Felicity Jones

Inferno

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

InfernoWith each successive entry, the film series based on the Robert Langdon novels of Dan Brown becomes less and less watchable. At this rate the fourth movie may actually make audience bleed out of their eyes. Opening with an incomprehensible first 10 minutes filled with hellish images floating through an injured Langdon’s (Tom Hanks) mind, the film attempts to up the ante by forcing the professor not only to solve riddles and clues to find the truth but this time to do so with amnesia. Along for the ride is his latest attractive European brunette co-star, this time a genius doctor (Felicity Jones) with a love of puzzles (of course) who helps Langdon escape a hospital in Florence when the men who kidnapped him attempt to reacquire the college professor to find a deadly virus.

Rather than unraveling the mysteries of the Holy Grail or delving into a Papal conspiracy, this time Langdon is set after a man-made plague known as Inferno. Created by a billionaire (Ben Foster) obsessed with purging the world of its excess populace, the madman of course left near-indecipherable clues that would make it nearly impossible to see his plan carried out.

…

InfernoRead More »

Inferno Read More »

The Theory of Everything

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Theory of Everything
  • IMDb: link

The Theory of EverythingTheoretical physicist Stephen Hawking is undeniably one of the brightest minds of our time, a fact that The Theory of Everything struggles to prove while being far more interested in the man’s personal life than his professional breakthroughs. The result is a strong romantic drama between Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) and his wife Jane (Felicity Jones) that is far less insightful of the man’s work.

Dumbing down Hawking’s theories for the audience, the script by Anthony McCarten based on Jane Hawking‘s book spoon-feeds us extremely basic doses of Hawkings theories without ever examining the work that went into studying or proving them. Instead the ideas seem to come from nowhere, take little effort to prove, and are instantly lauded. Does that sound like the cut-throat world of academia to you?

More concerned with showcasing the effects and unique challenges presented to Stephen and Jane after his diagnosis of motor neuron disease, The Theory of Everything succeeds far better here getting the most of its stars (even if the film, intentionally or not, turns Jane into a martyr).

…

The Theory of EverythingRead More »

The Theory of Everything Read More »

Like Crazy

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Like Crazy
  • IMDB: link

like-crazy-posterLike Crazy wants to be this year’s Blue Valentine. Paradoxically it also wants to be a romantic love story. Despite some nice performances and an understated feel, the movie leaves much unsaid about a pair of people who, even after spending two hours with them, we’re not sure if they belong together.

The film has a documentary feel that stresses real moments. This gives us small petty fights and cute moments with the pair in bed together, but it also shares with us long stretches that would have been better off on the cutting room floor. Too often the film’s rabid embrace of realism gets in the way of basic storytelling.

Like Crazy begins with the meeting of British exchange student Anna (Felicity Jones – think a more bubbly version of Emma Roberts) and Jacob (Anton Yelchin). The pair hit it off immediately and the glory days of their relationship is a montage blur until Anna’s Visa expires and she has to return home. Against the advice of some very cool movie parents (Alex Kingston, Oliver Muirhead) Anna overstays her time in America.

…

Like CrazyRead More »

Like Crazy Read More »