Movies/Books: Looper, Pitch Perfect, White Girl Problems

By Original photo by CAryn Loveless [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) or CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Movies

Looper

Holy tits, this movie was good. The plot wasn’t predictable and went places we wouldn’t have thought from the trailer. The beginning made us think the movie was going into cliché-ville, but then it went elsewhere. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is becoming an actor we trust because he makes good decisions when picking movies. He’s also good at his job. His Bruce Willis impression was right on. We liked that the movie shunned true love as the ultimate salvation for everyone. People in love can do some horrible things if they put their feelings above their honor and compassion.

This movie valued selflessness above romantic connection. It’s a nice change of pace from the usual go-to way to give a character or movie meaning (i.e. romance). Anyway, this movie was well-plotted, intense, thrilling, original, exciting, well-written, action-packed, well-acted, smart, and well-paced. It’s not for the squeamish. There’s some nudity, prostitution, language, disfigurement (in an awesomely dark, disturbing scene), and tense situations. There’s also a really adorable kid, so that’s nice. We’d see it again. If you like science fiction and action, go for it.

Movie grade: A+

Pitch Perfect

If you enjoyed the trailer, you’ll like this movie. If you haven’t seen the trailer, go see this movie if you like comedies that reflect a modern, college sense of humor and if you like a cappella. Anna Kendrick and Skylar Astin are cute together in this movie, and they do a good job. They have nice singing voices. Rebel Wilson plays a funny, weird fat girl (Fat Amy) who is like a younger version of Melissa McCarthy’s character in Bridesmaids, only less redneck and more confident slut. As much as we roll our eyes at the media’s portrayal of larger white women, we laughed at Rebel. She does what she does well. The whole cast was solid. There are about two good musical numbers, but the others aren’t bad and usually draw laughs. The choreography could have been better. The movie’s biggest strength was its love story. The main male love interest is pretty perfect, in personality, talent, and looks. The whole movie is pretty fun and has more than a few good laughs.

Movie grade: B+

Books

White Girl Problems by Babe Walker

This book is completely shallow with no likeable characters and not a whole lot of plot. But it’s one of the most hilarious books around. White Girl Problems is about a 25-year-old, spoiled, rich, L.A. girl with narcissistic personality disorder and a shopping addiction/obsession with being chic. If you’ve ever wanted to make fun of Paris Hilton, aspiring actresses, girls who only consume celery and alcohol, and girls who go crazy when they fall in love, you’ll like laughing at Babe. Her insults and delusions are cackle-worthy. Some of Babe’s lines are insanely clever. You’ll want to read some of her “problems” out loud to your friends. This isn’t a clean book. Babe curses like a sailor and sleeps around like a frat guy. Read three chapters (chapters are short) at the bookstore or library and then decide if this is your sense of humor. We enjoyed it and kind of wish we had written it.

Book grade: B+

Aaaaand with that, we're caught up on this blog.