Fat Jesus Reviews: Superbad

"Like" Fat Jesus Reviews on Facebook

Fat Jesus on LetterboxD!

Be Sure To Check Out MovieBoozer!

Posted in Academy Awards, Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Oscars, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty | No comments

Friday, 22 February 2013

Argo [A Fat Jesus Movie Review]

Posted on 14:55 by Unknown

I first remember hearing of Argo from seeing the initial theatrical trailer before, I believe it was, The Dark Knight Rises. But don't hold me to that. I only remember being highly intrigued by this great looking trailer sitting there before a movie. I've always liked Ben Affleck, though he does receive a ton of hate from critics and such. Maybe it's because I'm a Kevin Smith fan that I have a soft spot for him. After The Town a couple years ago now, I knew that Affleck could write, direct and produce a damn good movie. The initial viewing I had of Argo was in October and it was just an okay watch for me. Not great, but not terrible either. I decided to go back to it after all this Oscar hype and I can honestly say, that this is a movie (for me) that got better the second time around.

Argo follows the story of Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) who is assigned to rescue six people in Iran. Riots broke out in November of 1979 and the US embassy is sized by Iranians. They are furious because the US sheltered their recently deposed Shah, who they want to try and execute. But, as stated before, six people; Robert Anders (Tate Donovan), Cora Lijek (Clea DuVall), Mark Lijek (Christopher Denham), Joe Stafford (Scoot McNairy), Kathy Stafford (Kerry Bishé) and Lee Schatz (Rory Cochrane) escape. They are being sheltered at the Canadian Ambassador, Ken Taylor's (Victor Garber), home. The CIA supervisor, Jack O'Donnel (Bryan Cranston), lets Mendez run free with his plan to make a fake movie set in Iran and train the six to "become" Canadian filmmakers. Once they learned their covers, they could presumably fly out of Iran. With the help of Hollywood make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman) and a veteran movie producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), they acquire everything needed to produce this fake film. Very quickly, the fake film is becoming more real by the day. They have a movie poster, a pinned script named "Argo", along with fake passports and a once in a lifetime plan. Tony Mendez travels into the heart of the enemy to attempt to rescue the six people, before the Iranians get to them first.

I got into this very quickly since I knew what I was expecting so to speak. The story, while embellished in a ton of ways, makes for an exciting story. This is based on a true story, so I'm sure Affleck and the crew took some liberties to make it more exciting for the viewer. There are a few parts, that if you do a little research on, can find out did not really happen, yet fit in the movie so well. The writing, by Chris Terrio, was great. Though he had some good books to adapt his screenplay from in; "The Master of Disguise" and "The Great Escape" by Tony Mendez and Joshua Bearman respectively. Even in the little amount of time, you really do invest in a lot of these characters. Most don't get a lot of screen-time behind Mendez, O'Donnel or Siegel and Chambers, so to be able to invest in everyone is a endeavor I liked. From a dialogue stand point as well this was done great, as the humor between the Hollywood people are great. The urgency between all the US government workers are done well. With the apprehension and fear of the Canadians and hideaways delving you deeper into everyone involved.

This is a two hour movie, that I felt could've been cut down a bit. The opening scene, highlighting briefly the history of Iran did nothing for me. While some of the scenes set with the CIA or the White House could've been cut or at least trimmed down. There were no dragging scenes persay either, more scenes that wouldn't have ruined the movie if they were removed. The cinematography was pretty great at times. Highlighting some of LA's biggest sites and fly-over shots of the city set back in the early 80s was a cool touch. The big thing for me in this is the acting. Ben Affleck has to carry this movie, as Tony Mendez, and he does. When there needs to be humor he rolls with it and when the serious needs to set it, he brings to stoic tone. The roles played by the six stuck in Iran were pretty good too, with standouts for me going to Scoot McNairy, Clea DuVall and Tate Donovan. Those three held the six together and gave the best performances out of them. The supporting roles were great as well. Bryan Cranston never felt out of place, John Goodman is always a good on screen presence and Alan Arkin delivers a fantastic performance as Lester Siegel. The acting is great all around, but when you have six or more people giving an outstanding performance a movie can come together that much more.

