This week I'm a little bit late with my film reviews, so that's why this post is being published on a Saturday as opposed to a Friday. Moving on - today I have two great films to talk about (one of which is still out in theatres): Bridesmaids and Lucy.
Please note that although I try my best to not give anything away, there may be spoilers in this post. There may actually be more spoilers in this post than typical, especially for Lucy - so if you haven't watched that film, don't read anything below!
Director(s): Paul Feig
Screenplay: Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo
Release date: April 2011
Genre: comedy | romance
Running time: 125 minutes
Ratings: 90% (Rotten Tomatoes) | 6.9/10 (IMDb)
Join Annie and a group of colorful bridesmaids on a wild ride down the road to matrimony. Although Annie's life is a mess, when she finds out her lifetime best friend is engaged, she simply must serve as Lillian's maid of honor. Though lovelorn and broke, Annie bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals. With one chance to get it perfect, she'll show Lillian and her bridesmaids just how far you'll go for someone you love.
I really enjoyed this movie! It was one of those comedies that just took your mind off things and brought you tons of laughter at unexpected places. Bridesmaids has a brilliant star-studded cast. I especially laughed when I saw thatBen Falcone, who also appears in Enough Said (which I reviewed last week), makes an appearance in this film as well.
The whole plot had been in the making for several years and I think that the end result was brilliant. Annie (played by Kristen Wiig) takes on the maid of honour role when her best friend Lillian reveals to her that she is getting married. While Lillian's life seems to take off, Annie's crumbles down as she compares herself almost every step of the way to the other bridesmaids. I think that what I enjoyed the most was how human Annie was. I could relate to her and seeing her eventually overcome her attitude and circumstances was inspiring.
One last point about the plot - I'm not sure if I can explain this properly, but I loved how awkward situations were dealt with in this movie. Instead of just ignoring the awkwardness and letting the moment pass on, the characters actually tried to make up for their mistakes (such as at the engagement party when two of the bridesmaids mistake who Annie came to the party with), which I think applies pretty well in real-life situations. You're bound to have awkward moments - you just need to find a way to deal with them and move on.
All in all, this was a great movie that I will most likely watch it again in the future.
Lucy (2014) Director(s): Luc Besson
Screenplay: Luc Besson
Release date: July 2014
Genre: action | sci-fi
Running time: 90 minutes
Ratings: 59% (Rotten Tomatoes) | 6.6/10 (IMDb)
A woman is accidentally caught in a dark deal, turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.
Chances are that you've talked to someone who watched Lucy and didn't like it. I, myself, encountered someone like that right after I watched the film. Now I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that the people who didn't like this movie and its ending simply didn't understand what the film was trying to do - which in my opinion was to explore the fascinating realm of the human mind and to comment on what makes us human by showing us what we lose when we go beyond our typical capabilities.
In any case, I'll start off with what I didn't like about the film. Throughout the movie there were tons of montages (for example - montages of animals) that are meant to emphasize certain ideas and drive them home. However, ultimately I think these montages became overused to the point where they produced an almost jarring effect, which took away from the movie. I also didn't like that the film eventually turned into a typical action flick. The scene that I disliked the most was the one where Lucy(Scarlett Johansson) is driving down the streets of Paris with Pierre Del Rio (Amr Waked), and she's swerving, and avoiding vehicles on the road, and tons of cars are flipping over, and the action is very fast-paced. It just seemed like a scene that was included because a high-speed chase was needed to keep the audience interested. My issue with this specific scene is this - if Lucy was able to control other people and objects at that point, why not just have the car levitate or have other cars levitate? Was there no other way for her to get by unnoticed by the general public? Or to even avoid the unnecessary civilian deaths that I'm sure would've occurred when all those cars flipped over? How is it that we still cheer for main characters who wreck as much havoc and destruction and who bring as much violence as the 'bad guys' do?
Anyways, here's what I DID like about the film. I loved the acting and I loved the visual effects. I also loved the storyline, which reminded me of Limitless although I haven't actually watched that movie yet (I only know the basic premise). The human mind is a fascinating thing and it's no surprise that sci-fi films try to explore a realm that remains to be for the most part, a mystery to us. While the idea that we only use 10% of our brains has been refuted a multitude of times and dismissed as myth (check out this article if you're interested), I think that the direction the film, Lucy, took was fascinating.
A quick note about the ending (don't worry, I wont reveal it) - imagine being in Lucy's shoes and discovering that you can access your full brain capacity. What would you do? Would you be scared? Would you worry about what your purpose in life is at that point? What do you do with all of your abilities? Considering all of these questions, I think that the ending was appropriate and satisfying. Besides, how else would it have ended?
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I'd love to start a discussion with you! Have you had a chance to check out either one of these films? Let me know what you thought in the comments below! :)
Thank you for reading! -A.~
All
of the posters were taken from Google. All of the film descriptions (in
italics) were taken from either Google, Rotten Tomatoes, or IMDb.
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