Culture
THE STINGER | February 2014
15
movie reviews That awkward moment
her
By Olivia Riccio
The fashion choices of the near future were also interesting to see, including high waisted pants for men that look like something from the 50’s. Even his career doesn’t require any handwriting, despite the name of the company Beautiful Handwritten Letters Inc. All he has to do is speak to the computer and a handwritten letter is produced and printed in a matter of seconds. The futuristic aspect was definitely interesting to see, but the plot itself wasn’t as entertaining as I expected. It is also rated R for a reason: the language was mature due to sexual themes and cursing. If that kind of language and theme makes you as uncomfortable as I was, Her is definitely not a movie you would enjoy. The acting was decent, some familiar actors I knew were Scarlett Johansson who plays the voice of Samantha, Amy Adams who plays Twombly’s good friend, and Olivia Wilde who plays a woman he goes on a date with in the beginning of the movie. The theme of this movie isn’t completely unrealistic; computers and technology grow more advanced each day. Also, people often have trouble being in real relationships and could potentially turn to the companionship of computers. Her has received mixed criticism, and made $19.2 million in the box office. Her was nominated at the Golden Globes for best motion picture, comedy or musical, Joaquin Phoenix for best actor, and Spike Jonze won in the category of best screenplay. Jonze is also nominated in three Oscar categories, best picture, best screen-
ride along
play, and original song, for original score and production design. The popular Rotten Tomatoes reviewers website rated Her a 94 percent out of 170 reviews, which resulted in an 8.6 out of 10. I do not agree with these reviews, because I did not leave the theater entertained.
By Ashley Rivera
As for Ride Along, the action-packed comedy had the theater booming with laughter. People were literally laughing out loud. It’s hard now a days for comedies to be original, but Ride Along was able to do that. Cube’s tough-guy persona mixed with Hart’s video gamer nerdiness gave the movie a perfect balance. The gist of the movie is a high school security officer, Ben, tries to convince his girlfriend’s brother, an APD detective named James, that he is worthy of his sister’s hand in marriage. In order to convince James he is worthy, James takes Ben on a “ride along” for the day. Ben’s girlfriend, Angela, is played by Tika Sumpter. Ride Along received an “A” grade on Cinemascore. Critics thought otherwise of the movie giving it mostly negative reviews. It currently holds 17 percent on Rotten Tomatoes based on 88 reviews. The two actors worked together very well both on and off screen. Before their blockbuster premiered, Cube and Hart went on a five-day, five-city promotional tour. They put their “feet to the streets” as Hart said, in Dallas, Atlanta, Philly, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Hart rode bulls in Dallas, served cheesesteak in Philly, and talked with fans in ATL. Hart posted all off his ventures with Cube on his Instagram account.
Photo By imdb.com
Philadelphia native comedian Kevin Hart and rap legend Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson) come together for one of the most epic comedies this year, Ride Along. Premiering Jan. 17th, Ride Along dominates the box office for January, grossing $41.2 million its opening weekend. Ice Cube, a 44-year-old ex-member of NWA, is one of the founders of “gangsta rap.” He doesn’t have the background of a “typical rapper”. As a child he never got into much trouble and didn’t experiment with drugs. Ice Cube got into rapping after his sister was murdered, and his career blossomed after he met hip-hop producer Dr. Dre. Ice Cube started his acting career in 1991, starring in the film Boyz n’ the Hood, which was based off his very own song. Along with rapping and acting, Cube is also a record producer, screenwriter, film producer, and director. Ice Cube is the perfect choice for Ride Along. Kevin Hart, 34, started his career as a stand-up comedian and was booed off stage various times. He didn’t let the critical crowds discourage him, he went on to star in various films as a feature role. Hart finally got his big break in 2012 with a starring role in Think Like A Man, winning the best actor BET award. Hart definitly doesn’t have the background that Cube does, but he is just as popular. Like Hart says, what he lacks in stature (standing at only 5’4”) he makes up for with his comedic talent.