Argo is a movie I'm highly glad I went back to and really does deserve to be in the best picture nods this year at the Oscars. Ben Affleck has produced, directed and starred in what now is probably his best film to date. The storytelling is phenomenal and will keep you on the edge of your seat. This movie never makes you worry either. It's a thriller, full of tension and drama (when needed), that a lot of the time is covered in a lighthearted and hopeful tone. The acting is great, while the score, length, cinematography is done well to follow. This is easily one of the top three films of the year, with Django Unchained and Lincoln, if we're looking at strictly nominations. But for me, while it is an exceptional movie, it fails to grab me and convince me it truly is the best movie of 2012.

"Like" Fat Jesus Reviews on Facebook

Fat Jesus on LetterboxD!

Be Sure To Check Out MovieBoozer!

Posted in Alan Arkin, Argo, Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Chris Terrio, Christopher Denham, Clea DuVall, John Goodman, Kerry Bishé, Rory Cochrane, Scoot McNairy, Tate Donovan, Tony Mendez, Victor Garber | No comments

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

85th Academy Awards "Best Animated Shorts" Nominees [Fat Jesus Movie Reviews]

Posted on 19:33 by Unknown

Basically these are short reviews, clever eh, of all the Best Animated Shorts for this years Oscars. I figured I do this cause for the most part I liked all five and wanted to give a little bit of my thoughts on each before my main 85th Annual Oscars post. So here are my thoughts on each movie and I've proved a video link to each short. You can watch all five in less than an hour. Please do enjoy!

Adam and Dog is an animated short that follows the story of Adam and Eve, told in the first three chapters of Genesis, but from a dog's perspective. Dog is shown in the garden of Eden exploring when he runs into Adam for the first time. The story of the beginning of the earth (as told in The Holy Bible) is shown through one of the first canines eyes.

Adam and Dog was definitely one of the better of these five shorts. The art style was great. Bringing the infamous garden of Eden to life while capturing the thoughts, so to speak, of a dog living there. The story was great as it conveyed happiness, loneliness and sorrow. Adam and Dog is a good short by Minkyu Lee that captures great storytelling and emotion.

Fresh Guacamole is a stop motion animated short that follows the story of a man making guacamole out of what seemingly are ordinarily objects. As he cuts and prepares fresh ingredients such as a pool ball or a hand grenade, a wonderful bowl of fresh guac is made before your eyes.

Fresh Guacamole is the shortest of the nominated films, but it's also the most innovative in my opinion. The animation looks great and Pes makes great use of stop motion. Everything is sharp, vibrant and colorful. Fresh Guacamole is short sweet and to the point as objects are turned into a fine appetizer before your eyes.

Head Over Heels is a stop motion animated short that follows the story of an older couple. They have grown apart over the years to the point where Walter lives on the floor and Madge lives on the ceiling. One day Walter tries to bring them both back to the same romantic level and is messes with their whole equilibrium.

While I know Head Over Heels is done well, and I'm not denying it isn't, this just didn't do it for me. The story was pretty original and cute, I just wasn't as into it as say Adam and Dog or Paperman. The stop motion is done well, but even this "old couple" charm and the great design isn't enough to make me really like it.

The Longest Daycare is an animated short that follows the day of Maggie Simpson. She has been dropped off at daycare for the day by Marge. She is enthralled by a butterfly that is quickly killed by Baby Gerald. Maggie comes across a cocoon that Baby Gerald wants to kill as well. It becomes a mad dash by Maggie to save this new butterfly's life.

I really liked this. I came into this having a like for The Simpson's TV show, so I knew I'd like the humor in this. The story was pretty good with a lot of funny moments involved. The animation is just like the show, so it's done really well. Probably my second favorite out of all of these shorts, as for me, it had a nice bit of charm to it.

Paperman is a Disney animated short that follows the story of a businessman in 1940s New York City. While waiting for the train he meets a woman who is hit in his face by one of his pieces of paper from a work folder. She gets on a train while the man is thinking about her. While at work he spots the woman across the street and spends the day trying to get her attention by throwing paper airplanes from his office to her.

This is probably my favorite out of all the nominees this year. It's helps that this is one of the shorts I actually saw in theaters. Paperman has a charming story, great design and a good humor about it. You got into the businessman's character in such a short time and was more or less rooting for him. You wanted to see him complete a once in a lifetime chance of meeting a the girl of his dreams.

"Like" Fat Jesus Reviews on Facebook

Fat Jesus on LetterboxD!

Be Sure To Check Out MovieBoozer!

