Whip It

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A teenage girl (Ellen Page) discovers roller derby, and against her parents' wishes, she sneaks out to a secret world, where she becomes a celebrity bad ass.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Alia Shawkat, Daniel Stern, Landon Pigg, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Andrew Wilson, Eve, Zoe Bell, Jimmy Fallon, Sarah Habel, Eulala Scheel, Carlo Alban, Ari Graynor

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. For such a simplistic movie, I was surprised at how difficult a time I sometimes had following along. On the positive side, there is a potentially interesting mother-daughter conflict, and a lot of cool characters inside of a lot of arbitrary scenes.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: In true sports-comedy form, the best laughs come from the game time announcer.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: That is certainly its goal, as confirmed by the actors who showed up for a Q & A, and told us that director, Drew Barrymore, got emotional and cried regularly while explaining what each scene was about to her actors.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It wants to be this year's Juno, but it's really not. That said, Drew Barrymore will probably get a few nods in the First Time Director category, wherever those are available, because it's a good way to get her to show up for your ceremony.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Andrew Wilson (the oldest, cutest, and least famous Wilson brother) will finally have a chance to break out in his role as the disrespected coach, possibly even making his way toward the status his sibs have enjoyed since Bottle Rocket. Drew Barrymore has a small but delightfully unusual role. Kristen Wiig continues to deliver lines in her own strange manner, which is always weird at first, but grows on you, and delivers unexpected laughs. And I guess I sort of have to mention Ellen Page, who is cute as a button, but not always at home in character traits that don't involve being a smart aleck. She's supposed to be a Texan pageant girl who goes through a transformation to become a hard core derby girl. And while she's great as the tough bitch she becomes, you never really buy her as the sweet Texan she was supposedly passing as before she began her rebellion.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: You really root for Drew in her first foray into directing, but this movie, and the directing in particular, have got a lot of problems. Several scenes seem to exist purely because they were fun for her to film. One is a food fight, which advances the story in no way whatsoever, but looked like it might have been fun to participate in. And even more jarring, is an extended, underwater love scene in a swimming pool. For no reason and with no prompting, the two teenagers jump in wearing all their clothes (including dress shoes and leather jackets) and then undress underwater-- basically implying that they were planning to take off their clothes all along. So it makes no sense that they would deliberately ruin their best gear. Not even a teenager would be that illogical! Then the underwater seduction leads to an underwater kiss, which I don't have to remind you, isn't even possible for those of us who don't have gills. Furthermore, not being able to breathe is one of the least sexy things I can imagine... It would make a cool music video (which I'm sure it eventually will, since the boy is in a band in the movie, and a singer in real life), but in a movie that's supposed to be logical, this scene reeks of, "Hey, look guys! They gave me an underwater camera! We should use it! Where can we get a pool?"

Q: How is the story/script?

A: A lot of the scenes are energetic and fun, but this movie had some of the worst transitions I have ever seen. I struggled to understand how much time had passed from one scene to the next, and how far along we were in the progress of the sports season or the school year. Often, characters would just suddenly be somewhere new-- like at an indoor swimming pool-- and you didn't really know why or how they'd ended up there. And then there is the dialogue, some of which was so cryptic to me, that I literally had to turn to my friend and ask, "What was that supposed to mean?" Saddest of all being that after the conclusion of the love story, I couldn't be sure if the lovers had just broken up or made up.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: The music and the roller derby are pretty cool.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/whip-it/32591/trailers

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We Live in Public

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A documentary about Josh Harris, an early internet pioneer who predicted that social networking would take over and destroy our ability to interact with each other as kind, loving humans, long before social networking had been invented.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Josh Harris, members of his family, his most pivotal ex-girlfriend, Tanya Corrin, and a large number of New York freaks who sign up to live together for a month in an underground bunker where they were filmed doing everything from showering and sh*tting to f*#king and sucking, and where the only thing playing on TV were channels featuring the other nutzoids living in their cult-like community-- which they ironically called, Quiet.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! This movie is both fascinating and disturbing. But I'm asking you to see it anyway, so that you can get the deepest possible understanding that everything you do and say on the internet can and will haunt you for the rest of your living days. And then, maybe you'll consider taking a break from that little screen once in a while.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Sure, if you're one of those people who gets joy from watching others suffer.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If will certainly make you long for a simpler time, when we used to actually see each other in person. Oh, how I miss human to human connection... And do you remember hugging? That was awesome.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at Sundance, and I wouldn't be surprised if it got a shot at the Academy. It's just so topical!

