(500) Days of Summer (2009)

From When Harry Met Sally... to (500) Days of Summer, I seem to be finding the best romantic comedies. Just as a side-note The Breakup wasn't terrible either, but I don't feel like writing about it. Over 20 years between the two movies, and countless terrible movies between them, it shows that the genre isn't dead. Romantic Comedies just need two things: the courage to go off-formula and good performances.

(500) Days of Summer shows the turbulent relationship between Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) from when they meet until their relationship ends. In case you're wondering, I did not spoil the ending. Most people know, or figure out, going into the film that it ends that way. This hour and a half is all about seeing how it all happens from day one to 500, skipping a few days here and there, and backtracking every once in a while.

  

The most interesting aspect of the film is the backtracking and non-linear storyline. Almost every day is labeled before the scene and you can tell if it's going to be a good day or bad day. The movie will shift from a good day (when the movie is very funny) to a bad day (when the movie is still very interesting), and back, as a way to see the relationship deteriorates. The one problem with this is you can lose track of which day you're currently watching. It doesn't cause a lot of problems with the progress of the movie, but it can take you out of it once or twice. That's not the only thing interesting to this film, it loves to utilize a great narrator (Richard McGonagle) and split-screen to great effect.
  

The performances by the cast are phenomenal, and one thing I'm wondering about the filming is did they film the good days and bad days separately? I need to single out Gordon-Levitt. Tom is the major character of the movie. We almost only see his point of view on the ups and downs of the relationship, so I feel he had to bring a little more to each scene. One major member of the supporting cast, that stood out to me, is Chloë Moretz in a pre-Kick Ass role. She plays Tom's sister Rachel and seems to be the only person that can get through to him in times of crisis. Marc Webb directed this film amazingly, and I now have some real hope for the new Spider-Man movie. 

Update: Webb's Spider-Man movies ended up becoming one of my personal favorites, for better or worse.

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When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

I had wanted to watch this film for a long time. I've been slowly getting into Billy Crystal films, starting with Monsters Inc., and watched one pretty good Meg Ryan movie, You've Got Mail. I have watched almost all of the film in pieces on cable, but I finally found the whole thing on Netflix. I'm glad I finally got a chance to watch a romantic comedy that makes me, as a guy, not want to puke. On the opposite side of that, this is a movie that girls will fall in love with; no gross humor or "unnecessary," to some girls, vulgarity.

The story starts with these two taking an eighteen-hour trip with each other from Chicago to New York City. During the trip, they develop initially rocky chemistry by discussing how men and women can't be just friends because sex gets in the way. This is Harry's belief, and my belief, but not Sally's belief. After the trip they go they're separate ways, only to meet up again five years later, and then meet up again another five years later. This third time they become friends, just friends, and this friendship is explored. Between the ten years, a lot has happened to both of them, and it becomes a contributing factor to the dynamics of their friendship.

When Harry Met Sally's greatest strength is its dialogue and performances. Each line is perfectly sentimental, sharp, or sweet when it needs to be, and none of it feels forced or out of place. The other great thing about this film is it's the format. While we see Harry and Sally explore their relationship we are treated to video interviews of couples talking about their first meetings and relationships.

The film is a joint effort from Nora Ephron (writer) and Rob Reiner (director), and they do great work with Crystal, Ryan, and a great supporting cast that includes Carrie Fisher, as Sally's friend Marie, and Bruno Kirby, as Harry's friend Jess.

I highly recommend this movie to anybody over the age of sixteen. I say that because it's rated "R" for a damn good, funny, reason. Those who know why would agree with me, and those who don't are probably going to be very shocked if they watch this movie with their parents or partner.

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Gangs of New York (2002)

I was watching Gangs of New York with my former roommate, and we just finished the almost three-hour movie. He told me he has a homework assignment involving the film. He just has to write about his thoughts on it. Well, these are my thoughts.

This is definitely a different movie for Martin Scorsese. It takes place in the late 19th century. It takes place in the Civil War era. The story basically a man, Amsterdam Vallon (Leo DiCaprio), returns to NYC, after being in an orphanage, to avenge his father's (Liam Neeson) death. Along the way, he meets people he was forced to leave behind and learns of what's changed in the city. He joins a gang of immigrants and people trying to stay out of the war and avoid the first U.S draft. The leader of the opposing side is, of course, the man, Bill "The Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis), that killed his father. This man is a "Native American" with a deep hatred of immigrants and others who aren't White. His main goal is to rise in power through illegal activity and murder. Rounding out the cast is Cameron Diaz as Vallon's love interest. Her name is Jenny Everdeane, and she is a sneaky pickpocket and volatile woman. This is a different role for Diaz, I've only seen her in things like The Mask, The Holiday, and What Happens in Vegas. She, along with the rest of the cast, give great performances.

 

Movie Poster | Copyright Miramax 2002

My roommate was writing down his thoughts while he was watching the movie. He picked up on some things I didn't think too hard about. This movie has a lot of different themes associated with it. All of these themes are seen in various small moments, but they add to the movie as a whole. Gangs of New York keeps people pretty high-strung through the use of knife violence and the anticipation of some slightly gruesome scenes. On-screen knife violence never really agrees with me, it's can just be too much sometimes. It wouldn't seem so overdone after a second viewing, and that's something I would love to check out. 

