Movie Review: SOUL SURFER

SOUL SURFER

2011
PG

Soul Surfer is a 2011 drama directed by Sean McNamara that tells the true story of Bethany Hamilton. When Bethany (AnnaSophia Robb) was thirteen years old, she was an aspiring surfer who had dreams of becoming a professional. Tragedy struck, however, when she was attacked by a shark, losing her left arm in the process. Every hope and dream she and her family had of her future was thrown out the window as she began her gradual recovery from the attack. With the help of her parents Tom (Dennis Quaid) and Cheri (Helen Hunt), Bethany found her way back onto a surfboard, but as one can imagine, it became exponentially more difficult to maintain any semblance of skill. After a terrible run at a regional competition, Bethany decides to give up surfing, thinking everything in her life is lost. It ultimately takes a ministry trip to Thailand, which had recently been hit by a tsunami, to show her that she can use her skills and talents in another fashion.

I've wanted to watch this film ever since it hit theaters. I remember hearing about Bethany Hamilton's story when it became worldwide news in 2003. The fact that I also grew up around the ocean - albeit not to the extent that she did - also drew me to her story. So when I finally saw posters for Soul Surfer popping up at local theaters, I knew just what I'd be getting ready to see. Sadly, it garnered mixed reviews (it currently holds a 50% "fresh" rating on Rottentomatoes.com), so I was a little wary going into the film.

That being said, I can see why the reviews were mixed. It's a sappy and predictable tale, even if it is based off someone's real life. But sometimes sappy can be a good thing, and I think that it works very well for Soul Surfer. What I didn't know going into the film was that it was going to be relatively religious in nature. There's a strong dose of Christianity given throughout the film. Had I done a little research prior, I would have learned that Hamilton's autobiography is titled Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. Had I known about the faith element, I probably would've rushed even faster to the theaters to see this one. While I'm by no means the most staunchly religious man, I definitely have a deep connection with my faith, and I think that helped me relate to this film all the more. Even when I knew exactly what was going to happen, I still felt like I wanted to cling to everything that Bethany said and did because I knew she was grounded in her faith like I am.

The acting is also very good considering the type of film we receive. It's always great to see Dennis Quaid in anything, and although he's not the greatest actor ever to grace the screen, his presence can definitely help a flick. Add in Academy Award-winner Helen Hunt, and you've got yourself quite the dynamic duo as Bethany's parents. And what can I say about the young AnnaSophia Robb? She brings all the right emotions to her role, and she should definitely be applauded for doing so. It couldn't have been any easy role to create: it's based off a real person, and it involved going without the use of one of her limbs. That's not easy by anyone's standards. We also get a nice supporting role from Carrie Underwood as Bethany's youth minister and guiding light in her faith. Considering Underwood's own background, I'm sure this role was a piece of cake for her to fulfill. Also be on the lookout for a brief role from Craig T. Nelson as the family doctor.

Overall, Soul Surfer is sappy and predictable, but it carries a legitimate weight that's sure to convey itself to many an audience. It's a definite must-see for strongly religious individuals as well as anyone who has deep ties with surfing and the surfing community. The fact that it's a true story only adds to the power that the film can convey. Is it the best movie I've ever seen? No, not by a long shot. But it has easily become one of my guilty pleasures, and I think you might like it a little bit more than you might think.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: B
1.5 Thumbs Up

Movie Review: CAST AWAY

CAST AWAY

2000
PG-13

Cast Away is a 2000 dramatic film directed by Robert Zemeckis that centers around a man stranded on a deserted island. Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is a hardcore FedEx executive who's known for his all-business attitude in running his shipments. He's a bit of a stickler for remaining on schedule and can easily be said to be married to his job. This causes a little bit of a strain with his girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt) as they constantly have to re-work their schedules in order to see one another. Such an event happens during a Christmas dinner, and Chuck takes a late flight towards Asia. However, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, the plane experiences turbulence and a massive explosive sends it spiraling into the sea below. Through a miraculous escape, Chuck finds his way to the surface in a life raft and slowly floats to a remote and deserted island. Chuck accepts his fate and does everything he can in order to survive.

I'd go into more detail in terms of Chuck's time on the island, but part of the experience of watching Cast Away is seeing just how he goes through that time. I don't want to throw too many spoilers out there, and the more I say, the more likely I am to give away the film's final resolution; ergo, I'm going to leave you with that. Now let's get into my actual review.

I'd like to start with the film's acting before I get into the screenplay because that bit could take a little while to talk about. Obviously, the acting centerpiece is the performance delivered by two-time Oscar-winner Hanks, who also garnered an Academy Award nomination for this particular role. Although I wasn't entirely impressed by the performance as a whole (his scenes away from the island are pedestrian at best), the stranded Chuck Noland is pitch-perfect and, considering that's the man we see for the majority of the film, Hanks can be deemed a success. He brings a subtlety to the role (that's definitely shown in the script - more on that momentarily) that you wouldn't necessarily expect with a man who's slowly going mad as a result of being away from civilization. Had this film been made closer to 2011, I wouldn't be surprised to see an over-the-top performance in the lead role rather than the one Hanks brings to the table. He's damn-near flawless when he's on the island, so kudos, good sir.