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Internet millionaires are crazy. And not in a good way, like the bi-polar, suicidal, ex-junkies that they lock up in their basements to use as lab rats in their wacky attempts to call themselves artists.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: I always wonder, when a documentary director sticks with a subject for 10 years, how does she know when it's time to stop filming and just make a film already? At the same time, considering her subject's obsession with filming every detail of his life to play on the internet, I can kind of understand her optimism, since she was blessed with a giant amount of pre-existing footage. Which also begs the question: How come I never heard about this place, "Quiet" before?!

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Linear. It starts in 1984, when Josh Harris first discovered the potential of the internet, and clearly and logically takes us through the period of the 90s when anything was possible, to the dot-com crash, to today, when the things you may have done in the 90s are on your permanent record, and will prevent you from ever doing anything cool again... or at least until a movie is made about your life, alerting internet investors that you may actually have a small clue as to what you're talking about.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XSTwfdFwIY

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Fame

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Remake of the 1980 musical about a group of kids who attend New York's High School for the Performing Arts.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Kay Panabaker, Walter Perez, Naturi Naughton, Asher Book, Kherington Payne, Collins Pennie, Kristy Flores, Paul McGill, Paul Iacono, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, and Cody Longo. And as their supervisors: Kelsey Grammer, Charles S. Dutton, Bebe Neuwirth, Megan Mullally, Debbie Allen.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. More than anything this movie will make you long to see the original, partly because the nostalgic element is completely missed in the new version, and partly so you can find out if it was equally as trite as this one, and the only reason you didn't notice was because back then, you were too young to know better.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Not so much. Unless, like me, you have an adorable 6 year old boy sitting next to you, making peanut gallery comments like, "That song was beautiful!" And, "I like the lion!" Which refers to the MGM lion that roars at the beginning of the movie.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: I was on the verge of tears for a non-continuous 30% of the film. It was completely unjustifiable, and most likely had nothing to do with the content. Maybe it was hormones.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: They wrote a lot of new songs in their efforts to update this piece to present day sensibilities, but in all their efforts, the only song that really moves you is the one they kept from the original, "Out Here on My Own." And I'm pretty sure that won't qualify as Best Original Song.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The one reason this is worth seeing is that you will have the opportunity to feel like you've discovered some great new talent. In particular, Naturi Naughton, who sings like a next generation Mary J. Blige, and Asher Book, whose vocal stylings make you hope he will fall in love with you. On the other hand, Kherington Payne-- who I just found out was a winner on "So You Think You Can Dance?"-- is not nearly as good a dancer as the extras who are playing backup dancers to her lead. The professional dancers surrounding her hit each move with a sharpness and precision, that make Kherington look like she was discovered on a reality show... This is just more proof, that when America votes, they get second tier stars.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Using lots of long lenses with action in the foreground doesn't make the story any more engrossing, and sometimes, you find yourself actually getting a little impatient with the scenes, as you wonder if anything interesting is going to happen once the director is done indulging himself in his own sense of beautifulness.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: A lot of the conflict is completely illogical, as kids fight with their parents over things their parents would never fight them for. Plus there are times when the dialogue seems either generic and predictable, or simply unnecessary.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: After opening on an elaborate audition montage, it's hard to imagine how the majority of the main characters got into the school, with auditions that are sometimes humiliating, and shouldn't have garnered much more than a "Don't call us, we'll call you."

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/fame/30945/trailers

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Zombieland

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: After zombies take over the United States, the few remaining humans must find new ways to survive in a world where no one can be trusted, and there's usually a guy in your backseat waiting to eat you.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Amber Heard, and a comedy great who I'm not going to mention because I don't want to ruin the surprise.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Despite the constant threat of zombies attacking, this film is a fun, hilarious, and disgusting ride about complex characters, all of which are experiencing loss, and secretly longing to rekindle even the smallest form of human connection.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: From the first scene to the one that comes after the closing credits.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: I wouldn't go that far.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Is it possible to get awards when you're a zombie movie?

