Winter's Bone (2010)

Directed By: Debra Granik

Apart from leaving a very bitter taste in one's mouth, the film will also remind it's viewers how lucky they are not to experience one of those winters in their lives.
Not be be confused with a feel-good movie.

Rutterfly Rating: R R R (although Lawrence's Oscar nomination is well deserved)

Memorable Moment: Teardrop's final scene

“Sometimes the things you want the most don't happen and what you least expect happens. I don't know - you meet thousands of people and none of them really touch you. And then you meet that one person and your life is changed “

Love and Other Drugs

Those, who expect Love and Other Drugs to be another Jennifer Aniston-type rom-com might get seriously disappointed...or pleased. Director Edward Zwick casts Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway as film’s main protagonists, and they are convincing and effortless throughout. The chemistry between them is very believable and reminiscent of a more mature romance acted out by Baldwin and Streep in It’s Complicated.

Jamie is a real ladies man who happens to join Pfizer Pharmaceuticals before the invention of Viagra whereas his power lies in ability to (metaphorically speaking) sell ice to Eskimos. He’s charming even in his faults, but doesn’t take NO for an answer after accidentally meeting semi-naked Maggie during her doctor’s appointment. She is smart and seems to be ‘no strings attached’ kind of girl herself – partially because of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 26. Consequently, film’s somewhat cliché title justifies itself within the narrative while suggesting that love might not always be the unmistakable drug. It is also predictable since we know that an occasional fling between Jamie and Maggie will blossom into love from the start. While spectators have seen events unfold in a similar manner way too many times, Zwick adds a drama element to his work by exploring lives of Parkinson’s patients through Maggie’s character. But is loving Maggie going to be enough for Jamie to put up with ‘other drugs’ in her life?

I just wish that Zwick had made his storyline more fluent as the divide between ‘comedy’ and ‘drama’ affects the mood and overall impression of the movie, alongside some unexpected nudity from both leading actors. It therefore dances on the dangerous border of ‘2 for 1’ status between a motion picture dealing with issues and the one making fun of itself, but yet manages to unite the two in a tasteful manner. It might not be a cinematic masterpiece, but it doesn’t change a fact that Love and Other Drugs is very watchable.

Rutterfly Rating: R R R R (purely for film’s entertainment value)

Memorable Moment: Jamie’s first ‘I love you’.... ever!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKtrLiQTSM8