Netflix A-Z: Last Weekend (2014)

Continuing on with the Netflix A-Z mad dash to the finish line, I have to say that this choice was made for a few reasons. One of them is trying to find family-based movies. Then there’s Patricia Clarkson and she is always a fantastic actress. That is how Last Weekend ended up in the L selection, pushing the close second Laggies aside. I’ve never heard of it and don’t know what its about but hey, why not, right? The spontaneity is what makes Netflix A-Z so fun to do!

Let’s check it out!

Last Weekend (2014)

Director: Tom Dolby (writer) & Tom Williams

Cast: Patricia Clarkson, Chris Mulkey, Joseph Cross, Zachary Booth, Rutina Wesley, Fran Kranz, Alexia Rasmussen, Jayma Mays, Devon Graye

When an affluent matriarch gathers her dysfunctional family for a holiday at their Northern California lake house, her carefully constructed weekend begins to come apart at the seams, leading her to question her own role in the family. – IMDB

Last Weekend is full of familiar faces. Perhaps that may be one of the first things you will notice. Leading with Patricia Clarkson, we follow through with smaller supporting roles from Rutina Wesley (also known for her role as Tara in True Blood), and Fran Kranz (known for a ton of stuff including Dollhouse and Cabin in the Woods) and then we have Jayma Mays (from Glee) and personally for me, Alexia Rasmussen (from Listen to Your Heart). Lots of talent and potential just looking at the cast. Except, Last Weekend leaves me feeling a little empty. In some ways, I can get what the story is trying to portray except it executes the idea not well enough especially when the ending is rather empty with not a whole lot of resolution. Perhaps that is the depressing point in the finale, that family isn’t clear cut and for many issues, there is no resolution. In my mind, there should be less focus on the kids and what happens to them in this “last weekend” and more on Patricia Clarkson and her husband and her interactions because that would be more to see, except how long would a movie taking that angle take before its audience might find it monotonous. But then, in this case, I don’t agree with putting in scenes that never get addressed ever again, rendering them pointless.

One of the standout of Last Weekend is Patricia Clarkson and the setting. The house, the decor and the scenery is captivating to look at. Patricia Clarkson’s portrayal of a mother who can’t seem to and doesn’t want to let go of her kids and the fact that they have grown up and has left her care or let go of this last weekend of making a decision of whether she has made the right decision to sell this vacation house and all the things that she has grown attached to. It is a mother’s journey for the most part and Patricia Clarkson does a beautiful job and portraying it and making it believable as we try to understand her character. In many ways, it is the scenes that she is involved that make the movie shine the most, even in its most disjointed moments. One of my favorite ones is the one above when we finally see the connection between her daughter in law Vanessa (played by Alexia Rasmussen) and her, who she doesn’t have much fondness for, finally see something in common and she opens up to her a little more. As the audience, we can actually see the similarities between their personalities and its probably the nuance that her son chose someone similar to his parents.

 Probably the hardest thing to like in Last Weekend are the characters as well. Contradicting to the top? Maybe a little. Because the sons here, Roger (played by Joseph Cross) and Theo (played by Zachary Booth) are incredibly annoying characters. In a way, you can see that they don’t want to be under the wings of their parents and they want to show that they have grown up but in many ways, they also lack the sensitivity to try to understand her or remember to check up on her once in a while. It could also be a statement of grown-up kids and the changed dynamic and different point of views from being away. Whatever its trying to say, it seems to start off in some way and never quite gives any resolve or redemption. It feels a little incomplete to me. Granted it is set over a weekend, perhaps it wasn’t mean to have a lot of character development and its more about their mom’s acceptance of the situation. Although, why there was such attention on their relationships baffled me at the end. Maybe it kind of highlights something a bit more favorable about their personality.

I feel like I’m being tough on Last Weekend or maybe it just needs a few more viewings or I’m just not the target audience. I somehow don’t quite get what the movie was trying to do. It seems to have a message but it doesn’t seem to execute the idea well enough. While there are some solid performances, there is also a lot of unappealing characters (which is usually normal in dysfunctional family movies) and a lot of disjointed and unresolved moments. Perhaps that is what turns me off more. Plus, it doesn’t help that as I was trying to find meaning in Last Weekend, I ended up seeing it having a pretty negative message and kind of put me in a rather bad mood afterwards. Last Weekend has merit, just not enough to make it worth a second watch, however, maybe you will find something that I didn’t. If you did, please come back and tell me about it. I really wanted to like this one more.

