Weekend Movie Review

This weekend I watched Footloose (the remake) and Winter's Bone. Both came out over a year ago but what can I say, I'm a little behind.

Image courtesy of boxofficemagazien.com

Image courtesy of mannythemovieguy.com

Footloose was much better than I thought it would be. The new Ren, Kenny Wormald, is much cuter than Kevin Bacon even in the 1984 version.  He did a fine job and I even liked his Boston accent. The worst part of the movie for me was Julianne Hough. Seriously, every time she came on screen I wanted her to leave a soon as possible. She looked much older then she actually is. I'm attributing that to the darker hair and make-up. I know she's a good dancer but I thought it was only so-so here. There's a difference between hip-hop booty shaking and then in need of a stripper pole booty shaking. Hough was doing the latter. If that was the point of the movie then Congratulations! you did it. I'm sure at one point she will be a fine actress but the whole time I was watching her I just saw Julianne Hough not the character she was supposed to be playing. The best surprise of the movie was Miles Teller who played Willard. He was hilarious and so refreshing. It also doesn't hurt that he's cute but not in a pretty boy way. The best scene of the whole movie was when Willard is learning how to dance. Four little girls are singing Deniece Williams' "Let's Hear It for the Boy" and teaching Willard choreography. The little girls were so cute and the scene was very funny. Overall, the movie was pretty good. I would give it 2.5 stars out of 5.

Image courtesy of guardian.co.uk

Winter's Bone features Jennifer Lawrence who was actually nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Ree Dolly in this movie. This movie is about a 17 year old girl who is taking care of her family after her Dad skips out on them and his bail. She must bring him in or prove he's dead to keep the bondsman from taking their house when he doesn't show up for court. The whole movie is her trying to find him and what happens during that time. It's a very good movie but it is not a feel good movie. It's based in the Ozarks which also happens to be the methamphetamine capital of the world. (I guess it's nice that Missouri comes first in something because it certainly isn't economic growth and development.) That fact plays an important part in the movie. I think they accurately portray drug dealers and cookers here. They aren't going to be flamboyant wearing gold chains and hanging out on street corners. Often times you can't tell when someone around here as money from legal or illegal gains. People who live in the Ozarks aren't flashy. You can tell that by watching the film since it was filmed in Forsyth, Mo. A small town consisting of 1,716 residents. It's 30 minutes (give and take) outside of Branson and Springfield. I thought Jennifer Lawrence's performance was fantastic and I can see why the Academy took notice. I highly recommend this movie as long as you go in not expecting a typical Hollywood happy ending. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.