They keep me howling in some of their one-liners and made me attracted to their persona. However, like I said their notion for the narrative may disappoint for its jaded impression. This explains why major distributors refused to finance the film for trust issues and let IFC do it anyway. Nevertheless, this made me look forward for Justin for his next screenplay pitch and see what he could bring new to the table other than acting well in this film. He's proved to be an actor and auteur.
The film doesn't just focus on the love story per se. As we delve into Sam's motivational ease, we're starting to care for whether what he's potent feelings towards Birdie is ideal to be in his own writing or not. The message is too simple to guess, but heck we all have our Sams within us. If Sam don't end up winning Birdie's heart, at least she ends up helping him close the chapter.
"A Case of You" is essentially sweet quirky rom-com that kept me howling with hilarity straight up. If you're a fan of Ruby Sparks, this touching gem is worth singling out.
Drinking Buddies (2013)
It all started at the Brewery...
"Drinking Buddies" might turn out to be a misleading letdown if you're expecting the movie to be an autopilot-generated-sassy-rom-com that combines "Friends with Benefits" and "Beerfest". You'd be drunk wrong. This new movie by Joe Swanberg (one of the directors of V/H/S) is perhaps a whole new take in a mature subgenre consists of smart and profound chemistry and performances from its four leads in a story of hopeless relationships and the inevitability of it. And for the most part, the movie set asides the raunchiness where viewers might essentially be mistaken judging by its title.
We start with Kate (Olivia Wilde) and Luke (Jake Johnson) who both work in a Chicago-based brewery called the Revolution Brewing where they spend countless flirting and drinking as they work. But they are not lovers, because the two have their own special someone. Kate is with Chris (Ron Livingston) who's a soundtrack producer living together for six years, and Luke is with Jill (Anna Kendrick) who's an educator. As the four meet in the brewery, a sudden turn clicks as they discover who's truly bound with one another.
It's funny how director Joe Swanberg is inviting us to a narrative which is unique and absorbing. The concept is primitive and the dialogue too overstuffed, but Swanberg makes it establishing between the actors and make them interpret the longing and depressing nature of their characters. Good thing he let their dialogue be an improvisation than a screenplay and that's how the twists develop its bittersweet moments despite being too long for a 90 minute feature.
Olivia Wilde as Kate drives the film with exuberance. She is the typical one for a social drinker with a lot of sense of humor. Anna Kendrick seems to be the odd one out and sometimes gets lost in the mix. However, she fits as a tandem to Livingston's Chris. There're something about the two which makes them sensible to one another. As for Jake Johnson, his Luke is where we get the major comic relief.
Needless to say, with some of the supporting roles of few of the guys at the brewery like Dave (played by Ti West), we get to witness Luke's developing jealousy if some guys ever laid their hands on Kate, even though it's just an infatuation.
However, the film could have made something intriguing if Swanberg's intention is to shift the exposition from a different mood. Maybe make a situation something even more considerably depressing or will make a pang of greater distress to be it more effective. But I don't blame the film to be going in a different direction.
Drinking Buddies might slightly feel overlong for a 90-minute runtime, but what Joe Swanberg is getting into is a delightful observational comedy with remarkable performances from its four A leads.
Contracted (2013)
An effective cautionary tale terrifying enough to believe the hype
Director Eric England's new flick "Contracted" yields effective scares and quite a good spoonful amount of new goodies to the horror subgenre. As you have seen by the movie's poster, the protagonist is indeed a female who looks terrible like the undead grabbing our attention, but the story focuses on a different plot.
Samantha (Najarra Townsend) gets invited to a party despite being in the midst of a conflicting lesbian relationship and identity crisis. A party-crasher introducing as B.J (Simon Barrett) is very convincing whereas Samantha becomes date-raped by the stalker. Later on, she feels something really bad and gets very sick being infected by some sort of STD as examined by the doctor. B.J. is obviously the culprit, though the movie ensues ambiguity to his true motive in the plot aside from being a full-time maniac.
