The Great Gatsby Reviewed

The Great Gatsby: Calling it the “Great” Gatsby is a bit of false advertising as this latest adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald is decent at best. The movie tells the story of the mysterious Gatsby who throws outrageous parties – in fact Gatsby’s parties are right up there with Thornton Melon’s from Back to School. He is doing this to catch the attention of his past love Daisy ( Carrie Mulligan) who lives across the bay. They are finally reunited, but can they erase the past enough to have a future together, that is the actual mystery. What had me excited from the time I heard Baz Luhrmann was directing was the lavish party scenes he would bring to life.  However, while they were fun to take in….it was nothing close to the wonder we saw in Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge. The story is told through Gatsby’s next store neighbor Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) who gives a serviceable job. The movie really belongs to DiCaprio who I thought was fantastic as Gatsby and Joel Edgerton who was equally great as Daisy’s husband Tom. The film missed its mark emotionally – I was never drawn in by Daisy and Gatsby’s romance. While I enjoyed watching this classic novel unfold on screen, I found myself wanting to care more about the fate of the characters involved. Great Gatsby? NO – More like Decent Gatsby....

Rythemovieguy’s Grade: 2.5 Jaws

If this movie had parents they would be: Moulin Rouge & The Talented Mr. Ripley

Top 10 of 2012

Top 10 of 2012: As we approach the most unpredictable Oscars in years, I find it a perfect time to name my top 10 films of the year. For those of you that listen to my podcast  CinemaJaw, I gave my list out weeks ago in episode # 136. However there is something about "putting it on paper" that makes it seem official. As always I have also included a second opinion (Jen's list is listed below). I have also included a third opinion (MattK, co-host of  CinemaJaw). Many of these films are out on DVD and VOD. Enjoy.

Ry's Top 10
10) Looper
 9) The Impossible
 8) The Life of Pi
 7) Django Unchained
 6) Silver Linings Playbook
 5) The Perks of Being a Wallflower
 4) Argo
 3) Searching for Sugar Man
 2) Moonrise Kingdom
 1) Zero Dark Thirty

Jen's Top 10
10) 5 Broken Cameras
 9) Life of Pi
 8) The Impossible
 7) Argo
 6) Your Sister's Sister
 5) The Perks of Being a Wallflower
 4) Cloud Atlas
 3) Silver Linings Playbook
 2) Zero Dark Thirty
 1) Searching for Sugar Man

MattK's Top 10
10) Jiro Dreams of Sushi
 9) Prometheus
 8) Lawless
 7) Skyfall
 6) Dark Knight Rises
 5) Amazing Spiderman
 4) Wreck-it Ralph
 3) Ted
 2) Django Unchained
 1) The Avengers

Side Effects Movie Review

Side Effects: Take two pills and call me in the morning. Steven Soderbergh’s latest prescription drug thriller stars Rooney Mara, Jude, Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Channing Tatum. Mara plays Emily Taylor, a young woman suffering from depression while her husband (Tatum) is in prison for insider trading. Upon his release she tries to get healthy by seeking out help from a psychiatrist (Law). This is a “thriller” not a “drama” so not everything is what it seems. Soderbergh opens up the twist early, which I found refreshing. This allowed the last 40 minutes of the movie to play out like a good detective story. In fact, I have not seen such good detective work done by a doctor since Harrison Ford in The Fugitive. While I did enjoy some of the twists, I unfortunately found the story implausible near the end. I am not sure the courts would allow Law’s character to keep treating a patient as the case was building against them. Jude Law gave worthy performance as did Rooney Mara (although I found her hair to be distractingly bad).  The more leeway you give the script the more you will enjoy, for me it was not the perfect dose.

RyTheMovieGuy’s grade: 2.5 Jaws    

If Side Effects had Parents, they would be: The Fugitive and Primal Fear

Hyde Park on Hudson Movie Review

Hyde Park on Hudson: Bill Murray playing president FDR in 1939 during King George VI visit to America is enough to peak anyone’s interest. We are not use to seeing Murray portray any nonfictional characters much less a president of the United States.  He did a wonderful job, but at times I still wanted him to be “Bill Murray” on screen more than I wanted to see him try to be FDR. The story is based on true events concerning the 1^st ever visit to America by a King and Queen of England. The stammering King George VI was here to gain U.S. support for World War II. FDR decided to have them out at his summer home in Hyde Park for a casual gathering. Having cocktails before dinner and serving hot dogs at a picnic was just a couple of controversial choices made by the president during their visit.  It might be looked at as trying to belittle the King and Queen or seen as a way to bring the countries together. This side of the story worked, however it was overshadowed by a storyline that did not. Laura Linney plays Daisy a distant cousin of FDR that actually goes on to have a love affair with him. She spends many days at the Hyde Park house while FDR is there. She is crushed to find out that she is not the only woman he is seeing. The film more or less celebrates the fact that FDR had affairs with multiple women.  That just felt wrong to me. Not to mention I thought Laura Linney’s character came off like a bump on a log. They should have focused much more on the King’s visit and less on the love affair.

Rythemovieguy’s Grade: 2 Jaws / C+  

If this movie had parents they would be The King's Speech & An Affair to Remember