REV MED

The Walking Dead

2010-12-08T21:36:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.5

OK, I wanna take some time to talk about this show now that I've seen the entire season. I gave it a chance after the first episode, and after each one I was hoping it would get better, but by the end I was still watching and wondering why. Everyone I've talked to animatedly disagrees with me about it, and I'm fine with that, but I honestly see no redeeming qualities about this series. So far, it's kind of boring, cheesy, and waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy different than the comic book series, which would be ok but it's so different that it could really be called something else entirely and no one might ever now it's supposed source material.

This show follows a group of survivors in a zombie apocalypse as they struggle to survive in a harsh world with no rules. The main-ish charcter, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) wakes up from a coma and leaves an abandoned hospital to find his wife and son. Meeting a bunch of characters along the way, he eventually happens upon a camp where some people have been holding up since the world had gone to hell in a hand basket. There he finds his family, and so begins a series of more unfortunate events.

Every time there seems to be some kind of social commentary, it's presence is almost loudly announced by Frank Darabont. "EXCUSE ME EVERYBODY, WE ARE GOING TO ADDRESS RACISM NOW!" This is what I see, essentially. There is no finesse in the script, which turns situations that should expose the weaknesses that humanity possesses in the face of utter destruction into scenes overwrought with dull dialogue and really obvious statements that denote no actual subtlety and are a bit in-your-face. Not to mention the plot line moves at a snail's pace into absolute nothingness, stopping along the way to kill off a character that was never developed or present an absurd situation that seems forced.

The acting is like something out of a bad dream, where everyone is either talking too fast or too slow, not allowing any of the already lame lines to be digested. Maybe I'm being a little too critical, but I'd like at least some craftsmanship in a TV show based on what is arguably one of the best series of comics of ALL TIME. And I know what you may be thinking, that Kirkman was so involved in the show's creation that he even wrote one of the episodes (however, it was my least favorite of the episodes). That's fine, but in an adaptation of a long running franchise, the creator/writer of such a franchise might be a bit bored of keeping everything the same and may want to change everything to show what the characters might do in a different situation? And again, I would be fine with that, but on top of my previous comment I also think that a different story line would have worked under different direction, with a few casting changes (I'm talking to you specifically Grimes, Shane, Carol, Andrea, and Jakqui), or at least a more fluent and emotionally affecting script.

There are a few moments where I think, "Wow, this show has so much potential, and I wish it didn't fall on it's face so often." Take for example the moment where Dale (I love Dale) is talking about his watch and why he still keeps it up and quotes Faulkner and is really awesome about it. Oh, and when Shane gives Grimes four bullets before he goes back into the city to rescue Merle, just in case he needs to use them to kill everyone in the party to keep them from getting eaten, but doesn't say it out loud, breaking the habit that the script has of literally telling you how it is feeling and not SHOWING YOU.

I will continue to watch this show, hoping to change my mind. With a new writing team coming in to help Darabont and Kirkman, maybe there are some great episodes to come.

Winter's Bone

2010-12-08T21:00:00.001-08:00

Rating: 7.9

Award Season is quickly approaching, and I've made it a rather large point to try and watch all of the big winners and contenders of this year. With that goal in mind, I knew I had to watch Winter's Bone, which won the Grand Jury's Prize at Sundance this time around. Most likely, this film will also receive at least a few nods from the Academy. If Winter's Bone only takes home one Oscar, I hope that it is in the hands of Jennifer Lawrence, the staunch young actress who carried the whole movie in her hands.

The movie plays out stiff, much like it's 17 year old protagonist Ree (Lawrence). It follows an independent but desperate daughter trying to find her father, wanted as a pivotal witness in a small town trial. At first it just seems as if he's skipped town, but soon it unfolds quite a bit darker than that. Ree ends up in over her head as the backlash of her probing hits her full force. Thankfully, Ree finds an unlikely ally in her rough uncle, Teardrop (John Hawkes), and the pair work together to raise their missing relative. The plot is slow and driving, the ending a screeching halt that makes you a bit queasy because you didn't feel yourself moving at all. The haunting imagery and beautiful, seedy cinematography aid in an exploration into a piece of the seedier side of drug culture in the midwest.

I think that this movie grew on me between the time I watched it and now. Honestly, when it ended I felt like nothing really happened, but on reflection I ended up really loving it. It's really powerful in a quiet way. Which I love. I feel like what it needed was a bit more substance, and what I mean by this is maybe a little bit more of a look into some of the relationships Ree had with the people around her. Maybe more insight into her relationship with her father, her uncle, how her mother used to be. Little things like that would have made the movie damn near perfect for me. But I digress, because the film was very good.

The Kids Are All Right

2010-12-02T00:54:00.000-08:00

Rating: 8.3

Upon renting this movie, I was a little bit reluctant to take it home. I've heard excellent things, but for some reason I've had some aversion to it. But, despite this unexplainable reluctancy, I paid $5 (which, might I add, is a ridiculous amount for a rental, I mean honestly) and popped some corn to watch it.

What a pleasant surprise. The Kids Are All Right is a refreshing movie that captures quite winningly the atmosphere of a modern family's household. Actresses Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, who supposedly are both in the running for Academy Awards for their performances in this movie and rather deserve it, portray a tense and complicated couple raising a family when their children, Laser (Josh Hutcherson) and Joni (Mia Wasikowska), want to meet their biological father (Mark Ruffalo), the man whose sperm was used to artificially inseminate the mothers. Complications arise as Ruffalo's character shakes up the family in numerous and sometimes uncomfortable and awkward ways.

I feel like a major contributing factor to the success of this film is in the incredibly talented ensemble of actors in the film. Each character was believable and relatable. The relationships were all very real, and I found myself connecting with all of them individually as their perspectives were shuffled. Moore shines as a confused and under appreciated "housewife," Bening pulls more than her weight as a mother drowning in the pressures of juggling her job, partner, and family, and Ruffalo is wonderful as ever as an eco-bro bachelor who uses the family to make himself feel less alone.

The story was well crafted, while sometimes a bit predictable, and flowed nicely. I would not be surprised in the slightest if the script took home an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, especially in today's movie climate in which everything is either a remake or a sequel. Emotionally, it sends a powerful message straight to the heart, and is extremely relevant, I believe. Just in the way each character was given their own opportunity to weigh in and the realistic setting and attitudes, the attention to detail pushes this movie to the cream of the proverbial 2010 cinematic crop.

First Post

2010-12-02T00:45:00.000-08:00

I figure if you're reading this, you are lost somewhere on the internet. If so, please, stay a while, and peruse the critiques I hope to accumulate on this blog. If you are not lost, then thank you for checking this site out. It's really just a way to pass the time while I wait to go back to school. I hope that I can reach out to some like-minded individuals in the world, and that maybe I can learn a lot from writing all of this.

With that, I suppose I have to start somewhere, which leads me to my next post, which is to say a review of a movie that I saw earlier tonight. Before I jump in, however, I would like to explain my rating system and give a disclaimer: it is based entirely on my first impression of the media that I am experiencing, and is strictly my opinion. I will give the movie a number between 1 and 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, along with an in depth explanation of why I rated it that way. Pretty straightforward, maybe a little boring, but classic, I feel. I don't wish to offend anyone, or completely discourage people from the subject matter.