Crazy, Stupid, Love

Crazy Stupid Love is a romantic comedy from 2011. It stars a whole host of actors including Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, John Carroll Lynch, Marisa Tomei, Analeigh Tipton, and Kevin Bacon. The movie starts out when Cal Weaver’s (Steve Carell) wife and former high school sweetheart, Emily (Julianne Moore), abruptly requests a divorce. Cal, who is not prepared for this in the slightest, ends up finding it difficult to cope with his new single life. He is absolutely clueless about finding love again, on top of the fact that his confidence and appearance are very low, as he wears sneakers, coats a size too big and a wounded heart on his sleeve.

 One night, a young, attractive man named Jacob (Ryan Gosling) pities him for sitting alone in a bar. He introduces himself, and then takes Cal under his wing to teach him all the right moves. Jacob’s own polished pick-up routines work on an array of different women, until one day he finds a girl, who turns out to be Cal’s daughter Hannah (Emma Stone) who actually causes him to want to settle down. Meanwhile, two other romances stumble along at the Weaver household: Son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) pines for his sister’s babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), while his mom tries to make sense of her feelings for one of her co-workers (Kevin Bacon). 

The whole movie ultimately comes together at a family gathering in the Weavers’ backyard, when we learn how all the characters become inter-related to each other. This starts an uproar, but eventually all of the characters come together and are able to co-exist peacefully in the end.

I really enjoyed this movie. It had a good amount of humor, and was able to keep my attention and engagement throughout. I especially enjoyed the ending because it was full of twists and turns that the writers crafted in a way that they were able to keep it a secret from the audience. I honestly did not expect such a surprising ending. However, I did think that the film could have been made even better had it been able to explore its characters a little more in-depth. Perhaps this was caused by the fact that the movie contained too many characters and sub-plots to be able to explore them all in a thorough and satisfying manner. 

The Draw of Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks has become a household name all over the country.  He is known for writing some of the most moving stories about love and life.  Yes love, it seems so cliché nowadays.  The perception of love in modern society has been skewed in our minds to being impossible to find or just a journey of constant heartbreak.  For many of us though, this perception seems about right.  However, when I watch one of his films or read his books, I find myself in awe of the beautiful writing and characters that keep me locked in the moments of what we all wish to experience one day.  His most famous books to date are The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, Dear John, The Lucky One, Safe Haven, and The Last Song.  Having seen all of them, I have found myself asking what it is about his works that make such an impact on myself and others that other movies in particular do not.  So in asking that question, I have broken it down into two reasons of why Nicholas Sparks’ movies are so successful.

The Main Characters & Actors

            To state the obvious, EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL! You have Ryan Gossling and Rachel McAdams in The Notebook, Shane West and Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember, Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried in Dear John, Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling in The Lucky One, Josh Duhmel and Julianne Hough in Safe Haven, and Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus in The Last Song.  Woah!  Im not sure I know too many people who don’t fantasize about at least one of these actors or actresses frequently which only adds to the impact of the story but of course doesn’t make it.  The characters that each actor or actress plays seem to hold the perfect qualities in a human that every girl or boy wishes they could find. Though maybe not from the start, eventually they evolve and build our likeness for the person more and more throughout the movie.  They help us get lost in their emotions and draw us into their situations so it’s as if we are there.  They seem to represent something we want so badly in our lives personally and makes us feel like it is in arms reach.

Also, not only does he create these beautiful characters that we cant help but love, he creates characters that we cant help but hate or make us sad or mad.  Whether the character is sick, dying, abusive, or you name it, they become this barrier that must be broken down and creates a struggle not only for the characters in the film but also for the audience.  Our connections with these characters make us feel protective of them. Emotions suddenly start building as soon as things don’t go the way we want which brings us on the love journey in the first place.

The Plotline

            After reading several of Nicholas Sparks’ books and watching just about every single movie, of which many he wrote and produced himself as well, I have realized that most of his stories are based on a similar storyline.  There are the two characters who want to be with one another however, someone or something gets in the way. Yes sounds like any other love story, yet each story has these hidden meanings that we don’t initially catch from the beginning that surprise us in the end. Nicholas Sparks has mastered the skill of portraying a scene in such a way that he convinces us that we know what is going to happen and in the end then proves us wrong.  Theres the first meeting, then the connection, the conflict, the surprise, then the ending, and a lot more in between. 

Nicholas Sparks’ ability to write great characters and stories that resonate to many lives is the reason why I believe he is so successful. 

The Power of Silence

I was browsing the internet the other day looking for a good short-film to watch, and I stumbled upon this one, produced by a company in Thailand called TrueMoveH:

The description of the film is in Thai, and the only word that is in english is the simple word, "giving". However, the premise of the film is easily understood. It follows a young boy who steals medication for his dying mother. When he is caught, a local merchant pays for the meds and gives him a bowl of vegetable soup. Thirty years later, the soup merchant has an accident, and his young daughter is left inundated with medical bills that she simply can't pay. However, the doctor turns out to be the very boy who stole medicine thirty years prior, and waives the medical fees. 

