Tag Archives: 50 50

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On The Couch 2011 #26: Blue Valentine

I said in my review of 50/50 that I didn’t think 50/50 was a depressing movie. Blue Valentine is a depressing movie. It’s half young love story and half fallen out of love story. I now understand why they don’t make sequels to romantic comedies. A good romantic comedy will make you believe in the power and goodness of love, but the movie always ends at that perfect spot when the two new lovers are ready to face the world hand in hand, their lives full of potential. Half of Blue Valentine is the story of what happens after that, when they’re no longer smiling and world has taken a massive dump on them.

Ryan Gosling shows again in this movie why he seems to be universally thought of as a great actor. Can we please get him and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the same movie? Michelle Williams is perfect here too. The way they each portray their characters at different points in their lives is fantastic.

I love this jacket.

It’s hinted at, but never really explained what caused Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) to fall mostly out of love with each other, they just are. Cindy thinks Dean drinks too much and never realized his potential, but any time she broaches the subject with him he goes off a loud philosophical rant about what’s the meaning of potential anyway. Having a child together very early on in their relationship definitely is one of the causes of strain in their relationship. Dean says as much late in the movie, and it’s evident that’s the reason Cindy is medical tech instead of a doctor.

Anytime Blue Valentine’s story was in the present, I kept waiting for the shift back to the past. It was so much nicer there. Dean and Cindy were cute together and they both had their whole lives in front of them. Even when Dean gets his ass kicked by Cindy’s jealous ex-boyfriend, you knew things were going to be alright. Except they weren’t. But maybe that’s the warning of Blue Valentine for its viewers: You can’t go back to the past, so instead of wallowing there, make today as good as you can. Unfortunately, it’s a message lost on Dean.

I recommend seeing Blue Valentine.

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At The Theater 2011 #12: 50/50

Wow, 50/50 is good, damn good. I think it is safe to say that if Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in a movie, you should go see it. Look at the list of movies he’s made over the past 10 years: Brick, The Lookout, (500) Days of Summer, Inception, and now 50/50. These are all great movies. Sure, he was Cobra Commander is the horrendous G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra movie, but that exception aside, I think it’s time we all embrace the rule that if Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in a movie, we need to see that movie.

Not to discount Seth Rogen in 50/50. Rogen plays his usual, funny self, and with good reason in this movie. 50/50 is a semi-autobiographical movie written by a friend of Rogen’s and Seth Rogen’s character in 50/50 is largely based on Seth Rogen in real life.

This might be my favorite scene in 50/50.

Anna Kendrick is super cute in this movie. We need more movies where Anna Kendrick is super cute, which basically means more movies with Anna Kendick.

Super cute.

Going into 50/50, I was warned that it is a very depressing movie. After seeing it, I don’t think that depressing is the right term. Adam, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character, is put through some major ordeals throughout the course of the film, but I found the movie to be a very uplifting tale about the life of a cancer patient. Granted, there are some very sad parts in the movie, but calling 50/50 depressing is like calling Philadelphia depressing. That said, you might want to bring a travel pack of tissues with you into the theater.

50/50 is my favorite movie so far this year, and I feel it’s going to be a hard task for another movie to unseat it. If you haven’t seen it yet, I implore you to go do so. It is that good. Movies tickets are getting pricey these days. Spend your hard earned cash on great one.