Yay, Gosling! Nay, Gosling... (Two Short Reviews)

All Good Things: It's really disappointing when a concept with such high potential falls as flat as this one did. The real life story is fascinating and the cast looked to be truly intriguing, but due to the film's unfocused direction and tonally-confused screenplay, the entire film turns into a boring slog that goes completely nowhere and leaves you knowing less about the topic than you did before you watched it. However, while Gosling and Frank Langella were unable to come out of this film unscathed, Kirsten Dunst was quite the opposite - in fact, she did quite fantastic work, the likes of which could be the only redeeming thing about this movie. Dunst gives such subtle work and her arc was absolutely perfect. I do hope we see more of her soon, because she's proven here her worth, and this movie is perhaps worth watching to see her fantastic performance. Oh! By the way -

Kristen Wiig is hilarious. (5/10)

Blue Valentine: Despite what the critics will have you think, this film does have flaws, which I attribute in large part to its screenplay. The overall effect of the writing is perfect - the development of the relationship between Gosling and Williams is perfectly paced and bittersweet. However, some of the smaller units end up feeling slightly unnecessary and rambly. Of course, starting with this small complaint is to give too much emphasis to the negatives, which really pale in comparison to the wonderful things about this movie. Williams, who I love, may not be doing her best work here, but it is still a heartbreaking performance; and Gosling is simply stunning. He completely inhabits his character and the way he plays the very last scene is simply devastating. In reality, that last scene sealed the deal for me - what with the Grizzly Bear score and the fireworks and the...aghhh. It was just so moving. The film is truly an achievement, if not the masterpiece that some have called it. (8/10)

City Island (2010)

Like most movies about people with secrets, "City Island" was extremely frustrating, accenuated by the fact that neither the script nor the actors gave enough justification to why the characters were refusing to tell each other anything. Additionally, the ridiculous amounts of subplots were not really balanced well at all, especially not helped by the weird editing (the random scenes of the son with the fat women were not integrated well at all, even if they were some of the more interesting in the film). Emily Mortimer's storyline is the most compelling, because she also gives the best performance in the film - and it is a lovely performance. Ezra Miller was also very funny. Everyone else does just fine, not really doing anything original. The movie was entertaining enough for me not to despise it, but it's nothing new or really even successful in the family-dramedy genre and I was really just waiting for it to be over the entire time.

5/10