The Master: Movie Review

 

Destructive forces taking us on an historical ride through the allure of cults.

Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is a sexually-frustrated World War II Navy vet who struggles to find his place in the world when he returns to America. He excels at mixing highly-toxic liquids into consumable alcoholic concoctions and seducing women, but neither are self-fulfilling careers. Then he meets The Master, Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a charismatic cult leader perfecting his writing and theories.		2012 Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson Screenplay by: Paul Thomas Anderson Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams

Pitch Perfect: Movie Review

 

Romance to cheer for, low-grade comedy, but musical numbers both predictable and perfect.

“Pitch Perfect” is kind of like taking “Glee” and putting it into a college environment, but is more like mixing the popularity of “Bridesmaids”-styled humour and the popularity of a cappella singing. The Barden Bellas are a struggling all-girl singing group trying to succeed with old-school female pop songs and bikini bodies, but after an on-stage meltdown, the team is left with two high-strung seniors and is forced to rebuild.		2012 Directed by: Jason Moore Screenplay by: Kay Cannon Based on the novel by Mickey Rapkin Starring: Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, and Rebel Wilson

Trouble with the Curve: Movie Review

 

One great character, good comedic chemistry, but many simple turns.

“Trouble with the Curve” starts with Gus (Clint Eastwood) and his curmudgeonly ways going about his job as a baseball scout. The jokes about being old and losing his sight and getting up to pee in the middle of the night aren’t very funny, but the introduction of John Goodman as his boss and best friend, and then Amy Adams as his daughter Mickey, help heighten the level of jokes.		2012 Directed by: Robert Lorenz Screenplay by: Randy Brown Starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake

For a Good Time, Call...: Movie Review

Crass and crude but sweet and cute, this female friendship is funny and enjoyable.

Lauren (Lauren Miller) and Katie (Ari Graynor) have a mutual friend (Justin Long), but they hate each other. A humorous flashback scene is included to help explain their hatred. Essentially, they’re opposites. Lauren lives the settled conservative life with her perfect, boring boyfriend; Katie is an adventurous, flamboyant sex phone operator. And now their current situations force them to become roommates.		2012 Directed by: Jamie Travis Screenplay by: Lauren Miller, Katie Anne Naylon Starring: Lauren Miller, Ari Graynor, and Justin Long

Celeste & Jesse Forever: Movie Review

A new take on a sweet and funny romantic comedy overtaken by unlikable characters.

Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) are best friends forever. They dated in high school then they got married and they love each other more than anything else in the world. Now they’re getting divorced. It’s a romantic comedy type story told backwards, kind of. It’s not about how Celeste and Jesse fell in love, it’s about how they’re going to move on.		2012 Directed by: Lee Toland Krieger Screenplay by: Rashida Jones, and Will McCormack Starring: Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg

Compliance: Movie Review

Straight-forward approach to the realistic depravity of mankind.

“Compliance” is about how far people will go to a voice of authority. Sandra (Ann Dowd) the manager at a fast food restaurant is called by an Officer Daniels (Pat Healy) and is told to interrogate and search the young employee Becky (Dreama Walker). It’s yet another example of the Milgram experiment in real life. The drama is not just based on one true event, but a true event that occurred 70 times.		2012 Directed by: Craig Zobel Screenplay by: Craig Zobel Starring: Ann Dowd, and Dreama Walker

Lola Versus: Movie Review

The new generation of girls who don't have anything better to do than complain about love, sex, life and sex again.

Lola (Greta Gerwig) has a hard time finding her place in the world. So does the film. What starts out as a romantic comedy-styled drama, turns into a sex comedy, and then tries to find its way as a character study. But the character of Lola will turn off some before the film gets going and bore others who have already solved her life’s problems.		2012 Directed by: Daryl Wein Screenplay by: Daryl Wain, Zoe Lister-Jones Starring: Greta Gerwig

Scalene: Movie Review

 

Following three interesting characters until it loses its edge.

There are essentially three characters in “Scalene”. And with respect to the writers for their rather ingenious title, we can pretend there are three points of view. The first half of the film is spent with the mother, but mostly told backwards in time. She’s seeking justice and revenge for the incarceration of her mentally-handicapped son charged with rape. Then we hear from the son and then the abused girl herself.		2011 Directed by: Zack Parker Screenplay by: Brandon Owens, and Zack Parker Starring: Margo Martindale, Hannah Hall and Adam Scarimbolo

Goats: Movie Review

 

A quirky comedy turns into a coming-of-age dramedy and gets a little lost on the way.

What starts out as a silly comedy quickly descends into a fairly average coming-of-age dramedy. But after reading an interview with the director, “Goats” is very clearly a coming-of-age dramedy; it’s just the marketers that would like to pretend that it’s a quirky comedy – usually an easier sell for indies. The change in genre is both good and bad news for the audience.		2012 Directed by: Christopher Neil Screenplay by: Mark Poirier Based on the novel by Mark Poirier Starring: Graham Phillips, David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga and Ty Burrell

The Words: Movie Review

Unwrites characters who are well acted but provide very little substance.

Clay Hammond (Dennis Quaid) is reading an excerpt from his latest book “The Words”. Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper) is accepting an award for his successful first published novel “The Window Tears”. Quaid then serves as a narrator for a movie that does not need a narrator. Mostly because nothing happens and when something does happen, we know exactly what it is because we’ve been anticipating it for half the movie.		2012 Directed by: Brian Klugman, and Lee Sternthal Screenplay by: Brian Klugman, and Lee Sternthal Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana

Killer Joe: Movie Review

 

Perverted maturity and twisted humour take us through Texas and the chillingly evil plot.

A dirt road at night in Texas; the sky is dark blue, pitch black, and a streak of lightning flashes across the sky. A clunker of a car rumbles down the road and turns into a trailer park. An under-fed dog, chained out front, barks his head off, and Chris (Emile Hirsch) is banging on the door in the pouring rain, demanding Dottie to let him in. Dottie (Juno Temple) is pretending to sleep, a desire to be innocent keeping her in bed.		2011 Directed by: William Friedkin Screenplay by: Tracy Letts Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Juno Temple, and Emile Hirsch

Hit and Run: Movie Review

A guy's movie for girls with good action, comedy and romance.

"Hit and Run" is an action, comedy, romance, and for the first time in a long time, that's exactly what it is, and in three equal parts. The romance pits Charlie (Dax Shepard) and Annie (Kristen Bell) as a small town couple in love. She's up for her dream job in Los Angeles. The action starts when Charlie drives her to LA in his home-built classic car wtih an engine that all hillbillies desire.		2012 Directed by: David Palmer, and Dax Shepard Screenplay by: Dax Shepard Starring: Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell, Bradley Cooper and Tom Arnold