Netflix Files: Safety Not Guaranteed



Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Directed by: Colin Trevorrow

Written by: Derek Connolly

Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Mark Duplass, Mary Lynn Rajskub

Rating: R

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars!

Hello faithful readers! My last post from a few days back has not performed as well as I'd hoped in number of views, so I'm already back with a vengeance! I decided to mix it up and put out a review on something I'd watched on Netflix. I felt this makes watcing the topic film easier, should someone who reads this be interested in doing so! I will continue to post both archives, Netflix indulgences, and (should you be interested) new movies, since I've been to the theatre almost every weekend this summer!

Last night, my fiancee, my brother, and myself went to Little Caesar's (did you know that you can get a pizza, crazy bread, and a 2-liter for ten bucks?! Crazy!) and then returned to my humble abode to scour Netflix for something interesting to to watch while eating (since the two always seem to go hand in hand now a days). I mostly use Netflix for TV shows (I'm amidst a slow watch-through of Arrested Development Season 4 and a slightly quicker trip through Supernatural), but after a little debate through the movies on my instant queue (there aren't many) we settled on Safety Not Guaranteed.

Initially, I was excited about the film for two reasons. I saw Colin Trevorrow directed, and he was attached to directing Jurassic Park 4, and the other was that I'm a huge Parks and Recreation fan, and Aubrey Plaza is a huge part of that experience for me! Now..forward!

Synopsis:

A magazine reporter, Jeff (Jake Johnson; 21 Jump Street), recruits a couple of interns Darius (Aubrey Plaza; Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World) and Arnau (Karan Soni; Betas) to follow a story about a classified ad placed in the newspaper. The ad is searching for a time-travel partner. Following said lead, the trio eventually stumble onto the ad writer, Kenneth (Mark Duplass: Zero Dark Thirty) and must figure out how to approach him.

Thoughts (What I Liked):

Initially I was worried, because the first five minutes indicated that Aubrey Plaza was just playing April Ludgate in a movie. Don't get me wrong, that would be awesome, but I didn't think it fit. Don't worry, her character begins to differ as the movie progresses.

I thought (hoped) that Mary Lynn Rajskub (24) would have played a bigger part as the magazine editor, but the part she did bring to the table was perfect. In the end, I hoped for a little more screen time for her, but she was fantastic nonetheless!

Mark Duplass' Kenneth was great. He was like a little smarter, more together version of Napoleon Dynamite. I kind of envision him as a "plays Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh! in the cafeteria" kind of guy, and I was not disappointed. I spent the entire film wondering whether or not he was a genius or a complete nut-job, and I'm still not sure I know for certain. I can tell, however, that the director and writer intended it that way, and I loved it!

One of my personal highlights of the film is Jeff, the reporter. At the beginning, all signs point to this guy being a huge scumbag. He uses this business trip to visit an ex-girlfriend, has the interns do his work for him, and seems to be nothing more than a shallow individual. However, as the movie progresses, Jeff becomes more self-aware, and the redemption for his character is subtle but charming. I hated him at the beginning, but loved him by the end. Jake Johnson did a fantastic job.

Thoughts Pt. II (What I Didn't Like):

I've never been very good at eloquently stating what I don't like about a movie, and I often don't write reviews of films I don't like (or at least haven't in a good while). This film was good, I might even go so far as to say great, but at the end of the 86 minute film, I was only bugged by one thing (Well, one overarching thing).

I loved the ending, which wrapped up the stories well (enough) for both Kenneth and Darius, but I wanted to know more! I wanted to learn about Jeff's life, which seemed to be approached with a new perspective following the trip. I wanted to know more about Arnau in general. I want to know more about everything Kenneth and Darius did after the movie ended. Don't get me wrong, I loved the film, and the mark of a great storyteller is to leave you wanting more. So, in that vein, I say "Bravo"! Well done Derek Connolly, Colin Trevorrow, and friends. You left me wanting oh-so-much more. But in that same line of thought, with an 86 minute movie, you have at least 20 minutes to play with before your film becomes "kinda long". So I'm glad I was left wanting more, but I think the writer and director could've granted it within reason.

In Conclusion:

This film is great. It isn't for kids, and the R rating obviously comes from the 2 (or 3, or 4...I can't remember) F-bombs dropped throughout, but aside from that is really pretty tame. If you were to subtract the aforementioned F-bombs, it would be an easy PG-13. I really enjoyed it. It's simple, fun, thought provoking, and funny. Plaza, Duplass, and Johnson really shine, and Rajskub and the other supporting players really fit well. Ultimately, if you have 86 minutes to kill in between the Netflix Tv Series' that you watch, I'd recommend you use them for this! It isn't life changing, but it's well done!

