Aloha (2015)

Written and Directed by Cameron Crowe

Starring Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams and John Krasinski

A celebrated military contractor returns to the site of his greatest career triumphs and re-connects with a long-ago love while unexpectedly falling for the hard-charging Air Force watchdog assigned to him.

Despite having a cast filled with A-list actors, most of which have won or been nominated for Oscar's, and a celebrated Academy Award winning director, this Hawaiian based romance is not without it's problems. The writing is up to par with Cameron Crowe's previous work and the acting is undoubtedly a showcase of the best. But the flow of the film is unbearably slow and often unfocused. 

It's hard to see exactly what Crowe was attempting to say with this convoluted and cluttered plot line. It swings between a romance, a Hawaiian ghost story and a struggle with war based morality and never really finds it's footing with either theme.

The romantic aspect is perhaps the strongest of the three. However, the connection between Cooper and Stone's characters never seemed right other than having two beautiful people romantically linked. The story seemed to play out just for the sake of playing out.

This film, while certainly not being the best in any participants career, is definitely not without it's merits. As I said before, the acting is up to par with everyone and it has a lot of funny moments. The story just had very poor flow and never kept a consistent pace.

My Rating: 5/10

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Directed by James Foley
Written by David Mamet, based on his play of the same name.
Starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris and Alan Arkin

An examination of the fast-paced, cut-throat nature of working in a real estate office.

Remarkable acting and superb writing run this movie. Without them, this film would be nothing. The story is not particularly interesting, unless you're big on sales. But the characters are just eccentric enough to keep you engaged throughout the whole movie.

I feel this would be more interesting to see as a play as it was originally intended. I found myself annoyed by all of the two-faced techniques of salespeople. Much like I do when I go to a car dealership. But that is not the fault of the film. It is the fault of the shit filled world that is competitive sales.

It's all about brass balls, apparently.

While this movie did infuriate me by reminding me how much I hate sales, I quite enjoyed it. As a fan of incredible acting and writing, there was nothing that would have made me dislike this movie. I just really hate sales and the people who work in sales. Scum of the Earth.

My Rating: 7/10