Laura Sees Movies: The Help

Emotionally manipulative and basically boring, The Help is an ok movie with great performances that has spurred much controversy. Kathryn Stockett's novel has been criticized, and mostly because it was written by her, a white woman, and the story is heavily about the struggle of black women. I don't blame people for getting worked up.

My problem with this film has not much to do with Kathryn Stockett's whiteness, although I do find it odd that she would desire to tackle this material, my problem is with the overall dullness of the story. All emotion and almost no heart, the story of Skeeter and her beloved maid is overshadowed by the side stories and crowded out by fillers.

As a viewer I desired so much more to see truly where Skeeter came from, why she felt so connected to her own maid as a mother figure and how that would drive her to write a book. Instead Skeeter is beautiful, yet we are supposed to believe she is plain, she is a strong single character, yet we are forced into an empty love story that goes nowhere, and mostly it seems that she simply gets lucky and her book happens to be a success. She lacks the strength and conviction I believe this character would have to possess to pull off this publication. This should truly be Skeeters story, and it is not successful. I didn't connect to her journey at all, and I was heavily distracted by all the more interesting stories she was surrounded by.

All of the acting is excellent, let me say that first and foremost. Viola Davis is, as ALWAYS, a powerhouse of truth, and shoots Aibileen's arrow straight into our hearts. Bring tissues. Emma Stone is great too, despite that lack of depth that has been written into her character. Bryce Dallas Howard is delightfully hate able, Sissy Spacek and Allison Janney both sneak in as scene stealing mothers, and my favorite performances belong to Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer whose touching story could have been a delightful movie all by itself.

There is too much happening, it all makes you cry, and yet it all feels meaningless. It lacks authenticity, and a genuine heartbeat. Dull, pushy, sappy, and too long, this movie is pretty lame. I'd love to say it was great, it had plenty of potential, but I wasn't happy for anyone at the end, nor did I care much what had happened. A wonderful display of great acting, it's a shame it had to come in such a crappy candy coating.

Laura Sees Movies: The Future

Miranda July's sweet and amazing new movie is showing in just a select few cities, but if you visit her website you can check out her blog and see where it's going to be.

This movie is just wonderful. I read several marvelous reviews before I saw it. That combined with my friend's fondness for Miranda July in general is what got us to go out.

I'm so glad we did. The movie is hard to describe in any way that could possibly do it justice but I will try. It is heart-wrenching, sweet, hilarious, complicated, sad, goofy, simple, and strange. The word I've heard several other reviews use is whimsical. Our heroine, Sophie, is so sympathetic I felt as though her struggles were mine. Her sweet boyfriend Jason is the same, someone I felt very connected to and understood.

The story is narrated by an alley cat who is currently under medical supervision in a shelter that Jason and Sophie have agreed to adopt. They realize taking in a sick cat will change their lives and decide to live it up the final month they have to themselves before he joins their family. The cat himself as a character moved me in the most surprising way. I adopted an alley cat myself this year and Pawpaw's journey gave me insight into her scarred soul and previous life on the streets in a way I'd never imagined. I was dying to come home and see her once the credits rolled.

This movie will touch your heart. It carries you off to a world that feels familiar as though it's happening somewhere we all have been. Lovely and powerful, it is by far the best movie I've seen this summer.

Laura Sees Movies: Captain America

Ok guys, I realize you all must think that all I do is see comic book movies and then develop huge crushes on the actors who play the heroes but lets be clear here. My crush on Captain America goes WAY back.

Well, my crush on Chris Evans goes way back. Sigh. C'est la vie. I could not love him more. Handsome, funny, and literally in this movie they have him play the nicest guy in the world and then use chemicals make him the hottest man in the world (kind of like the Stepford Wives except way better and for ladies). Oh dear lord. Be still my heart.

I want to talk about the movie here but it's difficult. I saw this on my birthday with two of my girlfriends, who are naturally also quite enamored of our protagonist due to his hysterical turn in Not Another Teen Movie. (that's right, this crush is 10 years old. take that Twi-hards. your Pattinson love has got nothing on my Evans love). I digress. We saw it in Times Square which is a terrible location to see a movie and a bunch of weird distracting stuff happened.

Before the movie started something major went down in an adjacent theater and all the managers and staff went running in, and then, during the movie, in the midst a major action sequence, someone threw a soda on us. Us and like half the other people in the place. It was definitely a large. A lot of people flipped so naturally, my attention was split. One girl even had the manager come in so she could complain in front of all of us in the middle of the movie.

Basically I spent the entire movie thinking about having sex with Chris Evans. Honestly I thought of little else. Except occasionally wondering who threw the coke and what kind of drama was happening next door.

I need to sum up. Did I like it? Hells yes, Chris Evan is so badass and he makes a great Captain America. His love interest was a highlight as well, played by Haley Atwell, an incredibly beautiful woman who actually looks like she consumes more than 800 calories a day and was believable as a solider herself. However, I can't in good conscience say that I have much of a clue as to what actually happened plot wise.

I will say this. After the credits there was another Avengers teaser, essentially an Avengers trailer. I think this Captain America flick was sort of a throw away for me (maybe Hollywood too? yes? no?) because basically we just needed his story to be set up so we can go watch the Avengers movie now. Which, for the record, looks phenomenal. SO EXCITED.

Laura Sees Movies: Cedar Rapids: Movies on a Plane Edition

Cedar Rapids. I was half interested in watching this when it came out, it looked funny enough, I like that Ed Helms, and I'm partial to anything that makes fun of small town life. (hint-I am from a small town)

I didn't see it for whatever reason, but it probably would have snuck on to my netflix queue eventually so I was glad to see it as an option on the digiplayer.

Cedar Rapids was much darker then I expected it to be, and honestly a lot more interesting. The dark vibe set in fairly early in the story as Ed Helms's character is chosen to go to Cedar Rapids for an insurance conference due to his fellow salesman's untimely death via autoerotic asphyxiation.

The stakes are high, especially given our leading man's innocent nature, and you quickly learn that he has entered a rough and tumble conference of his peers who operate with an attitude of "what happens at Cedar Rapids, stays at Cedar Rapids." Small town ideals are shattered, and the curtain is pulled back as our protagonist reveals the corruption of his professional superiors.

John C Reilly shines as an unhappy alcoholic, an almost unrecognizable Anne Heche is surprisingly sympathetic in an ugly role, and Alia Shawkat (remember Maeby from Arrested Development?) makes a standout appearance as a prostitute in an intense drug addled party sequence.

I enjoyed Cedar Rapids thoroughly. It has a star studded cast (did I mention Sigourney Weaver?) and it tells a classic story. A small town man goes head to head with the big city bad guys. Will he hold on to his ideals? Who wins in the end? Does it change him for better or for worse? I don't want to tell you cause it's good and I want you to watch it.

Yes Cedar Rapids. You are very interesting and I like you.

Laura Sees Movies: Diary of a Wimpy Kid-Roderick Rules: Movies on a Plane Edition

Diary of a Wimpy Kid! I LOVED this movie when I first saw it. Ironically I saw the original Diary of a Wimpy Kid on a plane because I thought it looked cute. I figured, eh, if it sucks, I'll switch to a different movie. IT DOES NOT SUCK! It's so cute and good and funny and Steve Zahn is in it! Love it!

Anyways, when I saw that there was a sequel coming out, Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules, I was super excited. I was glad to see so many other plane riders had enjoyed it too and I couldn't wait to go see it. Unfortunately, it's a little difficult to convince a friend to go see the sequel to a kids movie with you because you saw the original on a plane and are insisting that it was great, so I never caught it while it was in the theater. Take note that I wanted to though. Happily, I would have paid full theatre price to see this, I just didn't end up making it. You can imagine my thrill when I saw it was an option on my flight.

Roderick is our hero's older brother. This movie focuses on the relationship between the two boys and takes them through a few ups and downs. It does not start out strong. It seems a little corny and several moments in the opening sequences feel a bit forced. Hey kids, it's the same cast! Remember this guy? And so on.

However, as it gains momentum, the charm and genuine likability of the original movie returns. And as the meaning behind the title 'Rodrick Rules' is revealed, the fun begins. There are more young adult themes to this story, Greg has a crush on a pretty blonde girl, Rodrick and his family address his desire to be a professional musician, and there is a classic John Hughes-esque house party.

Overall I enjoyed it. There is a worth-the-wait payoff in the climax which despite all that has happened, causes you to fall back in love with Greg, Roderick, and their mom and dad. And a few of the seemingly forced moments make great callback jokes later which can almost allow me to forgive their awkward introduction.

I say watch it! Actually, watch the first one, cause it's amazing, and then if you like it, watch the second one. It's a solid sequel, it has all the qualities I loved from the original and told a new story at the same time. Part 2 is not as great, but if you love the original it's worth watching.

