REVIEW: Julie & Julia

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THEATRICAL RELEASE REVIEW

Julie & Julia

Director: Nora Ephron

Cast: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci

Screenwriter: Nora Ephron

Run Time: 123 minutes

Release Date: August 7, 2009



The Film:

The starring duo of Academy Award Nominated Doubt reunites for another solid film. This time, however, Amy Adams and Meryl Streep never share the screen with one another. And while that's regretable, it's not necessary as these two leading ladies bring powerful performances that forces the audience to actually forget they're watching a movie.

When claims agent Julie Powell (Adams) begins to brain storm with her husband (Chris Messina) on how to find a release from her boring and emotionally taxing job, she's reminded that her failed attempts at writing in the past lend themselves well to starting a blog. After many ideas, Powell decides to embrace her love for cooking as well and undertakes the massive project of going through all 524 of Julia Child's recipes... in 365 days.

Meanwhile - and masterfully done, I might add - the story of Child (Streep) rising to master chef is told intermittently. Her trying to get into a cooking class, all the resistance once there, her being asked to contribute to a cooking book. It's all there and told wonderfully. Streep's peformance as Child is worth seeing in and of itself and is more than worthy of an Oscar nomination.

This PG-13 movie is basically a must-see for anyone who even remotely knew who Child was. And even though you may have never heard of Julie Powell and her quest to master her idol, you don't need to. Adams' portrayal of Powell makes you feel like you've known her all along and only enhances the film if you just there to watch Streep.

Jeremy's grade = B+

The 1st DVD REVIEW and Other Notes

Notes: Continue to discuss the top 5 actors/actress list. We'll leave the list up until a new discussion for Saturday morning. There is a growing discussion of women's role in films. This means we need to hear from the ladies on the subject too.

Also, things are happening with our Twitter account (@BeyondBigScreen). We plan to make it a retweet bot thanks to Paul Nicholson. This means you will be able to submit your own Quick Flick Reviews whenever you finish a movie. Thanks to those of you who have already begun to submit those QFR! That is a great part of interacting with this growing community without having to track all the way over to the blog.

Be sure to tell your own friends about this site. The more people we have commenting, the more diverse and interesting the discussions truly become.

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DVD REVIEW

I Love You, Man

Director: John Hamburg

Cast: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones

Screenwriter: John Hamburg and Larry Levin

Run Time: 105 minutes

Release Date: March 20th, 2009

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155056/



The Film:

After watching this enjoyable film last night I was left with one lingering thought; Where would we be in this genre if it weren't for the rise of the R-rated comedy brought on by director Judd Apatow? Studios may have never given a green light for a film such as I Love You, Man, or the other popular summer comedy The Hangover, if it weren't for the critical and commercial success of Apatow's films (40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up). Well, thank goodness the comedy genre was revived by the R-rating because this was just a great comedy.

The general plot to the film follows Peter Klaven, played by Paul Rudd, who has no close male friend to be his best man at his upcoming wedding. After overhearing his bride to be Zooey, played by The Office alum Rashida Jones, defending him and his lack of friends to her girlfriends, Peter realizes, he needs to make a friend. Beyond that, he needs a BEST friend.

That's the general plot. The real meat of this film occurs as Peter searches for a new friend, and then ultimately finds one in Sydney Fife, played by Jason Segel. You may remember Segel as the leading role in the surprisingly funny Forgetting Sarah Marshall last year. This film struck a chord with me because it was an honest portrayal of the complexity of being friends with a guy. At times, male friendship is weird and at other times as simple as jamming to a common music interest. The movie may get called a "bromance" but that is an accurate title and one that the cast seems to welcome. I truly believe this a film that is enjoyable for both males and females, but I can't help but think a guy is going to take a little more away from it. He will get the heart of this film and appreciate it.

Beyond the main cast, there are some great secondary roles that really add a depth to the humor. Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, J.K. Simmons, Joe Lo Truglio, and Rob Huebel all have some shining and heavy laugh-inducing moments.

In the end, considering the lack of quality films and even bigger lack of good comedies, this movie was a great find and deserved the critical praise it earned. Until The Hangover comes out on DVD, this may be the best modern comedy rental for you.


Brandon's Grade = A-




The Extras:

Since this is the first DVD review I should explain that I'm a special features geek. This means, you put them on the disc, more than likely, I'll watch it. I love learning the behind the scenes stuff. A huge pet peeve of mine is when a company puts out a DVD with little to no features on it. I can't justify buying a DVD brand new with nothing on it but the film. So, for me, the decision to purchase a DVD new or wait till I find one used depends heavily on the Extras.

This disc featured a commentary track with the director John Hamburg, and the "bromance" that was played by Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. As a guy who almost always listens to commentary tracks, I really enjoyed this one. It had a great mix of humor and the behind the scenes info a film geek like me craves. For the casual person, I wouldn't say this was the one special feature you should take advantage of though.

Also on the disc was a 17 minute Making Of feature. This feature was mildly entertaining but about what you would expect.

One of my favorite special feature was simply called Extras. This was 22 minutes of alternate lines by the various actors. So many funny bits that didn't make the movie are packed in here. A very nice add in and the one feature you can't pass up even if you don't normally watch the special features on DVD's.

We have 12 minutes of extended scenes and just 3 minutes of deleted scenes. The extended scenes were great. Essentially, if there was a directors cut, these parts would have stayed in the film. The deleted scenes were pretty good too. I can see why they needed to save time but I liked these scenes as well.

Lastly we have an 11 minute Gag Reel. Considering what I saw from the Extras feature, I expected this to have some gut busting moments. Not so much. This bonus content was bookended by montages. While there were some funny crack ups, it didn't really deliver what I was personally hoping for.

As an aside, there are a few Easter Eggs on the disc as well. Unfortunately, they are very short and not really something that is worth spending lots of time looking for.

Brandon's Grade = B


Overall, I thought the movie was great and the special features were solid. Personally, I'll wait for a used copy to purchase around the 10 bucks range. I definitely think the movie is a must-see modern comedy.


Written by Brandon Felder


Already seen the film? Add your own review in the comments section. Agree or disagree with this review, we want to hear your thoughts.

Let's Get the Discussion Started

A sincere welcome to Beyond the Big Screen. We are very excited to start this project and see just how far this community can grow. 


Our core message is that this blog/site is about sharing an appreciation of film with friends. Sure, we may disagree, trash a few films, or actors. Those things are part of the discussion. The true heart of this blog though is all about sharing your love of films with friends and strangers. We hope that by finding common likes and dislikes in movies a community of film fans will find each other here.


Be patient with us though. This is a site in flux. We hope to make things look more appealing of course, but the true reason you should want to visit this spot daily will be the content. 


Our plans for the content originate with you the user. In most cases, the latest post will be a discussion question. We'll present a topic, post our own opinions in the COMMENTS section, and then expect you to follow suit. Where the discussion goes from there is entirely up to you.


The discussion questions are not the only feature planned though. Jeremy and I do plan on doing some reviews every now and then. You can expect some current and new theatrical release reviews from Jeremy. I will focus more on DVD and older title reviews. To be honest with you, the reviews may not be a regular thing, but when we do get them up we hope you enjoy them.


As I said, this entire project is in flux. We'll push out some content, hope you'll respond, and take it from there. In the end, this space can only grow together or not at all.


Ok. No more blathering. Let's get the discussion started with our very first topic:


Who do you put in your Top 5 all-time actor/actress list?


Please site the name and your 3 favorite films of said actor/actress.






Enjoy and thanks again for stopping by. We hope you find this to be a fun and interactive beginning.