The Big Year

-

The Big Year
Starring Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Steve Martin, Rosamund Pike
Directed by David Frankel

It's the event every bird watcher loves - The Big Year.  Spending a year traveling the country, documenting as many different kinds of birds possible.  The person who sees the most wins the Big Year, and everyone is out for the title.

Brad Harris (Jack Black) is out to break the record done by Bostick (Owen Wilson), and, despite lack of funds, sets out to accomplish his goal.  Meanwhile, CEO Stu (Steve Martin) wants an adventure before he retires.  Bostick knows people are out to break his record, so he sets out to break it himself.

The three travel all over the country locating different birds and competing against each other, and it seems that all three of them lose sense of what's really important in life.  Bostick isn't paying attention to his wife (Rosamund Pike).  Brad has a terrible relationship with his father, and Stu is watching his family from a distance.  Will they realize the important things in life before they're gone forever?

When I first watched this film, I thought to myself: "is there such a thing as this?"  To my surprise I discovered there was.  At first I thought it was pathetic for people to travel all over the country just to find birds, but after thinking about it, I think it would be fascinating.  Not seeing birds, but seeing the country.  One of the best aspects of this film is the lush scenery of all the different places the characters go to.  It reminds me that America is a lot bigger than I think sometimes.

Back to the movie, I think they billed it the wrong way.  They labeled it a comedy (and, with the talents of Wilson, Black and Martin, that's no surprise), but there isn't much laughter in the film.  Instead it's a melancholy drama about three men who could possibly give up everything in order to become the best bird watcher out there.  I read the reviews of the film and most everyone hated it, and I think it's for that fact - and also because it centers around bird watching, a sport I don't think many people know too much about.

I didn't find the film too appealing, the characters were very one-note (meaning there wasn't much to them other than trying to be the best).  The character development wasn't there, and overall it was a very forgettable film.

My Rating: B-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Major Theatrical Releases May 2019

-
Image
Major Theatrical Releases May 2019 After the hype that is "Avengers: Endgame," May offers a massive collection of differing types of movies, enough to entertain everyone. Here are the major theatrical releases for May 2019. **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** **DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE**  The Intruder May 3 Dennis Quaid goes from starring the family-friendly "A Dog's Journey" to playing a total psycho in "The Intruder."  When a young couple purchases a home from Quaid's character Charlie, they didn't realize it came with an addition - Charlie himself, who can't seem to let his old home go.  I don't expect any twists or turns in this tale, and this looks like a film better fit for Lifetime than the big screen.  Long Shot May 3 Charlize Theron stars as Charlotte Field, the current Secretary of State and who's running for President.  Seth Rogen stars as Fred Flarsky, a
Read more

Witch

-
Image
Witch Starring Russell Shaw, Ryan Spong, Sarah Alexandra Marks, Fabrizio Santino Directed by Craig Hinde & Marc Zammit Movies about witches are about a dime a dozen, and follow the same formula: typically set in a time period long ago (since now, fortunately, the stigma of witches has been lessened and the religious fervor has diminished), in a small Puritanical town, a girl is accused of witchcraft which spirals the town into a frenzy filled with suspicion, doubt, and murder until the witch is put to religious justice. While that's not necessarily a bad formula (Robert Eggers' "The VVitch" and Mario Bava's "Black Sunday" immediately come to mind), most films fall by the wayside. "Witch" is a small film that, at first glance, seems to follow the mold before completely shattering it in a second act twist that's daring, provocative, and works in a lot of levels, but could've been more pronounced if given a bigger budget. In the small
Read more

Special Review: "Midwest Sessions"

-
Image
Special Review: "Midwest Sessions" Directed by Mario Ricciardi Independent filmmaking is a fascinating concept, wherein the director and everyone involved sets out to make something unique, different, and go against the traditional status quo of what's defined as a "blockbuster." These films aren't usually seen by the masses and won't be included in the top ten highest grossing movies of all time, but they offer something those films don't: a heart and commitment by the people involved to craft something wholly distinctive that tell a story in their own way. Such is "Midwest Sessions," a local film directed by Mario Ricciardi that centers on the city of Youngstown, Ohio, and the captivating people who live there. Told in different vignettes that seem distinct and different from one another but coming together as a whole in the end, it's an engrossing film that utilizes its shoestring budget and gives great performances, decent effects a
Read more