Take This Waltz

Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby

Directed by Sarah Polley

Rating: C+

Margot (Williams) has a  restless nature. She obviously wants something more to happen in her life than the one she is living with her tame but loving husband, Lou (Rogen). They have fun together, but five years of marriage later and Margot is bored with the relationship. Lou writes cookbooks and is constantly making some chicken recipe in the kitchen. From what we see of their relationship, they love each other but there's no passion.

Coincidence seems to happen a lot when Margot meets Daniel (Kirby) in Nova Scotia. They happen to sit next to each other on the plane ride home. They share a taxi because after getting comfortable with each other up in the air, they find out they live near one another. Daniel says he can just walk home from Margot's house, only to get out of the taxi, point across the street and say "I live there". It's only inevitable the two should meet again, and with each encounter Margot is allowing herself to develop feelings for her neighbor.

It's hard to understand what Margot says sometimes when she decides to talk in a baby voice. Her character is scared of taking chances. Daniel is a big risk to take but he encourages her flirtations and makes her feel bold enough to ask "What would you do to me now?" when they're alone together. Margot tries seducing her husband at the wrong moment, like when he's cooking, and his rejection makes her feel embarrassed. So she flees to Daniel who won't rebuff her advances.

"Take This Waltz" changes the "unhappily married woman has an affair" plot. Instead, the married woman is in love with her husband. She was happy with what she had until she met Daniel, who she couldn't stay away from. There's not enough character development to understand why Margot has these fears, and there's that feeling that Daniel could be a stalker, even if it's just coincidence how Margot and Daniel meet. There's a likability to the movie. It's nice to see Seth Rogen in a role where he's not crude, but kind of genuinely sweet.

Like Crazy

Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Alex Kingston

Directed by Drake Doremus

Rating: B

"Like Crazy" is a love story. Boy and girl date, fall in love, enter complications here that during the course of the film, they try to work out. So what is it that attracts us to watch a movie we've seen told hundreds of different ways?

Anna (Jones) is from England, studying in Los Angeles with a student visa. Here comes Jacob (Yelchin), a local student. They fall in love. Anna's visa expires at the end of the semester, but she chooses to stay with Jacob. It's too hard to leave him. When she briefly goes home to England during the summer and comes back to Jacob in L.A. immigration officials refuse her entry because she violated her visa. The film boils down to their struggle of keeping a relationship.

We see both perspectives of Jacob and Anna. They fall in love fast, and for Anna, hard. The film is intimate, capturing the moments they fall in love, showing the first few months they're together in snapshots and indie music. When it's time for Anna to leave, we don't want her to go as much as she struggles to decide whether she should stay or not. But ultimately, they do get separated, and it's that time apart when Anna is denied entry into the U.S. that Jacob's love is quickly fading. He finds another girlfriend, played by Jennifer Lawrence. Anna tries to let go but she finds herself dialing Jacob's number after a night out with friends. She tells Jacob to come to London, and he goes willingly as soon as can.

It's undeniable that Yelchin and Jones have an on-screen chemistry together. It's needed to portray these characters well, to get across to viewers they're just two young adults fighting to keep themselves together. You want their relationship to thrive because you've invested time into seeing their relationship start. "Like Crazy" may not be the perfect love story but if you like sad romance movies, not a cheesy romantic comedy, this may be one to add to your "must-watch" list.

Sleeping Beauty

Emily Browning, Rachel Blake

Directed by Julia Leigh

Rating: C

Lucy (Browning) is just trying to pay her bills and go to school so she takes whatever job is offered. From cleaning up tables, to being a lab rat, Lucy finds an ad in the paper for lingerie waitresses. Clara (Blake) is the employer who tells Lucy there is always room for promotion, which the next step would be becoming a Sleeping Beauty. Clara sees that Lucy is ready for promotion and invites Lucy to her house for her next job. All Lucy has to do is drink a brew that will put Lucy to sleep for a few hours. What Lucy doesn't know is what goes on while she is asleep. It isn't until she becomes overwhelmed with her life that she wonders what is happening to her while she is sleeping.

My first reaction after watching Sleeping Beauty was that it was one of the most interesting movies I have seen. The film is a bit slow and it feels as if there are many holes missing because we don't know who Birdman is in relationship with Lucy or how they met. Neither do we know why does her roommate's boyfriend have such a problem with her? The movie focuses on Lucy's jobs. We get a glimpse that she is desperate to make ends meet by participating in an experiment and cleaning up tables.

Playing Lucy could not be an easy role. Emily Browning's portrayal of a young college student struggling to make ends meet is heartbreaking. She gives up her body to be able to pay the bills by letting old men gawk at her in lingerie, and then later having a few hours alone with her while she's unconscious. Browning does an excellent job making Lucy come to life. We see how she holds it all in but after so much that has gone wrong, she lets it out with bursts of screaming at the end. It gives the audience a glimpse that everything is not all right with Lucy.

Sleeping Beauty may be a difficult film to get through for those who are not interested in the genre. I would definitely recommend it for those who like independent films like Beginners or Hunger. If you are in a courageous mood for something different, then I would think that Sleeping Beauty is worth checking out.

