Throwback Thursday - Lincoln Lawyer

I caught this film on TV the other day and couldn't help but watch it again. Originally, we (the Movie Geeks) had seen this film on the big screen during our Winter 2011 movie season. We took a gamble on it, and it paid off. I decided to re-watch it that lazy Sunday when it happened to come on TV and I was once again impressed with the outcome.

 

The Lincoln Lawyer
Director: Brad Furman
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Marissa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe
Released: 2011
Box Office Gross: $57,981,889 (USA)
Throwback Review

The Lincoln Lawyer stars McConaughey, in a similar role as to the one that gave him "street cred" in 1996's A Time to Kill. McConaughey plays criminal defense attorney Mick Haller who operates in LA county out of his black Lincoln Town Car. Making a career on defending small-time criminals, Haller lands the case of his career when Louis Roulet (Phillippe), a rich playboy, is accused of the brutal beating (and attempted murder) of a prostitute.

Believing his client, Haller and his private investigator Frank Levin (William H. Macy), dig deeper into the case to find that not everything is what it seems to be.

I know what you're thinking: typical thriller/drama with McConaughey playing the charming, misunderstood title character who turns out to really possess a heart of gold. Usually, you can easily write-off this type of film by your first viewing of the teaser trailer. But you'd miss out on a very decent crime thriller.

McConaughey returns to his previous "decent actor" status with this "safe choice" role. But don't punish him for taking this safe path...it worked out in his favourite - it reminds audience why we became fans of his work in the first place.

Phillippe is good in the role of the playboy with a dark side. Not standout or memorable by no means, but not horrible. He didn't bring anything new to the role; was almost a mash up of some of his previous work (think I Know What You Did Last Summer meets Cruel Intentions).

Macy is his usual brilliant self. Not much to say about his role other than it was great.

Final Verdict: See it. Take this film for what it is - don't go into it expecting to see breakout acting or a stellar storyline. It's engaging. It's charming. It's bottom line: entertaining. 

Trailer Tuesday - The Bling Ring

This week's edition of Trailer Tuesday features the latest film by writer/director Sofia Coppola. Check out the trailer for The Bling Ring:

Looks like Emma Watson (aka Hermione Granger) is making a clear break from the more family-friendly character we watched her grow up as in the Harry Potter series. She is one younger female actress that I believe will be able to have a successful career post kid/teen franchise. We saw her tackle a serious, darker role in last year's The Perks of Being A Wallflower (read our review here), and I am looking forward to see what she does in this new film.

Inspired by actual events, The Bling Ring is based on a group of fame-obsessed teenagers who use the internet to track celebrities' whereabouts in order to rob their homes. Real-life victim Paris Hilton will be making a cameo which could be a good or bad thing. I am hoping for good. I doubt Coppola would include Hilton in the film if it wasn't going to be in good taste.

We only get a glimpse of what Coppola has created with her latest teen drama film in this teaser trailer, but from what is shown, it looks like we are in store for another game-changer ala Coppola's The Virgin Suicides. That film showed us the darker side of teenage life and it looks like this film will do the same, albeit in an updated format. Coppola also found a muse in Kirsten Dunst after working with the actress in The Virgin Suicides (the two worked together again in Coppola's 2006 film, Marie Antoinette). Perhaps she will find another one in Watson. 

The Bling Ring, which marks Coppola's first film since 2010's Somewhere, is set to be released on June 14, 2013.

For more information on the upcoming teen crime drama, check out the Wikipedia page here and be sure to check Don't Sit Next To Us for the latest updates on the film.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower OR We Are Infinite

The Perks of Being A Wallflower
Director: Stephen Chbosky
Starring: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller
Box Office: $17,738,570 (USA)
DVD Review

I wanted to see this film when it was released in theatres. But it had a short and limited release and we couldn't fit it into our movie schedule.

The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a novel written by Chbosky, who adapted and directed the film. A rarity for films adapted or based on novels and a risk that was well worth taking by Mr. Mudd Productions - a producing team that includes actor John Malkovich and who were behind the 2007 hit Juno.

The film stars Lerman as Charlie, a nervous and shy teenager who is about to begin his freshman year of high school. He finds it difficult to make friends, only making a connection with his English teacher, Mr. Anderson (Paul Rudd). He is introduced to an extroverted senior, Patrick (Miller), in his shop class, and later befriends both Patrick and his stepsister Sam (Watson). Charlie, along with his two new friends, become close and start to go through the highs and lows of growing up.

