Short Term 12

It's a film that on paper, is completely dismissible. Even the title, Short Term 12, is a bit nondescript and missable. However the film is incredibly powerful and poignant. Set in a halfway house for foster children, Short Term 12, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton,  is a film centered around the young adult who takes care of them.

Grace, played by Brie Larson, is a former troubled youth herself and is at Short Term 12 to help those struggling just as she did. She is stern yet fun and smiles shyly at her coworker Mason, played by John Gallagher Jr from the Newsroom. We quickly learn that they have been in a longterm relationship that presumably started while they were working at the halfway house.

We are quickly introduced to the eclectic, manic, and ultimately sweet group of kids staying at the house. The nature of the kids situation is made apparent to us by Marcus, who is about to turn 18. 

  

Grace explains to new hire Nate, who serves as the eyes and ears of the audience, that at 18 these kids are released to make their way in the world. Through Nate we are introduced to this often insane world. He also shows us our own innocence, there's a very powerful moment in which Nate struggles to clean blood off a wall. Nate is at points the only image which the audience can relate.

                                                                                                                                                                  We are also introduced to a young girl Jayden, for who Grace has an immediate and recognizable affinity. Jayden lets the group know immediately that she won't be there long. That her father is picking her up soon. 

Jayden is the catalyst to this crumbling world of humans helping humans. She is the kid Grace has the most in common with and we quickly realize that this caretaker is anything but ordered. The film picks up speed and the hand held camera shows us just how quickly things are getting out of control. 

This could have just been another emotionally derivative indie film about society's handling of marginalized people. Instead it is a very real and authentic look at people who are struggling internally. It's a stand out performance by Brie Larson, who has played excellent small comedic roles in comedies such as 21 Jump Street, The Spectacular Now, and Scott Pilgrim vs the World. It is a powerful performance for someone who is often perceived as light and funny. The screenplay, based on the short film Cretton created,  is based on Cretton's real life experiences working in the foster care system. It's a genuine film that leaves the viewer at a loss. The supporting cast is remarkable and they truly elevate Larson as a girl losing her grip. A beautiful film with real human emotions that most of us have never had to feel before.

Short Term 12 is available on Netflix.

Frank

I had meant to see Frank in theaters. I settled for watching it the day it came out on Netflix. Frank is a film about an odd underground rocker, Frank, who constantly wears a large head shaped mask.

The movie is directed by Lenny Abrahamson and stars Domnhall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Michael Fassbender in the titular role.  While Frank is the masked face of the band, the story follows that of Gleeson's character Jon Burroughs. Jon is a young artist, working a full time job at an office and struggling creatively. The plot gets under way when Jon goes to a beach and sees a man trying to drown himself. He learns that this was the keyboardist of a band called The Soronprfbs. Jon offers himself up and plays a strange, talented, but ultimately short-lived set with the band.

Frank, who is undoubtedly the band's leader, decides he likes Jon and brings him to Ireland to record their next album. The movie meanders in plot for a bit but sets up large scale themes that continue to pay off throughout the film. Frank is obviously eccentric and a bit insane, but where does this insanity end and the genius begin? Can creating art be fundamentally new and still aesthetically pleasing? The viewer, who sees Frank and the Soronprfbs through Jon's outsider eyes, wonders who Frank is under that mask and why is he always wearing it.

The plot picks up again about halfway through the film as the band gets offered a gig at SXSW due to Jon's guerilla social media campaign. A break down is imminent as Frank tries to get more and more "likeable" and Jon starts alienating band members. 

The movie reflects its titular character; it's strange, it's loosely structured, but all together likable and fun. The character is a pseudo homage to Frank Sidebottom, who has a mighty similar head but more of a popular tv look instead of alternative music sound.

Frank is a fun movie with a mysterious center much like the Michael Fassbender's character. The movie denies to be defined. It is complicated and simple. Fun, yet strikingly serious and sad. We end up routing against Jon who was the one who introduced us to this world. As an artist Frank is important movie showing how difficult it is for creative minds to balance themselves, their friends, and the work they so love. I loved this movie. 

The Hunger Games (Movie)

The other day, I watched the move, The Hunger Games, with my friends.  I had read all the books and frankly, was in love with them.  I'd seen the movie before, but decided that this time, I would watch it from an analytical film perspective rather than judging it on how much different it was then the book because frankly, no movie can capture an entire book or book series perfectly as we've seen many times (Harry Potter, Twilight, ect.).

I loved the DIY approach that Gary Ross took when shooting the movie by having most of the movie shot "hand held" which most feature length blockbuster movies never do.  I noticed very quickly that whenever the scene was taking place in a high tense situation or an impoverished area, everything was shot hand held and the editing was extremely fast jump cuts and very bare bones from an editing perspective.  This puts the audience in a certain mood I could tell from watching it.  It became even more noticeable during the few scenes that were in the rich capitol where every shot was either a tripod, steady cam, or jib type shot with extremely smooth cutting from an editing stand point.  Everything was very refined and more typical of most blockbusters to show the wealth of the area they were in.

They way this movie was shot was very different in my opinion from most blockbuster type large budget movies and from that aspect, I thought the movie excelled.  They did a great job of capturing the "indie feel" that the book had been written in.  There also isn't a ton of music in the movie which I think is very important because most of the "districts" didn't have any organized music so it wouldn't make sense with the story.  The only songs were folk type songs which was cool because they were sung by the actors and no instrumentals.  It was very affective in that sense as well.

Overall, it was a well done movie in my personal opinion from a film perspective.  I enjoyed the indie look because that is personally the style that I am drawn to.

Tyler Chadwick