The Help (2011)

The Help (2011)

8/10  PG-13

The most uplifting film of the year, director Tate Taylor’s The Help is Driving Miss Daisy meets The Secret Life of Bees. Relying on illustrative story-telling and sensational acting, this portrait of the American South is based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett.

Set in Jackson, Mississippi at the dawn of the American civil rights movement, The Help follows the lives of two black housekeepers, both trying to uncover the realities of their work. When Skeeter (Emma Stone), a young, white, Southern belle, realizes her desegregationist convictions, she enters the lives of these women and takes to the pen to write an occupational exposé titled The Help.

Stone, Spencer, and Davis in The Help

Viola Davis deserves an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. So do Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, and Sissy Spacek. All the Academy has to do is find one more viable candidate and they have their field. The women are brilliant, acting with captivating emotion and sensational charm. Chastain, who is looking at possible nominations for two other 2011 movies, Take Shelter and The Tree of Life, shines as the sympathetic Celia for whom Spencer’s eccentric Minny works. An emotionally driven Davis plays Aibileen Clark, the other “help” that the story is all about. Spacek, who has not gotten the same attention for her role as the senile mother in the home in which Aibileen works, shows impressive wit and dedication to character.

The incomparable Emma Stone has incredible grace and wonderful diction and dialect (though she calls Scottsdale, Arizona home) as Skeeter, and her emotional range—from thoughtfully comedic to achingly tear-jerking—took me from laughter to empathy in a matter of moments. Even Allison Janney, who plays Skeeter’s mother Charlotte, has great emotion and a wonderful, though previously utilized, Southern accent to go alone with her antebellum style.

Along with spot-on costumes, set design, and hair and make-up, the plot plays wonderfully off of the amazing cast, helping The Help to a sure Best Picture nomination. The Help is on Blu-ray and DVD today.

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Zombieland (2009)

Zombieland (2009)

6.5/10  PG-13

From director Ruben Fleischer (30 Minutes or Less) and screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (both working on the 2012 G.I. Joe sequel), Zombieland was a successful step into the future of zombie cinema. The comedy followed the popular Dawn of the Dead, Land of the Dead, 28 Days Later, and Shaun of the Dead.

“Cardio.” That’s rule number one in Zombieland, the world as Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) know it. They team together to survive in the dawn of the living, walking dead (I tried using all the popular zombie movie words). Then they meet sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who are also just trying to survive. When they get played by the girls, they take the motto “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” to heart. But can they survive the new world of zombies, or will their fun times get the best of them?

Zombie woman and Eisenberg

Woody Harrelson is fantastic playing…well basically himself in the role, as he often does. He is tough and rough and rowdy and he likes Twinkies. Eisenberg is also much like his other roles, cautious, gutless, nervous, and nerdy. Stone is great; Breslin is her bratty, cute, childish self.

The zombies look interesting, not Walking Dead or Dawn of the Dead great, but good enough for a comedy. Some of them look better than others; definitely watch out for the clown.

The jokes are funny, the actors are spot-on, and the make-up is good enough for this apocalyptic comedy. Sorry the review is short, I’m tired and I didn’t take notes, but I promise to at least give a short review of each movie I see. So, in the end, I recommend Zombieland, it’s an average comedy but will make most people laugh a few times. I saw it on FX, so if you flip by it, take a look…and try to survive.

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Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

5.5/10  PG-13

            With movies like 30 Minutes or Less, Fright Night, and One Day also in theaters, one ponderswhy anyone would need more crazy,stupid, or love at the movies this week. Regardless, directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (who also tag-teamed on the flop I Love You Philip Morris) brought us Crazy,Stupid, Love, the newest comedy from Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling.

The story is complicated, unfinished, and sad. We blend the lives of Cal (Carell) and his wife Emily (Julianne Moore), with Jacob (Gosling) and Hannah (Emma Stone, fabulous as usual). Cal and Emily are getting a divorce after Emily has an affair with a coworker (Kevin Bacon). Jacob, a lady’s man, finally meets the girl that will let him settle down, Hannah. Little does either of them know about the other’s real story. What results is a mess of an ending—one that I wouldn’t dare ruin. Sparsely mixed in the storyline are a few other love threads, threads that didn’t seem to be tied up before the movie was released (think The Hangover Part II). The idea is cute, but the execution is where the flaws reveal themselves.

The always dapper Ryan Gosling in Crazy, Stupid, Love 

Critics and fans flocked to see the dapper Gosling in his most watched role since The Notebook (actually, CSL made approximately $3 million more on opening weekend). However, to me it seemed as though the movie was just an excuse for the stylish star to try on a lot of new clothes. The scene where he shows off his abs is another example of how easy it is to get teenage girls to flock to movie theaters, but I digress. Emma Stone is masterful; especially considering this was her less-watched movie in the same week! Her other, The Help, made $7 million more opening weekend, but that’s another film for another review.

The positives? Besides Stone, Marisa Tomei is brilliant as one of Cal’s rebound girls. Jonah Bobo, who plays Carell’s son, is another bright spot. The 14 year old actor is wonderful, and is sure to have a bright future in the business. Or you could always just go to see Ryan Gosling’s stomach, but I would suggest a younger Gosling (say, Remember the Titans?) if that’s what you want.

If you still feel like jumping on board, Crazy, Stupid, Love is on DVD and Blu-ray now.