Laura Sees Movies: Crazy Stupid Love

Take it easy Ryan Gosling fans. I know you're excited.

Well, well, well, another romantic comedy. Actually I'm going to be bold and say that this movie, although quite funny, and definitely marketed as a traditional comedy, deals with some heavy stuff and feels more like a drama that makes you laugh then a standard comedy.

The preview sort of compounds all the laughing parts and makes it seem more fast paced and less intense then it actually is. Each of our characters is in love with someone. We don't always know who and we don't always know how it's going to work out but it's all about what love does to each individual.

I liked it. Steve Carell is wonderful and Julianne Moore is amazing too (duh). Their love story is the one I became the most attached too, and although many might complain about the inconclusive way it ends, I was quite touched and enjoyed their portrayal of a couple going through hard times. Authentic and sweet.

Ok, ok, ladies calm down. Of course I'm going to talk about the eye candy. I like that Ryan Gosling too. He's a good actor, albeit not exactly my type (although he could be depending on how tall he is. anyone know? I'm very shallow) I do easily see why he makes all the girls scream. His character falls for the beautiful Emma Stone. Those who know me know I am a big fan of this young lady. I think she is smart, interesting, and talented. I hope her career is blessed with long legs. Their romance might not be as juicy or as fleshed out as I had hoped, and part of me even thinks they could have had a movie of their own, but everything you do see is great.

Marisa Tomei is funny. The story line with the babysitter is funny. And a full fledged metrosexual Ryan Gosling giving Steve Carell fashion advice is very funny. There is also a wildly unexpected climactic scene which brings big laughs and simultaneously raises all of the emotional stakes.

Definitely worth watching. A moving, realistic portrayal of love, with some silliness thrown in for good measure. It sort of has too much going on and sort of doesn't flesh out the side love stories as much as I'd like, but the laughs are enough to make up for it.

Laura Sees Movies: Unknown: Movies on a Plane Edition

All righty. I recently flew home to visit my mom for her birthday and I watched a crapload of movies. I always fly Alaska Airlines because my dad is like the George Clooney from Up in the Air of Alaska Airlines and he gives me his miles PLUS they have a vegan box available for purchase on every flight. It's also gluten free, just fyi. Yeah Alaska Airlines!

Alaska, on long flights, has this awesome thing where you can rent a digiplayer which is essentially a little personal movie player and it usually has about 15-20 different movie options as well as tv shows and some games. My flight home is 2 movies long, so I watch 2 on the way there and 2 on the way back. Also, my mom is just like me and wants to watch a movie like every night so we watched a bunch of movies while I was there too.

The first one I want to talk about is Unknown.

A few things off the bat. I like Liam Neeson, I really like Diane Kruger, and the preview was intriguing. That's enough to get my viewership on a plane. Sold! BAM.

It was, well, um, ok I think. I'm weirdly mixed about this flick. My instinct is to say that it wasn't good but the other night I was describing things about it to my friend and she basically said I was making it sound really good and interesting. I mean, that made me think.

The pros: action packed, attention holding, awesome twist, great reveal of information, and the story is told in such a way that your journey as a viewer parallels with Liam Neeson's character as he unravels the meaning behind everything that's happening. It's all about what you see verses what you know. The unknown can make all the difference. (see? that sounds great, right?)

The cons: the second it was over I didn't give it a second thought (until I had a convo about it), I spent the entire time thinking that January Jones was that girl from Mad Men, and although it takes place in Germany, Diane Kruger doesn't play a German woman (um, what?), and most importantly, I didn't feel a thing. I mean, I was consistently interested, and again, impressed with the twist and how well it explained the entire thing but who cares? I liked Liam Neeson's character (but look! I can't even remember the character's name right now! Dr. something?) I liked Diane Kruger's character a lot, but they just don't get into anything interesting or personally emotional.

I never felt swept away, I never got worked up or excited about anything, nothing upset me much and I didn't care very much. That's a fail for me. Honestly, I'm pretty easy to get worked up in a movie. I'm a sucker. If I'm not crying, if I'm not clutching my chest and gasping, not many other people will be either. And although I was thinking and engaged the entire time, there weren't many moments that made the movie unique or gave me anything to walk away with. Nothing stayed with me. Except that the twist was flawless. It was far and away not what I predicted and there were no logistical holes. I love it when there are no holes in a good twist.

So it wasn't great. But it wasn't bad either. I guess I would say it's worth watching on a plane. Ha!