Valentine Marathon: No Reservations (2007)

Next up in the Valentine Marathon is another little movie with a lovely actress that I haven’t watched in a while, Catherine Zeta-Jones.  I’ve never even heard of this one until it popped up on Netflix.  When you put rom-com, food/cooking and a fine cast together, there is no question how this one, No Reservations, ended up on my rundown.

Let’s check it out! 🙂

NO RESERVATIONS (2007)

Director: Scott Hicks

Cast: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin, Patricia Clarkson, Jenny Wade, Bob Balaban, Brian F. O’Byrne

 Kate is one of the best chefs in town running the kitchen at 22 Bleecker Restaurant in Manhattan. She lives by a set of rules and her life is the restaurant neglecting everything else that she needs.  Her boss, Paula (Patricia Clarkson) makes her go to therapy to hopefully ensure that she won’t offend any more clients.  However, when her sister has an accident, she is given the role to take care of her young niece, Zoe (Abigail Breslin). While she’s away, Paula hires an opera singing, Italian cuisine-inspired Nick (Aaron Eckhart) to help out in the kitchen. Somehow, Nick makes her throw her rulebook out the window as she becomes more and more attracted to him.

I don’t know if it happens to other people but writing reviews for romantic comedies get a little challenging after writing a whole bunch.  A lot of times, its not so much to look at.  No Reservations was one that I enjoyed.  It was surprisingly fun to watch and although there was emphasis on food, the story itself was pretty formulaic and predictable.  I’m not saying thats a problem for me but that is a flaw that most romantic comedies tend to have.  Just being objective.  While it was an extremely simple story, the cast really made this a lot better than what it should be. Looking at the cast, can you doubt any of their skills? I’m not such a connoisseur of Catherine Zeta-Jones but she is a classy lady.  Aaron Eckhart has been an increasing favorite and lets not even get me started on my personal favorite of Abigail Breslin.  And although Patricia Clarkson has only supporting roles most times, I can’t remember one that I didn’t like.

Whats a romantic comedy without talking about the chemistry of the leading man and lady? We’ve already established that the cast is what won me over in No Reservations.  Catherine Zeta-Jones plays the very uptight Kate and because of that, sometimes the things she says and does are pretty funny.  She’s not so good at dealing with people: not her therapist, not customers who criticize her food, or people who question her lead in the kitchen and especially not a little girl that she had to suddenly take on.  And thats how the balance of her when we see Aaron Eckhart’s Nick jump on screen, there’s a lot of funny moments.  Her issues are suddenly diminished because of his appearance even without her knowing it and when she does break out of her shell and takes life out of her kitchen and focuses on the more important things, her character becomes even more lovely to watch.

Aaron Eckhart’s character, Nick is written pretty standard but somehow he adds a little flare and charm to it.  Who expects this guy who comes from Italian cuisine and Kate expects him to challenge her master chef position but in fact, he turns it around and shows her respect making her think that he wants to be there because he praises her cooking but still keeping his style.  He comes in singing opera and having the whole kitchen do it with him and then he’s the one that helps Kate convince and open up her niece’s appetite and then he kind of charms his way into her life by opening her eyes to the world outside of her rules. Aaron Eckhart has this rebellious charm always and anyone else with less presence on the screen with this role wouldn’t have had the same effect.

If we talk child actresses, Abigail Breslin in her younger roles always took my heart away.  She is not only adorable but she has this strong character that makes her really fun to watch.  Plus, she knows how to use those emotions and capture a role.  In here, she’s a little girl who loses her mother suddenly and is forced to live with her aunt who really doesn’t understand her really well, nor does she actually care enough and doesn’t even seem to make that much effort.  Zoe’s role in this is the bridge to Kate and Nick’s relationship and the little adventures that Nick and Zoe have are absolutely fun to watch: making pizzas and pancakes and making a pretty boring and routine lifestyle that Kate leads into something with a lot more excitement.

