Directed by Josh Gordon & Will Speck
Written by Jeff Cox & Craig Cox and Josh Altschuler & Dave Krinsky
Okay, so the writing credits right there should tell you what type of movie this is, it was based on a story by the Cox Brothers and Busy Phillips (aka Kim from Freeks and Geeks!) and then retooled unimaginable times by all these writers, most likely to write Will Ferrell more jokes. Still, I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would, almost as much as Talladega Nights.
The story, as many of you know, is two disgraced skaters, Chazz Michael Michael (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) have been banned from figure skating for life after a brawl on the ice, putting Chazz in a children's On Ice show, and forcing Jimmy to work in an ice skate shop where he is constantly disrespected. Their coach (Craig T. Nelson with hilarious hair) has the idea to put the two together for pairs competition, since there is no rule against it.
The story from here is pretty much standard, with the two of them only agreeing to such a scenario because they can't do anything else. The begin training with choreographer Jesse (Romany Malco in an unusual role) to come up with the most insane routine anyone has ever seen, because after all, most pairs are a guy and a girl, and they can't do the things two guys can (literally, lol), in the hopes that they can capture the gold together. The story has the same plot points and comedy as most Will Ferrell movies, which is welcome, since I'm not a big Heder fan to begin with. But here, his style of comedy only works because he has Will Ferrell putting his best foot forward in creating yet another of his ultimately ridiculous characters.
The comedy exists in the scenes themselves, and mainly in the mannerisms of the characters, and the brother and sister team of Stranz (Will Arnett) and Fairchild (Amy Poehler) Van Waldenberg plays a good role in the creation of the funny moments. The comedy is super ridiculous, much like Anchorman and Talladega Nights before it, and somehow they take all the stupid trailer moments to shame and save all the actually hilarious moments for the movie, even though a lot of it is Will Ferrell's typical humor. (*yelling on the phone* If we went to a costume party and went as Batman and Robin, I'd be Robin! That's what you mean to me!)
It ended up being a pleasant surprise, one I didn't really expect out of a comedy starring these two knuckleheads, but hey, it always seems funnier when you didn't expect it going in, which is why I think I liked Talladega Nights so much.
7.7/10
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Flirting With Disaster (1996)
Written and Directed by David O. Russell
I rented this movie solely for the fact that it was David O. Russell, other than that it never looked very appealing, but I absolutely love I Heart Huckabees, one of the better movies of the decade so far, and Three Kings is just the Bee's Knees. Sadly, this movie can't quite keep up with those, but it's a good light comedy, for what it is.
Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller) is adopted, and while he loves his adopted parents (Mary Tyler Moore and George Segal) but his own neurotic Jew-ness that he somehow inherited from them drives him to want to know who his biological parents are, and why they got rid of him. He sets up with a social worker (Tea Leoni) who is a sexpot and not very good at her job, fresh off a divorce. Mel's wife, Nancy (Patricia Arquette) just wants her husband to finally be happy so he can settle down and help her raise their son. So they set off on a cross-country trip to find his real parents, hoping it will put his mind at ease. After a few failed attempts, Mel finally tracks down his real parents, with a lot of comical mishaps along the way.
Overall, I liked this movie, there were many scenes that made me laugh, such as an ATF agent tripping on LSD and Mel's biological parents trying to coach him through it, and Mel attempting to drive a semi-truck and backing it through a building. Otherwise, each individual scene by itself isn't wholly funny, most of it is neurotic meandering by Mel, and a lot of the scenes have a strange sensibility, the characters are privy to some understanding of each other that the audience is not aware of, a method which isn't really explained, but it really fits once he gets to I Heart Huckabees, and I would venture to say Russell even perfects this notion, unexplainable as it is. It's not that I wouldn't recommend this movie, but I definitely would recommend David O. Russell's other films before this one.
6.5/10
I rented this movie solely for the fact that it was David O. Russell, other than that it never looked very appealing, but I absolutely love I Heart Huckabees, one of the better movies of the decade so far, and Three Kings is just the Bee's Knees. Sadly, this movie can't quite keep up with those, but it's a good light comedy, for what it is.
Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller) is adopted, and while he loves his adopted parents (Mary Tyler Moore and George Segal) but his own neurotic Jew-ness that he somehow inherited from them drives him to want to know who his biological parents are, and why they got rid of him. He sets up with a social worker (Tea Leoni) who is a sexpot and not very good at her job, fresh off a divorce. Mel's wife, Nancy (Patricia Arquette) just wants her husband to finally be happy so he can settle down and help her raise their son. So they set off on a cross-country trip to find his real parents, hoping it will put his mind at ease. After a few failed attempts, Mel finally tracks down his real parents, with a lot of comical mishaps along the way.
Overall, I liked this movie, there were many scenes that made me laugh, such as an ATF agent tripping on LSD and Mel's biological parents trying to coach him through it, and Mel attempting to drive a semi-truck and backing it through a building. Otherwise, each individual scene by itself isn't wholly funny, most of it is neurotic meandering by Mel, and a lot of the scenes have a strange sensibility, the characters are privy to some understanding of each other that the audience is not aware of, a method which isn't really explained, but it really fits once he gets to I Heart Huckabees, and I would venture to say Russell even perfects this notion, unexplainable as it is. It's not that I wouldn't recommend this movie, but I definitely would recommend David O. Russell's other films before this one.
6.5/10
Meet the Robinsons (2007)
Written by Aurian Redson & Don Hall & Nathan Greno & Jon Bernstein & Michelle Bochner & Stephen J. Anderson
Directed by Stephen J. Anderson
Now, I'm a big fan of Pixar's films, but I was rather upset after hearing they got bought by Disney instead of signing a deal with a different studio, or even going off to get money on their own. I mean, imagine a Tarantino/Pixar film, or a Michael Bay/Pixar movie, or even like an Eli Roth/Pixar movie. The possibilities are endless, and while I love the Incredibles, it is just a Watchmen rip-off toned down and dummied up for families. That doesn't change the fact that it's one of the greatest movies ever made, still, but c'mon. Imagine Zack Snyder's Watchmen, produced by Pixar. They could do everything! Every shot! Anything imaginable! But I guess the execs at Pixar saw the dollar signs and not the possibilities. Oh well. This movie, Meet the Robinsons, was Disney's first venture into full CG animation on their own, without Pixar, after their contract together expired. Which makes me even more sad, because this is a terrific film, and it proves Disney can make these hits on their own, without Pixar, and Pixar should be off doing different things, instead of constantly cranking out sequels and family cartoon movies. C'mon, somebody tell me with a straight face that Yuen Woo Ping/Pixar film wouldn't be something completely spectacular. Because it would.
Anyway, onto the movie. It centers around young Lewis, a young orphan with a knack for inventions. His roommate, Mikey "Goob" Yaghoobian is kept awake all night as Lewis works on his inventions. One day, Lewis attempts to win the science fair with his invention, which by the way, are notorious for failing just slightly. He has invented a way to look into the timeline of anyone's life, to see anything that has happened to any person. A mysterious hat with spider legs, along with Bowler Hat Guy, sneakily destroy his invention, so it fails at the science fair, and Lewis is defeated again. At the same time, an odd young man named Wilbur comes to Lewis telling him he's looking for Bowler Hat Guy, who has stolen one of two time machines invented by Wilbur's father, and that Wilbur is from the future.
In search of Bowler Hat Guy, the two end up going back to the future, where Lewis meets Wilbur's crazy family, and is sad that he doesn't have a family like it. From here, I won't reveal any more of the plot, because it would ruin the movie, which truly is something worth checking out, I really enjoyed it. Especially the vision of the future, and the way the time travel plot unravels itself, this is a well written, directed, and designed movie, it has real imagination and heart, which is missing from so many kids/family movies these days. I'm 23, and I enjoyed watching this movie by myself, and at the end, it even got an emotional response from me, which most modern dramas can't do. It's too bad that stuff like this will be relegated to the backburner so Pixar can make Nemo 2, and Toy Story 3, and whatever other sequels they feel like making, in addition to the fact that Pixar has basically dedicated themselves to making solely family movies. Oh well, guess I'll just have to start my own CG animation company, if you want something done right, you have to do it your fucking self.
