MOVIE REVIEW: BEAST OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

A six-year-old girl from the southern Delta searches for her long-lost mother after her father falls ill and her world spins out of balance in the film from director Benh Zeitlin that took home the Grand Jury Prize and Best Cinematography award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Benh Zeitlin

Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Lowell Landes, Levy Easterly

Release Date: Jun 29, 2012

Rated PG-13 for child Imperilment, Brief Sensuality, Language, Some Disturbing Images and Thematic Material

Runtime: 1 hr. 33 min.

Genres: Drama

Review:

Benh Zeitlin’s first full length film is a magical experience that’s deceptively simple but incredibly dense. Zeitlin’s film is a visual marvel which captures the childlike wonder of innocence with a tangible authenticity which seeps through the screen. It’s the type of film which if instantly engaging and mesmerizing as well. Quvenzhané Wallis & Dwight Henry serve as the film’s core throughout. Zeitlin’s decision to cast non actors really adds to the feel of the film. Quvenzhané Wallis is just as impressive as I’d heard. She carries herself with a wonderful sense of strength and awareness of self throughout. It’s always tough to gauge with child actors if it’s a performance or just their innate personality seeping through, regardless she’s perfect in the lead role. I was just as impressed with Dwight Henry’s work especially since he’s truly a non actor, he owns a bakery. Together they work with a fascinating chemistry which is endearing and heartbreaking at the same time.

A

MOVIE REVIEW: AMOUR

An octogenarian couple find their love put to the ultimate test when one of them suffers a stroke, and the other must assume the role of the caretaker in this compassionate yet unsentimental drama from director Michael Haneke. Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) are retired classical-music teachers savoring their golden years in a comfortable apartment when Anne experiences a stroke that leaves her partially paralyzed. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Michael Haneke

Cast: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert, Alexandre Tharaud, William Shimell.

Release Date: Dec 19, 2012

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material including a disturbing act, and brief language

Runtime: 2 hr. 7 min.

Genres: Art House/Foreign

Review:

Micahel Haneke has made a career of turning the mundane into something disturbing and unsettling. He’s also been a didactic director even if you don’t notice it. Early on in Amour, his deeply moving yet tragic love story, the director holds a shot of an audience. Haneke is telling us that this tale is about something that will affect all us at some point. It’s an interesting starting point into a brutally honest tale of love and devotion that goes into the depths of our hearts and limitations of our bodies. Haneke confines the film to the octogenarian’s well worn apartment creating a sense of claustrophobia throughout. In this confined space is a pair of legendary French actors who deliver incredibly powerful performances throughout. Emmanuelle Riva has received plenty of praise and awards for her performance here and it’s well earned. Riva’s work portraying Anne’s increasingly degraded state is masterful and shockingly realistic. Riva has a showier role but Jean-Louis Trintignant work shouldn’t go unnoticed. Trintignant’s turn is just as strong. His ability to convey a plethora of emotion through a single look or facial expression is just masterful. Together with Haneke’s direction they create a film which takes us through the end of a love story in all its naked truth.

A

TV SHOW REVIEW: House of Cards

Francis Underwood is Majority Whip. He has his hands on every secret in politics - and is willing to betray them all to become President.


Cast: Kevin Spacey, Michael Gill, Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Michael Kelly, Corey Stoll

Executive Producers: David Fincher, Kevin Spacey, Eric Roth, Joshua Donen, Dana Brunetti, Andrew Davies, Michael Dobbs, John Melfi, Beau Willimon


Netflix’s decision to give original programming a shot was something that could have gone very badly. It could have been some cheaply produced muck with low rent actors. The decision to remake the British series House of Cards, after outbidding the cable networks, with A-list talent in front and behind the camera was a master stroke. With David Fincher at the helm for the first 2 episodes, allowing him to establish is distinctive style, gives the series instant legitimacy. The cast instantly shows you they are on their A game with an incredibly magnetic performance by Kevin Spacey at its center. The supporting cast such as a luminous Robin Wright textures the world being presented. Robin Wright’s performance as Underwood’s wife is just as interesting and complex as Spacey’s, a lesser actress could have faded into the background. Kate Mara continues to leave a noticeable impression even when working with some grade A talent. Other supporting players like Corey Stoll and Michael Kelly round out an impressive cast. The story and characters are all incredibly rich giving all these actors so much to work with throughout. Its plot feels like a MacBeth, King Lear hybrid blended into a modern day Washington all of it handled in an incredibly watchable and engrossing manner. Season 1 only failing speaks to effectiveness, the finale leaves you wishing you could watch season 2 instantly, a real triumph for Netflix.

