Silver Linings Playbook
So I finally sat down to watch this after always finding a reason not to go to the theater to see it. I don't think I missed anything of a theater experience but I regret waiting so long to see it because I found it pretty great. I connected to the first half of the film...especially Cooper who was very impressive in this role. I'm growing into a fan of him considering the 2nd film I saw with him today; more on that later though. I got a bit emotional during his first days out of the mental hospital due to my brother going through the exact same thing. Seriously. He named the same medicine my brother is taking. It was weird. The second half turned its romantic side toward me but it struck the exact right chords as far as romantic movies go. Jennifer Lawrence earned the sh*t out of her Oscar. She was fantastic. I also enjoyed Bob DeNiro and Jackie Weaver but I didn't quite understand their nominations. They were good but Bob played a version of himself that he always plays and Weaver just kind of went along with everybody else. Just a thought.
Overall a great film that I'd like to own. It had the right amount of romance, comedy, and sadness that I loved in Lost in Translation and loved in this.
4/5
The Place Beyond the Pines
I sporadically decided to go see this film by myself today. Great decision. This was fantastic and easily the best film in theaters right now. I don't know if anybody saw Blue Valentine but it's made by the same director. I didn't really know anything going into this other than the director and the fact that it's got an 80 on RT. This is essential.
If you're planning on seeing this film , go into it knowing
nothing. It's not like there are huge twists but the way the story unfolds hits you way harder when you are blind to it. Just trust me on this.
The film was beautifully shot on location in New York State. It was a powerful, haunting, and draining film that I'm going to be thinking about for some time. Cooper and Gosling were great but the real star was the direction and screenplay that made for a suspenseful gut puncher of a film. The only thing that I could call a negative is it's a bit patchy in a few spots which lead to it being a long film but it's in no way a serious problem.
Superb film
4.5/5