Instant Watch: The League Season One

I just watched the first season of FX's The League.  The six episodes that make up the first season are now available for Netflix's instant watch viewing and I highly recommend it, in fact, I watched all six episodes in one sitting.  It is that good.  The League is from the one of the writers of the Cyrus, Mark Duplass.  As I wrote about in an earlier post, I was a big fan of Cyrus, so anything from its writer is welcome addition to TV.  

The League is about a group of friends whose relationship is centered around their fantasy football league and how each friends need to win the championship trophy - The Shiva affects their lives.  There are great performances from entire cast.  In addition, the characters are distinct from each other, have their own interesting personalities and are backed up by strong and funny storyline premises.

Definitely a Netflix Instant Watch Gem everyone should try and see.  

**** out of **** stars.

Bridesmaids Trailer: I hope it turns out well

So here is the new trailer for upcoming Judd Apatow produced movie: "Bridesmaids"

<br /> <a href="http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-trailers/?src=SLPl:embed:&amp;fg=sharenoembed#/video/71f5d29b-f4ba-4867-9eeb-4d754ebee082" target="_new" title="Exclusive: &#39;Bridesmaids&#39; Trailer">Video: Exclusive: 'Bridesmaids' Trailer</a>

The trailer is a promising.  I am keeping my eye out for this one.  I don't believe Bridesmaids will become a breakout hit like The Hangover however, I believe it can do well. I want this movie to be good for a couple reasons.  I complained on an earlier A Fistful of Popcorn podcast that there not too many funny women in Hollywood.  I want to be proven wrong.  Second, Bridesmaids is written by and stars Kristen Wiig.  I've found her really funny in her supporting roles in Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Adventureland and I am glad she gets the chance to star here.

Thoughts on Cyrus: An Unusual Comedy with An Unusual Star

I really enjoyed Cyrus.  It a small comedy from last year that is now on DVD.  It stars John C. Reilly as John, lonely divorced man who meets Molly, played by Marisa Tomei.  Jonah Hill plays the titular character Cyrus, the son of Molly, a 21 year old man-child who lives at home with Molly.  As John and Molly begin to develop a romance, Cyrus, due to jealousy issues tries his best to break up the budding couple.  The movie then becomes a battle between Cyrus and Molly for the affections of Molly.

What I liked most about this movie is the performance by John C Reilly.  I haven't seen him as the lead star too many times and it was refreshing to see him take a role and knock it out of the park.  He is really funny as the initially sad sack John and he has fantastic chemistry with Tomei.

Tomei is really good here also as the offbeat and naive Molly.  The relationship between Molly and Cyrus is odd, yet never the riches creepy zone.  The fact that the director/writers Duplass Brothers hold back from making the Molly and Cyrus relationship creepy is another  one of touches I really appreciated about the movie.

Jonah Hill has a tricky role here, his role here is different than how we see him normally.  He really holds back from being the annoying, neurotic person normally seen in movies such as Superbad.

I enjoyed the fact that the movie never goes "Hollywood" with the battle between John and Cyrus.  Things never really get goofy between the two, where they commit silly physical acts throughout the movie in an effort to discredit the other.  It's refreshing to see a comedy that can restrain itself.

I totally recommend seeing this movie.  ***1/2 out of **** stars.

Quick Review: Night Catches Us

Night Catches Us a movie about a neighborhood that is still feeling the after effects of the Black Panther Party in the 1970s is led by terrific performance by Anthony Mackie.  Mackie plays Marcus Washington, a man who returns to the neighborhood he grew up in for his father's funeral.  While there, Marcus, who is a former member of the Black Panther Party, left to deal with the after effects of the violent night that ended up forcing him to leave his neighborhood.  There are good supporting performances by Kerry Washington and Jamie Hector as people who were affected by Marcus's actions. I enjoyed the story, about the effect that the Black Panthers had on the blacks during the '60s and '70s and how even after their prime had passed, there are still people who romanticized their ideals. The movie also has a really good score by The Roots. ***Stars

Quick Review: Winter's Bone

I really enjoyed Winter's Bone.  It is a simple story, but it is told so interestingly and so well.  What really works in the movie are the performances by Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes.  I really enjoyed Lawrence as Ree, the determined teenager who has taken it up on herself to find her father and Hawkes' turn as Teardrop, Ree intense uncle.  The cinematography and costumes of the movie is absolutely gorgeous, giving you a sense of how poor and desperate the characters in the film are.  **** Stars.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

In Rare Exports, Santa Claus is a mythical demon that eats children who has been bad.  Santa Claus has been awakened after being buried for hundreds of years to terrorize the small surrounding town in Finland. The movie starts off as a horror movie and ends on on the funniest movies I've seen in a few years. The story, while a bit silly is forgivable for the shear lunacy that occurs on screen. The final thirty minutes of the movie is pure comedic delight and when you find out what the "rare export" of the title is, you will almost die laughing.  *** stars

Quick Review: Black Swan

There was a lot of hype surrounding Natalie Portman’s role in Black Swan.  Hype says that this was an Oscar nomination worthy role.  While Portman delivers a good performance, ultimately the movie is just too cheesy for me take seriously.

The movie, about a ballerina who lands the lead in Swan Lake and finds herself morphing into the evil lead character uses a lot of visual tricks and scares that fall flat to me.  Instead of making scenes more tense or thrilling, the tricks actually made me want to laugh.

The plot of the movie also did not make much sense, I failed to know or understand the characters and why Portman’s character found herself becoming the evil Black Swan.  This was overall just a disappointing movie.  ** Stars