2012 Catch Up (Killer Joe / Seeking a Friend for the End of the World)

Killer Joe (2012)

Director: William Friedkin

Writers: Tracy Letts (screenplay and original play)

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple

The famed director of The Exorcist returns to the chair at the age of 77 to bring you this tale of awful people doing awful things to awful people. There's one character in this that isn't irredeemably awful, but she is a bit... "special" - confused and enigmatic enough to defy the audience's (or at least my personal) attempts to relate to her. With barely any relatable characters in this mess, it can be tough to stomach this film that seems to love wallowing in its own trashiness. Friedkin obviously knows how to create discomfort in his viewers and there are a couple of powerfully disturbing scenes in here. McConaughey is surprisingly awesome as the crazy, calculating, and wholly terrifying titular character. If it's the flavor you're looking for, this is brilliant - but it is a taste I haven't really warmed up to.

Score: 5 / 10



Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

Director: Lorene Scafaria

Writer: Lorene Scafaria (screenplay)

Stars: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Melinda Dillon

If Steve Carell and Kiera Knightley strike you as an odd pairing then don't worry, you're not alone. My primary problem with this film is that the pairing is strange and they don't really have the best chemistry. Even so, they both do a remarkable job with their individual roles. The story comes off as a bit episodic, but that's forgivable due to it being something of a "road trip" movie. I loved the black humor in the first half of the movie (Patton Oswalt's cameo was a big highlight for me) and the leads were good enough to draw me in emotionally for the second half. Some might complain that the ending is too cliche and predictable, but I was invested enough in the characters to overlook that possible flaw - the final scene was perfect. I can't remember if I've mentioned that it's pretty easy to get me all misty; well, score one for this movie.

Score: 7 / 10

2012 Catch Up (Arbitrage / Beasts of the Southern Wild)

Arbitrage (2012)

Director: Nicholas Jarecki

Writer: Nicholas Jarecki (screenplay)

Stars: Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Brit Marling

Richard Gere was born to play to role of the sleazy, scheming businessman and he really does carry this film. The screenplay is just "ok" and the plot is hit-and-miss with some genuinely tense moments but also quite a few contrived twists. I wouldn't go so far as to call any aspect of this movie "bad," but none of it lives up to the performances that Gere and Roth give. Their interaction is easily the best part of the movie and elevates an overall unremarkable film into "barely above average" territory.

Score: 5 / 10

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Director: Benh Zeitlin

Writers: Lucy Alibar (stage play "Juicy and Delicious" and screenplay) and Benh Zeitlin (screenplay)

Stars: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly

The opening sequence is easily the most memorable, making a place as awful as "the Bathtub" look like paradise - great cinematography. There are a lot of interesting ideas here, with the coming-of-age story of having to face down the apocalypse (both in reality and in childhood fantasy) in parallel with facing a parent's passing. But the story (what little there is) is too scattered, too loosely constructed to drive the themes home. What we're left with is a beautifully shot hellhole and two impressive pieces of acting from non-actors. An intriguing film, no doubt; but performances and cinematography alone do not a masterpiece make.

Score: 6 / 10

2012 Catch Up (Safety Not Guaranteed / Frankenweenie)

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Director: Colin Trevorrow

Writer: Derek Connolly

Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson

It has a great premise and I really came to like both of the main characters. Unfortunately, the film also sees fit to spend time on cliched subplots for the bland and stereotypical side characters. The other thing that bothered me quite a bit is that the main plot had set up to explore some really interesting and more mature themes and then chickened out for the easier-to-swallow, crowd-pleaser ending. Even these problems can't completely overcome the fact that the relationship that develops between the two leads is fun to watch and there is some great deadpan humor scattered throughout. I just feel that if the subplots and side characters were as original as the main premise (and they hadn't flubbed the ending), that this could have really been something special.

Score: 5 / 10


Frankenweenie (2012)

Director: Tim Burton

Writers: Leonard Ripps (original screenplay), Tim Burton (original idea), and John August (screenplay)

Stars: Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short

Burton's return to his roots is a definite improvement over his disastrous output of the last few years, but still not up to the standards of his best work. Frankenweenie is a great rendition of his distinctive style and looks great. The story is decent and starts out very well in the first half hour or so - as the movie progresses, the story becomes more and more sloppy. The drive of the central narrative peters out and the script just starts making excuses to throw in as many references as it possibly can during the final act. I was hoping that the ending would take a different turn, but it is a kids movie, so I'm not sure why I expected anything else. An enjoyable movie, though not exceptional.

Score: 5 / 10