Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Directed by David O. Russell

Screenplay written by David O. Russell 

Based on the novel written by Matthew Quick

Starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver

Silver Linings Playbook will always be one of those movies I come back to periodically because of the outstanding acting performances. The satirical take on mental health that Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper display is so entertaining, and the story between them is hilarious and charming. One of David O. Russell's best. 

After a brief stint at a mental hospital, Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) is released and sent to live back in Philadelphia with his parents (Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver). After beating up the lover of his ex-wife Nicky, which is ultimately what led Pat to the psych ward with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, he is set on a new path of healthy living and silver linings, and he is determined to win back Nicky. Along the way, Pat meets the mysterious and sexy, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) and things are never the same after that.

This film is heavily driven by the acting performances. The former Hunger Games heroine Jennifer Lawrence, delivers the role of a lifetime. She's foulmouthed, sexy, rude, blunt, sensitive, vulnerable and a little slutty but she likes that part of herself (not a judgment, just a reference from the movie). Lawrence somehow portrays all these emotions in every scene, sometimes in every sentence Tiffany speaks. This was one of the most deserved Oscar wins of all time. Cooper plays a damaged guy suffering from bipolar who is largely driven by his lust for love and forgiveness from his ex-wife. His performance is raw and funny, but Lawrence steals the show. De Niro and Weaver deliver strong supporting performances as Pat's parents.

Only in Hollywood can mental illness be cured by the depths of this endearing romance between two broken souls. Russell sets a new bar for romantic comedies to rise to with this flick.

9/10

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 Hunger Games (2012)

Directed by Gary Ross

Written by Gary Ross (screenplay), Billy Ray (screenplay) and Suzanne Collins (screenplay and novel)

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson and Liam Hemsworth

     The Hunger Games film had a lot of hype to live up to after the major success of the book written by Suzanne Collins. It also came into the lime light after the end of two very popular movie franchises came to an end that same year- Harry Potter and Twilight. This dystopian themed thriller definitely filled whatever 'movies based on teen-fiction books' void, I had. Granted, I was a big fan of the series when they first came out and I read all three books in three weekends- my bias does not take away from the entertainment this film provides for any audience. 

     The movie is set in what we're to assume is the future, and catastrophe has destroyed North America. From the ashes rises a new colony named, Panem. Panem is ruled by the powerful Capitol which is rich and elegant- while the surrounding 12 districts that make up the rest of Panem are powerless and poor. Each district is forced to surrender a young man and woman for the annual Hunger Games- where 24 "tributes" fight to the death in an arena until one is left standing. This is supposed to maintain peace amongst the districts and essentially remind them who is in charge. Oh, and the best part of all this- its televised for everyone to watch! 

     The story centers around the brave Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) who represents the female from the poor, coal mining district of 12. Her and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) are chosen at the annual "reaping" and are immediately snatched from their families and on a train headed to train at the capitol. Katniss and Peeta are joined by the representative for their district from the Capitol, the peacocky Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) and their mentor- a former winner of the Hunger Games from their district, Haymitch (Woody Harrelson). Prior to the broadcast of the games is a lot of build-up to the showdown. The tributes all get interviewed on a talk-show hosted by the eccentric Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) and also get to train in front of the game-makers where they are given a score based on how well they did. Once the games begin, its a vicious fight to the death (but not too vicious because of the PG-13 rating). Katniss and Peeta are left to fight for their lives against all odds in the arena, and the results are action packed and intense. 

       This movie brings some very interesting characters, but Jennifer Lawrence leads the pack with her heroic female lead. Katniss is a very independent young woman who is forced to provide for her family via hunting. Lawrence sheds her natural blonde hair for this film and packs on the intensity for this role. Hutcherson and Hemsworth kind of fall into Lawrence's shadow and mostly serve as pretty faces. Peeta has a rather puppy dog tendency to him which only further heightens Katniss's bravery and strength. Aside from those three, the supporting cast is a slue of recognizable names who play interesting Capitol inhabitants. Wes Bentley plays the head game-maker and supports the most intricately designed beard I've ever seen. Donald Sutherland plays the menacing, President Snow who looks like he could kill you with one glance. 

  For those who weren't already fans from the novel, I can see how the movie might be a bit slow going at first. The actual "games" themselves don't begin until about an hour into the film. There is a lot of crucial information and character development in the first half of the film, however. The build-up the games is definitely worth the watch to get to the suspense of the arena. 

I give The Hunger Games an... 

8/10

     

Passengers (2016)

Directed by Morten Tyldum 

Written by Jon Spaihts 

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Laurence Fishburne and Michael Sheen

*contains spoilers*

     I went into this film feeling extremely bias considering the leads are Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt, who are two of my favorite actors. To say my heightened expectations of the film were met would be an exaggeration but I also wouldn't say I was underwhelmed whatsoever. This science fiction/romance film, brought to life by director Morten Tyldum director of oscar nominated Imitation Game (2014), has an intriguing storyline and unconventional love story that keeps you engaged. 

     The film is set during what I assume is the near future based on the extremely advanced technology however no the year is never said. What we do know is the Homestead II spaceship is in the midst of its 120 year long journey to the distant space colony. On board the ship is nearly 5000 passengers and 200 crew members whom are all in a cryogenic hibernation for the century long expedition. The ship encounters unforeseen errors as an asteroid strikes it, causing one of the sleep chambers to malfunction thus waking up inhabitant Jim Preston (Chris Pratt), nearly 90 years early. Mechanic Jim, spends a year on the ship alone, trying to find any way out of his troubling situation. His tireless efforts of finding a way to get back to sleep become cloaked with debilitating loneliness. He will die of old age before the ship reaches its destination or someone else awakens. Jim's only solace to his loneliness is waking someone up. 

     Initially repulsed by the thought of forcing someone else to wake up, Jim gives into temptation as he discovers fellow passenger, writer Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence). After waking up, Aurora goes through the same initial shock as Jim did a year prior. Once this shock is over and she begins to accept her fate, thus commences the love story between Jim and Aurora. 

     Jon Spaihts writes a script that doesn't force us to agree with Jim's actions but to understand why he did it and causing us to sympathize with him. Jim is simply acting out of desperation and fear of living out his 50-60 remaining years alone aside from a somewhat human robot, Arthur (Martin Sheen). His actions make us ask ourselves if we would do the same or not. 

     As Jim and Aurora's love story is at its peak only about halfway through the movie, its pretty easy to predict that she will find out that her "accidental" awakening was no accident at all. Once she does, the results are devastating as you would expect. I really enjoyed the storyline of the is film up to the downfall of the climax of Aurora finding out Jim's secret. The remainder of the movie plays out sort of predictably as the ship is failing even more and the estranged lovers must team up with ship captain (Laurence Fishburne) to save themselves and the still sleeping 2000 plus passengers. 

     The chemistry between Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt was very enjoyable to watch. Considering they are two of my favorite actors, this pairing was anticipated and magical for me. Lawrence does a superb job at portraying this character that goes from optimistic over her new adventure to devastated over waking up early to falling in love with a total stranger than being betrayed by what he did. Bravo Jen. It has been fun to watch Pratt's transition from chubby Andy Dwyer on sitcom, Parks and Recreation  to action movie star. 

     Passengers has a great storyline aside from the sometimes predictability. Problems aside, the film has a great pair of actors in the lead roles with great charisma. Another movie involving space that is definitely worth watching. 

I give Passengers a... 

7/10