DAMIEN RILEY | World Music | HQ Blog

Article first published as We Need to Talk About Kevin on Blogcritics.
We Need to Talk About Kevin was Directed by Lynne Ramsay, known for Morvern Callar (2002). Comments on IMDB seem to indicate that she has a small but devoted following. This movie could be what gets her name into the mainstream. I for one will be watching her career, I think she made a quite innovative movie here.

It was produced by a multitude of people but the name best known to me on the list is Steven Soderbergh, known for Ocean’s Eleven and Traffic. The movie stars Tilda Swinton as Eva Khatchadourian/Kevin’s mother, John C. Reilly as Franklin/Kevin’s father, and Ezra Miller as Kevin as a Teenager and a cast of others. The age old question of nature vs. nurture is a fitting discussion topic after watching this film. Are kids born bad or do we make them that way?

In We Need to Talk About Kevin, we see a mother going back over the events of her life trying to determine what caused her son to commit a mass murder. It is a series of flashbacks. We learn the events of a child’s life that led him as a teenager to commit mass murder at his high school. The main character is the mother whose eyes we see the flashbacks. She trying to understand why her child committed the mass murder. In the end we are left with no real answers but lines that get us thinking. John C. Reilly is the mostly absent father who seems to think the problem is the mother and exalts the son as a very good kid. There is a lot of dark and frightening imagery of blood and sorts of 1970’s style psychedelic spinning rooms. Once all this is digested, the stark, ominous truth of what has happened appears. It isn’t even remotely pretty.

I liked this movie a lot but I don’t think it will be very popular. In a world where Columbine happened, we still ironically have many people who choose to hide their heads n the sand. Rather than blame the devil, we ought to be talking about kids like Kevin who threaten to kill and kill again all throughout the land. This movie doesn’t show us what went wrong with Kevin but it opens the door which I’ll admit opens to a macabre discussion room, one we need to enter. The cast is perfect for their roles. You will likely hate Kevin’s character as I did, I hope they paid Ezra well! You will want to shake John C. Reilly when he acts like there is nothing wrong. I don’t mean to sugar coat this movie, it was uncomfortable to watch. At the same time, I feel it should be watched. From the dream sequence of a mosh pit of blood to the final chilling words of Kevin, this movie is a study that will most certainly keep brave viewers entertained. What’s more, it is a topic for discussion about another one of societies taboos. Having said that, some scenes had unnecessarily gratuitous violence so that is where it lost points.

The trailers were abuzz the last several months with the event that now is Snow White and the Huntsman. Some of the hoopla was well founded but more than some failed to deliver on such a powerful story as that of Snow White. The film was directed by Rupert Sanders. He has nothing prior on file with IMDB, in other words he’s a “noob” with this one. An interesting factoid is that IMDB lists his future project as a sequel to this movie. I suppose they’ll need a new witch to fuel the dollars further? But I digress. It was written by Evan Daugherty, also a relative noob to the business, and John Lee Hancock who is known for direction the amazing film the Blind Side. There are two other credits for writing listed on IMDB but the link is misdirected. Anyone who has collaborated on any creative knows that the more people involved, the more delicate and difficult the challenges become. I have a feeling some of the holes in this screenplay are owing to the abundance of creative writers.

There are plenty of movie stars in Snow White and the Huntsman. Kristen Stewart, known for Twilight, plays Snow White. She is an interesting choice with pros and cons resulting throughout. Chris Hemsworth, known for Thor, plays the Huntsman: an oddly familiar figure as if from Gladiator and Spartacus the HBO series. Charlize Theron, known for so many things like Hancock, Devil’s Advocate, and Monster, plays Ravenna. There is a long list of other A-name actors in this film as well. One example is Bob Hoskins who plays one of the key dwarves. Sometimes this many stars can equal a great movie but other times, and I would argue in this case, they are lured by the promise of a name like Snow White in the title. A big budget with big actors does not an amazing movie make. It takes a lot more than that and it’s too bad these writers and the director didn’t know that. The movie is fun, okay I will say that but it is not believable and worse than that, confusing in many places. Snow White and the Huntsman should have flowed better in my opinion.

Did you know the horses scenes were difficult for Kristen Stewart because she suffered an injury as a child while riding one? You wouldn’t know it from the film footage. She rides deftly as she does everything else. From the dwarves to the trolls, everyone in the forest is buying it. For me? I wanted more of a reason to believe she was going to save the kingdom. What’s more, I wanted to believe the all-to-famous kiss was heartfelt. But I’ll stop on that subject there. Here a short version of the film: Ravenna is running out of life after lifetimes of sucking it from youthful people. Her mirror, which is a gold shape shifting thing instead of a mirror like in Shrek, tells her she must kill Snow White or face a final demise. She dispatches the huntsman to bring her back to the castle but he instead decides to join with Snow White to win back the kingdom. Many things happen in the forest. There are new creatures the likes of which we have never seen, not even in Lord of the Rings, although there is much borrowing of tone and theme throughout. I suppose any movie that makes as much money as LOTR did will be copied right? Eventually, the entire forest and oppressed people of the kingdom fight for Snow White and the end is played out (which I never like to share in these reviews). It is a contrived movie from start to finish but the effects are good and when Kristen Stewart isn’t struggling with her accent, it’s a fairly decent adventure/fantasy film.

In the final analysis, this is a swashbuckling film that sways quite aways away from the original Grimm fairy tale. Audiences will like the special effects and the actors though, in spite of the writing that may a little too far afield of the original story for some viewers. Oh, and one last thing: the PG-13 rating is well earned. There is a lot of blood and senseless violence here. I’d say kids below 10 would have a hard time with this.

My preview of another ROM COM now streaming on Netflix. Stars Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. Everyone I know that have I talked to who’s seen it loved it. I am no exception ;) Please leave a comment and follow me for more reviews. Listen to me in this episode try and convince you to watch it. Was I successful?

Title: Inherent Vice
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Year: 2014
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, “Boogie Nights,” “The Master” …
Top Billed Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio del Toro …
Brief Synopsis: Los Angeles in the 1970’s was a place where many lived double lives. This film follows a hippie PI through some of that as he uncovers more secrets than he bargained for.
My Word to the Wise: The cast and acting is amazing. I’m not too crazy about the story. To follow it you need x-ray focused attention and even then it’s hard to follow. I didn’t feel the payoff was worth the wait. That subtracted two stars for me.

The rest of this review may contain spoilers.

Best scene by far is when Brolin is transporting Phoenix to the station while making oral love to a frozen banana. There are some great dramatic scenes by Brolin as well. Phoenix does a good job. I liked him better in this with disheveled hair and huge sideburns than his clean-shaving character in “The Master,” also directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. You might say he has a face for a beard. I have a feeling the story as laid out in the book is much better than the convoluted presentation in the movie.

Have u seen this hilarious & cute rom com?
Let me try & sell you on it. Watch it streaming now on Netflix/pls comment