How To "Get A Job" In The 21st Century

Get a Job (2016)

Rated R

Starring Miles Teller, Anna Kendrick, Bryan Cranston, Alison Brie, Marcia Gay Harden, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jorge Garcia, Nicholas Braun,

Directed by Dylan Kidd

The Story:

Will (Teller), Jillian (Kendrick) and their friends are done with college and ready to set forth into their careers and life. Except they are all about to learn that life is never easy and whatever you thought you had planned, hopefully you wrote it down in pencil or dry erase marker.

This is an odd duck of a movie.

Apparently it was trapped in limbo for several years before it was finally released, seemingly direct to DVD.

Which is a shame, as the movie has a wonderful ensemble cast and it tackles the tough job of finding employment and balancing a life, whether it's straight out of college, or in the case of Will's father (Cranston) when he is suddenly let go and has to start over again.

The stories are a little disjointed, and could have used a tighter narrative to join them all together, but at the end of the day you have a cast of really likeable characters that are faced with the prospect of growing and learning or running and hiding.

The cast is essentially what makes this movie, and every character, from the leads to the supporting characters make the most of their personalities and screen time and will win you over as the movie rolls along.

You'll be proud of the choices they make, and while there may be "all happily ever aftered with a big bow on the end", it's just the sort of ending you would want them, or yourself, to have.

Can't beat that.

Final Grade:  C+

Rough Seas Ahead..."Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters"

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013)
Rated PG for Violence

Starring Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Douglas Smith, Leven Rambin, Brandon T. Jackson, Anthony Head, Stanley Tucci

Directed by Thor Freudenthal

The Story:

The halflings of the gods return as their safe haven is threatened by outside forces that want to destroy the gods of Olympus.  The only way to save the world is to hunt down the Golden Fleece.  However it is Percy Jackson's (Lerman) rival Clarisse (Rambin) who is selected for the quest.  However Percy and his best friends Annabeth (Daddario) and Grover (Jackson) go on their own quest.  They are joined by Percy's newly discovered half-brother, Tyson (Smith), who just so happens to be a Cyclops.

I enjoyed the first Percy Jackson film, and no, nobody in the family has ever bothered to read the books, so no comparison to the source material will be forthcoming.

It's an enjoyable movie that's suitable for the whole family to watch together.

It's also been a few years since the first film, so now I'm curious to go back and watch it again and see how this story builds off of it.

Naturally, not enough time is given to Head and Tucci to be much more than plot device managers, but they both do a fine job with their limited screen time.

Plus, Tucci probably has the funniest line/gag in the whole movie, so that's something.

:)

I Am Stanley Tucci... Acting God!

The story itself is fairly straightforward, but it helps tie the two movies together rather nicely.  Some of the action sequences are tremendously inventive and fun, and the special effects are really well done throughout.

Wondering how the actual aging of the stars will affect future sequels, but sign me up for a third installment, because they leave on enough of a cliffhanger to want to see what happens next.

That's much better than the alternative.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I will likely pick  it up in the future and add it to the library next to the first installment.