It’s easy to dismiss That Awkward Moment as another cliche, feel-goodie rom-com. It has the standard set of characters and scenarios to make it like others: main character is down on their luck, a talkative friend stands nearby and eventually the main character falls for another newly introduced character that is beautiful (but not conventionally so).
Suprisingly That Awkward Moment provides a fresh take on the romantic comedy film genre that many thought was dying. The dialogue holds viewer interest with its witty fiascos and funny liners. The film has a lot of “bromantic” nature to it yet it remains something that any viewer (male or female) could laugh at and relate to.
The film starts with Jason (Zac Efron) as he goes through a “break-up” with a girl he has been seeing for the past six weeks. She wants to break up yet he didn’t even know they were dating. He has a hard time deciding if he is “officially dating” any of the girls he sees. It doesn’t help that he has a talkative womanizer friend named Daniel (Miles Teller) who flows through girls with the help of a female friend luring them in to talk.
Things change when Jason and Daniel learn that Mikey’s wife has cheated on him. Jason and Daniel make a pack with him: stay single with him. Things prove tricky when Jason and Daniel both end up falling in love and have to start hiding it.
The film is hilarious and not like other generic love dove rom-coms. The dialogue points out common cliches of the bar dating scene. The film never seems to go stale as it tells the tale of a group of people trying to understand how to have a stable relationship with another person.B+
With the downward trend of romantic comedies and their less than stellar box office results, Director Tom Gormican took a good move in making the film (with a cast of well-known stars hot off successes) for only $8 million.
I just finished reading the book The Giver by Lois Lowry. The book follows a boy who is selected to be the ‘Receiver of Memory’ in the utopia-esque community he lives in. The film adaption, starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep and Taylor Swift, comes out this August.
I wanted to take a moment to look at some of the great films coming out this year. Not being a huge fan of movies with mindless explosions, most of the films on the list are not from adapted comics.
The Monuments Men
Image via Slate
George Clooney’s latest directorial effort deals with the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Program, a group that saved art and important cultural items before their destruction by Hitler in World War II. It is scheduled for a February 7, 2014 release.
A Million Ways to Die in the West
Image via Screenrant
Seth MacFarlane’s follow-up to his smash hit directorial debut Ted, deals with a sheep farmer (MacFarlane) who lacks courage. With the help of a lady (Charlize Theron) he develops a sense of confidence. The film includes a top notch supporting cast consisting of Liam Neeson, Neil Patrick Harris and Amanda Seyfried. It will be one of the first movies released during the summer season, settling in on May 30, 2014.
The Fault in Our Stars
Image via Wikipedia
John Green’s beloved book dealing with a cancer-stricken 17-year-old named Hazel is coming to the big screen. The film follows Hazel as she deals with the trials and tribulations of cancer while making a friend, Augustus Waters, along the way. Scheduled to release on June 6, 2014, it is sure to welcome book lovers and anyone wanting to go against seeing an action blockbuster in favor of a smaller more personal story.
The Giver
Image via Wikipedia
Jonas is a 12-year-old living in a society where jobs are assigned based on evaluation of skills and couples are matched according to their personalities. The community is seemingly perfect as the citizens take pills to suppress “stirrings.” Jonas is selected to be the new ‘Receiver of Memory’ where he discovers the power of knowledge. He starts to see the faults in the community he lives in.
The film adaption stars Brenton Thwaites in the main role of Jonas. Jeff Bridges plays the giver, the one who trains Jonas. Meryl Streep, Taylor Swift and Katie Holmes round out the cast a film that will cause the viewer to think about the world they live in. Hunger Games trilogy and dystopian world fans would like. It comes out August 15, 2014.
The 86th Academy Awards® will air live on March 2, 2014
Twitter rage was at full speed today as people typed out raging messages in 140 characters or less (with the #oscars hashtag of course). Some rejoiced as Leonardo DeCaprio got an Best Actor Oscar nomination for the Martin Scorsese directed film The Wolf of Wall Street. A #pray4leo hashtag seemed to be trending. Fans of his want this to finally be the year he wins an Oscar. Contrasting the Leo fanfare, many were shocked that Tom Hanks was shut out from a Best Actor nomination for Captain Phillips. Hanks is loved by the academy. He has five nominations and two back-to-back wins. I guess critic acclaim for the film and his performance wasn’t enough.
