Thirty Seconds Or Less: Cowboys & Aliens and Crazy, Stupid, Love

Well, it’s Wednesday and that means movies. Firstly, I was looking at the recent releases and noticed that I wasn’t able to see all of the movies that came out this weekend, so it seems like I got lazy or something along those lines. Here is the reason or reasons why. Firstly, I am paying for the films out of my own pocket, as this review series is something that I am doing on my own accord and just using KPEL as a vessel. So, it does tend to become expensive when I see multiple movies in a row. Second, I work two jobs at the moment and I am constantly busy. I just try my best to keep things balanced. I just love movies though and like to think that I have some honest views on what makes a movie bad or good. Either way, if you are a reader of mine and enjoy the reviews, please spread the word about them to your friends. I could always use more readers. And I do try to appeal to both sides of people who like reviews. The people who just want to know if it’s good or bad, and the people who like to know why. Welcome to Thirty Seconds or Less.

Cowboys & Aliens

This was a very different movie. I haven’t seen something this interesting in quite some time. This movie really brought something new to the table in a sense of what is considered mixing two genres that aren’t usually mixed together. Also, this movie has the potential to be fantastic with a star studded cast like this. Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Sam Rockwell (one of my favorite actors), Olivia Wilde, Keith Carradine, and more.

Cinematography 3/5

This was a well shot movie. The CGI was relatively realistic and enjoyable. I did find that the film suffered a bit from SCS (shaky camera syndrome) and thus called for a point removed. But the fight scenes felt relatively realistic. The aliens looks really great, but sometimes looked a little CGI riddled. For example, a scene that pops into mind was when one of the aliens smiles at Daniel Craig’s character, it looked bad. For a movie that can afford a star studded cast like this one, CGI should have been the least of their worries.

Acting 5/5

Well, as I said earlier, this star studded cast wasn’t going to fail us, I would have hoped not. Harrison Ford, even at the age of 69 still has it. The only complaint that I had, which wasn’t enough to merit removing points from the score, was the constant Daniel Craig serious face. He constantly starred into the distance with the most serious face, no other emotion. Look, I’m a big fan of the hard main character who stands in the face of danger, but it became overwhelming at how much it happened. I just googled Daniel Craig smiles... it scared me.

Writing 4/5

I have to give this movie credit where it is due. It stayed true to western style dialogue and terminology. It also felt rushed though. That was the main complaint about the writing of this film, was that it felt really rushed and quick. Sure, two hours is a longer movie for a western, but The Good The Bad and the Ugly is 2 hours and 40 minutes long, so slowing it down can’t really be a bad thing, can it?

Editing 3/5

The film didn’t really do anything to wow me. Like I said, it did suffer from a few instances of SCS and quick editing, but wasn’t too bad overall. It just didn’t have any major umpf. Yes, umpf... I know it’s not a word.

Story 5/5

This is were this film takes it’s stride. Such a great concept and such a cool story. It really was a work of art as far as what they could have done with the film. Just the title alone has people screaming, Cowboys & Aliens?! But they really outdid themselves. Something that I can’t say how much I appreciate it, is how they stuck to it’s guns (Get it? It’s a western...) and kept it western style.

Sound 4/5

The score is appropriate and powerful. I did notice the use of silence at certain parts of the film, which did add to the suspense of the film. One scene in particular stands to mind, but no spoilers. Let’s just say it’s a very important scene.

Closing Comments 24/30

This is a very fun movie and a fresh take on westerns. I’m really glad that they didn’t try to make it something that it wasn’t. It was a western with aliens, I guess it is just that simple, which is a good thing, I find. I really liked it and think you should definitely try to make it out there to see it.

Crazy, Stupid, Love

As someone who never really got the Steve Carrell bug that a lot of people seem to have these days, I was very objective when seeing this movie. But, when it comes to Kevin Bacon, I’ve always said that any movie Kevin Bacon is in, is most likely going to be good. And the Bacon mentality hasn’t failed me this time. This movie had me laughing. It was a bit predictable, but did throw a few loops at me nonetheless.

Cinematography 3/5

Well, the film did nothing in particular to throw a curve ball my way in the filming sense of it. Most scenes take place in this one bar, which happens to be very nice. The lighting in the film felt good most of the time, but did have a few moments of being unrealistic. But, as I said, it was as basic as it comes.

Acting 4/5

The acting was well done, with a cast like this, it should have been. Steve Carrell is usually always on par, but Julianne Moore is always on par. I honesty think that the actor who played Steve Carrell’s son (Jonah Bobo) really stole the show most of the time. He is quite the little young actor. Also, Ryan Gosling did a great job as well.

Writing 4/5

This movie wasn’t necessarily, beautifully written, but it was extremely clever. It was slightly witty, slightly vulgar, but extremely funny. There is a certain scene in which Marisa Tomei outdoes herself in her role. It’s extremely funny in certain scenes, but also a bit slow in others.

Editing 3/5

This movie wasn’t rushed, but was just the opposite. It was a bit slow. I understand that this movie is dealing with the subject of the mid-life crisis, which isn’t something that can be dealt with quickly, but at the same time, it is also a romantic comedy and doesn’t need to be too long. This didn’t really hurt my thoughts of the movie too much, but it did make me realize that romantic comedies are usually stepping into the danger zone when it hits the two hour mark or close to it.

Story 5/5

This is the part of the film that really did it for me. I laughed and laughed at this film. The mix up of all the characters and the chemistry that they have is wonderful to watch. I refuse to spoil anything, but I must say, if you have seen the film, you know which scene I am talking about when I say the backyard. Allow me to put it this way, it is one of the funniest moments in movies I’ve watched in quite a long time.

Sound 4/5

The score really matched well but also did something that I really admired. It wasn’t overly cliche. I hate it when a romantic comedy’s score is completely cliche. If I hear Maroon 5 or Marvin Gaye in a romantic comedy, I will immediately mark it lower for repetitiveness.

Closing comments 23/30

It was a very well done comedy that had me rolling at times, and sleeping at some others. I would highly recommend it and suggest that you take a date to go see it considering it’s value as a good laugh and love story.