Only God Forgives [2013]

Originally was super excited to see this film after I saw the trailer, but that was another classic case where the trailer was far superior than the film. 

The film's overall vibe is so similar to DRIVE that it's scary. I loved DRIVE, but this was a whole different animal. OGF was so focused on being cutesy with the scene setups, and slow camera sweeps, and quarter-speed character interactions that it became laughable. It was like they were trying to recreate the overall tone of DRIVE. Even from looking at the poster you think it would be possibly its sequel.

The gratuitous violence in the film feels unnecessary and pushed upon the audience for mere shook value alone. Whereas in DRIVE it was tied into Ryan's character's arc progression and was saved for the right, perfect moments to add to the overall story. Here it seemed used as a desperate attempt to get the audience' attention.

It's a beautiful film to look at, but there was just no substance there for me. I didn't care about the characters. I didn't care about the need for Ryan to extract revenge for his mother and brother whom were killed by the antagonist. It just felt like a big, sloppy, violent mess and couldn't wait for it to end. Now with DRIVE, I wanted more and still revisit that film from time to time.

Rating: 2.5/10

RT: 40%

The Lifeguard [2013]

Thoroughly enjoyed this film. Saw a trailer for it long ago and a few weeks back NetFlix came through huge for me. Story: Girl leaves big city and heads back home to try and reinvigorate her life and hold on to her youth. 

The film struck a cord with me in the same way Fight Club and Garden State did. Coming of age films that protrude freedom as a way of life where you are not tied down to one particular ideology of list of must-dos. There is definitely that sense of freedom throughout this film. 

The film did have problems, but nothing so ridiculous to focus on. The ending was not what I expected, but I enjoy the 'less-than-happy-ending-ending' so I was pleased and also saddened at the same time. The relationship between Kristian and the boy was believable and they did a good job of coaxing the viewers to be on "their side" with the whole thing. 

One criticism I'll note was the lack of character arc for Kristian's character. I wish we could've seen more of her journey on both sides of the top point of her arc. It almost felt a little too rushed on either side, spending far too much time during the 2nd phase where she was partying and being carefree. I would've had more buy-in if we had spent more time with her before coming home and after the fallout. It would've helped the audience to be more engaged and I feel that was lacking.

Rating: 8.75/10
RT:  13%

Hunger Games - Catching Fire [2013]

Was semi "dragged" to see this last night, so I figured while my impressions were still fresh I'd get something down. First off all, I find it ironic how a movie about the brainwashing of masses has become so popular in exactly that. I was thinking of more ways to tie this thought together but it made my brain hurt.

I did enjoy this one more than the original and thought it was a superior film. The story progression was predictable and took only about 25% of the film to get back to Catness and Square Jaw back into the game arena. I never read the books and it still was apparent what was going to happen. 

The camera movement felt more fluid and controlled this time around. I remember out of HG1 that the shaky camera during the action bouts was just horrible and it was obviously used to cover up the lack of violent detail being that it was a PG13 and all. 

The characters felt distant and removed, like usual. I definitely will attribute this to Jennifer Lawrence's horrible acting. I've noticed that she has two modes. Either straight faced and empty or crying in hysterics. It's pretty easy to see why they made her character in the film someone who was distant and introverted. It's almost like she didn't even need to actually act at all...

EDIT: J-Law is legitimately a boring person in real life. Ha.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv2xfgOL2Uk

Philip Semore Hoffman makes an appearance as the new "game master" or whatever and wasted completely wasted, but you could tell he was given little to work with. Donald Sutherland is definitely my favorite. I don't know if it's just the beard or the fact that he can actually act. Hmmm... Acting.

The film left of in typical fashion on a bit of a cliffhanger, but was a natural bookend that way they ensure to draw out the series as long as possible to bring in the cheddar. 

Another positive note is that 140 minutes went pretty quickly I thought. There was only a scene or two where you realized that you had been sitting in one spot for over two hours. And I guess that's a positive. 

Rating: 7/10
RT: 89%

Assault on Wall Street [2013]

In fear of going completely mad I've decided to use this as an outlet to attempt some writing no matter how minimalistic or substancial. I'm doing this for me... I need to keep telling myself that.

I had the displeasure of watching this thing right after Thanksgiving. I don't want to waste too much time on it but it was laughable. Everything about this movie was embarrassing; from the acting, to the supporting cast, to the horrible hit-you-over-the-head-obvious shot progression prior to the third act, to the story. Yes, the story itself was a joke. So standard and lackluster. 

The ending was horribly reminiscent of the Fight Club scene where Jack minipulates his boss into "letting him work from home". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhtrmebhqfw 

The only redeeming part of this film was the joke about how grenades are fun. It happened about halfway through and was delivered by a guy that literally had 30 seconds of screen time.

Don't see this film.

Rating: 2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 25%