Because Hanks is the main person we see for at least ninety percent of the film, it's almost not worth mentioning the supporting work at all. However, we do have a decent performance from Oscar-winner Hunt, so I suppose she's worth noting here and now.

And now for the film's screenplay. Like Hanks' performance, I think the script works best while we're on the island. In fact, the film's execution on the island is so good that it probably would've worked perfectly on its own. Sadly, we're book-ended with some off-the-island moments that prove to be ridiculously cliché and much too cheesy and sappy. The off-the-island scenes were so bad that they almost ruined the film for me. Fortunately, the island was simply brilliant. Going into the film, I thought we'd be getting an in-depth look at Chuck's life on the island, chronicling his every movement and every emotion as he tried to figure out how he was going to survive. That's not what Cast Away gives us. Instead, we get a series of snippets of his life that doesn't really give the audience an opportunity to get too emotionally involved with Hanks' character. Normally, that wouldn't be a good thing, but here, it works perfectly. If they had shown every minute struggle he had to face, it would've been an overwhelmingly emotional flick. By showing the little moments without any real sense of segue from one scene to the next, the audience creates a bit of an emotional distance. That's not to say that the film isn't emotional - in fact, it has some extremely heart-wrenching scenes. However, because we're not getting the constant stream of emotion, the scenes of true emotion are all the more powerful because we're not really expecting them to happen. Because they're few and rather far in-between, the power of each of the scenes is truly punched home.

The island is where the film succeeds - everything else is excess fluff that keeps Cast Away from reaching the ranks of brilliance in my books. If they would've cut out the final thirty minutes of the film, this movie would easily have skyrocketed onto my list of greatest films of all time. Unfortunately, it falls just short of scratching that particular surface. Still, it's definitely worth a watch if you've got a little over two hours to kill.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: B+
1 Thumb Up

Movie Review: AS GOOD AS IT GETS

AS GOOD AS IT GETS

1997
PG-13

As Good As It Gets is a 1997 dramatic comedy directed by James L. Brooks that follows the exploits of a man afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as he starts to break out of his shell. Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) is a quirky but accomplished novelist who secretly suffers from OCD. Because of his obsessions and compulsions, he comes off as a rash and unlikable man, but no one can really see behind the veneer he has created for himself. When he meets a younger waitress named Carol (Helen Hunt), he starts to get to know her in the hopes of winning her favor. Melvin learns that Carol's son suffers from very bad asthma attacks that constantly send him to the emergency room, so he enlists the help of a doctor to take special interest in his case. Taken aback by his kindness, Carol does her best to thank him but cannot find the right way to do so. When Melvin reluctantly agrees to drive his homosexual neighbor Simon (Greg Kinnear) to Baltimore, he asks Carol to join them for the trip in the hopes that something might spark between them. Drama and comedy ensue and take us for a ride all the way to the end of the film.

I've been meaning to watch this movie for quite a while, considering it's an Oscar-winning flick. Plus, I'll watch just about anything with Jack Nicholson, so this has been very high on my to-watch list for quite some time. The first thing you're going to notice about the film is the level of acting. While As Good As It Gets was nominated for seven Academy Awards - including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay - it only took home statuettes for its two lead actors: Nicholson and Hunt. Now, of the other eight films nominated in the lead acting categories, I've only seen one of them (Titanic, for which Kate Winslet was nominated for Best Actress), so I can't really tell you whether Nicholson and Hunt truly deserved their awards. While they're both very good in the film, I'm not entirely sure whether they're Oscar-caliber performances, but as I said, I don't have knowledge of their direct competition. Nicholson does a good job playing a convincing man with OCD, going through all the quirks and ticks necessary to make the character realistic. At the end of the day, however, we're given another typical Nicholson performance. There just isn't much dichotomy between his different roles of the past twenty years. Fortunately, he's good regardless. Hunt also does well, but I didn't really think there was anything truly spectacular about her character. If anyone delivers a great performance, it's Kinnear - who was also nominated for an Oscar but ultimately lost to Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting - as an openly gay man who's facing the very real threat of losing everything that he's ever worked to attain. Also, be on the lookout for smaller roles and cameos from Cuba Gooding Jr., Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy and Harold Ramis.

Despite the fact that we're given an Oscar-nominated screenplay, I'm not entirely sure whether I was entirely sold by it. Sure, it gives us a very interesting look at a sick man, shedding light on an ailment that many people probably don't entirely understand. We also get a good dose of drama along the way from all of Melvin's situations and ordeals. Perhaps the story is more character-driven than plot-driven, and that's why I'm not really feeling very strongly about the storyline which proved to be a rote tale of romance wrapped in a different kind of paper. Melvin's character arc from beginning to end is pretty drastic, but there didn't seem to be much weight associated with it all. I never felt fully connected to his character - had I been, I think the gradual change in his personality would have been all the more powerful. Carol and Simon also go through some major character arcs, but for the same reason, I didn't feel like they impacted me all that strongly.

That's not to say that As Good As It Gets isn't a good film. It's definitely worth watching, but I just don't think you should go in expecting anything terribly brilliant. I might have entered the film with higher expectations than I should have had, so it's probably my own fault that I'm not fawning over this flick right now. Just don't get me wrong - there's plenty to like here. Do your best to go in with an open and unbiased mind, and I think it will serve you much better than it did for me to go in expecting brilliance.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: B+
1.5 Thumbs Up