Don Jon (2013) - 8 / 10“There's only a few things I really care about in life. My body. My pad. My family. My church. My boys. My girls. My porn.” - Jon
So…Sex? Hard to talk about. Masturbation? Hmm, harder to talk about. Masturbation + Pornography? Dear Lord, now we're taboo. Is this a great movie? No, but it is an original one and it feels like a breath of fresh air in the current Marvel Comics shoot-'em-bang-bang-explode movie thingy. Joseph Gordon-Levitt wrote, directed and stars as Jon, a twenty-something man who loves women but not as much as watching porn. The former child star has turned into quite the up-and-coming young actor as he's worked on rebranding himself as something more than that kid from 3rd Rock From the Sun and 10 things I hate about you. Over the years, he's starred in such films as The Dark Knight Rises, 50/50 or Looper, and proved to us that he’s the type of actor that can play a comedy or a drama with such ease. However, his most impressive performance to date might just be the one he gave in front and behind the camera with Don Jon. Don Jon touches on that extremely embarrassing fact that every guy is terrified that his most deep secret will come out. What secret is that? Well, it's probably best hearing from the protagonist, Jon, himself: "Every guy looks at porn, every day.” This movie shows us a real problem, the process of porn turning our heads, making us believe in perfection and making us selfish as lovers. You watch porn and think that you don't have to please a woman, you don't have to worry about anyone but yourself. In the real world, in relationships, the other person matters just as much as you, but sometimes, even the real thing is not as good as the fantasy and the ease of it. Don Jon is about that confusion of liking and appreciating porn more than real women, of becoming addicted to the idea of “perfection" and ultimately making us aware of the effect it has on all us men, making us irritated little boys, incapable of truly connecting with another person. The message is not that porn is bad, only the way we think and use it is misleading to reality. I think that this is the first movie I've seen which accurately depicts 21st century man's relationship with pornography as a simple fact of life, without judgement. Usually in a Hollywood film the guy watching porn is seen as some kind of creep, but here, as Jon himself says, “every guy watches porn, and if he says he doesn't he's a liar”. What really impressed me about Don Jon, though, are the performances that Levitt pulls out of his colleagues/actors. I've honestly never seen Scarlett Johansson give a better performance than she did as Jon's trashy New Jersey girlfriend, Barbara, maybe even better than her ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona” role. She's absolutely despicable as she slowly begin to reveal her true intentions and tries to paint Jon as the bad guy when she discovers his addiction. She’s addicted to sugary fantasies of male sacrifice, waiting for her prince on the white horse to come and swipe her of her feet. "He gave up EVERYTHING for her," she comments as they come out of her latest chick flick 'Special Someone'. "It was MEANT to be!” she said, daydreaming. On top of that, Tony Danza gives a extremely amusing and ridiculous performance as Jon's impulsive father who gets into dick-measuring (figurative :P) contest with his son every Sunday at family lunch. Julianne Moore is fantastic in the role of Esther, playing a much larger role than I had originally expected, and did a great job helping Jon grow as a person. And yes, she’s still hot, even though she’s 53 years old. However, the most impressive of them all is Levitt himself, who has repeatedly proved that he is one hell of an actor and one who has earned my trust as a moviegoer. The role is something so far from what I would have ever pictured him portraying, but he pulls it off beautifully as he plays the scumbag good-guy stereotype. I must confess that the only 2 things that come to my mind when I think of this movie are the opening sound of his Macbook Pro, that’s his leitmotif of getting ready for “business” and his writing for Jon's weekly confessions in church, that’s just hilarious: “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been one week since my last confession. Since last Sunday I had sexual relations out of wedlock two times. I also watched pornographic videos and masturbated seventeen times. For these, and all the sins in my life, I am sorry.” - Jon. Yes, the film does have a lot of sexual humor and content in it, but it has some reason to, seeing as the film is dealing with addiction to pornography. And what may have seemed immature and like teenage humor for the first little bit of the film, soon went away and it became one of the most penetrating and intelligent films of the year. It's the kind of film you would almost want younger teens to see in order to learn something and perhaps plan their own lives and future relationships a little more differently.
