The film I chose for today wasn’t even a film that I was planning on viewing for today. You see the thing is how can I say no first of all to a film that was based on a Stephen King novel and how could I say no second of all to a film that stars Anton Yelchin (Green Room). The film Hearts In Atlantis follows middle aged Bobby Garfield (David Morse) who attends a friends funeral and starts to recollect his past and one particular year when he was 11 years old (played by Yelchin). Bobby lives with his single mother Liz (Hope Davis) who is hopeless and clueless to what really matters in her life. That all begins to change one day when a mysterious man named Ted (Anthony Hopkins) shows up on their door step as he begins to change their lives to show them what really matters in life. The only problem is that Ted is in trouble and he entrusts Bobby for help against the Low Men. The film also stars Mika Boorem (Blue Crush) as Carol Gerber, Alan Tudyk (Zootopia) as Monte Man, Adam LeFevre (Hitch) as Don Biderman, Will Rothhaar (Kingpin) as John Sullivan, Timothy Reifsnyder (Wide Awake) as Harry Doolin, Celia Watson (Observe And Report) as Alana Files, and the film was directed by Scott Hicks (The Lucky One).
The funny thing about this films is who knew that six years later that Hope Davis and Anton Yelchin would play mother and son again in Charlie Bartlett? She’s not a completely hopeless mother in this film because she’s functional, but she is clueless just like she is in the other film. This film features a young Anton Yelchin and he was just as brilliant then as he was right before he passed away. He was masterful as that young child that is full of hope towards the future that the brilliant Anthony Hopkins character can see it. That is why he gives Bobby the gift of being able to see a bright future. While there is plenty of drama in the film, the mystery part is the most interesting part of the film in my opinion. You see Hopkin’s character is on the run from something and we begin to find out what and who as he let’s Bobby in on it slowly. The premise of it is different and interesting and you wonder if the Government really did try enlisting psychics to find communist spies? I loved the story of the film and I love how the film was set in the 1950’s with the outfits, cars, etc. The 50’s is one of my favorite decades besides the 1980’s because it looked like a simpler time so you know I loved the sets and props in the film. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade because I truly enjoyed it.
For today’s film, I have been wanting to check out Forgetting Sarah Marshall for the fact that everyone I know talks about it and it’s a Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin) film. Jason Segel (Freaks & Geeks) plays Peter Bretter, a wannabe musician who is a composer for a TV show that his girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) stars in. He feels as if he is on top of the world because everything seems to be going right for him. That is until Sarah pays him a visit to tell him that she is breaking up with him. To try and get away, he travels to Hawaii to help him heal, but then he discovers that Sarah has been cheating on him with rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). Now, he’ll have to try and deal with that, but a special someone may make it easier for him.. The film also stars Mila Kunis (Ted) as Rachel, Paul Rudd (I Love You, Man) as Chuck, Jonah Hill (Knocked Up) as Matthew The Waiter, Bill Hader (Superbad) as Brian Bretter, Maria Thayer (Hitch) as Wyoma, Jack McBrayer (Wreck-It Ralph) as Darald, Taylor Wily (Hawaii Five-O) as Kemo, and Kalani Robb (Blue Crush) as Helpful Hawaiian Waiter.
I have to say that at first the film started a little slow for me, but it eventually picked the pace up and it became a really good film. It just started off as a Jason Segel winefest before it actually got really good with Mila Kunis who looked beautiful as usual. I am very surprised being a Judd Apatow and Jason Segel fan that I never saw this film. Like a lot of films, this one seemed to slip through the cracks. Another highlight of the film for me was seeing Russell Brand play what seemed to be a very natural role for himself. That of an very sexual English rock star which may not have been a stretch, but do what you know. The film primarily takes place in Hawaii which was pretty cool cause they mixed in a little of the Hawaiian culture into the film especially with the dances, the cinematography, and so much more. The film mixes in the right amount of drama to go with the romance and comedy, but there is a couple of scenes I thought were awkward. If you’e not prepared for it, it will shock the hell out of you when you see Jason Segel’s junk on a couple of occasions. You get a full shot of it and there is nothing you can do about it, but either look or turn away. This was a really good film, but definitely not my favorite Apatow film from his catalog, but enjoyable to watch like I said. That is why I am going to give the film a grade somewhere in the A-/B+ range. One of my favorite scenes in the film is represented in the picture used for this paragraph, check it out for yourself.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 