SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK - a definite read

The new film from the unheralded comic genius, David O. Russell, was in a word, brilliant. It's my new favorite movie of the year. The best romantic comedy since 500 Days of Summer. 

Russell never ceases to amaze me. He is able to take any banal genre convention and magically transform the fatuous platitudes into pure exhilaration. He has a very recognizable idiosyncratic way of turning drama humorous. I love it love it love it. Like Three Kings, Flirting With Disaster and The Fighter before it, Silver Linings Playbook does not disappoint. To be fair, I knew I would like the film going in, but you never know for sure. I was pleased with the actors and direction all the way through. 

His gift with editing is apparent immediately and thus you are instantly aware that you're in for a cinematic treat. It's a bit difficult to explain but his fast cuts and camera work are so deliberate that you can't help but appreciate the attention to detail and squirm with satisfaction from scene to scene. Each sequence is vibrant with intense, but not overplayed emotion, with a charge that keeps you riveted and portends a future meeting of crazy characters that you, literally, can't wait to see portray the next histrionic outburst. Look out for Chris Tucker! I couldn't stop laughing—had a perpetual smile on my face the whole time—I still do. 

Recommended Viewing: The Fighter - Limitless - Three Kings

              Bob Scale: The Critic: 8.5   -   The Fan: 9.3

             MetaCritic: 82

 Rotten Tomatoes: 89

                    IMDB: 8.3

THE WORDS - dear diary in triad

The Words is not receiving any critical acclaim but that has not stopped me from enjoying this quiet gem.

The story consists of a strict triptych of vignettes, each with their own characters and plot lines that, of course, connect in some way. The first chronological narrative takes place in 1930's Paris, the second in contemporary New York and the final sliver, roughly 20 to 30 years further on. 

Bradley Cooper is a decent but struggling writer who receives, as a gift, an old messenger bag that contains a unknown brilliant manuscript inside. Due to life's pressures he decides to publish the work as his own and becomes rather famous. The original author finds him out and thus literary drama ensues. 

This is a story of passion and loss. It was not an enthralling tale but a solid late night movie with a loved one and a glass of Pinot. 

I also viewed the bizarre monstrosity, Branded, which had potential but became a banal message movie about the evils of advertising. Wacky and bad filmmaking sometimes revivify interest in the absurd but not this little pos. Why the hell was Max von Sydow in this?

Recommended Viewing: Quills - Misery - Through A Glass Darkly

              Bob Scale: The Critic: 7.0   -   The Fan: 7.7

             MetaCritic: 39

 Rotten Tomatoes: 16

                    IMDB: 6.8