The Weekly Movie Watch Volume 58

This week I watched Bad Words, Danny Collins.

I watch movies every week and then write down my thoughts. Read my previous reviews!
My rating is simple, Watch It, It Depends, Skip it.

Bad Words - Finally, a spelling bee that's entertaining.

Bad Words (2013)
Watch Bad Words
Written by: Robert Zemeckis & Christopher Browne, Phillipe Petit ( book "To Reach the Clouds")
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Badge Dale, Ben Kingsley
Rated: PG

Plot:
Jason Bateman plays forty-year old Guy Trilby who exploits a loophole and enters a children's spelling bee.

Review:
The seven minute introduction before the title card is one of the best I've seen. It lays out plot and characters efficiently. It starts the movie at the perfect spot, avoiding unnecessary build up, putting the viewer at the most interesting part of the story. It's got a great hook, an adult in a children's spelling bee.
It definitely earns the R rating. Guy Trilby is completely unlikable, crude, rude, and a terrible person. It's fun to watch a character like this because we rarely get to see someone with no redeemable qualities. It's easy to believe that Trilby truly hates everybody. Jason Bateman plays Trilby and was perfect for the role. He is Michael Bluth, his character from Arrested Development, dialed all the way up.
Not only did Bateman star, but he also directed, and I was thoroughly impressed with his directorial debut. I will definitely watch his next effort regardless of reviews. The casting and writing is very good.  It's legitimately funny, though often coarse and lewd and by that I mean always extremely coarse and lewd. While I rarely like that kind of humor, this movie executes the jokes well.
The humor has a subtlety and nuance. We see Trilby take a can of pretzels from a child. We don't see him take any of the pretzels before giving the can back, but he is chewing. It's a small detail, but smart. Trilby is reprehensible, but it's part of the mystery. Why is he doing this?
As impressed as  I was with the film, the middle lost focus, relying on cliches and forcing a relationship between Trilby and the reporter covering the story. It felt like filler to reach the ninety minute mark. I was hoping for something smarter from a movie that promised to be more. The conclusion is serviceable. While it doesn't sound like a compliment, the ending could have been terrible. The ending balanced Trilby's motives while trying to hit some kind of emotional and heartfelt moment.

Verdict:
This is a smart and truly funny comedy, but it relies on a character that is not only unlikable and hateful, but willing to tell anybody, adult or child, where to go and how to get there in the most colorful language imaginable.
Watch it.

Danny Collins - Al Pacino makes this movie very good.

Danny Collins (2015)
Watch Danny Collins
Written by: Robert Zemeckis & Christopher Browne, Phillipe Petit ( book "To Reach the Clouds")
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Badge Dale, Ben Kingsley
Rated: PG

Plot:
Al Pacino plays Danny Collins, a rock star in his twilight years. Finding an unopened letter from John Lennon causes him to question his lifestyle and choices.

Review:
Danny Collin's biggest hits are behind him and his life has become mundane, as mundane as it can be when you're a rock legend. It's a role that draws a few parallels to Pacino's life. In this movie, Al Pacino is larger than life, outgoing, and extremely likable. He really elevates this movie to something fun to watch. It's a great character with some fun dialog.
Danny Collins is an artist who realizes he's given up and has cashed in. Even though he realizes his art should be something more, he still struggles to leave what's safe and what has sustained his lifestyle.
It was a bit by the numbers through the middle. A reformed man tries to win back his estranged son, which is nothing we haven't seen, but Pacino makes it bearable. He crafts a song inspired by this journey, but it didn't feel quite strong enough. It didn't feel like a hit, but maybe that was the point.
I liked the ending, despite being easy to predict. It's just that kind of movie, but the build up and where it cut were well done.

Verdict:
The story is fairly standard, a reformed rock star wants to make amends, but Al Pacino makes this movie. He creates a great character that is fun to watch.


It depends.