9.3/10
Directed by Stephen J. Anderson
Now, I'm a big fan of Pixar's films, but I was rather upset after hearing they got bought by Disney instead of signing a deal with a different studio, or even going off to get money on their own. I mean, imagine a Tarantino/Pixar film, or a Michael Bay/Pixar movie, or even like an Eli Roth/Pixar movie. The possibilities are endless, and while I love the Incredibles, it is just a Watchmen rip-off toned down and dummied up for families. That doesn't change the fact that it's one of the greatest movies ever made, still, but c'mon. Imagine Zack Snyder's Watchmen, produced by Pixar. They could do everything! Every shot! Anything imaginable! But I guess the execs at Pixar saw the dollar signs and not the possibilities. Oh well. This movie, Meet the Robinsons, was Disney's first venture into full CG animation on their own, without Pixar, after their contract together expired. Which makes me even more sad, because this is a terrific film, and it proves Disney can make these hits on their own, without Pixar, and Pixar should be off doing different things, instead of constantly cranking out sequels and family cartoon movies. C'mon, somebody tell me with a straight face that Yuen Woo Ping/Pixar film wouldn't be something completely spectacular. Because it would.
Anyway, onto the movie. It centers around young Lewis, a young orphan with a knack for inventions. His roommate, Mikey "Goob" Yaghoobian is kept awake all night as Lewis works on his inventions. One day, Lewis attempts to win the science fair with his invention, which by the way, are notorious for failing just slightly. He has invented a way to look into the timeline of anyone's life, to see anything that has happened to any person. A mysterious hat with spider legs, along with Bowler Hat Guy, sneakily destroy his invention, so it fails at the science fair, and Lewis is defeated again. At the same time, an odd young man named Wilbur comes to Lewis telling him he's looking for Bowler Hat Guy, who has stolen one of two time machines invented by Wilbur's father, and that Wilbur is from the future.
In search of Bowler Hat Guy, the two end up going back to the future, where Lewis meets Wilbur's crazy family, and is sad that he doesn't have a family like it. From here, I won't reveal any more of the plot, because it would ruin the movie, which truly is something worth checking out, I really enjoyed it. Especially the vision of the future, and the way the time travel plot unravels itself, this is a well written, directed, and designed movie, it has real imagination and heart, which is missing from so many kids/family movies these days. I'm 23, and I enjoyed watching this movie by myself, and at the end, it even got an emotional response from me, which most modern dramas can't do. It's too bad that stuff like this will be relegated to the backburner so Pixar can make Nemo 2, and Toy Story 3, and whatever other sequels they feel like making, in addition to the fact that Pixar has basically dedicated themselves to making solely family movies. Oh well, guess I'll just have to start my own CG animation company, if you want something done right, you have to do it your fucking self.
9.3/10
Mr. Bean's Holiday (2006)
Mr. Bean's Holiday (2006)
Written by Mr. Bean (Robin Driscoll & Hamish McColl)
Directed by Mr. Bean (Simon McBurney)
If you need an explanation, you need your head checked or you've been seriously deprived. It's Mr. Bean! He fucks shit up on accident, always with a good heart, and somehow in the end, all the world's coincidences add up to save his sorry ass.
Does that make this a bad film? FUCK NO! In fact, they could make 400 Bean movies and no one would ever get sick of him, he just does shit that is silly and wrong, he's like children's entertainment for everyone. This is real family entertainment, and I could watch "Mr Bean makes breakfast" (even though I'm sure I already have) the movie and it would still kick more ass than Failure to Launch, the Family Stone, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Rumor Has It, all added together.
When you just want to relax and watch some funny shit, Mr. Bean is your man.
7.3/10
Written by Mr. Bean (Robin Driscoll & Hamish McColl)
Directed by Mr. Bean (Simon McBurney)
If you need an explanation, you need your head checked or you've been seriously deprived. It's Mr. Bean! He fucks shit up on accident, always with a good heart, and somehow in the end, all the world's coincidences add up to save his sorry ass.
Does that make this a bad film? FUCK NO! In fact, they could make 400 Bean movies and no one would ever get sick of him, he just does shit that is silly and wrong, he's like children's entertainment for everyone. This is real family entertainment, and I could watch "Mr Bean makes breakfast" (even though I'm sure I already have) the movie and it would still kick more ass than Failure to Launch, the Family Stone, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Rumor Has It, all added together.
When you just want to relax and watch some funny shit, Mr. Bean is your man.
