Movies

This film tells the story of a high school student who parties and drinks hard. He meets a nice girl who is opposite of him, and they influence each other.The film requires the main characters to be likable in order for viewers to care about them. Unfortunately, I do not care for either Sutter and Aimee. Sutter is an irresponsible young man, while Aimee's character is poorly developed to contrast Sutter. The events that happen in the film are either not engaging or dramatic enough. Even when Aimee gets hit by a car, there is little follow up on it. We do not get to see the emotional reactions of the people around her. It tries to show the emotional baggage of the past and the difficulties in growing up. However, there is little depth in depicting the characters' psychological states. I find it disappointing.

THE SPECTACULAR NOW (2013) ***1/2 Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kyle Chandler, Brie Larson, Masam Holden, Dayo Okeniyi, Bob Odenkirk, Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Wonderful coming-of-age teen dramedy based on Tim Tharp's novel about a happy-go-lucky high school senior (Teller uncannily getting in touch with his inner John Cusack) whose philosophy of the title has him drifting until he meets a sweet girl in his graduating class (Woodley in easily the breeziest performance of a teenager ever) who anchors him in all the right ways, including love. Smart/funny screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber works incredibly well with James Ponsoldt's straight-forward clear-eyed direction with echoes of Cameron Crowe and John Hughes, involving all the pitfalls of adolescence and heartbreak along the path of adulthood. Seek this indie gem out!

Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) is the life of the party with his girlfriend Cassidy (Brie Larson). She dumps him after a misunderstanding. He gets passed-out drunk and Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley) finds him asleep on a lawn during her paper route. He's an irresponsible teen who drinks too much. He finds something compelling about the quiet bookworm nice girl and asks her to the prom. Aimee has never had a boyfriend before and he has daddy issues.This movie is low-key in tone. It allows the two leads to bring out their natural charms. The great thing about it is that the actors fit their characters so easily. The daddy issue isn't the most original and Sutter himself would say that his issues aren't greater than most other kids. I still like the performances.