I don’t subscribe to the Hollywood notion that all you need to cure a crippling illness that affects the lives of your loved ones is a good girlfriend or boyfriend. In actuality, it takes almost a decade or two to cure a crippling mental illness. In that regard, “Silver Linings Playbook” fails. But as a film that seeks to be a unique and unusual romance comedy about two people that are anything but normal, director David O. Russell’s dramedy is pure excellence, and one that’s teeming with talent from minute one. “Silver Linings Playbook” doesn’t seem to rely on a strict formula per se, and that’s why it’s such an oddity in the realm of romance dramedies. Sure, in the end it’s about two people falling in love, but O. Russell spends time on focusing on their inadequacies and their malfunctions that make it impossible for the pair to function in reality, and then draw them closer and closer as the narrative unfolds.
Tag Archives: Romance
Love Stinks: Eight Demented Movie Romances
I can’t stomach too many romance movies these days, and I’ve always hated how romance is slipped into almost anything to garner some form of padding for the plot. Sometimes the love between two people is sweet, and many times it’s worthy of a groan and an eye roll. So, I thought of my favorite romances, and as expected, the list is slim, but hot damn, these movies are still great.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
Though I never actually had the opportunity to read Seth Grahame-Smith’s original novel, director Timur Bekmambetov’s treatment of the revisionist novel is one of the more interesting horror movies I’ve ever seen. Not only does the film skirt the edges of camp, but it accomplishes the wonderful sense of surrealism and whimsy that Bekmambetov’s “Night Watch” films held so proudly. “Vampire Hunter” carries with it a lot of prospects for future installments, and it’s a very clever and often exciting bit of action horror that delivers on exactly what its title promises. There is Abraham Lincoln, and he does indeed stalk and hunt vampires for a great portion of the film.
Rocky (1976)
If you want a true picture of the mind of Sylvester Stallone and how he approaches his life, his 1976 underdog drama “Rocky” is the best film to turn to. For an insight in to his upbringing “Rocky” bring audiences very close to Stallone. Rocky Balboa is a man who grew up in the sticks and lives his life by the bare minimum. He’s a petty boxer who spends most of his time as a lunk head strong arm for local loan sharks. But deep down he has a heart of gold and a determination that’s both admirable and completely undiscovered. Deep down Stallone is Rocky Balboa, that street hood who had to show the world that he’s so much more than a ghetto hood.
And while “Rocky” is the story of Rocky Balboa’s rise to garner respect and love from the world, Stallone ultimately garnered respect and acclaim by writing what is still the best boxing drama ever made. “Rocky” has heart, soul, and is still one of the most riveting romances ever depicted. A genuine beauty and the beast story, “Rocky” depicts Balboa as a man of unappreciated wisdom and love who spends most of his time dodging violence around him, and seeking ways to fuel his love for the sport of boxing. When he meets young Adrian as a favor to his friend Pauly, Rocky discovers a kindred spirit in the young woman who has also retreated in to a life of the bare minimum, composing her livelihood based around expectations from her friends and family.
The great Talia Shire is magnificent as the meek Adrian who is a reserved and bookish young woman that eventually bursts from her shell thanks to the confidence from Rocky, who sees something deep down in her soul that no one else bothers to look for. Forming a unique bond, Adrian also begins to see a perseverance and sheer courage in Rocky that she knows can elevate him beyond a street hood that everyone else expects him to be. When undefeated heavyweight boxer Apollo Creed loses his chance at a bout, he decides to build up his image by fishing out a local boxer from Philadelphia to grab a chance at the title. Expecting a wash out from the beginning, Apollo and his team recruit Rocky Balboa.
Known as “The Italian Stallion” around the boxing circuit, Apollo is confident Rocky will put on a good show but prove no match. Rocky decides that he can become a champion and soon rises to the challenge and aims for the heavyweight belt. Burgess Meredith gives an equally amazing performance as Rocky’s crusty trainer Mickey who not only shows Rocky how powerful he can truly be, but also becomes his surrogate father over the course of the story. “Rocky” doesn’t so much become about Balboa as a man proving everyone wrong, but proving to himself he’s worth much more than everyone ever told him he was. Stallone gives the best performance of his career as this humble gentle giant who has a lot of love and wisdom to give and no one to really offer it to.
When he finds the opportunity to show that he can rise above the slums and live a life of relevance, it becomes the central focus of the story offering some of the most grueling and compelling moments of obstacles and hardship. “Rocky” builds up to a wonderful action packed climax that’s still among the best sports cinema has to offer, and as a break out film and an ode to the under dog, “Rocky” is still the best ever created. A crowning achievement in Sylvester Stallone’s career as a writer and a performer, “Rocky” is a marvel of dramatic cinema with compelling themes of love and hardship along with a riveting romance. It’s the classic tale of the under dog proving he’s worth a damn in the eyes of the world and himself and an unparalleled cinematic masterpiece.
Buy It Now!
Deadly Friend (1986)
One of the many movies I first saw when I was a kid that didn’t really cater to the Disney movie standards enforced on me by my parents, that incidentally enough helped nurture my love for movies, was Wes Craven’s 1986 horror romance “Deadly Friend.” For those completely unaware, “Deadly Friend” one of the least notable Wes Craven horror pictures even if it’s his most creative after “Nightmare on Elm Street.” Merging a science fiction killer robot concept with a revenge plot, director Craven tells the story of a young genius who moves to a new town to work on a project at the local college. You see this young man has a thorough understanding of the brain, and is destined for great things. Which is made apparent by his robotic sidekick BB.
She's All That (1999)
It seems like there’s a Hollywood rule that every time there’s the impetus of a trend of films at the box office, there eventually has to be a satirical film made about it. After countless teen oriented garbage, 2001 saw the release of the hysterical “Not Another Teen Movie.” Granted, the movie on its own is hilarious if you were very familiar with the teen junk of the late nineties and early aughts, but “She’s All That” already accomplished such a feat of mocking this trend. The inexplicable box office hit of 1999 is perhaps one of the stupidest and most inane romantic dramas ever made.
Star Studded Dramas – 8 Engaging Films (DVD)
For movie fans looking for some dramatic features, Mill Creek is more than happy to provide an eight film boxed set of some varied dramas that will surely attract any audience in the mood for soapy, entertaining, or who just want to kill some time. The “Star Studded Dramas” are worthy of the watches, if only for their varying degrees of tone since neither title is very similar to the other.
2000’s Billy Bob Thorton directed “All the Pretty Horses” finds Matt Damon as a cowboy who falls in love with the local rancher’s daughter, who so happens to be Penelope Cruz. Filled with sudsy direction and a great cast, this is one of Matt Damon’s most unique films. 2004’s “A Love Song for Bobby Long” stars an interesting cast including John Travolta as an alcoholic and Scarlett Johannson as the woman who befriends him in the somewhat bleak drama about characters colliding in the middle of tragedy and soon they begin to learn about one another in ways they never imagined.