Silver Linings Playbook

Tali: Silver Linings Playbook is a tragi-comedy about Pat and Tiffany, two lost souls with varying degrees of mental illness, both trying to work through their idiosyncrasies and make life possible. Their relationship and their struggles will certainly melt your heart. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are both astonishing in their roles - to a lesser extent with JL, but BC simply blew my mind away (I already know JL was a bad ass). Those two could not have made a better pair! In fact, the entire cast, dealing with all of the complexities and the drama of their own illnesses/baggage made the story believable and likeable. I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie! I highly suggest you see it with an open mind (and an open heart).

Leo: Tali and I disagree about whether or not this was a chick flick (after which I will call her a chick and flick her) but the important thing is that I thought it was very entertaining and well done. I really liked the story and how it had an element of realism within the conflict and it wasn't just forced problems to create a story for the audience to watch two people come together (like the majority of chick flicks). It was definitely funny and smart in that sense. In addition to this, the acting was incredible. Robert DeNiro was amazing as Bradley Cooper's father, and Bradley Cooper played an amazing protagonist that you may not expect out of him. His role was likeable even though he was clinically insane. Jennifer Lawrence was very believable in her role, I don't care about the age difference, it made sense. She executed the role of the "equally fucked up love interest" perfectly. I had a few problems with the plot though. SPOILERS: I did not like the way he figured out that Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) wrote the letters. I thought it was obvious at the start that she was writing the letters, but Pat (Bradley Cooper) clearly believed it was his ex-wife, so it seemed forced that she kept unintentionally repeating "if I was reading the signs". I also found it somewhat unrealistic that he went from clinically insane and obsessed about one woman and then BOOM in just a week or so he falls in love with another woman, even if that woman is Jennifer Lawrence. All in all, great movie. One of the best "date movies".

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Tali: Beasts of the Southern Wild tells the story of Hushpuppy, a head-strong young girl who lives in an isolated Gulf Coast community that is fraught with storms, strife and survivalism. Told with brilliant imagery and expressed through complex emotions, BOSW explores the passions of hardships of growing up too fast. There are so many good moments in this film, so many reasons to make you feel proud of strong female characters, of down-and-out communities banding together, and of "sticking it to the man" if you will. Quvenzhané Wallis is brilliant beyond her years and it will be exciting to see how her career goes from here. I don't think she is an Oscar contender, however - though her performance was pretty great (yes she was five when she filmed it), there is a lot to be said about the other characters in the film who bring complicated imperfections to life.  Unfortunately, feminist icon bell hooks has a lot of negative things to say about the film, which is clouding my judgement of it several weeks later.

Leo: I thought Beasts of the Southern Wild was an incredibly different type of film from what we're used to seeing at the oscars and it's only natural that some people don't know how to react. Like Tarantino movies, we are not used to seeing so politically off-beat movies. I personally think it is refreshing to see a movie that pulls no punches for political reasons. People are how they are and this movie at least feels like it is delivering us the unfiltered version of the world from the view of Hushpuppy, the small girl in which this movie is based around. It does not follow the basic plot scheme we are used to, being the rise, climax, then fall of action. It acts as more of a documentary in the sense that it feels as though we are getting a report about the way things are in the Bathtub. Even with this documentary-style narrative, there are so many amazing scenes in this movie, particularly with the dialogue and the acting. I don't know if it's right or not but it made me crave seafood (especially deep fried seafood). I'm hopeful that the movie robs Zero Dark Thirty of best picture because I don't even think the two compare in involvement.

Django Unchained

Tali: Django Unchained is the latest from writer/director Quentin Tarantino - so you know right off the hop, that amongst the blood and guts (and there is a TON of blood and guts), that you will be subjected to treated to three hours (!!!) of a revenge fantasy based on a historical and colonial subject. Though there is lots of violence, the spaghetti western genre allows for such parody to take place that for most of the movie, you are able to stare excitedly as violence ensues. Because of the parody, however, lots of people are concerned/upset/uppity regarding the historical background (which may or may not be fairly accurate) portrayed in this way. A complete 180 from Zero Dark Thirty (which is facing similar criticism), Django can be pulled off because people need their revenge fantasies, and people need it to be accessible. That being said, if you are looking for a very informed and important discussion on race, violence, power and cinematic theory in Django (which you should be), than I highly suggest you read the Feminist Wire.

