Pass the Popcorn review

Rating: 6/10 (12 March 2013)

From Robert Zemeckis, the director of "Forrest Gump" and "Cast away", it might have been logical to expect another good movie, although the aforementioned ones are pretty old. Also, the Oscar nominations for best actor (Denzel Washington) and best screenplay must mean something. Unfortunately, after the almost epic 20 minutes in the beginning, the movie seems to nosedive along with the plane.
It all starts with Whip (Washington) waking up in a hotel room next to what I thought was a prostitute. She turns out to be a flight attendant who works (and occasionally has some fun) with Mr. Whitaker, the pilot. Now, I don't mind nudity in movies, but if you pick it for the first scene in the movie, whatever your purpose was, it won't turn out good, or even shocking – it's just going to look cheap and make people label the movie as "not really good" straightaway. Even if the naked girl (Nadine Velazquez) is really beautiful. After that, we realize the main character is an alcoholic who takes cocaine for breakfast and gets high on oxygen, he does that in front of people he has never seen before (his co-pilot) and in front of friends, and nobody seems to mind or feels the need to report him. He is also divorced, has a son who lives with the ex wife, and rarely speaks to them both. The perfect antihero. This role is very suitable for Washington but it is far from his best and so this somewhat average performance questions his Oscar nomination. The plot moves on when Whip drugged and drunk but extremely lucid, operates the Flight 227 to Atlanta which, after some turbulences, starts to fall apart, and he is forced to crash land it in a field, managing to save the lives of almost everyone on board. He wakes up in a hospital and is informed that, because of the results of his blood test done after that crash, he could face criminal charges, and is advised to stop drinking, which is not easy.
As I said, this movie starts out greatly, but fails to deliver. After the tense, scary, nervous first part, it's as if another movie begins – a story about an alcoholic who tries to make order in his ruined-by-an-addiction life. It's something we have seen many times, and here is not very impressive, especially because of the constant presence of religious symbols that end up reducing every event and action to God's will. Most of the other characters seem put in there just so Washington doesn't have to act alone, there is no real relationship between him and them, or at least you can't feel it. Apart from that, the story didn't have to be over two hours long – some scenes are either tedious or pointless, and should've been left out. The soundtrack, despite being obvious (Feelin' Alright by Joe Cocker plays whenever Whip takes cocaine), works really well, and the directing is fine. Therefore, I can't sincerely say it's a bad movie, I liked it. It could just have been better.
Rating: 6/10 Read more at http://passpopcorn.wordpress.com/