Pitch Perfect

Elisa’s Pitch Perfect Review

The girl-powered Glee-fueled ensemble cast of Pitch Perfect seemed like the ultimate payback after a summer of superheroes and action flicks.  I was skeptical the “funnier than Bridesmaids” hype would fall flat and that once again, the best lines were in the previews.  However, I had no idea how funny  watching  a seemingly hot blonde projectile-vomiting could be until Pitch Perfect.

 Anna Kendrick (known to many in her role as Jessica in the Twilight franchise, and to those of us who are not vampire believers, as "that girl"in the George Clooney film Up in the Air) stars as brooding and unhappy college student Beca at the fictional Barden University.  Forced to attend college for free (her father is a professor at Barden) instead of following her dream to be a Club DJ in Los Angeles.  Beca is less-than-happy to be a college student instead of spinning with Samantha Ronson.  Her father bargains with her to stay in college, join some clubs and make an effort.  If Beca still hates school, he will finance the move to LA.

 In a “Porkies”-esque dorm shower scene, Beca "runs into" Chloe, co-captain of The Bellas, an all-ladies a capella group at Barden. Chloe is convinced Beca's shower singing is talent enough to help the faltering Bellas. Thinking this will appease her father and get her a ticket to LA, Beca accepts the invitation.

 Turns out, Beca enjoys singing and using her DJ mash-up skills to transform The Bellas'  uptight “Ace of Base” style into a happy Breakfast Club sing-a-long. For The Breakfast Club purists, there is quit a bit of the Saturday School favorite referenced in the movie, not in a complete rip-off of the classic in the style of the films Easy A, or Perfect Score, but more of a tribute to the overly-praised John Hughes film.      Side Note—Was I the last person on Earth to know the “Breakfast Club” de facto theme song, “Don’t you (Forget About Me)” was originally offered to Billy Idol? Actually, it was first offered to The Fixx, then Bryan Ferry, and then Billy Idol. All declined, and the song was a huge hit for the Scottish punks Simple Minds.

 While there are many obvious comparisons to “Glee” this is not a college cast rip-off of the Fox show. Thankfully, the singing was kept to scenes for a cappella rehearsal, except for one tragic bus scene, and not to move the plot along. Rebel Wilson, known as the lazy wonky British roommate in Bridesmaids ups the raunchy factor as “Fat Amy”and saves the movie from being another Hollywood formula. She kept the husband laughing, and he seemed pretty interested in the shower scene. There was no eye-rolling, or loud sighs. Ladies, this is a movie your husband will like, and you can leverage

 for your next movie choice--i.e. "Honey, you liked Pitch Perfect, remember? You will love Les Miserables."

Ben's Review of Pitch Perfect

So after a summer of forcing my wife to sit through flicks about superheroes, aliens, coke sniffing teddy bears, and scary fairy tales, I was informed it was pay back time in the form of Pitch Perfect.  Pitch Perfect, looking to capitalize on the success of shows like “Glee” and the NBC powerhouse “Smash” presents the trials and tribulations of Glee competitions at the college level and what is required to compete.  Having to watch this movie looked suspiciously like all kinds of come upance for forcing my wife to wait in line for tickets to the Avengers or watch 14 hours of college football last Saturday.  But would I run out screaming half way through or possibly want to go camping with one of my best friends in the mountains without our wives…. not that there is anything wrong with that! 