Leo: This was an amazing movie. Tarantino is unmatched in creating movies that really hit their mark in terms of intention and entertainment in perfect balance. If you come into this movie thinking you are going to get an informed and historically accurate slave movie and then did not like the movie because of that, then I pity you. Tarantino is an artist who tells the truth through untruths. He shows how stupid racism is by parodying the KKK. He shows how terrible slavery is through graphic torture and the attitudes of the characters (whether it's accurate or not is irrelevant). And he shows how amazing it would be to get revenge on those sons of bitches who caused so much harm to so many innocent people. None of the things in this movie actually happened, yet you feel an underlying appreciation for the situation and a sense of justice when he kills all of those murderous slave-owners. Unlike Zero Dark Thirty, this movie does not start with a sweeping statement saying "this is based on a true story". Zero Dark Thirty's credibility lies on the truth of their facts and accuracy, however; Django's does not. Apart from the crazy story, the acting was incredible. It is a shame that all three of Sam Jackson, Leo Decaprio, and Christof Waltz will not get nominated and win, because all of their performances were amazing. See this movie.

Zero Dark Thirty

Tali: Zero Dark Thirty is a political drama that examines the nitty gritty of political bureaucracy and (aggressive) action taken in the years leading up to the finding/killing of Osama Bin Laden. I happened to really, really like this film. Independent of the politics surrounding it (if that's even possible), this was incredibly suspenseful and the acting was stupendous. LOTS has been been said about this movie's use of torture, whether the movie is partisan, etc etc. All you really need to know is that this film is well done - not only do I believe it to be a fairly accurate representation of the inner workings of the CIA, I felt it was done tastefully and and appropriately. AS A NOTE: If you really want to read about the CIA's use of torture (and how it gets covered up), I highly suggest you read Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine, as well as anything Amy Goodman has ever written. And then go see this movie.

Leo: Having heard a billion reviews before seeing the movie, I tried (and I think successfully) went in with a relatively open mind. The torture does not seem too ridiculous (though maybe the characters attitude towards torture can be seen as a little exaggerated). The acting was amazing and the first part of the movie was not as slow as I had expected it to be. I really enjoyed watching the movie and it succeeding in making you want Bin Laden to get caught for her if not for the country. The end of the movie, well, I just had too many problems with it to consider this "best picture-worthy" though I don't doubt its success has always been hinging on the politically driven Academy in the first place. The leading up to Bin Laden being shot was very suspenseful and well-done, however; the aftermath was, to put it simply, stupid. There was nothing else suspenseful that was going to happen with the film so it was so obviously desperately grasping for suspense. For example, the pilot blowing up the helicopter almost slipped! OH MY GOD HE ALMOST FELL 6 FEET THAT'S SO GRIPPING I CAN'T KEEP MY EYES OFF. Not only was it inconsequential but it was just so forced that it made the entire ending of the movie off-putting. To make it worse, they then fabricate another "almost" self-made disaster when they are going to blow up the helicopter as the other one comes. I also miss the gripping CIA-style pursuing scenes (though there was one) that are so common in this genre and make it exciting to watch. This was a good political thriller, I like the story and movie-styling better than The Hurt Locker, however it was missing the feeling and suspense. Still, amazing movie and Jessica Chastain is the next big thing.

Life of Pi

Tali: Life of Pi tells the incredible story of Pi, a young man who after a devastating shipwreck, becomes stranded on a lifeboat with a tiger (whose name is Richard Parker). Overall a pretty good movie! Leave it to director Ang Lee to take a movie with little to no dialogue and make a mesmerizing and visually stunning film (has anyone else seen Brokeback? Those mountains..!!). There seems to be a trend in Hollywood lately where movies are released where we know the ending already. In case you didn't know, this movie is based off of a popular novel (which I haven't read, so I cannot compare the two). This did not spoil the movie, however; there was just enough suspense and fantastical elements to keep you entwined in the story, wanting more.

Leo: I really enjoyed Life of Pi as a spectacle and intellectually pleasing movie. It was fun to watch the relationship grow between Richard Parker and Pi as they fought to survive (the elements and each other). The part with the middle-aged Pi and the author was kind of boring though it was kind of necessary. Ang Lee's movies are always epic in terms of visuals (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon most of all). I can't quite place why it wasn't my "favorite" movie, because it was an amazing movie that I have little criticism of, but there wasn't anything that really "hit" me hard enough to leave a significant mark even if it was very well done and executed. This is a must see.