Hot Rod

Hot Rod (2007)

What seems more like an extended Saturday Night Live skit than a movie, Hot Rod is a hilarious yet under-appreciated adventure. The film stars SNL's Andy Samburg as Rod Kimble, an aspiring amateur stuntman who needs to raise $50,000 to save his father's life so that he can, ironically "beat him to death" once he is better. While Samburg does definitely shine in this movie, it is the inclusion of the ensemble cast that really make this film into something special. Comedic actors Bill Hader, Danny McBride, and Jorma Taccone join Samburg as his trusty group of friends who are able to bounce jokes off of each other and each actor's performance is only made stronger within the group.

Written by Samberg, Taccone, and director Akiva Schaffer, Hot Rod is comedy gold. Although the humor in the film may not be everybody's cup of tea, it will leave the audience members who it is intended for (fans of the writing trio's side project Lonely Island) in stitches. And while physical humor and gag jokes are funny, the film is also very cleverly written. Most notable in the extended cut of the film, which I find to be the best version, is the writers' use self-awareness. Cut from the original are scenes where Samburg looks directly into the camera and addresses the audience and scenes where things happen that are so ridiculous it could not be done in the real world and only in the realm of a movie.

The film's soundtrack is exclusively made up of songs by the band Europe. Not only do these, at times over-the-top, songs just make the movie funnier but also ties in with the overall 80's homage the film is trying to acquire. Director Schaffer is childhood friends with stars and fellow writers Samburg and Taccone. One thing that makes this movie work so well is that Schaffer made the film knowing what his friends' strengths in acting, line delivery, and sense of humor were. Hot Rod isn't for everyone; but for fans of the creators' previous works, this movie is a must see.

The Place Beyond the Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)

The Place Beyond the Pines was what I thought looked like Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive only with a motorcycle, but I was pleasantly surprised when the story unfolded into a three part modern father-son tale. The film stars Ryan Gosling as Luke Glanton, a motorcycle stunt rider who learns that he has a new born son and Bradley Cooper as Avery Cross, a police officer who takes Gosling’s place as protagonist in the film’s second part.

The film’s strongest part is its characters. While the relationship between Cross and Glanton is short lived and underdeveloped, the relations with each men with their sons and later the two sons is hugely parallel. The three segments (Glanton’s story, Cross’ story, and their sons’ story) are all entertaining, but felt like there was too much crammed into each segment despite the 140 minute running time. I would have wanted the each person’s tale to be more fleshed out even if that meant bordering three hours. The cinematography in the film was beautifully shot, with director Derek Cianfrance choosing a lot of nature shots and using the landscape to his advantage.

Cianfrance, who had earlier directed Gosling in 2010’s Blue Valentine, chose to use a lot of symbolism and parallelism in Pines. Three separate occasions in the film showed Cooper’s character climbing a flight of stairs to only to discover something that will change the course of the movie. Overall, The Place Beyond the Pines was an example of the struggles of young manhood and what I would easily consider one of this year's best pictures.

(500) Days of Summer

(500) Days of Summer (2009)

From the beginning of the film, the audience is warned that although this appears to be a simple romantic comedy, it is not. “This is not a love story; this is a story about love”. (500) Days of Summer stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom, a young man who is miserable after being dumped by Summer, played by Zooey Deschanel. The story of their failed relationship follows a nonlinear storyline as the details leading up to their breakup and the events that happen afterward are revealed.

In most generic rom-coms, it is the girl’s story and from the female point of view. (500) is interesting in the fact that it is without a doubt the story of Tom, who has settled into the cliché of being enamored and gaga in love that is normally portrayed by the female. Following Tom’s perspective is a breath of fresh air, but Summer is equally as interesting. The role usually portrayed by the male actor, when played by Deschanel, creates a character known as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. The MPDG interacts with the brooding young male (Gordon-Levitt) and arguably only exists to teach the protagonist a life lesson.

As noted earlier, the film follows a nonlinear storyline, which cuts between different events within the 500 days of Tom and Summer’s relationship. This was a nice choice by director Marc Webb, for the film would not be nearly as enjoyable or enticing had it been told in a standard fashion. The best part of the film was the borderline self-awareness. The narrator talks to the audience revealing that, at the very least, he knows this is a movie. The dancing/singing scene is somewhat out of place in a film that, before this scene, was set in a very stark reality. But the inclusion of strangers dancing and singing along with Gordon-Levitt, him singing along with the non-digetic music, and his interaction with cartoon birds hints that to some degree this film is self-aware and that anything can happen.

In his directorial debut, Webb was able to perfectly capture a realistic and modern relationship in a manner that was both captivating and heartbreaking. From the photo-montage to the split screen of expectations versus reality; from the homage to French films to the pop-culture references about The Graduate, Webb has created a distinctly memorable film and an example of what independent filmmakers should strive towards.

Jaws

Jaws (1975)

Jaws is the film that changed it all. It created what we consider the modern blockbuster and launched the career of one of the most influential directors of the 20^th century, Steven Spielberg. The film stars Roy Scheider as Chief Marin Brody who, with the help of Captain Quint played by Robert Shaw and Richard Deyfuss as marine biologist Matt Hopper, must track down and kill the giant great white shark that is terrorizing the small beach town of Amity Island.

The most notable element of Jaws is the infamous score done by John Williams. It is so simple, yet derives such an emotional response from the audience. The slow buildup of speed puts the viewer on the edge of their seats, which goes perfectly in conjunction with the suspense of what is happening on screen to create all-inclusive, overwhelming and legitimately terrifying scenes.

The film’s strongest factor is the three men: Brody, Quint, and Hopper. The argumentative relationship between Quint and Hopper is a pleasure to watch play out on screen and their contrasting personalities finally comes to accordance after a great scene where the two men show off their different battle scars. It is in this scene too that arguably the most famous part of Jaws, besides the score, takes place. Captain Quint’s monologue about the shark attack at the USS Indianapolis is so well performed and so well written and becomes a very pivotal part of the film for heightening the audience’s fears of the shark higher than they were before.

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is a landmark film that contains some of the most memorable and terrifying moments in modern cinema. Being one of his first feature films, it wasn't hard to see how gifted Spielberg was and easy to predict how successful this 29 year old director would become. The influence Jaws has had on the blockbuster genre has forever changed the way people view movies and will continue to inspire filmmakers for years to come.