Thanks so much for reading as always, folks. I'm still looking for new ideas, film recommendations, and ways to increase my readership. I appreciate my readers as always, and hope to keep feeding the blog soon. Please, please, PLEASE send me feedback, via comment, facebook, twitter, anything, and I'd also encourage you to subscribe via RSS if you want to be updated via email when I update the blog! I want to hear your ideas for this blog, too! A blog is nothing without its readers! Thanks guys! God bless!!

NAH

Django Unchained

Django Unchained (2012)

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Written by: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson

Rating: R

My rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars

Hello blog-o-sphere! I told you I'd be back!

Just so happens I had 165 minutes to kill today, plus an entire bottle of Mountain Dew and a $5 Hot-N-Ready Little Caesar's Pizza. So I combined all of that into a "watch the movie no one wanted to see with you since you're by yourself" kind of thing.

So, following that little alone time sesh, here is a collective pile of my thoughts on the very fresh viewing of Django Unchained. 

Prelude:

I bought this movie just a few weeks ago (it hasn't been out on DVD and Blu-ray even a month yet). I've been allowing myself to splurge on a special edition Blu-ray of some kind every so often, and Django was my April. I got the Blu-ray combo pack special edition from Target. It came with a metal case, the DVD, the Blu-ray, a disc of bonus features, plus an iTunes digital copy and an Ultraviolet digital copy. So far it's been worth the little extra I've paid. I used the Blu-ray today, and it was stunning picture quality.

I'd also like to add to this newly discovered "prelude" section that I had heard a lot of good and bad things about this movie before watching, but I'm a huge Tarantino fan.

Synopsis:

Two years before the Civil War, as winter approaches, a dentist-turned-bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz; Inglorious Basterds) is hunting for three particular wanted men, and seeks help by purchasing a slave who would know their faces, named Django (Jamie Foxx; Ray). Schultz enlists Django's help by including the promise of freedom. Django is freed, but chooses to remain in the employ of Schultz, and Schultz agrees to help his friend look for his estranged wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington; Fantastic Four), who is undoubtedly still enslaved somewhere closer to their South Carolina roots. Once found, Django and Schultz hatch an elaborate scheme to free Broomhilda from the ownership of plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio; Inception).

My thoughts:

In short....I loved it!

Christoph Waltz won an Oscar for this role and it's easy to see why. His Dr. Schultz kept us guessing the entirety of the film. Part of me thinks that I was just so used to Waltz playing the villain (even in Tarantino's other films) that I kept waiting for some evil turn or twist to happen from him, but it never did. His character was brilliant from start to finish. Tarantino also deserves props for his contributions to creating Schultz's character. Most directors would have made him seem more like "the hero", but Waltz and Tarantino created him as just another flawed man, and the brilliance of it shines through (to me, at least).

I've always been a DiCaprio fan (though Titanic isn't my favorite film) but I have to say he delivered here too. His Calvin Candie was believable and strong throughout. The level of play was very high from everyone, but DiCaprio set the stage. Candie's head slave, Steven, played by Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) was a perfect compliment to DiCaprio's collected Candie, and both played an integral part in the story as well.

The writing (of course) was superb as well. It was well deserving of it's Oscar win in that category as well. A  lot of people find Tarantino's constant use of profanity (and in this case, the "n" word) unnecessary, but I call shenanigans! Is it unnecessary because it didn't further the story, or because it made you uncomfortable to hear it? It DID (in most cases) do both of those things. Tarantino is good at using profanity, nudity, and violence to further his stories. In this case, he told a fictional story about a time when the slave trade was running rampant through the United States. Without the language, nudity, or violence, it's just a feel good story about a free slave who finds his wife, but with it, it becomes a real picture into somewhat recent human history. It SHOULD have made you uncomfortable. That was the intent.

I thoroughly enjoyed the cameo roles played by some of the more famous people, like when Miami Vice's Don Johnson appeared as plantation owner "Big Daddy", Jonah Hill as an enraged member of the Klu Klux Klan, and even Quentin Tarantino himself, in the employ of the slave trade. It made my film experience that much more enjoyable to have so many recognizable faces among it.

The biggest props of the film, though, have to go to Jamie Foxx. The last movie I saw him in before this was Horrible Bosses, and while that movie is hilarious, it doesn't equate to the cinematic accomplishment that Jamie Foxx was such an integral part of here. I had heard Will Smith turned down the role and (as much of a Will Smith fan I am) I couldn't be happier. Foxx's Django accomplished something strangely reminiscent of Tom Hardy's "Bane" in The Dark Knight Rises in that he says so much without saying much in the way of words. Django's character does speak more and more as the movie goes on, but he says way more with his face and his actions than his Tarantino-scripted lines can.

I realize that was in great detail, but the watch was very fresh so I had a lot to say. Plus, it's nearly a three hour film.

