50/50: Strong Odds for a Good Movie

This last weekend I saw 50/50, a dramedy written by Will Reiser starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. The film, which is loosely based on the life of Reiser, is about a 27-year-old guy who learns he has cancer and his struggle to beat the disease. While it may sound sad and depressing, the film, because of the work by the production team especially by the writer and actors, was a perfect blend between comedy and drama. It really had the entire spectrum of emotion and made it one movie I had to write about.
Even though Elizabeth has already done a great post about this film and how great the script was, when watching the movie in the theater there were many moments that I thought to myself that this would be a great movie to write about and have people discuss. I am going to look at more of the production side instead. Going back to the idea of the spectrum, 50/50 used a specific color scheme to give the film not only a certain look but also a certain feel. There are a lot of neutral colors and hardly many bright colors. Grays, browns, blacks, and dark greens are very evident when watching the film. The sky is usually cloudy and gray. I do not remember seeing any bright sun shiny days. (Photos taken of the film from online do not do the film justice because they were most likely taken by an on-set photographer and are not screenshots from the final color-corrected film). Not only do these very subdued colors seen in the set and sky reflect the setting of the film (Seattle, Washington) but it also creates a very bleak and sad mood that goes well with the main character’s battle with cancer. The brightest color I remember seeing was red, which the main character’s therapist often wore in accessories like scarves. Throughout the story she helps Adam sort his feelings and emotions through this ordeal and by the end of the movie after Adam has recovered six months later they begin dating. She is the bright spot in Adam’s life during this process literally and figuratively.
Another interesting production choice I remember seeing was a lot of scenes of the main character in the dark with a small light somewhere on screen. Either he was walking down a dark street with a streetlight visible ahead of him or he was alone in a room with a side table lamp. To me this was to show that Adam was in the dark about the future. He did not know what was next and if he would survive. There is a theory that when you die you go towards the light. This lighting that the production team chose was their way of telling the audience that Adam was currently on a dangerous path that could have ended with him dead at a young age of 27. At the same time there is a saying that there is a light at the end of the tunnel which means that after a difficult adventure there is hope or a bright future ahead.Even though the script was great, one of my favorite scenes was actually improvised by the actors. The scene where the main character shaves off his head with his best friend Kyle was not in the originally script. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who played Adam, actually shaved off his head as he improved lines and jokes with Seth Rogen, who played Kyle. This just goes to show how important choosing actors are and allowing them a chance to give their ideas about the movie. It may end improving your odds of box office and critical success (no pun intended).

50/50 Beats the Odds

This past weekend I went and took a chance on the serious, but comical 50/50, starring two of my favorite actors in Hollywood—Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogan.

The film, based on a true story is about how the lives of two twenty-something best friends change when one of them, Adam (Gordon-Levitt’s character) finds out he has spinal cancer and has a 50/50 chance of surviving. What follows after Adam’s diagnosis is a perfect balance of the upsetting realities of cancer as well as the amusing quirks of every day life—from chemotherapy to smoking medical marijuana as well as a troubling relationship with his girlfriend and trying to use cancer as a pick-up line to get girls.

While Adam struggles with the relationships with his mother, played by Anejlica Huston and the one with his girlfriend, Rachael, played by Bryce Dallas Howard—he forms a comforting friendship with his young and unconventional therapist, Katherine, played by the Oscar-nominated actress, Anna Kendrick.

Throughout his treatment, Adam transforms from a hesitant and soft-spoken young man into a stronger and reassured person who actively fights for his life. His best friend, Kyle, played by Rogan provides much of the humor in the film, and even through his crazy shenanigans, he is consistently there for Adam from the very beginning--making sure that his best friend kicks the cancer's ass.



The film was extraordinarily written (by Will Reiser who the story is based on)—capturing the difficulties of dealing with an illness while maintaining a light-heartedness humor that comes along with life. The characters were already three-dimensional but were really brought to life on the screen by the wonderful cast.

50/50 is a refreshing new comedy that did not disappoint, but rather pleasantly surprised me.

Everyone should take a chance and check it out.

"Breaking Bad" Should Be Called "Breaking Great"

Breaking Bad is a drama on AMC about Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher from Albuquerque, New Mexico, played by Bryan Cranston. After White is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, he turns to a life of crime producing and selling methamphetamine (crystal meth) with a former student named Jesse Pinkman. It has been nominated for numerous awards including winning three consecutive Emmy Awards for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Cranston. Now in it’s fourth season it is less about Walt and his cancer for he is in a way the cancer in other people’s lives. He is bringing them down with him and putting them in danger as well.