Back to Pitch Perfect.  The movie opens with the finals of the collegiate a cappella competition where the Barden Bellas of Barden University are set to take the stage and attempt to out sing their rival Barden University group from Barden the Treblemakers.  Just when it looked like the Barden Bellas might finally win, a very unfortunate accident occurs and the Bellas will have to wait another year to try to win the national a cappella competition.  Fast forward to the next year where the Bellas are attempting to recruit new members during freshman orientation. Recruiting however, is more difficult the in previous years because of the manner in which the Bellas lost during the a cappella competition and the way the Bella’s  previously treated several people who wanted to join their group.  This forces the Bellas to abandon trying to find pretty girls who can sing and start looking for anyone who can possibly carry a tune.  Enter Beca, played by Anna Kendrick, an aspiring DJ who has been forced by her professor father to go to Barden University instead of pursuing her dreams of being a DJ in LA because she can attend Barden for free.  Beca is a wiz at mashing up tracks but never really had an interest in singing.  However, Bella member Chloe, played by everyone’s favorite wall flower Brittany Snow, thinks that Beca has the ability to sing and bring a new look to the Bellas.  The Bellas also recruit a group of less than aesthetically perfect singers to round out the group, including Tasmanian transfer student Fat Amy, played by Bridesmaids scene stealer Rebel Wilson, to try and win the a cappella national champion.  But will this rag group be able to come together and pull off the seemingly impossible? Can the Bellas scoff in the face of tradition and bring a new feel to a cappella singing?  Can a movie about a singing competition really take an hour of fifty-two minutes to play out?  Tom Selleck is an attractive man….

Guys, has your girlfriend and/or wife left the room?  Really? Good.  This is the perfect movie to fake out your wife with to make up for any sort of hunting expo, monster truck rally, or fantasy football draft party that you forced her to go in the past year.  First, this movie is not a musical.  Let me repeat this for you, Pitch Perfect is not a musical.  Second, this movie has a very good sense of humor about itself in that all of the characters realize that a cappella competitions are not cool and are in fact pretty ridiculous.  Think of this movie as Major League meets Best in Show.  Third, this movie has actresses that are legitimately hilarious.  Most movies rely on smartass component to get their female characters over by having some woman who has runway model looks making snarky sarcastic comments instead of truly being funny.  Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, and scene stealing Hana Mae Lee as the soft spoken Lilly are self deprecating and laugh out loud funny.  Great, albeit brief appearance by Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins really move this movie along.  The idea for Pitch Perfect is not new but Pitch Perfect does a great job presenting the underdog movie in a way that has not been done before and definitely worth the $10.

I give Pitch Perfect 3.8 pitch pipes out of 5.

*Hang in there guys, new Bond, Diehard, Thor, Lone Ranger, and Captain America are all on the way.