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Woody Harrelson is charming as a psychopathic zombie killer with a heart of gold. Emma Stone is one of my favorite up-coming actresses, even though most of you seem to have no idea who she is. And Abigail Breslin has never been more adorable than she is when she's sporting a shotgun. Come to think of it, shooting zombies is a skill that could've won her the talent portion of Little Miss Sunshine.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: First time feature film director, Ruben Fleischer, shows a distinct vision for comedy and a style all his own within the first minute of this film, and then he never lets up. If you have a comedy you need a good director for, get him now, before he stops returning your phone calls.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I'm not into zombie movies. On some level it seems like there is nothing we don't already know about what can happen with a zombie, and since they're generally slow and stupid, it's hard to imagine how a person couldn't easily escape one. This zombie movie works because it starts from the assumption that we all have a certain amount of knowledge about zombies, and takes off from there. Ultimately, it doesn't focus so much on the zombies attacking, as it does on the emotions of being left alive and alone, one of the sole survivors, in a world that's hardly worth living in.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/zombieland/trailers

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Amreeka

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A Palestinian woman (Nisreen Faour) and her son (Melkar Muallem) move to America to escape the oppression of being held prisoners in their own land, only to encounter a new level of racism in their new country, which has just overthrown Saddam Hussein and declared war on Iraq.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Jenna Kawar, Selena Haddad, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Joseph Ziegler, Andrew Sannie, Daniel Boiteau, Brodie Sanderson

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It's a decent depiction of anti-Arab sentiment in America, and it almost manages to draw you in.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Culture Clash is always a little bit funny... Especially when it involves White Castle Burgers.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: What these people are going through, just based on the color of their skin, is heartbreaking and it should make you cry. But the film never goes for any real tear-jerking moments, and so, it doesn't.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, which had a lot to do with why I wanted to see it. Now that I have, I understand why it didn't win.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Oh, those people were actors? If it hadn't been for the presence of Maeby from Arrested Development, I never would have known.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Very simple and very fine.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It's an interesting story, and it's done very well, but I've seen it done in more gut-wrenching ways.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/amreeka/

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Capitalism: A Love Story

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: How and why capitalism rose to power in America, and how and why it has caused the demise of democracy in the USA.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: 1% rich people, 99% poor people, and of course, Michael Moore-- a member of a group so rare that there is no longer a place for them in the pie chart of American demographics: the middle class.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Vive la Revolution!

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: You know it will. Michael Moore is wacky.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Will it ever. I don't know about you, but not a lot makes me cry harder than blatant injustices done to hard working people, by those who have way more than what they need.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: If Moore has his way, this film will cause an uprising amongst the peasants-- that's us, it turns out (you'll see). If his uprising succeeds, the film will one up the awards system by going down in history as a major catalyst, in what hereafter will be known as the American Civil Revolution. (I made the term up, and yes, you can quote me on that.)

Q: How is the Acting?

A: There are a lot of down and out people who've worked hard their whole lives, just to get pooped on by the banks that their tax dollars bailed out. They are both heartbreaking and inspirational. But the star of the film for me was Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, who showed true signs of being in government because she actually cares about the people. I'm currently considering moving to Ohio just so I can vote for her... Hey, I got an idea: Marcy Kaptur for president! (You heard it here first.)

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Michael Moore does 2 things really well in this film. 1) He uses clips of pre-existing footage in inventive ways to do everything from parallel our society with that of Ancient Rome to demonstrating how we got brainwashed, back in the 1950s, into thinking that Capitalism was the same thing as Democracy. It's not. 2) He leaves most of the footage of himself on the cutting room floor.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I was wondering how Moore would tackle a topic so enormous in a 2 hour film, and one technique he uses to deal with that is to make the film more than 2 hours long. That said, he unveils a lot of scary stuff you don't know, inside some of the scary stuff you do know. He weaves the story together in a somewhat arbitrary way at first, but all the pieces come back together by the end. And most importantly, he actually offers solutions and suggestions as to ways we can change and improve our society.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: One small but brilliant thing that Michael Moore does in this piece, is to enlist several men of the cloth to expound upon their beliefs that Capitalism is evil. Greed, it turns out, is not good, because Jesus pretty much said so, which proves it. I love that Moore thought to call dibs on the Christians, because everyone knows that whoever gets the Christians wins the votes. And now they can't rag on him and call him a manipulator of the truth without going against their own priests, bishops and ministers. Ha-ha!

