The Bling Ring Review

Okay, fellow movie lovers, I have been eagerly anticipating seeing this movie for months now.  It wasn’t immediately released in my city and I was super bummed.  Now that it is out on DVD I finally got to see it and it was totally worth the wait.

The Bling Ring is another Sophia Coppola jewel based on the actual group of seven teenagers and adults called the Hollywood Hills Burglars that stole an estimated $3 million in designer clothing, accessories, and cash from celebrities between 2008 and 2009. 

Written and Directed by Coppola this film took a raw and at times, comical view of the teenagers involved in this series of quite serious crimes.  Starring relative newcomers, Katie Chang and Israel Broussard and co-starring Emma Watson, this dark comedic drama brings to light many of the flawed values young people in America have today.  These kids were the product of parents who were absent either physically or emotionally, habitual drug usage, the universal plague of having nothing better to do.  They idolized these celebrities to the point where they would do anything to become a part of their society, including steal.  They partied where their favorite celebs hung out and they flaunted their crimes.  Their peers even admired their fantastical feats of thievery. 

The whole movie caught me with my jaw on the floor.  I think the most shocking thing of all, next to the incredible void these young people had in their lives that they filled with such superficial things, was the fact that nearly every one of their victim’s homes was unlocked.  Seriously??  Part of me was like your dumb behind deserves to get robbed!!  I would think anyone who lived outside of Mayberry would lock the doors and windows of their home.  Especially if that home contained so many high-cost items.  But that’s just me and my common sense.

Each of the burglars got sentenced to jail time as well as hefty fines.  I believe most of the Hollywood elite has now employed more secure measures for their homes and valuables.  I also believe Sophia Coppola has made another fine masterpiece. 

 

4.75/5 Stars

Generation Um Review

It has been nearly 15 years since I have seen an independent movie that truly fits the independent genre in scale, style, writing, and acting.  Today it seems that independents are more of a fad, being called “indie films” and featuring weirdly dressed over analytical characters all with the same modus operandi – lost in the city and lost in love.  We independent lovers have had to settle for movies that could fit the bill such as Happythankyoumoreplease and Dan in Real Life.  Though these movies were amazing and their styles could suggest some independent leanings, they were mostly about love or finding love.  I find that true independent films, the independents that made me love the genre have nothing to do with love.  They are intimate accounts of horrendously flawed lives and the events that grant revelation or progress or clarity in the middle of chaos.  Sometimes the movie ended with no point at all, like in Kids and Welcome to the Dollhouse.  The film just ended and so did your glimpse into the life and situation of someone else.  

Generation Um brings us back to the true spirit of independent films.  Starring Keanu Reeves and Daniel Sunjata and written and directed by Mark Mann the movie features two lesser known actresses, Bojana Novakovic and Adelaide Clemens, in lead roles (also characteristic of independent films).  The movie highlights Reeves who is an older, mysterious guy sharing a cheap NY apartment with his cousin and a cat.  It is not clear what Reeves does for a living until the end of the movie.  But he gets his hands on a movie camera and decides to film the ladies he works with.  He asks them probing questions about their lives and families and what brings them to where they are in life now.  The result is a razor sharp account of broken families, abuse, and lost innocence.  Though the story is not about love, this reviewer’s opinion is that the main characters’ desire for genuine human connection is strong and endearing.  This film will leave you wanting more details about the lives of the characters but thoroughly satisfied with the glimpse you got.  And just like that, independent film is reborn.

4.5/5 Stars