Review: The Intern (2015)

This was my looking forward to film for October, I think but I didn’t think I was going to get an opportunity to see it, alas I went Kickboxing with a friend who then decided they wanted to go to the cinema and 100% trust my judgement on picking a film (tell that to the person I took to see Lucy!!).  However, I was adamant The Intern would be a good shout…. 

I'm so glad it wasn't me who you took to see Lucy! I can only blame myself for watching that one...

Ben (Robert De niro) is 70, retired, widowed and bored out of his mind.  He applies to a Senior Intern programme at About the Fit, an internet company run by workaholic, control freak, Jules(Anne Hathaway) and finds himself in the role of her personal Intern.  The role doesn’t quite turn out at planned with Jules refusing to give Ben any work and Ben finding himself at a loose end in the office. During his time in the office, however he makes countless friends, offers advice and becomes the guy everyone loves (including the in house masseur).  Over the course of his internship, he helps Jules in both her personal and professional capacity as they develop a strong bond. 

I wanted to call this a romcom but it’s certainly not that, there is limited romance to pad out the story, the focus is on Jules and her rapidly expanding business and how she copes with that.  Ben has a really strong work ethic that just doesn’t play well with nothing to do, so throws himself into whatever he can do to help other people’s jobs.  I loved the comparisons between modern organisation and the old school work ethic and how that pans out on screen.

This could work so well in the real world! Older business are forever looking for young talent to join their business so why can't it work the other way?!

There was big focus on the equal opportunities aspect (house husband, affairs and female bosses) which helped the story get from A to B but felt a little bit too forced and sentimental, overpowering the light hearted comedy that came from Ben’s relationships with the cool kids at the office.  Everytime the movie floated off to a realm of Jules home life issues and upset that ‘people’ didn’t think she could run her own company, I was willing the story to head back to Ben giving Jason (Adam DeVine) girl advice or offering Davis (Zack Pearlman) a place to stay. 

I do love Anne Hathaway but I felt Robert DeNiro stole the show here. The role just feels so natural for him. I too was expecting a romcom and honestly, the only reason I watched this was because you did Jenna, but I loved it! It wasn't the movie I was expecting and it took a turn halfway through that  shocked me.

The sentimentality didn’t ruin it for me by any means, I really enjoyed the film and found myself smiling all the way through.  It’s not a comedy, it’s not a drama, it’s somewhere in the middle.

The problem with The Intern is that I don't really know who the target audience is. It's a movie I should really get my movie loving Grampy to watch because he is literally Ben, but I know if he sees the trailer he'll be put straight off! this is one you just have to give the benefit of the doubt, I think.

Mini Reviews: Max (2015), Bride Wars (2009) & A.C.O.D. (2013)

Max (2015) seemed to fall under the radar for me, but I spotted it on IMDB first. A movie about an army dog suffering with PTSD? I’m in. Why do I love to torture myself like this? To say I was disappointed in this movie isn’t fair, but it wasn’t the movie I thought it would be. I was expecting a drama about trying to rehabilitate this beautiful dog, and the question throughout being whether or not it would work or if he would have to be put down, but instead, this was a family orientated action movie. It’s a good one, but not what I was expecting at all.

So, I’m on the hunt for wedding related movies right now, and Bride Wars (2009) was the first on my list. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway play two best friends who have always dreamed on June weddings at the Plaza Hotel. Of course, after a mishap, their weddings end up scheduled on the same day, and a war breaks out. Going through the planning experience myself, and being bridesmaid for 2 other weddings in the same year as mine, I could ironically relate to many things in this movie, which I think aided in my enjoyment! It’s amazing how the littlest things are huge problems when wedding planning!

In full swing of a Parks and Recreation obsession, I was on the hunt for a light comedy and spotted A.C.O.D. (2013), or Adult Children of Divorce featuring not only the loveable Adam Scott, but Amy Poehler too! Weirdly though, Poehler actually plays Scott’s mother-in-law, and that was a hard pill to swallow throughout. Adam Scott’s on screen brother, Clark Duke is getting married, but their parents are divorced and well, you can probably guess the rest. It had a really promising cast that never got the chance to show their full potential. An entertaining watch, but forgettable.

