A Walk in the Woods (2015)

(Not so) Fun fact. I watched A Walk in the Woods because one does not simply pass a movie starring Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, and Emma Thompson, but also because I needed a film for a Thursday Movie Picks a while back, and by a while back I mean more than two years ago. As usual, I wrote the review, obviously picked the film for the series, and then forgot about it. So here it is, better late than never, right?

Anyways, the story follows travel writer Bill Bryson (Robert Redford), who instead of retiring and spending time with his loving wife, Catherine (Emma Thompson), decides to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends, Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte).

Despite it being based on a true story, the plot feels rather flat and lacks credibility — it's clear the filmmakers weren't able to transform the material into a story — and we barely know where it's going. It's hard to tell even after the film has ended.

The characters aren't that interesting either. They are just a bunch of weird and sometimes predictable and stereotyped people, among which Nick Nolte's stands out for being utterly annoying as he desperately tries to be a dramatic character. And the performances aren't much better.

Anyway, the real problem is another one. Given the title of the film and having a plot revolving around a hike of something like two thousand miles of track, one would expect the film to take place in the woods. Well, there couldn't be anything more wrong. In fact, most of the film takes place in diners, motels and laundromats, and when it takes place in the woods, it's nothing more than some mountain ledges and some truly awful green screen effects.

But there's still the comedy. Although it's stupid and falls flat most of the time, the film is able to make you laugh — more like chuckle actually — a few times mostly because of Redford's character cynical sarcasm. Ultimately, A Walk in the Woods is a mediocre, barely funny slapstick film that isn't worth watching unless you really love the actors involved. 

Hateship Loveship (2013)

Hateship Loveship is yet another of those movies that has been on my watchlist for such a long time I forgot everything about it, even the reason I was interested in seeing it —it was Guy Pierce, as it turned out.

Based on a short story from Nobel winning author Alice Munro, the film follows Johanna Parry (Kristen Wiig), a middle-aged repressed caregiver after she is hired by an elderly man, Mr. McCauley (Nick Nolte), who needs help in the house and to watch over his teenage granddaughter, Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld), who lives there since her mother was killed in a car accident blamed on her irresponsible father, Ken (Guy Pearce), who lives in a motel in Chicago. During one of his visits, Ken meets Johanna and leaves her a friendly note. She writes a reply, Sabitha and her best friend Edith (Sami Gayle) pen fake love letter from Ken and Johanna is led to believe Ken has feelings for her.

Hateship Loveship’s is a very simple story about real people whose realism makes it difficult to watch at times. It’s a weird one too as it manages to be compelling and dull at the same time; it unfolds at a dramatically slow pace —which is why it feels dragged at times— and yet there are parts of the story that feel rushed, specifically the romance which I never really bought as it feels more like a wish-fulfilment kind of story rather than an actual love story. As for the subplots, they kind of ends abruptly.

The characters are a bit odd too as they are quite unlikeable and difficult to relate to but eventually, they become interesting enough for you to keep watching. Johanna is an awkward woman with no social skills whatsoever; she is the kind of person who finds happiness in helping others; she understands that she has very limited skills but she tries to be as helpful as she can be with the little she can do. She is a very vulnerable woman and yet she displays so little emotions and has a constant blank expression that make her appear like a robot. On top of that, Wiig’s performance isn’t the most compelling as she doesn’t really capture the nuances of the character but rather plays the character she always plays only with a straight, serious face.

IFC Entertainment

At least the supporting cast gives compelling performances. Guy Pearce gives such a sensible and believable performance as Ken, the struggling recovering addict, and manages to be incredibly charming and off-putting at the same time. Nick Nolte also gives a strong performance as Mr. McCauley, the wounded grandfather, and Hailee Steinfeld does well as the rebellious teenage girl.

Ultimately, I’m not sure how I feel about Hateship Loveship as I didn’t hate it, but didn’t love it either –I guess I’m on the neutralship. I did, however, like Liza Johnson’s approach to the characters’ emotions: teenage angst being the exception, they all are handles with softened, without making a big deal of everything, which is how a normal person would face the same situations in real life. 

New in February: More '70s Tales (2014)

Some classic 1970s flicks found their way to Netflix Instant this month, partially making up for recent losses in that department. And who better to represent the last golden age of cinema than directors Robert Altman, Hal Ashby, and John Schlesinger; and actors Elliott Gould, Donald Sutherland, Bud Cort, Peter Fonda, and Nick Nolte? But even if that era leaves you cold (and if it does, you may need to check your pulse), you can also now stream Billy Wilder's transcendent Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Bryan Singer's deliciously beguiling The Usual Suspects (1995)�two films worthy of permanent residence in your queue (or as permanent as Netflix allows). [Note: Both have since expired.]

M*A*S*H (1970) - EXPIRED 1/31/15

It seems that each time a Robert Altman film leaves Netflix, another one appears, H.Y.D.R.A.-like, to take its place. In this case one could argue it was a fair swap. Out with Cookie's Fortune, in with M*A*S*H, the director's first big hit? Yes, please�especially if you've never seen this anarchic, groundbreaking comedy that marked the beginning of a long career filled with nearly as many highlights as lowlights�which is saying a lot, considering Altman's numerous duds. (They can't all be winners, right? Just ask Woody Allen, who's having a career resurgence similar to Altman's in the '90s.) Not only did M*A*S*H spark the careers of Altman, Elliott Gould, Donald Sutherland, and Sally Kellerman (among others) while providing the template for one of television's most successful TV shows, it also introduced a new mode of screen comedy (raunchy and adult), a loose, semi-improvisatory acting style, and a level of overlapping dialogue not heard since 1940's His Girl Friday. The advances in sound recording and mixing alone make M*A*S*H noteworthy, but of course that's ignoring the realistically casual performances and still-shocking black humor. Sure, some of the political incorrectness and a seemingly endless football finale may draw frowns, but the film retains a freshness and daring that ensure its place in the pop-culture canon. Not to mention it makes the characters on the ensuing TV series seem practically neutered.

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