My
View: Gone Girl (2014) R A husband (Ben Affleck) comes home to
find a smashed coffee table and his wife (Rosamund Pike) missing. As the
media intensifies, the husband quickly goes from victim to villain. Is he
really responsible for his wife missing? This is one of the best films I
have seen this year, filled with brilliant performances and a plot that keeps you guessing until
the end. Readers of the best-selling book will be happy with this
adaptation, and those who haven’t read it will love how twisted the storyline
is. Funny, yet also dark and depressing, it’s a tale about how quickly
the media can turn a hero into a villain and how quickly we make judgments
about people, often due to just their appearance. I will not be surprised when
this film gets multiple Oscar nominations. My Rating: I Would Pay to See
it Again Gone Girl Website
My
View: The Good Lie (2014) PG-13 Three “Lost Boys” escape the civil
war in the Sudan and are transported to Missouri by a humanitarian organization.
There they encounter a fiery employment agency counselor (Reese
Witherspoon). Their meeting not only changes their world but her life, as
well. I was expecting this film to be like The Blind Side, with
Reese playing the plucky woman who dominates the film. Instead we
get a thoughtful, insightful film about the continuing problem of refugees
being forced to live in camps for years and sometimes lifetimes without any
hope of getting out. This film also explores the idea of people having to
deal with completely new situations while still being haunted by their past.
There are some brilliant performances in this film, especially Arnold Oceng,
who plays the leader of the little gang that relocates and Kuoth Wiel, who
plays the sister of the boys who is sent to a separate city and has to survive
without them. My Rating: Full Price The Good Lie Website
My
View: Annabelle (2014) R A couple (Ward Horton, Annabelle Wallis)
acquire a vintage doll. Soon after, horrifying things begin happening in
the home. This is a prequel to the marvelous 2013 horror film, The Conjuring,”
one of the best horror films of the past five years. Unfortunately, this
film isn’t as smart or creative as the first and goes for the easy scares with
a storyline that is too easy to figure out. By the way, the main
character, Mia (Annabelle Wallis), has the creepiest doll collection known to
man. Skip this film and re-watch the first film - you will be much
happier and very scared. My Rating: Cable Annabelle Website
Family
Faire: The Hero of Color City (2014) G Crayons come to life
while their owner, a little boy, is asleep. Now a paper giant is
threatening their home in Color City. Only kids 6 years old and under
will enjoy this film. It’s very colorful and has a couple of mildly
catchy songs, but the storyline is weak, and the animation is just
ordinary. My Rating: Cable The Hero of Color City Website
My
View: Left Behind (2014) PG-13 An airline pilot (Nicolas Cage), his
daughter (Cassi Thomson) and a reporter (Chad Michael Murray) are “Left Behind”
after millions around the world just vanish in one moment. The first clue
that this film isn’t going to be good is in the opening scene, when the
soundtrack starts up, which sounds like it was bought off of Craig’s List.
A photo-shopped picture of Cage and his family is so badly done, it looks
like a five- year-old did it. This film continually hits you over the
head that you better get your life in order, because the rapture is going to
happen and happen soon. Cage sleep walks throughout the picture (you
don’t even get that Cage over the top moment, which would have made this film
at least a little campy). Most of the supporting cast looks as if they took the
actors from the Nashville First Baptist Church variety playhouse. As I
said to a fellow critic as we left the theatre “If this film is this bad, how
bad was the Kirk Cameron Left Behind film from 2000?” Apparently this one is worse.
My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again Left Behind Website
Indiefest:
The Notebook (2014) R Two boys (Laszlo and Andras Gyemant), a set of
twins, are given a notebook to record their lives by their father (Ulrich
Matthes), a German officer in Hitler’s army. Their world is shattered
when things start going bad for Germany, and they are sent off to live in
Hungary with their Grandmother. This a film that is very uncomfortable to
watch as we see the boys go through all sorts of horrible things like molestation
and beatings. At the same time, it is a moving film that delves deeply into how
man treats man during times of war. There are some beautifully shot scenes of
heartbreaking subjects, such as a forced march through town of a group of Jews
on their way to the local concentration camp. This is a movie that I will only
be able to see once, though I am glad that I did see it. My Rating: Full Price The Notebook Website
Forgotten
Film: Girlfriends (1978) PG Susan (Melanie Mayron) is a photographer
who has big dreams but is forced to shoot birthday parties and Bar
Mitzvahs. Her roommate, Anne (Anita Skinner), suddenly decides to marry a
man she barely knows, leaving Susan without a roommate. Susan’s love life
isn’t any better, as she has an on again off again relationship with a college
professor (Christopher Guest). Mayron is the reason to see this film, and
her performance is touching, funny and sad, sometimes all at the same time.
It’s a fascinating film about the struggle to find yourself and how sometimes
life’s ambitions are not always achieved. My Rating: Full Price Girlfriends Info
Weird
Credits: From the credits of Gone Girl: Book covers Illustrator
Coming
Soon to a Theatre Near You: Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good
Very Bad Day (2014) PG The trailer for this film looks like the outtake reel for
an Adam Sandler film. Any time you show a clip in the trailer (which is
supposed to make me want to see the film) where a man gets kicked in the crouch
by a kangaroo, I say “Um, no.” Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day Website
Until Next Time!
