Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

According to the IMDb TOS, they are not currently accepting 2-word reviews -- OH WOW -- so I am going to flesh this out a tiny bit: 1. Self-aware. The key to all movies about teenage angst. Possibly the key to all the good movies of all time. If you can compel the viewer to look within and produce a shared experience without the accompanying moral outrage, you have nailed it. Ferris Bueller did this. BRICK did this. ME/EARL does this. Instant classic. Oh Wow. (Ooop -- getting repetitive) 2. Andrews, the writer/adapter, is obviously a film buff. Many film makers have tried to show off their encyclopedic knowledge of film within the confines of their movie -- even the infamous QT, especially the infamous QT -- but nobody was ever this clever. The "trope" of giving the main characters a hobby where they spend their spare time spoofing major films is .. brilliant. 3. Speaking of brilliant, the tiny Claymation sequence off the top where it is scientifically demonstrated how very pretty girls can destroy a passerby without even realizing it ... is not merely brilliant but iconic. That alone guarantees this film will never be forgotten. 4. Cook is a find. She presents as a love child from Jessica Alba (the eyes) and Rachael McAdams (inner glow). A great pedigree. 5. I could go on, but hopefully you get the point. Catch this one NOW, because films this good only come along every 6 or 7 years... if you're lucky

Lets see... A) Obscenely copying Wes Anderson. ( sets-photography - directorial style ) B) some hints of copying Inaritu's " Birdman" - (one shot sequences + the characteristic surreal vibes in those sequences) C) A fault in our Stars ( the cancer-ridden cute female.) " Is it such a supreme crime , to copy others?" , cries the director whom i don't even care to know his name. Well dear sir , there's copying and there is...copying. If you had some strong ideas and personality , your copying might have been not as eye-popping. If you knew what this film is supposed to be , perhaps it would not have been such a heinous crime, indeed. After all it is true that Art progresses by originality + stepping on top of previous masters in many cases. You aren't requested to "invent the wheel" as the saying goes.. The crime is this: This director and possibly the photographer and the script writers of this endeavor , didn't just use these techniques ,styles and themes to make something NEW. Something of theirs... Based on a certain unique idea of their own. No... Had THAT been the case , then no objections would be made. It's just that... this movie screams that the creators didn't know what they were doing. They were cheaply shrewd , thought of grabbing certain successful pieces of current HIT-films , (respectably Hit films OK) , and in the blind-- with no particular solid goal , they just put those pieces together , hoping the outcome would be something fresh and respectable and another great HIT , as those previous solid films. It doesn't work this way gentlemen , and viewing this film , is the proof. It is self-evident. Five minutes in the film and you already know it... No need for expert eyes. It's dull and weak. It is hipsterish cute , nice pictures , nice wannabe bizarre characters , but after 20 minutes in , you get consumed by its fakeness and you just wonder ... " has the film world nothing else substantial to offer? Are we to accept these thoughtless copies ? Where are the strong films. That impact. You aren't going to find it in this film , surely. It is disrespectful to us , the viewers. That is all , I've written enough about this already. So long

ME And EARL and THE DYING GIRL says it all. It is a high school coming of age film using cancer as the catalyst. The problem with the movie is the antagonist lies. Not once but twice. It is not long, but it feels long with plenty of walk and talk and sit and talk scenes. There are gimmicks used that distract from the story being told. Constant screen titles of what day we are on or where we are written like titles of "Friends" episodes get old. The cinematography that looks like it was shot on a cel phone throws in overhead shots that just distract. The kids would obviously shoot their movies digitally but they went out of the way to show the holes at the 50 foot reel ends of eight millimeter film. Actually the stupid little films they made were the most interesting things in the movie. Seems unlikely a supposedly Jewish girl would find her way to the fireplace mantel. Looking for a good kid dying movie try "The Fault in Our Stars". Try "Brian's Song" or "Love Story" if you are looking for a good cry. No need to see this in a theater. It will play just as well on a home platform where you might be able to skip about twenty minutes in the middle.