The Dilemma Movie Review ..

Since college, confirmed bachelor Ronny (Vince Vaughn) and happily married Nick (Kevin James) have been through thick and thin. Now partners in an auto design firm, the two pals are vying to land a dream project that would launch their company. With Ronny’s girlfriend, Beth (Jennifer Connelly), and Nick’s wife, Geneva (Winona Ryder), by their sides, they’re unbeatable. But Ronny’s world is turned upside down when he inadvertently sees Geneva out with another man and makes it his mission to get answers. As the amateur investigation dissolves his world into comic mayhem, he learns that Nick has a few secrets of his own. Now, with the clock ticking and pressure mounting on the biggest presentation of their careers, Ronny must decide how and when he will reveal the truth to his best friend.

I’ve gotten to the point where I just have to see the name “Kevin James” and my whole body goes into convulsions. Over the past five or so years, I think there may have been one decent movie that he stared in and the rest have been utter trash. So when I see the poster for The Dilemma, I can’t help but to write the entire movie off. Then I realize that it is directed by Ron Howard plus it co-stars Vince Vaughn, so I now have before me a paradox: I loathe Kevin James but I love Vince Vaughn and mostly enjoy Ron Howard. So the question I utter from my mouth at that moment is . . . “How bad can this movie be?”.

The answer to my utter dismay is that the Dilemma is a terrible mess of a film, which is quite strange that a director of such a high caliber as Ron Howard would let a film get so far out of control. But the mess that is The Dilemma is nothing compared to the complete lack of plot running through this film. The plot is basically two guys are best friends for life, one guy sees his friend’s wife kissing another man, and then the one guy has to figure out if he should tell the other guy. So in real life, this type of plot would be over in say, one five minute phone call, but as we all know, in Hollywood such situations take about 110 minutes to get out of control, dive headfirst into ridiculousness, and then gets solved as easily as it should have been in the first few minutes of the movie. After watching the film, I’m still trying to figure out if there actually was a script or simply made up on the fly.

In defense of the actors of The Dilemma, the performances throughout the film were actually a lot better than what I was expecting. Being that it is a “bromance”, there is great charisma between Vince Vaughn and Kevin James that may be the only saving grace of the film. Where it is James who I suppose plays the lead, it is Vince Vaughn that binds their performance together. It’s just too bad that Vaughn is forced to pretty much play the same character over and over again, but you really have to give Vaughn points for effort through. Even after playing the same role so many times, he could probably just phone it in, but he seems to work hard both at crafting funny dialogue and playing off his co-stars. Without the 110% that Vaughn puts into this film, I can’t see this film worth being made.

I can’t believe I am saying this, but the major issue with The Dilemma is actually director Ron Howard. It has been over eleven years since he has made his last non-drama film, How the Grinch stole Christmas (2000), and with his return to comedy, he can’t seem to figure out if what he is directing is a comedy or a drama. It’s just strange that there would be such great comedic charisma between the film’s lead actors, but then the rest of the film is allowed to become such a mess that it is completely indecipherable.

It seemed at times that this should have just been made into a drama because it would have made more sense and would have been less of a waste of talent in the form of Jennifer Connelly and Winona Ryder. But if it was a drama, then the writers would have had to actually write a script, and I suppose that just wasn’t something anyone wanted for this film. I sure hope this year has more in store for us then what The Dilemma has to offer because it is simply a waste of time. Avoid this movie, and your life will be that much better.

The Dilemma Movie Trailer

It’s instinctual to assume that 9 is a children’s film when you see the animated characters, but once you see Tim Burtons name on the credits you know that it will inevitably be dark. In fact, 9 is much darker than many of his other films such as Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas and definitely not suitable for kids – there were moments where I jumped out of my skin and the creepy, lifeless eyes of some of the enemies are enough to give a child sleepless nights for weeks.

The film 9 leaves a lot of the background of the sack dolls world unmentioned and up to you to decide, which demands you suspend your natural need for linear storytelling and explanation and to simply accept the story as it is: something to be enjoyed rather than rationalized. In true Terminator style, you’re informed that there has been some sort of battle between man and machine that has caused the debris of the world as it is.