Overall, No Reservations is a romantic comedy that took me by surprise and it was a pleasant surprise.  I might not remember it or run out to add it to my collection right away but it gave me a few laughs here and there.  Aaron Eckhart and Catherine Zeta-Jones brought on a really sweet chemistry and Abigail Breslin made me smile because she was so lovable and adorable to watch.  Its a little formulaic and predictable but somehow this somehow charmed me 🙂

Have you seen No Reservations? What are you thoughts on Aaron Eckhart/Catherine Zeta-Jones/Abigail Breslin? Do you have any favorite movies with them?

The Maze Runner (2014)

Last night, I finally made my way to the theatres again.  This time its with my girl friends.  We gathered to go see The Maze Runner.  3 of us (myself included) are avid readers so we’ve heard or read the book.  I actually reviewed it right HERE if you’d like to check it out. I actually liked it so much that I went to look for the trailer and was pretty intrigued by it so I went off and did a post in my other blog, Days Nights and Daydreams for my Out of This World Travels (which unfortunately hasn’t had a new location yet) but that post is right HERE!

Now that I’m shamelessly linked up all that I could, its time to head over to one of the book to big screen adaptation that I’ve been desperately anticipating (and hoping that gets it right) since I finished reading that book, while holding back from reading the next one because I don’t know how the movie will end.  Keep in mind that despite the anticipation, I really didn’t know what to expect.

Lets check it out!

Director: Wes Ball

Cast: Dylan O’Brien, Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Kaya Scodelario, Blake Cooper, Will Poulter, Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) wakes up going up a dark elevator and at the top is welcomed by a bunch of boys called The Gladers and a enclosed area surrounded by a maze.  Every boy went through the same thing: they have no idea what this place is, how they got there or anything else except their names.  For the last 3 years, the only ones allowed are the Runners and they explore the maze outside between sunrise and sunset when the doors are open to find a way out, except they haven’t had any luck.  Thomas’s arrival changes a lot when things start happening out of order and a few days after, a girl, Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) sent up saying that she is the last one ever and wakes up calling Thomas’s name.   Together with Alby (Aml Ameen), the leader of the pack; Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) the second in command; Minho (Ki Hong Lee), the keeper of the Runners; the maze and the Glades dynamics start changing and Thomas convinces the boys that the only hope for them now is to find a way out and maybe get some answers along the way.

The Maze Runner, as mentioned before, is based on the book with the same name written by James Dashner.  It is part of a trilogy and from my research of the director and actors, they seem to be in pre-production for the sequel.  Movie adaptations of books are pretty tricky especially since you are trying to appeal to the reader’s imagination of what they have interpreted.  The Maze Runner does shift a few details around to help the story flow better as a movie and also the ending has a few changes.  I’m really bad with remembering details so if you remember something differently that was changed, you can always share that with me. I never expect a movie to be a carbon copy of the book so to be honest, I really enjoyed The Maze Runner.  The changes they made, the cast and the whole set-up of The Glades and even the Griever may not have been reflected exactly as I had expected but it all worked well together. I read the book only 2 months before and still I was still feeling the danger in the situation even if I knew where all this was headed. That is a very good thing.

One of the best points of the movie is The Glades.  If anything, that should fulfill the imagination of the readers because its fairly close to the book (at least how I interpreted it).  The Glades is simple and the mechanics of it all.  It really gives a good idea of how things are.  As Thomas goes into the maze (because you know he will or The Maze Runner wouldn’t exist), the maze also matches a lot of how the book describes it.  Pat on the back to the production team for having this set because for me, when you adapt any source material, the one thing that should stay the same is where it was set.  You can swap anything around but at the very least, keep that. The Glades were gloomy but simple and self-sustaining while the maze was dark and mysterious.  Those are the feelings you should have when you see it.

The cast are fairly unknown to me, with the exception of Will Poulter. Everyone does fairly well and falls into believable characters.  The main guy is Thomas played by Dylan O’Brien and he does a great job.  For some guy that I’ve never seen before, he picks up this role, doesn’t exaggerate and delivers a pretty good character.  Thomas is the key to the puzzle and we watch as he mans up to the unknown that he’s tossed in but he also knows that somehow he is connected to the whole situation along with Teresa, the leading girl played by Kaya Scodelario, who is also unknown to me.  Funny enough, I think that Kaya Scodelario’s Teresa still needs a little work because her character didn’t do much for me, just like something was missing.  It could also be that she was introduced fairly later in the movie.  However, thanks to the rest of the boys especially Minho (played by Ki Hong Lee), Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and Chuck (Blake Cooper), who are fantastic characters both on screen and in the book, they all bring a touch of something different to balance out the whole story.  And then we have Will Poulter who is something of the opposition/resistance of change (some would say the antagonist) of the story and he does a fine job as well. In this whole crowd, I think the best performance goes to Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Dylan O’Brien followed closely by Ki Hong Lee.

