Jim Hunter
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Jim reviewed...
Jeff Who Lives at Home (2012)
A man who believes that the universe gives signs about his life joins… More
A man who believes that the universe gives signs about his life joins with his brother on a destiny-ridden adventure.
If you were to say that this film is too pat, too convenient, and overall eye-roll inducing, I would understand, but what do you expect from a film whose thesis is that the universe is guided by a cosmic plan?
The plot unfolds deftly with the requisite number of "must-happens," and Jason Segel gives a very good performance as the hapless Jeff. Ed Helms plays Pat as a man who is more fucked up than his brother but hides it better, and this is Helms's strength.
Overall, yes, I understand that it's hokey, but I found myself inspired and smiling by the end of this film, and it's one of the Duplasses finest efforts.
3 days ago via Flixster
Jim reviewed...
The Way We Were (1973)
Set against the background of political turmoil, a radical and a… More
Set against the background of political turmoil, a radical and a milquetoast writer fall in love.
A saccharine love story, when this film succeeds it's because Robert Redford was just absolutely dreamy in his prime. He was also a great actor, working with a subtle strength and playing off his natural magnetism. However, most of the time, there is little that any actor can do to save this meandering script. There is a certain truth to relationships that flounder because there is too much work involved, but this theme is more developed in real life than in cinema, and this film doesn't do much original.
I've never been a fan of Barbra Streisand as a cultural icon or as an actress, and while I can't say that there was anything horrible about her acting, there wasn't anything extraordinary either.
Overall, this film is another reason to love Redford, but the story is weak.
3 days ago via Flixster
Jim reviewed...
Chico & Rita (2012)
A jazz pianist and a flamenco dancer fall in love but split during… More
A jazz pianist and a flamenco dancer fall in love but split during political turmoil.
This foreign animated film is a nice albeit predictable love story. The characters make all the mistakes of youth, but the story is told with a certain deftness that made me forgive the film its inadequacies. The animation is good, naturalistic at times, frenetic during the jazzy scenes, attempting to take on the "look of the music," and oddly sexy where appropriate.
Overall, I enjoyed this film even if I didn't think it had anything new to offer.
4 days ago via Flixster
Jim reviewed...
Mansome (2012)
Morgan Spurlock, Will Arnett, and Jason Bateman explore men's grooming… More
Morgan Spurlock, Will Arnett, and Jason Bateman explore men's grooming and its relationship to masculinity.
What Mansome could be is an examination of masculinity in modern day pop culture, post-feminist movement. In fact, it could be the documentary version of all the strengths of Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. But instead its reliance on extreme reactions to male hair and its profile of a modern-day fop do little to deliver any salient cultural criticism. What emerges are the outliers of our society -- a man with a massive beard and a man who spends more time preening than most birds -- and I finished the film learning nothing new about the macrocosm and learning only dismissible factoids about the microcosm.
Overall, Mansome, considering its wealth of talent, doesn't live up to its potential.
5 days ago via Flixster
