nomadreader

The premise of Safety Not Guaranteed is a great one: someone places a classified ad seeking a partner to travel in time. The title is the same as the ad's last line. When Seattle Magazine  writer Jeff ( New Girl 's Jake Johnson) takes two interns (Aubrey Plaza and Karan Soni) to see who the person is. With such a great premise and a good cast, I had high hopes, but Safety Not Guaranteed  flounders between two many genres. At times it's a witty satire, at time softly poignant, at times inspiring, and at time eye-rollingly bad. I rarely knew what the filmmaker wanted from me, and while I love a genre-defining mash-up, this attempt lacked consistency and clarity of focus. For every moment I loved, there was one I hated. There were moments of brilliance, but there were also far too many moments of boredom for a film only 86 minutes long. As a first film, some of these sins are forgiveable, and I will gladly tune in to see what Derek Connolly writes next. Rating: 3 out of 5 ...

Between the more leisurely pace of summer (and my aversion to its heat) and giving up satellite, I've been watching a lot of movies (both with and without Mr. Nomadreader.) Here are my brief thoughts on some recent ones. The Cabin in the Woods When I told Mr. Nomadreader I wanted to watch The Cabin in the Woods , he was surprised and excited, as horror is not my favorite genre, and it is one of his. But the very reason I wanted to see (and ended up loving) The Cabin in the Woods  is that it's so smart. There's certainly something in it that will terrify everyone, but it's not terror for terror's sake. It works because it's brilliant and inventive. It pays homage to the genre's history, but it offers a delightfully fresh take on it. Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Source: Netflix Spring Breakers At the end of a particularly bad day, I was in the mood for an escapist movie and several glasses of wine. Spring Breakers  was the perfect antidote. The story of fo...

Beasts of the Southern Wild There is much to be admired and enjoyed in Beasts of the Southern Wild , an independent film set in the post-Katrina bayou neighborhood known as The Bathtub. The action centers on Hushpuppy, a precocious six-year-old who mostly roams free this world. The film is a visual feast and features performances by real people who live in the bayou. At times it feels more like a documentary, and this authenticity is the film's strength. Where the film fell short for me, however, was in its reliance of magical realism. I often struggle with magical realism, and in this film I felt it deluded the film's greatest strength: the reality of life in The Bathtub, a community so far off the grid, rich with tradition, and seemingly foreign. The verdict: Beasts of the Southern Wild  is a fascinating glimpse into The Bathtub, but the elements of magical realism undermine its narrative power. 3.5 out of 5 stars Midnight in Paris After nearly everyone whose taste I trus...

The backstory: Black Swan  has been nominated for four Golden Globes (and you know I love the Golden Globes!): Best Picture, Drama; Best Actress in a Drama, Natalie Portman; Best Director, Darren Aronofsky; Best Supporting Actress, Mila Kunis) The basics: Natalie Portman plays Nina, a tightly wound ballet dancer desperate to land the lead in Swan Lake . She's perfect for the white swan, but does she have the fire to also play the black swan?  My thoughts: I love a story within a story, and this film takes classical ballet and makes it accessible for a rather different demographic. For those unfamiliar with the story of Swan Lake , it's simply described near the beginning. Even though it's clear the movie itself is a version of Swan Lake , it has enough twists and turns to make the two versions complimentary rather than redundant. There are times it's (intentionally) unclear what is real and what Nina thinks is real. Portman delivers her best performances in the scen...