Movie Reviews

A Dangerous Method

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: A Dangerous Method
  • IMDB: link

a-dangerous-method-posterA slow moving drama centered around the science of psychology may initially seem an odd choice for director David Cronenberg‘s latest project, but A Dangerous Method proves to be an engaging study of the minds and hearts of three individuals, each of whom finds themselves at the mercy of their uncontrollable passions and foibles.

Based on the play by Christopher Hampton and the book by John Kerr, Cronenberg and screenwriter Christopher Hampton deliver a character study centered around three people central to the birth of psychoanalysis. Michael Fassbender stars as Carl Jung, a doctor who in the early 20th Century would expand on the ideas of Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) to create analytical psychology.

…

A Dangerous MethodRead More »

A Dangerous Method Read More »

Shame

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Shame
  • IMDb: link

shame-poster

Brandon Sullivan (Michael Fassbender) is an intensely unhappy man. He spends his days in his searching for porn on his office computer and nights with a bevy of women (Elizabeth Masucci, Calamity Chang, DeeDee Luxe, Hannah Ware, Charisse Merman) he picks up in bars and clubs, or pays for (either in person or online).

Brandon is addicted to sex to such an extent that he’s unable to emotionally deal with any woman he might have something more than physical relationship with, including an alluring co-worker (Nicole Beharie). His only real friend is his boss who goes out with him at night as his wingman, looking for women to cheat on his wife with.

…

ShameRead More »

Shame Read More »

The Iron Lady

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Iron Lady
  • IMDb: link

the-iron-lady-poster

The Iron Lady is as perplexing as it is forgettable. Coming off like a sanitized made-for-TV film that was given a bigger budget once it landed arguably the greatest living actress, the film is centered around some of the least important moments of one of the most important British politicians of the 20th Century. Like I said, perplexing.

In her waning days, after losing her husband, Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) looks back on her career as she rose to power as Britain’s first female Prime Minister during one of the country’s most tumultuous periods. Despite detractors, and the fact that many of her monetary policies helped lead to high unemployment and social unrest (some of which is still felt today), the film certainly takes a pro-Thatcher stance.

The strangest choice the film makes is to center so much of the story around Thatcher’s days after her years in office. Yes we get flashbacks of her days in office, but except for a segment of the the film that deals with the Falklands War, they are short, fragmented, and don’t fit together all that well.

…

The Iron LadyRead More »

The Iron Lady Read More »

The Most Overrated Movie of 2011

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Bridesmaids
  • IMDB: link

bridesmaids-posterBack in May a little film starring a mostly female cast and led by Kristen Wiig hit theaters and became the unexpected breakout comedic hit of the summer. Marketed to audiences as a The Hangover for women, Bridesmaids won favor not just with critics but with movie goers who stuffed theaters for months ballooning the film’s total domestic box office to almost $170 million. What follows is a dissenting opinion.

In the past, along with my Best of the Year list, I’ve occasionally done a list for the worst films I’ve been forced to sit through as a film critic over the same year. Rather than do that for 2011 I decided to take a look at films which generated discussion and praise and find the one which rankled me the most. There was one clear winner.

…

The Most Overrated Movie of 2011Read More »

The Most Overrated Movie of 2011 Read More »

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
  • IMDB: link

tinker-tailor-soldier-spy-posterSmiley. George Smiley. Reinterpreting John le Carré’s novel for the big screen director Tomas Alfredson and screenwriters Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan drop the audience into the middle of a Cold War British spy tale centered around five senior intelligence officers under suspicion of being a Soviet mole.

Gary Oldman stars as George Smiley, the right hand of the former Head of the Service (John Hurt) who was pushed out the door with his friend. Smiley is coaxed out of retirement by Oliver Lancum (Simon McBurney) after an operation in Hungary ends in disaster when an agent (Mark Strong) is shot while trying to buy intelligence from a Hungarian informant.

Smiley is charged with discovering the truth of the rumor that there is a high-ranking Soviet mole inside the “Circus” (what those who work for MI6 and the SIS call home). To do so he will have to work outside the bounds of the Circus, hiding the fact that any investigation is in progress to some of the smartest and most paranoid men in the entire country.

…

Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyRead More »

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Read More »