The Spectacular Now (2013)- Movie Review by Sean Wu

James Ponsoldt's The Spectacular Now (Emphasis on the spectacular part,) is one of the year's best movies, easily.  Right now, I would say that it is nothing short of spectacular.

The film follows the senior year of hard partyer/alcoholic high school student Sutter Keely. I can't even begin to describe Sutter Keely without even mentioning Miles Teller's astonishing work in this. This is his first serious movie outside of 21 and Over, and this definitely won't be his last. He, with co-star Shailene Woodley (more on her later) together exercise a strong chemistry and a loving type of humanity only seen outside of the movies.

The Descendants (2011), 3.5/4 Stars

First off, I have only seen Alexander Payne's Sideways, and I loved it. However, it was only recently since that time, much before I learned to love Alexander Payne.

The Descendants tells of George Clooney playing Matt King, a lawyer and heir to 25 acres of Hawaiian land. However, his wife has had a boating accident, and is in a coma. In one scene, King tells his cousin that he is "trying to keep his head above water". Distraught as he is, he has to take care of his two daughters, and he hardly knows their personality. Scottie, the 10 year old, is an offensive loudmouth who Matt cannot familiarize with. Alexandra, the 17 year old, does drugs and drinks while at private school.