DVD Review: Nebraska

-
I hear Nebraska's nice..

Woody (Bruce Dern) is an elderly man from Billings, MT who received a letter in the mail saying he won $1,000,000. It's an obvious scam, as his son David (Will Forte) points out. But Woody is determined to go to Nebraska to claim his price. After several attempts of walking there himself, David finally agrees to drive him, much to the disdain of his mother, Kate. (June Squibb)

Despite enjoying Alexander Payne's work, Nebraska wasn't something that caught my interest early on, but I'm happy to say that it was a very enjoyable film. I normally don't care for modern black and white movies. Yes, there are a few gems here and there, but when budget allows you to shoot in color and you shoot in black and white, you risk coming off as a hipster for lack of a better word. I think the reason it worked so well for me was because I'm from the Mid West. I'm used to seeing the rolling flat plains, they're boring as hell, but Payne shooting in black and white actually made them look more beautiful. I didn't think that was possible.

Dern and Squibb both got Oscar nominations for their roles, they were definitely deserved. Squibb makes the most of her small amount of screen time while Dern carries the film. I remember reading an interview with Will Forte where he said he felt out of his league acting along side the likes of Dern and Squibb. There was honestly only one scene towards the end where I think he looked overwhelmed. Otherwise, I thought Forte was a nice addition. It's great to see him do something a little more serious. Plus, this movie includes Stacey Keach getting punched in the face, and that NEVER gets old.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B+

Memorable Quote: "I just wanted to leave you boys something." - Woody (Bruce Dern)

Comments

  1. DanApril 10, 2014 at 9:24 AM

    I have a real soft spot for road movies and have loved everything Alexander Payne has done since Sideways was Nebraska was always going to be a winner with me. Glad you enjoyed it too (yes, I wasn't overly thrilled about the use of black and white to begin with either).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 10, 2014 at 2:00 PM

      Thank you! I get laughed at for not liking black and white half the time.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousApril 10, 2014 at 9:40 AM

    I just have so little interest in seeing this. I don't know why. Everything about it seems so bland and boring, even though so many have raved it.

    I feel I must see this, even though I don't know if I actually will.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 10, 2014 at 1:59 PM

      I had zero interest in it as well, don't worry. I only saw it because it was a Best Picture nominee. It was worth it though.

      Delete
  3. thevoid99April 10, 2014 at 7:31 PM

    That scene of Stacy Keach getting punched in the face is the 2nd best moment of the film for me. That guy got what he deserved.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 11, 2014 at 6:35 AM

      I saw a very long thread on IMDb where people were complaining that was out of character for David to do that. I'm like "Dude..just enjoy the fact that Keach got punched in the face." It was absolutely warranted in my opinion.

      Delete
    2. thevoid99April 12, 2014 at 6:16 PM

      Out of character? I disagree. He realized that his dad has been disrespected and his family has been disrespected so he finally grew some balls and whacked the son of a bitch.

      Delete
  4. m.brownApril 10, 2014 at 11:52 PM

    I liked this one. I can see that it's not everybody's cup of tea, but it was charming enough. And shit...if you can't enjoy Squibb...you's a cold mofo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 11, 2014 at 6:36 AM

      Squibb was great, I loved that she had no fliter.

      Delete
  5. JoshApril 16, 2014 at 7:53 PM

    I liked the film, though I don't see what was so great about Squibb, apart from a couple of funny lines. She gave a good performance, but I didn't see anything Oscar-worthy in it. :/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 16, 2014 at 8:20 PM

      I think the academy has a thing for pissed off old ladies.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more