Silver Linings Playbook

Nominated Movie

After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a mysterious girl with problems of her own.

This is what acting is all about, such a great cast and amazing performances by them all.  Bradley Cooper nailed it with his character, absolutely turning the page on whom he is and what he can do as an actor.  Jennifer Lawrence is talented beyond her years.  I thought it would be difficult for her to top the performance she gave in Winter’s Bone, but like Bradley, she too is just beginning to give us a glimpse of what she is capable of.  Thank God Chris Tucker has resurfaced with a career resurrecting performance.  This movie is what we all want to be, unfiltered and in your face with no apologies love it or leave it attitude.  Along with the message of always being able to find the silver lining in everything and believing that things will work in your favor quickly made this movie a favorite of mine.

Congratulations to Jennifer Lawrence and her Golden Globe victory and to Bradley Cooper on his nominations as well.  Be sure not to miss this one.

Enjoy the show. 

Django Unchained

Nominated Movie

Former dentist, Dr. King Schultz, buys the freedom of a slave, Django, and trains him with the intent to make him his deputy bounty hunter. Instead, he is led to the site of Django's wife who is under the hands of Calvin Candie, a ruthless plantation owner.

Honestly when it comes to Quentin Tarantino, who doesn’t enjoy his work?  We know exactly what it’s going to be, but he still is able to put his magic touch on it and make it into something more than what we thought it was going to be.  This film deserves all the recognition it’s getting and it quickly became my second favorite Tarantino movie, behind only Pulp Fiction.  That should get me in trouble with the Tarantino fans. 

The best part of this movie is that it surprised me with the story.  I do my best to figure out what a movie is going to do when I see the trailer, but this movie is so much more than advertised.  The same way that Jack Reacher is much more than its action packed trailer leads you to believe. 

Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson deliver incredible performances.  Now I need to get to Samuel immediately.  He was fantastic in this role and you either enjoy his character or you really pay attention and hate his character.  Christoph Waltz and risen to the top of the acting charts to the point where I would enjoy seeing he and Daniel Day Lewis in a movie together. 

I was entertained for the complete 2 hours and 45 minutes and the time flew by because there is never a dull moment.  Congratulations Quentin on your nominations and best of luck during awards season.

Enjoy the show. 

ARGO

Nominated Movie

A dramatization of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out of revolutionary Iran.

So I’m at the place in the road where when I hear Ben Affleck is directing, I know it’s going to be good.  Putting him up there among the ranks of Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, Steven Soderbergh, and Christopher Nolan.  It goes without debate that the movies these men direct are going to be of the highest quality. 

What I don’t understand is why some people I talk to say they didn’t enjoy Argo because it was predictable.  Wow!! Breaking news to all you geniuses, it’s based on a true story and if you took the time to enjoy some history you would have already know the story and the outcome.  This spells bad news for Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty.  Spoiler Alert!! They capture Bin Laden!!

Fantastic movie and it deserves all the accolades that it’s receiving.  Ben has done it again while delivering a great performance along with Alan Arkin, John Goodman, and Bryan Cranston.  Honestly I couldn’t get enough of Arkin and Goodman, and I am now hoping that Ben, or any director will actually make the fake movie Argo into a reality.  Maybe it’s because I’m from Fargo and Argo is one letter shy of this great place but I can’t get enough of this movie.  We all (most of us) know what’s going to happen and still it keeps you on the edge of your seat and biting your nails.  Congratulations to Ben and the rest of the cast, and good luck during awards season.

Enjoy the show. 

People Like Us

I needed a movie for my holiday plane ride and I decided on People Like Us, a movie I should’ve seen when it came out last year but I never made it.  After watching it I’m very upset with myself for not seeing this picture when it was released in theaters.
While settling his recently deceased father's estate, a salesman (Chris Pine) discovers he has a sister (Elizabeth Banks) whom he never knew about, leading both siblings to re-examine their perceptions about family and life choices.

Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Hall D’Addario, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Olivia Wilde.   My opinion is that it’s Chris Pines best acting job to date, until this, I thought his best work was Smokin’ Aces.  Michelle Pfeiffer, perfect as always and still as beautiful as ever.  Olivia Wilde delivers a well-played performance as Chris’ girlfriend and looks stunning with minimal makeup.  Elizabeth Banks plays Michael Hall D’Addario’s Mother, who is dealing with life as a single Mom and raising a too smart for his own good juvenile delinquent. 

This movie will take you on a ride of emotions and keep you entertained from start to finish.  If you’re into tears, smiles, laughter, love, forgiveness and an all out touching film, this is a can’t miss.  It’s too bad this low budget; high performance film didn’t get the recognition it deserves.

5 tears out of 5

Enjoy the show.

JACK REACHER

So it’s not doing well at the box office and that’s a shame because this is a great movie.  I get that the die hard Lee Child fans are upset that the character isn’t 6’5”, 250 pounds with a 50 inch chest as he is written in the books, but tell me this, what actor is this big? Exactly!! Tom Cruise is the perfect choice for this character and he absolutely nailed it.  The book is fantastic, and the movie as usual, is modified to make a story for the big screen.  Who is going to make a movie out of a 300-page script? In a way I wish they would have because the book is so good, but reflecting on the movie it was done well and should be doing better at the box office.  This is more of a crime thriller that keeps you guessing, not a fast paced action movie as a lot of the advertising leads you to believe.  Go into this movie ready to see a mystery movie and you are going to enjoy it, I guarantee it.  As I watched the movie I noticed the music overs were minimum, which was fun, plus getting to hear a 350 hp SS Chevelle engine roaring over the theater speakers during the chase scene is music to my ears.  Duvall and Cruise appear to be having a lot of fun in this movie and I’m willing to bet they actually did.   Werner Herzog delivers an as always engrossing performance as a disfigured character that is tough as hell and someone you do not cross.  I give it 8 punches to the groin out of 10.  “Do you think I’m a hero? I am not a hero.”

Enjoy the show