Young Adult

The reteaming of Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman leads to a dark comedy starring the gorgeous and talented Charlize Theron as a narcissistic, alcoholic, and depressed young adult fiction writer who is caught up in her fictional drama and returns to her small Minnesota town to wreck the marriage of her old high school flame.

It has the sharp wit of Juno, and the sad, pseudo-sympathetic tone of Up in the Air, Young Adult takes on a bit more of the awkward edge, focusing on embarrassing broken social mores and the aging realization of a life that peaked with the fleeting hyperbole of high school popularity.

Charlize Theron is great in the spotlight. Constantly drinking, primping, and carrying the arrogant attitude that she is better than everyone around her, all the while making the viewer cringe at her lack of self-awareness. The film culminates in a great scene of public humiliation, but Theron's Mavis Gary is unaware that she is the one who looks like an idiot. It is very Rachel Getting Married, and is a great punctuation mark on her absurd quest for an impossible life.

What makes Young Adult work is that the character has depth considering how shallow she is. What I mean is that beneath the veneer of confidence and callousness is a frightened, insecure woman. She uses her sexuality as a cover, and in a rather touching climax to the film, she opens up to an old acquaintance who she demeaned in high school (played surprisingly well by Patton Oswalt).

The old flame, Buddy, played by Patrick Wilson, is a happy-go-lucky guy with a wife and a kid, who just seems oblivious to the ruse that Mavis is trying to play. Wilson doesn't seem to have much range, but plays the everyman with ease. He'll be sharing screen time with Theron again in this summer's Prometheus, which should be quite a trip.

Jason Reitman has certainly carved his niche. The dark romantic melocomedy. He's establishing himself as a bonafide artist, surpassing his father's legacy of comic fluff (expect a revival as Ghostbusters III is on the table). He is destined for a long career in directing, and will win himself an Oscar or more by the time he gives up the camera.

Diablo Cody, who exploded on the scene as the stripper-turned-writer of Juno, has redeemed herself from the debacle that was Jennifer's Body (you can't blame her for trying) and proved that she isn't just a flash in the pan. She has a lot of material to share, and teaming with Sam Raimi in the Evil Dead remake might be a genius move over the next couple of years.

Overall, the film hit a nerve for anyone who's thought about going back to old high school relationships. It grabs onto the coattails of the Facebook generation and kicks it up a notch with the fuel of alcohol, OCD, depression, and a bit of outer beauty. An entertaining film for sure, but brace yourself for a bit of a melancholy ride. 7/10.

My Week With Marilyn

There have been many reiterations of Marilyn Monroe throughout the years, but the iconoclast simply can't be replicated very easily, despite what Hugh Hefner thinks. Michelle Williams is simply mesmerizing as the buxom beauty, and embodies the darker, more fragile side of the woman who captured so many hearts. For the most famous star in the world, she manages to make you actually feel sorry for her by the end of the film.

My Week With Marilyn chronicles the filming of the movie The Prince and the Showgirl, which conveniently led to both Monroe's, and Sir Laurence Olivier's most critically acclaimed work over the subsequent years. The narration is through the eyes of young starstruck Colin Clark, who served as the third assistant director, and wrote the documentary titled The Prince, the Showgirl and Me in 2004.

Without Williams, this film would be nothing more than a British feel-good biopic, but with her, it is magical. The look, the voice, and the mannerisms do more than just show the star working on her craft and yearning for love; she transforms herself into the captivating enigma, and illuminates the screen in verisimilitude.

The rest of the cast blends into the background with the exception of Kenneth Branagh, who plays Olivier, and Dame Judi Dench, who plays Sybil Thorndike, a veteran, yet kind and understanding support for Monroe on set.

The film spans the filming of the Prince and the Showgirl, and at first take, we are taken aback by the behavior of Marilyn; forgetting her lines, showing up late, and basically being a living, breathing nightmare for Olivier in his quest to become a highly regarded film director.

As it progresses however, we see another side of Monroe. One that is quite tender and evokes empathy. She was not a happy and healthy woman. She was the epitome of what every man wanted, and she lived that burden as long as she possibly could, but all she ever really wanted was to genuinely be loved, and it was impossible for her to find that.

Williams will add a third Oscar nomination to her credit for her portrayal. It is absolutely brilliant. She stands a very good chance of winning at this point as well, but you always have to look out for Meryl Streep (the Iron Lady). This film was a great choice for her, and is in line with edgy, difficult roles, for which she is becoming accustomed. It has taken me some time, but I'm on the Michelle Williams bandwagon, and feel she's one of the best actresses out there. Her work last year in Blue Valentine was painfully authentic. I look forward to her future work very much.

Despite the conveyance of such strong emotional turmoil, mostly below the surface, this is a pretty upbeat film with much simplicity. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but don't see much in terms of Oscar buzz except for Williams and perhaps a bone to Branagh if the competition doesn't edge him out. If you're a fan of Hollywood history and sex symbols, this is a must see. 8/10.

The Descendants

Maybe the theme of The Descendants came a little too close and too soon, but the story of a family coping with the impending death of their matriarch is touching and emotional with just the right amount of levity to make it very entertaining but not too despondent.

there is definitely a melancholy feel to Alexander Payne's first full length feature since the critically acclaimed Sideways. He paints a very real picture without delving too deeply in the intricacies of the relationships. Everything remains very cursory, but it doesn't diminish the quality of the story whatsoever. Let me explain. George Clooney's character, Matt King, and his two daughters played by Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller are thrown into the grieving process when their wife and mother has a sudden accident, leaving her in a fatal coma. They haven't had quite enough time to fully comprehend the finality of things, so each of them are at different stages; denial, anger, and depression.

Clooney is a wealthy descendant of Hawaiian property owners, and he is going through a large scale deal that would make all of the members of the extended family extremely rich, but would destroy the history and legacy of the family in the process. The timing of this deal is unfortunate at best, as his wife is just days from her own death, but the situation brings him closer to his two girls, and they all manage to cope in their own ways.

This film has generated considerable buzz, and from all angles is a legitimate Oscar contender. The film, Clooney, Payne, and Woodley will more than likely earn nominations in their respective categories, but I'm not sure there is enough substance beyond the reflective sincerity of the story. Clooney continues to prove that he is one of the best actors around, generating tears and laughs on demand, but more impressive is his choice of films. Syriana, Michael Clayton, Up in the Air, and now this all in the last six years. He chooses strong characters and really seems to immerse himself in his roles, even if they look easy for him.

Woodley makes a bold impression as his oldest daughter who drops a bombshell on him that both rocks the family, but also makes him reevaluate what's important in his life and reconnects him to his progeny. She will receive the breakthrough attention this year that Haylee Steinfeld did last year as a young actress. The supporting cast is fine, with sparkles by Robert Forster and Matthew Lillard as the father of the dying woman, and her affair.

Set amid the beauty of Oahu, Hawaii, and Kauai, the scenery is beautiful and you can just imagine leading an unremarkable life in a tropical paradise. That is part of the magic of this film. Ordinary People in Paradise is a more appropriate title.

We all go through family tragedies, and experience difficult times when least expected, but The Descendants shows that it's okay to release the emotions that come with those hard times, and accept the emotional release of others. It's a wonderful film paced nicely and there is an unmistakable influence of Payne, with a little hint of Jason Reitman. This may be the future model of the dramedy, and I like it. 9/10.