Pitch Perfect 2

Pitch Perfect 2: They're Back Pitches

 That's right! You can now go a get pitch slapped by all your favorite Bellas, Becca, Fat Amy, and even this one... Anyone know her name?

See the trailer here:

I was a fan of the first film. Walking in to this one, I expected the same movie with all the trappings of a sequel, sacrificing originality for more elaborate sets, abusing its big budget. Pitch Perfect was a surprise hit, boasting enough toe-tapping tunes to cover its uninspired and predictable plot.

The music is still here and is as toe-tapping as ever. As I write this review, I am listening to the soundtrack of the movie... So that's a plus.

When it comes to the humor in the movie, it's largely hit or miss. When it's funny, its hilarious. Elizabeth Banks and John Micheal Higgins continue to mine deadpan comedy gold as the a capella commentators with their deliciously off-color commentary during the performances. The movie pushes the envelope in a lot of way, employing racism, misogyny, and lowbrow humor to shock. And for the most part, it works.

However, the self-aware commentary on privileged millennial culture that made the original so cutting now feels trite and doesn't work as well. It was a bold move to market a movie at teenage girls and then satirize their culture. This time around, it fails to earn laughs, instead eliciting nothing but eye rolls. When the hipster exclaims, "I can't run! I'm in skinny jeans," I feel nothing but embarrassment for the movie. When the movie falls flat, it falls flat on its face. Seriously the silence in the theater made me cringe. But worry not, the moments of uproarious laughter are present as well. 

Also, the movie really needs to adding "aca" in front of words. It was a joke from the first movie that wasn't funny then and refuses to die. Let's face it, it's aca-annoying.

I was admittedly worried that the movie would go overboard with the sequel trappings. However, the movie addressed the sensory overload that often comes with sequels from a unique angle. The Bellas begin the movie with elaborate performances with props and lighting tricks. The movie goes on to stress the need to returns to basics, almost self-satirizing. It was well played. 

In an attempt to up the ante from its predecessor, the movie is full of guest stars. Some of them are very funny, for example Barack Obama. To see my homie Barack in a movie and jamming out to the musical stylings of the Bellas tickled me. However, when the Green Packers show up as an a capella group without explanation and begin singing, I felt nothing but intense confusion. In that sense, the movie occasionally gets lost in itself, overdoing the absurdity. 

The performances were passable and Elizabeth Banks proved herself as a competent director. Let's face it, none of us are expecting to be captivated by any performances in this movie. Everyone satisfies their one dimensional character's role with relative ease.

The story arc of the movie is a little flawed. Instead of building up to the finals with a series of performances, the movie seems to wander. In fact, I probably couldn't give you a summary of the movie, the plot drifts too much. Becca and Jesse's relationship is beyond boring. We spend the first movie rooting for them to get together, and they do... and then nothing happens between them. No drama. No intimacy. Aside from a few displays of PDA, it's kind of just assumed that they are together in this movie, their relationship serving absolutely no purpose.

There also seems to be an issue with sound mixing... which is a big, big problem. All the music was perfectly audible. Dialogue not so much. I missed a lot of lines because the sound was not properly balanced, a frustrating oversight.

While I moderately enjoyed this movie, I fear for the series' future. With a door wide open to sequels, we could be looking at a Bring It On franchise repeat with numerous straight-to-DVD sequels marring the original's good name. Let's all hope the Pitch Perfect series knows when to call it quits.

Overall, Pitch Perfect 2 uses a lot of the original's strengths to produce another teen smash hit. If you don't think you'll like this movie, you're probably right. This movie is for a specific audience and probably won't win many new converts.

Pitch Perfect 2 is rated PG-13 for for innuendo and language.

50 Shades of Grey

50 Shades of Grey: Inner Goddesses Rejoice

              As if my addiction to Sex and the City weren’t enough, in my freshman year I sat down to read the 50 Shades trilogy, cementing the fact that I am, at heart, a housewife approaching menopause. And so I devoured the 1,500+ page series, rolling my eyes incessantly. Ana as a character was complete garbage. Her ongoing inner monologue with her dancing inner goddess and her snarky subconscious constantly fighting was painful and frankly may imply schizophrenia. What you hear is true; the books are so poorly written, it’s like an insult to writers everywhere. However, I knew what I was signing up for, poorly written mom porn, and I got it. I knew movies were the next step for the franchise… it would be a poor marketing decision to not. However, I had no idea what it would be like.

