kirablpl
Joined Apr 2013
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Reviews2
kirablpl's rating
The Vicious Kind, much like the title, is full of tenuous parallels. It follows the story of Caleb, the older brother and black sheep of his family. He's dropping off his brother, Peter, and his girlfriend Emma off to meet with their father for the holidays. Fueled by his own recent breakup, Caleb becomes convinced that Emma is going to corrupt and break his little brother, and does everything in his power to antagonize her away, all the while becoming more and more infatuated with her.
No, this is not a story that you've never seen before in some form or another. But it is handled with a true understanding of how difficult and lonely relationships can be. Adam Scott is the perfect antihero, cycling through emotions he clearly has no understanding of let alone grasp on. He simultaneously tries to repel and seduce Emma, punishing her for his ex-girlfriend's betrayal. Emma seems equally confused, repulsed by his erratic behavior and still intrigued, looking to help the fragile man inside who is clearly hurting.
Donald, the family patriarch, is played by J. K. Simmons with a very lovable, gruff charm, unable or unwilling to filter his thoughts and in so showing how he and Caleb are so similar and at odds with each other. There is still a sadness, a lacking connection that Donald appears to be looking for, at times in Emma, that drives him to even further alienate Caleb and his own sense of loss.
Peter's character seems to lack depth compared to Donald and Caleb, but in a way I think it fits with his rebellion against his crazy, conflicted family and how he hasn't experienced the same suffering his family is flailing through.
All of the actors in this film are brilliant. The film comes together in a heart wrenching conclusion, emotionally immature characters struggling with their weakness, knowing that they don't want to be terrible people, not to turn into those who hurt them, but inevitably seem to be anyways. A brilliant character study of great depth and soul.
No, this is not a story that you've never seen before in some form or another. But it is handled with a true understanding of how difficult and lonely relationships can be. Adam Scott is the perfect antihero, cycling through emotions he clearly has no understanding of let alone grasp on. He simultaneously tries to repel and seduce Emma, punishing her for his ex-girlfriend's betrayal. Emma seems equally confused, repulsed by his erratic behavior and still intrigued, looking to help the fragile man inside who is clearly hurting.
Donald, the family patriarch, is played by J. K. Simmons with a very lovable, gruff charm, unable or unwilling to filter his thoughts and in so showing how he and Caleb are so similar and at odds with each other. There is still a sadness, a lacking connection that Donald appears to be looking for, at times in Emma, that drives him to even further alienate Caleb and his own sense of loss.
Peter's character seems to lack depth compared to Donald and Caleb, but in a way I think it fits with his rebellion against his crazy, conflicted family and how he hasn't experienced the same suffering his family is flailing through.
All of the actors in this film are brilliant. The film comes together in a heart wrenching conclusion, emotionally immature characters struggling with their weakness, knowing that they don't want to be terrible people, not to turn into those who hurt them, but inevitably seem to be anyways. A brilliant character study of great depth and soul.
I really, really wanted to like this movie. I liked the idea of the perspective shift, the trailer narration presents R as an interesting misfit, a little too alive to be a zombie and much too dead to be anything else. I love a good horror-comedy, and what better to poke fun at then undead romance? The storyline centers around a near future where the unspecified virus breaks loose and the remaining humans build a fortress to keep out the zombies. It adds its own twist that zombies, while some stay conscious like the hero, R, others simply give up hope, and become the 'Bonies'; a skeletal group of who are merciless and bloodthirsty, you know, like a zombie. So in that, I guess I was thinking there was a good set up for some more psychological conflict, especially if it's supposed to be based off of Romeo and Juliet where people do, you know, *actually* die.
I don't know why I was expecting so much. I was already expecting zombies, but none of them have so much as a missing hand or a vacant eye socket. It's the equivalent of the glittering vampire; unmutilated zombies, who are pale, blue eyed, and stare longingly. Of all the plot holes you could drive a convertible through, that one bothered me the most. To be fair, I think one of the little kid zombies was missing teeth.
I would give you a synopsis of this movie but there doesn't seem to be a point. It's pretty typical boy meets girl, falls in love, overcomes differences. As for being a comedy, the plot is too straight forward for anything besides a few cheap laughs. It takes itself too seriously to poke fun at things like Julie's controlling father, or how awkward zombie kisses could be, and not seriously enough to give any kind of emotional depth to the characters. The relationship between Julie and R reminded me much more of Tarzan and Jane than Romeo and Juliet.
I suppose if you're looking for a fun date movie with the all the appeal of the word zombie and none of the gore, horror or anything relevant to the title, and you're still in high school, this movie has appeal. Maybe if you read the book you'll have some appreciation that I didn't. If you have to do your own laundry, or have ever had a relationship with any real emotional substance, Warm Bodies will at best leave you feeling a bit tepid.
I don't know why I was expecting so much. I was already expecting zombies, but none of them have so much as a missing hand or a vacant eye socket. It's the equivalent of the glittering vampire; unmutilated zombies, who are pale, blue eyed, and stare longingly. Of all the plot holes you could drive a convertible through, that one bothered me the most. To be fair, I think one of the little kid zombies was missing teeth.
I would give you a synopsis of this movie but there doesn't seem to be a point. It's pretty typical boy meets girl, falls in love, overcomes differences. As for being a comedy, the plot is too straight forward for anything besides a few cheap laughs. It takes itself too seriously to poke fun at things like Julie's controlling father, or how awkward zombie kisses could be, and not seriously enough to give any kind of emotional depth to the characters. The relationship between Julie and R reminded me much more of Tarzan and Jane than Romeo and Juliet.
I suppose if you're looking for a fun date movie with the all the appeal of the word zombie and none of the gore, horror or anything relevant to the title, and you're still in high school, this movie has appeal. Maybe if you read the book you'll have some appreciation that I didn't. If you have to do your own laundry, or have ever had a relationship with any real emotional substance, Warm Bodies will at best leave you feeling a bit tepid.