Moving Images

The Good Girl (B)

This was a good renter. Jennifer Aniston was surprisingly good in Office Space and it seems her talents are better suited for the big screen than TV. In fact, the entire cast were really solid. John C Reilly is always a fave, the actor who played Bubba (also seen in O Brother) was goofy and creepy as, and the rest of the supporting cast were also really excellent.

The fascinating thing is that the guy who played Corny the security guard wrote the screenplay. Not only that, it turns out he wrote the screenplay to School Of Rock, as well. Which we also happened to have just seen this week (to be reviewed).

The writing, the location, the art direction were all dead on. The story was fairly dark and tragic, but not overdone. A scary insight into mainstream America. It's the story of what happened to some of the people you knew growing up that never left their hometown. Which is another way of saying here's one of the bullets you dodged.

Acting: B+
Direction: B
Editing: B
Script: B
Cinematography: B-
Soundtrack: B

Rain (A+)

Rain beautifully captures and evokes an amazing range of emotions and memories. It is a quintessential Kiwi film that translates perfectly across cultures. Albeit, white middle class cultures. It's the story of a family spending a summer holiday together. Mostly it's about growing pains.

The one major flaw with the film is the ending, which is sadly predictable. It is a terribly unfortunate way to end the film, because it completely moralizes the story. All throughout the film you identify so deeply with all of the characters and then by taking things to the extreme it suddenly distances you from those people - it allows you to feel superior when in fact you are not at all.

Despite the unfortunate ending this film is an absolute must see. Perfect in every other aspect.

Acting: A
Direction: A+
Editing: A
Script: B
Cinematography: A+
Soundtrack: A+

You Can Count On Me (A)

Perfectly balanced movie, excellent acting, excellent story, excellent characters, funny, poignant, and plenty of cringe moments. It does land on the conventional side of things, but as far as conventional movies go, it's very well crafted.

Mark Ruffalo is amazing. Rory Culkin is extremely good. Matthew Broderick revives his Election character with all the cringe in tact. However, I'd say Kenneth Lonergan arguably makes the strongest performance in my favorite scene, when 'Father Ron' (Lonergan) confronts the 'thoughtful fuck up' Terry (Ruffalo) about his personal world philosophy. I would have loved it if the film followed this line of thought more deeply.

I wish more people would have the courage to ask thoughtful questions and really pursue thoughtful answers.

This movie gets pretty close, but in the end, it decides not to make any statements. Instead, it opts to simply tell a good story about regular, but nevertheless interesting people.

Acting: A+
Direction: A+
Editing: A
Script: A
Cinematography: C