Showing posts with label 50/50. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 50/50. Show all posts
It Beats The Odds
As a 27-year-old man, Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) seems to have everything together. He does all the right things. He’s working hard. He’s working out. He has a girlfriend. And life in general seems just fine. Until he goes in for a check on a sore back and his doctor fits the words “you have cancer” into the middle of the results. How could he have cancer? He’s 27 and does everything he’s supposed to do; how could HEhave cancer?
Now that he has the news; it’s time to cope with things. He informs his girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard) who promises to stay with him through the process. He lets his best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) in on the news and Kyle promptly proclaims 50/50 odds are really pretty good! He even tells his mom (Anjelica Huston) who promptly proclaims that she is moving in. (Adam nixes that idea right quick).
Everyone seems to be lining up to help with the next chapter of Adam’s life. He even starts with a young therapist (Anna Kendrick) who is starting with him as one of her first patients since graduating. She is using all the book knowledge she has learned and trying, desperately, to personalize the battle.
With everyone lined up to help, things must go easy, right?
This film surprised me upon seeing it. I didn’t expect it to grab me the way it did. It deals with a serious, life-changing event that usually doesn’t impact young people. When we see movies dealing with cancer, they deal with folks much older and learned. This is a great film for the youth of America to deal with.
Much of the stress is dealt with in a real way. Humor is at the forefront, as if you don’t laugh at things you just might cry. Seth Rogen wonderfully plays an understated comedic role that is a bit different from most of the characters he takes on. Anna Kendrick plays her role to perfection and Bryce Dallas Howard shows she can really deliver. But the star here is still Joseph Gordon-Levitt. In the role of Adam you feel his pain. You laugh, you cry and you progress as he does.
A touching, sweet and funny film that will stay with you; 50/50 delivers in every way. My diagnosis is that there is WELL over a 50/50 chance you will enjoy this film. 50/50 beats the odds and is quite enjoyable.
A-
Summit Entertainment
Director: Jonathan Levine
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston
Rating: R for language throughout, sexual content and some drug use.
Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes
This Week’s Big Releases
50/50 – Rated R (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Bryce Dallas Howard)
One of the most underrated movies of 2011, this is a must see. Deals with a tough topic, cancer in a young man, and the life he and his friends lead after diagnosis with humor and a heavy dose of reality in a way like nothing that I can quite remember.
Paranormal Activity 3 – Rated R (Katie Featherston, Sprague Grayden)
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| © 2011 DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC. All Rights Reserved. |
Real Steel – Rated PG-13 (Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo)
Another must see from 2011, this truly surprised me. A film about the new sport of boxing that brings a father and son together, Real Steel is more than a new version of Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots. It rocks.
Also new this week…
Another Happy Day – Rated R (Ellen Barkin, Kate Bosworth)
Hell and Back Again – Rated NR
The Lie – Rated R (Joshua Leonard, Jess Wexler)
Restless – Rated PG-13 (Mia Wasikowska, Henry Hooper)
Tales of an Ancient Empire – Rated R (Kevin Sorbo, Michael Pare)
The Whistleblower – Rated R (Rachel Weisz, Monica Bellucci) As a police officer working as a peacekeeper in Bosnia she uncovers the corruption beneath the surface.
And Finally
Revenge of the Electric Car – Rated PG-13
A couple years back the doc was Who Killed the Electric Car? And now….it’s time…..the Revenge of the Electric Car.
Check out the trailer below.
Pick of the Week
Man, I love 50/50…one of my favorite films in 2011 (made my top 25 list). And Real Steel was a nice surprise for something that I truly didn’t expect.
Thanks!
Pop Popcorn, Do the Dew, and Bust out the Blu and remember to Save Me A Seat!