DVD Movie Review - Big Eyes

Big Eyes is a true story about art, business, creativity, women's status, and knowing how to keep a humongous secret.

STORY:

Margaret (Amy Adams) is an artist in the 1950's that decides to do something unheard of: leave her husband.  But while trying to settle down and start a new life with her daughter (Delaney Raye), she happens to meet another charismatic artist named Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz).  He's so taken by her art that he decides to marry Margaret and call her paintings his own.  Scandals, acrylics, phony smiles, great business ideas, and the silly art world ensue.

"Yes, I'm going to screw over everyone and really enjoy it." 

THOUGHTS:

How would you feel if your art was world renowned?  How would you feel if you made millions of dollars just by touching paint to a canvas?  How would you feel if your paintings could be found on post cards, in supermarkets, on TV, in museums, and in galleries?  You'd be the happiest artist in the world, right?  Well…how would you feel if you had all the above, except your spouse took all the credit?  Could you go on and live with yourself, knowing someone else's face was attributed to your art?  Those questions and questions about love, family, and real friends are at the heart of Big Eyes' story.

The film opens up in the 1950's and you get a taste for what it's like being a woman during that time period.  How obtaining certain jobs can be rough and how women weren't necessarily respected in the art community...at least not as much as men.  But Margaret is different.  She wants to pave her own way without a husband hanging around.  But then she accidentally meets the love of her life, Walter, the man who will turn her simple paintings of children into world renowned masterpieces.  The man that will give her everything she's ever wanted: a beautiful home, a huge bank account to support her daughter, nice cars, in-ground pools, and a gigantic studio where she can practice her art.  But it's all at a cost.  Each and every painting she produces has her husband’s name on it.  Ouch.  And that is the real treat of the film: the amazing true story of a no-name artist's claim to fame and how everything about the journey is one big colossal lie.

The film is directed by Tim Burton and aside from the huge eyes in the paintings, is a far stretch from what you're used to seeing in his films.  This is a true story.  So don't expect any crazy twists at the end (the ending is predictable) or people dressed all in black or monochromatic cinematography or even weird characters played by Johnny Depp or Helena Bonham Carter.  In fact, the film is saturated in colors and is shot pretty straight forward for a Tim Burton film.  So if you're a diehard fan and are looking for a macabre aesthetic, you'll be quite upset when none of his artistic traits are present in this movie.

"I wanna thank everyone for coming out tonight and having to deal with my ridiculous hat." 

THE ACTING:

Christoph Waltz is unbelievable in this film.  If you've seen any of his previous movies then you already know what to expect.  The man becomes whatever character he needs to play and it's quite astounding to watch…so astounding that he'll make you hate him in this movie.  That's when you know the actor has done his job: When you can't stand to look at his face or fake smile anymore, because of his slimy and disgusting traits.  In the beginning you'll enjoy his suave dialogue and charismatic personality, but towards the end, when things start to unravel, he'll become the most hated person in the film.  Well done.  Amy Adams (Margaret) continues to impress in every movie.  Her ability to go from helpless mother to an emotional mess to independent is fantastic.  You'll feel each and every painstaking step as she makes worse and worse decisions in her life.  And pairing her with Waltz couldn't have been a better choice in the casting department.

"It says I've won a one year membership to the Jelly-of-the-Month club."

"It's what you've always wanted."

The rest of the cast pops in the story to push the plot forward, but also deliver respectable performances in their own supporting roles.  Danny Huston shows up as Dick Nolan, part movie narrator and the newspaper columnist that gets the Keane Art Empire rolling.  Krysten Ritter from Breaking Bad, appears as Margaret's good friend, DeeAnn.  She helps Margaret see her life from the outside looking in.  Jason Schwartzman jumps in the film for a few minutes here and there as a competing gallery owner.  As typical with Schwartzman, his scenes all contain a witty dry comedic nature.  The original General Zod, Terence Stamp, lends his expertise to the role of John Canaday, an art critic whose insight on the Keane masterpieces play a huge role towards the end of the film.  And both Delaney Raye (young Jane) and Madeleine Arthur (older Jane) respectively play Margaret's daughter throughout the span of a decade, but it's Raye that ends up showing the true problems of living in an oppressed household.

"I don't want your dime A-hole.  I want to punch you in the face."

CONCLUSION:

Big Eyes is a remarkable true story of a woman's passion to make her own way in life.  If you're okay with no crazy story twists or fantasy plots that director Tim Burton is known for; and you have no problem with biographical films, then you'll enjoy Big Eyes and its look into what makes the art world tick.  Now, if you're not an artist or a “creative” in any way, and a woman's life story and tragedies throughout her career sound slow and boring.  Then your best bet is to stay far away from this film and wait for it to grace cable instead.  But if you want solid acting, an unbelievable true story about a scandalous art empire, and want to see just how ridiculous the art community can be at times, then feel safe knowing you'll be in good hands with Big Eyes.

3.5 out of 5 Stars (minus a star for true-life predictable ending & ½ star for a few slow plot segments)

DVD Movie Review - Horrible Bosses 2

Horrible Bosses 2 brings back the original cast with almost the same premise (3 idiots attempt to be criminals), but are the jokes just as funny the second time around?