By the time the movie arrives during the stages of Samantha's nasty transformation, we naturally couldn't help but to resist the relentless gore and repugnance despite being laughably red. The make-up and effects team gloriously made Townsend's character looks atrocious and terrifying. Two of my favorite points of the effects are Samantha's rotting phase and the contagion which crosses Eli Roth's Cabin Fever and Brandon Cronenberg's Antiviral which is way better.
I could care less about the party scene though, for it looks tiresome to start the movie to as we have seen it countless times before. Writer- director Eric England could have made something more bona fide to begin with the characters. On top of that, some of his dialogues between Samantha and the other kids seems hackneyed and too stagey. However, the narrative offers a clever opening sequence for the plot and ends it with an alarmingly horrifying finale.
Contracted is a good icky, bloody, and insane indie horror film. It may not be the best of the bloodiest, but the movie is well-acted by new talents and delivers seriously f***ed up scenes, mystery, and dark humor you could possibly desire and a little more. With this, as anyone may have observed already, it may persuade you to wear a rubber again.
Need for Speed (2014)
A total mess.
You know when you're casually walking down the street, and some lunatic drives past you at an obscene amount of miles an hour? You think, that driver is a moron, right? Well, Scott Waugh's Need for Speed is a movie full of morons. These people just have a total disregard for road safety and it's immensely irritating. Even if you can see past this fact, regrettably there remains a lot to be desired in this somewhat underwhelming thriller.
Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul takes on the lead role of Tobey Marshall, a talented racer in his spare time, who runs a car repair shop. However when he is challenged to a race from an old foe Dino (Dominic Cooper), a close friend of Tobey's is killed during the contest, following a collision with Dino's car. Tobey is framed for manslaughter however and spends some time in confinement. Upon his release he sets off on a revenge mission, and though breaking his patrol, he embarks on a cross- country trip alongside Julia (Imogen Poots) to take part in a prestigious contest, and seek vengeance against Dino in the only way he knows how – a street race.
Naturally, comparisons to the Fast & Furious franchise are inevitable, and when doing so, let's just say this doesn't come out on top. Need for Speed struggles from not truly knowing what film it wants to be. It's a more sincere, seemingly poignant piece of cinema, yet it's not nearly profound nor earnest enough to take seriously. On the other hand, it's not ridiculous or illusory enough to be considered good fun either – which is where Fast & Furious comes up trumps. The latter has tanks and aeroplanes and all sorts of absurd, farcical additions that makes for an entertaining cinematic experience. This falls carelessly between, and though this may sound like an peculiar thing to say, but in order to be a better film, Need for Speed almost needs to be worse.
Meanwhile the car chases themselves are mightily impressive, making for some gripping sequences with really well choreographed stunts implemented. The film does feel humanised somewhat too, and in parts it's slightly more intimate than other films of this ilk. Much of that can be accredited to Paul, who, as expected, is the best thing about this picture. He brings a fragility to the lead, and although he's a real cool, racing car dude, there's an everyday quality about his demeanour that works well. He does seem to be doing an irritating impersonation of a deep-voiced Batman though. Talking of which, Michael Keaton also has a completely superfluous supporting role. He's like a narrator or sorts, and an immensely unsubtle one at that, effectively telling the audience what we're supposed to be thinking and feeling, naturally sensationalising it all for cinematic effect. Conversely, Poots does little to offend, though her casting is somewhat unusual, and following on That Awkward Moment, if she's not careful she's going to fall into the stereotype of just becoming a generic, vacuous, British love interest in Hollywood movies – and she's better than that.
Need for Speed is incredibly conventional and prosaic, with so little innovation in this title, as a film we've seen countless times before. The formulaic, over dramatised score epitomises this notion, as clichéd songs play out exactly when you expect them to, manipulating the audience and reminding us what emotion we're supposed to be feeling at that very moment. The film also struggles to reflect real life in any way shape or form. Of course this is just cinema and not to be taken at face value – but when a film is attempting to imbue human compassion and to trigger an emotional response from the viewer, it has to be judged accordingly.
