The War of the Roses (1989)

Genre

Comedy

Director

Danny DeVito

Country

USA

Cast

Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Marianne Sägebrecht, Dan Castellaneta, Sean Astin, Trenton Teigen, Heather Fairfield, G.D. Spradlin, Peter Donat, David Wohl

Storyline

The Roses, Barbara (Kathleen Turner) and Oliver (Michael Douglas), live happily as a married couple. Then she starts to wonder what life would be like without Oliver, and likes what she sees. Both want to stay in the house, and so they begin a campaign to force each other to leave.

Opinion

This morning I wanted to laugh, so I told myself, "what could be better than DeVito's black comedy?", everybody seems to love it, so I gave it a try. The problem is that it didn't feel like a comedy. Don't get me wrong, I liked the film, but it just didn't feel like a comedy to me, and I love dark comedies. 

So basically The War of the Roses is brilliant, dark, and quite enjoyable, but it is not that funny - unless you find two people trying to kill each other for almost two hours hilarious.

The story is great overall, but it feels a bit rushed at parts: Douglas and Turner go from young, idealistic couple to hateful people trying to kill each other for material possessions, without much of an explication, and you'll wonder how they got so crazy. Also, the characters aren't well developed and there is nobody to root for. However the unexpected, unpredictable, tragic ending has something to teach. 

Everything is beautifully photographed in this film, and the musical score by David Newman is spectacular. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner are both superb, delivering the sparkling dialogue perfectly. 

Quotes

Gavin: There are two dilemmas... that rattle the human skull. How do you hold onto someone who won't stay? And how do you get rid of someone who won't go?

The Double (2013)

Genre

Comedy | Drama | Thriller

Director

Richard Ayoade

Country

UK

Cast

Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Noah Taylor, Yasmin Paige, Cathy Moriarty, Phyllis Somerville, James Fox, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Tony Rohr, Susan Blommaert, Jon Korkes, Tim Key, Lloyd Woolf, Lydia Ayoade, Sally Hawkins, J Mascis, Christopher Morris, Chris O'Dowd, Craig Roberts, Kierston Wareing, Jeanie Gold, Paddy Considine, Gemma Chan, Rade SErbedzija, Catherine Delaloye, Georgie-May Tearle

Storyline

Simon (Jesse Eisenberg) is a timid man, scratching out an isolated existence in an indifferent world. He is overlooked at work, scorned by his mother, and ignored by the woman of his dreams. He feels powerless to change any of these things. The arrival of a new co-worker, James, serves to upset the balance. James is both Simon's exact physical double and his opposite - confident, charismatic and good with women. To Simon's horror, James slowly starts taking over his life.

Opinion

If David Lynch and Terry Gilliam had a baby, and that baby made a film, this is exactly what it would look like.

Feeling like an avant-garde Fight Club, The Double is an interesting, very odd, dark, a little depressing, and slow psychological comedy thriller.

What is that great about this film? I don't know. As said before, this film is weird. It is hard to understand at first, then it feels a little confused, and that requires you to pay lot of attention to get it. Also, if you do pay attention, you still will be confused, feeling like there is some stronger message behind it, and still don't get it. Still there's something that fascinates me about it. I can't tell what.

It doesn't have much of a plot, nothing much happens in the film, it isn't much detailed, many things are not explained, still it somehow manages to be entertaining, engaging and deliver some thrills. The ending is a bit predictable though.

Richard Ayoade's art-house direction is the strongest element. Jumping from one image to the next really emphasised the disjointed character(s). Also, I enjoyed the sound of footsteps not stopping when people stopped walking. The cinematography was beautiful, and the musical score nailed it.

Jesse Eisenberg really carries the film well, keeping the viewer entertained, and delivers his best performance since The Social Network. The scene when he talks to himself are priceless. Mia Wasikowska also delivers a great performance as love interest Hannah. However, she didn't have much of a chemistry with the Eisenbergs.

Quotes

Simon: I don't know how to be myself. It's like I'm permanently outside myself. Like, like you could push your hands straight through me if you wanted to. And I can see the type of man I want to be versus the type of man I actually am and I know that I'm doing it but I'm incapable of what needs to be done. I'm like Pinocchio, a wooden boy. Not a real boy. And it kills me.