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/capitalism-a-love-story/35590/trailers

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The Informant!

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A high level office drone (Matt Damon) gets put in a position where he feels compelled to tell the FBI about his business' illegal dealings in price fixing, and before he knows it, he must become an FBI informant.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Melanie Lynskey, Joel McHale, Rick Overton, Tom Wilson, Tom Papa, Ann Cusack, Eddie Jemison, Andrew Daly, Tony Hale, Larry Clarke, Jayden Lund, Patton Oswalt, Paul F. Tompkins, The Smothers Brothers

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. What I like about the movie is that it is original, true, and in no way underestimates its audience. What I don't like about the movie is that it's the opposite of hopeful.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Matt Damon has a running non-sequitur, inner monologue that rarely makes you laugh out loud, but keeps you at a constant chuckle on the inside.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Only if corruption without accountability makes you cry. Which I'm thinking, if you live in America, it probably doesn't, because if it did, maybe once in a while, one of you would stand up and do something about it.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Even though there's something thoroughly not enjoyable about this story, I kind of think the film deserves some recognition.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Damon is great, but did he really have to put on 30 pounds to play a guy, who no one knows what he looks like? Please discuss.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The look of the movie is often fuzzy and yellow, as if the film had just been taken out of a vault in which it had been stored for 30 years. This might have been an effect meant to portray the period of the piece, but along with the graphics and the music, it seemed a lot more 70s than the 90s.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: More complex than it appears on its surface... much like its main character.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-informant/34202/trailers

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The Boys Are Back

(Guest Review by Tempany)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When a globe trotting sports reporter (Clive Owen) loses his wife to cancer he is forced to finally become accountable as a father.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: The very handsome and talented Clive Owen, an astoundingly brilliant child actor called Nicholas McAnulty, George MacKay, Laura Fraser and Emma Booth.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! If you need a good cry and a chance to relive any abandonment issues as a child, this is the flick for you! Much cheaper than therapy and unlike the couch, The Boys Are Back actually leaves you with hope that the world isn’t such a horrible place after all.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The kid has some excellent one-liners that will most definitely make you grin through your tears. Out of the mouths of babes and all that jazz.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Yes, yes and more yes. If you don’t cry you may just be a sociopath. (BTW, Monique didn't cry.) But the crying is a satisfying weep filled with hope and the promise of a happy ending.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: The Australian Film Industry will no doubt give this a big nod for independent awards and hopefully the rest of the Indie Prizes around the world will follow suit.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Fantastic. The two boys in the film are so utterly convincing as lost and confused kids that you may just forget you’re watching a film. Clive Owen does a great job at keeping things understated and believable and we soon grow to love the whole family.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Scott Hicks, who directed the wonderful Shine, does not disappoint. His picturesque sun drenched Australian landscapes do not distract from the families’ cloudy journey through the grieving process. In a perfect world we could have done without the ghostly visits from the deceased wife but luckily they don’t bug you too much.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Pretty damn incredible. Based on Simon Carr’s memoir, screenwriter Allan Cubitt creates some of the freshest and funniest dialogue in years. Fatherhood gets a thorough examination, warts and all. Although the subject matter of the film is tragic, the story moves along with inspirational jolts the whole way.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/the-boys-are-back/trailer

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Crude

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A documentary about the class action lawsuit against Chevron-Texaco by the inhabitants of the Amazon, who have received cancer, death and disease, in exchange for the destruction of their land and natural resources.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: A bunch of humanist lawyers, a bunch of lying deceitful lawyers, a bunch of plaintiffs, environmentalists, and a smattering of celebrities who care, including Sting and his wife, Trudy Styler-- which should come as no surprise to anyone who's seen Bruno, since he told us that Sting has the Rain Forests, and Bono has AIDS.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The topic is interesting, and the arguments on both sides are compelling and eye opening, but the movie quickly becomes redundant as we see the same oil-filled riverbeds and lakes, hear the same stories of children with cancer over and over, and are repeatedly told how this is a "David and Goliath story."

