MOVIE REVIEW: MONEYBALL

IN THEATERS

MONEYBALL



Brad Pitt stars in the real-life tale of Major League Baseball general manager Billy Beane, who built up a winning team despite a decreased budget thanks to his sly use of statistical data to calculate the best -- and cheapest -- players for his roster. Aaron Sorkin updates Steve Zaillian's adaptation of Michael Lewis' fly-on-the-wall novel for Columbia Pictures, with Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, and Philip Seymour Hoffman co-starring. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Bennett Miller

Cast: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt

Release Date: Sep 23, 2011

Rated: Some strong language

Runtime: 2 hr. 6 min.

Genres: Drama

Review:

To call Moneyball a baseball movie is kind of a disservice. Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of sports films mainly because they follow such a predictable pattern and are filled with genre required benchmarks. Moneyball forgoes most of that and explores the business of the sport but doing so in a manner that people who are well versed in sports and those who barely know the difference between and out and a touchdown can enjoy it. It’s engaging from the start and the character piece pops in a way few films can. It’s a slow and organic film that allows scenes to gestate long enough to achieve their desired effect. Bennett Miller provides a strong guiding hand making his film feel like jock version of The Social Network. Miller does such a strong job of giving his film an air of authenticity, the scenes all ring true, even to a sports fanatic like myself, but never spilling over into parody. Brad Pitt is spot on as Beane. Pitt masterfully and subtly displays Beane cocksure bravado and private self doubts that drive the man. It’s the type of performance that brings his character to life especially in character scenes that showcase the man’s mind at work. Jonah Hill playing against type provides an excellent counterpoint to Beane. Hill’s quiet and measured performance is perfect for the character’s persona. Phillip Seymour Hoffman rounds out the cast with an impressive turn as A’s Manager Art Howe, his interaction with Pitt’s Beane is the kind of stuff most sports fans know all too well. The film might overstay it’s welcome near the end but just barely.

A

[Trailer] David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

This new longer, close to 4 minutes, trailer for David Fincher’s remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo really hits up on a lot of the major plot points of the story.

Most should seem fairly familiar to those that have seen the Swedish films, which I thought were fairly strong, and while the style is all Fincher I don’t really see all that much derivation is terms of story or character.

Rooney Mara does seem to give off a stronger tough but wounded vibe than Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth. Still think Rapace will be a tough act to follow personally. Daniel Craig does seem like a good fit for Mikael Blomkvist so we shall see, I have a lot of faith in Fincher so I’m very curious to see the final product.

[Red Band Trailer] The Thing (2011)

The first trailer hardly instilled a lot of hope in me for this prequel but this Red Band Trailer and the amount of CGI which looks to dominate the creature effects are really making me feel more than a little depressed.

Still trying to keep an open mind but it’s getting harder and harder……

[Trailer] [REC]³ Génesis

After I finished watching [REC]2 I was just begging for a 3rd part, thankfully we’ll be getting one!

The teaser trailer for the 3rd part seems to be taking a different approach from the first 2 films but this still looks like an excellent addition to the Spanish horror franchise, hopefully we in the states won’t be left waiting for years like with the 2nd part…..

MOVIE REVIEW: CONTAGION

IN THEATERS

CONTAGION



Steven Soderbergh presents this look at what happens when an infectious disease threatens humanity through varied viewpoints from an ensemble cast, including Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, and Kate Winslet. The Informant's Scott Z. Burns provides the script. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow
and Kate Winslet

Release Date: Sep 09, 2011

Rated: Disturbing content and some language

Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

The easiest test of how effective Contagion is how quickly you start to consciously think about touching your face, grabbing a door handle or holding hands with a loved one. Contagion is the type of film that maintains such a close proximity with reality that it feels like an extravagant “what if” documentary. Steven Soderbergh is the perfect director for this germaphobic waking nightmare. Soderbergh reins this film in, keeping the flights of fancy that countless other similar films take so easily, while maintaining his usual detached sensibility and faux naturalism. It’s a different kind of horror film that makes the mundane and common look horrific and vaguely terrifying. The assembled stars are all game even if more than a few get shafted in screen time or fulfilled story lines. Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne and Jude Law leave the biggest impressions each for very different reasons. The plot itself does waver a bit in the last act and it kind of stumbles towards the finish line, feeling more exhausted than accomplished. Still it’s leaves enough of an impression that it’ll make you think about touching the door on your way out of the theater.

B+

Bluray quality; Video is fantastic across the board ; Sound is equally impressive.

I was hand-selected to be a member of Blu-ray Elite, a beta program from Warner Home Video which has graciously sent me this free Blu-ray disc.

MOVIE REVIEW: APOLLO 18

IN THEATERS

APOLLO 18



NASA's canceled trip to the moon in the 1970s is the basis for this found-footage-style picture exploring the urban legend surrounding that mission -- what if Apollo 18 actually did occur and the proof of extraterrestrial life exists on film? Wanted's Timur Bekmambetov produces the film, with Spanish director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego taking on helming duties. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego

Cast: Lloyd Owen, Warren Christie

Release Date: Sep 02, 2011

Rated PG-13 for some disturbing sequences and language

Runtime: 1 hr. 26 min.

Genres: Suspense/Thriller

Review:

I’m generally a big fan of the “found footage” films; the genre is just a lot of fun for me. Typically though the films are done on a very small budget and really kind of hit some primal nerve that really digs deep. Apollo 18 sounds like an interesting concept but once we get into the meat of the film it just meanders along, hitting very obvious points and providing maybe one or 2 jump scares. I’m not sure if it could have worked with a better set up or if the antagonist of the film just come off as too silly to be scary. The concept works and I appreciated the mixing of actual archival footage with the film giving it’s a semblance of authenticity. The cast does what’s it’s asked and they fit their parts well but the roles are all terribly underwritten. The story is fairly straightforward and just feels like Blair Witch NASA. It never grabs you and is only mildly interesting making a short film feel incredibly long.

D