Drama

Hereafter

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

“How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn’t you say?”
-James T. Kirk

When I first heard the concept behind Clint Eastwood‘s latest film, Hereafter, I was confused. I wondered why Eastwood was taking on a project that seemed more suited to M. Night Shyamalan. Although ghosts play a role, the film is far from a ghost story. Instead, what Eastwood and screenwriter Peter Morgan deliver is a drama focused on how death touches, and changes, the lives of three disparate individuals.

The film is structured as three separate tales which will inevitably weave together in the final act. A French newswoman (Cécile De France) deals with the consequences after a near-death experience. A young child attempts to move on after death of his twin brother (both parts are played by Frankie McLaren and George McLaren) and the separation from his mother (Lyndsey Marshal). A psychic (Matt Damon) who has renounced his gift with communicating with the dead is pressured by others to use his abilities.

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Never Let Me Go

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Never Let Me Go
  • IMDB: link

Most of us never know what our purpose is or why we’re here. The same can’t be said of the characters of Never Let Me Go, adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel of the same name. As children they understand more about their roles in the world than most who live a full century.

The story is told through the perspective of Kathy H. (Carey Mulligan) thinking back over her childhood at Hailsham boarding school and her two best friends Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightley). Hailsham isn’t your average school. And these aren’t your average youngsters. Here the guardians (not teachers or headmistresses) encourage the children’s creative expression, enforce strict discipline, and prepare the students for a life already chosen for them.

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Hamfisted Horsey Movie Lacks Heart (and Brains)

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

Disney gets a lot of grief for these feel-good sports movies that tend to up the schmaltz and oversimplify the story. Say what you want about them, they usually have a hellova lot of heart and are (at least a little) smarter than their critics give them credit for.

I’ll freely admit to liking my fair share of Disney’s past attempts at recreating period sports films (Miracle, Invincible, Cool Runnings, The Rookie). It is with regret then that I inform you that Secretariat, a film about a horse with a heart more than double the size of a normal horse, lacks anything resembling heart.

For the better part of its near two-hour running time it also lacks style, brains, and cinematic craftsmanship. Although the film gives credit to Elizabeth Ham (Margo Martindale) for naming the horse it never specifically states what the name is suppossed to mean. If the film is any indication the definition of Secretariat is the absence or antithesis of subtlety. This movie would make a punch in the face feel somehow understated.

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It’s Kind of a Funny Story

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: It’s Kind of a Funny Story
  • IMDB: link

If you’ve ever thought what was really missing from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was a teen’s perspective then It’s Kind of a Funny Story might be what you’re looking for. Although not in the same class with Cuckoo’s Nest, this film adapted from Ned Vizzini’s novel of the same name by writers/directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck may speak to the current generation dealing with the stress and pressure parents and society seem to heap on them with from birth.

Depressed, stressed-out, and contemplating suicide, early on a Sunday morning troubled teen Craig (Keir Gilchrist) decides to check himself into a psychic ward for observation – a decision he almost immediately regrets. For five days Craig spends time in the loony bin learning about himself and the other patients.

The residents of the ward are about what you’d expect. Those Craig gets to learn best are the funny yet troubled Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), the lovely but suicidal Noelle (Emma Roberts), and his roommate Muqtada (Bernard White) who refuses to leave his bed, let alone the room.

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The Social Network

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Social Network
  • IMDb: link

Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is an asshole, or he’s at least trying his damnedest to be one. That seems to be the central point of The Social Network which gives us a traditional tale (genius without people skills, rise to power by stepping on your friends) with a fresh take, several good performances, and some darn fine dialogue by screenwriter Aaron Sorkin.

In the film director David Fincher and Sorkin team-up to adapt Ben Mezrich‘s 2009 nonfiction novel The Accidental Billionaires about Zuckerberg’s life and the creation of a little thing called Facebook (maybe you’ve heard of it?). The film tackles everything from friendship to cut-throat business tactics and class warfare.

We begin with a lengthy pre-credit scene involving Zuckerberg’s break-up with his girlfriend Rooney Mara which will lead to the drunken creation of his first social networking site later that night, and lay the foundation for the later creation of Facebook. It’s a great scene to start, though both actors seem to struggle initially with the pace and tempo of a very wordy Sorkin scene.

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