SAFTEY NOT GUARANTEED - indeed, but oh the splendor

I din't know what to expect going into the theater. I had not seen a preview - I'll I knew was that Mark Duplass was in it, so I decided to give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised.

Wonderfully acted by the heretofore little known, Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, and Jake Johnson, the film shines in the unexpected hinterland. Safety Not Guaranteed is an indie scifi comedy of sorts. A crazy ad (that actually happened) shows up in the local newspaper of a small town and some wannabe reporters go out to investigate the man who wrote such an article. The ad claimed to be able to take one to the past and back again. Little do we know we are in for such an unanticipated, adorably geeky romance. 

The director captured the irks and quirks suitably for each character. How does one command a female actor to give that smile - that smile that says I like you? The smile the guy never sees but the audience always does. Does this happen in real life? I hope so. You fall hard for this girl (Aubrey), she was so unconventionally beautiful and smart. I would have liked Tiny Furniture to a greater extent if the girls were portrayed like this. The Indian nerd was a wonderful touch and exceedingly awkward but provided levity many times over. The over confident self obsessed douche bag, yet inwardly very sad guy was played to a T. Mark Duplass was fantastic as the weirdo physics nerd. This may not be a movie for everyone but it really moved me and made the $3 bucks I paid immensely worth it.

PS - I also viewed The Art of Rap and That's My Boy. The Art Of Rap, from first timer Ice T, was phenomenal - if you care about hip hop or rap at all, you will love this documentary. He interviews everyone from Melly Mel to Dr. Dre. That's My Boy sucked as you may have guessed. Adam Sandler has made some very good movies like Funny People, Click and Reign On Me but this one can be regulated to dollar bin at Walmart.

Recommended Viewing: Primer - Clockwise - Very Bad Things 

              Bob Scale: Objective: 8.0   -   Subjective: 8.5

             MetaCritic: 72

 Rotten Tomatoes: 92

                      IMDB: 7.2

JEFF WHO LIVES AT HOME - a quixotic parable

One may consider this a rare gem of a film or complete garbage but that I will leave to you. This little story becomes a parable about three quarters through and you can see it a mile off but nonetheless an interesting development to watch.

The Duplass Brothers, like the Coen's, Polish's, Farrelly's and Quay's clearly have a distinct directors style that creates quite a vibe throughout each cinematic effort. Their three previous efforts, Cyrus, Baghead and The Puffy Chair were enjoyable but like this film, I found them to be a little overrated. The humor is thin and almost seemed to be a marketing scheme from the get go hence I believe Jeff Who Lives at Home would have done better to suppress it entirely and 86 Ed Helms. The film may have worked more for me on a more serious note.

Susan Surandon's character was thought provoking and still steamy at 65. Jason Segel is a good dramatic actor which he shows off here. I like him and will continue to see what projects he chooses next; The Muppets update was really fun and uplifting. 

Unfortunately, I hated the camera work; when they kept implementing little zoom ins for emphasis I wanted to take the camera and bash it into their heads and say, "every shot can be emphatic, try lighting, framing, focus, etc etc but quit the bleeding superfluous over significance." Not a bad movie but a wee bit tedious and unrealistic.

Recommended Viewing: Local Hero - Being There - After Hours

              Bob Scale: Objective: 7.0   -   Subjective: 6.8

             MetaCritic: 60

 Rotten Tomatoes: 74

                      IMDB: 6.9