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Review: Rocket Science

Monday, February 11, 2008

High School is an awkward time for most. It is a time in which new adolescents transition to adulthood and prepare for the “real” world. Some people take this time very seriously; some too seriously; others not seriously enough. Others still are far too busy dealing with more serious issues to even think about High School or what lies ahead. This is the case for Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson) in Rocket Science.

Hal Hefner has a stuttering problem. He can’t even order a slice of pizza let alone talk to anyone long enough to make any friends. He is a joke among his peers; an outcast. He is “that guy that stutters.” All that changes, however, when Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick), the snobbishly mature brunette knockout approaches Hal about joining the debate team and becoming her protégé. Her last partner was a debate legend who flaked in the final debate of the state championships. She seeks to rectify her missed opportunity.

Ginny empowers Hal. He cannot understand her motives, so her words have to be true. He is smart, he just can’t get his mouth to cooperate with his mind. Ginny gives him the courage to face this challenge, despite the laughter of his peers. With her by his side, he can conquer anything. It all seems too good to be true.

Rocket Science is a movie about High School that stays true to its subject. There are no easy answers in High School and you will find none in this film. There are no miracles; no deus ex machinas, these are real kids with real problems. In the end, it turns out they’re the same problems we all face. In the end, Rocket Science is a movie about a kid trying to find his place in the world; a kid just trying to make sense of it all.

It shouldn’t be Rocket Science.

– 214 arbitrary stars

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Goodbye Blockbuster, You Broke My Heart

Sunday, February 10, 2008

During the summer of 2004, I worked at the local Blockbuster store in South Riding, VA. I loved that job. The pay was only marginally above minimum wage, but I got 5 free movies per week and discounts on all purchases, including new and used DVDs. My DVD collection nearly tripled while I was there. When I left, they were just kicking off there online service. I was eligible for an employee discount to the service, so I promptly signed up. I had pretty much rented everything I could from the store and wanted to get more obscure movies through their more extensive online catalog.

Fast-forward to January 2008, when Blockbuster Total Rewards sent me yet another email notifying me of yet another price increase. This after waiting about 6 months to finally receive Umbrellas of Cherbourg, while they sent me whatever movie they felt like from my queue, regardless of my ranking. It was time to reconsider my online rental options.

Reasons for Staying with Blockbuster:

Ability to swap mail-ins with in-store rentals.

Reasons for Leaving Blockbuster:

My choice was clear and I decided to cancel. When asked for additional explanation, I replied,

I have been a blockbuster online customer from the very beginning of the service. The price has gone up for the same service at least 5 times since then. Why? Rarely do I ever get the movies I put at the top of my list and the other movies randomly change from available to not available. What is the purpose of ranking movies in a queue if you’re not going to follow it. I’m sick of it. I used to tell all my friends to switch from Netflix to Blockbuster, but after you jacked up the price yet again for what has become horrible service, I am switching from Blockbuster to Netflix. It’s a shame you wasted all my money getting Alec Baldwin to do your voice-overs instead of maintaining the service I came to expect years ago when you first started. How about a little loyalty to your long-time customers?

This explanation, however, was rejected because apparently I was supposed to keep my explanation limited to a meager 255 characters. I happily obliged.

Apparently your web programmers didn’t think to limit this text box to only allow me 255 characters as I type. This is a sort of microcosm of the ineptitude that I have become so accustomed to from Blockbuster Online.

Goodbye Blockbuster, you will not be missed.

Netflix, I’ll see you soon.

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Review: Closer

Thursday, January 24, 2008

If watching a bunch of pretty rich people whine about love while they sleep around behind each other’s back for two hours is your idea of quality entertainment, then this is the movie for you.

This movie was dull, shallow, and a waste of my time (and it takes a lot to waste my time). The acting was decent and it was well put together, but I just didn’t care. There was nothing likeable about any of the characters. They were rich, pretty, and crude, and that’s as far as their personalities went. From what I saw, it’s supposed to be about love, or the trials of love, but in the words of Alice (Natalie Portman), “Where is this love? I can’t see it, I can’t touch it. I can’t feel it. I can hear it. I can hear some words, but I can’t do anything with your easy words.”

– Negative 3.2 arbitrary stars

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Review: Juno

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

I feel a little sheepish writing a review about a movie that’s been nominated for an Oscar. For what it’s worth, I first wrote this before the nominations came out. I said I wouldn’t be surprised if it was nominated for an Oscar. Ellen Page certainly deserves it and the script is phenomenal. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role, and Best Original Screenplay. I am officially not surprised.

Juno is about a young girl struggling to find a place in an adult world. It takes place in what could be any small town in America and centers around a bitingly sarcastic 16-year-old girl named Juno (Ellen Page, aka Kitty Pride from X-Men 3). The film begins with Juno chugging a gallon of Sunny D as she walks to the local convenience store to take what we soon learn is her third pregnancy test of the day. It’s positive. Juno is pregnant.

We then follow Juno as she goes through the roller coaster that ensues thereafter. She eventually decides to keep the baby and put it up for adoption. Looking through the PennySaver, she finds the perfect couple, played by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner. What happens for the remainder of the movie can best be described as Juno “dealing with things way beyond [her] maturity level,” as she uses her sarcasm to shield her from the reality of her situation. Juno’s classmates turn on her and she turns to Mark (Jason Bateman) as the only person who sees more in her than a pregnant belly, or so she thinks.

Juno is a movie with heart, but that doesn’t keep the punches from flying. This movie is hilarious without being crude. This is a very adult movie, shown through the eyes of a sarcastic 16-year-old girl. The director, Jason Reitman, is very true to those eyes and because of this, no emotion is cheapened. You feel every hit. In the end, Juno is about a 16-year-old girl trapped in an adult world who discovers that love can be “really beautiful but really mean. Like Diana Ross.”

– 432.7 arbitrary stars

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Coming Soon Again: Movie Reviews

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

I rolled this out once already, but then my brother‘s server crashed and I lost both this post and my first review. I can’t complain though, he’s giving me free server space and technical support. Besides, it was a lot more detrimental to him. His websites are one of his main sources of income.

Anywho, when I first wrote this post, I went on and on about how because I have a film degree, people are always asking me what I think about this movie and that. I whined about how I never have an answer right away because I’d rather not just say it was good or bad; how I prefer to look at what the movie was trying to do, and whether or not it was successful in its aims. I pontificated about how I sometimes sit for hours after a movie as I reflect on how the different aspects of a film affected me as a viewer. The bottom line, however, is that I watch a lot of movies, I need more regular content on this site, and I need to write more, so I’m going to start posting reviews to movies I watch throughout the week, whether on DVD, Laserdisc (yes, I own a Laserdisc player and yes, it is beautiful), or in theaters. You can find them all in the menu above (click the little button) under the category, Movie Reviews.

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