BuzzSugar

The Lucky Ones: Surprisingly Funny and Cute

BuzzSugar — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:00:38 -0700

It's hard to say bad things about a movie this well-intentioned and sweet. It's a story about Iraq War soldiers that is heartwarming and funny, which is something we haven't seen much in films about the current war. I have no idea why the trailer for The Lucky Ones includes Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You," a song practically engineered to force people to cry, because this movie isn't really sad. I brought tissues and I didn't even use them.

Rachel McAdams is the biggest reason to see this, as her character is so incredibly endearing and McAdams portrays her perfectly. She plays Colee, a young soldier on a 30-day leave from Iraq after a gunshot wound to the leg. Colee is an (extremely) open book, blunt to a fault and full of wide-eyed, childlike naiveté. Tim Robbins is career soldier Cheever who is leaving the Army for good after suffering a back injury. Michael Pena plays TK, a bit of an insufferable know-it-all whose "private parts" are not quite back to normal after being wounded. The three are stranded in New York when they land and discover that all flights have been canceled. There is one rental car available to them at the airport, and thus the three embark on a road trip together. Nothing - seriously, nothing - goes as planned, however, and challenges pop up for these characters faster than a whack-a-mole game. This bombardment of predicaments is both funny and problematic, though, so to find out more, read more.

Each character's storyline includes some kind of obstacle (or obstacles), and over the course of their shared trip a staggering number of new obstacles present themselves. This demands some powerful suspension of disbelief, and at times the plot is like a brainstorming game between friends on their own road trip ("And then all the flights out of New York will be canceled, and then two of them will fight and the old guy's wife wants a divorce but his son needs college money like, right now, so the three head to Vegas, but along the way they stop off at a bar so the girl can get into a fight, and then there's a car crash and - ooh! I know! - a tornado!" and on and on).

Some of these things are totally preposterous (do college loans not exist in this world?), but it's not necessarily a random, rambling course of events. Much of what happens feeds our understanding of each character and many of their conversations are recalled in some way later in the story. Like the words "luck" and "lucky," which they repeat about 20 times in the movie. The occasional triteness aside, it's a rewarding experience to watch this movie, as you can consistently identify references to previous things. All in all, it's a flawed script that's saved by some great performances and a sweet dynamic between these unlikely friends.

Photos courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Iraq War Drama Gets Denzel Washington

BuzzSugar — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:46:21 -0700

I cannot hide my adoration for Denzel Washington, who is one of my Hollywood heroes. Now, he might play a real-life hero in the Iraq war drama he's producing, the description for which already makes me feel weepy. According to Reuters:

The project, "Journal for Jordan," is based on a New York Times essay by Dana Canedy, who described a 200-page journal written by her fiance, 1st Sgt. Charles Monroe King, for their son.

The 48-year-old soldier was killed in Baghdad in October, one month shy of finishing his tour of duty. He had left for the Middle East before his son was born.

The journal aimed to impart words of wisdom to the son on how to live a proper life and to prepare him for a life without his father.

Crying yet? Well, I am.

Is it too soon to start working on big Hollywood productions about the Iraq war? Perhaps not, considering that a number of thought-provoking movies came out on the heels of World War II. The Best Years of Our Lives, for instance, was highly critical of the war despite being released just one year after the end of combat. It will be interesting to see if and how Journal for Jordan can prompt a dialog.

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The Men Who Stare at Goats: Glaringly Unfocused

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:30:00 -0800

I went into The Men Who Stare at Goats with high expectations. How could a film possibly disappoint when you have the acting trifecta of George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, and Jeff Bridges? But unfortunately, while the pros work hard to generate laughs - and they do deliver at times - the film on the whole is all over the place.

Goats is based on the non-fiction book by Jon Ronson. That's right - non-fiction. The film opens with the line, "More of this is true than you would believe," which is a nice reminder, because the plot is intentionally convoluted. At first, this far-fetched quality makes the story feel fun and quirky, but as time goes on, it gets mucked up in its own self-aware confusion and starts to feel stale. To see what I mean, read more.

McGregor stars as the movie's hero, Bob Wilton, a small-town journalist whose wife has just left him for his editor. So Bob decides to do what most men do when they're heartbroken - he goes to war. Or at least he tries to, but he only gets as far as a hotel pool bar in Kuwait. That's where he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a former "Jedi warrior" with the U.S. Army - or simply put: soldiers with superpowers. (Yes, note the coincidence: McGregor and Jedis.)

Lyn begins to tell Bob about the former founder of his unit, Bill Djanjo (Jeff Bridges), a vet who goes to find himself after Vietnam in the drug and orgy, peace and love '70s. Armed with a new, zen persona, Bill returns to the Army to share his more peaceful point of view and take charge of a new special force that uses mind control over traditional weapons. That's when Lyn comes in. As a new recruit, Lyn is exceptionally psychic, and he quickly gets a reputation for being able to find anyone, including terrorists, strictly using his mind.

So Bob and Lyn begin on a journey into Iraq. Where they're headed, Lyn's not exactly sure. He just assumes he'll find it, thanks to his extra sixth sense. As for the audience, we're sort of in the same boat - along for the ride without any real direction.

The movie tries to comment on the inhumanity (and stupidity) of war, but has a difficult time making its point alongside the slapstick elements. The actors are great with comedic timing and deliver one-liners to entertain the audience in many moments, but that was ultimately the only aspect that held my interest. (That and Jeff Bridges's sweet hippie braided hair.) What had the potential to be a funny, original story or a satire instead starts to feel boring. The characters wander aimlessly, the flashbacks float in and out, and without a clear focus, you stop caring. And that's not an easy feat where Clooney's usually concerned.