Many pointed out the fact that despite the acclaimed directing and Oprah Winfrey’s praised performance, Lee Daniel’s The Butler received zero nominations. The Atlantic’s claim of Hollywood’s view on black women won’t be as evident at this years ceremony (click here for article). The snubs brings up the issue of how biased The Academy is when considering potential contenders. The majority of the best picture, directing, and acting categories are filled with big named directors and people who have a good “clout” with The Academy.
Indie darlings like Fruitvale Station, Short Term 12, Enough Said, Spring Breakers, and many more were completely shut out. Fruitvale Station, an acclaimed film that pushed lead actor Michael B. Jordon to the spotlight, received zero nominations. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brie Larson, two actresses that had touching films that resonated with audiences weren’t even given the light of day by The Academy. Despite critical and audience acclaim and several festival awards to back them, they still received no prominent Oscar buzz.
Head over to twitter or internet comment sections if you dare. An abbreviated nominations list is below.
Best picture
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”
“Captain Phillips”
“Her”
“American Hustle”
“Gravity”
“Dallas Buyers Club”
“Nebraska”
“Philomena”
Best director
Steve McQueen — “12 Years a Slave”
David O. Russell — “American Hustle”
Alfonso Cuaron — “Gravity”
Alexander Payne — “Nebraska”
Martin Scorsese — “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Best actor
Bruce Dern — “Nebraska”
Chiwetel Ejiofor — “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey — “Dallas Buyers Club”
Leonardo DiCaprio — “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Christian Bale — “American Hustle”
Best supporting actor
Barkhad Abdi — “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper — “American Hustle”
Jonah Hill — “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto — “Dallas Buyers Club”
Michael Fassbender — “12 Years a Slave”
Best supporting actress
Jennifer Lawrence — “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o — “12 Years a Slave”
June Squibb — “Nebraska”
Julia Roberts — “August: Osage County”
Sally Hawkins — “Blue Jasmine”
Best original screenplay
“American Hustle” — David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer
“Blue Jasmine” — Woody Allen
“Her” — Spike Jonze
“Nebraska” — Bob Nelson
“Dallas Buyers Club” — Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack
Best adapted screenplay
“12 Years a Slave” — John Ridley
“Before Midnight” — Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater
“The Wolf of Wall Street” — Terence Winter
“Captain Phillips” — Billy Ray
“Philomena” — Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
Best animated feature
“The Wind Rises”
“Frozen”
“Despicable Me 2”
“Ernest & Celestine”
“The Croods”
Best music (original song)
“Frozen”: “Let it Go” — Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”: “Ordinary Love” — U2, Paul Hewson
“Her”: “The Moon Song” — Karen O, Spike Jonze
“Despicable Me 2”: “Happy” — Pharrell Williams
“Alone Yet Not Alone”: “Alone Yet Not Alone” — Bruce Broughton, Dennis Spiegel
Best cinematography
“Gravity” — Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis” — Bruno Delbonnel
“Nebraska” — Phedon Papamichael
“Prisoners” — Roger Deakins
“The Grandmaster” — Phillippe Le Sourd
Best costume design
“The Great Gatsby” — Catherine Martin
“12 Years a Slave” — Patricia Norris
“The Grandmaster” — William Chang Suk Ping
“American Hustle” — Michael Wilkinson
“The Invisible Woman” — Michael O’Connor
Best supporting actor
Barkhad Abdi — “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper — “American Hustle”
Jonah Hill — “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto — “Dallas Buyers Club”
Michael Fassbender — “12 Years a Slave”
Best supporting actress
Jennifer Lawrence — “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o — “12 Years a Slave”
June Squibb — “Nebraska”
Julia Roberts — “August: Osage County”
Sally Hawkins — “Blue Jasmine”
Best original screenplay
“American Hustle” — David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer
