January 2013

Promised Land

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Promised Land
  • IMDB: link

promised-land-posterHow far will you go for your job even when you know what you are doing is wrong? That’s the question at the center of director Gus Van Sant‘s Promised Land. Matt Damon (who co-wrote the screenplay with costar John Krasinski) stars as Steve Bulter, a rising star for a natural gas company sent in to a small town with his partner (Frances McDormand) to get his company an initial foothold in the state.

Butler is a closer, known for his ability to use his own small town upbringing to close communities far faster than anyone else. His last trip in the field before his big promotion leads him to a small town hit by hard economic times looking for just the kind of relief his company can offer.

What starts out as a simple sale is complicated by a variety of factors including a local science teacher (Hal Holbrook) against the dangers of natural gas, a possible love interest (Rosemarie DeWitt), and the arrival of a do-gooder (Krasinski) who scares off potential buyers with horror stories of how fracking has destroyed similar farming towns.

…

Promised LandRead More »

Promised Land Read More »

How Rich White People Survived The Impossible Tsunami

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Impossible
  • IMDB: link

the-impossible-posterThere are really only three types of disaster movies. The first are those focused on preventing a disaster (Armageddon, The Core). The second are movies solely concerned with the immediate problem of surviving the disaster (The Day After Tomorrow, 2012). And the last are focused more on living in the aftermath of a disaster (Blindness) than the disaster itself. The Impossible is the later.

Based on real events, Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, and Oaklee Pendergast take the place of a Spanish family who survived the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami while on Christmas vacation in Thailand. Sergio G. Sánchez‘s retelling of Maria Belon‘s story is a visceral tale of raw emotion, loss, and the chaos following the disaster which is almost as traumatic as the events of the tsunami itself.

Only six minutes of the near two-hour film are devoted to the actual disaster. That means the crux of the story isn’t the disaster itself but the emotional separation of family, the level of devastation, and the search for survivors.

…

How Rich White People Survived The Impossible TsunamiRead More »

How Rich White People Survived The Impossible Tsunami Read More »

Hyde Park on Hudson

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Hyde Park on Hudson
  • IMDB: link

hyde-park-on-hudson-posterHyde Park on Hudson has two main focal points, which is at least one too many for a movie unsure of whether or not it wants to be taken seriously. The film examines both the relationship between President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Bill Murray) and his distant cousin Margaret “Daisy” Suckley (Laura Linney) as well as the momentous meeting between the President and the King (Samuel West) and Queen (Olivia Colman) of England on the eve of World War II at Roosevelt’s childhood home in Hyde Park, New York.

Either would make for a fine focus of a small independent film, but attempting to do both simultaneously leaves Richard Nelson‘s script without a split focus that serves neither storyline. The result is a pet project that spirals completely out the control of director Roger Michell and ultimately fails to impress.

Murray is an odd choice for the role of FDR and one of the main obstacles with taking the story seriously. (Several over-the-top supporting performances don’t do the film any favors, either.)

…

Hyde Park on HudsonRead More »

Hyde Park on Hudson Read More »

Chicago Fire – God Has Spoken

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Chicago Fire – God Has Spoken
  • tv.com: link

chicago-fire-god-has-spoken

“God Has Spoken” opens with the aftermath of the freak car accident that leaves Gabriela (Monica Raymund) bloodied and Shay (Lauren German) rushed to the emergency room for far more serious injuries. Friends and coworkers arrive at the hospital to offer their support as one of their own fights to survive a nasty head injury.

…

Chicago Fire – God Has SpokenRead More »

Chicago Fire – God Has Spoken Read More »

Lullaby

/ / Books & Magazines

spenser-lullabyWriter Ace Atkins delivers the first novel of the Spenser series to be published by anyone other than the character’s creator Robert B. Parker. Lullaby is akin to listening to a really good tribute band who play all the same notes and manage to recapture most, although certainly not all, of the magic they themselves obviously love.

The novel begins when Boston P.I. is hired by 14 year-old Mattie Sullivan who four years after the death of her mother still believes the police locked up the wrong man for the crime. Immediately taking a shine to the tough young woman, Spenser accepts the case which will entangle him with an ongoing investigation by the FBI, an old enemy, and all the usual kinds of trouble.

Atkins gets the feel of the basic relationships of the Spenser universe mostly right, including Spenser and Hawk’s bullshitting, and Spenser’s spirited relationships with Susan Silverman, Rita Fiore, and Martin Quirk. Atkins also brings back Frank Belson, Vinny Morris, and baddies Joe and Gerry Broz in order to make longtime fans of the series feel more at home.

…

LullabyRead More »

Lullaby Read More »