Silver Linings Playbook, So Damn Charming!

Mental illness as romantic comedy, who knew?

Silver Linings Playbook, one of the biggest of the Oscar bait films, is one of those landmark genre films, whether anyone right now realizes it or now. Like Harry Met Sally before it, this film captures the feel of our pop culture and turns it back on us, making us both laugh and wonder about ourselves. In a genre that is, despite my endless enjoyment of it, admittedly formulaic and tired, Silver Linings is simply refreshing.

The movie is about a man named Pat, played by Bradley Cooper, who is released from a mental hospital after a nervous breakdown six months prior, caused by his wife's infidelity. Since his hospitalization, Pat's been intensely working on himself, losing weight (because cheating on an overweight Bradley Cooper is the only scenario that makes sense for the world) and improving his outlook on life. He is released into his parents' custody, played brilliantly by Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver, where he continues on his quest to revive his marriage (even though his wife has sold their house and left town). Along the way, he meets Jennifer Lawrence's Tiffany, a slightly unhinged nymphomaniacal widower. While it's potentially obvious where the story ends up, the way it gets there is quite hilarious and unexpected.

I'm just going to get straight into it; I am madly in love with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper after this film. Separately, they are excellent in this film, more than deserving of their Oscar nominations. Together, they are dynamite. Age difference be damned, they have a chemistry that works in both the quiet and boisterous moments. They are simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking, and even when they act absolutely ridiculous (it is a film about recovering from mental illness after all), you cannot help but root for them. Jennifer Lawrence in this film is equatable to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, but younger and even better, and if she loses the Best Actress Oscar, there is no justice in the world.

The entire cast of Silver Linings Playbook is fantastic, which would've saved the film had it been a poorly written mess. The fact that it isn't, that it's instead a carefully crafted, joyous take on the dangers of blind love makes the experience all the more satisfying. Everything works, from the football backdrop, to the use of Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amour", even down to the ballroom dancing. it's irreverent, it's quirky, and it makes you heart burst, even at the fairly typical ending.

Pardon the football pun, but Silver Linings Playbook is easily the season's MVP.

Maybe I'm Crazy, But I Wasn't Blown Away By Beyoncé's Super Bowl Performance

There's no question that Beyoncé Knowles is, at this point, the champion pop star of our time. It's the chief reason (along with her long-awaited relaunch onto the pop charts) for the decision to have her headline the Super Bowl XXXXVII.

Seriously, the list of promising halftime show headliners is dwindling.

All of that noted, I have to say that the diva's performance wasn't as amazing as I was expecting. That, by no means, suggests it was bad; I'm not even sure that exists in her vocabulary. However, considering the venue (the most watched televised event of the year, bar none), I was expecting balls-out, knock my shoes off insanity. Honestly, it was quite tepid.

My biggest issue was with the song choices. While the "Love On Top" intro was promising, the set list left a bit to be desired. I mean, where was "Run The World", for instance? Yes it flopped hard, but the sheer bombast of it begged for an epic Super Bowl appearance? The inclusion of "End of Time" was kind of puzzling, as was "Halo"; surely the more iconic "Irreplaceable" could have been substituted, if this was to be a survey of her career. The songs she did perform had many recycled elements, most notably the wall  hologram thing that she did at the Billboard Awards in 2011 (and killed it, might I add). There really wasn't anything new or fresh brought to the table, which was very disappointing, considering this is her first major performance in nearly two years.

Also, I felt that the performance itself was way too short. I mean, Michael Jackson was on stage at the Super Bowl for nearly a half hour, and Madonna's halftime show last year felt that long. She has more than enough chart-topping material to create a mini-concert. And then, where was the new single? I can't have been the only person expecting Beyoncé to deliver the first single from her upcoming album, and guarantee a number-one hit.

Speaking of her career, the biggest surprise was the inclusion of Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Rumors about their appearance were kiboshed by Williams herself, but that was clearly a way to diffuse the leak. They looked excellent together, and there was a clear effort to make them look like a unit, and not Beyoncé's background singers/dancers (although "Single Ladies" slightly defeated the purpose, but oh well).

I was disappointed because I know Beyoncé can deliver a killer, epic performance, and for whatever reason, it just wasn't there for me. I'm glad she performed, though, because there aren't many who could headline a Halftime show.

Here's to hoping she knocks our socks off at the Grammys next week.

Check her performance out below:

The Social Implications of Tarantino's Django Unchained and Why It Matters

Django Unchained left me in stitches.

Yes, there was the side-splitting, fall-out-of-your-chair comedy delivered masterfully by Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph Waltz. But there was something else that cut at me. It wasn't deep enough to hinder my enjoyment of a truly excellent film by Quentin Tarantino, but there was a scar I couldn't help picking at in the hours after I left the theater.

It all started with one scene. Django, played by Jamie Foxx, is sitting with Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) in a cave after having killed the three brothers they were looking for. Django is a slave that Schultz rescued so that he could assist Schultz in the capture of the aforementioned brothers. During their time together, Django shares with bounty hunter Schultz that he is married to a fellow slave who happens to speak German. Schultz is German, and explains that her name, Broomhilda, comes from a well-known German tale. The camera shots during the telling of this tale frames Django below Schultz, looking on with wide-eyed wonder as the man who secured his freedom tells the story. Even those not well-versed in film theory could see the underlying power dynamic established in that scene alone.