Supposedly a comedy, That Awkward Moment’s humor revolved around inappropriate sexual references and unneeded cursing. Unless you’re a twenty-something-yearold boy, this movie probably won’t be your cup of tea.
Photo By imdb.com
If you’re intrigued by the concept of the movie Her, rethink it before you commit to sitting through two hours of bizarre entertainment. The movie is set in the near future in Los Angeles, and it focuses on the life of Theodore Twombly, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Twombly makes a living by writing heartfelt letters to strangers with information he receives about them. Depressed due to splitting up with his wife, Twombly decides to try out a new advanced operating system, OS, that is individual to each owner and is supposed to develop human qualities. Over time, he forms a friendship with his female OS, named Samantha, a witty, loving OS. Later, this friendship blossoms into a relationship. But with a computer-human relationship, consequences and challenges arise and this movie highlights both their struggles and their best times together. This movie may have appealed to some because of its highly praised futuristic theme, but also for the direction, music, screenplay, production design, and score behind it. Many applaud Joaquin Phoenix for his portrayal of Twombly and Scarlett Johansson for her performance as Samantha the OS. Spike Jonze skillfully produced the “near future” time period by including a lot of hands-free technology mixed with old fashioned style. Twombly is shown playing a video game without a television or console, and can read emails without the use of phone or physical device. The characters use a simple earbud that follows commands and a small flip phone-like device for viewing pictures.
After saving her from an arrogant rich man, the two hit it off. Jason splits after they hook up when he jumps to the conclusion that Ellie was actually a prostitute. The next day Jason coincidentally runs into Ellie at a meeting at work, and the two miraculously work things out. The two begin to spend a significant amount of time together after this chance encounter. Once his friends start to notice the forming relationship, he begins to receive some criticism, since they are all supposed to remain single. Too bad Jason wasn’t the only one keeping a secret relationship. Surprise, surprise. Mikey, only half listening to his friends’ advice, continues trying to reconcile with his wife. He sneaks around with his wife/soon-to-be-ex behind his friends’ backs. Is it a new beginning? Or just having some fun? Daniel also doesn’t get very far into the hookups and the unlimited amount of girls when he too starts to develop feelings. Chelsea, the friend that normally helps him get the girl, has now become the focus of his attention. Each guy holds a secret relationship. Each one lies to the other about where they’re spending each night. Each secret blows up in their faces in the end. The main purpose of the movie was to show that men have feelings too, and that they are also affected by relationships; they’re not just sex-crazed, hormonal human beings. The film was basically about spending time with the guys and having fun, and those boys certainly had more than enough fun.
Photo By comingsoon.net
That Awkward Moment? Yeah, it’s pretty awkward when the best part of the movie was when it was over. It received a lot of hype, but it just didn’t meet expectations. In the first ten days, the movie grossed $16.85 million; however, it dropped 37 percent in its second weekend. Despite the appearance of Zac Efron’s familiar face, nothing else stood out. Once you get past the excessive cursing, you reveal an easily predicted plot. The R-rated film, which is written and directed by Tom Gormican follows three best friends who are all in their late twenties: Jason (Zac Efron), Daniel (Miles Teller), and Mikey (Michael B. Jordan). After a sudden notice from his wife that she wants a divorce, Mikey falls into a slump with females. His friends decide that they are going to embrace the single life as a sort of support system for Mikey. It’s the usual love story, except, instead of hearing the lovey-dovey talk that comes with the infatuation, you follow “the guys’ side of things”. The main focus is how to define the relationship after the girl mutters the dreadful word: “So…” The trio needs to figure out if it’s just a fling or if it’s the real deal. The group of young men hit up the bar scene, meeting attractive women, and eventually hooking up with them. Along the way, each guy insists that they won’t be settling down with anyone specific any time soon. Things change when one of the trio, Jason, spots a good-looking blonde sitting at the other side of the bar.
By Katie Mest
Ride Along is the kind of movie that makes it okay to spend almost $11 per ticket and is a going to be a must buy DVD.