SMALLS THINKS DON JON IS PRETTY GOOD, BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN A CONTENDER

Don Jon marks the debut of Joseph Gordon Levitt, the screenwriter/director. As someone who has followed most of this guys career, seeing this film was a no brainer. JGL has already proven he can act like it's nobodies business, but does he have what it takes to be a truly formidable writer/director?

In Don Jon JGL plays Johnny, a ladies man who is addicted to porn. He meets and falls for Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), a straight up 10 who challenges John in several ways, including forcing him to take a night class where he meets Esther (Julianne Moore), who will end up changing the way John thinks about himself, others, sex, and his lifestyle.

Don Jon was a film that I so badly wanted to love, to praise. Unfortunately, it falls flat in many areas. JGL has shown that he is a fairly smart man that enjoys taking on challenging characters with intricate arcs and deep stories. You would think that he would have a lot to say....and while what he does have to say is fairly entertaining and truthful, it's not as deep as you would hope for it to be.

As a writer, JGL proves constantly that he's got the shine. His script for Don Jon is pretty great. This is how real people talk, what real people talk about, and how men and women really act. As a director, he seems to be fine as well (he doesn't do anything really stand out here though), managing to evoke fairly great performances from Scar Jo (she is super hawt here, just wait till you see the hallway dry humping scene) and Julianne Moore (Moore is the most memorable thing about this film, surprisingly). However, after the first hour or so I couldn't help but notice that the film didn't seem to be going anywhere. The character of John did remind me a bit of myself, but ultimately he's not a super deep character and there's not much that Levitt can really do to make him memorable. He's definitely like what a real guy is, but he's just not super memorable.  John does end up changing a bit, but it happens a bit too quickly and a little bit late (in the last 20 mins or so is where this happens). The message here seems to be: There's more to love than sex. It's a good message for young people, but I imagine that most adults that are past their 20s already know this. The film does seem to be aimed squarely at the 20-something crowd, and it's certainly tons of fun....however, the film feels like it's going to have this huge message and that this guy is really going to end up making a drastic change and it's all going to be uplifting.....but the film doesn't really do any of this. Not to mention, it feels like the film would have benefited from an extra hour where things could be fleshed out a bit more and where a more concrete and solid ending could have been formed (the way the film ends is just bad, really bad).

Don Jon, from opening credits to final shot is all about sex. It's clear that JGL is trying to say meaningful things about society's obsession with sex, about the falsity and meaningless repetition of religion and religious rituals, about the surface culture we live in, etc. The film has room for several message, but as it is most of these end up being half-messages and half-formed ideas with the big message being contained solely to that of relationships. JGL has so many ideas, that it's almost like he was unable to reel himself in.  I can see how this film could have been great, and it hurts to watch it get so much right and so much wrong at the same time.

Don Jon is surely an entertaining, fun film....but if you're hoping for more than just that, you might as well look somewhere else. To his credit, JGL does try to create a strong message here. Don Jon shows that JGL can make believable, REAL dialogue and knows how to just about perfectly mimic real life conversation...however, he still has to work on his story creating skills and on how to end a film the right way. I hate saying bad things about JGL, I really do love the guy. He's got an insane level of talent, and it's clear that he's got some good writing skills. He's still a beginner, but if he keeps working at honing his craft he may just become one of the bigs eventually. I'd say that if you are a JGL completionist  like me, the film's a must-see and it's interesting to be able to watch the beginnings of what may turn into something great later on down the road, but for right now JGL still has some work to do. I enjoyed myself, I just wish there had been more substance and more of a payoff. Don Jon is a good college effort, and it's tons of surface fun but there's not as much going on underneath the surface as Joseph Gordon Levitt seems to think there is.

3.5 STARS

SMALLS' FRIGHT FEST CONJURES UP MORE SCARES THIS HALLOWEEN SEASON

Welcome again, my children of the night.....TO SMALLS' FRIGHT FEST!!! Yes, it is that time of year again where ghosties and ghoulies are awakened once more to spread fear and chaos over the Earth for one special night: HALLOWEEN. It's the witching season, and this year I, your humble Ghost Host with the most most, will once again attempt to scare up only the best of the best Halloween films and, like always, will bring you my trip report from Scare Central: Halloween Horror Nights. So, ready or not, hang on for your afterlife, because Smalls' Fright Fest starts TODAY!!!