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What’s your number ? – 6.5 / 10
What’s your number ? probabil mai mare decat nota primita de acest film… Din pacate, chiar si cu asteptarile reduse, acest film a fost o dezamagire. Si e chiar pacat - Anna Faris (Ally Darling – frumos nume) şi Chris Evans (Colin Shea) fac un cuplu simpatic, ceea ce le ofera posibilitatea de a se „fool arround” si sa para real. Cu toate acestea, filmul este doar o adunatura de scenarii, dintre care unele merg iar altele nu prea. Mi se pare o risipa teribila; foarte putine actrite au un potential comic atat de mare si o dorinta de a se face de ras, precum Anna. Chiar si ideea povestii, cu Faris revizitandu-si fostii, este irosita aiurea, desi exista multe „materiale” bune, cu faze comice ce ar fi putut avea un impact mult mai puternic. Aici il includ pe Martin Freeman si personajul sau care-si miroase degetele. Un rol secundar care mi-a placut foarte mult este al mamei demonice si elegante a Annei, interpretata foarte bine de Blythe Danner. In ceea ce-l priveste pe Evans, actor pe care l-am vazut crescand, de la rolul din Not another teen movie, prin Fantastic Four si pana la rolul foarte bun din Captain America (abia astept sa-l revad imbracand costumul in The Avengers), care are un rol interesant, acela de (nu stiu daca exista expresie in romana mai buna) “man ho’ ”, ingamfat dar usor de indragit, atat el (cat si abdomenul lui perfect :P), fac vizionarea mai usoara pana la sfarsit. In plus, scena de pe terenul de basket, este, probabil una din cele mai sexy scene ce include o minge, din filme. In ceea ce priveste scenariul, este practic acelasi ca la alte filme de gen. Un cuplu neobisnuit, ce incep ca straini, ajungand sa se apropie din ce in ce mai tare, pana ce realizeaza ca “the right one” a fost mereu in fata sa. Cel mai interesant aspect este cel legat de cati parteneri sexuali ar trebui sa aibe o femeie pe parcursul vietii. Acest aspect a fost destul de amuzant si a adaugat cateva situatii incomode si amuzante. Nu pot sa spun ca am ras prea mult la acest film, dar am ras putin si sincer, as fi vrut sa rad mai mult, dar comicul sare de la “retardat” la “intelectual”, cu unele nuante de gri intre ele. August Rush – 8 / 10
"The music is all around us. All you have to do is listen." – August Rush August Rush va scoate cateva lacrimi oamenilor cu suflet mare carora le place sa-si deschida imaginatia si sa creada in destin si magie. Iar celor realisti, necredinciosii hard core (incuiati, daca pot spune asa) le va veni probabil sa vomite de la atatea dulcegarii si sentimente miscatoare. In aceasta ultima categorie, cu siguranta ca vor intra criticii. Scenariul este oarecum previzibil si putin „sappy”, dar acele elemente sunt cu usurinta depasite prin executarea moment cu moment a povestii. Ganditi-va la un Oliver Twist modernizat si intelegeti in mare despre ce este vorba in acest film. Actorii au jucat foarte bine intr-un rol fara prea multe dialoguri, astfel incat majoritatea povestii este spusa prin expresiile actorilor si prin sunete si muzica. Totusi, mi-a ramas in cap monologul superb al lui Robin Williams, in care vorbeste despre muzica si felul in care aceasta ne leaga de tot si toate. Scenele au un element de fantezie atragatoare, in timp ce in acelasi timp, intriga reuseste sa exploreze situatii reale din viata umana, cum ar fi hartuirea persoanelor „diferite”. Muzica este incredibila si in mare parte este originala. Aceasta include gospel, rock si muzica clasica, perfect integrate intr-un mod care functioneaza extrem de bine. Desi nu este un musical, muzica este o tema centrala. Un moment superb si emotionant este cand, de-a lungul calatoriei sale, August atinge pentru prima data o chitara si aceasta prinde viata (impreuna cu el) si devine insfarsit capabil sa exprime in muzica tot ce a fost intotdeauna in el. Dupa cum am spus, performantele actorilor sunt foarte bune. Freddie Highmore, din Finding Neverland si Charlie and the Chocolate Factory este personajul principal. El a „furat” Finding Neverland cu o „blink of an eye” si aproape ca face acelasi lucru si aici. Ofera o performanta stralucitoare si face ca putinele dialoguri sa sune natural. Nu stiu daca el chiar a si cantat la toate acele instrumente sau au fost inregistrate separat, dar a jucat perfect in scenele care includeau muzica. Spre deosebire de alte filme de gen, in care un copil a descoperit/a primit puteri paranormale si invata sa le foloseasca, filme care, din punctul meu de vedere, sunt mult prea superapreciate decat acest film, acest film incearca sa obtina emotii reale din poveste, in loc sa inspire vise de genul „what if”. Nu sunt un expert muzical, nici un muzician de orice fel (nici in Garage Band nu stiu sa cant) spre dezamagirea mea, asa ca puteau sa cante in acest film la instrumente si cu picioarele ca ar fi contat prea putin pentru mine. Totul este un orgasm muzical si nu simti cand trec cele aproape 2h. One day - 8 / 10
