Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close...to depression

Do you ever just get into a mood where you just need to cry? This is the movie for that moment. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close was one of the most touching dramas I have seen in a while. Tom Hanks, Thomas Horn, and Sandra Bullock give very powerful performances as the Schell family. The entire movie takes place after 9/11, so it is already set up for devastation. Thomas Schell (Tom Hanks) and his son Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) are the epitome of a father-son relationship. They are like best friends. Oskar is autistic, but he is so smart and adventurous. The son comes home early and hears the phone ring. It is his father repeatedly saying "Is anyone there? Hello? Is anyone there?" This is a huge theme throughout because the son is trying to go on the adventure that his father had originally set up for them to go on together. After 9/11 Oskar's mother, Linda Schell (Sandra Bullock), tries to pick up the pieces of her newly shattered family. Oskar asks everyone why someone who did not know his father would kill him. If that is not heart wrenching enough already, this innocent child goes around helping people because his father had always helped people. He travels to every place his father had taken him across New York City. Throughout the entire movie there are flashbacks to Oskar and Thomas Schell spending time together and sharing a very loving father-son bond. I literally cried like a baby throughout the entire movie. The saddest part is when Oskar talks to a lawyer whom he meets along his adventure. Keep in mind that Oskar is only a little boy. Oskar tells the lawyer of his guilt over his father. He says how the phone rang six times and he heard his dad say "Is anyone there?" The saddest part ever is seeing Oskar cry and say that he could not pick up the phone but he wanted to so badly. Oskar says that his father must have known he was there because he said "anyone" and anyone only means one person. I don't want to spoil anything else but this movie deserves 10/10 stars by my standards. I cried through the entire movie and continued to cry afterwards. It is not only a story of sadness but a story of happiness. You see how even through tough times that there can be happiness and joy. It is definitely a must see by everyone.

Blue Valentine: A Truly Blue Movie

So I just got done watching the movie Blue Valentine. This movie made me want to cry, smile, and flip tables all at the same time. I am a huge fan of the very attractive Ryan Gosling, so naturally I am always willing to sit down and watch any movie with his performance. He is the only actor that I know of that can make a balding middle-aged man look attractive. If you have not heard of this movie, it is about a woman named Cindy (Michelle Williams) and a man named Dean (Ryan Gosling). It is truly tough to look past Ryan Gosling's great look and maybe that is why I had such a hard time trying to rationalize Cindy's actions. There may be a few spoilers in this so be prepared. Dean meets Cindy unexpectedly which is just the perfect set up for the perfect love story. Well this story is far from perfect. They are complete opposites. Throughout the entire movie you see flashbacks of how they first met and see how much they were truly in love with each other. However, the main plot to the story proves otherwise. It is so sad because Ryan Gosling does an incredible job at showing how much he wants to change for the love of his life, but he just cannot seem to do it. At the same time, you can see how much Cindy wants to stay in love with him, but she is falling apart in the process. Michelle Williams did a splendid job in portraying what a woman will put herself through to stay with her man. You could really see how she did love him at one point but somewhere along the way their love fell apart. It was hard for me to understand seeing as I'm still young and it's also Ryan Gosling. If Ryan Gosling says he loves you, you should not test it. Yet, it is easy to see why she does what she does. Cindy is a very patient woman clearly. Dean drinks every morning and he has no ambitions towards his future. Cindy, in contrast, is very studious and has lots of ambitions. So maybe they were never destined to be for each other, but I was rooting for them the entire time.  Now how can we make this movie more depressing? They have a daughter together. If it is not sad enough seeing to people fall out of love, a daughter crashing and burning from it all comes into the mix.
I don't want to give any more spoilers away, but I will say this: if you expect happy endings in love stories, do not watch this movie. The ending was the most frustrating ending imaginable. It ends exactly the way you wish it didn't. However, overall it was a very enjoyable movie. I was so involved with it within the first ten minutes. I would rate this title 8/10 stars. It is definitely something people should watch.