7.3/10
SLC Punk! (1998)
Written and Directed by James Merendino
Ah, what a terrific film. The perfect film about punks, the punk lifestyle, and how everything, no matter how hardcore you get into it, is just a learning phase in life. The movie centers on Heroin Bob and Stevo, the first, and last, two punks in 1985 Salt Lake City. Stevo is a college grad, who says he has decided to rebel by wasting his educated mind.
We are introduced to the world around him and how he interacts with it. The cops, rednecks, other punks, mods, his parents; they're all as equally useless as each other in Stevo's life, and he takes pride in his anarchist lifestyle.
By the end of the film, Stevo has found his place in the world, even if it's not where he thought it would be. A hilarious, smart, and ultimately sweet movie that really explores and exploits the punk lifestyle, told in the perfect setting to a fantastic soundtrack. If you want to see a good, engrossing film, then check out SLC Punk.
8.7/10
Ah, what a terrific film. The perfect film about punks, the punk lifestyle, and how everything, no matter how hardcore you get into it, is just a learning phase in life. The movie centers on Heroin Bob and Stevo, the first, and last, two punks in 1985 Salt Lake City. Stevo is a college grad, who says he has decided to rebel by wasting his educated mind.
We are introduced to the world around him and how he interacts with it. The cops, rednecks, other punks, mods, his parents; they're all as equally useless as each other in Stevo's life, and he takes pride in his anarchist lifestyle.
By the end of the film, Stevo has found his place in the world, even if it's not where he thought it would be. A hilarious, smart, and ultimately sweet movie that really explores and exploits the punk lifestyle, told in the perfect setting to a fantastic soundtrack. If you want to see a good, engrossing film, then check out SLC Punk.
8.7/10
TMNT (2007)
Written & Directed by Kevin Munroe
As a kid, I loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and even though I haven't really watched much of the newer series that was on Fox a few years ago, the few episodes I did catch when I used to work at Target were good, I like the idea for the series, and I enjoy the characters. Still, I wasn't too sure of this reinvention of the series and characters, and going into it I liked the animation style, even if I didn't absolutely love the character designs. Either way, the biggest breaker for me would be the story, would it pick up where something left off? Or would it be yet another reinvention of their origin, which is something I'm gettting quite tired of.
I'm glad to say it wasn't the latter, the story picks up at a point where Leonardo has left on a year sabbatical to train to become a leader, Raphael is moonlighting as Nightwatcher, a night vigilante, Michaelangelo is working as a children's birthday party entertainer, and Donatello is a phone-based IT guy for a PC company. In other words, besides Leonardo, all the guys are miserable, Donny and Mikey are working jobs they hate, and Raphael is only seen sleeping all day, no one has a clue he's out fighting crime on his own as Nightwatcher. Splinter is up to his usual, meditating, and keeping his sons in line.
April O'Neil on the other hand, has become an anthropologist of sorts, finding and reclaiming sculptures for Mr. Winters, a New York billionaire art collector who runs a museum of sorts. At the same time, she is dating Casey Jones, who is also still out fighting crime vigilante style in the city. So it's not a reinvention, you have to be previously acquainted with the characters to get where this story is at, even though I don't think it's a direct sequel to anything in particular, but the director obviously knew everyone was tired of the same origin story being told in a bunch of different ways. So the story picks up in the middle, with April going to a South American jungle searching for a stone statue for Winters. While there, she runs into Leonardo, and tells him of all the trouble his brothers are having without him around to guide them. Soon, he returns to NYC to set things straight, and to tell Master Splinter that he has failed in his training, he has not become a great leader.
Of course, this sets us up for the second half of the movie, where Leo proves he is a great leader, Raphael proves he can indeed work together with his brothers for the greater good, and Donny and Mikey are the two that are eagerly waiting to be part of something again, which they are when it is revealed that the statues Winters is collecting are a part of his past. Three thousand years before, Winters was a general in a mythic army, who became immortal through a curse he didn't expect, which turned his generals into stone statues and unleashed 13 monsters upon the Earth. Now, he has sent his newly reanimated stone generals out to gather the monsters in order to send them back to the dimension they came from and remove the curse immortality has brought him.
