Winter's Bone

Ree is a rugged teenage girl who has taken the responsibility of taking care of her depressed mother, and two younger siblings once her drug manufacturing father takes off and doesn’t come back. But when the law takes pursuit of her father and can’t find him, they are planning on taking the house for collateral. Ree has to go on the hunt for her father with nothing but trouble ahead of her to save the house and her family.

Jennifer Lawrence plays the relentless young woman who walks from property to property in a rural town trying to find clues to the whereabouts of her father. Her uncle Teardrop (John Hawkes) is a cocaine addict and doesn’t think he has any power to help her either. Other people aren’t jumping at the opportunity to help her out aslo. They are instead pushing her away and withholding information. So Ree must fight for the facts that will save her family from people who may be more dangerous than thought.

As Ree tries to tackle this mystery she gets deeper and deeper into this town’s underground society. She faces dangers alone and but without fear. With her family’s survival on the line, Ree tries every option she can think of. She doesn’t back down from any fight but acts well above her age and truly tests her will and strength against those who have the power to do whatever they want.

This is my first time seeing a movie by Debra Granik. For my knowledge she hasn't come out with any big hits and this is the first. What a way to start. It has been nominated for Best Picture along with huge productions such as "The King's Speech" and "True Grit." 

This movie has very little dialogue and is spent in long silences with Ree and her thoughts, but somehow the audience doesn’t get bored with it. Every time she goes out for information we just hope she doesn’t get killed. Pretty much every time she leaves she does what she can to get information but also stay alive and protect her family. I have never seen Jennifer Lawrence in anything but now I really want to. She dominated the screen over other’s intimidating personality and glares.

It almost seems as if the entire cast was originally from that town. They all fit in so well. Even those who never spoke they felt as if they had lived in that town their whole life. And you could easily spot those who weren’t from around there and the filmmakers used that to their advantage. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had an open casting call for locals to come and play these parts. Based on their measly $2 million budget they didn’t have the money to cast bigger names and the film benefitted from it.

           

“Winter’s Bone” is an amazing tale of what a young woman will do to keep her family together. An original take on something that has been done hundreds of times. It’s a perfect example for the phrase “do it the same, only different.” It is a powerful, dramatic ride throughout the entire film.


FINAL GRADE: A

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The Kids Are All Right

One daughter, one son, two moms, and one sperm donor. It’s the pinnacle of the new American family. In “The Kids Are All Right” we follow this family led by Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) into an extremely unique view of what is needed to keep a family together. They are a lesbian couple trying to raise their artificially inseminated kids: a high school graduate, Joni (Mia Wasikowska), and teen troublemaker, Laser (Josh Hutcherson). But when their kids try to find their sperm donor father, they get more than they bargained for.

Once Paul (Mark Ruffalo), an unmarried restaurant owner, finds out he is their biological father he wants to be a part of their lives. It is awkwardly funny as they begin to open up to him. Nic and Jules find out their kids have tracked down this man and begin to worry the effect he might have on them. They all have lunch together and Nic isn’t impressed. On the other hand Jules hits it off with Paul and starts her new landscaping business in his backyard. When flirting ensues between the two, they can’t help but jump right into an affair.

Laser and Joni continue to purse a relationship with Paul, and create a strong bond with him. Trouble jumps in early when jealousy between Joni and Nic starts, as well as rebellion from the kids in spite of how their parents are acting towards Paul. Joni is leaving for college soon, Laser is having trouble with friends, Nic is stressed that she is losing her family, and to top it off Paul and Jules are having an affair they know needs to stop. This story is full of drama at every turn and never lets up.

It never feels like this was promoting or making fun of lesbians or gays in anyway. Which is something they could easily bring up. It instead is a very unique story of a very unique family. The portrayal of this family is something that the normal viewer doesn’t see too often. The writers Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg create serious conflict that is so rich you can’t stop from grabbing onto it. All of the characters are so different from each other and yet all are intertwined by something special.