Her (2013)
A response to Lost in Translation
I can't imagine a film like "Her" being ever made. It is the most unforgettable film of 2013; It's full of brilliant performances from Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, and Scarlett Johansson as the voice of an operating system dubbed the OS1. For the most part, the film is an expressive character study bolstered with tear-jerking drama and rom-com wits. Spike Jonze, the director of Being John Malkovich and Where the Wild Things Are builds a guileful narrative so amorous it's almost a spell-binding drama it's impossible to resist.
What makes the film interesting is its main character Theodore (played by Phoenix) whose life is falling apart he becomes stuck physically and emotionally. Theodore works as a writer of love letters. Everything seems uneven and melancholic in his life including his botched relationship with his wife (played by Rooney Mara) where they're about to reach their conclusion for a divorce. Theodore is the typical anti- social man.
When he buys an operating system called the OS1, he meets an Artificial Intelligence introducing herself as Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), a husky voiced female AI which understands human emotions including Theodore's melancholy. Samantha is so baffling, Theodore knows this, but he didn't seem to care as long as he will at least have someone to talk to.
Suddenly, as expected Theodore gets very fond with the thing. This is very genuine at least in reality where a person builds affection with something inanimate or unbeknownst to them. After getting settled with Samantha, he builds a sheer affection with the thing despite being not real, even sexually. Their chemistry builds strong warmth especially in the second act.
The movie's set in a near-distant future where technology is advanced; People tend to use speech recognition to all sorts of things. Jonze's production designer team and the cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema build flamboyant textures of the city and a great creation of an advanced and poetic world.
Spike Jonze structures the narrative an effective drama than a rom-com. With this story so brilliant and potent, viewers will get what they want. The moment we gather Theodore's melancholy piling up, we find ourselves sharing the same anxiety. But despite of this, we get the comic relief that Theodore and Samantha builds through the entire film. Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore is simply renowned for his genuine portrayal of a lonely archetypal man. Johansson as the voice of OS1 is generated with panache for dramatic execution. Viewers will recognize how Johansson's able to cosset and entertain them like how she does it to Theodore.
In some ways, this movie could be a response to Lost in Translation. The director Spike Jonze is divorced to Sofia Coppola, the director of that film. The narrative is almost similar in all terms, but either is triumph. Jonze's character of Theodore could be a surrogate of himself, the same could be said with Coppola's character Charlotte played by Johansson. If you have seen both films, you get the idea.
All in all, "Her" should not be missed for viewing. It's a shame that this film hit the theaters before year-end. It is one of the most romantic films of 2013, suitable for Valentine's Day.
Lovelace (2013)
Fellatio queen reigns supreme.
One good reason that "Lovelace" works is the melodrama in the life of Linda Lovelace –played by Amanda Seyfried–, the actress behind the controversial skin flick Deep Throat in 1972 apart from her emancipation in participating in countless number of exploits. Not only this has had made Lovelace famous, but also an expert in performing the fellatio.
This new film strands Linda Lovelace's story of fame and his success along with her long-established relationship with Chuck Traynor. Traynor –played by Peter Sarsgaard– meets Linda in 1970. They soon marry and move together. Traynor happens to be involve with misdemeanor as his action intended to hint out.
Six months later, Traynor casts Linda to a porn film studio to overcome destitute the two experiencing. Now this leads to the birth of Deep Throat. We get to meet the film's director Gerald Damiano –played by Hank Azaria–, producer Butchie Peraino –by Bobby Cannavale– and the movie financier Anthony Romano –by Chris Noth–. The film only provides so much stuff in Deep Throat, though I could say that it's accurate. As we arrive on the set, there're chunks of dry wit while we witness the filming of Deep Throat and see how the fellatio queens experience the liberty of being in a porn flick.
