Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist

First Hit: I enjoyed this film because I sensed the main characters were kids other kids could relate to and it felt real.

This is a story about a boy, Nick (played by Michael Cera) who loses his first love and is pining over this loss. He makes woeful playlists on CDs and gives him to his old girlfriend. She just laughs at the CD cover art and drops them in the waste can without ever listening to them. Michael plays Nick perfect. He is accessible, honest, open, and believable.

One night he joins his band members (The Jerk Offs) for a set at a club in downtown NY. During the set, he sees his old girlfriend with a new guy. He’s heartbroken but Nora, whom he doesn’t know but his old girlfriend does, walks over to him, kisses him and asks him to help him take her drunk girlfriend home before they head out to find a hot band called Fluffy.

The story, although unbelievable at times, is never unbelievable when it comes to the interaction between Nick and Nora.

Michael Cera is great as Nick and Kat Dennings is wonderful as Nora. Their interaction is spot on, touching, real and endearing. Peter Sollett does a great job of keeping their story on track, although the other characters weren’t as lucky. On a personal note, to see inside Electric Lady Studios was very moving.

Overall: This was an enjoyable light film because Michael and Kat played their parts very well.

Charlie Bartlett

First Hit: A very mediocre Rushmore or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Although Anton Yelchin, as Charlie Bartlett, did a fairly good job of being a bizarre unreal high school student, this film did not hold together nor was it believable.

Kat Dennings is the most solid character in this film however her Principle dad, (played by Robert Downey Jr.) was out of place and I couldn’t help but wonder why Downey would do such a film.

The plot centers around Charlie who has been kicked out of every private school because he has a difficult time fitting in. He gets good grades at these schools but other behaviors (making and selling fake IDs) are not the kind of behaviors blue blood schools can tolerate.

His uptight, pill popping mother (played by Hope Davis) decides to send him to public school. Immediately, he notices he doesn’t fit in and gets beat up by a bully. However, Charlie is too smart for these kids and figures out a way to become the focus of attention. He does this by prescribing legal prescription drugs he obtains by tricking a litany of psychologists that he has all these symptoms to which they give him unending prescriptions.

This makes Charlie popular with the kids because he listens to the kids and gives them drugs for a small fee.

He falls in love with Susan Gardner (Kat Dennings) who is being raised by her father Principal Gardner (Downey). Principal Gardner is having a hard time being Principal and has taken to drinking again.

This film becomes a war between Charlie and the Principal.

Overall: This is a poor imitation of other films and a waste of Downey and Davis’ abilities. However the introduction of Dennings was a bright spot.