RBR (Redbox review): Silver Linings Playbook

For a film who's central character is dealing with mental illness, I felt like I was suffering from bi-polar disorder while I watched. You go through some extreme feelings as the movie unfolds, which in my case left me uncertain of how to exactly review this film. We'll begin with the movie's premise; a young man (Bradley Cooper) who's been recently released from a mental institution after witnessing his wife having an affair, tries to put the pieces of his life back together by dealing with his family's fandom of the Philadelphia Eagles and starting up a friendship with a young woman who seems to be just as unstable as he is. And of course, the film's climax involves ballroom dancing. WHAT?!? On paper, this story should not work at all. And yet, it does, thanks largely to the strong performances by the film's cast. Those performances though, can also be a source of frustration. Take for instance, Jennifer Lawrence who plays the unstable woman Cooper befriends. From a casting perspective, she seems all wrong to play this loose, morose widow. However, her performance is so engaging you stop thinking that she shouldn't be in this movie. There are several other elements about both how this film was made and the story it told that I kept wanting to alter. And yet, at each point the film wore me down with its charm and moxie. I stopped caring about its weak depiction of mental illness or the nonsensical bet that the story's climax hinges on and just enjoyed being around these characters. I'm not convinced that this is a good movie and yet it somehow feels wrong to harshly critique it. It's success both at the box office and during the awards season is proof that I'm not the only one who felt that way. If you've resisted seeing this movie thus far, stop fighting it and give it a watch. It's one of those "four-quadrant" movies that offers something for all people - young and old, men and women. It's likely you'll enjoy the viewing experience. Just don't go crazy like I did trying to figure out why you liked it because there is seemingly no good answer. Rating: ****

RBR: Killer Elite

Early on this movie feels like every other action film out there as we meet Danny (Jason Statham), a special ops agent who's decided that he's had enough of that life and calls it quits, only to be brought back for...everyone say it with me...one last mission. He's tasked with killing three assassins in a revenge plot. The lack of originality can be somewhat forgiven due to this being based on a true story. The scenes involving Danny's efforts to take down these killers are the best and allow this film to be watchable. This is not just pure brutality; there is some creativity to the way that he not only has to eliminate these guys but also get a taped confession of their crimes as well. Clive Owen shows up midway through as a roadblock to Danny's mission. This is a true battle of tough guys, although Owen's cheesy mustache weakens his machismo to a degree. Robert DeNiro also has a supporting role in here as Danny's partner. Even in a small role, DeNiro gives a strong performance and really elevates the film. Ultimately, I felt the film's ending was a big too drawn out with one too many finishes. For action fans, this is not the flashiest film, but should certainly provide enough bang for your buck to make it worth a rental. Rating: ***

Simply Red

I imagine we'll get a lot more trailers for bigger movies during the Super Bowl, but in the meantime, here's one for a smaller film that manages to boasts an impressive cast. This looks be one of the few films in the supernatural genre that I could see myself checking out.

NMR: Limitless

Apparently, the title of the film isn't exactly true since its limits get exposed by failing to come up with a satisfactory conclusion to the film's intriguing premise. The movie stars Bradley Cooper as a struggling writter who runs into an ex-brother-in-law who offers him a mysterious drug that allows him to unlock the full potential of his brain power. The drug works and soon he's not only able to write books, but conquer the world of high finance. All of this works and instantly hooks you. However, once he's on top the film devolves into a standard drug movie with corruption, violence, and lies. Robert De Niro plays a financial bigwig who tries to do business with Cooper's character. Like the film's plot, his character is interesting but not fleshed out enough and thus ultimately disappointing. I also felt the director tried a little too hard with the visual imagery he included, particularly during the scenes where anyone is using the drug. For a rental, this is a worth a recommendation as the film feels fresh for at least the first half. The second isn't terrible, just disappointing because of the failure to do more with the set-up. Rating: *** 1/2