The darkness of the scenery of 9 never lets up as the characters seem to be traversing a giant scrap heap and gradually this becomes more and more oppressive and lonely; you believe that 9 and his sack doll friends are the only beings left in the world that aren’t deviant and mechanical and if they die, the only hope of salvation dies with them. This effect really lets you become involved in the storyline, although I found that it also gets a little much towards the end of the film; 9 definitely doesn’t give you a warm, fluffy feeling at any point. The animation and atmosphere is beautifully created and I would go as far as to say that this is my favorite film produced by Tim Burton in terms of visual impact.

Elijah Wood once again demonstrates his interest in projects outside of the big money makers by getting involved as the voice actor of the main character (who gets his voice back if you didn’t guess). The only trouble here is that I believe a voice actor has done a successful job if you don’t recognize who it is until you get to the ending credits, but Wood’s voice is so familiar that it kept hindering me in immersing myself in the film. In comparison, the rest of the cast’s voices fit their characters very well, with a particularly convincing performance by Christopher Plummer as the sack dolls leader ‘1’. The plot of 9 is very well crafted, if a little confusing towards the end when you’re not quite sure who created what and who’s really dead.

Unfortunately, by making an animated film with such a mature, complex and frightening storyline, 9 has limited itself to quite a specific audience. Pan’s Labyrinth had a similar effect, in that the plot and content are too mature for children, but many adults will be discouraged by the fact that the lead role is a young girl. If you have seen Pan’s Labyrinth, you’ll know that there’s nothing childlike about its story or its execution and you’re left with a heart rending, beautifully imaginative film that completely immerses you in the story. 9 is very similar, because I found myself on the edge of my seat as I rooted for the little sack heroes.

I would say that 9 is a very refreshing film, and enjoyable to watch. If you fondly remember the way that films used to make you feel when you were younger, 9 is a perfect way to bring back that intensity and creativity that Disney used to be so good at – if in a much darker form. However, it’s hard to explain why but you don’t feel any satisfaction at the end of 9. You’re left feeling slightly empty, perhaps because things don’t end in the way that you expect them to.

One of the addicts is Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn), who’s got two “problems”: sugar and TV. She’s spending too much time watching a game show whose host (Christopher McDonald) leads his audience to chant “We got a winner!”. Sara gets a phone call that misleads her into thinking she might appear as a guest in the show. That’s when she realizes she’s not fit for TV like this and embarks into a weight loss program based on diet pills.

As she’s losing weight, something is happening to her brains too. Even if she’s having hallucinations, her doctor doesn’t pay attention to this. As she’s increasing the dose, so is she losing her mind.

Her son, Harry (Jared Leto) is suffering from a less “exotic” addiction, but more expensive too. He’s always taking his mom’s TV to the pawn-shop to get the money for his drugs, while she’s recovering it so that she can feed her own addiction. His girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) and best friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) are also addicts, always looking for a big score that “will get us back on track”.

One recurring scene, the key to the movie, is used to show how the drugs take effect and how mechanical everything is for these addicts: one extreme closeup to the pills/fix, injection/swallowing/sniffing. The pupils dilate. The sounds are extremely strong and all happens in fast-motion, since drugs don’t need to much to take effect.

The movie is absolutely “painful” and amazingly depicts how desperate addicts are for a “shot” and how their lives get destroyed by this addiction that leaves no place for anything else. Some of the scenes and shocking, the entire movie is not something to enjoy seeing. It’s that kind of a movie you see once and wouldn’t see again. Not because it’s bad, but because it has left you speechless.

This is not a “feel-good” movie, there’s no fun in it. As there is no fun in being addicted. And, after seeing this movie, I really doubt anyone would enjoy a “joint” anymore. Even if it’s not suitable for adolescents, I’d surely show it to my kids if they ever thought about messing with any “substances”. If this is not a wake-up call, then nothing is.

Please watch the movie and be prepared to be amazed. It’s worth the effort.