Movie Review: Silver Linings Playbook: Deep

A+ for the cast and plot.
A for dealing with complicated, deep topics like depression and divorce.
A for quirky humor coupled with seriousness.
A for refreshing realism.
A for one liners/quotes.

Based on the novel by Matthew Quick, this movie is about a man who left a mental institution to clean himself up in an attempt to reconcile with his estranged wife.  Along the way he finds himself also stuck dealing with daddy issues, entangled intricacies of family and friends, and meeting an enigmatic, authentic girl.

This movie has a fantastic cast - Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence (I kept thinking where have I seen her before?  Then it hit me - Hunger Games and Xmen), and Robert De Niro to name a few.  I was even delighted to see Chris Tucker again - last time I recall seeing him was in Rush Hour and Fifth Element. 

With the right blend of humor and dose of reality, minus the cheesiness and overt predictability, Silver Linings Playbook teaches us that it's okay to laugh even when things aren't funny, to forgive when all you wanna do is forget without forgiving, and that we all have difficulties but we can make it, be happy, captain our own ships.  Make changes by walking the walk not just talking the talk.  Live life to the fullest and laugh the whole way through!

Gleenobly's rating: 10/10

Movie Review: Rid of Me: Troubling

A for dealing with adult bullying, divorce, and personality difficulties.
A for filmography and capturing of different angles/scenes.
B for the cast.
C for the plot.
F for overt negativity and passive aggressiveness.

Rid of Me is a very dark drama about a woman who goes through hell and back in the midsts of a divorce.  Interesting thing is, I saw this movie shortly after seeing Silver Linings Playbook, and while they deal with similar topics, there really is no comparison.  Silver Linings Playbook was way better.  That aside, Rid of Me had some of good things about it, but more not so good things, which is why I did not give it the highest rating.  Matter of fact, I am told I am being too generous!  Boo hiss, I still did like the movie, which is why I gave it above a 5.  The movie certainly is not for everyone.  There's some rough, sickening childishness and bullying that is tough to swallow.  What I loved about the movie, though, was that it made me really think about our behavior as people, how we treat others, impressions, making an impact, changing for the better.  Getting through the materialistic, shallow, terrible crap that life throws at you.  And I thoroughly enjoyed the filming structure - meaning the angles, the location - like a scene where the character was wearing 4 different outfits and it just blended well with that particular part of the plot.  To boot, this movie was filmed in my stomping grounds, Oregon.  :)

Gleenobly's rating: 6/10