The Maze Runner is another dystopian story set in the future when the world has literally collapsed.  However, it also holds a dangerous and thrilling premise that has been adapted quite well onto the big screen.  With a good adaptation, strong performances and a dark and mysterious setting and a handful of unanswered questions plus an ending ripe for a sequel, it proves to be one of the better adaptations I’ve seen in the recent years.  It shows a lot of promise (despite some minor flaws) and it was a pretty thrilling movie experience to be absorbed into this story.  I definitely hope that the sequel does happen because I look forward to it.  Meanwhile, I’m going to be getting that sequel in the trilogy to read 😉

As a closing thought, one we discussed with the girls, if our world were to be completely in dystopia in the future, doesn’t the future of teens look so grim? They always get thrown into this life-threatening ordeals from The Hunger Games, Divergent and now the Maze Runner.  They never catch a break, eh? But then, I guess it is the target market, right? Its helps young adults bond with the characters more. Maybe?

Have you seen or read The Maze Runner? What did you think about it? If you haven’t seen it, does it sound appealing to you?

The East (2013)

I watched this some time in between the Valentine’s Marathon.  I always need a mini break between all the lovey-dovey and also to not torture my boyfriend and make him sit those movies.  I’m nice that way. The general goal to watch the movies that I’ve bought but haven’t seen during this year is pretty much still there.  Plus, this is pretty much the second last 2013 movie that I bought and I want to really wrap that up by the end of February as well 🙂 This one has had some rather positive reviews so I looked forward to it!

Director: Zal Batmanglij

Cast:Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page, Toby Kebbell, Shiloh Fernandez, Jason Ritter, Patricia Clarkson

An operative for an elite private intelligence firm finds her priorities changing dramatically after she is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group known for executing covert attacks upon major corporations. –IMDB

IMDB has a good mini synopsis of this one so I’ll just take that.  I’m not even going to attempt to put the movie into my own words because I’ll either spoil it or it’ll make no sense.  Why do I say that? Its not because I’m being lazy.  One thing before we proceed with the actual review is that this is  thriller focused on politics.  I’m not into politics much.  Its not that I don’t understand, I just try to not care as much (except maybe during elections).  Point is, I’m not knowledgeable in this genre.  There could be better and there could be worse than The East but I have very limited comparison. Sounds reasonable? Moving along!

The East was pretty great. It had some building tension and takes on lots of moral dilemmas as it messed with our main character, Sarah’s, mind.  Although, the only thing was that I figured out part of the ending before we reached it.  Its a well-written story and it targets some big problems where I think in the back of my mind (and probably many others), it brings forth the idea of people standing up for whats right, although in extreme ways, and not being manipulated by big bad wolves – giant heartless corporations that only care for profits.  The whole tone of the movie was pretty strange in a good way and intense.  It provoked a lot of strong feelings as this group, The East, lives in a fairly different and extreme way.  This was pretty  heavy one to watch and I remember having to split it into two nights.  It wasn’t because it was long but just very thought provoking.  Not really fit for a late night movie…

One of the main highlights of this one has to be for our main character Sarah, played by Brit Marling.  I saw Brit Marling once before in Another Earth. If you missed that review, you can check it out HERE.  I’m going to start with her because I really love the cast in this.  So, our main character is the one that is tugged in both directions as she tries to survive this undercover mission while having to make the right decision and choice that would not make her feel morally compromised.  Its a lot about morals and ethics of both The East and the big corporations that are targeted. Brit Marling did a fantastic job in portraying the development of her character.

Aside from her, we have out male lead Alexander Skarsgard.  Yes, the very handsome Eric in True Blood for those who don’t know. I’ve never seen him in anything outside of True Blood so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. He played the leader of The East called Benji.  Seriously, I’m not sure about his acting or if there was quite that much. It was a very quiet communication on his part and right away, you know that Benji was a character with something more.  Along with him is one of my favorite young actresses, Ellen Page.  Obviously, this is somewhere far from Juno and less intense and psychotic than Hard Candy but I have to say that she’s represents her character Izzy.  Izzy has a “jam” (what they call their operations) that has more personal value to her and right off the bat, you know that she’s dedicated and protective.  She wants things to work out perfectly and because of her lack of trust, it causes some conflicts as well.