The film touches on several hard-hitting topics including: suicide, depression, homophobia, and drug abuse. And the story and topics are brought forth convincingly through strong performances from the film`s young cast. Thought the supporting cast, which includes: Rudd, Dylan McDermott, Kate Walsh, and Joan Cusack, provide a talented balance to the younger cast`s main storyline, it`s the three young stars who shine the brightest in their complex and troubled characters.

Lerman, who is best known for his role as the title character in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Lightning Thief, portrays the character of Charlie with such poise and conviction, you forget at times that he is still only in his early twenties. He is likeable as the main character, but still able to provide depth and emotion to a character who has a certain amount of darkness in him.

Watson quickly sheds her "Hermione Granger" image with a character so uniquely different from the female leads in teen films today. She's fragile, yet strong. Full of angst, yet full of hope. It's great to see a young female actor tap into the emotion of a character that makes her so relatable and likeable to people of all ages, especially teen girls. (Unlike Kristen Stewart who can't seem to produce a genuine emotion, even if her life depended on it).

It was so refreshing to see a coming-of-age film that was different. We are inundated with cookie-cutter teen films and rarely get to see a movie that has profound messages and a sense of redemption and hope for teens and essentially, people in general.

Within the first 15 minutes of the movie, I felt like I was watching a John Hughes' film. Not in a way that Chbosky was trying to emulate Hughes; it was a more respectful, "your views on the teen genre were accurate and real", type of way. There hasn't been a film like this that speaks so fluently to its generation since The Breakfast Club. We can only hope that 20 years from now, teens are still being shown this film and realizing the importance of its message. 

Final Verdict: See it. Don't be turned off by the teen aspect of this film; it is a film that all audiences can enjoy. A great story, an honest approach to it's direction, a talented young cast and a stellar soundtrack create the perfect ingredients for a successful film. One of the best of 2012, it's heartfelt, funny and true and will have you believing that "we are infinite".

Rotten Tomatoes

Throwback Thursday What's Eating Gilbert Grape

What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Director: Lasse Hallstrom
Starring: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Juilette Lewis
Released: 1993
Box Office Gross: $9,170,214 (USA)
Throwback Review

After watching director Lasse Hallstrom's latest work (Safe Haven - check out a review by Don't Sit Next To Us here) I wanted a refresher on his previous good work. And with that criteria in mind, I came across What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

The film stars Depp as the title character, who lives in a small town in Iowa with his family including two sisters, a mentally challenged younger brother, Arnie (DiCaprio) and a morbidly obese mother, Bonnie. Gilbert's father committed suicide several years earlier, leaving the family in a less than ideal financial situation and Bonnie battling depression and unable to care for herself or the family. Gilbert has taken responsibility of Arnie and fixing the family's farmhouse all while working at the local grocery store.

Adding to Gilbert's woes are his secret love affair with a housewife (Mary Steenburgen) and a new supermarket chain that has opened in the small town, that threatens to make all the local businesses, including the grocery store where Gilbert works, redundant. A young woman named Becky (Lewis) and her grandmother get stranded in town when their truck and trailer break down. Becky quickly becomes close with both Arnie and Gilbert, eventually engaging in a romance with the older Grape brother.

Gilbert struggles to embrace a private life while dealing with his family's overbearing needs.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a character film at its finest. You get two for the price of one with this film: a performance by Depp that solidifies his status as an A-list actor and a star-making performance by a young, relatively unknown DiCaprio. And surrounding these two strong performances is a supporting cast that holds their own as the dysfunctional family and townspeople in Gilbert's life.

Depp manages to easily command and steer the film with his meek and endearing performance as the lead character. This is the Depp that we need to see to be reminded that he is an actor with some serious talent. There's not much in terms of plot line for Depp to work with, but there is tones of character development and he takes all that he can of the troubled Gilbert and runs with it. Not many actors these days could deal with this amount of character development and still turn out a critically acclaimed performance.

Speaking of critically acclaimed performances, the role of Arnie Grape gave DiCaprio his first Oscar nomination (Best Actor in a Supporting Role). As the mentally challenged young Grape brother, DiCaprio shone brightly in this film. It was no easy part, and DiCaprio sure made it look effortless. He took you on an emotional rollercoaster with this role: at one point you're smiling and laughing with Arnie as he's playing with his siblings, the next you're crying alongside him when he's being reprimanded by Gilbert. His dedication to the character paid off in spades; he began receiving lead roles soon after this film was released and soon Leo-mania was upon us.

Final Verdict: See it. A must in my opinion. Although the plot is fairly predictable, the performances more than make up for it. It's amazing to see the chemistry between Depp and DiCaprio and it makes me wonder if there is a film that could handle this pairing again. We can only hope someone will be brave enough to tackle that feat. (Burton, Scorcese...Tarantino??? I'm looking at you!)

Rotten Tomatoes