You Kill it We Clean it!

The users of IMDb have got it wrong when it comes to Sunshine Cleaners. This movie is not a 6.9, it is easily an 8. The pairing of Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as sisters, with Alan Arkin as their father, may not make much sense from a "they need to look alike" standpoint, but it is convincingly natural in practice. Christine Jeffs, in addition to directing this highly underrated movie, also directed a movie about Sylvia Plath aptly named "Sylvia." That movie starred Gwyneth Paltrow. I did not see that movie. Moving along.

This movie has an almost buddy cop feel to it. The story follows two sisters down on their luck who find success cleaning up crime scenes. Talk about an industry you don't think of. The dynamic between Blunt and Adams is very organic, and believable. Amy Adams character's son played by Jason Spevack put in an exceptional performance. Comedian Steve Zahn put forward a convincing dramatic turn as the philandering police officer.

The movie reminded me of Little Miss Sunshine. There are some dark undertones to the movie that I don't want to spoil, but they definitely add to the believability of the family interactions. Strife and sorrow can be very adhesive bonds. This is not a sad movie though. This is a very happy movie, but it is not your typical sugar coated Hollywood.

As I said, this is an 8/10, easily.

Let's Dance

I'm not sure what I expected from Silver Linings Playbook. David Russell really put together a very good film. Even a great movie, but not a super movie, or super great if you will.

This movie is very Bradley Cooper driven. His character is completely incapable of accepting reality, and yet at the same time is not oblivious to reality. There are strong performances from Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, and most impressively, Chris Tucker. I think that my two favorite performances in this movie were Chris Tucker's and John Ortiz's. Ortiz's portrayal of Cooper's buddy overwhelmed in his marriage was fantastic. This is not to discount Jennifer Lawrence and Robert DeNiro. They both were exceptional in their roles. In fact, I think Jennifer Lawrence was more convincing than Bradley Cooper. There was a palpable sense of vulnerability in her character.

This is one of those movies where you watch it and you have your fair share of "What, is going on?" moments, but at the end you are very happy that you watched it. The story is sad. Bradley Cooper's situation is depressing, but the response of those around him is truly uplifting.

I don't think this movie should have been nominated for Best Picture (I can think of another movie that should have taken its slot), but it was a great movie.

9/10, this is a really good movie, a great movie. You will be happy you watched it.

AS YOU WISH!!!

At its core, The Princess Bride really is a love story. Sure, there is a ton of comedic gold, and the narrator can be jarring, but ultimately this is about Westley and Buttercup. This movie is as witty as they come, and equally memorable, but at the end of the day it is all about "Toooooo bllllluuuuuuuuuffffffff."

True love is the motivation for our principal actors, Cary Elwes and Robin Wright, respectively Westley and Buttercup. Speaking of actors who never became as big as they probably should have, this was hands down André René Roussimoff's greatest film role. Yes, he was only in five films, but so what? The guy was great in this particular movie, and how dare you denigrate his memory.

Now that I think about it, the narrator, aka Grandpa, (played masterfully by Peter Falk) really adds a lot to the film. Initially, you are kind of like "come on," but later in the movie he adds an element of suspense. In reality, all of the pieces in this narrative play a useful and enjoyable role. Miracle Max played by Billy Crystal and his wife Valerie played by Carol Kane, are such a welcome addition, and really when you think about how little they occupy the screen it is a rather outsized addition. Of course there is also Fezzik and Inigo's boss Vizzini deftly portrayed by Wallace Shawn. Full disclosure, I had to look up his character's name, because I'm pretty sure it is never mentioned in the movie. Maybe during the game of wits.

This movie belongs in the definitive collection of American films. The film has a little bit of everything for everyone. You can't go wrong watching this. Even if you aren't in a movie mood I guarantee if you force yourself to start watching it you will be happy with your decision.

10/10 will watch an innumerable amount of times in my life

Just Another Day in Paradise

"Puerto Rico Welcomes You!" reads the banner as the plane streaks by Johnny Depp's hotel room in this hilariously quirky, but twisted comedy. The Rum Diary is based off of Hunter S. Thompson's novel of the same name. Director Bruce Robinson intentionally, or unintentionally, does a homage to the mayhem of and absurdity of Johnny Depp's other take on a Hunter S. Thompson work, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

I'll just come out and say it, this movie has two of my biggest man crushes: Johnny Depp, and Aaron Eckhart. Eckhart plays the exploitative yankee businessman keen to capitalize on the sugar sand beaches and perfect clime of la Isla Encanta. There are other interesting characters we meet in this playful romp, such as: Giovanni Ribisi as apparently an employed reporter, Michael Rispoli as a reporter who claims to know the island, and Richard Jenkins as the editor of the paper that hired Depp.

However, it is Depp's relationship with another man's woman that really drives the story. Amber Heard is excellent as a more than meets the eyes woman who Depp covets from Eckhart. Their affair motivates Depp to action, and well you get the rest.

I loved this movie. It wasn't a great film per se, but it was deliciously entertaining to me. They do an excellent job of capitalizing on the beauty of the island to further what I guess they are calling a plot. In a lot of ways the plot is really just "let's have Johnny Depp play a reporter on drugs in the Caribbean and see what happens."

7/10, but I'm probably being generous on the score, it is realistically a 6/10 that bats like a 8-9/10

One Day of Autumn

500 Days of Summer is a good movie. Marc Webb's movie is a little self-indulgent at times, but not to the point of making you annoyed with its borderline hipsterness. The cast I thought was great, and the story was more or less believable.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays our would be Romeo, Tom, and Zooey Deschanel is his somewhat distant, unwilling Juliet. The movie claims to not be a love story, but it clearly is. on this point, I actually found Zooey Deschanel convincing as a cold uncaring lover. The reason why? She always seems so flighty in her movies. Not necessarily in a bad way, but more so in a detached "Heeeeeey" kind of way. You remember what she was like in Elf? She was engaged, to a point.

Gordon-Levitt has quite the support system in this movie. There is his sage little sister Rachel played by Chloe Grace Moretz. His two buddies are played by Geoffrey Arend, and Matthew Gubler. As far as these supporting characters go his little sister takes the cake. When it comes to dealing with Tom's neurotic behavior she offers up pearls of wisdom beyond her years. I was a little disappointed that when Rachel asked Tom to look back on his relationship with Summer that he did not see the actions of Summer more negatively. I mean, it was a negative portrayal, but not as much as I thought they could do by repackaging his memories.

I don't really have much else to say about this movie. It was a good comedy, and really worthwhile, but I don't have much to add. Quirky movie. I did really like that Tom keeps his optimism in the end, and dares to dream again when he goes to his job interview. The world needs idealists.

7/10, would watch again