O comedie romantica / drama, putin mai ciudata. Scenariul are la baza romanul cu acelasi nume, scris de David Nicholls in 2009 si se concentreaza pe relatia dintre un el si o ea, de la prima "intalnire" adevarata, urmata de o promisiune. Pe parcursul a 20 de ani, ii vedem ce fac in aceeasi zi din an si felul in care comunica unu cu altul. Interpretarea ambilor actori principali este foarte buna, iar Anne Hathaway, prin chipul foarte expresiv, pot spune ca ofera niste sentimente reale, mult diferite de marea majoritate a actorilor in roluri similare. Nu vreau sa ofer prea multe detalii, pentru a nu va strica placerea de a-l viziona, dar va pot spune sincer, ca este unul din cele mai bune filme ale anului 2011, pe segmentul sau de romcom (romantic comedy). Like Crazy - 8 / 10
Un film diferit, intr-un fel foarte ciudat. Se poate asemana cu Blue Valentine, intr-o oarecare masura. Este o poveste ciudata de dragoste, o dorinta nebuna a unui lucru pe care ti-l doresti enorm de mult exact cand nu-l poti avea, iar cand il poti avea... Sau cel putin asta-ti lasa impresia. Relatiile dintre ei sunt atat de ciudate, incat te intrebi mereu ce se intampla si de ce, iar la sfarsit esti liber sa-ti imaginezi ce se va intampla. Mi-a placut la nebunie felul in care a fost filmat. Prim planuri pe expresiile actorilor, focalizare pe obiectele care conteaza si putin "handy cam". O maniera foarte buna si eficienta de a transmite un anumit mesaj. Coloana sonora este pur si simplu superba, desi exista in prea mica masura. Am admirat faptul ca au lasat toate conversatiile fara muzica, doar cu sunetele de fundal, excelent captate, iar unde au fost si melodii, acestea sunt excelent alese, exact pe starea impusa de actori/replici. Actorii, desi sunt necunoscuti (tipul a mai jucat in Alpha Dog, fiind pustiulica rapit), isi arata excelent emotiile si trairile si joaca aceste roluri ca niste adevarati profesionisti. Este un film foarte bun, daca-ti plac genul asta de filme. Midnight in Paris - 9 / 10
O capodopera ! Al doilea film (dupa Vicky Christina Barcelona) al lui Woody Allen care chiar mi-a placut. A avut un inceput cam monoton, dar si-a revenit rapid si m-a prins. Un film pur si simplu superb. O interpretare mult prea buna a lui Owen Wilson intr-un film de genul asta. O atmosfera superba, o coloana sonora superba, totul completat de o poveste superba. O capodopera care inoata in metafore, cu Owen Wilson in frunte. Daca ai niste cunostinte minime despre arta si ai citit macar o singura carte la viata ta, inafara de cele obligatorii din scoala, vei aprecia acest film cu adevarat. Friends with benefits - 8 / 10
Un film surprinzator de bun. Un inceput modest, dar destul de direct, niste personaje principale foarte bine conturate pe tot parcursul filmului, un scenariu foarte bun si foarte bine interpretat. In ciuda numelui, este un film cu foarte mult bun simt in ceea ce priveste imaginile, cu putina nuditate justificata, cu multe replici amuzante si foarte bine scrise si cu o coloana sonora minunat aleasa. Un alt film foarte bine jucat de catre Justin Timberlake. Crazy, Stupid, Love - 8.5 / 10
O comedie foarte buna, interpretata foarte bine, cu multe replici bune (Are you Steve Jobs ? - facand referire la adidasii depasiti), cu actori buni si cateva rasturnari de situatie. Este o buna radiografie a vietii erotico/sentimentale din zilele nostre, o poveste de viata bine pusa in scena prin replici excelente, cu dialoguri, situatii si personaje cu adevarat amuzante. Un scenariu foarte bine pus la punct, cu multe momente amuzante, dialoguri bine gandite, coloana sonora bine aleasa si un sfarsit foarte bun. Zookeeper - 5 / 10
Un film foarte slab si prost realizat. M-am uitat pentru Kevin James. Imi place la nebunie actoru asta. Totusi, nu imi pot da seama cum a putut accepta sa joace in mediocritatea asta de film, care nu este nici comedie, nici drama, nici nimic. Asta era film de Eddie Murphy. 1,2 si 3 (The Wedding) - 9 / 10 American Pie
Una din cele mai bune trilogii de comedie. Chiar si dupa atatia ani, tot ma amuz copios la ele. Ce a urmat dupa 3, nu le pot baga in aceeasi serie. Pur si simplu superb. Personaje memorabile, faze memorabile, absolut superb. |