Posted in Adam and Dog, Fresh Guacamole, Head Over Heels, Paperman, The Longest Daycare | No comments

Tuesday, 19 February 2013

Les Miserables [A Fat Jesus Movie Review]

Posted on 19:35 by Unknown

This was definitely the movie out of the best picture nominees this year that I had the least interest in seeing. That might be why I took so long to get around to Les Miserables. I'm not into musicals in the slightest, but Russell Crowe, and to an extent Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman, were enough to interest me in this. Also while watching finding out Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were a sort-of comic relief duo it kept me alert. But this musical turned feature film was a long watch and a struggle for me to like even a little.

Les Miserables follows the story of recently freed slave Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman). He is freed after 19 years by prisoner guard Javert (Russell Crowe). Who tells him he'll never get anywhere again in life, since he'll always be a convict. One night Jean is fed and given shelter by The Bishop of Dinge (Colm Wilkinson). He ends up stealing a ton of silver and getting caught by the police. The Bishop has mercy on Jean, telling the police it's a misunderstanding, and forgives him. Eight years later, Jean has become the mayor of a town and a successful factory owner. Putting his past behind him. One day there is a dispute between the workers at his factory when a woman, Fantine (Anne Hathaway), is found to have an illegitimate daughter. Cosette (Isabelle Allen) is living in another city with two sleazy inn owners, The Thenardiers (Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen). Fantine is fired and is forced to become a prostitute to continue sending money to her daughter. Fantine is almost arrested by Javert, she's in terrible condition, when Jean intervenes and saves her. Fantine dies in the hospital and entrusts her daughters life to Jean who is forced to run from Javert who found out who he is. Jean saves Cosette from The Thenardiers and continues running from Javet all as France is in the midst of a revolution.

Oh boy, this was long a long adaptation. I don't mean 55 yard field goal long either. I mean, kicking it from your own endzone long. Sports reference in a review about a French musical, can you tell I miss football? This movie is two and a half hours and since most of it was song, I felt myself just listening to it rather than watching. If you're into musicals (or have seen Les Misrables live) and the like it, I doubt you got bored watching this. But for me, it was just one long dragging scene after the next. I'm assuming the plot and story are taken straight from the play, and it's pretty good. You can tell that they took their time and tried to include all the pertinent information. The story is highly original, which is good considering it's one of the biggest musicals of all time. It's just a shame I couldn't connect well with most all of the characters, and you know all the dragging scenes and the length didn't help this at all. The songs themselves were done well. A lot of them I just tuned out after awhile cause they went on far too long. The cinematography was pretty cool as well. But you can only show these awesome places and sets so many times, in the span of the long two hours, without it losing the initial "Wow Factor" of seeing things.

As far as the characters and acting go, the only one that I cared for following was Javet, played by Russell Crowe. His whole demeanor and transformation throughout the movie was pretty interesting to follow. Fantine, played by Anne Hathaway, was pretty solid and set up the second-half of the movie well. While Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as The Thenardiers were pretty solid comic relief in an otherwise serious movie. I guess Jean, played by Hugh Jackman was alright, but he wasn't the strongest and pretty forgettable. Isabelle Allen, was great as a young Cosette, while Amanda Seyfried as grown up Cosette lent no redeeming qualities to a supporting character. The rest were pretty forgettable as I can't think of any other off the top of my head. Only liking and getting into one or two characters out of an ensemble is not the way to make an interesting movie. The singing was pretty good throughout. Russell Crowe really surprised me. You could tell he's not a singer, but shined in his role. Hugh Jackman was a great complement to Crowe in their scenes together as well. Anne Hathway is clearly the best of the main character singers and she did great with her songs. I didn't know Sacha Baron Cohen had pipes, but his comedic scenes were all done well. I liked Helena Bonham Cater in Sweeney Todd and I still like her singing in this as well. There was also a girl I didn't recognize, Samantha Banks, who apparently reprises her role that she had in the musical and never sounded bad.

My main problems with Les Miserables is this length and its characters. While I liked a lot of the singing and the story, the long run time and inability for me to truly invest in anyone, kills any momentum this movie had in my eyes. Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway's performances will keep you into this if you can't quite get into the early parts of this movie. While the combination of Crowe and Hugh Jackman (with some of the supporting cast) keeping you somewhat engaged till the end. If you've never gotten or been able to see this live, and have wanted to, I'm sure you'll enjoy this heartily. But for people like me, while I see what others would love in this, its not something I can truly like.