“Blue Jasmine” — Woody Allen
“Her” — Spike Jonze
“Nebraska” — Bob Nelson
“Dallas Buyers Club” — Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack
Best adapted screenplay
“12 Years a Slave” — John Ridley
“Before Midnight” — Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater
“The Wolf of Wall Street” — Terence Winter
“Captain Phillips” — Billy Ray
“Philomena” — Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
Best animated feature
“The Wind Rises”
“Frozen”
“Despicable Me 2”
“Ernest & Celestine”
“The Croods”
Best foreign feature
“The Hunt” (Denmark)
“The Broken Circle Breakdown” (Belgium)
“The Great Beauty” (Italy)
“Omar” (Palestinian territories)
“The Missing Picture” (Cambodia)
Best music (original song)
“Frozen”: “Let it Go” — Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”: “Ordinary Love” — U2, Paul Hewson
“Her”: “The Moon Song” — Karen O, Spike Jonze
“Despicable Me 2”: “Happy” — Pharrell Williams
“Alone Yet Not Alone”: “Alone Yet Not Alone” — Bruce Broughton, Dennis Spiegel
Best music (original score)
“Gravity” — Steven Price
“Philomena” — Alexandre Desplat
“The Book Thief” — John Williams
“Saving Mr. Banks” — Thomas Newman
“Her” — William Butler and Owen Pallett
Best cinematography
“Gravity” — Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis” — Bruno Delbonnel
“Nebraska” — Phedon Papamichael
“Prisoners” — Roger Deakins
“The Grandmaster” — Phillippe Le Sourd
Best costume design
“The Great Gatsby” — Catherine Martin
“12 Years a Slave” — Patricia Norris
“The Grandmaster” — William Chang Suk Ping
“American Hustle” — Michael Wilkinson
“The Invisible Woman” — Michael O’Connor
Best documentary feature
“The Act of Killing”
“20 Feet From Stardom”
“The Square”
“Cutie and the Boxer”
“Dirty Wars”
Best film editing
“Gravity” — Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger
“12 Years a Slave”– Joe Walker
“Captain Phillips” — Christopher Rouse
“American Hustle” — Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
“Dallas Buyers Club” — John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
When Dazed and Confused left theaters it had grossed just 7.9 million from its 6.9 million budget. The movie starred a string of then-unknown stars like Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck and Milla Jovovich. Although underperforming at the box office, the film went on develop a cult following by people who identified with its themes of rebellion and going against conformity. The film has been put on many critics list of best cult films and recently got a Star of Texas award from the Texas Film Hall of Fame for its 20th anniversary.
Donnie Darko
The science-fiction drama film with its somewhat confusing nature went on to be one of the top favorites for hipsters nationwide. It did moderately okay, grossing 7.6 million against a 4.5 million budget. Despite the film’s less than stellar box office receipts, it helped launch the career of lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal. In the movie Gyllenhaal’s character Donnie, aims to find the significance behind his troubling doomsday visions.
Wet Hot American Summer
Although it had sold-out screenings at its Sundance Festival premiere, Wet Hot American Summer failed to attract many distributors for pick up. It went on to gross just $295,000 againsta $1.8 million budget. It didn’t seem to matter much. The film developed a cult following with strong DVD sales. The film starred many up and comers including Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Ken Marino, Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Banks. Director David Wain has confirmed a sequel with the original cast returning.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Despite positive reviews from critics and fans, Scott Pilgrim flopped at the Box Office making $47 million against a $60 million budget. Fear not, the film shot up to the first spot for blu-ray sales on Amazon the day it became available on DVD. Comic book lovers and hipsters developed a love for the film that showed Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) meeting the girl of his dreams and defeating her “seven evil exes.”
