Posted on April 15, 2014 at 2:33 pm
Take a look at the very creepy trailer from director David Fincher for the upcoming “Gone Girl” based on the best-seller by Gillian Flynn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esGn-xKFZdU
Posted on January 12, 2014 at 3:49 pm
As we prepare for this week’s release of the Jack Ryan prequel, “Shadow Recruit,” you might want to take a look at the other thrillers based on Tom Clancy’s dashing hero. Watch how each one of these stories reflects its era.
The Hunt for Red October
Patriot Games
Clear and Present Danger
The Sum of All Fears
Posted on August 23, 2013 at 8:46 am
Adam West. Michael Keaton. Val Kilmer. George Clooney. Christian Bale. And now the cape and cowl go to Ben Affleck, who has been announced as the next actor to play Batman, in the follow-up to this year’s “Man of Steel.”
It’s something of a surprise. Affleck has been most successful as a director, recently with “Argo,” where his direction won more acclaim than his acting. His last superhero effort was the disappointing “Daredevil.” But I am very intrigued that at this point in his career he would take on a role like Batman, and I look forward to seeing the film in the summer of 2015.
Posted on April 11, 2013 at 5:51 pm
B-| Lowest Recommended Age: | Mature High Schooler |
| MPAA Rating: | Rated R for some sexuality/nudity |
| Profanity: | None |
| Alcohol/ Drugs: | Drinking |
| Violence/ Scariness: | Tense confrontations |
| Diversity Issues: | None |
| Date Released to Theaters: | April 12, 2013 |
| Amazon.com ASIN: | B00BU22HCQ |
Director Terrence Malick has made a movie for those fans who loved “Tree of Life” but thought it was too linear and easy to follow.
“To the Wonder” is an impressionistic story of love and loss. Theoretically it stars Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem, and Olga Kurylenko, but in reality the star is the sun,. It seems to be the focus of almost every exquisitely framed shot, with sunlight flaring always just so through the meticulously arranged tree branches behind the beautiful woman who loves to twirl. This movie has a lot of sunlight and a lot of twirling. Also a lot of what I will call affectionate rough-housing, which I think — can’t be sure about anything here — is the primary, if middle-school-ish, way these characters indicate that they like each other.
It does not have a lot of dialogue, and what conversations we do overhear are almost incidental. The talk we hear is mostly the murmured, diary-like narration of a French single mother who falls in love with an American and brings her daughter to live with him in a barren house in a barren landscape that is in sharp contrast with the “wonder” of the rich environment she left behind. Malick seems to have a devilish pleasure in withholding information. The daughter, Tatiana, is the only character whose name we are allowed to know.
It is maddeningly opaque at times but undeniably lyrical. It does not just break free from narrative; it explodes it into an almost-pointillist kaleidoscope of images, whispers, and detours. Where “Tree of Life” had a dinosaur, “To the Wonder” has a zig into an underwater scene with sea turtles before it zags into a separate segment (I can’t say story) about a sad priest (Bardem).
If is more tone poem than movie, it is an intriguing one, touching on themes of connection and disconnection, love and betrayal, at the level of society and individuals. At times it is annoyingly opaque, but there are also moments of stunning beauty. If he continues down this road, Malick’s next movie will be delivered to the theater in individual frames, to be tossed toward the screen in random order, and many of them will feature sun flares. But I’ll still go to see it.
Parents should know that this movie includes sexual references and situations, briefly explicit, including adultery, nudity, smoking, and drinking.
Family discussion: Why is the story told through narration instead of dialogue? How does the issue of contamination of the soil and water relate to the story? Why is the house unfurnished?
If you like this, try: “Tree of Life”
Parents should know that this movie includes some nudity and explicit sexual situations, including adultery. Characters drink alcohol.
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 8:00 am
I live near the CIA, so I got a special kick out of seeing our local dry cleaner featured in a brief scene in “Argo.” The building and sign haven’t changed since the 70’s, so it was a perfect touch of authenticity. It may look unprepossessing, but they note on their website that they do cleaning for “The White House, the Observatory (the Vice President’s House), Ford’s Theater, Blair House, the Kennedy Center, the CIA, the Department of Justice, and USA Today.” I asked director Ben Affleck about putting them in the movie. He said:
You know what? I just wanted to use this dry-cleaning, I needed some everyday sort of spot but I want it to be close to the CIA and they said we can use this place, but they won’t let us change the name. I said, “I don’t want to change the name, it’s perfect!” But I have never, in my entire life, gone to a location and had them say, like, because—you slap a sign on it, it’s not a big deal—absolutely has to be the McLean Cleaners. No, although I did like that it was the town, and anyone who knew would know that it was close to, it was showing that it was connected to the CIA but what could be more pedestrian than dry-cleaning?