The Five-Year Engagement (2012)

Genre

Comedy | Romance

Director

Nicholas Stoller

Country

USA

Cast

Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Mimi Kennedy, David Paymer, Jacki Weaver, Jim Piddock, Rhys Ifans, Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart, Randall Park, Brian Posehn, Chris Parnell, Lauren Weedman, Tracee Chimo, Dakota Johnson, Tim Heidecker, Molly Shannon, Tiffany Liu, Da'Vone McDonald

Storyline

Exactly one year after meeting, Tom Solomon (Jason Segel) proposes to his girlfriend Violet Barnes (Emily Blunt), but unexpected events keep tripping them up as they look to walk down the aisle together.

Opinion

Months ago, maybe a year ago, I tried to watch this film, but I switched off after about thirty minutes, because I literally couldn't deal with another minute of it. The other day I decided to give it a second try, and I've managed to watch the whole thing, but I struggled. A lot.

Sold like a comedy, The Five-Year Engagement is more like an overlong, tedious and unengaging drama with some comedic elements, that aren't even that funny.

With a great cast and beautiful locations, Nicholas Stoller couldn't fail, but he did somehow. The film could have been a great portrait of modern day conflict of a couple with two careers, questioning about how willing would be one of them to accept the compromise. Unfortunately something went wrong in the writing process. 

As said before, the story is unengaging. At first you are going to wonder if they will eventually get married, but after thirty minutes you will completely lose interest, and you won't know if you are willing to make a huge sacrifice and get to the end, or turn it off. I feel like the film would have been so much more interesting if it was focused on Chris Pratt and Alison Brie characters.

Also, it is predictable since the several - too many - funerals and sad moments are emphasized with rain, and it is pretty obvious something is going to happen. The sexual, religious humour barely works here, and I found it offensive using vulgar language in presence of children.

The cast is completely wasted. I don't like Jason Segel, still I thought he couldn't fail, but even he couldn't pull off those bad jokes. Emily Blunt is generally a great actress, but apparently comedy is not her thing. And there is no chemistry between the two of them, they don't even look like a real couple. The supporting cast is decent, with Chris Pratt, and a brilliant Rhys Ifans.

Quotes

George Barnes: The first important thing to remember about marriage is that it requires commitment. The second important thing to remember about marriage is that so does insanity.

Centurion (2010)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Drama

Director

Neil Marshall

Country

UK

Cast

Michael Fassbender, Olga Kurylenko, Dominic West, Liam Cunningham, David Morrissey, J.J. Feild, Ulrich Thomsen, Noel Clarke, Riz Ahmed, Dimitri Leonidas, Dave Legeno, Axelle Carolyn, Imogen Poots, Paul Freeman, Rachael Stirling, Michael Carter, Tom Mannion, Peter Guinness, Lee Ross, Jake Maskall, Eoin Macken, Neil Marshall

Storyline

A.D. 117. Roman centurion Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender) leads a group of soldiers on a raid of a Pict camp to rescue a captured general (Dominic West). As one of the soldiers murdered the son of the Pict leader (Ulrich Thomsen), the Romans find themselves hunted by a seemingly unstoppable group of Pict's warriors, led by deadly tracker known as Etain (Olga Kurylenko).

Opinion

Beautiful at look, Centurion is a very well made film, bloody, and brutal, with fantastic fighting scenes,  yet dull because it somehow fails in engaging the viewer. 

The main problem with the film is that it focuses on the visual aspect instead of the writing, and it is a huge shame because considering the subject, the film could have been so much better. There isn't much depth to the characters, the story is mediocre and predictable, and the dialogue is lifeless.

The film opens with some nonsense, and goes on with some other nonsense. First, why do the Picts leave Quintus Dias (Fassbender) alive? Only because he can speak their language? It doesn't make lot of sense to me. Second, how did Etain manage to tell such a detailed story of what happened to her, if she was mute? Third, the Picts are supposed to kill and decapitate the Romans, but when Bothos is shot in the leg with an arrow, one of the Picts says, "Let him bleed". Like, seriously? After chasing them for hours, they just let him bleed. Fourth, the Picts killed thousands Romans and captured their general, still three Romans manage to kill the most lethal Picts. That's unreal. 

Michael Fassbender does a decent job as Quintus Dias, the Romans leader. Too bad the film didn't give him the chance to show off his acting abilities, but gave him a sword and lots of action instead. The supporting cast does a good job. Olga Kurylenko well delivers her performance through facial expressions and body language. David Morrissey, Dominic West, Ulrich Thomsen, and Imogen Poots all do a good job.

Quotes

Centurion Quintus Dias: In the chaos of battle, when the ground beneath your feet is a slurry of blood, puke, piss and the entrails of friends and enemies alike, it's easy to turn to the gods for salvation. But it's soldiers who do the fighting, and soldiers who do the dying, and the gods never get their feet wet.