Great Falls, Montana, 1960; when Jerry Brinson (Jake Gyllenhaal) finds a job fighting a huge forest fire nearby, his marriage begins to fall apart. Paul Dano’s directing debut was written by himself and his girlfriend, exploring an unhappy relationship through the eyes of their teenage son. Ed Oxenbould is terrific as the kid, increasingly perplexed … Continue reading Wildlife
THE LIFE, LOVE AND GENIUS OF BRIAN WILSON. The kind of biography where the writers found something interesting in their subject’s life and focuse on that rather than just try to cover everything from beginning to end. We follow Brian Wilson of Beach Boys fame during two critical periods – the 1960s when he had … Continue reading Love & Mercy
Young Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun) lives in the South Korean countryside with her grandfather and Okja, a huge super pig… but soon the corporation that created this genetic marvel is coming for it. As in the director’s other films, a wild sense of imagination and wonderful visual ideas dominate in a story that really takes us … Continue reading Okja
Famous composer Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) and film director Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel) are staying at a luxury resort in Switzerland; they are friends, but their opinions on how to spend the twilight years differ… Paolo Sorrentino followed his celebrated international breakthrough, The Great Beauty (2013), with an English-language meditation on old age and what … Continue reading Youth
THE EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORY OF SOLOMON NORTHUP. The historian Sue Eakin was born in Louisiana five decades after the end of the Civil War and she specialized in the plantation culture of her home state. In the 1960s, she came across a book that had been largely forgotten. “Twelve Years a Slave” by Solomon Northup … Continue reading 12 Years a Slave: Land of the Unfree
EVERY MOMENT MATTERS. When two young girls disappear in a small town, police come up with a suspect (Paul Dano) but not enough to build a case; one of the girls’ father (Hugh Jackman) refuses to accept it. Director Denis Villeneuve’s first American film is a thriller that explores the horror of losing a child … Continue reading Prisoners
FACE YOUR FUTURE. FIGHT YOUR PAST. In 2044, Joe Simmons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) works as a contract killer for the mob in Kansas City; one day, he’s shocked to learn that his next target is an older version of himself (Bruce Willis) from the future. The star and director of Brick (2006) reunited for another thriller, … Continue reading Looper
FIRST CONTACT. LAST STAND. In 1873, Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) wanders into a small Arizona town, unable to remember what he’s been through… and then aliens attack. There’s nothing wrong with the visual effects or the cast in this spectacular summer blockbuster; Craig is even trying to channel his inner Clint Eastwood. But one has … Continue reading Cowboys & Aliens
THEY’RE NOT GIGOLOS, THEY’RE GENTLEMEN. Young, aspiring writer Louis Ives (Paul Dano), who has a thing for the 1920s, rents a room in Henry Harrison’s (Kevin Kline) New York apartment and becomes a student in the art of being an “extra man”, entertaining wealthy, old women. The directing duo love to tell stories about eccentrics, … Continue reading The Extra Man
June Havens (Cameron Diaz) ends up on a flight with Roy Miller (Tom Cruise), a charmer who turns out to be a secret agent; when Roy is suddenly attacked by the plane’s crew and several passengers, June realizes that she’s about to embark on quite the adventure. Cruise pondered several other action movies before deciding … Continue reading Knight and Day
A GENERATION BEGAN IN HIS BACKYARD. In 1969, Elliot Teichberg (Demetri Martin) is helping his immigrant parents run a struggling motel in upstate New York when he’s approached by a motley group of people looking for a place to host a gigantic music festival. A critic is always hoping to come up with something original … Continue reading Taking Woodstock
A FAMILY ON THE VERGE OF A BREAKDOWN. When this film, the directors’ first, was shown at the Sundance Festival, it became such a hit that Fox Searchlight chose to pay $10,5 million for the distribution rights. A lot of money, but the movie did go on to earn close to $60 million in the … Continue reading Little Miss Sunshine: Volatile Volkswagen Trip
WHEN AMBITION MEETS FAITH. When I saw this film I wasn’t sure what to think of it. It is easy to be completely mesmerized by Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance… but what about the rest of the film? Is all the other stuff just as good or does Day-Lewis make us forget about the potential flaws of … Continue reading There Will Be Blood: Oil and Religion