Sex has a strong force on this family in many different respects. The parents have a troubled sex life and are feeling more and more disconnected. Paul is getting older and is having sex just to feel something. Joni’s friend is constantly pressuring her to have sex. It easily accumulates into one big problem. Sex has control on this family and is one of the main problems that sparks the downward spiral.

I am caught in the middle of this family’s struggles and find myself fighting with them. I know the basic premise before the movie starts but am still interested with how they are going to address their unique problems. What I imagine as unique problems aren’t shown as such but are treated like it was any other family. It isn’t the fact that they are lesbians. It isn’t the fact they have children from a sperm donor. It becomes much more than that. The story is told like they area a normal couple and a normal family going through normal troubles. The Director/Writer Lisa Cholodenko is able to balance so many controversial topics and stir them all up together into a beautifully crafted film. 


FINAL GRADE: A

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To Save a Life

Jake Taylor (Randy Wayne) is an all-star at his high school, all thanks to the life saving act by Roger (Robert Bailey Jr.) during his childhood. But when Jake gets popular and forgets Roger over the years, Roger commits suicide right in front of him during school. Jake is now haunted by the thought “could I have saved him.”

When Jake goes searching for answers he finds a local church group that's just as broken as he is. Most of the teenager’s in there aren’t there because they are searching but because they have to be. Jake tries to sift through all of the fakers and figure out what the whole “Jesus” deal has to offer him. He makes a few friends and finds out they aren’t perfect themselves. This makes for a somewhat complex character, but nothing too compelling or something that hasn't been done before.

Finally Jake has to make his decision whether or not to live by the standards of the Bible or go back to his worldly life. He has problems and questions for both and sooner or later he has to confront them. Jake starts to learn that it isn’t all about himself but how he can help others. He wants to stand up for the right thing and stick up for those who feel like they are all alone.

Within this church-produced film, it is obvious that the audience has to lower their expectations to enjoy this movie. It seems as we can only compare this film to other “Christian movies” and only those. They say it’s not fair for this movie to be judged against mainstream movies. But why not? This is a movie that is trying to reach a target audience just like any other movie, right?

The only good thing going for this movie is the point they are trying to get across. It is a terrible thing that there are so many young people who feel lost and alone and the only escape they can find is through suicide. This movie addressed it and presented one way to help those grieving with guilt. I personally do find solace and peace when I bring my problems to God. But that’s not the way everyone gets rid stress.

The acting wasn’t good, and neither was the writing. Too many times you catch yourself cringing at the dialogue and awkward moments. Some were on purpose and others weren’t. There are many holes where Jake wouldn’t have gone that far. It was too easy for him to make these decisions. Everyone knows he has other friends, and a promising future ahead of him if he chose his old life, but it wasn't pressing down on him too hard.

"To Save a Life" wasn’t shoving the Bible down anyone's throat, which is a great breather from all of the others that preach instead of show. The movies that present Biblical answers in such a way are getting better. It is the best “Christian movie” I have ever seen. But sadly that isn’t saying much. 


FINAL GRADE: C-

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Beginning of everything

I have never really blogged before but this is something that I want to try to do. My goals for this are to logically and consistently break down movies that I watch throughout the week and critique them. I have seen hundreds of movies and absolutely love talking and discussing movies with people around me and this could be another way to communicate my opinions. There are thousands of ways a movie can be made, portrayed, and received. There are those out there who are known by their huge blockbusters in the film industry, and then there are those who will never be known but still make beautiful works of art. I love both types and will argue for both sides. Hollywood is a business and it's sole goal is to make money. We can't blame them for pursuing money first and foremost. But I want to also praise those who primarily seek after art and then find their art is worth something.

Here is a poster for a movie I have recently done. Just so you all know that I'm not blowing smoke, but actually have an informed view point when it comes to movies.



And here is a link to my school's website that has another one of my short films on it:
Lover's Arms

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