              When the first trailer was released, I have to say, I was rather surprised. It seemed really well done. I thought that if they could get rid of the horrible dialogue, monologue, and overall writing, the movie could be passable. If it was visually well done and tastefully handled, we may have a good movie. And due to the fact Beyoncé was singing, we already knew the soundtrack was going be excellent. Here’s the trailer:

 It certainly looked visually stunning, one shot is particular stuck out:

              I was admittedly excited and visually, the movie delivered. It looked rich and decadent, Christian’s office and apartment looking sleek and powerful with a lot of black, gray, and white. The director also utilized scenery in a pretty effective way, the picture above being an example. The Seattle skyline provided a beautiful and elegant backdrop for a large portion of the movie and even the rare scenes in nature were accompanied by beautiful scenery.

 One thing that definitely stood out throughout the movie was the lighting. This movie’s lighting is absolutely incredible. My eyes were seduced by a warm orange glow lighting the character’s skin during a sultry discussion over the contract of their relationship. The light in the “Red Room of Pain” made the dark red leather shine, making the experience of seeing the room for the first time intense and exciting.

To the director’s credit, the sex scenes were handled rather tastefully… well, as tastefully as they could. This is due in part to the absence of Ana’s inner monologue, sparing us the grimy details. Also, they canned some of the more cringe worthy encounters and I must say, I have never before been so glad that a movie was NOT loyal to the book. If I was forced to endure seeing some of the horrible things I read, this movie would’ve been straight up porn. Make no mistake, this movie is racy. However, it is in no way to be considered pornography. I really wasn’t shocked by anything in this film. That’s not to say you should watch it on family movie night. This movie is absolutely not for children or the faint of heart… but it isn’t as offensive as it could have been. They’ve toned it down for the mainstream audience but kept enough to satisfy fans of the book.

There is no question that the direction is beyond competent.

I was very worried about the writing in this film. Not including a voice over of Ana’s inner monologue was probably the film’s best decision. However, the dialogue was still at risk of being every bit as terrible as it was in the book… however, the movie handled it well. Contrary to what the trailer makes you believe, the movie never really takes itself too seriously. Unlike the book, the film acknowledges the ridiculous nature of their relationship, allowing the dialogue to be more tongue in cheek and the experience to be a whole lot more enjoyable. In fact, the scene where the two negotiate their relationship in the form of a contract, talking about what is considered a hard and soft limit, is absolutely hilarious. I’d say it competes with the first use of the Red Room, which was also pretty awesome (a sensual version of Crazy in Love by Beyoncé playing in the background, what’s not to love?!... oh yea… the whips and abuse), for the best scene. That’s not to say I didn’t wince at some of the stupid things these people say to each other. When the film takes itself serious, it is disastrous. But a little train wreck was to be expected due to its source material.

As far as acting, I was pleasantly surprised. Dakota Johnson, who plays Ana, did not make a good first impression on me in the trailer. I felt that the horrible and idiotic character from the book would be simply put on screen. Boy was I wrong. Dakota Johnson seems to do the impossible, make Anastasia Steele a tolerable character. In fact, I enjoyed her. She was actually quite funny and secretly amazingly beautiful. She may not ever outgrow this role, but she plays it pretty well and I’d love to see her in other films. Jamie Doran is not as good. His character is cold but he doesn’t convey any sort of warmth or really contribute much to the chemistry other than a body.

Now comes a rather odd suggestion on my part. I think this movie needs to be enjoyed in a group setting. If I were to have watched it alone, the dialogue may have felt more serious and the eye-rolling factor would have been greatly increased. I went with a group of friends who I am very comfortable with and we had a great time laughing together. Not to mention the guy behind us who, at the film’s climax, said, “This is some bulls**t!” We laughed for minutes. You need someone to reflect back the ridiculous nature of this film and I think, contrary to what many may feel, it is better enjoyed in a group.

Is it an excellent film? Not really. In fact, it is being called boring by many. But one cannot deny that it is infinitely better than the book. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not. But if you need to feed your inner goddess so she can do back flips and dance in circles, this is the film for you. Just leave your snarky subconscious at home.

50 Shades of Grey is rated R for strong sexual content including dialouge, some unusual behavior and graphic nudity, and for language

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Tags: romance, r, 50 shades, fifty shades, 50 shades of grey, fifty shades of grey