Scattered Frames: Legos while I wait for a short term inside Fruitvale Station
Welcome to yet another edition of Scattered Frames! I’m still in my quest to catch up with all the award-buzzy films of 2013 (and a huge hit from 2014 as well). So, let’s get to my tiny reviews, shall we?
Inside Llewyn Davis: A comedy that’s more A Serious Man than The Big Lebowski but still undeniably Coen, Inside suffers from some minor pace issues, but is ultimately a highly enjoyable movie, especially if you’re a fan of the directing duo. Features a terrific central performance by Oscar Isaac, beautiful music and exquisite cinematography. Kudos to Carey Mulligan as well, who was superb (albeit underused) as Davis’s mean ex-girlfriend. 4/5
Short Term 12: A few days have passed since I saw this and I have trouble remembering much about it. While that’s maybe not a good sign, what I do remember while watching Short Term 12 was loving the naturality of the acting and the dialog, despite the clichés and lulls in the narrative. The first and last scenes were my favorite, which beautifully acted as bookends for an affecting story where Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Keith Stanfield and Kaitlyn Dever render impressive performances. 3.5/5
Fruitvale Station: The murder of Oscar Grant (and countless several others) is saddening and infuriating but, honestly, I didn’t care to see him help a woman buy some fish or pick a birthday card at the store. YAWN. I know the point was to show Oscar was a good guy despite his criminal past but he wasn’t the most interesting person to follow around for a whole movie. However, Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Díaz and Octavia Spencer are very good and each have some scenes where they really get the chance to shine. 2.5/5
The Lego Movie: Everything is not exactly awesome but very, very close. A clever and funny movie, Lego suffers from a terribly schmaltzy climax that’s almost enough to destroy everything it’d built up so far. However, the humor, voice cast and yes, even social commentary, are worth checking this one out for. 3/5
Have not seen Lego yet but agree with your other thoughts. Good work.
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Thnaks, Robert. Lego is fun, you should check that one out. Glad you agree 😉
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“Thnaks” ?? hahah that sounds like snacks with a lisp. . .lol sry, I just had to comment on that typo dude
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It’s not funny. My lisp has been a terrible crutch my whole life.
LOL. just kidding. That’s hilarious! (And I don’t have a lisp).
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Glad you liked Inside Llewyn Davies, I really liked that one. And I agree about the schmaltz of the Lego movie but it didn’t bother me too much, I just had so much fun with it!
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I really liked it, too! The soundtrack is just amazing (already bought it). And I knew beforehand of the schmaltz of the Lego finale but it still bothered me quite a bit. Still fun, though!
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Fine post Fernando. I haven’t seen short term 12 yet but I’d up the anti on a few of you ratings here. Inside Llewyn Davis and Fruitvale Station made my top ten of the year. Loved them both. Lego movie was a whole lot of fun too.
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You should see ST12. It’s a pretty good little movie, with nice dialog and solid performances. As you can see, Fruitvale was not a favorite of mine but Llewyn might just make it into my top 10. Lego was certainly fun!
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Good commentary. I didn’t mind the climax in Lego. Otherwise we agree on that flick.
I also like Fruitvale much more than you. I don’t know that Coogler’s point is to make us believe Oscar’s a good man – I think it’s to show that Oscar is complicated, just like the rest of us. He can be funny, kind and sincere. He can also be temperamental, violent and confrontational. But he deserves to live, no matter what.
We basically agree on Short Term 12 (though I connected to it more intimately) and Llewyn Davis though. Especially Llewyn Davis. That movie is so good. 🙂
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I understand it (after all it’s a kids movie), but it annoyed me greatly. Still, fun film, huh?
Everyone liked Fruitvale more than me! haha but yes, I didn’t need to watch him grocery shopping and racing his daughter to the car to know that he didn’t deserve to die (especially that awful way) but, I don’t know, I just didn’t care for his story. I think I’m a terrible person.
Glad you liked ST12; it’s pretty good. I did connect with some of its characters, particularly Mason. At the beginning, though, I wasn’t liking Grace outside of the treatment facility; found her too alienating, but then I understood.
And yes, Llewyn Davis is so good. I couldn’t resist buying that soundtrack!
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Nice reviews Fernando. Still haven’t seen Short Term 12 or Lego movie (which I hope to see both soon), but I agree with you on most of your points about both Fruitvale and ILD
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Thanks, Rob! Hope you see those films soon. Glad we are in agreement over Fruitvale and Llewyn.
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Great reviews. I definitely agree on Lego. I still haven’t seen Fruitvale but yours is the first negative review I’ve seen,
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Glad you agree on Lego 😉 Yeah, wasn’t too keen on Fruitvale. I think if Oscar Grant hadn’t died that horrible death, there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell.
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Great mini reviews as always Fernando! We’re on opposite side in regards to Inside Llewyn Davis and LEGO Movie, but I hear ya about the schmaltzy part about the ending. I still think overall it’s a lot of fun. I’m not fond of the rather pointless story (to me anyway) of ILD but I LOVE the music and Isaac’s performance. I’m not too interested in Fruitvale Station to be honest, so your review doesn’t exactly change my mind.
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Thanks, Ruth! I remember you loving Lego and only liking Llewyn, so doesn’t surprise me we are in opposite sides of the spectrum regarding those two. Still, glad you liked the music and the performance of Isaac. And yeah, Fruitvale Station was meh.
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Great stuff. I’ve only seen Lego and I loved it!
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Thanks, Mikey. Glad you did!
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Nice post Fernando. am interested in Inside Llewyn Davis and Short Term 12(with a good bookend last scene so that’s a big plus) . but i dont think i can find any interest in seeing The Lego Movie.
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Thanks, Martin! Hope you get to those two soon. They’re pretty solid, especially Llewyn Davis. And fair enough about Lego; I guess it’s not for everyone.
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Yeah, since the buzz has calmed down a little, I can see the schmaltz with the ending of Lego Movie, but I thought it fit the tone of this ridiculous movie. They took a big risk by doing that at the end and it may not have worked for everyone but it worked for me.
Short Term 12 was incredible, I really didn’t see any cliches there but that’s fine that you did. My big issue with it was its unavailability. . . I barely managed to catch it at the indie theater here before it disappeared in a week!
Inside Llewyn Davis: agree completely. Fantastic film with some real ugly characters, giving it more cred.
As for Fruitvale, I have no interest in seeing it. Particularly for the exact reasons you laid out.
Good post bud.
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Thanks, Tom! 🙂
Glad it worked for you. Even if the film was generally light and kid-oriented, I still found it jarring and it really bothered me!
I did find some clichés but fortunately they weren’t overwhelming or anything. Agree on the lack of availability. It wasn’t screened over here. Had to wait so I could rent the Blu-Ray.
Glad we’re on the same page regarding Llewyn and Fruitvale 🙂
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I agree about the Lego Movie the more I have thought about it. Great 3/4, then the ending was a bit… meh. It was clever and I liked the message but it could have been executed slightly better.
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I’m with you, man.
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