Joy (2015)

Directed by David O. Russell 

Screenplay written by David O. Russell 

Story by David O. Russell and Annie Mumolo

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper and Edgar Ramirez 

I have to start this review off with a brief disclaimer that I am extremely bias to anything starring Jennifer Lawrence, as she is one of my favorite actresses. Normally I wouldn't be drawn to a movie about a woman and the mop she invented-- but with Lawrence in the starring role, a supporting role from De Niro and David O. Russell in the directors chair again, what could go wrong? 

Joy is the real like story of Joy Mangano (although her last name is never actually mentioned in the movie). Joy (Jennifer Lawrence) is a mother of two, striving to make ends meet and keep her family together. She lives in a crowded house with her Mimi who has always encouraged the creative side of her; her mother (played by Virginia Madsen) who lies in bed all day watching soap operas; her ex-husband Tony (Edgar Ramirez) who is an aspiring Latino singer living in her basement; and their two kids. Add to the mix her father Rudy (Robert De Niro) who runs a failing garage with Joy's half sister Peggy. A garage in which Joy also runs the books for. With all the challenges in her life, Joy decides to follow her dreams and be the powerful matriarch and inventor that her grandmother always knew she would be-- by inventing a revolutionary new mop. 

The story of Joy rising to become this powerful business women and QVC Queen is very endearing to watch. Some people may criticize that the script focuses way too heavily on this dysfunctional family dynamic and less on the growth of Joy's business. While the dynamic of this chaotic family may overshadow the story of her entrepreneurship-- that's what makes the movie so entertaining. Would the audience really be as engaged if Russell had eliminated scenes with the constant one-upmanship between Joy and her sister and replaced them with more scenes with Bradley Cooper's one-dimensional character, in a board room or something? It's necessary to include the dysfunctional family scenes because it is what ultimately plunged Joy to success and made for more entertainment for the movie-goer. 

This film is dominated by Jennifer Lawrence's acting, and that is not just personal bias (okay, maybe a little). She gives a very strong performance as this business tycoon and matriarchal bad-ass. I will always like Robert De Niro and I would never speak ill of his performance, but I felt some deja vu with his character in Joy.  I don't know if its just in Russell's films or in general but I feel like I have seen him play this character before.  Bradley Cooper plays some sort of business guy who is high-up in QVC and ultimately holds Joy's fate in his hands on wether or not her product gets sold on the show. His character though is pretty lifeless in this movie. After the Lawrence/Cooper combo in movies like Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, I think we were all excited for a resurgence of the pair. This time around though, it was all Lawrence and no Cooper contributing to the acting performances.

Joy may not be the best work we've seen from David O. Russell, but it had a heartwarming story to tell during a Christmas release which is the perfect mood and timing of year for this movie. If Joy had been released earlier in the awards season-- say October-- then it would have been easily forgotten. 

7/10

The Girl on the Train (2016)

Directed by Tate Taylor

Written by Erin Cressida Wilson (screenplay) and Paula Hawkins (novel)

Starring Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, and Justin Theroux 

     *spoilers for those who haven't read the book*

     A thrilling movie based on the book by best selling, world renowned author, Paula Hawkins- that still manages to be somewhat of a let down despite the books tremendous success. It has everything to be almost as successful as Gone Girl, with a riveting storyline adapted from best selling books- however it falls short of being anything like Gone Girl. This being director, Tate Taylor's first thriller, I can't say I was expecting much- although with how much everyone loved the book I still had some hope for the film adaptation. 

     It all starts with the protagonist and narrator, Rachel (Emily Blunt). She is an alcoholic who spends her days riding the train for long stretches, back and forth into New York City. Along the trains route is a beautiful house, with her idea of a picture perfect couple: the pretty blonde Megan (played by Haley Bennett who looks shockingly similar to Jennifer Lawrence in this film) and her husband, Scott (Luke Evans). Rachel adores this couple she has never met, in a somewhat creepy manner at times. She hopes the best for their love, which is why she is enraged when she witnesses Megan embracing in a passionate kiss with her therapist, Dr. Abdic (Edgar Ramirez). Through many confusing flashbacks, we learn that before alcoholism consumed her marriage- Rachel once lived a few houses down from Scott and Megan. Her ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux) now lives in her old house with his new wife, Anna (Rebecca Ferguson). Things start to get tricky for Rachel when the apparent adulteress, Megan- disappears. To make matters worse, she disappears on the same night that Rachel decided to confront her on her infidelity. Because of a drunken black-out, Rachel does not have any memory of that night, leading her to be a suspect in the disappearance. 

     As more "twists" start to unveil throughout the course of the movie, I can't say I had any big "no way!" moments. Everything is presented in such a manner that my suspicions of the outcomes of the plot, were just confirmed. I was never really surprised. The movie takes places over a 6 month time period, and the constant flashbacks between the past and present gave me whiplash. 

     Emily Blunt's performance is impressive despite the sometimes messiness of the movie. Her portrayal of this alcoholic woman relays back and forth between tortured victim and scheming lunatic. She has a strong performance that leaves little room for other characters to share the spotlight. Despite the importance of the supporting characters in the book, Erin Cressida Wilson portrays them in a pretty one dimensional, cliche manner. Theroux plays the controlling ex-husband, Ferguson plays the stuck-up new wife, and Bennett plays the damaged goods who ends up the victim. The film brings some more big names to the film like, Laura Prepon, Lisa Kudrow and Allison Janney but they all have such minuscule screen time you could blink and miss them. 

     Despite all my criticism, this was a thrilling movie and I was never bored. Although the flashbacks may have been confusing, and the depiction of the story may gave been predictable- it was still a story that I wanted to follow. 

I give The Girl on the Train a...

6/10