A Beautiful Mind (2001)

A Beautiful Mind, directed by Ron Howard, follows the college career of John Forbes Nash Jr. From the moment John steps on Princeton's campus, he is treated like an outsider. John is very awkward and even more arrogant. He insults another student's work and research before clumsily running away, creating a disturbance in his wake. Other characters in the movie frequently use the line "the great John Nash" sarcastically, after he has messed something up. Shortly after, John strikes out with an attractive girl after asking if she would like to skip all the talking and just go straight to sex, and is told by a professor that his grades will not get him anywhere in life. John eventually develops an economic theory that disproves years of precedent, which leads to him getting a job as a codebreaker for the U.S. government. John quickly becomes the "best natural codebreaker" that the government has ever seen.

Through his codebreaking, John discovers a bomb threat and is tasked with decoding hidden Russian messages in newspapers from around the country. So we think. John is picked up by what he believes to be Russian spies and taken away.

He wakes up in a mental hospital, where doctors tell him and his wife that he has schizophrenia. This new knowledge causes the audience to question everything they have seen up to this point, wondering what is real and what was John's imagination. For the remainder of the film, John struggles with his diagnosis, starting and stopping his medication, attempting to continue his work while having his mind dulled by the medicine, and deciphering what is real and what is not. This leads to many potentially catastrophic situations, including John almost drowning his newborn baby and accidentally hitting his wife while trying to protect her from an imaginary person in their house. Day to day life has completely changed for John. While teaching at Princeton, he has to ask one student if a different student is actually there, or if he is imagining it. He has a breakdown on campus and creates another major disturbance there, as he struggles to control his illness. John is eventually recognized for his groundbreaking work in economics and is given a Nobel prize, finally reflecting all the years of work and trials he has gone through. A Beautiful Mind has a very deep, complex storyline that is enhanced through beautiful cinematography and truly puts the audience in John's shoes through the discovery that many events and characters in the film did not actually exist. John's doctor poetically explains his illness, asking his wife to "Imagine if you suddenly learned that the people, the places, the moments most important to you were not gone, not dead, but worse, had never been. What kind of hell would that be?" This line, and many other excellent pieces of dialogue show how crippling John's illness is, and how hard he must work to overcome and endure it.

Safe Haven

Safe Haven

Safe Haven is a romance novel by Nicholas Sparks. Expressing themes of love, secrets, and what it truly means to be safe, Safe Haven was another very successful novel by Nicholas Sparks. It is starring Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, and Cobie Smulders.

Katie (Julianne Hough), a young woman leaves her house after doing something with a bloody knife. She is shown moments later buying a bus ticket. The bus stops at this real small town. She now claims this town as her home.

At the general store in this town, she introduces herself as Katie. After getting a job as a waitress and purchasing a cozy little home in the woods, Katie becomes friends with her neighbor Jo and Alex. Alex has two children and is the owner of the convenience store in town. Alex’s wife passed away from cancer a few years prior.

Alex starts to fall for Katie and doing little things to help her out. The two go canoeing and fall in love. The kids come around and love Katie as well.

Katie’s past husband who is also a police officer searches for Katie. He is also an alcoholic and is not a good person. Alex finds out that there is a police report that they are looking for her and confronts Katie and gets mad because she wasn’t honest and her real name is Erin. He is also mad that he let his children around her. Her husband’s boss finds out that he sent out flyers looking for her and he gets suspended from his job. The husband would abuse Katie and physically beat her many times.

Katie packs up all her belongings and decides to flee before anyone can find her. Josh rushes to her house to find that it is empty and that Katie has already packed all her belongings. He drives to the ferry and tells her how much he loves her and that he will protect her no matter what. Katie still wanted to leave but eventually decided to stay. She explains the whole story to Alex and he is completely understanding and really cares about Katie.

Her ex husband breaks into Katie's neighbor`s home back in Boston and finds the phone number to the Southport restaurant that employs Katie. He finds the location and makes his way there. Arriving just on time for the Fourth of July parade, he begins his search for Katie through the crowd. He finally finds Katie and watches from a distance her dancing with Alex and watches as he leans over to kiss her, which makes him angry. Later, Katie has a dream that she is standing on the docks watching the fireworks when Jo comes up and tells Katie that "he" is here.

