Tuesday, August 25, 2015

"Obscurities and Abject Pandering: What You’re Missing on NETFLIX"


"Obscurities and Abject Pandering: What You’re Missing on NETFLIX"

NEW ARRIVALS

Drama

SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD
(2014, R, 101 minutes, FOCUS FEATURES)



Quite possibly the sweetest Armageddon movie ever made.  Steve Carell and Keira Knightley star in a movie about a man and woman’s road trip to reunite him with his high school sweetheart as a giant space rock hurtles toward earth.  The science behind this movie is all in the human behavior around Dodge and Penny as they travel; they witness humanity at its best, and worst.  There are little touches in this film that make it quietly affecting, and sometimes downright humorous.  Don’t go in expecting to see awesome explosions and landmarks being destroyed; the greatest special effects lie in the quiet and honest performances of Carell and Knightley.  And the dog named 'Sorry'.

IF I STAY
(2014, PG-13, 107 minutes, DINOVI PICTURES/MGM)



Worried about Chloë Grace Moretz not expanding her horizons and being pigeon-holed into genre films (see: LET ME IN, DARK SHADOWS, CARRIE) for the rest of her life? Check out her latest, the story of a girl in a coma who apparently has the choice of whether to live or die following a tragic car accident.  She shows new depth with the role of “Mia” than in everything else she has ever done—and I love her early stuff.  Brilliant in LET ME IN and the first KICK-ASS movie.  Here, she proves that not only does she have a future in Hollywood, but Hollywood will have a better future with her in it.  I watched this one with my daughter; she cried.  I hid it.

MEAN GIRLS
(2004, PG-13, 97 minutes, PARAMOUNT PICTURES)



This should be required viewing for any girl entering high school.  Starring Lindsey Lohan and Rachel McAdams as two girls vying for the same guy, popularity takes on a whole new meaning as their scheming takes on new heights.  Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are also on hand, as is Tim Meadows, playing quite possibly the 'Greatest School Principle Ever'.  There is a marvelous soundtrack, genuinely funny moments, and a pre-whacko Lohan.  It’s like HEATHERS meets Ridgemont High, just with no killing.  Or smoking vans.

New Release vs. Old



Instead of:  THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2: ANGEL OF DEATH (which tries to recreate the atmosphere of the first—the setting is creepy, but the cheap scares are not)

Watch: THE AWAKENING (a 2011 film that is moody, dreary, creepy, and does everything WOMAN IN BLACK 2 tries to do but fails to deliver on—a rather effective ghost story that will leave you thinking)

Instead of: THE COBBLER (I lasted through exactly twenty-three minutes of this film, and then promptly forgot everything I had seen by hitting myself in the face with a hammer fifteen times)

Watch: BIG DADDY (Sandler’s last really good film, with a scene stealing performance by everyone else in the film, including Rob Schneider and Jon Stewart)



Make up a queue kids, and put me to work!  Suggestions are always welcome, so get creative!  I’m always up to new challenges!

T.S. Kummelman

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