Movie Reviews: The Visit and The Intern

He's back! Finally! Another M. Night Shyamalan movie worth seeing! :)

Don't get me wrong, I like most of his movies - Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village, Lady in the Water...from looking over his IMDB page, he apparently was one of the screenwriters for Stuart Little...and I just prefer to believe that The Happening and The Last Airbender do not exist. So I really am happy to enjoy another of his movies. :)

The basic storyline revolves around the two children of a single mother who are finally meeting their maternal grandparents. There had been a falling out years before and this was a first step in a reconnecting. The daughter Becca - decides to document the trip in order to share it with her mother, in hopes of bringing closure to the falling out. And since it's an M. Night Shyamalan movie, things start to get weird....

Overall, I liked it and, if you're like scary flicks or M. Night Shyamalan movies, would recommend it. It felt very Shyamalan-y. There were some funny parts, a couple good jump scares, a believable plot and, of course, a twist. And I didn't mind the POV-ness of it....since Becca and Tyler are the ones filming everything, it's fairly found footage-y. And I really liked the cast - no huge names, but everyone did a good job, especially the kids. I could have done without anything diaper related...if/when you see the movie, you'll know what I mean. 

If you want to read up on some of the specifics, check out the PluggedIn review. 

Fun Facts: 
- The director's lowest budget studio feature film.
- M. Night Shyamalan used his fee from the Will Smith produced science-fiction adventure story After Earth (2013) to self-produce the film in question. In his own words, this was "an attempt to regain artistic control" after his recent movies had been denied final cut, and were even taken away from him in post-production.
- SPOILER: On their way to the town, Becca and Tyler suggest that they play a game where they choose a building, make up a person who lives there, and explain what they do. The police station was chosen as a building and the person made up was named Jerry, who supposedly never answered the phone. When Tyler's and Becca's mom figures out that the people who they are staying with aren't their grandparents she calls the local police. Her call goes to the answering machine and it can be heard that Jerry cannot get to the phone.

***

I'd heard a couple good reviews from friends/coworkers about The Intern and so had a good feeling going into it. I was not disappointed. 

The movie opens with Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro) recording a video interview, explaining who he is, a little about himself and...basically what he is hoping to accomplish at this point in his life. The interview is part of an application to be a "senior intern" at Jules Ostin's (Anne Hathaway) burgeoning online clothing company. 

My biggest complaint about the movie is its unwavering support of the idea that women can have it all...and that the world should not be critical of that. I honestly don't think you can have it all. Not really. You can have pieces of it all. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do "all the things" well. Just like I'd be disappointed in a workaholic (as opposed to one who was just trying to put food on the table) father who consistently worked 12-14 hour days, I think it's unfair to women to let them think that's something they could...and should...accomplish as well. SPOILER: Jules is a bright, hardworking woman with a great idea who could use a bit more help, without having to hand all the power over to a CEO. I feel like they missed the obvious third option of finding another solution. It shouldn't have been an either-or scenario. 

Oooh, I forgot. One more complaint. There were two scenes with Ben and the in-house masseuse, Fiona (Rene Russo), that were waaaay too long. Nothing super sketchy...but they definitely fell in to the realm of uncomfortable. Shave off 30 seconds from each scene and I wouldn't have mentioned anything. 

The Intern is not going to win any awards, but it was a cute little movie that is definitely worth seeing, though not necessarily at the show. Unlike big action movies or disaster flick, I don't think anything will be lost from the big screen to viewing it at home. 

For more information and specifics, check out the PluggedIn review.


What are some good movies (new or old) you've seen lately? 


~ Katie

Song of the Day: One of these days I will see the Piano Guys live in concert. I really wanted to see them in Red Rock this summer, but the dates just didn't work out. Until then, I shall have to be content with what they post on YouTube, such as Code Name Vivaldi. Enjoy.