Argo

Argo [R]

Argo is based on true events about a CIA agent who is given the assignment to extract 6 American citizens from Iran after they escape an attack on the US embassy in 1980.  He decides to set up a fake movie and make them the film crew to get them out.

Crystl: Wow, this movie was so INTENSE!  I have never sat through a movie with my heart racing and wringing my hands for almost the entire movie.

Joe:  Every step of the way I thought it was almost over and then they would ratchet the tension a little higher.  I kept thinking, "For the love of God, walk faster!"

Crystl: I liked that I didn't know any of the history of this event, so it was all new for me.  I would recommend not looking into it either, just so it's not given away.

Ben Affleck directed this movie and I was not disappointed.  He did a great job with the whole feel of the movie.  Aesthetically it really felt like the 80's and emotionally it was a roller coaster.  He also played the CIA agent, and did a great job.

Joe:  I would have liked to see a little more emotion from Ben Affleck's character, he doesn't have a face that tells you what he's feeling like some actors do.  It's a minor complaint.  He's a better director than actor, I think.

Crystl: It was interesting to see the politics that were going on in that time period and how they relate to what's going on today in the same place.  It was interesting to learn how much I didn't know about what went on in the middle east at that time.

I can't recommend this movie enough!  I really liked it.  I would recommend this movie to any adult.

I give it 5 stars.

Joe: I liked it a lot, too.  I'd give it 4 of 5 stars, though, due to my slight reservations about his acting.

The Loneliest Planet

The Loneliest Planet [NR]

Everything can change in a moment, one tiny event can turn the person you thought you knew into a stranger and steal away the things you take for granted.  What happens when everything changes?  That is the question The Loneliest Planet asks as it follows a young couple backpacking through the Caucasus mountains.

The story progresses at a contemplative and wordless pace.  We are drawn into their lives in the film almost without thinking, being accustomed to more direct American film-making we look for the plot devices and film tropes which aren't to be found, but while we're searching the film wraps around and draws us into its world without us noticing.  This style of storytelling is not for everyone, many people will find its slower pace boring and even I think it could have lost 30 minutes without sacrificing the message, but in a way the banality of the events are what make the question so powerful.

On display is the beautiful Caucasus mountain range, with many gorgeous wide shots.  But there were almost no views of the sky, which I thought was interesting.  I don't know if this was a stylistic choice or just a coincidence, but combined with many very close shots  it created a feeling of being isolated and more present in each moment, a little claustrophobic in some cases, which made the loneliness we see in the title that much more poignant.

It was a fascinating movie that I needed time to think about to fully appreciate.  I was left with the question I opened with, but not in the way I expected.  What if everything changes, but what if the stranger is me?  How much do we really know, not only about those we love, but about ourselves as well?

2 1/2 of 5 stars.

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina  [R]

Anna Karenina is based on the novel of the same title written by Leo Tolstoy in the late 1800's.  Anna is an aristocrat in Russian society, married to a highly respected government official.  She meets the dashing Count Vronsky and they begin a scandalous affair.

Crystl:  I would like to begin by saying that I have read this book and didn't really like it.  I wanted to watch it because it is a classic novel and I was intrigued by the visuals in the trailer.

The movie followed the novel very closely, so needless to say, I didn't love the story.  I do have to say that I loved the visualization and daring staging of the movie.  It was staged as a play in a theater which made it very strange at first, but then very apt as everything that an aristocratic socialite would have done back then might as well have been on a stage because of the way people knew everything and you couldn't hide or have any private information.  It was very interesting the way the director used the stage idea.  I was disappointed that the director exactly recreated a scene from a previous movie he directed; Pride and Prejudice.  I mean it was EXACTLY the same scene, even with the same actress. 

The actors did fine, but that's all I can say is just fine.  I haven't really seen a movie with Kiera Knightly where I thought she did an amazing job [Joe: I think she was best in A Dangerous Method.  Um, sorry to interrupt].  Honestly I didn't like her character either so that probably didn't help.  Some of the best acting was done by, in my opinion, who the hero and heroine of the story really were: Kitty and Levin.  I liked their story and maybe that's why I liked them better.

I would recommend this to people who enjoy a tragedy or who have read and enjoyed the book.  It was a good visualization, but the acting could have been better.

Joe:  I liked how it was presented, it was beautifully done.  The surreal blur between stage and real world environments was a cool artistic technique.  Unfortunately I thought the story was a little boring.  If you're a fan of the story you might like it, but I had a hard time connecting with it.

Also, I just want to say that I can't stand the music in the trailer.  Up, down, up, down.  It's like the composer was just swinging back and forth on the piano keys.  When it's actually music it's good.

Crystl:  I give it 2 1/2 out of 5 stars.
Joe:  I would agree with that.

The Sessions

The Sessions   [R]

The Sessions is about a man disabled by polio, unable to move from the neck down and confined to an iron lung for most of his life.  This has made it hard for him to form intimate relationships, and so, having never experienced sex or real physical intimacy, he decides to explore the possibility of making it happen another way.  He decides to hire a therapist "sex surrogate" to help him with the experience.

Joe: This is new ground for John Hawkes, much different from his usual gruff characters.  Being able to move only your head must be difficult for an actor to deliver the same quality of performance, but when he steps out of his element here in voice and mannerism he handles it admirably.

I was impressed by the maturity of the script.  From the trailer I expected a light romantic comedy where someone falls in love when they shouldn't and awkwardness ensues, but it turned out to be much more.  The emotions were surprisingly honest and authentic and the characters dealt with them like adults.  It was not only refreshing, it elevated the movie above a simple "date night" flick and into the category of movies I would recommend watching.  One of the best movies I've seen this year, it had a perfect balance of light humor and emotional depth.

