Walking in to the movies this weekend, I had two thoughts:

1. Is The Lincoln Lawyer going to be just like Primal Fear (1996, starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton – great movie, rent it!)
2. Can I envision Matthew McConaughey in a serious movie, where he wears a full shirt?

Fortunately these were answered by the end of the movie. Let’s take a closer look.

Movie: The Lincoln Lawyer

Rating: R

Release date: March 18, 2011

Everyday Adventures’ grade: B

Summary: Mick Heller (Matthew McConaughey) is a “street lawyer” (I don’t know what actually falls under the description) who works from the backseat of his Lincoln, trolling around town helping the morally questionable. Bad a**. He’s a hot shot until he takes Louis Roulet’s case (a sexy Ryan Phillippe) and things aren’t quite what they seem. I always knew Ryan Phillippe’s baby face would be trouble.

My thoughts: The main thing I learned from this movie: I need friends that are in a biker gang (more on that later.)

The Lincoln Lawyer is a really good trailer that becomes a pretty good movie. I compared this a lot to Primal Fear because it had the same setup: hot shot lawyer who is given a reality check by some angelic face kid through several twists and turns. But that’s pretty much where it ends. Primal Fear was a true shocker that kept peeling away layers of the story like an onion. The Lincoln Lawyer tries to do that but stumbles along due to a large, mostly A/B-List supporting cast who has to be stuffed in the movie for face time.

Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe and William H. Macy are great but we don’t seen enough of them because we have to make room for Michael Pena, John Leguizamo, Frances Fisher and Josh Lucas (still hot.) Honestly, we don’t get to see enough of any of these people, the only reason we do is because of Matthew McConaughey, who weaves them all together. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but McConaughey isn’t awful in this movie. It’s nice to see him refer back to his “A Time To Kill” role years ago, when he was a breakout star and wasn’t buried in bad rom-com movies (cough, Fools Gold, cough.) There are times when he refers back to chiches but it’s not awful. And Phillippe continues to do strong work in a supporting role. He does really well in an ensemble cast and can pull off a really evil, scary look very well. Gives me the creeps (which it should!)

There are a lot of plot twists and turns in this story, and sadly, I think there about 1-3 too many. There were several times I thought the movie was over, only to find out it wasn’t, and then the scenario was repeated. I’m more of a quality over quantity person but that’s just me. I also didn’t find the “resolution” very satisfying but I guess it made sense, biker group inclusion and all.

Verdict: Pretty good, daytime showing or Netflix/Redbox recommended.

Have you seen the movie? If so, what did you think?

Whoops, forgot to post this last week. While the weather was sucky in Chicago, I decided to hit the theaters and see the other movie I’ve had my eye on lately, Cedar Rapids. Since Ed Helms isn’t hilarious on The Office, mostly because the show isn’t, I was curious to see if he could be moving in to a Steve Carrell-like movie career.

Movie: Cedar Rapids

Rating: R

Release date: February 11, 2011

Everyday Adventures’ grade: C+

Summary: Tim Lippe (Ed Helms) proudly lives in Brown Valley, WI (woo Wisconsin!) selling insurance. But Tim’s not really a go-getter. In fact, sheltered and socially awkward would best describe him. But now, he’s off to an insurance salesmen conference in the bustling mecca of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where shenanigans ensue.

My thoughts: It wasn’t bad, but I  really thought this was going to be better. Being from the Midwest and having spent time in smaller town, I could find some of the nuances funny. The aw-shucks Tim character, naive and sheltered by living in a small town his entire life. In fact, he still lives in his childhood home and likely bed. It’s somewhat endearing to see that but also, it’s indirectly making fun of him for laughs. That, I didn’t enjoy.

The real action starts when Tim arrives in Cedar Rapids and befriends other restrained yet wild insurance agents (John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and Isiah Whitlock Jr) who help bring Tim out of his shell and support him as he learns the real consequences of his actions. Of this group, John C. Reilly is the real stand-out. His character is outlandish but he plays it really well, even if it gets a little annoying after a while. Ed Helms plays a more reserved version of his Hangover character, Stu, but it works on him.

I always love seeing Arrested Development cast in movies too and Alia Shawkat (Maebe) makes an appearance, which leads the story on a completely awry turn. Really, her character wasn’t necessary, but at that point, it brought the story back around.

I think Ed Helms will continue to have a strong movie career during and after The Office and hopefully as he grows, he will show a little more range. But the man can still deliver.

Verdict: Netflix it. No need to run and see it in theaters.

What were your thoughts?

Oh yikes, it’s been a while again since I posted a review. I’ve been a very bad movie-goer lately, but I’m hoping to get back on track! And to get me back on track, I saw a “no thinker” movie, No Strings Attached. I was hesitant about this because it looked formulaic but after some positive reviews from friends, I decided to give it a try with TC.