Breaking Bad is one of the most suspenseful shows in television. Most shows play it safe and never put their lead in to much danger. Walter White’s brother-in-law even works for the Drug Enforcement Agency and is at times unbeknownst to him looking for his own brother-in-law, Mr. White. Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan said in an interview that they try to paint themselves into corners that seem impossible to get out of. This forces them to be creative and new. Some of their creativity comes from editing. From the time lapse cutaways to actual unusual cuts during the scene, Breaking Bad is willing to take chances and break a lot of the “rules” to help show the effects of drugs or to make a symbolic point. A great example was in a recent episode from the latest season where Jesse is playing a violent video game and is getting haunting memories from when he had to shoot an innocent man named Gale to protect himself and Mr. White from dying.

The show also forces you to pay attention to every detail. This show is not most shows where if they want the audience to see something they will make it blatantly obvious with a cut of a close up or a musical cue. Breaking Bad is more of a puzzle. For instance in last Sunday’s episode Gus, who doubles as Mr. White’s boss and an owner of Los Pollos Hermanos, a fast food chain, attempted to poison the entire cartel in Mexico by poisoning their alcohol he gave them as a gift. To not drawn suspicious he was forced to drink to. However we did not know he poisoned it. In a scene afterwards we see him seemingly throw food or something in his mouth (it was an anti-dote) and then minutes later the cartel started dropping like flies. There is also suspicion and many freeze frames online that think that Mike, one of Gus’ men, was going to surprise and shoot Jesse in the back before he was shot himself from an alive member of the cartel. A lot of this I did not catch the first time and I can’t wait to watch episodes again and catch new things I never saw before.

Finally, there is a conspiracy online about Breaking Bad and its connections to color. My friend and I have noticed this but we went online to see if we were not crazy in thinking this. Others agree but are not quite sure yet what it all means. For example Mr. WHITE wore a lot of green and there was a lot of green in the set when he was cooking the original meth product, which omits a green gas. However after a new type of chemical was added and changed their product to blue he has wore a lot of blue and the set pieces became very blue. His wife Skylar and sister-in-law wear colors off of blue (light blue and purple respectively). Gus wears a lot of gold and forces his employees to wear a lot of gold either at Los Pollos Hermanos or even when Walt and Jesse cook meth for him. They trade in their colors for Gus’ as if Gus then owns them in those scenes. Even Jesse’s last name of PINKman is about a color. Only time will tell if this is just is fans conspiring or a deliberate detail in the genius show that is Breaking Bad.

Catch the "Big C"

If you are a fan of anything on Showtime—especially “Weeds” then you should definitely be watching “The Big C.”



“The Big C,” currently on its second season is about 40-something Cathy Jamison, played by the lovely and Emmy nominated actress, Laura Linney who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Sounds depressing, doesn’t it? Well, if you tune in you can expect just as many, if not more laughs than tears. Although the show deals with a heavy subject and themes of life and loss, the writers skillfully turn most of the tear-jerker scenes into something you can smile about. Cathy is far from a victim—she responds to cancer with nothing but her strong-no-bullshit-attitude that makes her healthy from within—no matter how sick she actually is. Her character is what gives the show its edge—she doesn’t want to die and so she is using all of her strength to fight for her life.

The series, still relatively new, follows Cathy from the beginning of her diagnosis, to finally informing her family and friends about her illness to her actual treatments and everything in between.

Oliver Platt plays her quirky and concerned husband, Paul with whom she has marital issues in the first season, while newcomer Gabriel Brasso plays her troublesome and temperamental teenage son, Adam. John Benjamin Hickey plays Sean, Cathy’s bipolar, homeless and radical brother who chooses to “live of the land.” While Cynthia Nixon and Hugh Dancy guest star for several episodes, Gabourey Sidibe, the Oscar-nominated actress plays Andrea, one of Cathy’s students.

The writers of the show are outrageous—consistently creating crazy situations that no cancer patient should ever have to deal with, keeping the audience emotionally involved and entertained simultaneously (without overly sentimental.)The characters create their own dilemmas and they often find themselves faced with unfortunate yet hilarious circumstances such as an unexpected pregnancy, racy love affairs and even several deaths. The storylines not only moving the story forward but challenge the characters’ outlooks on life.

The show explores what it means to really live and enjoy your life while you are still lucky enough to have it. And while you all have time, I would highly recommend watching this fantastiC show!

The second season's finale airs Monday, September 26th at 10:30pm on Showtime.