Review: Interstellar (2014)

Is it possible to love a film you don’t understand? I’m ashamed to say it took the DVD release and my future Father-in-Law’s birthday to get me to finally watch Interstellar. I avoided it like the plague when it came out in the cinemas, despite how amazing it probably was on the big screen, because it was just too darn long. I can’t sit that still without copious tea breaks. Give me a pizza and a comfy sofa however, and I’ll sit still all day.  I just never got around to seeing it and when I finally had the time it had finished at the cinema!

The plot, in short, sounds like something that’s been done a hundred times already. The Earth is dying, humanity needs somewhere else to live, let’s send some astronauts off into space, yada yada. Maybe that put me off, too? This is all I knew about the film before watching it, and now, I almost think it’s a better experience if that’s all you know.

Did I mention I can’t stand Matthew McConaughey? Sorry - he just winds me up for absolutely no reason. He’s alright in Interstellar though. Okay, he’s pretty good. The cast as a whole were great I thought, and I especially loved the two robots, TARS and CASE. They have so much personality! Plus TARS is a little sassy, and you can’t go wrong with a sassy robot.  Weren't they awesome!!

Did anyone feel a bit sorry for Cooper's son, he barely got a mention throughout, the whole situation seemed to be circled around Cooper and Murph.  They hinted at the beginning of the movie that Tom's scores weren't high enough for college and that he would make a great farmer which seemed like an early justification for why Cooper has this bond with his daughter but not his son.  I felt sad for him all the way through the movie and more so at the end *SPOILER ALERT* when he didn't even ask if his Son was still alive, just his daughter.

Okay, so the science-y stuff I didn’t really understand. I’m just not clever enough to get it. I know why they’re off to space, I sort of understand the wormhole thing, I understand how Matt Damon got there although I don’t know why he’s such a grump, and I don’t understand the whole equation thing. The time-relativity thing (I need to find another word for thing) was really cool once I got my head around that.

I absolutely loved this and I was really surprised by that, I think that because I missed out on all the hype for this I just had no expectations for it so I just enjoyed it for what it was.  I did lose track of some of the science bit but that didn't ruin anything for me, I loved how the whole thing came full circle. 

The idea of time was approached in really interesting (and I'm assuming scientific) ways throughout, reminding me of Inception's approach to dreaming and the dream world.  I was terrified by the thought of how long they were staying on the planet when 1 hour equals 7 years in their 'home' time, I was on the edge of my sit willing them to hurry up.

Something I picked up on throughout the film was the music. Normally my mind switches off to that and I don’t even remember music being in films, but the score in Interstellar is so loud in places that it’s hard not to notice. I can imagine some loved it and others hated it, but in certain scenes it had me holding my breath, it was so powerful.  I thought exactly the same and also the use of complete silence was really cool, there was a huge explosion but as the astronauts wouldn't hear anything, neither did we.  It really brought home the isolation of the situation.

Just a warning, there aren’t any spoilers below but it might get you thinking about things you shouldn’t if/when you watch Interstellar for the first time. That sounds so wrong.

I think the reason I loved this film so much was the last half an hour or so, you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen it. Watching this with my fiance’s family was a great experience, because as we realised certain things, one by one we’d gasp, shout and wave our arms around like mad! Do you remember one of the first spoken lines in the entire film, when Cooper walks in to Murph’s room? She says ‘I thought you were my ghost’. That friggin line just wins it for me! I hadn't even thought of that, I now want to watch it again to catch the links between the beginning and the end!

If I can find some spare hours, I’d love to understand the science bits and then re-watch Interstellar to truly experience it for what it should be.

Many might disagree with my score for this but for me it had everything and I was glued to the screen the whole time.