I'd rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

Crystl: I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I expected to.  I was a little apprehensive with the theme of the movie, but it was handled very well.  I like that they approached the subject of sex and his inexperience very straight forward, not over-done and not beating around the bush.
I liked the main characters in the story very much.  They were all very likeable characters but my favorite was the priest.

I agree with Joe's thoughts about how the characters handled things like adults.  It's not often you see a movie with mature adults...at all!  I loved the main character, Brian's, journey in the film.  I just loved his character and I thought the actor did very well portraying him.

I would recommend this movie to any adult who is comfortable seeing sex discussed openly and sexual situations.  There is also female nudity (Joe says Helen Hunt looks great, by the way)

I would also give this movie 4 out of 5 stars. 

Life of Pi

Life of Pi [PG]

Crystl: This movie is about the amazing journey of a young Indian boy after a ship wreck leaves him alone on a life boat with a tiger named Richard Parker.  I really loved the story line and plot of this movie.  It was a crazy adventure that had me enthralled the whole time.  We took Sam and Gabe with us too.

Joe:  I enjoyed it too.  I especially liked the visuals, it was very pretty. His story was fascinating and inspiring, although there were some things about it that I didn't connect with as much.

Sam: It was good, but I don't like to see animals get hurt.  It was fun to see different sides of nature and what it can do.  I really liked the glowing jelly fish part, it was cool.

Crystl: I agree with Sam about the animals part.  I also loved the relationship between Pi and the tiger.  He was a tiger the whole time, so it made the story more believable.  In some movies the animals turn nice and cuddly or friendly, but they didn't go there.

Gabe:  I liked the movie, it was good.  It was a little sad at the end, I was crying.  Hearing he had a lot of different religions made me think, "How is that possible?"

Crystl:  Yeah, that was something that kept me thinking too.  I like that he was open with his religious beliefs, and wanted to believe in all of them.  I do feel like I missed out on something deeper with this part of the story that they didn't go into in the movie.  The movie was just as much about his relationship with "God" as it was with the tiger.  One part of the movie seemed a little far-fetched, but I think it was trying to get a message across about "God".  God was in quotes because he hardly references one of his many gods he believes in when he's talking about "God".  You could easily put in the christian, Muslim, any Hindu god and it would work.  Actually you could do any god for that matter, he just talked about those 3 religions in the movie.  I actually did like that because you could personalize the messages by inserting your god of choice.  I'm all about equality here, people!

Joe: I was a little put off by the religious message.  It was fairly universal so I'm not just being put off by a different religion, I just thought it was laid on a little heavy.  I felt like I was being preached to, especially at the end.  I enjoyed it, but I might have enjoyed it more if that was toned down a little.

Crystl:  I will be reading this book soon because I want to know more about his spirituality.  Plus, it's just a great story, so I want to hear it again.

Great movie, I love the director (Ang Lee), he did some incredible shots and effects that were just breathtaking.  We watched it in 3D which added a little depth to the picture.  It was subtle, but there were a few scenes that were really cool, like the tiger swiping at you!  So I say, 3D if you're into 3D, but it's definitely not necessary to really enjoy the movie.

Joe:  I think it's definitely worth seeing in 3D, they did it really well.  I loved the underwater shots.  But if you don't like 3D I agree you can still fully appreciate the movie without it.
 
Crystl:  I recommend this movie for older kids (10 and up) and adults.  I think the animals getting hurt would be too scary for littler kids.  It was also a more serious movie, so little kids could get bored.
 I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Samsara

Samsara  [PG-13]

Crystl: This movie is hard to put into a category.  It's not really a documentary, it's kind of close though.  I heard it described as a guided meditation which is mostly true.  There is no dialogue whatsoever.  It is a series of seemingly random shots set to music.

Having said that, this movie was just really beautiful, fascinating, and interesting.  It was pretty-beautiful, sad-beautiful, disturbing-beautiful, and happy-beautiful. I found myself falling into a state of meditation but then I would pop out of it thinking, "Ooh!  Where's that place?  Who are those people?  What is that building?"  It was just a nice way to let your mind wander.  It takes you to places you've never seen and though they aren't all pleasant to watch, they're all very interesting.

The only bad thing I have to say about this movie is that there is one section that seems out of place and disturbed my meditation.  Everything else was something that naturally happens without script or without being aware the camera is there.  The scene was too theatrical and out of place; it bugged me. It was not beautiful at all.

[SPOILER] The scene was an old man sitting at a desk and smashing clay onto his face and then adding paint to it to make a mask, then he would scrape it off violently and start over or just smear it around.

Joe: I haven't seen it yet, but I still want to see it! 

I would recommend this movie for grown ups that want to watch something very different.

4 out of 5 stars.

Prologue:

[scene opens on a married couple sitting in a dark room.  each of them is staring at a computer screen, realizing they have wasted their entire day on the internet]

Crystl:  Joe and I watch a lot of movies...I mean a LOT of movies.  We decided to start writing little movie reviews as a way of giving back to the community.  We see a lot of different types of movies so we'll try to say who we might think it's target audience is so you can decide if you're interested.  If it's a children's movie, we'll try to get our kids to jump in on the review as well.

[husband hands wife swedish fish which is against the eating rules and starts to play a game on the aforementioned internet]

Crystl:  We hope it's just a fun way of sharing our opinion and getting some feedback if you have seen the movie too.  We'll start with our most recent ones we've seen and maybe talk about older movies if we don't go to the theater.  

As a side, but related note; we have made it our life's goal to watch every movie on the IMDB's top 250 rated movies list.  It's been an awesome experience to see movies we wouldn't normally choose and learn where the quotes and references come from!  We'll let you know if the reviewed movie is on the list.