Nebraska/Her

Nebraska (2013)

92% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 209 reviews)

Runtime: 115 minutes

Directed by: Alexander Payne

Starring: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, Bob Odenkirk, June Squibb, Stacy Keach

From: Paramount Vantage

Her (2013)

94% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 220 reviews)

Runtime: 126 minutes

Directed by: Spike Jonze

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, the voice of Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Chris Pratt

From: Warner Brothers

Tonight, I decided to talk about the two independent movies I saw during Saturday's marathon. Tomorrow night it's the more commercial films I'll review; it'll be the two I hadn't seen already. I'll talk about Nebraska first.

Via the IMDb, here's the plot to Nebraska: “An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.” Of course it's about more than that. A lot of the runtime is spent in a random rural town in Nebraska that the father and his wife Kate (Squibb) grew up in; they get to meet up with family and friends they hadn't seen in a long time. The father is insistent that he did win a milllion dollars even if everyone else realizes that those things are a giant scam; you know, it's like Publisher's Clearing House.

Overall, this black and white film was quite entertaining. It's a drama but there are plenty of humorous moments. Dern's character-Woody-is a lifelong alcoholic and there's natural friction between him and his son (Forte, who does a nice job in a mostly dramatic role even though he's mainly a comedy actor) due to his troubles and him being an irascible person. Woody and his wife Kate often argue with each other but they still love each other; you know how it is. I'd say that Dern and Squibb both deserved their nominations. He did a great job portraying that alcoholic character who often stumbles around and does wacky things. She also did a great job playing a woman who seems to be cranky often and at times she can be someone vulgar who likes to curse, but she's a nice gal overall...

The (fictional) Nebraska town was a very small town and it looked run-down and downright depressing at times, with various businesses closed down. The people there (most of whom you see are older people; it is nice that there are movies out there that mostly consist of those up there in age and those actors can get work) try to make it by but they seem to be doing decently, all things considered. However, with Woody telling everyone that he's a millionaire, there is drama with his young cousins (one of whom is best known for being Buzz from the Home Alone movies!) and also from an old buddy (Stacy Keach).

It's a nice film where you do have such things as character arcs as father and son do get to know each other better and their relationship does change. It was pretty cool seeing it on the big screen with a crowd that laughed at the funny moments. Me, I enjoyed how you briefly heard the Foghat song Fool for the City because hey, it's Foghat. And, I enjoyed how Stacy Keach did karaoke; it was as funny as you'd expect hearing that golden voice of his sing.

Now, onto Her...

To steal the plot description from the IMDb, but shortened by me: "Theodore is a lonely man in the final stages of his divorce. When he's not working as a letter writer, his down time is spent playing video games and occasionally hanging out with friends. He decides to purchase the new OS1, which is advertised as the world's first artificially intelligent operating system, "It's not just an operating system, it's a consciousness," the ad states. Theodore quickly finds himself drawn in with Samantha, the voice behind his OS1. As they start spending time together they grow closer and closer and eventually find themselves in love. Having fallen in love with his OS, Theodore finds himself dealing with feelings of both great joy and doubt...”

I'll be honest here... what little I've seen of Spike Jonze when it comes to feature films, he is just not for me. I thought that Being John Malkovich was more strange than anything else. Here, Her had quality performances, a visual style unlike most others, unique insights, and additional things... yet, there was something there that was distancing myself from loving the movie. Sure, I enjoyed Olivia Wilde's brief role and how I thought she looked hotter here than she ever had before. But, you know what I mean.

Maybe it was the overwhelming quirkiness and/or maybe it was other things. It's just that I did not love this movie like many others have. I rate it as a little above average; it's not a 5 star classic to me. I couldn't tell you why all the men in the movie dressed funny in this “near-future” film where it looked like the Japanese or Chinese have a huge influence on Los Angeles, at least judging by street signs.

I wish I could have enjoyed it like others did; oh well... there was laughter at various times. Sometimes it was rather uproarious and other times it was of the nervous kind, which is understandable, with what strange shit you see in this movie, to put it bluntly. One lady in the crowd couldn't stop giggling for at least a minute straight, and I'm not sure what it was that broke her. I remember it was before the movie winded down and I thought it ended in a silly and not that satisfying way. Maybe it was just me, though.

I shall return tomorrow night.