Yes, the story is kind of similar to some Dimension X stuff that has been played with before in Turtles lore, and the Foot is back as hired hands after the death of Shredder (only lightly touched, but I was glad to see something different) who end up actually working with the Turtles. The thing I really liked about this movie was the animation style, most everything in it is really original and inventive, the story is very interesting and well written, and the characters are all well drawn, even if I don't like the way they are visually designed. This type of animation suits the Turtles best, I really hope they keep making more of these, even if they're lower budget and DTV, I'll keep watching them. The other thing I was really impressed with was the cityscape of New York, the animators did some impressive things in recreating the city. Overall, I really enjoyed this movie, and if I were still buying DVD's, I would definitely snatch this up, as it also has some really interestinig special features, as well as some bad ass monsters in it.
8.8/10
As a kid, I loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and even though I haven't really watched much of the newer series that was on Fox a few years ago, the few episodes I did catch when I used to work at Target were good, I like the idea for the series, and I enjoy the characters. Still, I wasn't too sure of this reinvention of the series and characters, and going into it I liked the animation style, even if I didn't absolutely love the character designs. Either way, the biggest breaker for me would be the story, would it pick up where something left off? Or would it be yet another reinvention of their origin, which is something I'm gettting quite tired of.
I'm glad to say it wasn't the latter, the story picks up at a point where Leonardo has left on a year sabbatical to train to become a leader, Raphael is moonlighting as Nightwatcher, a night vigilante, Michaelangelo is working as a children's birthday party entertainer, and Donatello is a phone-based IT guy for a PC company. In other words, besides Leonardo, all the guys are miserable, Donny and Mikey are working jobs they hate, and Raphael is only seen sleeping all day, no one has a clue he's out fighting crime on his own as Nightwatcher. Splinter is up to his usual, meditating, and keeping his sons in line.
April O'Neil on the other hand, has become an anthropologist of sorts, finding and reclaiming sculptures for Mr. Winters, a New York billionaire art collector who runs a museum of sorts. At the same time, she is dating Casey Jones, who is also still out fighting crime vigilante style in the city. So it's not a reinvention, you have to be previously acquainted with the characters to get where this story is at, even though I don't think it's a direct sequel to anything in particular, but the director obviously knew everyone was tired of the same origin story being told in a bunch of different ways. So the story picks up in the middle, with April going to a South American jungle searching for a stone statue for Winters. While there, she runs into Leonardo, and tells him of all the trouble his brothers are having without him around to guide them. Soon, he returns to NYC to set things straight, and to tell Master Splinter that he has failed in his training, he has not become a great leader.
Of course, this sets us up for the second half of the movie, where Leo proves he is a great leader, Raphael proves he can indeed work together with his brothers for the greater good, and Donny and Mikey are the two that are eagerly waiting to be part of something again, which they are when it is revealed that the statues Winters is collecting are a part of his past. Three thousand years before, Winters was a general in a mythic army, who became immortal through a curse he didn't expect, which turned his generals into stone statues and unleashed 13 monsters upon the Earth. Now, he has sent his newly reanimated stone generals out to gather the monsters in order to send them back to the dimension they came from and remove the curse immortality has brought him.
Yes, the story is kind of similar to some Dimension X stuff that has been played with before in Turtles lore, and the Foot is back as hired hands after the death of Shredder (only lightly touched, but I was glad to see something different) who end up actually working with the Turtles. The thing I really liked about this movie was the animation style, most everything in it is really original and inventive, the story is very interesting and well written, and the characters are all well drawn, even if I don't like the way they are visually designed. This type of animation suits the Turtles best, I really hope they keep making more of these, even if they're lower budget and DTV, I'll keep watching them. The other thing I was really impressed with was the cityscape of New York, the animators did some impressive things in recreating the city. Overall, I really enjoyed this movie, and if I were still buying DVD's, I would definitely snatch this up, as it also has some really interestinig special features, as well as some bad ass monsters in it.
8.8/10
Inland Empire (2006)
Inland Empire (2006)
Written and Directed by David Lynch
Holy shit. David Lynch has made some weird movies, some that have absolutely no real meaning (Lost Highway), but he surely outdoes himself with this one.
Shot entirely in DV with a cheap ($2,000) camera, he composes the best digital images I've probably ever seen, and I'm comparing this shit to HD even. No, it's not the quality that is fantastic, it's the way in which he uses the medium, the lighting, the movement, and the way in which he chooses to shoot his subjects. Best digital cinematography I've seen so far.
The movie itself is a mind trip, not like Mulholland Dr, because that actually had a narrative plot (no matter how confusing or labyrinthical, it at least had a coherent, cohesive story) Inland Empire does not care to explain itself, it just is.