A

Netflix Streaming Exclusive with all 13 episodes available

MOVIE REVIEW: FLIGHT

FLIGHT



A pilot with a substance-abuse problem has to land a crippled airliner in this Robert Zemeckis-directed drama for Paramount Pictures. Real Steel's John Gatins provides the script. Denzel Washington heads up a cast that includes The Hurt Locker's Brian Geraghty, along with John Goodman and Don Cheadle. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Cast: Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, John Goodman, Bruce Greenwood

Release Date: Nov 02, 2012

Rated R for Intense Action Sequence, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Language and Sexuality/Nudity

Runtime: 2 hr. 18 min.

Genres: Drama

Review:

After watching Flight I’d come to the realization that Denzel Washington had been churning interesting and impressive performances in some rather lackluster films for a good while. So much so that I’d almost consider him unappreciated, considering how some Academy Award winners have been known to phone it in more often that not. Flight is a bloated ham fisted film that’s elevated by its incredible leading man. Denzel Washington is the show here and the film dips significantly whenever he’s off screen. Thankful he’s onscreen for the better part of the film and he’s entrancing even though he’s dealing with a script that rams every cliché it could think of into the characters and plots. Washington performance is so much more impressive considering what he’s handcuffed with and I shudder to think of what a lesser actor would have done in this role. Robert Zemeckis has been removed from live action film directing for a while and outside of truly spectacular and horrifying crash sequence he overdoes everything. There’s a scarcity of quiet moments where he’s just pulls back and lets Denzel do his thing. Instead there’s are some eye rolling bad musical cues to hammer home each point not to mention an overused religion slant which is just as frustrating as the rest of the script. Denzel doesn’t just carry this film he drags it kicking and screaming to respectability that alone deserves kudos and awards.

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: WARM BODIES

WARM BODIES




A tormented zombie (Nicholas Hoult) experiences a profound transformation after entering into an unusual relationship with the daughter (Teresa Palmer) of a military leader charged with eradicating the walking dead. As the unlikely pair build a tenuous bridge between the living and the dead, those on both sides of the battle begin to sense that nothing in their world will ever be the same again. Warm Bodies is based on the novel by Isaac Marion. Rob Corddry and John Malkovich round out the starring cast. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Jonathan Levine

Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, John Malkovich, Dave Franco

Release Date: Feb 01, 2013

Rated PG-13 for zombie violence and some language

Runtime: 1 hr. 38 min.

Genres: Comedy

Review:

Warm Bodies is a simple film which a bit of a statement for a zombie rom-com. Director Jonathan Levine keeps things as simple as possible while giving us a self aware version of Twilight with a much better sense of humor. Its light fare at it’s fluffiest. Its center is an incredibly fun, charming and ultimately engaging performance from Nicholas Hoult. From the moment we hear his internal monologue the audience is sucked into his plight and quest for zombie reinvention. R is pretty much Buddy from Day of the Dead with a romantic heart. Love truly conquers all, even rigor mortis. As mentioned the plot is thread bare and while it’ll keep you grinning throughout you can’t help but think it could have been streamlined or that it’s rather neutered to keep that sacred PG-13 rating. Teresa Palmer is rather bland but serviceable. Rob Corddry and a steady John Malkovich do solid work in limited roles. Warm Bodies is an almost sugary sweet zombie love story, it’s not perfect but who is.

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: END OF WATCH

END OF WATCH




David Ayer's End of Watch stars Michael Peña and Jake Gyllenhaal as a pair of L.A. cops and close friends who work to keep the streets safe. Shot in a found-footage style, the movie follows the duo as they make enemies with a major drug cartel and attempt to lead happy personal lives. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Director: David Ayer

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick, Frank Grillo, America Ferrera.

Release Date: Sep 21, 2012

Rated R for sexual References, Pervasive Language, Some Disturbing Images, Some Drug
Use and Strong Violence

Runtime: 1 hr. 49 min.

Genres: Drama

Review:

End of Watch is an aggressive film which feels like a cop version of into The Heart of Darkness. David Ayers uses a lot of filming techniques to get give his film a crazy kind of energy that makes the more mundane parts of the film seem less so. His style works for the most part but occasionally it’s more distracting than it needs to be, detracting from the quality of the story and excellent performances on display. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña have some of the best chemistry I’ve seen in ages in this type of film. Each works off each other extremely well. Their performances have a tangible and believable sense of authenticity throughout. It’s the best performance from both in a long while. They are the heart and soul of the film, creating an impressive connection with the audience even as the story gets more and more extreme, occasionally veering into implausibility. The supporting cast fills out the character’s world well, adding to the film’s overall quality and compounding the emotional punch the climax delivers.

B