The Way, Way Back - Review

Script + Plot - 7
Characters - 7
Actors - 9
Soundtrack - 9
Visuals + Sounds - 7
Editing + Cinematography - 7
Directing - 8
Effect - 8

Raw Overall Score - 7.75

Personal Overall Score - 7.8

Brief Overall Review: This movie was a delightful coming-of-age film with brilliant actors who could really grasp the essence of their characters and provide a realistic interpretation of who they were as their characters. The film had a perfect complementary soundtrack which played a heavy part in the set moods within scenes and built up emotions appropriately where necessary. The movie effortlessly expressed it's point of view and produced a storyline and script that was as insightful as it was simple. This movie unlike many was able to tap into varied emotions so subtly that it seemed like it was completely natural.

Script + Plot - The plot for this movie is as follows (via IMDB): Shy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park. The movie has a pretty basic premise of a young some-what socially awkward boy having issues with his mum's boyfriend and having to deal with being put in situations he doesn't appreciate. It's your typical coming-of-age story, the script of this film isn't amazing, but it isn't particularly flawed either, a pretty good standard script and standard plot. A 7 for the script and plot.

Characters - There were quite a few interesting characters in the film, what was good about this aspect was that the individual characters were mostly well thought-out and distinctive, and the characters didn't waver throughout the movie. The issue however was that we didn't really get an opportunity to understand a lot of the characters, and we would get just a little bit of each, but then be left with a lot of blanks. The fact that the characters were realistic and recognisable is a huge plus, as it made it easier to relate to different characters at certain points. Some characters could be a little irritating at times, for example Susanna and occasionally also Pam. A 7 for this category.

Actors - The actors in this movie were superb, especially Steve Carell who performed brilliantly with a realistic character who resembles characters I've met in my daily life. The lead Liam James did a great job with Duncan's character although did often look a lot more broody than was necessary at times. Toni Collette, Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney were also a few stand-out performers. A 9 for the acting.

Soundtrack - This movie had a lovely soundtrack behind every scene, the music gave the movie the nice summery feel we were expecting, and often had related songs to the situation which enhanced the movie all the better. An example being the songs in the final scenes: 'The Apache Relay - Power Hungry Animals' and 'Trampled by Turtles - Alone'. The soundtrack was definitely a valuable asset in this film so a 9 for this category.

Visuals + Sounds - Nothing stood out in terms of the visuals or sound effects in the movie, the colouring for the movie played a part in giving the summer feeling using warm tones. There isn't much to say about the sound effects, nothing was necessarily out of place. For this I give it a 7.

Editing + Cinematography - The movie had simple shots and scenes which were put together in a basic fashion, there weren't many techniques applied in the way the movie was edited, but it didn't need that. The movie had a simple style to complement the film's aim, there's nothing too complex about the movie's storyline and that was able to be expressed to the way the scenes were strung together. A 7 for this category.

Directing - I believe the aim for this movie was just to produce a simple and relatable coming-of-age story following a young boy's life, and teaching about choices and priorities individuals make in life. I believe this movie was well directed, and it conveyed it's message appropriately as well as stylishly. The characters were well-directed and the movie never lost sight of it's goal. A simple 8 for the directing.

Effect - This movie will be moving to an audience that can relate to the experiences, there will be many situations in the film where you may find yourself relating to a character or two. The story was heart-warming and refreshing in this time and state of the movie industry, and should get the audience thinking about the choices and priorities they've made in their lives. To conclude the movie gives a nice warm feeling when it's over, and that's not just due to the summery soundtrack and warm colours! An 8 for this category.


Who should watch it?

If you're a fan of Sam Rockwell, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph and AnnaSophia Robb's work, if you like coming-of-age films, if you're into teenage movies, want to watch a nice refreshing family-friendly dramedy, enjoy watching small hidden movie gems, just need a good movie to watch while you're free.

American Hustle - Review

Script + Plot - 6
Characters - 9
Actors - 7
Soundtrack - 8
Visuals + Sounds - 8
Editing + Cinematography - 8
Directing - 6
Effect - 5

Raw Overall Score - 7.125

Personal Overall Score - 6.9

Brief Overall Review: American Hustle is a film with an average script and a brilliant cast that don't know what to do with it, nor how to portray the complex characters designated to them. With a tasteful soundtrack that complements the look and feel of the movie along with the editing style and camera shots, the movie is a visual blockbuster where it is not an entertaining story. The movie is consumed with so much potential to be something great but is unfortunately handled poorly; a fault that remains heavily due to the director following the lack of vision and direction. Is it a comedy or a drama? It tries to be both but fails to be funny or particularly attention grabbing; where there are a few laughs and some emotional scenes, however something always tends to come and undo any small bit of cinematic gold the film has to offer. This film is an experience and a bit of a roller-coaster for the viewer.


Oscar Nod?

Despite this movie being nominated for a few Academy Awards, Artless Reviews will give this movie no Academy Awards in the categories nominated, simply due to better quality opponents in all categories. 