Elysium does not go deep into the immigration reform and social status issues that are displayed front and center in the film’s trailer. It doesn’t have to. Upon viewing the film, it provides enough exposure of a message without being too in the face about it.
image by TriStar Pictures via http://www.imdb.com/
Elysium works as a sort of but not really follow up to Neill Blomkamp’s feature film directorial debut District 9 (2009). Watching the movie, one can tell that it expands upon some of District 9’s themes of segregation and reform. The movie is set in 2154 when the earth is polluted and full of waste. The city of Los Angeles, where main character Max (Matt Damon) lives, is run down and filled with garbage. Wealthy people live on a space station habitat called Elysium that orbits earth.
Ever since he was a kid Max has always wanted to go to Elysium. They have everything: plentiful food, safety, and medical healing pods that detect and cure any abnormalities in seconds. After a factory accident involving radiation poisoning leaves Max with days to live, he decides to go on a mission to Elysium. Max wants to get to one of Elysium’s medical pods so he can heal himself and continue to live.
Audiences may feel a sense of refreshment when watching the films. It is one of the few action/special effects heavy films this year that has more than just mindless fight sequences and star power to offer. The movie lets people think about a dystopian world that might actually become a reality. Blomkamp said of the theme of the film “No. No. This isn’t science fiction. This is today. This is now.”
Since the film has a few loose ends it did not tie up, it leaves much of its dystopian/sci-fi future themes to the imagination. That shouldn’t scare away viewers. The film holds well in providing a good overview of what director Blomkamp was trying to convey. Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley all give solid performances.
A warm and feel-good movie is what most people want when they hit the movie theater on Christmas day. That is what they will get. Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty lets the viewer relish in daydreams and sees how a man changes because of them. The film is a loose take on the 1939 short story of the same name by James Thurber.
Photo via imdb.com
Stiller, along with directing the movie, takes on the main role of Walter Mitty. Walter is a quiet and closed-off person working at Life magazine as a Negative Asset Manager. His life is pretty bland. He is an expert at balancing his checkbook but cannot muster up the courage to “wink” his crush and fellow co-worker Cheryl (Kristen Wiig) on eHarmony. He has a bad habit of zoning out at times. He drifts off into vivid daydreams filled with things he wish he could say and places he wish he could visit. His daydream self has a strong confidence that his real-life bland office worker self does not.
There is a disruption in Walter’s life. Life magazine is scheduling its last print edition and going to online. Walter is tasked with the important role of providing the negative #25 photo by famed photographer Sean O’Connell, to be used as the cover for the final print issue. The negative #25 cannot be found however. It seems to be lost. Walter does not have it in his hands.
Teetering on the edge of getting laid off, Walter travels to Greenland and Iceland to track down Sean O’Connell. He needs the photo. The expedition yields more than just work duties. Walter is diving into the unknown. He is being adventurous for the first time in his life. The empty travel journal that his father gave to him before passing away when Walter was 17 is finally getting used.
The film wavers a bit with its daydream to reality sequences. Many critics have pointed out to the fact that the film loses steam. It’s pointed out that logic and imagination is not properly balanced. This is a good observation but slightly missing the point. Stiller does make a distinction between reality and fantasy. He does weird things (like throwing away the Sean O’Connell gifted wallet) because he is functioning on auto mode. His life is just going with the flow and not really observing what exactly is going on in front of him.
Although The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has been getting mixed reviews it is a solid film to see. There is no other movie that will give you a warm mushy feeling inside than this (maybe Christian Bale’s comb over in American Hustle will hold you over). The film provides great visuals and a predictable but good ending.
One thing stuck in my head after viewing the film: You cannot decide what to do with your life by sitting and thinking hard, it happens through taking action. This is exactly what Walter Mitty does in the film. B-
It’s 4:30 a.m. While most are soundly asleep, Marina Shifrin is at work. She works at a Next Media Animation as a video producer. She hates her job. She has had to sacrifice her family, relationships, and free time in order to get work assignments done. Her boss was focused on quantity and wanted as many videos with as many views as possible.