Overall this is a great movie and it has a pretty amazing final scene that can only be appreciated after sitting through, enjoying it or not, the whole film.

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Duck Dodgers in the 24th1/2 Century (1953)

One cartoon I remember watching several times when I was little was Chuck Jones's Duck Dodgers in the 24th1/2 Century. I hadn't seen it in a while, but I was able to recall several little details when I saw it in class, and again earlier today. 

For me watching these cartoons again after many years is about remembering those little details-the giant eye in the beginning of the film, the disintegration pistol, navigating to planet "X." The navigation scene has a classic facial expression from Daffy at the end. Those are still all my favorite parts of the cartoon, but I picked up on some new stuff-the story around the voyage to the planet is hilarious nonsense, and I was able to read the ultimatum bullets. Last time I saw them I could only read "OUCH!"(I was really young). At least I was able to respond to Daffy getting his face blown up. Daffy and Porky are a classic team, and they're hard to compare to any other classic looney Tunes duo, you can't pick Daffy and Bugs because their relationship is too different. Porky is kind of like the "straight man" and Daffy is just crazy. I can't think of a single moment I didn't enjoy watching this, my only problem is it seems to run short.

Title Card | Copyright 1953 Warner Brothers and AT&T

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How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

When a DreamWorks Animation movie makes you feel something, it's special. When a DreamWorks Animation movie makes you question which film will win Best Animated Feature at the Golden Globes and Oscars, it's interesting. When a DreamWorks Animation movie makes you wonder if this is the same studio that has become known for cramming pop culture references and farts into its movies, it's How to Train Your Dragon.

How to Train Your Dragon is the classic story of the kid who is different from everybody else. That kid is Hiccup, and if you didn't know, that voice is Jay Baruchel's. Hiccup is a small, weak kid who wants to at least fit in with his fellow vikings. He's not seeking extreme popularity, and he KNOWS being accepted for himself is a long shot. His own father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), won't even accept him. However, he figures fitting in would be nice. The way to fit in is to kill a dragon.
    
Along comes a "Night Fury," the most dangerous breed of dragon. Hiccup has trapped him and left him defenseless. With a blade in his hand, Hiccup looks into the dragon's eyes and sees a plea for mercy. Hiccup frees the dragon and starts their slow-building secret friendship. Hiccup names the dragon Toothless, because he has retractable teeth, and together they are able to change their world for the better.
    
The best part of this movie is that it's different from anything else DreamWorks has ever come up with. As I said before, no overly crude humor or cheap laughs. The goal of How to Train Your Dragon is a little less about laughs and more about creating "oohs and aahs" among the audience. This is accomplished through the action scenes. This film has some of the best flying sequences in any film. The 3D only makes it better, as it is done subtly and isn't overused.
    
My only problem with the plot is that Hiccup's story arc and his dad's are familiar and have been done before. The good thing is they've never been done quite like this, so it's just a minor problem.
   
Will How to Train Your Dragon beat Toy Story 3 at the Oscars? Hell no, but it is still an amazing movie on par with some of Pixar's other best works and older DreamWorks Animation movies like Antz and Shrek.

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Due Date (2010) vs Planes Trains & Automobiles (1987)

I'm going to come out and say it, Planes, Trains & Automobiles is better than Due Date. Due Date tries to be a bigger and better version of Planes, Trains & Automobiles and fails, so instead of having the flight land in a different city, there's a ridiculous bomb threat. Instead of one major story point, we have multiple plot details that didn't have to be written. These things and more amount to an ending that should've been reached through a faster and easier route.

The characters are exaggerated to the point where Ethan (Zack Galifianakis) is just the most grating idiot anyone can meet and Peter (Robert Downey Jr.) is a ticking time bomb. They both have their redeeming qualities, but you don't always see them shine through. Instead, Peter physically and verbally assaults Ethan, and Ethan seems unintentionally hellbent on ruining Peter's trip. While you will laugh at the movie a lot you'll notice something is missing, even if you've never seen Planes, Trains & Automobiles. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm talking about the heart of the movie.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles has several scenes that won't make you laugh, but will leave you thinking something like, "What was this movie really about?" Due Date doesn't really have that, you go in, have a laugh (a pretty good laugh at times), and get out. Both movies are great, one just does the genre (road movie) justice. This is what it boils down to, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles did it first and did it best. Does that make Due Date terrible? No, it's a great movie. It's just in second place.

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Hair Raising Hare (1946)

Some of the best of Bugs Bunny and Chuck Jones are shown in this film. What I really noticed about Hair Raising Hare is it shows how many different ways an action or emotion can be animated. And if I'm right, it's the director's job to pick out the best way to go for a particular scene. They decide how a scene plays out based on the script, am I right? Bugs goes through several different walk cycles, a take where he goes through several facial expressions of fear (complete with "Yipe!" sign), and several other animation exercises. Bugs has his greatest moments of breaking the fourth wall in this cartoon, my favorite being his response to the "doctor in the house." The monster is very funny, and part of his own set of interesting gags, from being in a suit of armor to "Canned Monster." His single line of dialogue-single word-is hilarious. The two things I didn't like-Bugs is WAY too smart to fall for the mechanical rabbit in the beginning of the cartoon, the second time makes up for it though. Also, that scientist guy is too creepy. If they could have made him kind of funny, just a little, this would be perfect.

Title Card | Copyright 1946 Warner Brothers and AT&T

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