BlackBerry

Watching these movies about the crazy cutthroat businesses of the 80s and 90s is very entertaining. This movie was great, well acted, fast paced and fun throughout. I myself grew up during the time of the Blackberry but didn't know anything about their story, so this was a fascinating look into how crazy the tech world was at the time.

The real gem of the entire movie though was the Golden God himself, Glen Howerton. I've been a fan of Always Sunmy and I'm always interested in what the cast does outside of that show. I havnt seen Glen in a serious role yet but he delivered. In Always Sunny Glen plays a sociopath who is constantly getting angry, you could tell that in Blackberry he was able to use that for his character. Glen was by far the best part of this movie, funny and intimidating all at the same time.

Aside from the constant annoying fast zoom-ins and shaky cam "The Office" style filming - which I can't stand, this was one heck of an enjoyable film. The two hour runtime flew by with the excellent pacing and the smooth cohesive and well-written screenplay. Jay Baruchel nailed his character with an all around great performance, as did Glenn Howerton. For that matter, all casting and performances were spot on, as was the cinematography and score. The story was mind-blowing, even if you never owned a BlackBerry, just to see a slice of Steve Jobs as the Canadian version of a small start-up becoming a world dominating tech empire, and that empire's fall from grace.

Without knowing the history of Blackberry, outside its spectacular crash, I found this movie very entertaining and informative. It's not a documentary, so everything needs to be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. That being said, there were many parts of the Blackberry story, including Research in Motions technical innovations that predated the iPhone by almost a decade.

Jay Barucshel and Matthew Johnson were both wonderful in a corporate Ying-and-Yang relationship, though Johnson steals the show with his irreverence and comedy. Glenn Howerton was a bit disarming as corporate tough guy Jim Balsille. Together, the three drive the story from its lowest points to its dizzying heights.

Overall a fun entertaining picture, that may not be completely accurate, but for those who don't know the details, it won't detract from the story.

Between this, Air, and Tetris, I think this one takes the cake. The central performances (Jay Baruchel & Glenn Howerton) are fantastic, and both manage to captivate us with their distinct mannerisms and quirks. The story itself is very compellingly told, with details covered from multiple angles, including business, tech, marketing, employee relations, and more. There's no question that Hollywood loves discussing corporate wins and losses (well, mostly wins) and BlackBerry is certainly among the finest I've seen. Howerton (playing Jim Balsillie) is at his best when he loses his cool, throwing temper tantrums at almost everyone, including contemporaries, executives, and even private jet pilots. The rise and fall of BlackBerry was always going to be an exciting story, and director Matt Johnson does an excellent job with the material in hand.

It's a dark comedy of sorts. Not fully dark, but well done all around. Casting was great, especially Glen Howerton as the maniac CEO. Plays the part well, couldn't help but laugh at certain scenes because he's just like angry Dennis from Always Sunny.

It's a cool story too, about the rise and epic fall of the CrackBerry. If you're a bit older you'll remember well when the iPhone came out and destroyed the entire industry. I didn't know some of the things that happen besides that, so learned something too.

Overall it's a fast paced, fun little ride. It's a little too long and there's some poor character acting from the "geek coders", that's overwrought, but doesn't really impact the overall film. I already recommended to my buddy. 6.7/10.