The day finally comes when she doesn’t want to do the job anymore. She makes a video, puts it on YouTube, and it goes viral just days after. Less than five days after the video, titled “An Interpretive Dance For My Boss Set To Kanye West’s Gone” is posted, she appears on The Queen Latifah Show. Towards the end of the video, Queen Latifah speaks up and offers her a job. “With your experience, I could create a position,” Latifah said. The job she creates for Shifrin is a digital content producer position. Shifrin is meeting with the shows representatives and still considering the option.
This story brings about something very familiar to what I witness a lot while in college. These people are ones that are constantly trying to choose your path for you. They tell you to major in this. They tell you to not major in that. They tell you to join this, do that, take up this, and so forth. It can cause a person’s brain to go into overload. What “correct” thing should the person do?
Navigating college is tricky path. You have to focus on balancing schoolwork, working a job, paying bills, and at the same time trying to gain experience in their field. The important thing to remember is that you can build your own way of life. You have the power. It’s time to experiment and college especially, is a great place to do this. There are so many resources available to students. There are a variety of majors in college to choose from. Find a niche. Utilize all the things available to you. Take advantage of them. You shouldn’t let others decide what you will do. You are in control of your own self. Go out and make your highest goals come true.
“Sometimes I think that you need to forcefully close one door in order for another one to open a little easier,” Marina Shifrin [to Queen Latifah].
What I found while studying in the library Photo Credit: Colin Ashby
Photo Courtesy of imdb.comWith the Netflix site up and a pile of not-so-healthy food in hand, I started to watch Glory Daze. The interesting thing to notice about the film is that it was released at a time when most of the main cast was not all that famous. Glory Daze stars Ben Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Matt Damon, Matthew McConaughey, Leah Remini, and Brendan Fraser all before they hit big.
When most see Glory Daze they see it as just another low-budget indie film without much to offer. That could be the case, but for most (yes, even people outside the 18-34 demographic) will be able to see something more from the movie.
The movie follow five friends who live in a house they call “El Rancho.” They are all going to college at University of California-Santa Cruz. Jack (Ben Affleck) deals with is commanding parents. Dennis (French Stewart) contemplates going to graduate school or not. Rob (Sam Rockwell) wonders if he should move to Los Angeles with his girlfriend or not.
After finishing the movie it really struck a chord with me. A lot of the issues dealt with in the movie are ones college students deal with all the time. Here are the four things I noticed that were addressed in Glory Daze:
Not being sure what you want to do in life
Jack (Ben Affleck) struggles with this throughout the entire movie. He is nearing his college graduation and he is not sure of what to do. In fact he has no idea what to do. Like many college students in real life, his parents start pressuring him. “You need to get a job Jack.” “You graduated, what are your plans now?” Jack doesn’t know how to answer these questions. He tries to dodge his parent’s persistence. He does not want to work at some corporate 9 to 5 job. He does not like doing mindless work for someone else’s dream. He wants to follow his dream. He is an artist. He is not sure of how to reach his dream.
Graduate School?
Dennis (French Stewart) deals with the decision of going to graduate school or working as an assistant at the university. Many graduating college seniors contemplate this. Should I go to graduate school or not? Not sure of if they will get a job after graduation, many students apply for graduate school. They believe that extra degree will make them “more competitive” in the workforce. Being more close to the plot of the movie, some students know they want to go to graduate school but are not sure if they should postpone it or not. Should they work for a few years after graduation or go straight to graduate school? Dennis faces this proposition in the movie when one of his professors ask him to stay on as his assistant.
Relocating
Moving to a new city is a tricky proposition. College students think about the prospect of a new city as they get closer to graduation. Rob (Sam Rockwell) faces this when his question when his longtime girlfriend asks him to move to Los Angeles with her. Graduating college students often wonder if moving to a new city will help them out in life. Does the new city have good job opportunities? Do I need to move there for my career? Should I move even though I have a lump of student loans on me? Questions and anxiety swirl through students minds when they wonder what they should do. The same questions and anxiety happen to Dennis in the movie.
Wondering how all these topics are answered? Go grab some popcorn and maybe a few friends and watch Glory Daze. It is currently on Netflix Instant.
![GloryDaze[1]](http://colinashby.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/glorydaze1.jpg)