There are also some sinister skirmishes behind Lovelace's relationship to Traynor. We may see him as a disturbing individual or an easy-going man. Describing him would be easy if you just discover it on your own. Sarsgaard as Traynor is well reputable, firm and convincing for the central coercive role.
Picturing Amanda Seyfried as Lovelace gives me no doubt of assenting her for the role. I liked the way she took in being the Linda Lovelace adjacent the way real Lovelace readily accepted a daring role. She made me think of Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights with all the freckles and the sub-genre the two films share. I have my doubts that Seyfried is flawless here, though this gives her a sheer opportunity to be daring in the future since Chloe.
Sharon Stone and Robert Patrick as Lovelace's parents seem stale and wasted here. James Franco's appearance as the Playboy godfather Hugh Hefner is cameo-like and laughable, but almost not as bad as his acting part in Cherry, which is also a film about being in a porn industry.
"Lovelace" is a take on one of the most intriguing business in porn industry. It is not entirely focused on 'Deep Throat' per se. It is a story about greed, wariness, and shame. I really don't know if this film will make a pang of amendment to people like Lovelace, but I believe it serves its purpose.
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
Less clever but a magical spectacle.
After Sam Raimi has successfully made his last horror picture Drag Me To Hell in 2009, and walking out in making a fourth Spider-Man film, he shifts in creating a mind-boggling colorful universe in "Oz: The Great and Powerful" based on the works of L. Frank Baum.
Being unfamiliar with the story of the Wizard of Oz, though I'm hearing much of it back as a little boy, Raimi's movie gave me the impression that the story by Baum is akin to some of the fairy tales with a theme of good and evil. But the story of Oz is about trickery, better yet treachery of the bad ones.
The movie starts with a 4:3 like aspect ratio, the kind you see in those old flat televisions before there was the widescreen, but we obviously won't be expecting it longer. Oz –played by James Franco– is a magician and a con man from Kansas. He seems to be the man that can perform magic but not miracles. There's a scene on his magic show where a girl believes that he can make her walk, but Oz doesn't know how to. This always meant that magicians could never do things in lieu of our faith.
Oz is also the man for the ladies. After learning that one of his love Annie –played by Michelle Williams– becomes engaged to someone else, he's chased by one of his girls' goon beau and Oz was forced to set away with a hot air balloon. The balloon shifts from disaster after disaster before he sets his way to Oz, a colorful world and same as his name. How do I picture the place Oz? Think of Avatar or The Spiderwick Chronicles, you get the idea.
In Oz, he meets Theodora the Good –played by Mila Kunis–, a witch where she tells 'the Oz' that there's a prophecy where the king of Oz will share the same name as from the man who will descend from the sky. As Oz descends in the world of Oz, he is regarded as the wizard who will save the people from The Wicked Witch –played also by Michelle Williams– who's rumored to be impossible to defeat.
Theodora's sister Evanora –played by Rachel Weisz– tells Oz of the riches and the throne that will be rewarded to him if he successfully end the Wicked Witch's madness. Oz sets forth to the Dark Forest with the help of his flying monkey chauffeur Finley –voiced by Zach Braff– and a doll the China Girl –voiced by Joey King–. The only thing to end the villainy of the witch is to break her wand. I will leave the rest.
Though the story isn't that much genuine nor brainy, I cared on how the story were crafted as a film. The narrative is less clever but not jarring. However, people prefers to be mystified by a movie to challenge them. Maybe that's how viewers want to be entertained nowadays.
The film shares great 3D elements in creating the universe of Oz. It's enough to make the audiences experiencing the popping elements. In terms of sheer digital fulfillment, the film inevitably succeeds. Raimi has the reputation in picturing the world of Oz as rich in vivacity.
