St. Vincent (2014)

I love Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts so passing St. Vincent was not an option for me, even more so if you consider the film got a Globe nomination for Best Comedy/Musical. Unfortunately, my cinema didn't show it, I missed it and it took me more than four years to catch up.

The story follows Vincent (Bill Murray), an old, grumpy and alcoholic Vietnam veteran who lives alone and gambles regularly and whose only friend is a Russian sex worker named Daka (Naomi Watts). When Maggie Bronstein (Melissa McCarty), a med-tech divorcée, moves to the next-door house with her eleven-year-old son, Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher), Vicent offers to babysit him for money and he soon turns out to be exactly the mentor Oliver needs as the kid has to deal with his parents' divorce and the new school.

St. Vincent's story is far from being original and follows every single cliché of the genre where you have a grumpy man being softened by a kid in need of a father figure. It's predictable and doesn't have a surprising twist at the end. However, despite these flaws, the story is engaging and interesting to follow, but most of all, it's one of those feel-good stories with a happy ending you are longing for and that successfully manage to put a huge smile on your face as the final credits roll in.

The characters too are stereotypes, from the alcoholic, rude old man who gambles with money that is not his and with no apparent redeeming quality, to the kid who is the walking stereotype of Catholic School life, to the single mother is going through a divorce because her husband cheated on her. But just like with the story, you are willing to overlook these flaws because they also are likeable, sympathetic and they feel real.

The Weinstein Company

And the credits for it entirely go to the cast. Bill Murray is a delight to watch and gives a funny and charming performance in the role of Vincent as he does great with his character's eccentricities while also showing his humanity and big heart. Naomi Watts is quite a show stealer in the role of Daka, the lady of the night, as Vincent calls her; she really fleshes out the character and her Russian accent is pretty good. Melissa McCarty showcases her dramatic talents in the role of the single mother. Chris O'Dowd shines as Brother Geraghty, a teacher in Catholic school, and brings some enjoyable Catholic humour in the film. It's Jaeden Lieberher, however, that completely steals the scene. The young actor is so likeable and sweet it's a joy to watch, and his chemistry with Murray is incredible.

Ultimately, St. Vincent isn't anything new but it's still a touching, funny, sweet and heartwarming feel-good movie with a charming cast.

The Ledge (2011)

I must be retarded or something because I wanted to watch The Switch, yep, the romantic comedy starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, but I ended up watching The Ledge, a thriller starring three very bangable actors instead. Or perhaps it's because Patrick Wilson is in both and the short titles confused me. 

Either way, the film is about two men who intersect each other on the ledge of a skyscraper: one man, Gavin (Charlie Hunnam), is about to jump, the other man, Hollis (Terrence Howard), is the detective trying to talk him out of it. At first, it looks like a regular suicide attempt but it quickly relieves to be way more complex than that as Gavin starts telling his story and explains to Hollis why he has no other choice than to jump. 

I don't want to spoil it for you so I won't add anything else about the plot. Although there's really nothing to ruin here as the potentially compelling and thrilling story is poorly executed and filled with pretty needless subplots —Howard's character finding out that he's been sterile his entire life and yet having two kids with his wife; and the drama with Gavin's gay roomate— that aren't nearly as compelling as the main storyline, which isn't the most compelling of stories either. 

The problem is that Matthew Chapman —director and writer— made a movie about faith and morals, provided a Christianity vs Atheism argument without really exploring it, only presenting pretty common arguments. I'm an atheist like Chapman but I would fairly represent both sides. There's no point in making a philosophical film like this one and then categorize all religious people as homophobic, small-minded bigots —whether it's Christianity or Judaism, all the religions get an unfair treatment here. Instead of saying that people can do good or bad things regardless of their philosophical orientation —something I firmly believe in—, it says that Atheists do good things, religious people do bad things. This film delivers one of the most biased messages ever.

IFC Films, OMC

The characters are another problem. They have very little development and they backstories are pretty contrived and unconvincing —they are too extreme to fit with the rest of the script and this takes away from the film's realism. The villain, however, Joe the Christian is quite a compelling and sympathetic one and the credits go to Patrick Wilson for his solid performance. As for the other leads, Charlie Hunnam is not believable in the role of the sweet and emotional guy; Terrence Howard gives a somewhat empty performance, if that makes any sense; Liv Tyler isn't that great either —you get to see her boobs though if you're interested— and her chemistry with Hunnam is nearly non-existent as they send this awkward and uncomfortable vibe when they are together.

Summing it all up, The Ledge is a boring, non-tense thriller that isn't really worth watching unless you love, like insanely love one of the actors, or are one of those Atheists people, myself included, hates.