The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Charlie (Logan Lerman) writes letters. He has a pen pal, well a pen audience rather. He never receives a reply, but that's not the point. Charlie has had a troubled life, and the letters act as a release. It is within these letters that we hear his story told.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

He's a freshman in high school, which I guess means the first year of secondary school, but he's 16 so it's a little different to the schools over here in the UK. He hasn't got any friends, and the friends he did have from before no longer interact with him. He is portrayed as alone and is picked on by the other kids.

Patrick (Ezra Miller) has been held back in shop class (design and technology?). He is a senior who Charlie approaches at a football game after seeing him act out in class. He introduces Charlie to his step-sister, Sam played by Emma Watson. They go on a drive and hear a song which Sam particularly takes a fondness to. In the film, this song is 'Heroes' by David Bowie, but in the novel it is 'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac. It is in this scene where we see the start of a moving friendship, with Charlie proclaiming to feel "infinite".

These friends are the ones who dub him the "Wallflower". He's a quiet boy, but Charlie sees and understands what's going on around him, apart from when he blacks out from stress-related occasions.

The story unfolds around Charlie's first experiences: his first kiss, his first dance, his first telling someone that a friend of his had shot themselves in the head the previous summer. Some of the things that the majority of people would go through at some point in their life if not in high school.

He is also introduced to drugs, sex, music, parties and meets his first girlfriend, which amuses and causes you to cringe at the same time. You see, he takes a liking to Sam, but it never really works out between them throughout the majority of the film.

It's a really moving story and the parts where Charlie interacts with characters alone rather than in groups really immerses you in this life. He does essays in his spare time for his favourite teacher Mr. Anderson (Paul Rudd), makes mix-tapes for Sam, and helps other friends with issues they're dealing with, even though he has  big issues of his own.

Set in the 90s, it cuts out a lot of the things that make us less physically social nowadays. There is less about online and more about being in the moment and living life. Mix-tapes are an example of something that has seemingly died with the evolution of technology; no longer can you put a physical product together from a bunch of recordings off the radio. There's copyright issues and the fact nobody has a cassette player any more. I also doubt somebody will give you a mix USB stick.

This film struck a chord with me. I've seen some of the issues raised in the film as I'm sure a lot of people would have, but the nostalgic style in which it's told and the story that accompanies that style just gives it an edge above other films set in high school. It's a funny, emotional, positive ride through some of the best and worst years of life and that's a good enough reason for me to recommend seeing a wallflower's take on things.

:-)

Elky

Gangster Squad

I may have to go out and buy a fedora , a crisp new suit and a Tommy gun! Okay maybe none of them, but films like Gangster Squad really get your adrenaline pumping!

That shiz is gangsta!

The story goes that mob-boss Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) is growing more and more powerful in the city of Los Angeles. He wants increased territory and power so starts pulling underhanded moves against his just-as-dishonest neighbours in Chicago and the West Coast.

Cue Sergeant James O'Mara (Josh Brolin), who is "recruited" (if you can call it that) by Chief Parker (Nick Nolte) for an undercover, non-LAPD-endorsed, ultra-sensitive, covert-gang mission (...and breathe). O'Mara is against Cohen's ruthless grip on the city and has shown it by breaking a few rules on his daily patrols.

So that's the Gangster Squad. Imagine Ocean's Eleven, but a bit further back in the past, with swankier clothes, less gambling (although it is featured) and many more Tommy guns and you have something which is very different; very different, but in essence, using a group to get back at the man with the power.

O'Mara or "Sarge", as he's referred to by his team of five, hit Cohen's dens, shops, bars, clubs and also his shipments, never taking anything for themselves but leaving Cohen scarred. They burn money and shoot his guys in the leg (they are officers of the law, they must uphold some of the rules; leg wounds are allowed).

The Gangster Squad are all men of the law; they can't be bought, and Cohen knows this. He gets increasingly frustrated as his empire is brought down around him, but he does manage to get his own-back on a few members of the group, as well as the people they care about.

It's all very predictable, but it's done in a such a suave way that takes the 40s/50s best bits and crams them into a feature film with drugs, guns and money. All major ways to grab the attention of an audience and keep it. The filter / effect that the feature is filmed in also helps reinforce the gritty and seedy underbelly of LA while glamorising the bars and clubs, and the music that accompanies them.

In conclusion, I think the next costume I get will be accompanied by a fedora; if I'd had that while I watched this film, that would have increased my cool tenfold. Perhaps.


:-)

Elky

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Ryan Gosling topless. Yeah, that's got your attention.

I never had a baby-sitter as a kid (or at any age), but I could definitely see how someone may develop an attraction to one. Anyway!

Crazy, Stupid, Love. A lot of Ryan Gosling topless images in search engines.

Crazy, Stupid, Love is about a guy who likes a girl and marries her, but then she stops liking him and so they divorce. It's slightly more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it.

Cal Weaver (Steve Carrell) meets a mysterious stranger called Jacob (Ryan Gosling) in a bar after said-happenings, and the two embark on a journey to... make love and listen to the music. A lot.

Throughout the film there are a lot of twists and turns in the plot, with some genuinely taking me by surprise (kudos). There's even a fight scene! This is the scene where I actually thought, "there has actually been a lot of effort put into this whole film to make the pieces fit together", and that isn't easy.

It's a love story. Well, maybe three intertwined love stories. Or perhaps four? There's a fair few, and they're all linked, and this is where I have a minor criticism with the film. During the fight scene, David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon) shows up and gets involved with the tussle. It's moments like these where the plot seems to have been forced together for more drama and comedy effect, rather than naturally unravelling which detracts a little.

As I said earlier, I was taken by surprise by how things turned out. Obviously I was slightly biased with my thoughts on how it might; I assumed that there would be a happy ending, but I couldn't exactly work out how there could be with so much tension being added on with each character encounter.

I'd like to say there's a complicated love triangle, but it's more like a pentagon: son, sitter, father, wife, cheater, player, daughter, teacher, other father... okay more like a nine-sided shaped... love... affair. It's hard to explain, but entertaining to watch.

So, a story of loves, of heartbreaks, of soul mates, of game-players, game-changers, cheaters, parents, baby-sitters, teachers and a whole bunch of other stuff. I don't feel like it's a lazy film at all; I really feel like the subject matter might be clichéd and slightly flawed in places, but credit where credit is due, it entertained me.

"Hey everyone, it's just a divorce!"

:-)

Elky