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There is one funny scene about the difference between what it means to an American to come up with a plan, and what it means to an Ecuadorian to come up with a plan.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: There are children dying of cancer all over this thing, and somehow, I didn't come close to crying. But I guess I'm pretty cold hearted.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: There is an indigenous woman who sings an indigenous song at the beginning and the end that literally made my ears feel like they were bleeding. On the bright side, I'm glad I finally have cause to relate to that expression. On the dark side, I'm giving it the Nails on a Chalkboard Award.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The American lawyer on the plaintiff's side, Steve Donzinger, is incredibly funny, charismatic, and animated. He holds the movie together. But where this movie really excels is in the antagonist department. Some of the most hateable people ever put on tape are in this film. And while it won't surprise you to know that they all work for Chevron, it might surprise you to learn that the worst of them is not a lawyer, but the company's staff environmentalist.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Joe Berlinger directed Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, which is one of the most insightful and well crafted documentaries I've ever seen. I'm gonna take this opportunity to recommend you rent it asap, partly because I don't get that many opportunities to recommend it, but also partly because if I were to tell you how he did on this one, I'd have to repeat myself to tell you it's redundant.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The way they describe the beauty of the Amazon as it was before the oil companies came in and killed and contaminated all the water and vegetation got me thinking about the story of Adam and Eve. What if it wasn't so much a story from the past, as it is a cautionary tale about the future? What if the story was trying to say that we already live in paradise? Currently, I mean. But if we are tempted by greed (the apple/evil) we will destroy our paradise, and cause it to become no longer liveable, at which point we will be banished from our Garden of Eden. Mostly because we will all die, but also because it will no longer be paradise, so even if we live, it will feel as if we have been banished.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: On a personal note of interest only to me and those of you who went to high school with me, there is a girl from our high school class in this film, who did not go to the reunion we recently had. Despite her absence from the reunion, I now know that she lives in New York and works for Vanity Fair. Ask me about her.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/crude/trailers

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Coco Before Chanel (Coco Avant Chanel)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: The life of Coco Chanel (Audrey Tautou) up until the point when she became famous fashion designer Coco Chanel.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Audrey Tautou, Benoit Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola, Marie Gillain, Emmanuelle Devos

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! This is a beautifully shot, well made film with good acting, and beautiful settings, that isn’t even that boring… and yet I can’t think of a single person I would recommend it to.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There’s some wit, but you have to be a fast reader of subtitles to catch most of it.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: I heard a lady in the elevator, afterward, saying she cried, but she looked like a manic-depressive.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Costumes… why not?

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Perfectly good acting portraying perfectly unlikable characters.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The opening shot is a little nauseating, but the rest is quite pleasant to look at.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I’m still trying to figure out the deeper correlation between Chanel’s upbringing in an Orphanage, and her success as a fashion designer. I can see how the outfits they wore as children inspired some of her cuts, as well as her desire to introduce the color black to high class women’s wear, but I’m still not totally sure why anyone liked her, listened to her, or gave her a chance.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/coco-before-chanel/37886/trailers

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Inglourious Basterds

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) leads a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as the ‘Basterds’ in killing Nazis during World War II and taking a central part in a plot to end the war in writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s re-imagining of history.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent, Diane Kruger, Til Schweiger, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Daniel Bruhl, B.J. Novak, Martin Wuttke, Sylvester Groth, Mike Meyers, Julie Dreyfus