Looper

Ben's "Looper" Review Could you kill yourself if that you you were killing was you 30 years from now if you were able to live like a king until 30 years from now? This is the simple question that the movie "Looper" asks the audiences. In "Looper" the issue of time travel and all the butterfly effect issues that can result are presented front and center. "Looper" also examines the idea of if I knew then what I know now. However, unlike previous attempts at this issue, there is no Delorian, no Terminator, and no Ashton Kutcher(for those of you who do not remember, he was overlooked for his Oscar worthy performance as a person who can travel through time by reading a sprial notebook). Instead "Looper" assembles rising star Joseph Gordon Levitt, Emily Blunt, and Bruce Willis who has previously tackled this issue in the surreal "Twelve Monkeys." Directing this feature is Rian Johnson who previously worked with Levitt in the 2005 noire cult hit "Brick", btw if you have not seen Brick take Friday night and do so because it is excellent. But does Johnson present a different idea of time travel then what has been done before? Will Bruce Willis run away from an explosion yelling? Will Emily Blunt find a way to work John Krasinski into the movie? "Looper" is set in the not too distant future during the year 2044. At this time criminal bosses have recruited a group of low level assassins known as Loopers. While time travel has not been invented yet, it will be later. In the future, criminal bosses send back victims to the past where they are killed and disposed of by the Loopers. Loopers are well compensated and treated like rock stars, even though the whole endeavor is illegal. The catch is that eventually, typically 20 to 30 years in the future, the Looper is sent back to be killed by his or herself, sealing the loop hence the name Loopers. The Loopers all know of this eventuality but most of them do not care because prior to their eventual death they receive copious amounts of drugs and money. Joseph Gordon Levitt plays one of these Loopers, Joe, who goes about his daily routine of killing for hire and all seems well. However, a disturbing pattern begins to emerge when an unusually large number of Loopers start being sent back for assassination. Paul Dano makes a short appearance as Seth, a Looper who is confronted with the having to kill himself and decides not to. This is a major no no and there are severe consequences for not completing the loop that, in some cases, are probably worse than death. Seth's future self tells him that there is person in the future known as the Rainmaker who is trying to wipe out all of the Loopers. Seth comes to Joe for help but is quickly caught and dealt with by the mob. The next assassination that Joe is required to do is himself. Joe's future self, played by Bruce Willis, is ready for this assassination and when he is sent back, stops his own execution and runs away. Future Joe is able to clean his life up and start over but not before his future wife is killed by the Rainmaker and Willis is sent back to the past for assassination. Future Joe comes back to find the Rainmaker as a child and kill him or her. The rest of "Looper" deals with the trying to unravel who is the Rainmaker and whether the future can be changed for the better. The idea of the effects of time travel and trying to change the past to prevent the future is nothing new. There are two categories of bad time travel movies: 1) Movies that are goofy and nonsensical, hence the Kutcher attempt at this; and 2) Movies with plots that are overly complicated and boring like "The Sound of Thunder" (you did not see this movie which starred Ed Burns and Ben Kingsley who must have been married several times or made some bad property investments because he also was in the "Guru"). "Looper" does not fall into these categories and presents time travel in a way that is new and interesting. The actual process of time travel and how it is done is not specifically addressed and it is not the whole focus of the movie. "Looper" presents the idea of trying to change your past and how complicated this task actually is when dealing with real people who do not know the future. "Looper" also focuses on the actual characters and how empty their lives are until they find a focus beyond the money and drugs of being a "Looper." Levitt provides a performance, along with the aid of prosthetics, that make you truly believe he is a young Bruce Willis. The idea of setting this movie in the near future aids greatly in the believability of the plot. Finally, there is enough sci-fi to keep the geek crowd happy but not too much as to put off everyone else. There are also strong and not overly done acting by all, including Jeff Daniels, Emily Blunt, and the aforementioned Paul Dano to keep the rest of the audience engaged through the movie. Overall, I give "Looper" 3.75 flex capacitators out of 5 and recommend seeing it. Something Extra: In sequel, news Bruce Willis is set to become John McClean again in "A Good Day to Die Hard" and Joseph Gordon Levitt is in talks with Warner Bros about reprising a super hero role in the next four years hmmmmmmm. Elisa's Review of "Looper" If there is a genre of movies wives and girlfriends hate more than comic book movies and westerns, it would be anything science-fiction related. I give a pass to "Star Wars" since Harrison Ford and Muppets are always fun to watch. So, it was with a loud sigh and flashbacks to the suffering I endured while reading "A Wrinkle in Time" in the Fourth grade as I walked into the theater to watch "Looper." Looper stars Joseph Gordon Levitt (young hottie) and Bruce Willis (just hot) as the same character. JGL as the younger, wild, carefree and drug-abuser character to Bruce Willis' sexy brooding future self. The idea behind the movie is not so much that they time travel, but that thugs send guys back in time for their character to "take care of." Things are going great for Joseph Gordon Levitt as he kills a bunch of thugs from the future. He parties, uses drugs and goes to the clubs. Until, his future self (Bruce Willis) arrives as the next guy that he is to take out. His present self, taking out his older, wiser, calmer, mature, future self. With a current self, and his future self, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis are living in a paradox universe. Very similar to "Back to the Future II and III" when there are multiple Marty McFly's in Pine Valley. Except, "Looper" is not as funny as a car full of manure, and is not as exciting. The plot is thin, the "twist" is pretty obvious from the get-go of the reveal, and the ending is a bummer. Ladies, if you must go, Joseph Gordon Levitt is amazing as the younger Bruce Willis. His eyebrows and smug smile are fantastic. Emily Blunt is still cute and British. My claim to fame: One of the members of the Loopers is my high school history's teacher's brother, Garret Dillahunt. And that is pretty cool.