Katie wakes up and walks around in the convenience store and her ex husband spooks her. He is drunk and crying and asks Katie to move back to Boston with him. Katie refuses and tells him to leave. He pours gasoline all over the store and pulls out a lighter. Katie sees what he has done and sees that he has a lighter. She runs out and says she will go back with him. She then surprises him and pushes him in the water. A firework spark lands on the gasoline though and lit the entire store on fire. Alex sees the store has caught on fire. He gets on the boat and rushes across the lake. He begs Lexie to jump into his arms because she is stuck in the store. While this is happening, Katie and her ex husband are wrestling and he is trying to shoot her. After a long fight he finally pulls the trigger. She pushes him off of her and runs into Alex’s arms.

In the rubble Alex finds the desk his wife had and it still had all the letters she wrote in it. Alex gives Katie the letter with the words “To Her” written on it. The letter talks about whoever is reading this that Josh loves them very much and reveals that Katie’s neighbor was actually Alex’s wife and Katie could only see her.

I loved this movie. It was well written and I am a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks. He always writes great stories. This is definitely one of favorites alongside The Notebook.

Manchester by the Sea

Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea is the story of Lee Chandler, played by Case Affleck.

After the death of his older brother, Lee becomes the guardian of his nephew Patrick, played by Lucas Hedges. Lee leaves his janitor job and goes back to Manchester-by-the-Sea to care for the fifteen year-old.

Lee has to face his ex-wife Randi, played by Michelle Williams, and his old community. Lee and Patrick struggle to adjust.

 Manchester by the Sea is a film that speaks of grief. It ultimately invites the question: how on earth would we be able to carry on after an event so tragically full of loss and guilt.

The Lobster

The Lobster is an imaginative, visionary film by director Yorgos Lanthimos.

The main character, David has recently been dumped by his wife. He lives in a dystopian society where single people have 45 days to find another love match or they will be turned into an animal of their choosing. 

David lives in a mysterious Hotel, where he has numerous romantic misadventures until he escapes. He joints a rebel group The Loners, who abandoned society and reject romance, where he meets Rachel Weisz. 

The Lobster has an extraordinary cast, and while the movie has moments and situations that are funny, there is a frightening undertone as well. 

The Lobster is a visionary movie and an ingenious reflection on society.

Get Smart (2008)

Although it didn't receive the greatest ratings, with 50% on rotten tomatoes and a 54% on metacritic, Get Smart will always be a personal favorite of mine. The comedic dialogue, exciting action scenes, and the perfect core cast to execute it creates non stop laughter through out the film's entirety.

When reviewing this movie look no further than the front liner and protagonist Maxwell Smart, played by well renowned actor Steve Carell. Carell was at the peak of his popularity at the time this movie came out, as he was in the middle of playing Michael Scott in The Office. He already had a hilarious reputation as an actor, and for me Get Smart took that to another level.

Carell is paired with veteran agent 99, played by Anne Hathaway, as she and Smart both work for the CIA and are tasked with stopping crime syndicate KAOS, after they attack U.S spy agency control. 99 is a savvy agent whose witty and completely capable in combat.

On the other hand, much like his name Smart has intelligence and is often boisterous about outstanding field exam scores. But in the field itself, which 99 makes clear to him is far different than a written test without any actual danger in front of you, Smart has some downfalls at first. His foolishness and absurd thought process in those moments that drives 99 up the wall provides a huge chunk of the unforgettable funny moments the movie has to offer.

The spunky core cast rounds out with Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson as Agent 23, and Alan Arkin as chief of operations for the CIA. In addition, the outrageously rude and sarcastic Siegfried, who plays the perfect funny enemy in this film, as he runs the operations of KAOS.

The poor ratings by movie critics could be a product of some loose ends in the plot. Even though it is meant to be an unrealistic and fun loving comedy that spins off of previous movies with the same concept.

But to answer any critique regarding the plot, I think the movie does a fantastic job of grabbing the audience emotionally, and turning the end of a loose and goofy comedy into a thrilling ending in which it demands the audience to be invested.

In an action packed last half hour of the film, Smart is putting in confinement by the CIA because he "falsely" sensed radio activity while he and agent 99 were in Russia probing a bakery. It turns out there was radioactivity in the bakery and agent 23 is exposed as a double agent when its discovered he probed the bakery earlier and made sure to overlook the dangerous activity inside.