The only genres believed to be worth a serious consideration in the instance for this film would go to Best Film Editing and Best Supporting Actor.



Script + Plot - The plot for the movie is as follows: A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive British partner, Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia. (via IMDB). The plot for this movie is quite interesting and leaves a lot of scope for brilliant execution, however the script for this film exposes the poorly handled execution. It was a bit tough deciding whether the fault of this film was to do with the script itself or the way the actors delivered it. I came to the conclusion that to an extent it was both, however I believe the script played a significant and important role in the downfall of this film. An average script with unimaginative and quite predictable lines, sometimes this can often be covered up or made up for with the right delivery, however it was not the case for this movie; I give this section a 6.

Characters - The characters were exciting, interesting and well thought-out, whether they were well executed is a different matter. We were presented with characters that could keep a scene entertaining and had back stories that we were made aware of, and explained some of their characteristics. I don't recall any characters that were particularly dismissed in being fleshed out, and although some characters had the habit of going over the top, it didn't hinder the movie but actually added the entertainment effect that was missing in the remaining aspects of the film; a 9 for this category.

Actors - The review of the acting in this film caused me a bit of conflict, something was generally just 'off' about the acting in this film, sometimes it was that the script wasn't working for their part, or that the character just didn't suit the actor, or just that they simply failed to provide a believable performance in certain scenes when they were brilliant in others. Christian Bale's acting was spot on, and he produced the most believable character in the entire movie. Amy Adams was almost brilliant, her hindrance was in the 'British' accent she was given the delight to explore, regardless of if her accent was supposed to sound fake or not, the accent brought down a lot of scenes that could have been amazing had her accent sounded authentic, or had not been there at all. I was thoroughly impressed with Bradley Cooper's work and generally the rest of the cast did their best. All in all there were good performances but unfortunately not always believable performances, and some actors just weren't natural fits for their characters, with that I give this category a 7.

Soundtrack - The soundtrack was one of the few somewhat impressive things in the movie, I thought it enhanced the movie so well and gave what was otherwise a dull movie a bit of life and perspective. The soundtrack for the film definitely offered a unique feel and remained consistent in it's role in the movie. An 8 in this category.

Visuals + Sounds - There isn't much to say regarding the visual and sound effects in this film, nothing particularly stood out, besides the attempt at an authentic late 70s feel and look to the movie, which was better achieved than numerous other films before this one. Another 8 for this category.

Editing + Cinematography - The editors for this movie really spent time threading the scenes together, to create something actually worth seeing, the editing was generally well done in combination with the cinematography. The only slight qualm was in the scenes that were cut after the dialogue for the next scene had already begun. Usually it's standard in movies to have that every now and then, however it felt like it was overdone in this film and not applied quickly enough, it was an interesting way of editing but one that could have worked better if done differently, an 8 for the editing and cinematography aspect.

Directing - The direction for this movie was quite simply lost in all the little details of the film, from the complex characters with the average script, and from the dramatic scenes with the comic intent, it was all a bit of an ungoverned mess in the end. Russell may have gotten too involved with certain details while losing the view of the big picture for this film. A story needs to be well told to create the desired effect, and I'm afraid the directing in this movie did it no justice in presenting something really worthwhile and entertaining. Did this film even have an aim? If so, there was not enough direction to create any effect at all. A 6 for this category.

Effect - Last but not least, the movie had little to no effect regarding the viewer's emotions, feelings or opinions. By the end it seemed to be an average film covered in glamour and deception. The fact that I was displeased with the way the film ended did not help, it didn't feel like the film grew into a story worth telling at the end of the day. Through the process of watching I started out disappointed, but by the second half started to believe that the movie was actually going somewhere, but by the end that hope was lost and gone. The ending was a bit flat and really proved to the viewers that what they had watched was just wasted potential.



Who should watch it?

If you're a fan of Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Jeremy Renner or Bradley Cooper's work, if you're interested in movies from the 70s, or want to watch a film set in the 70s, if you love crime films, if you're interested in watching movies nominated this award season, if you want to see what it takes for a film to be nominated for an Oscar, if you have nothing else to watch really.

Oscar Nods?

Adding a new little extra section to my reviews for Academy Award Nominated movies where I briefly discuss my opinions on how much a film deserves the awards it is nominated for, these are my opinions and have nothing to do with predictions as well due to the fact that first of all I don't believe that half of the Oscar nominated movies deserve so much recognition in the first place and secondly the critics and the board will decide whatever the hell they decide.

In addition, at the time of writing my opinion it is likely that I have not even viewed half of the remaining nominees alongside the film.

My review for American Hustle shall be published in 5... 4... 3...

Review Tonight

Okay, back in the business, the review for American Hustle shall be published in a couple hours, so to be expected by the end of the day.

The next review of The Way, Way Back should be expected later this week, as I promised at least two reviews a month.

Have a good day!