Beginners

Ewan McGregor, Mélanie Laurent, Christopher Plummer

Directed by Mike Mills

Rating: B-

Oliver Fields (McGregor) grew up with bad examples of what a happy marriage should look like. He tends to be the one to leave a relationship, even if it was not so bad. Then his mother dies and a few months later his father, Hal (Plummer), decides it's time to come out of the closet and experience a lifestyle he's suppressed for so long. Oliver soon loses his father to cancer and is battling his own sadness until he meets Anna (Laurent). She is an actress and leaves Los Angeles some short months in order to work. This is a relationship Oliver wants to work but will he decide to leave her too?

The reason why I wanted to watch Beginners is because I saw this huge movie poster at the movie theater and it looked kind of artsy. Plus it had Ewan McGregor in it, who in my opinion, is a great actor who knows how to not get type-casted into the same role. He has played the singing role (and has a remarkable voice in Moulin Rouge), the gay role (I Love You Phillip Morris), and even a jedi (Star Wars). This man has talent.

In all honesty Beginners is slow enough to put viewers to sleep and has, in the case of watching it with my parents. It's one of those movies viewers need to pummel through but it is worth it. I stuck with it to the end, paying attention, and it was good. The movie is visually appealing; by that I mean it's filmed like an artsy, indie-film. The chemistry between Oliver and Anna is not the typical romance we find in most movies. They are both sad but there is something there between them that makes it work. They make each other happy, though not typically "curing" each other of their sadness. There is still some ground that needs to be covered between the two.

While Beginners may not be the funnest movie to watch, Focus Features (which produced this film) has produced other great movies. When I find out a movie has been made by Focus Features, I get excited because I know that most of the time it will turn out to be a great movie. So if you have the patience to sit through a slow movie (and at least an hour and a half so not too long!), then I definitely recommend renting Beginners. I have a feeling that Beginners is going to be one of those movies you won't want to watch for another year but find yourself in the mood for it six months later.

Juno

Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman

Directed by Jason Reitman

Rating: B

16-year-old Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) finds out she's pregnant. The father who is her friend, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), doesn't participate much in the goings-on of her pregnancy. Unsure of what to do, Juno finds an advertisement for a couple wanting a baby. Juno goes to meet Vanessa Loring (Jennifer Garner) and her husband Mark (Jason Bateman) to see if they would be a good match to adopt her baby. Vanessa could not be more thrilled while her husband doesn't seem to be ready for parenthood. Juno and Mark make bond over music and she goes to hang out with him a few times. However Mark seems to have the wrong idea and recklessly decides he does not want to continue his marriage.

Juno was a popular movie amongst the teenagers when it hit theaters but isn't a film that connects with all ages. Juno is one of those movies that fits in a specific category of movies that are popular among a specific group of people. For example, Napoleon Dynamite appealed to a mass group of teenagers, where many liked to quote from it but the popularity quickly died down. There's simply not much to like about Juno. A teenager girl gets pregnant and this film portrays what she goes through while she decides to give up her baby.

It deserved a "B" because while it was shortly popular, the movie was pointless. The dialogue was nothing special to comment on, the humor was short-lived, the movie overall did not keep interest. I would recommend this film if you enjoyed the humor of Napoleon Dynamite, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, or Gentleman Broncos.

Wristcutters: A Love Story

Patrick Fugit, Shea Whigham, Shannyn Sossamon

Directed by Goran Dukic

Rating: 4 stars

Zia (Patrick Fugit) is in love. When his love Desiree (Leslie Bibb) leaves him, he decides to kill himself. Zia finds himself trapped in a land similar to being stuck in limbo. He lives a boring life in a land of the people who have killed himself. He makes friends with Eugene (Shea Whigham). When he hears that Desiree has killed herself, he is filled with hope that he will be able to find her. So he goes on a trip to a place he's unsure of but takes Eugene with him. Along the way the pickup a hitch-hiker, Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon), who is looking for the People in Charge because she died by accident. Eventually the reach a camp of people who can do some extraordinary things and Zia is still looking for Desiree. Eventually he finds her but realizes that a part of him has feelings for Mikal. However, Mikal found the People in Charge and she leaves Zia behind. I'll let the ending be a surprise for you though.

This movie was very... interesting to say the least. I didn't know how I felt about it at first and thought it deserved a rating of three instead of four. Wristcutters: A Love Story is just one of those movies where you have to let it sit in your mind for a while before realizing that it was actually a pretty good movie. While I was watching it, I couldn't help but think it was kind of weird and not that great. After sleeping on it, the more I thought about, the more I wanted to see it again. Shannyn Sossamon plays the role of a quirky girl who can sometimes be annoying while Patrick Fugit plays a sort of lifeless role. That's what the movie has a feel of: lifeless. It's not exciting, it's actually sort of dull. I wouldn't recommend this movie for people who like fast-paced, action-packed movies. If you don't mind watching a slow movie all the way to the end, then I would recommend this movie to you. If you're bored and looking for a movie to fill the time, I would say that you should give Wristcutters a chance.