Agent 23 immediately captures Agent 99 and tells the chief and Smart that if they follow him, he'll kill her. Smart pulls off all time heroics by saving 99 from being hand tied in 23's moving car. The two of them then proceed to discover a bomb planted by KAOS underneath a piano being used at a concert performed for the U.S President, played by James Caan, and stop a potential disaster.

Of course there's love and romance built in as Smart and Agent 99 end the movie dating, as their relationship sprouts while they're out in the field together. A fitting ending relationship wise considering 99 used to date 23, who turned out to be evil and Smart stopped him in his tracks.

Between the riveting action, excellent casting, and above all else the non stop comedy that makes Peter Segel's Get Smart a great film fitting for anyone in need of a good laugh.

Stuck (2017)

Stuck (2017) is Michael Berry's second feature film. The film's setting is a New York City subway car, the most perfect melting pot of all cultures and walks of life. This is brilliantly shown through the characters present.

There's a homeless man Lloyd, (Giancarlo Esposito) who lives on the subway and is viewed as an untouchable by the other passengers. Eve, (Ashanti) an African American woman, is struggling with unplanned pregnancy and finding a reason to be positive and hopeful. Also in the subway car is Alicia, (Arden Cho) a dancer whose past experiences and trauma have left her distrusting and fearful towards men, and her "stalker", Caleb (Gerard Canonico), an aspiring comic book artist. There is construction worker Ramon (Omar Chaparro) who works multiple jobs to pay for his daughter's dance lessons, and finally, a conservative old white woman, Sue (Amy Magida).
The film deals with the perceptions that each character has of the others, and how different the reality is. Each character's musical numbers take the audience outside the train and into their lives, offering brief but powerful insight into the characters minds. Lloyd, who Sue sees as just another creepy homeless person in NYC, is actually quite fond of Shakespeare and enjoys intelligent discussion.
Their shared feeling of a lack of a place in the world brings them closer than either of them thought possible.

Caleb, who Alicia sees as a threatening stalker who only wants her for her body, thinks that she is unbelievably beautiful and has even designed a comic book character based on her strength. Through his musical number, Caleb angrily calls Alicia out for the sense of entitlement he perceives she has, which is why she does not give him the time of day and acts like men must ask permission to look at her. Alicia reveals that she was sexually assaulted and now feels that men see her as only an object for their pleasure. She does not think she is "too good" for anyone, she is too afraid of being hurt to risk making another connection with a male. Through her musical number, she invites all males to look at her, as that is all they want to do anyway.

Caleb and Alicia begin to foster a connection which, by the end of the film, leads to Alicia giving Caleb her phone number, much to his joy and surprise. The film beautifully shatters each and every character's preconceived notions of one another, replacing them with a deep understanding of each character's daily challenges they must overcome.

The Shining

Review

The Shining is an amazing horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick. The film is rated R and was released in 1980. It was adapted from the novel by Stephen King. Diane Johnson and Stanley Kubrick also wrote the screenplay. It stars Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. Jack Nicholson plays Jack Torrance, a writer who decides to be the winter caretaker of an empty hotel with his wife and son. He takes this time to write and it’s never revealed what he has written until the end. Being isolated makes for an interesting turn of events for the family. The son is physic and has visions of the past and future. He keeps saying “redrum” throughout the film and no one knows what he is talking about. When it is finally revealed what he means, it’s shocking. The things that go on at the hotel are very creepy at times. There’s a creepy shriveled woman in a bath tub. Also, the iconic scene with the twin girls is another one of those creepy moments.

It is a film that I watch whenever it’s on and I notice something new every time. One of my favorite scenes is when Jack says, “Here’s Johnny” it turns out it was an improvised line that Jack Nicholson got from the Johnny Carson late night show. In this article there is a video that shows Jack getting hyped up before the scene.

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/watch-jack-nicholson-psyching-up-for-the-shining-s-axe-scene-1.2746337

This film is a must see for any horror or mystery fan. I was hesitant to watch for awhile because I don’t really like scary movies. I was definitely missing out because I really like the films that have been adapted from Stephen King’s books. Jack Nicholson was amazing as the Joker and he was great at playing Jack Torrance. Check it out if you haven’t seen it.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/