To be brutally honest, this film presents a pretty commonplace and predictable story. I'm not trying to be reductive, it's just the way things work. Everything is based off of something. If this film holds any merit, which it does, it stems from its presentation and not from its storyline. A majority of the driving force of the video derives from the artistic choice not to include dialogue, save the background information at the beginning. 

Although I'm a fan of powerful dialogue, I've always been under the impression that being going without it adds a considerable amount of depth. Perhaps that's why I liked Drive so much. The Driver's silence help develop the story, not inhibit it. The same applies to the first few minutes of UP. I would argue that that may very well be one of the most beautiful eight minutes of film-making, and it is almost completely devoid of dialogue. 

For this short-film, the choice to not have dialogue makes it more inclusive. It forces the viewer to feel and not just watch and listen. It beautifully guides the viewer toward closer observation of the characters and their situation, and eventually toward empathy. The viewer knows that the doctor is probably the kid from the beginning, but the scene where the daughter reads the revised medical bill is still emotional all the same. When films are crafted so beautifully, their message hits you in the gut, and hopefully bears some practical application to everyday life. This one certainly does.

This week in movies...

Friday: Tonight, I've just watched Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino. And I've got to say I was taken aback by it. And I'm not sure if in a good or a bad way.

In one aspect it was beautifully done and in Tarantino-fashion. Lots of blood, lots of "F" and "N" words but wonderfully showed the grittiness of what it means to do a "job".

Maybe it's due to the last few of his movies I've seen are his quote-on-quote best movies, that I built it up as going to be just another Pulp Fiction but with more mobsters.

Hopefully if I watch it again in a few weeks or so, I'll appreciate it more... Of course I enjoyed when Blonde cut the cops ear off- the pacing of it was so well done that my ear only hurt once I saw the ear in Blonde's hand.

And like always, the soundtrack was on point... And I loved Orange's references to Marvel... made my night.

Saturday: This afternoon my boyfriend and I saw Gangster Squad. He wasn't sure on whether we should see it or not since the website, Rotten Tomatoes, gave it a low score. I usually hate what most critics say about a movie so I finally beat the whole "But Emma Stone is in it!" to a pulp and we finally got to see it.

It wasn't that bad. Now, I enjoyed Josh Brolin bash peoples' faces in and Ryan Gosling in a fitted suit but it was a movie you have to see at least once. The story telling was sub-par but it was still a good gangster movie. Brolin's wife in the movie was one of my favorite characters and the fight scenes were always exciting. 

Don't spend your money on the movie while it's out in theaters- wait till it's either at your $2 theatre or until it's at RedBox. If you like Ryan Gosling and gun fights, might as well check it out.

Blue Valentine

About two years ago, a film called Blue Valentine came out in selected theaters. At the time I never heard of it before, only knew Ryan Gosling was in it. So inevitably I had to go see it. I assumed it would be a sappy romantic comedy that was similar to the notebook. Wow was I wrong. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams relationship is nothing like Noah and Allie from the Notebook. Blue Valentine begins with Dean and Cindy; an older married couple with a young daughter. The family dog is missing, and Cindy is so agitated and distant from Dean it’s sad to watch. They find the dog dead on the side of the road, which is a clear symbol to the death of their love as well.  However, after this scene establishing their failed marriage, the film shifts back and forth to when they first met and how they got to where they are now. 

The one word I can use to describe this film that makes it different then any other movie about a failing relationship is the rawness. This film is up close and personal to say the least. The emotion in their eyes and worn faces shows the extreme difference in time in their relationship. The sex scenes are even long and semi uncomfortable at times. However this plays into the rawness and is what makes this film so different. 

Blue Valentine is definitely not something to watch with your lover/boyfriend/girlfriend, it’s more of a movie to see alone or with friends. It’s a pretty sad reminder that not all love lasts forever, and most people fall out of love eventually. The truthfulness in this film is something not a lot of people can handle. My favorite scene is in the beginning of their relationship when Ryan Gosling plays the ukelele for her and sings “You Always Hurt the Ones you Love” and Michelle Williams tap dances. They look so young and carefree it’s a harsh contrast to them years later, married with a kid. I posted a link of the song but unfortunately couldn't find one of the scene. But that is him singing and playing ukele. If you’re not a big fan of the Notebook then you should check this movie out. 

Drive

One movie I had been waiting to see since before the summer was the new Ryan Gosling thriller "Drive". It all stared when this clip came out in May and I had been obsessed with the scene ever since. for starters the cinematography is beautiful and provides an air of mystery around Goslings character.

A trailer soon followed and getting updates on the movie became a daily activity for me.

The movie left little to be desired for me and I give it a full two thumbs up. The music was brilliant and gave the film that retro late 1970's Steve McQueen feel. The chase scenes are a thing of beauty and make a film about a stunt driver seem as real as can be. While some may find Gosling's character hard to connect to, I think that is the point. He is a driver and very little more. He doesn't seem to have any connection to anyone accept a handyman who brought him in as a teenager and nurtured him into his adult years, and a next door neighbor with whom he has a fledging romance. If you're into thrillers and stunts that will make your mouth water, this movie is a must see for you.