Young Adult: 3.5 Stars

Soon after her divorce, the ghost-writer of a popular fiction series returns to her hometown with plans of winning back her Highschool love who is now happily married with a newborn. 
**note, there are very slight spoilers in this review

Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) has issues. This is brought to our attention in the very first scenes of Young Adult. Before the open credits roll we already know that she most likely has a drinking problem, is lonely and starved for attention, has writers block and that all signs point to her dealing with a serious bout of depression. The birth announcement received from an old Highschool love doesn't help the situation.  It does, however, serve as motivation for her to go back to her hometown to visit her old flame Buddy (Patrick Wilson) and try to rekindle their love.

Young Adult is directed by Jason Reitman who at only 35 years of age is proving to be one of the brightest young directors in Hollywood. He brought us Thank You For Smoking, Juno, Up In The Air and now Young Adult in which he re-teams with Juno writer Diablo Cody. That's a pretty damn impressive first four movies. For those turned off by the dialogue in Juno can rest assured that Cody pulls in the reigns and delivers a sharp and witty script without all the "honest to blog" distractions. With Young Adult Reitman is as confident and precise as ever, and he has to be because his main character is pretty detestable. Since watching the film I've been asking myself why it exists. Going by the trailer you might think this is a comedy. It's funny but in an uncomfortable way. Your laughs will more than likely be defense mechanisms (I hope) to deal with the actions and words of the main characters. So, what is the point of this story? Why should I tell other people to watch such a detestable main character? 

The answer to that question starts (after the previously mentioned direction of Reitman) with Charlize Theron. It can be argued that this role is the best of her career.  She is a master of the body language and facial twitches/distortions of the severely cynical and emotionally damaged Gary. She is controlled and never over the top. From the opening credits where she is singing along to the mix tape Buddy gave her (the same song over and over; you know you've done it too), to scoffing at a blind date's humanitarian efforts before realizing it may have hurt her chances at sleeping with him, to pretending she remembers who Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt) is when she really doesn't; she is absolutely perfect and painfully joyous to watch. 

The answer continues with Patton Oswalt as Freehauf and the relationship his character develops with Theron's Gary. They meet early on at a local watering hole and become partners in cynicism and self destruction. While they appear to be polar opposites, the parallels found between the two characters are fascinating. He is constantly trying to keep her from tearing a marriage apart, and appears to be the voice of reason, but it slowly becomes more and more apparent that he has more in common with Gary then he chooses to admit. 

The issues arise as the climax is reached and the viewer realizes that no one has learned anything. Its a really tough story to sell as filmmakers. There is no one to root for. Moviegoers usually want some hope, some growth in the characters, some sort of cathartic realization or at the very least a resolution. Unfortunately, you're not going to get that with Young Adult. It's a story about a damaged person, who finds someone else damaged and they stew in each others bad attitudes. However, people like this exist and I think their stories are interesting and deserve to be told. They may have been better people earlier in their lives, they have excuses for their issues (questionable parenting, divorce, a  traumatic beating), and it's possible that they might change in the future, however in the running time of this film they are who they are. I think there are redeeming aspects in the actions of the other character's in the film, mainly Buddy and his wife Beth, who are more aware of Mavis' issues then she is herself. I also have no doubt that there are people out there who will relate to Mavis Gary and Matt Freehauf and while the character's don't resolve anything by the end of the film, the viewers who relate to them may learn a little about themselves.

So why should you watch Young Adult? It's a wonderfully crafted film with outstanding performances by Theron and Oswalt that challenges you to find joy in watching two people stumble through a short period in their lives.

A Look Back at 2011 (insert sigh here)

That's me, looking back at 2011. Get it?

At the conclusion of the most recent episode of Ebert Presents: At the Movies Roger and Chaz Ebert took the time to thank the supporters of the series and hinted at yet another end to the series due to financial reasons. During the statement Roger Ebert said something that made me take a step back. I don't want to misquote him so I'll just say it was something to the effect of how the interest in the show showed there is still a place for serious film criticism on television. It's that one word choice, criticism, which speaks volumes about Ebert himself, about the public and artist's view of critics (art, film, food etc.) and also opened my eyes as to why I really don't like writing "serious criticisms" of film. I come from the practice of fine art where I would constantly have my work critiqued. As an art student, part of your studies is to learn how to properly critique something, not criticize. We critique not only to help the artist grow, but the viewer as well. Criticism helps no one and does nothing but boost the ego of the criticizer. I'm quite sure Roger Ebert's Ego is humungous. Filmmakers are artists, just as painters and sculptors are, and their work should be critiqued not criticized (Limitless doesn't qualify as art). So when I (insert sigh here) convey my disappointment with the fact that yet again in 2011 I have only watched twelve films from the year, it's not because I'm saddened that I couldn't criticize them but rather because I love the medium and everything about it and wish I could have seen more. When you sit down to watch a movie with the goal of writing a review, the fun is sucked out of the experience. I found myself pre-occupied and not enjoying the experience as much. Therefore, I now decide to write a review afterwards only if the mood strikes me. I love watching, critiquing & discussing films and more importantly I'm fascinated with how the art form can affect me emotionally and on a personal level. Overall, the twelve movies I was able to catch from 2011 were excellent.

