I can give some credit to writer-director Damien Chazelle’s vision and what he was trying to accomplish, and it does seem this was a passion project but with a 3-hour running time, there was a good chunk that could’ve been removed.
Richard Jewell, based on the true story about the 1996 Olympic bombing, is director Clint Eastwood’s latest and stars Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm and Olivia Wilde.
A Vigilante had good intentions but thanks to the slow and awkward delivery of a familiar story, that it was tough to sit through but for the wrong reasons. The only redeeming value I could find was Olivia Wilde’s emotional performance.
Love the Coopers has an impressive cast but below par script. It’s not all that entertaining despite having the likes of John Goodman, Diane Keaton, Marisa Tomei and Alan Arkin (not to mention Anthony Mackie in a thankless role) and with some snips could easily air on TBS to fill airtime around Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Meadowland is a respectable enough debut from Reed Marano to the point that although it misfires on an emotional level, not to mention the screenplay could’ve used a re-write, it does excel with a stellar performance by Olivia Wilde.
The Lazarus Effect had some potential between a respectable cast who did a good job with what they were given and some nice production values, but the script came across as half assed and delved into horror clichés we’ve seen too many times before and done far better.
The Longest Week has a great cast and an interesting story, but the execution was off and seemed to draw from other, often better, movies and filmmakers like P.T. Anderson and Woody Allen, the latter especially. If you can get over the pretentious nature of the two male leads then it might be worth a rental, otherwise skip this misfire of a drama-comedy.
Her is not only a moving and emotionally charged film about relationships and technology, but it also features an incredible performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson (her voice anyway) with honorable mention to Amy Adams.
Drinking Buddies is an interesting experimental movie where, outside of a plot outline, was improvised. It doesn’t make for the most energetic film but it at least doesn’t follow the typical Hollywood romantic comedy-drama and the performances by Wilde and Johnson actually aren’t bad.
“Robot Chicken”: Season 6 continues to be a successful and very funny series for Adult Swim. The comedy is often gold and Seth Green and company often cross the line offending multiple people and cultures with off-color humor.
Although hardly the perfect comedy, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone still has plenty of laughs going for it. Steve Carell is more or less Michael Scott, and any other character he’s played in his other comedic efforts, but the supporting cast gives good performances and I for one managed to laugh more than a few times and was all around amused by the film.
Deadfall is a simplistic and predictable drama-thriller but thanks to a suspenseful performance from Eric Bana makes for an engaging flick which is well worth at least one viewing.
The Words may not be as special of a film as it things it is, but there are many aspects which I did like from the multi-level story to some good performances including Zoe Saldana, Dennis Quaid, and especially, Jeremy Irons who deserves far more attention than he’s received. And despite any problems I had with the screenplay itself, I still found the film mostly compelling and at least worth a look if only once.
The Words may not be as special of a film as it things it is, but there are many aspects which I did like from the multi-level story to some good performances including Zoe Saldana, Dennis Quaid, and especially, Jeremy Irons who deserves far more attention than he’s received. And despite any problems I had with the screenplay itself, I still found the film mostly compelling and at least worth a look if only once.