Mystic River, 2003

Mystic River, 2003
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, Laura Linney, Laurence Fishburne



Stage: Home theatre, late Saturday night


Mystic River in short: Childhood friends Jimmy Markum, Sean Devine and Dave Boyle reunite following the death of Jimmy's oldest daughter, Katie. Sean's a police detective on the case, gathering difficult and disturbing evidence; he's also tasked with handling Jimmy's rage and need for retribution.



Preps: None in perticular. Clint is the man. Don't need any special intro.


Reality: One of the better ones in his biography. Speaking about Eastwood. Plus, Penn got an oscar for his performance. It is as I always claim, strong story makes the movie. Marry it to a great director, hence success. In this case, I am speaking about a devastating touching story about past events that can haunt you from the childhood on and catch up later, when you think you have seen it all. It is a movie about friendship that can last an eternity, yet get broken in an instance if the right button is pushed - in this sense the death of a daughter of a part of a great friendship.
You feel they get reunited, yet they find out the barriers that are driving them apart. You see how their lives turned out and try to imagine how would it have been if they haven't been faced with a such trauma when they were eleven. The movie makes you think about all the individuals that were submerged to any kind of violence and the consequences they needed to face, at that age, or much later. And how many of those ended up in institutions? The stars know..
Eastwood knit a spectacular out of a sad story and I am in it up to my toes. The chill ends in my veins when a friend murders a friend and finds out he made a mistake. The irony in one of the last scenes is the last nail in my coffin. I am surrounded in sadness, depression and hardness of the moment. The blood spilt in vain is running in my blood stream as well and I am really touched by scenes with such a terror in the eyes. Penn and Bacon are brilliant, also Tim Robbins. The cast is supreme, the scenario is brilliant, the director exceeds every last bit of my expectations. I love the movie.


My personal rating: 9,0 (beautiful, touching, filled with emotions. A must see).


Mystic river on IMDB

Just friends, 2005

Just friends, 2005
Director: Roger Kumble
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris


Stage: Home theatre

Just friends in short: Chris Brander has always been friends with Jamie Palamino, but now decides it is time to take his relationship to the next step. The problem is, is that Jamie still wants to be 'Just Friends'. When he runs away and moves to L.A., he becomes a attractive music manager, who everyone wants. When his jet crashes, when flying to Paris with his newest singing sensation, Samantha James, he ends up back home. To his surprise, he encounters Jamie again, and sets out to be more than 'Just Friends' this time.


Preps: a strong recommendation makes me wonder what is behind the scenes of the piece


Reality: A good surprise. Normally, this type of the movie, turns out to be a lame comedy or a truly stupid piece. There are, however, some of the movies that derive from Hollywood and have surpassed my eye of criticism as fairly good or even very good. Dude where's my car, American pie, Roadtrip, etc. These are some of the better ones. And this piece turns out to be one of them, too. Amazingly enough, it drives you through high school dilemmas and wondering, what is the perfect love, how to gain it, what are the drama effects mocking can have on someone and how to tell your love that she/he is your love, if you are supposingly "just friends".

Now, turning to present time, the guy, that was mocked in high school, is a hot shot, good looking successful person, working with high recognizable people and movie/music stars. Going back to his family house, even though it's supposed to be for a day, gives him the opportunity to come clean with the trauma that has obviously caused him to turn out a jerk. Pushing love romance in one edge and indulging in the relationships (various, money-driven; passion-driven) on the other, it doesn't make him a better person. Just better perceived in his own idea what he's supposed to be. The story revolves around one simple question everyone has once in a while and some for their whole lives - who am I now, am I happy with myself and what is my perception of what should I be.

There isn't a brilliant formula to describe this, however, this piece implies that childhood traumas dramatically effect the way you act as an adult. I personally disagree up to some extent. In some way, we can be influenced a lot, on the other hand, surely you can acknowledge, whether you have become a mean version of yourself. And the trauma from childhood could here serve as an excuse - so they made me the way I am now. Philosophically put, you are the way you decide to be. You live the life you choose and not vice versa.

Philosophy aside, the movie is one of better Hw'd comedies in the last decade, bringing an enormous amount of sane humour and good scenes, where you should roll with laughter. And the ever popular chase for the girl. If nothing else, you will enjoy humorous chasings and rivalry between two guys to meet one girl's heart to claim forever.


My personal rating: 8,0 (a solid piece, worth seeing again. I can sense the director of American pie in this).

Just friends on IMDB