THE BLING RING HAS LOTS OF BLING, LITTLE BRAIN

Today is the day I finish what I call The American Dream Trilogy (Spring Breakers, Pain and Gain, The Bling Ring). All of these films are about people doing whatever it takes (usually by illegal means) to live their version of the American Dream. Spring Breakers followed a group of college girls that turn to a life of crime, drugs and murder to fuel that dream, Pain and Gain focused on three dim-witted meat heads that decided kidnapping, extortion and murder was the only way to live their dream, so....what does Bling Ring focus on?

In Bling Ring, we follow spoiled rich teens Rebecca (Katie Chang), Marc (Israel Broussard), Nicki (Emma Watson), and Chloe (Claire Julian). Although they are pretty well off, all four still yearn for more....in this case, fame and the celebrity lifestyle. Rebecca hits upon a way to live this lifestyle, mainly by following the news to find out when certain celebs are away and then using Google maps to find the celeb's house, drive there, break in, and then party and steal stuff. She invites her posse to join her and soon enough the four are living the high life and snorting cocaine like it's candy (lots of cocaine usage in this film).  Naturally, the group isn't all that intelligent (Marc is the smartest one in the group, and is also the most likeable...although this isn't really saying much) so after a little while the four are indeed caught. This is also based on a true story.

Katie Change does a pretty good job as Rebecca, a real conniving and manipulative bitch who also acts as the ring leader. By far the best parts of this film are Israel Broussard as Marc and Emma Watson as Nicki.. Marc is a new student at school that is a bit socially awkward and a bit closeted. Rebecca picks up on this and quickly brings him under her wing, almost immeadietly bringing him into her life of naughtiness. Once again, Marc is the most likeable character here, and is easily the smartest one in the bunch. Emma Watson plays a real airhead and is not only super hot but also immensely watchable (dare I say, it's almost like she's in a different film). Whenever her character of Nicki is on, you can't take your eyes off her. Watson is pretty highly intelligent in real life, so to watch her play someone who has just about zero intelligence and just nail the role...it's really impressive. Watson isn't in the film a whole lot, we get just the right amount of her character.

Bling Ring is filmed with lots of bizarre segments of pics of celebs and celeb interviews that whiz by at a fast speed, and some segments featuring  Facebook updates. It's an interesting touch that helps add a bit of personality to the film (the celeb pic and interview segments feel a bit misplaced, but the Facebook bits were a welcome addition and worked surprisingly well). The cinematography was fine and pretty, but never really stood out a whole lot minus a few scenes here and there (The opening scene was cool, and there was one club scene that was very pretty). The soundtrack is also a little too obvious most of the times, but the addition of Crown On The Ground for the opening scene was somewhat inspired.

The Bling Ring does have a tiny bit of brains, mainly by it's message: that even the rich want to be richer and famous, and how the public has a fascination with the whole Robin Hood thing. Most of the film consists of scenes of the group robbing houses and partying, and while the first few scenes of these are cool and naughty, it quickly grows stale and repetitive. It's clear that Sophia Coppola wanted to send a message out there through this film, but she never really has much fun with the proceedings or comes up with anything truly innovative (she even has one of the characters recite the message of the film, in case it was too hard to figure out on your own....which it's not).

Bling Ring starts out kind of fun, but quickly becomes kind of dull as the appeal wears off. While the main characters are bad people, they are still likable. We already know the outcome of their hijinx, so once the scenes of thievery become stale we are left waiting anxiously for the crew to get caught (takes around an hour for this to happen). While Bling Ring is an enjoyable film, it's not very engaging, creative, or even all that fun. If the story sounds interesting to you, go ahead and rent it on Redbox and see if you like it.......however, I wouldn't say it's worth a full purchase....just a tentative peek. The Bling Ring had potential, it could have been a great film....but it's not. As it is, it's just a little better than O.K.

2.5 STARS

It also ends on a super awkward note.