Movie: No Strings Attached

Rating: R

Release date: January 21, 2011

Everyday Adventures’ grade: B+

Summary: Pretty boy Adam (Ashton Kutcher) and good girl Emma (Natalie Portman) meet and remeet over several years until on the final meeting, they decide to get in to a “sex friends” relationship. Healthy? Maybe. Fun? You bet! But they will only be sex buddies until one person falls for another. Inevitable? Maybe.

My thoughts: I really thought I would hate this movie, but I didn’t. Trust me, I was just as surprised as you may be. I think I thought that I would hate it because a) Ashton plays nothing but the same character, “aw shucks” baby-faced guy who is like a lost puppy in love and 2) because the last time I saw Natalie Portman, she was in several compromising positions in Black Swan. But, what I did like is that the movie’s contemporary and puts Ashton is the “girl” mindframe with relationships while Natalie is the one running from commitment.

And it works because of Ashton and Natalie. Natalie isn’t the type to be the swoony, “love me” kind of girl and Ashton isn’t the man whore kind of guy. He tried that in the direct-to-DVD movie Spread and it didn’t work. But their chemistry does and the banter between them does too.

There are a lot of funny parts of this movie that are crude without being gross-out humor. And a strong supporting cast (Ludacris, Jake Johnson, Greta Gerwig and Mindy Kaling) are great too. They add to the story without trying to take it over. And the twists that Adam and Emma encounter are a little expected but not hokey.

Kevin Kline and Cary Elwes make nice small role/cameo appearances but Elwes barely spoke so maybe in a director’s cut, we’ll see more. To be honest, he character was wasted on screen.

I’ll be curious to see how this compares to the upcoming Friends With Benefits movie with Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake, which has a similar premise. Apparently sex buddies are a new spring trend?

Verdict: See it or Netflix it. There are some funny parts here that younger people will get. The older crowd in our showing didn’t find parts as funny as TC and me.

I’m always intrigued when critics say some movies are a “raw and realistic” portrayal of relationships and love because, well I think few movies actually do it. For me, the best most realistic relationships on film occur when characters are fighting because you see in the heat of that moment what they say. For example, the movie “The Break Up” wasn’t amazing, but the fights between Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn were really tough to sit through because they WERE real, I found myself reliving saying similar words in a previous time. And Blue Valentine has had huge buzz about the “love story” between Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. So, with some Pretzel M&Ms, the Bear Pack and I went to see it.

Movie: Blue Valentine

Rating: R

Release date: December 29, 2010

Everyday Adventures’ grade: B

Summary: Cindy and Dean (Michelle Williams, Ryan “Hey Girl” Gosling) are in a marriage rut. But this time, the marriage’s survival is looking bleak. So while we get to watch their marriage fall apart, we also get to bounce back and see how they met and fell in love.

My thoughts: This was definitely a realistic portrayal of a couple in love and then, sadly out of love. And the out-of-love scenes are pretty raw and real. And there were MULTIPLE scenes (none sexual in nature) that were tough to watch. The movie also received a lot of buzz because the MPAA board originally gave this an NC-17 rating. Let me tell you, that is BS. Yes, there are graphic sex scenes but nothing lewd or tawdry in nature. In fact, the scene the news kept referring to was pretty tame in my mind. I could think of several other movies that went over the line more than this. Snap.

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams were both amazing. Totally immersed and fearless in their characters and portrayals of Cindy and Dean as idealistic 20sbs and embittered 30sbs. Of the two, Ryan Gosling was the most captivating to watch. The guy is a) hot (especially in a black leather jacket) and b) a mere image of a hot younger self as Dean. This is a guy who goes from good looking to, well not-so-good looking and he is still just as entertaining to watch. Williams also continues to master the silent suffering, tortured female characters and she’s great at it. You connect with her and the pain her character is in.

In the backstory, there are a few twists I didn’t see coming so if you feel like you’re siding with one character in the beginning, when Dean and Cindy’s marriage is falling apart, you may switch teams. But my only gripe about this is that we don’t see how the marriage slowly fell apart over time and the fate of a few small characters is left unanswered too.

The most emotional scene for me to watch was at their wedding. It broke my heart because at this point, we’ve seen their marriage completely fall apart and then see them so happy and in love with one another that is sad because you know where they’ll end up. But how real their love was in that scene was amazing.

On the movie poster, it says that this is a “love story.” And after seeing it, I really thought about if that was true. To me, love stories are the rom com movies or classics of undying love that ends in happily ever after. But after seeing this and 500 Days of Summer, I’m beginning to see that a love story doesn’t always end happily. Sometimes, it just ends and the characters don’t forget about that love, but know it makes them worse together than better. That’s the situation here.

Both Gosling and Williams deserve their Golden Globe nominations and I hope they get Oscar nods too. This is a seriously intense movie, so don’t go thinking it will end happily or be a spirit booster, but it is still good.

Verdict: See it but go to a day matinee in case you don’t like it, or stay with Netflix.

Has anyone else seen this? What did you think?