I wanna talk about how bad you make this room look.

Crazy Heart

Crazy Heart is a fairly predictable drama about an alcoholic country singer that won Jeff Bridges his Oscar.

I'd been wanting to see Crazy Heart for a while, but not because it looked interesting. I needed to see if Jeff Bridges beat Colin Firth because the performance was better or it was just "Jeff Bridges' turn." Jeff Bridges really is great. He inhabits Bad Blake and gives an honest and raw performance. Bridges pushes himself to the edge and the edge isn't pretty. He's the heart of the movie and he's a great musician. A fantastic performance, he carries the movie and few actors could've played this role. Bridges' also had great chemistry with Colin Farrell, his former protege. Farrell sings a mean country song and sounds 100% Southern. Kudos to his dialect or accent coach.

I maintain my stance that Colin Firth was better and Bridges' Oscar was an I.O.U. Bridges kicked ass but Firth's role required a deeper and higher level of emotional intensity and conflict than Bridges' in my opinion. I'm not as peeved that Bridges beat Firth after watching Crazy Heart, but I still would've rather heard Colin Firth's acceptance speech than Bridges'.

The story was fairly predictable and a lot like a country song. Guy is broken and needs to be saved by music and a fine woman. The love story turned me off. Seeing an overweight, alcoholic, dirty man rub his hands all over Maggie Gyllenhaal just didn't do it for me. Furthermore, this love story would never happen if the roles were reversed. Would an attractive man fall for an aged, slightly overweight and female character? Probably not. That's why I find the romances in Crazy Heart and The Wrestler, for example, a bit preposterous.

The soundtrack is phenomenal. This is real, bleeding heart country music. No Taylor Swift pop-country riff-raff. If you like country music, pick up this soundtrack. Even if you don't like country music, this is a must own film soundtrack.

Overall, the film is a strong B. Great performances but the story was too predictable for my taste.

Rupert Friend in The Young Victoria
While Emily Blunt is great in the titular role, Rupert Friend as Albert stole the film for me. His performance is very reserved and chivalrous, sweet and strong. I fell in love with him right along with Victoria. His eyes speak more than his words ever could and he's a strong, male feminist character. Albert seems like a role that anyone could've played but Friend made it his own. I really hope we get to see him in more.

Netflix

Easy A-I enjoy Emma Stone and this was supposed to be better than it looked.
Eclipse-I know. For shame.
Les Miserables-Netflix Instant. Love the pairing of Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush.

There's a moment, there's always a moment.

Closer

One of my all-time favorites, this gritty drama is a brutally honest look at relationships and the hurt people cause each other. The film is filled with vulnerability, strength, brilliantly shot scenes and fantastic performances.

Jude Law is so unlikable as Dan, a man who's slimy but think he's a romantic. I think it takes serious acting skill to play an unlikable character. While he doesn't turn in the film's strongest performance, he does an exceptional job. And his chemistry with Natalie Portman is amazing.

What his character represents is what's best about him. I'm in an evolutionary psychology/communication class and we talk about cheating, what drives humans, and so forth. In lectures on relationships, we've learned that everyone cheats; it's in our nature to not be monogamous because we need to mate with the best genes to produce better offspring, etc. However, when it comes to cheating, men especially want to cheat but do not want their female partners to cheat. There's some kind of intrasexual competition between men to sleep with as many women as possible while holding onto their mate. Dan is this theory. He's driven mad imagining a woman he's with sleeping with another man; it leads to the downfall of his relationships in the film. It's always cool to see things you learn in school in real life.

I really respect Julia Roberts for going outside her box. She's never been my favorite of actresses because she plays the same role a lot. But she's different as Anna. She's a liar and depressed, not cutesy and lovable. Good role choice. Next step, play a serial killer, eyyy Julia?

Clive Owen is phenomenal as Larry the "caveman," a man with an unquenchable sexual thirst but deeper complexities. In the original play, Owen played Dan which I cannot imagine at all. Owen's got a kind of Cro-Magnon look to him. He plays his character clever and though he's sleazy, he's far more appealing than Dan.

Despite the other stellar performances, all roads lead to Natalie Portman. She's so gifted. Her character is manipulative and sweet, she traps men in her web of intrigue. The lyrics in the opening and closing song by Damien Rice, "I can't take my eyes off of you," totally applies to Portman's character. People see her and fall in love, she's a "vision." This was a really adult role for Portman. We always knew she was talented but she stepped her game with Closer. This has definitely groomed her for what looks like an even more adult and intense role in the my most anticipated Christmas time film, Black Swan. I love her in this role.

Patrick Marber wrote a very intimate screenplay. The dialogue is in your face but seems very private. I shouldn't be listening to these conversations, I'm a peeping tom for watching this scene. The meat of the film is in the dialogue; there's not one sex scene in the whole film.

Coupled with the intimate screenplay is the way Mike Nichols shot the film. Many of the scenes are filmed as if you're a bystander at a variety of distances. You could be sitting a the table in the restaurant watching and listening to Anna and Larry's conversation or you could be standing at the top of a staircase watching Anna and Dan greet each other. I kind of feel like I have to take a shower after watching Closer; I feel dirty invading these people's space.

Mike Nichols shot some really great scenes in Closer. The juxtaposition of the opening and closing scene with the Damien Rice song playing is just brilliant. Furthermore, the use of fish is interesting. Fish pop up in several scenes in the film, which made me think of the saying "There's other fish in the sea." Going along with the repeated Damien Rice lyric, "I can't take my eyes off of you," and the last lyric in the song, "'Til I find somebody else," the idea of there being other fish in the sea makes sense. You can love someone until the end of time, having eyes only for them until you meet someone new and the feelings start all over again, just with a different fish.

Closer is truly incredible but it can be scary. Do not see this if with a person you are having a relationship with. If the relationship is good, you'll look for cracks. If the relationship is bad, you will break up.

Jason Bateman on Arrested Development

Every actor on Arrested Development is a genius. That show is so well cast. But to balance out all those insane personalities in the Bluth family, you need a straight man. And Bateman is the perfect straight man. He created a dedicated and understated character in Michael Bluth who was full of love but grew flustered with his ridiculous family. It takes a really strong actor to hold their own with all those extroverts and still be funny. Please let Hollywood make that Arrested Development movie, I wasn't ready for the Bluth's story to end.

Netflix

Toy Story 3-Dislike the 2nd one but this has gotten such great reviews.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)-Supposed to be bad but I love Jackie Earle Haley.
The Girl Who Played with Fire-Netflix Instant. I won't see this for a long time. Still haven't finished the first book in the series or seen that movie. Winter break project?