Cindy Prascik's Review of The Accountant

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas to see my Bat!Boyfriend's new flick, The Accountant. 

 

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers. A CPA with a dangerous clientele handles more than just the books. 

 

The Accountant is a mystery/thriller with a protagonist who may be difficult to warm up to. It's unhurried and often uncomfortable due to the aforementioned protagonist's failure to respond/react to certain situations in the "normal" way. Sound familiar? 

 

If you saw The Girl on the Train last weekend, I'm sure it does. However, unlike The Girl on the Train, The Accountant boasts well-plotted action, solid performances, a couple nice twists, and is funny only when it means to be. 

 

The titular savant, Christian Wolff, is unable to deal normally with people, but his mathematical genius is invaluable to his unsavory clients. Ben Affleck perfectly portrays the mannerisms typical of autism spectrum disorders, creating a character who is sympathetic even when he's doing some pretty bad things. 

 

Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons, and John Lithgow are terrific in supporting roles, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson is a pleasant surprise as the FBI agent hot on the tail of our mysterious money manager. (I've always thought she was one of the worst actors working, but maybe when you're on Spartacus there's just nothing for it!) 

 

The Accountant is brutal at times, certainly not for the faint of heart. There's a short spell right about the hour mark where the movie starts to drag a little, but it picks right back up and is otherwise deliberately-paced but never dull. 

 

Wolff's inappropriate and seemingly rude interactions with people and situations outside his comfort zone spell the dark tone with amusing moments that are never a mean spirited laugh "at" autism or its manifestations. 

 

The movie could have explained itself better in a few spots, and the runtime might have benefitted from a trim, but The Accountant is a suspenseful yarn that'll keep you on the edge of your seat. 

 

The Accountant clocks in at 128 minutes and is rated R for "strong violence and language throughout." 

 

The Accountant is a solid thriller featuring satisfying twists and a standout performance by Ben Affleck. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Accountant gets eight. 

 

Until next time...

TV SHOW REVIEW: ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT SEASON 4

“And now, The Story Of A Wealthy Family Whose Future Was Abruptly Cancelled…”

Writer / Director: Mitchell Hurwitz & Troy Miller

Cast: Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walters

Release Date: May 26, 2013

Genres: Comedy

Review:

The return of one of my favorite comedies of all time had my sights set high, very high. Years of seemingly endless discussions about a possible movie seemed more like a death knell than anything else. Diehard fans rejoiced at the news that Netflix had picked up the series for a new season. The result is an impressively intricate plot with a puzzle like structure. It starts a little slow but rolls towards hilarity as it all comes together. Due to scheduling, Mitchell Hurwitz & Troy Miller had to devise a way to work with the cast members they had at any particular time. As a result, most episodes focus on one family member typically interacting with some but rarely the entire family member. It takes a little while to get used to but as you make your way through the episodes you’ll the genius in viewing the same situations from different point of views. It’s all lovingly crafted and even more self aware than it was before. The jokes are just as rapid fire as you remember with plenty of call backs to previous seasons and a bevy of new instantly quotable jokes. Some of the jokes reach a crazy level of meta comedy at play. The main cast slip back into their roles with impressive ease. The format allows each actor or actress to shine usually accompanied by returning recurring characters or new guest stars. The one drawback to the format is that if you don’t like a particular character you are kind of stuck with them for an episode or two. Since the episodes are so well written it’s never a big issue but some drag a tad more than others, George Bluth Sr.’s plot is a good example. I will warn you that the season does seem to have slightly darker twisted feel to it throughout which might take some people by surprise. Additionally, some of the budget restraints are apparent and even joked about. Even with these minor drawbacks, the season as a whole is a massive success. I was more than a little depressed when I reached the last episode of season 4. It was short lived of course because I knew I’d be watching the episodes again very soon.

A-

Movie Reviews: THE HANGOVER

Sunday, June 07, 2009
Movie Reviews: THE HANGOVER
IN THEATERS


THE HANGOVER

Two days before his wedding, Doug and three friends drive to Las Vegas for a wild and memorable stag party. In fact, when the three groomsmen wake up the next morning, they can't remember a thing; nor can they find Doug. With little time to spare, the three hazy pals try to re-trace their steps and find Doug so they can get him back to Los Angeles in time to walk down the aisle.

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, Jeffrey Tambor

Director: Todd Phillips

Opened June 5, 2009

Runtime: 1 hr. 40 min.

Rated R for some drug material, pervasive language, sexual content and nudity
Genres: Farce, Comedy

Review:

Sometimes the best party nights are best left to the forgotten abyss but when you wake up with a trashed suite, missing groom, a baby and a tiger in the bathroom you just have find out what happened. Todd Phillips raucous and strangely inventive what the hell happened last night comedy is varying levels of fun throughout. Phillips’ takes what could be a fairly paint by the numbers scenario and turns it into something enjoyable and thoroughly insane. The cast works well together with Copper, Helms and Galifianakis getting the majority of the screen time. Bradley Copper brings a sort of arrogances and alpha male quality to Phil which fits his characters type similar to Vince Vaughn’s character Old School also directed by Phillips. The Office’s Ed Helms is wonderfully neurotic and he cycles between moments of clarity and paranoid fervor over what he did last night. Zach Galifianakis brings a blind childlike innocence to his “bearded Jesus” who might be an idiot savant. Heather Graham has a small supporting role as the nicest bride/stripper/hooker/mom on the Vegas strip. Ken Jeong has plenty of fun as a gay Asian stereotype mobster whose trash talk is almost as funny as the beatdown he puts on the three dazed and confused hungover trifecta. Mike Tyson has great extended cameo and mostly plays a straight man that’s had something stolen from him. The script is fun and it’ll probably recall a lot of day after where the party does and doesn’t look as fun in the daylight. There are some small miscues mainly the film loses a little steam once they find the groom and the characters are clearly types as opposed to fully realized people. Small complaints and nothing really earth shattering and it definitely doesn’t bring down any of the R rated fun. From Road Trip to Old School and now The Hangover (we’ll ignore Starsky and Hutch) Todd Phillips has shown a great ability to deliver some great comedies.

B+