I'm surprised to see that the make-up effects were helmed by Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger, the men behind the gory special effects from horror or suspense films. There's no good or bad with the way they did in the film. It's a good start for them to work something new in designing effects in motion pictures. Adding up the production values, it flawlessly compensate with the computer-generated effects. Nothing wrong with that.
All the characters seems convincing enough. At least they weren't even pretentious for their respective parts. James Franco as Oz cares deeply for the role to be substantial than the narrative. Maybe Johnny Depp could also be a good Oz, but Franco is exact enough to collaborate with Sam Raimi since the Spider-Man films. I loved Michelle Williams playing two roles, but her Wicked Witch role is not too shabby. Rachel Weisz as the Evanora is flat in terms of villainy, and Mila Kunis does fit to be a little less villainy if possible. Tony Cox is also here as Knuck, though I'm a little surprised to see him in a friendly Disney movie role.
By all means, Oz: The Great and Powerful hangs on the edge to be a passable entertainment from director Sam Raimi. With a runtime of 130 mins, it's never quite painful nor squirming in your seat.
Despicable Me 2 (2013)
Absolute Minion fun the second time around.
"Despicable Me 2" succeeds as one of the best animation sequels of the year, bolstered with a great voice actor ensemble reprising the role of Steve Carrell as Gru, the uncanny daddy dangerous, and his little cute girls Margot –played by Miranda Cosgrove–, Edith –Dana Gaier–, and Agnes –by Elsie Fisher–. Of course, the Minions are back and even crazier and gibberish, it's an absolute howl.
The film offers vast improvement from its predecessor. It will always mold an impression to its general patronage for it's seldom they encounter such animation feature which is not from the hands of Disney- Pixar or Dreamworks. And now that the sequel has come out, Despicable Me 2 is even funnier and sure get your money's worth.
A top-secret headquarters called AVL, or the Anti-Villain League by Agent Lucy Wilde –voiced by Kristen Wiig – and the league director Silas Ramsbottom –voiced by Steve Coogan– hire Gru. The investigation leads to a mutation serum that make creatures go purple and berserk. So Gru and Lucy's job together is to locate the remaining serum.
Another character is Eduardo –voiced by Benjamin Bratt–, whom Gru suspects as the El-Macho. Whether he has the serum or not, he may still be recognizable enough to be villainy as Gru suggests. Benjamin Bratt as the El-Macho is unrecognizable at first because of his Mexican accent, and so is Gru's mad scientist assistant Dr. Nefario –played by Russell Brand– who's voice as a grumpy old man may seem odd but acceptable.
Despicable Me 2 works on its slacker humors involving Gru with his lanky stature and pointy nose and his spy gadgets. Aside from the Minions, the film made sure his jokey dialogues and the gibberish language of the Minions are sensible. Steve Carrell still has the impending voice-over as Gru. The irony of his tone in the character makes me laugh just as I did in the first film, and it still doesn't spoil my liking.
The new characters on board such as Kristen Wiig as Lucy gives an elusive improvement in Gru's anti-social but odd humor as a loner. Wiig is the perfect voice-over for the character and matches Gru to be the exact partner, better yet the perfect lovey-dovey. However, Ken Jeong is the odd one out in the mix. His character as the wig man Floyd is pretty thin unlike the other ones. I'm obliged that he were able to voice act in the film though.
Finally, the Minions are here to stay. They look adorable akin to the previous film with the same babbling offbeat and gibberish dialogue. There're too many too count, but I didn't care much as long as plenty of them keep the laughter piling up.
Kudos to production company Illumination Mac Guff (the company behind the VFX of the film), if they're planning for a Despicable 3, I don't see 'why not?' If this animation feature became of a franchise, looks like I will be counting Minions to laugh with. But as for now, I'm telling you that Despicable Me 2 is even funnier and affable to be one of the best animation films of the year.