I don’t know what else to say about this one.  Both my boyfriend and I enjoyed it.  It was intense, heavy and targeted some pretty relevant issues actually.  Its an exploration of what is doing the right thing, how extreme it could get and learning how to not morally compromise the situation and finding that balance.  There’s a lot of things that is in this but despite the slightly slow beginning, it picks up to be something quite good.  There is an unnecessary part of the story that I figured would happen but it wasn’t particularly needed but most stories like to add that emotional factor in.  Yes, its worth your time and yes, its good watch.  Don’t do this when your brain is fried because it will get your head moving.  But, I don’t know, who actually watches thrillers when they are tired?

I’m rambling but what I’m saying is that this is pretty good and I do recommend it 🙂

Have you seen The East? Any thoughts? 

Valentine’s Marathon: Friends With Benefits (2011)

This year’s start of the Valentine’s Marathon was actually a complete spontaneous choice.  I decided this morning that I wanted to watch a romantic comedy and didn’t want to get out of bed and saw this in my Netflix list so I watched it.

Director: Will Gluck

Cast: Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake, Patricia Clarkson, Jenna Elfman, Richard Jenkins, Woody Harrelson

Jamie (Mila Kunis) is an emotionally damaged headhunter who just fell out of a relationship and decides to not get emotionally attached in another relationship.  While at her job, she is sent to help connect Dylan (Justin Timberlake) to a art director position for the GQ.  Dylan has his own set of commitment issues and also is single as well.  He also ends up moving to New York City for the job and end up being good friends with Jamie.  Being in similar situation, they decide that to fulfill the desire for sex, they would never want to date each other so it would be easy to keep it simple with a friends with benefits relationship. Except, is it really that simple?

There’s only one specific reason that I’ve been putting off watching Friends with Benefits and thats Justin Timberlake.  I like JT as a singer, more his older stuff but as an actor, he really has a lot of space of improvement.  I mean, a long long way.  Bad Teacher was a disaster, In Time was simply average, was he in something else? Point is, I recently just starting liking Mila Kunis so I was worried that JT would bring this down.  I’m happy to say that he didn’t! Justin Timberlake finally  has a movie that I enjoy.  I think it really has to do with Will Gluck being the director because that man also did Easy A and I have immense love for it, just read my review HERE!

Friends With Benefits is nothing extraordinary in the world of romantic comedies but the chemistry between Justin Timberlake’s Dylan and Mila Kunis’s Jamie is very good. They are entertaining to watch and I found myself laughing quite a bit.  Its an entertaining movie and a fun premise.  I don’t know how feasible friends with benefits actually are in reality but it doesn’t matter because in reality its about being able to be in a relationship with someone that you can be completely straight-forward with and thats besides all the emotions and feelings.

Isn’t that so true? And thats why this movie is so great! Because its just so true. A lot of girls will have fairy tales in their minds.  My best friend will probably give me the “I know you do” look.  Yeah, I’m a romantic but even me, I still remember updating my fairy tale.  Awesome quote, right? But you know, this comes to the point that I love Patricia Clarkson.  She’s an amazing actress.  Even though she is only a supporting role, she always does a great job. Another supporting role that had me laughing out loud was Woody Harrelson. I’m starting to really like this guy.  This guy is just so enjoyable to see on screen.  Love it!

I’m heavily medicated with cough meds right now so I’m going to stop the review here.  Friends With Benefits is an enjoyable and fun romantic comedy.  Its nothing like the best thing I’ve seen but I’d gladly sit down to watch it again.  Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake have great chemistry and the supporting roles help to make it funny.  And they have some amazing quotes.  That sounds like a good rom-com to me. 🙂 Oh wait, and there’s a cameo with Emma Stone and some tribute to Easy A.  Its pretty awesome!

Have you seen Friends with Benefits? What do you think about Mila Kunis?

Being on meds is the best time to watch romantic comedies (and probably Nicholas Sparks movies).  I’d say this Valentine’s marathon kicked off with a decent start (so much better than the Superbowl game at least)…