STORY:

After the events of the first movie, Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis), and Dale (Charlie Day) decide to start their own company and create their very own product.  Their first big order comes from Bert Hanson (Christoph Waltz) and his son, Rex (Chris Pine).  But just as everything seems to be looking up, the three get screwed and end up in debt.  Instead of legally trying to fix the problem, the boys turn to Dean MF'ER Jones (Jamie Fox) and decide to try their luck in kidnapping.  Crude humor, stupidity, free cookies, American dreams, table biting, stick-drawings, toilet flushing, and fight clubbing ensues.

"You want the three of us to do another Horrible Bosses movie?  Sounds great...just as long as I 

can talk about my genitalia throughout the entire story."

THOUGHTS:

Just like any other R rated comedy that has even the slightest bit of notoriety, trying to write a sequel that delivers a fresh humorous story is the hardest endeavor for anyone in Hollywood.  And it's sad to say, but Horrible Bosses 2 is no different.  What worked in the original film is attempted here in the second and even though the movie has its hysterical moments, it still slows down dramatically in the middle and some of the jokes become tedious instead of spontaneous.  But don't misunderstand; if you loved the first one, you'd be right at home with the second.  Why?  Because of the returning cameos from the first film.  These small scenes help lift the film back onto its feet when the plot starts to drag a little.  So of you enjoyed Kevin Spacey's evil character or Jennifer Aniston's nymphomaniac dentist, then you'll love their appearances here in the second.

THE MUDDLED MIDDLE:

Horrible Bosses 2 starts off with a fresh and hilarious beginning as the three friends travel down the road of business entrepreneurs.  And the film even ends with some very entertaining scenes (the ending chase sequence is laugh-out-loud comical).  But it's the middle that gets a tad hairy.  It feels like the writers had a beginning and end, and then just decided to throw some crap in the middle to fill two hours of your time.  And you would think with the inclusion of Chris Pine in the cast the story would achieve new heights, but it's his part of the plot and a Jennifer Aniston cameo that actually brings the film's momentum to an almost full stop.  And you have to wonder why, because the movie just about touches the two hour mark.  Why wouldn't they just cut a little more out to keep the momentum going?

"I still can't get over the fact that this arm helps pilot the USS Enterprise.  Exquisite."

THE ACTING:

Just as with the first movie, Charlie Day wins the funniest person award.  His facial expressions and the way his voice gets high pitched when he's upset, definitely adds many laughs.  If you enjoyed Day's antics and whining in the original, then you'll once again love his scenes here.  Jason Bateman returns as the only level-headed guy in the bunch and feels almost normal opposite the other two.  He's in the movie just to point out every dumb idea and to try to stop the characters when something goes awry.  And then we come to Jason Sudeikis, who portrays the A-hole/horndog character that used to be funny, but now is more of a cartoon than anything else.  Yes, his character is created to disrupt the natural order, but they wrote him way over the top.  He's so stupid and so far away from the norm that his character doesn't fit in the story and most of the time will just aggravate the viewer with how adolescent he acts.  If there are any jokes that run too long or make you cringe, sadly, they'll be falling out of his mouth.  Chris Pine makes his debut in the series and plays the suave millionaire, Rex Hanson, to a T.  But when he's attempting to add humor to the conversation, he falls a little short.  It's actually his subplot that feels tacked on to the rest of the film, even though his character is what drives the story.  And last but not least is Christoph Waltz, appearing as Bert Hanson, Rex’s daddy.  He normally has the stand-out role in any movie, but here he comes and goes in a blink of an eye and only turns up to make you hate him.

"Ladies, when Hollywood asks you to be in a film at my age as just a sexual piece of meat, 

you scream yes and never look back." 

THE CAMEOS:

If you're looking for the crudest, most vulgar dialogue in the film, then look no further than Jennifer Aniston's Dr. Julia Harris.  She returns as Dale's ex-boss and still has an unbelievable thirst for sexual activity of any kind.  Some of her scenes are a little long and have nothing to do with the plot, but there are a few moments where she will make you laugh.  Kevin Spacey pops back in the story as Dave Harken and literally shows the entire cast what a real actor looks like.  Even though his scenes are quick and filled with dialogue about balls, you can feel his animosity towards the trio and you'll be sad when his cameo ends.  Jamie Foxx reprises his role of the smooth, yet confused, Dean MF'ER Jones.  At first he'll seem like a throw-away character, but towards the end, he has some of the funniest moments in the movie.

"I don't care if the story's lacking...I'm going to knock this Frank Underw--I mean Dave Harken 

character out of the park.  Deal with it." 

CONCLUSION:

Horrible Bosses 2, just as expected, isn't better than the first go-around, but still has its moments to shine.  The middle is a tad slow and some of the jokes are beaten to death, but if you thought the first movie was funny, then you'll also be entertained by the second.  The main characters seem like a slight repeat, but it's the cameos that help elevate the movie a tad higher than mediocre.  With Charlie Day leading the humor department and Bateman trying to even out the stupid, Horrible Bosses 2 is a comedy for fans of the franchise…everyone else should wait until it appears on TV.

3 out of 5 Stars (minus a star for the slow middle and for some regurgitated jokes)