We're the Millers (2013)
Family in disguise
Now here's a comedy that is raunchy and flat-out all the way through! "We're the Millers" delivers all the mixbag humor designated for Friday Night viewers. I was less expecting it to be a successful one, but I guess I failed. It is one of the best comedy films of the year, promising a great set of cast including Jason Sudeikis.
One of the reasons I trust the potential of this movie is its director Rawson Marshall Thurber ("Dodgeball"). After the disappointment of his last offering "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh", Thurber goes back in directing a script written by two writers of Wedding Crashers and the two writers of Sex Drive, which were also good comedies. The film proves to be the director's knack of making comedies than shifting to drama. Better yet, there will be more of Thurber in this genre in the future.
Jason Sudeikis stars as David Clark a small time pot dealer who gets over in his head. And to get out from under, he's got to smuggle a ton of Marijuana from Mexico across the border back to Colorado. To do that, he hires a local stripper Rose (Jennifer Aniston), a homeless runaway girl Casey (Emma Roberts), and a nerd who lives in his apartment building Kenny (Will Poulter) to pretend to be his family. They rent a recreational vehicle, call themselves "The Miller Family" to make it successfully in Mexico. But will things go as planned? Who knows? At least nobody in the cast is gleeful enough to consume marijuana, just plenty of bumps along the way.
The script flirts with subtle humor but not getting too far. The offbeat dialogue and wicked sense of humor doesn't run out of steam. You may laugh on how screwed up a fake family which turns out to be drug smugglers, but the film doesn't take the serious issue of this crime. Instead, it is masked with deliberate sarcasm for the sake of getting even and willing to cope.
I consider the stars a Dream Cast. Sudeikis as a pot dealer is new for me. Every single quips of his part is packed with energy and absurdity even in dire situations. The same goes with Aniston as a stripper, though I do not consider her to be the good Rose in the film. However, the striptease scene felt crazy than wild. Will Poulter and Emma Roberts shares a rigorous chemistry as fake siblings. Poulter is the exact guy I liked to be the nerdy type, well nerdy might involve being a virgin or singing Waterfalls by TLC. Ed Helms as the billionaire boss is the weakest link perhaps. He's not as funny as he was in the Hangover Trilogy.
We're the Millers indeed is surprisingly funny with a great ensemble. Hands down, it is one of the best comedy films of this year. Hollywood may have run out of ideas, but everyone wants a good throwback of the recent funniest and less broad comedies of the past few years. You're in for a "Miller" treat.
The Wolverine (2013)
Edge-of-your-seat metal-clangin' epic
A standalone comic film adaptation is supposed to bring astonishing development to a superhero to establish a deeper understanding of its existence in its own universe. The long-time Marvel superhero Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman) gives us a new breath of fresh air in this new film The Wolverine. Unlike the 2009 film "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", the new Wolverine film helmed by director James Mangold (3:10 To Yuma, Walk The Line) grabs the opportunity to deliver an even anarchistic Wolverine and a fitting to the X-Men universe.
The narrative is entirely focused on the Frank Miller and Chris Clairmont comic issues, which is set in Japan. Logan as the Wolverine, embarks on his way to Tokyo accompanied by Yukio (Rila Fukushima) to bid adieu to a Japanese WW II veteran back in 1945 during the Nagasaki Bombing, Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi). The dying Yashida, who presently owns a tech company, wants to pay Logan a price for saving him from the atomic bombing. Yashida wants him to be mortal by transferring his own healing factor, but Logan refuses.
The film takes off after Yashida's death and a sinister event involving one of the mutant physicians who turned out to be the Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova) who plants an anti-Adamantium substance-like to Logan reducing his healing ability. A group of Yakuzas captures Mariko (Tao Okamoto), the granddaughter of Yashida. Logan must see to it that Mariko is not in the wrong hands.
"The Wolverine" is a slam-bang CGI-induced movie unlike the passable "Man of Steel" which is packed with bloated CGI wallop and less humor. With Japan as the setting, the Wolverine character's given an anarchic feel and out-of-this-world dire ramification of being out of his powers and learning of his own as an outsider. The action packs a punch, especially if we arrive at the bullet train scene at the speed of light. And of course, one of the rivalries of mutants, the ninjas gives helping in providing real clash for Wolverine.