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. If you like (or even love) Quentin Tarantino’s films, then just go ahead and pretend like the little traffic signal over there on the left is flashing green for you. Because Inglourious Basterds will be right up your alley; the movie is easily as good as some of his best. For everyone else not in the above category, I’m not really sure what to say to you, but my guess would be that you probably hate going on roller coasters. To which I say: life is short, so why not ride one once in a while.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Brad Pitt (+) absurd Tennessee accent (÷) by period mustache (x) eye-catching scar on neck (=) more laughs than you might expect. Other stuff will make you laugh too, if your sense of humor veers toward the dark side.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No. Unless you generally find yourself crying while watching Saturday morning cartoons.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: If this film is nominated for Best Picture, it will say a lot about how the academy is feeling towards Quentin Tarantino these days. Beyond that, the acting is spectacular and will most likely be noticed once award season hits.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Christoph Waltz as ‘Jew Hunter’ Col. Hans Landa is getting a lot of attention for his work in this movie and it’s all deserved. He takes every cliché ever put on screen of the “scary Nazi” and deconstructs it so thoroughly that the almost cuddly teddy bear he creates has the odd (and purposeful) result of becoming one of the most unique and scariest Nazis ever put on film. But he is just the start of a cast that makes an indelible mark, including the femme-fatales, Diane Kruger and Melanie Laurent, who can connive and consort with the best of spies; male or female. And as is usually the case, the further Brad Pitt disappears into a real character, the better he is, and that is no less true here as his Lt. Aldo Raine borders on comic genius.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: As great of a screenwriter Tarantino has proven to be over the years, at this point in his career he’s probably a better director. Inglourious Basterds is another testament to that; you can just feel the energy coming off the screen from someone who truly loves what he does for a living. But I do wish he displayed more discipline as an editor because more than a few scenes go on way too long (yes I’m looking at you Scene-in-Cellar that should be cut by half). But back to directing: Tarantino’s camera never makes a false move, and it’s always fun to see how he uses the tools of cinema like a master painter in complete control of his medium. Tarantino knows how to tell a story through pictures like few directors, and this one is no exception.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Once again Tarantino uses an unconventional structure to tell the story here, although not in a time-shifting jumble like Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs. Unfolding in ‘chapters’ the story leaves central characters for long stretches to set up new characters in subsequent sections, only to have all the central players come together for an explosive climax. Like many of his past screenplays, the dialogue is sharp and the conflict within any given scene is oftentimes surprising and jarring. And I can’t heap praise on the actors without acknowledging the characters Tarantino created and the dialogue and actions he wrote for them to say and do. But due to the subject matter, Inglourious Basterds plays more like a cartoon than any of his other films, yet in many ways it’s also impossible to view it simply as that. It rides an extremely fine line between reality and fantasy and as the story unfolds it delves further into wish fulfillment that is ultimately as cathartic as its author intended.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/inglourious-basterds/36184/trailers

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Taking Woodstock

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: To avoid going broke, a young man (Demetri Martin) agrees to host the Woodstock Music Festival at his parents' motel, and you all know what happened from there.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman, Eugene Levy, Emile Hirsch, Paul Dano, Kelli Garner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Don Fogler, Jonathan Groff, Liev Schreiber, Gabriel Sunday, Mamie Gumer, Kevin Sussman, Adam LeFevre

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Mostly due to a severe lack of period music, you never get lost in that 1960s feeling that was probably the main reason you chose to attend this movie in the first place.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: For all the silly places my sister, my dad, and I used to tell people they'd reached when they called our home, none of our attempts to be funny when we answered the phone were as hilarious as the way in which Demetri Martin answers the phone, in all seriousness, at his parents' motel.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Only if watching people go from flat broke to rich to richer in seconds flat makes you feel sad for your own insurmountable debt.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Considering the amount of nudity in the film, I was amazed to look around the theater at the vast number of blue hairs in the audience. Then it dawned on me, that these old geezers are about the right age to have actually attended this momentous event. And since the Academy is also made up of old farts, I'm going to assume that they too have a nostalgic affinity for smoking dope, dropping acid, and enjoying free love, and therefore, I'm not going to rule out awards consideration quite as fast as I should.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I don't know if you've ever seen Imelda Staunton in a film before, but I've seen her in two. And based on that tiny sampling, I would venture to say that everything she does is genius, and she should be doing a lot more of it. She is the highlight of the film, the source of most of the comedy, and in all seriousness, I would be shocked if she didn't win the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Ang Lee puts his artistic mark on the thing, but the pace is over-indulgent and self-important, at the same time. Also, I blame him for this film's greatest shortcoming-- which is the measly 3 recognizable songs on the soundtrack. You see, we know the problem wasn't that the budget was too low to afford more songs, because they had enough money to hire Ang Lee to direct.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: There is a nice story about family at the center of it all, and a few scenes that are particularly special. But the film starts out slow and never reaches the speed limit. So it's like driving behind an old person, and then having to smell them next to you in the theater... Probably sitting in a better seat than you, because they made you late.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/taking-woodstock/34750/trailers

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