Runner Runner

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"Everyone gambles. They may call it something else, like the stock market, or real estate. But make no mistake, if you're risking something, you're gambling. And if you're gambling, then I'm the guy you want to see."

Filmology Rating: 1.5 out of 4

 

Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake star as Ivan Block and Richie Furst in gambling thriller Runner Runner.  Furst believes he has been swindled by Block’s online poker game, so he decides to go to Costa Rica to confront Block.  Block recruits Furst into his ring, and the business flourishes.  Things go awry, and we should feel something for one of the characters.  However, neither Affleck nor Timberlake deliver a performance deserving of caring about their character.  The plot also has giant holes, like how a broke college student can hop on a plane to Costa Rica for kicks and giggles, or how Gemma Arterton’s character is of any importance.  Runner Runner showed a lot of promise from the trailers, but the final product did not deliver, leaving me wanting a whole lot more, but at the same time wanting it to be over.

Rating: Skip It

-Megan

Gravity

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"You've got to learn to let go."

Filmology Rating: 3.25 out of 4

 

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star in the space thriller Gravity, and they are the only two actual people in the film.  The premise is one we have not seen before, with Bullock and Clooney being stranded in space, their space shuttle hit by debris, knocking them off structure.  The cinematography of Gravity is absolutely stunning.  For a film that was obviously not shot where it is set, the use of a green screen is absolutely unnoticeable.  The shots used by director Alfonso Cauron are beautiful and ingenious, with long continuous shots of Bullock and Clooney instead of quick cuts.  The sound effects are incredible, as they sound realistic to being in space, where sound does not travel.

While all of these things are amazing, I was bored during the majority of the film.  The struggles faced by Bullock and Clooney become repetitious, and there is a bit too much schmaltziness in the dialogue.  Also, Bullock delivered her usual performance, where she tries to act dramatic but I can’t help but laugh at her or roll my eyes.  And Bullock is the majority of our screen time, which gets a bit old.  Overall, the film was beautiful and inventive, but the acting detracted from those aspects to make me not enjoy it.

Rating: See It (But Only in 3D)

-Megan

Don Jon

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"There's only a few things I really care about in life. My body. My pad. My ride. My family. My church. My boys. My girls. My porn." 

Filmology Rating: 2.5 out of 4

 

There are eight things important to New Jersey playboy Jon: his body, his pad, his ride, his family, his church, his boys, his girls, and his porn.  These things, and their relative importance, are the central focus of the movie Don Jon.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt wrote, produced, directed, and starred in this different take on current love lives.  Although it is a different catalyst than many films, the paths taken and outcomes are not overly new.  As a first effort, this is wonderful, but that does not mean there is not room for improvement.

We see Scarlett Johansson’s Barbara as Gordon-Levitt’s Jon’s love interest, the seemingly perfect New Jersey couple.  Eventually, things go south as we follow Jon to try to figure out how to make things right.  There is a family presence no New Jersey movie could thrive without, but there was nothing exciting about Jon’s family.

There is a sense of repetition throughout the film, based on the things most important to Jon.  This tactic seems to get a bit stale about halfway through the film, however.  Overall, Don Jon is nothing new but still fairly enjoyable.

Rating: Rent It

-Megan

Disconnect

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"Everything you do, someone out there can see."

Filmology Rating: 3 out of 4

 

I’m usually very wary of movies with multiple interconnected stories, but Disconnect manages to keep four plotlines very clean but with tendrils reaching into the others just enough to keep a connection.  The use of technology as a catalyst in this film feels natural instead of forced or stale.  Jason Bateman plays the concerned parent to Jonah Bobo’s angsty teen convincingly, making me feel every emotion they both were experiencing as their worlds are turned upside down.  The second plotline includes Alexander Skarsgard and Paula Patton as a lonely couple whose identities are stolen, and they try to track down the identity thief.  The third story focuses on a television news reporter and a teenage online sex worker, trying to determine right and wrong together.  Lastly, an internet-crimes detective father and his teenage son struggle with connecting to each other.  I enjoyed this film and did not feel like I was being preached to or forced to believe anything about the use of technology in today’s society.

Rating: See It

-Megan