Indiefest: Her (2014) R Set in the near future, a depressed writer, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), can’t get over his soon-to-be-final divorce. Stuck in a rut, he decides to enhance his life and install a new operating system on his home computer that has been advertised to meet his every need. The OS system has a name, and it’s Samantha (Scarlett Johansson). Can a man fall in love with his computer? This film was one of my favorites from last year and made my top ten films of 2013. Scarlett Johansson is brilliant in a role where you only hear her voice, as she never appears on screen. Her chemistry with Joaquin Phoenix is perfect, and they play off of each other extremely well. Phoenix gives one of his better performances, making us like Theodore. A character played by anybody else would have come off needy and pitiful, but with Phoenix’s grace and charm, the character comes off likeable and someone you want to root for. This is a film that makes you think about relationships and if someone could ultimately fall for a computer. I know I did. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again Her Website
Indiefest: August: Osage County (2014) R Three sisters (Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, and Julianne Nicholson) are called back home when it’s discovered their father (Sam Shepard) has gone missing. Now they must confront the one person that they have been avoiding all these years, their mother (Meryl Streep). This film is part drama, part black comedy as there are some funny scenes in this film. It’s a film filled with characters who have very sharp edges and are forced to live together in a very small space. There are very few characters you will like in this film, as most are harboring some sort of personal grudge or strife that keeps causing friction between the family members. Meryl Streep is exceptional in the role of the pill-popping, say anything that comes into her head mother. Julia Roberts plays against her normal type of role and is almost equally unlikeable, especially on how she deals with her estranged husband and daughter. This is a film that exposes a family who has deep personal problems, most of which will never be fixed, especially not in the span of two hours. It’s a film that is difficult to watch, not because it is bad, but because the problems that this family is experiencing are so painful. My Rating: Full Price August: Osage County Website
Forgotten Film: F/X (1986) R Rollie (Bryan Brown) is one of the best special effects men in the movie business. The government goes to Rollie to stage the death of a mob informant to make it look like the informant dies to be successfully put into the witness protection program. When the gig goes bad, Rollie finds out that corrupt government agents are working with the mob and are going to try and kill him. Now Rollie must use his special effects knowledge to defeat the bad guys and put them behind bars. This is a fun film to watch where you get to see how special effects used to be done before the present age of computers and special effects software. Brown is the perfect “good guy” for the role, and he seems to be having as much fun as the audience does when it watches this film. My Rating: Bargain Matinee F/X Info
In Case You Missed It (A film Just Released on DVD / Blu-ray): Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) The first Insidious film was a clever horror film that didn’t go for the cheap scare. Unfortunately, you can’t say that about this sequel. This film is just a rehash of the first with a plot that is way too easy to figure out, leaving us with very few chills and thrills. My Rating: Cable http://www.insidiousch2.com/
Weird Credits: From the credits of Her (2013); Armpit sex drawing
Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: The Lego Movie (2014) PG Brought to you by the guys that brought you Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009), this is an animated film about an ordinary LEGO mini-figure who gets mistaken for a “Masterbuilder," someone who has the power to defeat a super villain from gluing all the Lego blocks together. The Lego Movie Website
Until Next Time!