I started out 2011 catching up on titles I missed in 2010. I've already posted my reviews (or critiques) of Humpday, The Social Network and The Town, but I also viewed The Kids Are All Right, Cyrus, It's Kind of a Funny Story, 127 Hours, The American, Despicable Me, Machete, Hereafter, Going the Distance, Due Date, Black Swan and The King's Speech. I also completed the "Dragon Tattoo" series with The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest and finally watched Guillermo Del Toro's debut full length Cronos. Out of the 2010 movies, my top three would be The American, 127 Hours and Hereafter. Going the Distance would be a close fourth, but only because it's just not in the same category of the other three and had a weak ending (it is hilarious though). The King's Speech was good, Colin Firth was outstanding, however I didn't get all the hype. It was just good. I guess I just wasn't as uplifted as everyone else. Black Swan was also excellent but after letting it sit for a while I became more aware of it's simplicity and hokeyness. Natalie Portman's searing performance and Aronofsky's visuals were really the only reasons it was so successful, but as a whole it was lacking something. I think it may have benefited from being more grounded and aware of itself. I'd have to post full reviews to deliver my full opinions, however I can't say enough about 127 Hours, The American and Hereafter. If you don't like long melodrama's with spiritual undertones, then definitely stay away from Hereafter. If you liked What Dreams May Come, I think you'll appreciate Hereafter. I was captivated by it. The American is a classic slow burn thriller from the great Aton Corbijn (Control and many Depeche Mode videos) and features George Clooney at his finest as well as beautiful cinematography. 127 Hours is just amazing and worth all the praise it received. Machete was awful and a huge disappointment from Robert Rodriguez who seems content in fulfilling everyone's criticisms instead of blossoming all of his great qualities as a writer/director/editor. Despicable Me was also somewhat disappointing and another that didn't live up to the hype. I just simply didn't respond to it as much as other people seemed to (kind of like The Incredibles). It's Kind of a Funny Story has a lot of unfulfilled potential but is still worth renting. Due Date was also disappointing but still worth a few laughs. As for the rest, I would give The Kids Are All Right, Cronos, The Girl Who... and Cyrus three star, maybe three and a half, positive critiques. Now that I have lost your attention, on to 2011!

Here are the twelve films of 2011 I had the pleasure of watching in order from my favorite to least favorite: Drive, The Tree of Life, Bridesmaids (three times), The Interrupters, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Super8, Attack the Block, Captain America, The Green Hornet, The Adjustment Bureau, Rango and Limitless. There is a steep drop off in quality from Attack the Block to Captain America (although I still really enjoyed that as a fun superhero summer flick and would give it three stars) and then again from The Adjustment Bureau to Rango. As beautiful as Rango was to look at I was just not into it AT ALL. I'm not quite sure why, but while I was watching it I just couldn't care less about what happened. It could have been my mood but it also could have been the writing. It is NOWHERE near as bad as Limitless, but ranking from an enjoyment point of view it unfortunately lands here.  Visually it is definitely something to behold. We all know what I thought of Limitless from my full review, and we don't need to revisit that one. I think The Adjustment Bureau is summed up nicely by a statement from my friend Teresa who said, "The hats were cool." Yep, the hat device was very cool. Matt Damon was good (duh), the story had potential, but yet again something was missing and the movie as a whole didn't live up to the original material from Philip K. Dick. I think it was the fact that it is a Sci-fi movie without enough Sci-fi. Still worth renting though. I had positive reactions to the rest of the pack and obviously some more positive than others. I completely don't understand the horribly negative feedback that the Green Hornet received. I thought it was a lot of fun and the chemistry of Seth Rogen and Jay Chou was great. It was funny, action packed and entertaining. I can see a luke warm or disappointed reaction, but critics tore it apart which was not deserved at all. Captain America and Attack the Block represent the middle of the pack. I was pleasantly surprised by Captain America. I saw it in the theatre and had a blast. It's no comic book film masterpiece like Batman Begins, but it is a solid adaptation and well crafted all around. I absolutely loved the retro visuals.  There are a lot of Chris Evans haters out there, which is understandable, but I've been converted since his appearance in Scott Pilgrim and now after seeing him in this. I highly recommend Attack the Block as it is a refreshing take on an alien invasion flick and you might respond even more positively than I did. I enjoyed it, but wasn't blown away. Super8 is exactly what I thought it would be; an excellent Spielbergian alien adventure film with J.J. Abrams' fingerprints. It didn't rise to the heights I had hoped, which is to be a classic, but it is really really good. Unfortunately, I am still processing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. There is a lot to process. I know it's great, I'm pretty sure it's excellent, I know Rooney Mara should be nominated for an Oscar but it's the comparisons to the original I'm still wrestling with. See my previous review for my take on The Interrupters. I've watched Bridesmaids three times, two times in theaters, which speaks for how much I enjoyed it. It's really really really funny and Kristen Wiig is the best. Which leaves us with Drive and The Tree of Life. I'm going to have to say that these are interchangeable in the top spot. Drive has more repeat viewing value, but when looking at them as works of art The Tree of Life rises slightly above Drive and heads and shoulders above the rest. However, Drive was just so unbelievably badass, in addition to being artfully crafted, that I would say it is my outright favorite of 2011. The point of movies is to enjoy yourself and while The Tree of Life is amazing, I enjoyed myself more with Drive. Word of warning for The Tree of Life; it's not for everyone. If you aren't already aware of how people walked out on it at Cannes and how split critics are on it, then this is your warning. It is a film that is better suited for the corner video installation room of an art museum then your local cineplex. I think it's a great sign that this had such a huge release from a major studio as it's very very unconventional and doesn't really contain any obvious narrative. There are definitive themes and subjects, but no narrative. Just open yourself to the film, let it wash over you and it may be a really moving experience. You could also hate it, and that's cool.

So, that wraps it up. I Hope I gave you some reminders of some movies to check out if you haven't already and some insight into which ones may be more for you. I hope 2012 brings even more masterpieces and progress in the medium and that I can watch more than twelve 2012 films. Thanks for reading.