In Conclusion:

I realize that this film is unusually controversial compared to normal "Archives Report" material (and if you have a problem with How the Grinch Stole Christmas you need to just leave right now) but this is one of my favorite things about film. I love discussing it. In my personal opinion, the work of the writer/director required the severe language and violence to properly convey his message. The controversy over it just means he made his point. Forgetting that these dark times happened to our nation shouldn't happen. We should remember our mistakes, so we don't repeat them. As I'm sure you'll find out from me in the future in this very blog, I'm a big believer in the point and the message of a film, rather than nitpick at the means they used to reach it.

If you made it this far: Thank you! I really appreciate any support this blog can muster! I'd love to blog for a living one day! Please let me know your thoughts on the film, my blog, your upcoming summer vacation...anything. I'd really love to hear it!

Thanks again! Until next time! God Bless!

NAH

The Avengers

The Avengers (2012)\

Directed By: Joss Whedon

Written By: Zak Penn, Joss Whedon, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joe Simon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stellan Skarsgard
Rating: PG-13
My rating: 6 out of 5 stars (Hey, it's my blog)

Hang on just a minute..

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Okay, I had to take a nap really quick because I was exhausted after typing all of those names. The Avengers is a star-studded film, and it's probably the only star-studded film to come out this year that will be any good. I reserve the right to be wrong, of course, because if there is a sequel to New Years Eve, then, well, The Avengers, better just give up their Oscar hopes then and there.

The Avengers, for those who could possibly not know, is a Marvel comics story based on the combination of several different Marvel stories. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson; Pulp Fiction) is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., who at one time was starting an initiative (The AVENGERS initiative) to put together a team of extraordinary heroes. That has since gone down the drain, but when faced with a threat from Asgard named Loki (Tom Hiddleston; Thor), he must act. He immediately loses one of his best men Clint "Hawkeye" Barton (Jeremy Renner; The Bourne Legacy) to a spell by Loki, as well as his number one scientist when it comes to the "tesseract" (which I grew up knowing to be defined as a wrinkle in time, but in this case apparently is a powerful little space box), Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard; Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest). Down those two, and with a S.H.I.E.L.D. base destroyed, Fury, with the help of Agents Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders; TV's How I Met Your Mother), and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg; Iron Man 2). They call in Natasha "The Black Widow" Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson; He's Just Not That Into You), and she immediately heads off to Calcutta to recruit the leading scientist in his field, and occasional green rage monster, Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Meanwhile, Agent Coulson visits Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.; Iron Man) while he's with his assistant-turned-girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow; Shallow Hal). Tony is reluctant but eventually "comes in" to "assist Dr. Banner". Nick Fury visits longtime frozen super soldier, Capt. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans; Captain America: The First Avenger) and asks him to lead this team of (some say misfits, I say) superheroes, against Loki. After Loki is apprehended is when Thor (Chris Hemsworth; Snow White and the Huntsman) arrives, and that's when the real adventures/battles/avenging can begin.

*WHEW*

That was a long one. I thought my last one had a confusing synopsis paragraph. Geez Louise.

Now for the review....

In all seriousness, I do not know where to start. 

Okay. Number 1, the first time I had seen this movie (at midnight in 3D in theatres with my beautiful now-fiancee and homely looking brothers), I had not yet seen Thor...or at least all of it. Now that I have seen it, the whole plot-line of The Avengers makes a lot more sense!

Number 2: This time I watched it with my buddy Graeme, who wants to make movies some day, so that was definitely an enlightening experience

Number 3: It's really fun to watch Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, especially while hurling Pulp Fiction quotes at the television while watching....not that I would know.

Now for the real stuff:

This movie is brilliant. The writing is fantastic. Nothing was over-the-top about it. The acting was all great, especially for playing such far-fetched characters. The bright spots for me were definitely Downey Jr. and Ruffalo. Ruffalo had not yet been in a Marvel film, and handled it brilliantly. Downey Jr. is ALWAYS brilliant, and he didn't disappoint. There were some funny moments, some moving moments, and some down right sad moments, but all of it fell together brilliantly. There was an always funny Stan Lee cameo, as there are with most of the Marvel adaptations, and it was just all around enjoyable. If you love superhero movies, Marvel comic books, or just plain entertaining action films...Go see it. I'd recommend seeing Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, and The Incredible Hulk first, but even if you don't, you will still be entertained.

I think that The Avengers should receive an official Oscar nomination for best picture. I'm not saying it will actually win, but it's behind only Titanic and Avatar ranking as the 3rd highest grossing film of all time. Titanic WON Best Picture, and Avatar was nominated, so I think The Avengers still deserves a fighting chance, don't you?

Anyway, thanks for reading. I know it had been about a month since I wrote last, but I'm actually like 3 movies behind, so expect some more this week sometime :)

Please comment somewhere/somehow (at least click the little clicky boxes down at the bottom and I'll be eternally grateful :)

Thanks for reading. God Bless!

NAH