My Idiot Brother: Starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Kathryn Hahn, Emily Mortimer, Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones. This was a totally harmless, pleasant, mainstream comedy about a sweet but aimless/immature guy and the three sisters of his who lend him a hand when he falls on hard times, only to get more than they bargained for with him in their lives. No complaints here, other than that it was very hard to get tickets (but of course we managed).
Higher Ground: directed by and starring Vera Farmiga. Oh boy, this movie. This. Movie. I kind of feel like it was my fault because I simply saw that she directed it and decided to see the movie without reading one single thing about it, but there I was, seeing a two hour+ drama about a born again Christian woman finding and potentially losing God. I don't have a problem with religious movies per se, but I do have a problem with movies that go absolutely fucking nowhere, and that are poorly paced, miscast and under-developed from a character standpoint. I can see they MIGHT have an audience for this if they edited the fuck out of the first half. But I'd still hate it. There were a few good lines and one decent relationship (the lead and her best friend) but that was too little, too late. Mostly I found this to be a hot steaming mess and I will be forever confused why it's getting good reviews. Someone who has seen it - please explain the appeal to me!
Another Happy Day: This is with Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn, Demi Moore, Thomas Hayden Church, Kate Bosworth. And directed by a child no older than 25 years old. Of course his name now escapes me. But anyway - the story is somewhat familiar - super dysfunctional, broken family reunites for a wedding and stirs up old shit. This movie doesn't totally depart from the genre but the performances are good enough and the dialogue is clever enough that you don't totally care when you do kind of know where it's going. Matt and Shiri loved this and I thought it was very good.
Red State: I'm a decent Kevin Smith Fan (especially Chasing Amy!) so even though horror as a genre isn't my #1, I wasn't going to miss this. The Fred Phelps /Westboro Baptist people protesting outside beforehand provided the best way to get in the mood of seeing a gory bloodbath of a movie based on them. Although my friends didn't enjoy it, and although I wouldn't say I loved it, I am very glad that I saw it and I absolutely would recommend it. The last 20 minutes especially where the right mixture of action and social commentary.
Cedar Rapids: The new Miguel Arteta. I never saw Star Maps, I liked Chuck and Buck, and I thought The Good Girl was overrated. So, I wasn't sure what to think of this one starring Ed Helms as a square insurance salesman out on a three-day conference for work that could change his life forever. I'd put this movie in the same category as My Idiot Brother or Win Win - very well-produced, funny and clever movies that showcase their star talent perfectly. I don't think there's a movie where John C Reilly hasn't totally stolen the show and this one's no exception.
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