Sunday, December 28, 2008

Marley and Me

Marley and Me is a wonderful tale of John Grogan (Owen Wilson) and his wife Jennifer Grogan (Jennifer Aniston) who move to Florida after they both receive jobs at their respective newspapers. They end up adopting a tiny lab since Wilson doesn't want to have children yet. On the ride home, Wilson turns on the radio and names his dog Marley after the Bob Marley song that plays in his car.

From here is where all the hijinks's ensue. Marley turns into this untrainable dog that does whatever he wants, which includes tearing up the garage, eating the wall plaster, and eating a whole answering machine. All this goes on while Wilson and Aniston try to retain a normal lifestyle while keeping this demon dog.

Wilson's relationship with this dog is really the true magic in this movie. While his relationship with Aniston is done well, Wilson just constantly seems like he's uncomfortable and a little goofy being with her. Though, with Marley, he hits right on key. These two are just amazing together because even as Marley is at his wildest, he seems to pull back while with Wilson which shows the true connection one can have with their pet.

The story is laid out beautifully and never gets dull. The movie runs about an hour and a half and not once did I feel anything slowed down or missed it's mark. If I were to pick something out that just doesn't seem to fit, it's Wilson's character doesn't ever seem happy with his current job. Though that could just be a normal issue in anyone's life, Wilson changes what he does at the newspaper at least three times, but this in no way detracts from the movie.

The creators of this movie really pulled some great emotions out of their cast and it shows through to the audience. Many times I felt the same feelings that Wilson was going through and this just puts the movie ahead of a ton of movies that might fall into this season. Though this movie does have a sad ending, you don't walk out of this movie feeling depressed, you come out feeling surprisingly pleasant. Hence why this movie warrants the 8.75 out of 10.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Seven Pounds

With a run time of nearly two hours, this melodrama staring Will Smith is nothing shy of great. Will Smith plays a character by the name of Ben Thomas who is in search of finding people who deserve a dramatic life change that only Ben can give them.

The movie, played in a flash back mode, had a very confusing first half. The issue here was that the time line of the movie is all over the place to the point of confusing the audience. You have no idea what is truly going on or in what order this movie has appeared to be put in. Although, as the movie goes on, tiny bits of the truth start to shine through and this is where the actors really shine.

Seven Pounds has such a great pace that even when the plot seems like an endless pit, the actors come out and give such emotion and play their characters you begin to forget that these are not real people. Rosario Dawson plays the amazing Emily Posa who slowly becomes the love interest of this movie, but be weary, this is not a romance in the slightest sense. Smith and Dawson are remarkable together, never once does their relationship seem phoney. They really seem to be in love with one another and it comes out beautifully.

The major twist in this movie not only changes your outlook on the movie but turns everything you thought about the movie on it's head. Everything comes together in the most amazing way that turns anything bad you thought about the movie to become a real tear jerker.

Smith has always been a favorite of mine. He started out as a mildly funny T.V. star and then was magically transformed into one of, in my opinion, the best actors in the business today. I really enjoyed this movie and it really gets the rank of 8 out of 10