Pitch Perfect

Photo from mockingjay.net

            The comedy, “Pitch Perfect,” was released Oct. 5, and I went to see it in theaters Oct. 7. Jason Moore directed the movie, and Kay Cannon wrote the screenplay from Mickey Rapkin’s book. I thought the movie was pretty good.

            Beca (Anna Kendrick) is a college freshman. She’s a DJ who wants to move to Los Angeles to make music. Her father pushes her to get involved and give college a try. She joins the Barden Bellas, an all female a cappella group. After an embarrassing mishap at last year’s finals, Aubrey (Anna Camp) and Chloe (Brittany Snow) are doing everything they can to win.

            The movie had a typical plot. A girl and boy who like each other are on opposing sides, there’s a fight with the group and the boy and finally the issues get resolved. There wasn’t really anything surprising or different about the storyline. I liked that the characters made fun of that in the movie though. The people involved made a movie that criticizes the type of movie it is. I also liked the references to “The Breakfast Club,” which is a movie I love. After seeing the end of “Pitch Perfect,” I wouldn’t be surprised if a sequel was made.

            One of the main things this movie has going for it is the comedy. It’s not really my type of humor, but others in the theater seemed to like it. The character Fat Amy is the main source of the comedy, and even I thought some of the things she said were funny. This means the average person would probably think the movie is hilarious.

            Music is a key element to the movie, and it's really good. The mixes that Beca makes during the movie are amazing. Songs are mashed up together that I wouldn’t have expected, but they're great. However, when the characters did an a cappella mashup, it didn’t work quite as well.

            I thought the acting was okay, which maybe was another statement about this typical type of movie. I didn’t get that invested in the characters though, and that took away from the movie experience. I didn’t really care about the outcome.

            The only things I’ve seen by Jason Moore are a few episodes of "Everwood." I’ve seen the couple of episodes of "New Girl" that Kay Cannon was involved with. I’m more familiar with things Anna Kendrick has been in. I’ve seen “Rocket Science,” the “Twilight” movies, “Up in the Air,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” and “50/50.” Also, I’ve seen things Brittany Snow has been an actress in such as “Whisper of the Heart,” “American Dreams,” “John Tucker Must Die” and “Hairspray.”

            If you need to take some time to relax and laugh, you should see “Pitch Perfect.” It’s a fun movie, and I like the interesting way those involved made fun of the movie. However, it’s not a must see.

The Cabin in the Woods

            “The Cabin in the Woods” is a mystery and horror movie that was released Apr. 13. The director of the movie, Drew Goddard, co-wrote the movie with Joss Whedon. The main stars include Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, and Jesse Williams. I rented it from a Redbox not that long ago. I think it’s a good movie with several different elements.

            In this movie, five young friends take a trip to a cabin in the woods. When they get there, they find some pretty strange things, such as a cellar with many interesting objects.  Dana (Kristen Connolly) becomes fascinated with a diary and starts to read from it aloud. This triggers a zombie family to awaken and come after them. However, there’s more to the story of this cabin in the woods.

Photo by i09

            It’s important to understand that this movie isn’t completely focused on horror. If you’re looking for a scare-you-stiff movie, this isn’t what you want. “The Cabin in the Woods” also has mystery and humor that carry a lot of weight. I’m telling you this because if you see this movie expecting a full-blown horror movie, you will probably be disappointed. With the right mindset however, you will see how good the movie is.

            I enjoyed the plot of this movie a lot. It has some of the typical horror movie elements, such as crazy killers going after their victims one at a time. It also has a few jump scares. Only the first one got me a little though. I liked that there was a twist to the typical horror movie style. It made the plot more interesting and more enjoyable. It was actually a little thought provoking.

            The actors did a pretty good job. They played the stereotyped characters believably. I liked them enough to root for them to survive. Since the movie is so plot driven though, I wasn’t as drawn into the characters as I might have normally been.

            They used the special effects very well. They made some of the scenes really fun to watch. The music of a horror movie is also important because it builds up the intensity. I really like how the music was used to help the viewer get sucked in.

            I was not surprised that I would like the movie. My brother is a big fan of Joss Whedon and therefore, he has got me to watch most of the things he has done. These include “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Toy Story,” “Firefly,” “Angel,” “Serenity,” “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” and “The Avengers,” which I’m sure a lot of you have seen. I have only seen some of the things Drew Goddard has done because they were in these things by Joss Whedon.

