56 - Stuck In Love

Connection To THE HEART OF JUSTICE - Jennifer Connelly

I kept calling this Stuck On You before I watched it and I knew it starred Greg Kinnear, so I kept thinking why would Greg Kinnear appear in ANOTHER movie called Stuck On You. But in actuality it turns out I'm just an idiot and the film was called Stuck In Love (duh).

Well I don't always expect to relate to all characters on screen, something about Stuck On You Stuck In Love (I genuinely did just type Stuck On You first then) was extremely noticeable, maybe because by the point the film starts Kinnear is already a successful writer and his daughter played by Lily Collins is so super talented as well she is getting her first book published.

Honestly, though that was just one of the problems for me - how the characters speak, you know they cool indie speak sort of way, while I don't mean to rag on the writer but it's one of those scripts where you feel like the writer thought was awesome when he was thinking of the dialogue, and while it sounds profound or whatever in theory it just didn't seem natural coming out of the characters mouth, because nobody realistically speaks and acts that way to each other in real life.

As a child of divorce I can normally identify of the pain characters are going through, I don't it's maybe because I never really get to feel what it was like when Jennifer Connelly and Kinnear where married in this, early on he stalks her by looking through her living room window (yes really) but it seems a real none issue between other characters (and even her), but Connelly and Collins as the daughter relationship is much better explored and the residual feelings of being let down.

Among the supporting cast is Kristen Bell (it's obvious by now I'm in love with her) pops up as Kinnear's "fuck buddy" her appearances are fleeting but welcome even if she to suffers from the indie speak in this - I just wish she had more to do.

Overall it feels like it falls into a lot of traps of what I dislike about indie films but to be fair there are moments in the film that genuinely keep me from disliking it 

55 - The Heart Of Justice

Connection To THE RAVEN - The legendary Vincent Price

I had no idea that Vincent Price and Dennis Hopper had two credits appearing alongside each other, let alone both in the 1990's and this is the second I'm covering on here after the disappointment of Crossfire. This TV movie from 1992 besides the pair as a strong cast including Jennifer Connelly, William H. Macy, his future wife Felicity Huffman (I assume they was a couple at this point), Eric Stoltz and Dermot Mulroney among others.

Vincent Price (his final role) is having lunch with Dennis Hopper as he leaves the restaurant, he gets killed off before the opening titles, he's a famous writer who's clearly pissed somebody off, who turns the gun on themselves. This is an effective opening I just wish the rest of the movie was as good (though Connelly has a scene in her underwear and later strips, so no complaints there)

For me it was the sort of film that seems to spend 90 minutes getting to a place where you totally expected it very early one, while that's not always a bad thing, with this film you where just sort of waiting for it so I could get on with another film or the rest of my life.

It didn't help that a bland actor to me (Mulroney) and somebody playing a bland character (Stoltz) have most of the screen time especially when there was much more interesting characters and performers in this, Connelly though - as always - was good and the likes of Hopper (who does appear then just the first scene) and Price really do very little in the story in the long run.

Overall the film's plot in the end really did nothing for me, honestly Jennifer Connelly is the what that makes this film most awesome, you can probably internet any scene of her rather then watching the full thing though, so I'm going on the it's not bad in the end but no need to waste time on it.