The Perks Of Being A Wall Flower

Sometimes there are movies I really don't care to see. And then by some chance of fate, boredom, or being persuaded into seeing it by someone (in this case, my amazing fiancé), I finally see it and I realize I was a fool for not seeing it. It's a beautiful thing, seeing a movie you had no expectations for and then it ends up being great. That's exactly what happened to me with The Perks of Being A Wall Flower.

This movie follows a freshman named Charlie, played by Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Three Musketeers), starting on his first day of high school. Having just lost his best friend to his suicide, and trying to overcome mental instability, Charlie finds himself with no friends in a new school. He overcomes his shyness to try to make friends, and opens up to Patrick and Sam, a pair of eccentrics who are step-brother and sister. They let Charlie join their circle of friends and welcome him with open arms. They heel him, in away, from his past demons. But as all high schoolers do, they go through some rough times.

Written and Directed by the author of the novel it's based on, this movie is a great story about the troubles of adolescence. And although some parts of the script seemed forced and slightly cheesy at times, most of the film is filled with surprisingly great acting, heartwarming as well as some heartbreaking moments.

Logan Lerman, mostly known for his teenage action roles, is superb in this movie. He overshadows the rest of the more widely known cast including Emma Watson, Paul Rudd, Joan Cusack, Dylan McDermott, and several other. His portrayal of the guy who puts everyone before himself is spot. His performance in this movie is his best by further than I could even explain.

This movie was a pleasant surprise that I am very glad I went to see, despite my initial objections to it. I was so wrong about it in the beginning.

My Grade: A-

What a great couple of weeks for movie-going. I love the fall movie line-ups.

Seven Psychopaths

Everyone loves movies about psychopaths. They make for great stories. Psycho, American Psycho, Se7en, every horror movie in the 70s. Martin McDonagh made a movie about Seven of them.

Seven Psychopaths is a dark comedy by filmmaker Martin McDonagh of In Bruges... fame isn't the right word. Underrated...ness. Unfortunately, that great film didn't do as well as it deserved, but it is a fantastic movie. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and do.

Seven Psychopaths is a dark comedy about a screenwriter (played by Colin Farrell) and his two dog-knapping friends (Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken). They find themselves in a pickle when the dog-knappers dog-knap a Shih Tzu of Charlie, a gang boss who is more or less obsessed with his dog.

If there is one thing I believe Martin McDonagh does better than any other writer/director, it's adding intense drama in the middle of a comedy without making it feel like a different film. He did it with In Bruges and he has done it again with this film. He makes you love the characters with their hilarious tendencies which strengthens the emotional connection you feel for them when they are hurting. I've never seen another director do it quite like he does. It's amazing.

Seven Psychopaths is a great movie, but I don't expect everyone to love it. The reason I love it is the roller coaster of emotion that it is, which I could see being extremely annoying to some. But, if I feel anyway about any and all movies, it's that you should always see it to make your own opinion. Don't listen to me or another critic that actually gets paid to write and does it a lot better than me. See it for yourself. Even if you wait until its at Red Box. I mean, if anything see it for Tom Waits with a Bunny. The movies you hate strengthen your appreciation for the movies you love. There is no such thing as time wasted on a movie.

Except Tree of Life.

My Grade (For Seven Psychopaths, not Tree of Life): A

Argo

It's been awhile since I've written a review. I've seen some movies since my last post, but haven't had time to write them. These past two weeks I was blessed with seeing 3 great films I would love to tell you about. The first is by sub-par actor turned fantastic director, Ben Affleck. He followed his first two movies (Gone Baby Gone, The Town) with a film that is sure to receive some Oscar nods this coming January. Ladies and Gentlemen... Argo.

Argo takes place in 1979 when Iranian revolutionists invaded the American embassy in Iran, taking 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. During the revolution, 6 Americans managed to escape the embassy and take refuge in the Canadian Ambassadors house during that time. The CIA soon follows with a plan to evacuate the six with a plan to have them fly out as a Canadian Film crew that has been there on a location scout.

Sounds crazy, but it's all true.

They even created a fake Studio, had a full script, story boards, everything to cover their tracks and get the Diplomats out safely.

In my opinion, one of the hardest things to do is to add suspense to a story most people already know from history. You have to keep people on the edge of their seats when they already know what happens in the end. Ben Affleck, along with a great editor, accomplished that.

This movie will keep your heart beating and muscles tense for nearly the entire first and final act. In the beginning, the seamlessly splice in actual archive footage of the events and match them with their reenactments, and it's almost impossible to tell and creates a feel as if you're watching it on the news for the first time.

I neither hated, nor loved Ben Affleck as an actor. He wasn't good or bad enough to really form an opinion. He was just kind of there. But his first three films as a director are better than most. And each one is better than the last. If this film isn't nominated for at least a Golden Globe, then I don't know how  they choose their nominations.

My Grade: A

P.S.... John Goodman.... That is all...