Here is the film that might be Lynch's masterwork, or at least the best representation of himself as an artist through the medium of film. Inland Empire isn't about things, it just shows you images, and leaves it completely up to you on how you interpret them. This is the painter in Lynch finally realized in the film medium. He puts something on the screen for you to look at, offers no explanation, and moves on to the next image.
This movie is by far the most un-mainstream thing he's ever done, if a regular moviegoer attempted to watch this, they would turn it off or leave right away, it offers nothing that a casual moviegoer expects. Yet, therein lies its brilliance. It is a subconscious minefield of ideas and situations. There's no use in explaining the plot or characters, it has to be seen and it's just as simple as that.
While I said there is no narrative cohesion, that doesn't mean there isn't any plot. The entire movie is plot, every scene is a different plot, it's just that in the end, none of it really adds up. That, however, is not the point. Lynch takes the mindset of a painter, which is what he did before he became a filmmaker, in putting thought and detail into every image he composes, and then leaving the explanations to the viewer of the image.
Many works of art are about duality, either of personality, society, or many other subjects, but this is the first I've ever seen or heard of that has to do with quadrality, telling four stories juxtaposed against each other, and leaving the similarities or differences between the characters and stories completely up to the viewer. This makes Inland Empire a visceral experience, and one that will really only be appreciated by Lynch's existing fans.
The actors are all top notch, but the acting comes in a far second to the actual format of the film, although I will say this is the first film I've actually noticed Laura Dern in and said to myself "Wow, she can act? I never noticed." The always great Justin Theroux and Jeremy Irons are both extensions of other characters they've played, but this is not what's important, as I've already mentioned. This is a visual, aural, and subconscious masterpiece. You don't have to know what it's about to enjoy looking at it, although that's what most critics have complained when reviewing it.
9.7/10
Written and Directed by David Lynch
Holy shit. David Lynch has made some weird movies, some that have absolutely no real meaning (Lost Highway), but he surely outdoes himself with this one.
Shot entirely in DV with a cheap ($2,000) camera, he composes the best digital images I've probably ever seen, and I'm comparing this shit to HD even. No, it's not the quality that is fantastic, it's the way in which he uses the medium, the lighting, the movement, and the way in which he chooses to shoot his subjects. Best digital cinematography I've seen so far.
The movie itself is a mind trip, not like Mulholland Dr, because that actually had a narrative plot (no matter how confusing or labyrinthical, it at least had a coherent, cohesive story) Inland Empire does not care to explain itself, it just is.
Here is the film that might be Lynch's masterwork, or at least the best representation of himself as an artist through the medium of film. Inland Empire isn't about things, it just shows you images, and leaves it completely up to you on how you interpret them. This is the painter in Lynch finally realized in the film medium. He puts something on the screen for you to look at, offers no explanation, and moves on to the next image.
This movie is by far the most un-mainstream thing he's ever done, if a regular moviegoer attempted to watch this, they would turn it off or leave right away, it offers nothing that a casual moviegoer expects. Yet, therein lies its brilliance. It is a subconscious minefield of ideas and situations. There's no use in explaining the plot or characters, it has to be seen and it's just as simple as that.
While I said there is no narrative cohesion, that doesn't mean there isn't any plot. The entire movie is plot, every scene is a different plot, it's just that in the end, none of it really adds up. That, however, is not the point. Lynch takes the mindset of a painter, which is what he did before he became a filmmaker, in putting thought and detail into every image he composes, and then leaving the explanations to the viewer of the image.
Many works of art are about duality, either of personality, society, or many other subjects, but this is the first I've ever seen or heard of that has to do with quadrality, telling four stories juxtaposed against each other, and leaving the similarities or differences between the characters and stories completely up to the viewer. This makes Inland Empire a visceral experience, and one that will really only be appreciated by Lynch's existing fans.
The actors are all top notch, but the acting comes in a far second to the actual format of the film, although I will say this is the first film I've actually noticed Laura Dern in and said to myself "Wow, she can act? I never noticed." The always great Justin Theroux and Jeremy Irons are both extensions of other characters they've played, but this is not what's important, as I've already mentioned. This is a visual, aural, and subconscious masterpiece. You don't have to know what it's about to enjoy looking at it, although that's what most critics have complained when reviewing it.
9.7/10
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