"Like" Fat Jesus Reviews on Facebook

Fat Jesus on LetterboxD!

Be Sure To Check Out MovieBoozer!

Posted in Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, Colm Wilkinson, Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Jackman, Isabelle Allen, Les Miserables, Russell Crowe, Sacha Baron Cohen, Samantha Banks | No comments

Thursday, 14 February 2013

Amour [A Fat Jesus Movie Review]

Posted on 16:11 by Unknown

I came into Amour only knowing that translated it means "Love." So happy Valentine's Day to you folks out there. Also I came in knowing that it is a French movie. Now, I'm your typical American that rarely goes out of his way to see anything not in English. So anything labeled as foreign, I take with a grain of salt. Plus growing up in Texas, I never really had that French class option, only Spanish. So I never got to learn about the language and culture growing up. But with stuff that has actually happened in my life, with my immediate family, Michael Haneke and his film Amour, hit kinda close to home for me. Though I would say I far from love this movie myself.

Amour follows the story of an elderly couple by the name of Georges and Anne Laurent (Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva). They are retired music teachers with their daughter, Eva (Isabelle Huppert), living abroad. The day after going to see one of their pupil's concerts, the couple are eating breakfast. Anne goes silent and worries Georges to the point he's about to go get help when she comes around. Anne doesn't remember anything that just happened. It turns out that Anne had suffered a stroke and while clearing out a blocked carotid artery, she becomes partially paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Georges becomes Anne's full time caretaker, as she can still do things on her own with his assistance. One day Anne tells Georges that she wishes not to continue to live, since she has become a burden to him. This distresses Georges, but when a former pupil of theirs, Alexandre Tharaud (himself), visits and Anne has a great conversation with him, he regains faith. Soon after Anne's condition worsens to the point she can't move on her own after another stroke. Eva comes by to see how they're doing and notices all the distress her father is under. They discuss what they want to do moving forward. Georges may be at his breaking point, but the love for his wife may give him the strength to carry on life or in fact his break spirit in the end.

This is a pretty rough movie to watch at points. At least for me it is. While it pulls off the charming old couple that clearly love each other, almost immediately, turns it on it's side. This movie starts to get darker and darker, so to speak, as this movie goes along. The one thing it does keep though is the sense that the connection between the two is always still there. The story was pretty original to my knowledge. Sure maybe not flashy, but showing the later years of a couples lives has some merit. That they do all the same things than us youngins is nice to see. The characters were build up well, though we never saw then when they were young, we got to know Georges and Anne as they were fully mature in life and just living it. The two were build up well and carried it decently too. The acting was pretty solid by Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva, but there's not much to expound upon on that front. Random thought, I loved the parts of this where Georges writes a letter and Georges scenes involving a rouge pigeon. To continue, there are really no support characters to speak of in this aside from Eva, their daughter and their pupil, Alexandre. They have two scenes in the movie. But we never get to know more about them than we need to. I think I connect with the main two, because growing up my dad had a stroke and for years I watched (and when needed helped) my mom take care of my dad. I think that's where I had the most connection with this movie. On the caregiver aspect, that was done quite well.

There are problems with this movie. I like cinematography, so basically being set in about five rooms, albeit a gorgeous house, got me a little bored. I mean the house is a cool, classicly inspired looking home, but it wasn't something that always lent itself to my eye every scene on the movie. I like scenery, I like big, grand things I'll probably never see in my life, being stuck inside kinda dampened things for me. Also the dialogue, are older people this mundane, or am I just being a brash kid in thinking their conversations could be boring? There is a couple of heartfelt scenes that were good, as well as some humor between the couple. Otherwise all the things they talked about were just plain meh to me. The length is another huge aspect of this movie. with me getting bored of a lot of the dialogue, this nearly two hour movie was a pain to keep up with at times. There were a ton of scenes that really didn't need to be included and dragged for me. Also there's a ton of unnecessary little moment scenes. While I understand why they're there, I don't need to watch an 80 year old woman poop, shower or fall off of things multiple times. Cut this film down to an hour and a half and it might have retained some of the emotional connection I do have towards it. Instead of it just being long and winded to me. There are more small problems in this movie, to me, that offsets the stuff I actually did love, no pun intended, about Amour.

