Weekend Movie Review

Somehow, this weekend got away from me again. I did manage to schedule some things around movies, but overall I was just bone tired by the end of the day.

About My Father – I went in with really mediocre expectations on this one. I think Sebastian Maniscalco is a comedian through and through, thus, he is not the most smooth actor. Also, as talented as Robert De Niro is, his comedies as of late have not been good. That being said, I love a cheap laugh from time to time and it’s been far too long. It helps that the rest of the supporting cast, none even close to being the A-lister that De Niro is, was delightfully goofy to watch. I can’t tell you how amped I was to see so much Ders on my screen (if you know, you know). Anyways, Maniscalco plays a version of himself ready to finally put a ring on his longtime love, but first he has to impress both his future in-laws and his father to get his grandmother’s ring. Lots of silly gags, but like I said, a cheap laugh is good for the soul sometimes.

You Hurt My Feelings – I know I was pretty bummed that this film was an in-person only offering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, but luckily I didn’t have to wait long for it to make its way to theaters. It’s a short and simple drama. Beth, a writer, is torn up when she accidentally overhears what her husband really thinks of her new, unpublished novel. It’s a tale that I imagine most long-term relationships can relate to. Was her husband Don really in the wrong for lying about it? He thinks it’s unconditional support, and he’s not a writer so what does he know. She thinks she can’t trust him. There’s a very blatant, hypocritical scenario involving her son, and I think at times Beth can be act as though she’s got blinders on, but for the most part, this was a nice drama to watch unfold with a very small but talented cast. I have to say I loved David Cross and Amber Tamblyn playing a seriously toxic couple (because they’re a couple in real life!).

Blackberry – I cannot begin to tell you how desperately I was trying to watch this movie in the theaters a few weeks ago. Time and limited screenings near me meant that it never happened, but I was tickled to find one of the best reviewed films of the year was already available to stream this past weekend. Although I never had one myself, I would have had to have been deaf and blind to have never come across a Blackberry growing up. By the time I even considered getting a cell phone though the company had been essentially been wiped off the map by the iPhone. The device’s meteoric rise however, was a very interesting, and sometimes hostile one, and its decent into obscurity was almost more crazy. What was so cool to me was finally seeing Glenn Howerton shine in something other than the fabulous It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and it was also cool to see Jay Baruchel excel in something a bit more serious. A crazy ride just like the recently viewed Tetris.