            If you’re looking for something a little different, this movie is perfect for you. With Halloween coming up soon, now would be a good time to see it. It’s nice to get a break from those typical horror movies.

Looper

Photo from iTunes Movie Trailers 

 

“Looper” is a sci-fi movie that was written and directed by Rian Johnson. It stars Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, one of my favorites. It was released Sept. 28, and I saw it in theaters on Sept. 29.

Most of the movie takes place in the year 2044. Time travel is invented in the future, but it’s illegal. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a looper, who works for the mob. His job to kill people sent back in time to him from the year 2074 and dispose of the bodies. The people are normally sent back in time with a bag over their heads. One day, Joe is sent a man whose head isn’t covered, and he comes face-to-face with his future self (Bruce Willis). Joe hesitates and his older self gets away. He needs to find and kill his future self before he gets killed.

To make it seem like Gordon-Levitt could grow up to be Willis, he wears prosthetics to make his face look more like Willis’ face. I understand the reasoning for it, and it does look like Willis, but I think it was distracting. I knew Gordon-Levitt from several other things before, so seeing him mixed with Willis was weird to me, especially since the prosthetics mostly covered just the lower half of his face.

The movie uses some special effects in some of the scenes. I think they were done really well. They were used for some of the futuristic aspects, but they weren’t overdone. Some movies use special effects to such an extreme that it doesn’t even seem the slightest bit possible that those things would ever happen. “Looper” isn’t like that.

I also think the plot was very good. Time travel is a hard subject to deal with because any slight changes have effects. There are usually plot holes with time travel movies. I think the time travel aspect was dealt with pretty well in this movie though.

Also, it’s easy to guess some of the things that happen, but this isn’t as bad as in some movies. I was surprised at a couple of parts. The solution at the end happens so fast that I didn’t have time to expect it.

Another great part of this movie is the acting. Gordon-Levitt learned many of Willis’ mannerisms really well. From the beginning of the movie, Gordon-Levitt moved just like Willis. I could tell instantly that he had studied him. This was so good that it made the prosthetics seem a little less awkward.

I’m really happy with the way the movie turned out because I had high expectations of Johnson and Gordon-Levitt. Johnson previously wrote and directed two other movies that I love called “Brick” and “The Brothers Bloom.” I’ve also seen Gordon-Levitt in “Angels in the Outfield,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” “Brick,” “(500) Days of Summer,” “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” “Inception” and “50/50.” I can honestly say I enjoyed every single one of these.

“Looper” is a really good movie made by a really good director and really good actors. The storyline is so interesting and fun. Make sure to put this one on your list of movies to watch.

The Princess Bride

            "The Princess Bride" has been in the news a lot lately in honor of its 25^th anniversary. It also happens to be one of my absolute favorite movies. I saw it for the first time when I was around 10 years old. My older sister showed it to my brother and me. Since that day, I have seen the movie many times, and even though I haven’t seen it in a little while, I remember it vividly. For these reasons, I decided to write about this movie first.

This 1987 movie, directed by Rob Reiner, was created from the book written by William Goldman. The movie starts with a grandpa reading the book to his sick grandson. As he reads, the story comes to life. Westley (Cary Elwes) goes to save Buttercup (Robin Wright) from marriage to Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). She only agreed to marry the prince because she thought Westley, her true love, had died. During the course of the movie, Westley and Buttercup encounter some interesting characters including a revenge-driven swordsman, a strong giant and a man whose brilliance is inconceivable.

Guys, don’t let the title of this movie or the basic premise scare you away. Its action and humor are incredibly entertaining. This movie has a ton of great, quotable lines you won’t soon forget. I’d write you a whole page of my favorite lines, but that would ruin the surprise.

As handsome as Cary Elwes is, the comedy is what makes this movie work. The writer took a different spin on the everyday fairy tale. The characters don’t take themselves too seriously. The actors played this very well. Even though they were being ridiculous sometimes, they never played it like they knew that to the audience. One of my favorite examples of this is Miracle Max played by Billy Crystal, who has been the host for the Academy Awards several times. I love how Buttercup isn’t a completely defenseless girl as well, which is unusual for a fairy-tale princess.

I also love Cary Elwes in the movie "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" as Robin Hood and his three episodes in the television show "Psych" as Pierre Despereaux. He plays a similar role in these characters, with his comedy stealing the show.

This movie is loved by so many people with great reason. As they say, don’t be a Humperdinck. Watch this movie the first chance you get. After seeing it one time, you’ll be hooked like the rest of us. You’ll see why it’s still such a celebrated movie after 25 years.