I don't think there's much more I can say about this. Amour is a French movie that captures the essence of an ailing older couple. While there is an underlying heartfelt, well written, story to this. It turns out to be a well acted, but extremely dark look at this concept. Combine that with one location, boring dialogue and it being far too long, you have a movie that set its self up for you to fall in love with it. But in the end all Amour did was leave my heart wanting something better.

"Like" Fat Jesus Reviews on Facebook

Fat Jesus on LetterboxD!

Be Sure To Check Out MovieBoozer!

Posted in Alexandre Tharaud, Amour, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Michael Haneke | No comments

Lincoln [A Fat Jesus Movie Review]

Posted on 14:26 by Unknown

Daniel Day-Lewis is easily one of the most recognized and best actors of the past twenty plus years. With movies such as Gangs of New York, My Left Foot and There Will Be Blood under his belt, he won the best actor Oscar for two of those performances. Steven Spielberg hasn't produced and directed a movie I've liked since Catch Me If You Can back in 2002. But with a history like the one President Lincoln has and an outstanding actor in Daniel Day-Lewis he struck gold. Along with support in Sally Field, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln is the story of the final months of one of the most influential people in American history.

To put it simply, Lincoln follows the story of the last four months of President Abraham Lincoln's (Daniel Day-Lewis) life. These are the four months, starting in January, in which Lincoln struggled to pass the 13th Amendment in 1865. His main opposition in passing the 13th Amendment is radical republican leader Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones). His wife, Mary Lincoln Todd (Sally Field) is wearing thin. His son Robert Todd Lincoln (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is fighting for the Union. While his other son, Tad Lincoln (Gulliver McGrath), is being severely ignored by his mother at the time. Also worrying the family, is that his 1863 Emancipation Proclamation may not pass if the Civil War ends. With all the things going on in Lincoln's life; family problems, work problems and managing a war and country, this is a fascinating chronicle of the last months of Abraham Lincoln's life.

This, to me, is like history class turned into an amazing movie that I'll go back to after awhile. Where as history class I never wanna go back to again. Spielberg took this movie right out of the pages of the 2005 book, "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" by Doris Kearnis Goodwin. With the help of phenomenal acting and actors, he made this into one of the best historical movies of all time. The plot is very straightforward, which is exactly what you'd expect from a historical film and the story is one of the better ones from America's past. The attention to detail is one of the things I loved about this movie. The wardrobe, set design and the shooting of the battlefield, White House or any other historical place (or battle) was done beautifully. Also, Spielberg has said in interviews that the Smithsonian let his crew make an exact replica of Lincoln's pocket-watch. He's quoted as saying, when you hear his pocket watch in the movie, it's what Lincoln heard all those years ago. Holy crap, if that doesn't get you excited you can just stop reading. No please don't though, or do, at this point I can't stop you.

The acting in this is astounding and it's really what makes the movie. Daniel Day-Lewis is the arch of this movie. From Lincoln's high pitched voice, to the stories that Abraham would tell to ease tension or stress, the humor, or seriousness, was never lost in this fine performance. I'd also assume if you went into this knowing it was only the tale of Lincoln's life, you'd have no idea that Lewis was Lincoln. It adds to the fact that you're watching Linclon's life, not Lewis', I liked that. Even past the amazing performance Daniel Day-Lewis puts on, the rest of the cast follows suit. Sally Field was a great First Lady and Lincoln's wife, Mary. You could she the emotion pouring towards her husband in the scenes they're in together. Tommy Lee Jones was outstanding as Thaddeus Stevens. Oh man, there was a scene where it was just Lewis and Jones having a conversation, and I was glued to the screen. Both men played off of each other superbly and Tommy Lee helps make this movie almost as much as Lewis. Joseph Gordon Levitt did well with the screen time he got, especially some scenes toward the end of the movie. Also Gulliver McGrath was pretty solid as Tad.

I highly enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I loved Daniel Day-Lewis from There Will Be Blood as well as Tommy Lee Jones from No Country For Old Men both back in 2007. Spielberg has always been able to create a great film, but I had a few reservations going into a historical movie. The length could have been a little shorter, this is a two hour movie, but since I never felt it dragged too much (there are a few scenes) I can look past it. The look, feel, story and acting are all amazing. With the acting really propelling this into the top of Best Picture nominations at this years Oscars. Lincoln is a very good historical drama you should not skip out on.