The film is titled Django Unchained, but there were times when I questioned how much the film was about that character. It seemed as if the film belonged as much to Christoph Waltz as it did to Jamie Foxx. It could be the issue of acting, but still, something about that didn't seem right, not to take away from any of the performances, of course.

I'll reiterate that Django Unchained is an excellent film that has enough gore and humor to make the two and a half hours worth it. I commend Quentin Tarantino for telling an excellent story and not pulling any punches regarding its source of inspiration.

However, I still found myself troubled by how inconsequential Django was in his own story. The majority of his agency stems from a white man, from his release from bondage to his brand-new career as a bounty hunter. Even the film's resolution, which I won't ruin for those who haven't seen it yet, owes a considerable amount to Dr. Schultz. Although Dr. Schultz is a "good guy", a foil to the evil Mr. Candie, he is still white, which means that he still benefits from the institution of slavery, and admits as much to Django in their first conversation. This also means that Django is still indebted to a white man, although the terms are a lot less severe. This debt is resolved in the film's third act, in typical bloody Tarantino fashion, but it remains that it existed in the first place. As a young black man watching this film, about a slave exacting his revenge against the institution that caused irreparable harm to him and countless others, it bothered me how much of that revenge was made possible by a white man.

I completely understand that Django, like other Tarantino films, is an extension of his wonderfully twisted fantasies and maybe shouldn't be delved in too deeply or taken too seriously. Unlike Spike Lee, I also wasn't bothered by the liberal use of the N-word because that was a reality of slavery back then, as were the whippings and the scars that were also present in the film. I just would've liked to see Django being more responsible for his agency throughout the film, serving a more equal and powerful role to Dr. Schultz.

Then again, maybe it would have been too beyond the scope of reality. Much of the film is beyond that scope, but it is an undeniable and harsh truth that the agency of blacks, especially in comparison to whites, was nonexistent during slavery, sans an infinitesimal few. Yes, Django Unchained is blood-soaked, hilarious, and excessive in every possible way, but it is surprising because of the indelible scars that it has and will uncover in the collective African-American consciousness, the same scar I was picking at watching that cave scene. In an era where the relevance of our complicated, heartbreaking past within our present seems to fade, Django Unchained is an excellent film to bring it all into perspective.

The Five Best Moments From the 2013 Golden Globes (Plus a Priceless GIF of Glenn Close)

This GIF pretty much sums up the 2013 Golden Globes. Enjoy.

This year's Golden Globe Awards will definitely rank amongst the best ever, thanks mostly to the hilarious host Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. But more on them later. Here are the greatest moments from this year's ceremony:

5. Adele Wins Best Original Song for "Skyfall"
She ruled 2011 and 2012, and it seems her reign isn't letting up in 2013. Adele made her huge public return at this year's Globes, and surprised no one (except maybe Taylor Swift) when she won the award for Best Original Song for her hit "Skyfall" from the Bond movie of the same name. Ever humorous and humble, Adele admitted she was expecting to just be there for the party as she accepted her speech. Oscar glory is all but guaranteed for her come next month.

4. Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig Present Best Actress
Last night was filled with laughs, but the most side-splitting moment by far came from Bridesmaids star Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell, who presented the award for the Best Actress - Comedy or Musical. The two played a hilarious skit where they try to describe the performances that they haven't seen, with absolutely outrageous results. If this was their audition for the Golden Globes 2014, then they can take it.

3. Ben Affleck Wins Two Golden Globes and Gets Back at the Oscars for Snubbing Him
Many people were surprised to learn that Ben Affleck (and Katheryn Bigelow, for that matter) did not receive a Best Director nod from the Academy Awards. Well it seems the AMPAS (Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences) has some explaining to do, after Ben Affleck not only won Best Director for his critically lauded film Argo, he took home Best Picture as well. Ben, who admitted to be in recovery mode following the mess that was "Bennifer", seemed stunned when he picked up his Best Director trophy, pipping frontrunner Steven Spielberg and his film Lincoln. With this huge double whammy from the Hollywood Foreign Press, Argo is firmly set as a frontrunner in this hotly-contested Oscar season.

2. Jodie Foster. Enough Said.
I wasn't expecting much from Jodie Foster when they announced she was receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. That was a mistake. Huge mistake. The actress, who has logged nearly five decades worth of performances, delivered one of the most unbelievable speeches in the history of entertainment. Part-retrospective, part-coming out, part-diatribe on privacy in Hollywood, part-tribute to her mother, and part-retirement declaration, Foster left everyone either laughing, crying, or just speechless in her acceptance. While proclamations that it was the best speech ever might be taking it too far, Jodie Foster's speech will certainly go down as the most memorable in Golden Globes history.

1. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Need To Host Every Awards Show
From start to finish, comediennes Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were absolutely brilliant, so much so that I wished we got to see more of them during the three hour telecast. There were just so many hilarious moments, from their dragging James Cameron and James Franco within minutes of each other, to their dig at Taylor Swift and her serial dating, to their drinking after losing the Golden Globe to Girls star Lena Dunham, to their trolling of the presenters as fake nominees, I can't possibly see why those two shouldn't remain as host for the foreseeable future. Oscar host Seth McFarlane has his work cut out for him.

What were your favorite moments from the Globes?