The only thing I'm disappointed would be the overuse of CGI in some obvious fragments of the film. If you've seen the trailer, you know whom am I referring to.
Among the superhero films of 2013, "The Wolverine" is one of the best. At least the Wolverine this time knows how to make a difference and proves that he's one of the badass superheroes of this generation. "The Wolverine" is an edge-of-your-seat metal-clanging new offering which never fails.
The To Do List (2013)
Mellow and dirty flick in the tradition of Superbad!
Some teen flicks provides nostalgic "I Love the 90s" premise to pay homage to that rising genre which reigned directors like John Hughes on the director's seat. I've seen some good ones, and there're also bad ones, but listing the bad ones would be tedious considering you perhaps love exploring these flicks. However, "The To Do List" is one of the good ones. The movie has plenty of clever set pieces which plays mellow and dirty, but it doesn't mean it's not funny at all.
If you're a fan of teen sex comedies, you may inevitably compare it with "Superbad", "American Pie" or "Porky's" at least. But none of these films shares the notion of a nerdsploitation heroine who dares to play Anne Hooper to write an elementary school Kama Sutra. I think I found it quite unique but clever. Besides, the choice lead that went to Aubrey Plaza shall make the film likable.
Aubrey Plaza plays as Brandy Klark, a nerdy senior high school Valedictorian graduate in 1993 who's bothered by her virginity and is pressured by her ungrateful sister Amber (Rachel Bilson). Her friends Fiona (Alia Shawkat) and Wendy (Sarah Steele) sets her up to a party to get drunk and by chance gets a frustrated sexual encounter with Rusty Waters (Scott Porter) which turned out to be a disaster for a virgin. So Brandy decides to make her list of to-dos of different sexual positions (including masturbation, cunnilingus, dry-humping, etc. etc) and tries to grab the opportunity to test it out with the gents including Rusty, the main course for "the intercourse" or preferably "Pop the Cherry".
But there's one character for certain that doesn't share the same manly quality as Rusty. It's Brandy's other closest friend and lab partner Cameron (Johnny Simmons) to whom we may expect to be a rival of Rusty in gaining her attention to be the suitable man.
Of course, the inevitable ingredient in Brandy's list is men. It will be too obvious that one of these boys will get the most of Brandy's list; Is it Rusty? Is it Cameron? Or will there be some little helping from the supporting appearance of Christopher Mintz-Plasse? I dunno. But I guess I will leave it for you to figure out.
The story's quirky but likable enough with Aubrey Plaza's witty charisma and passion to her deadpan trademark for the central role remarkable. Her persona suits her perfectly as a sex-newbie than a sex- nudie. Okay, if you're expecting an upper frontal nudity from Plaza which the trailer perhaps might have lured you to watch this, you may kid yourself. Besides, if she were to pay over her body just for the role, the movie might lose the slapstick sex raunchiness.
Some characters even have weak potentials for the genre that we are just forced to like them. This counts Clark Gregg as Judge, Brandy's dad. Hader is not as funny as he was in an Apatow flick or SNL. But audiences may forgive him for his mediocre sketch humor like I did.
Maggie Carey, the writer-director of the movie (Bill Hader's spouse) makes sure the sexual dialogue doesn't go too far the way American Pie or The 40-Year Old Vrigin was supposed to. She made sure she is the considerate Judd Apatow. It's mild in a sense that it's not as superbad as Superbad, but rather induce it with, with star quality and a theme that tell us that the female virginity is a big deal than men's.
It doesn't really bother me whether the movie shares nostalgic romp from existing teen sex comedies. The To Do List gives the underrated bearable silliness with the charisma of its star, Aubrey Plaza. It's guilt-free fun.