A Dangerous Method

Q: What’s the movie about?

A:  Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) experiments with a lot of bad ideas as he (along with Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and Otto Gross (Vincent Cassel)) develop what has become modern-day psychoanalysis.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A:  Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Sarah Gadon, Vincent Cassel

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A:  Proceed with Caution.  The subject matter is interesting, although when you look at the questionable mental stability of the people who pioneered the modern psychology movement, you will also want to proceed with caution when it comes to getting professional help.  But the love story is disgusting and unromantic, partly due to its content, but even more-so due to a performance that makes you want to turn the movie off every time you are subjected to it.  Stay tuned to find out whose...

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A:  It's funny how men can find any ridiculous, convoluted reason to justify adultery... especially Austrian men played by French men, making no effort to hide their French accents.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Every time Kiera Knightley uttered a word in her terrible Russian accent I wanted to cry myself all the way out of the theater.  Stay tuned for a more in depth analysis of why and how she's awful...

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A:  Michael Fassbender won an acting award from the National Board of Review, but I didn't think this role involved all that much.  Meanwhile Viggo Mortensen got 3rd Place Best Supporting Actor from the New York Film Critics Circle, but I think anyone who gives Viggo Mortensen 3rd place in anything acting-related can't really be taken seriously.

Q: How is the Acting?

A:  If you've ever hated Keira Knightley because she's beautiful, now you can hate her because she's ugly, too.  Her performance as a mental patient is cringe-inducing.  It reminds me of an aspiring actress desperate to prove she can make it by taking on an character that's way out of her league, and then trying too hard to give it interesting quirks and mannerisms until you feel sorry for her, because you know her dreams of stardom will never see the light of day.  I have never personally had anything against Keira Knightley, but after watching the film, I happened upon a sexy perfume commercial she stars in, and I couldn't even watch that because I still felt so embarrassed for her.

Q: How is the Directing?

A:  David Cronenberg cast Kiera Knightley in this role, so that's a fail.

Q: How is the story/script?

A:  In a lot of ways it's hard to tell if the script was any good, as you watch Kiera Knightley butcher it.  The scenes she's not in are passable, and sometimes even intellectually stimulating.  But most of those are talking head conversations that make it all too clear that this movie was derived from a play.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: A Dangerous Method Trailer

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Jack Goes Boating

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A strange and uninteresting man (Philip Seymour Hoffman) learns to swim and cook to impress an offbeat woman (Amy Ryan), whom he is dating.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Ryan, John Ortiz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Salvatore Inzerillo

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Theater goers who didn't get a chance to see the play live, might enjoy the movie... much in the way that lazy high school students enjoy Cliff's Notes.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Maybe you. Not me.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Playwrights hoping to have their works converted into movies might cry, because this film supports the argument that that's a bad idea.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It will be up for Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards, because that's an easy nomination to give Hoffman to try to convince him to be there, live and in person. Yes, it's all rigged.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: For me, the love of good acting is the only reason to see this movie... so long as you don't mind that the characters being played aren't ones that you'd want to spend any time with.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: It's Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial debut, so you want to cut him a little slack, but like his character, the shots are particularly uninteresting, and the cinematography seems deliberately amateurish.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Trying too hard to be raw and real often makes you look pretentious and phony. Not my opinion, that's just what my fortune cookie says

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/jack%20goes%20boating/trailers

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Doubt

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A nun (Meryl Streep) tries to take down a priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who she believes has seduced one of the children.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis, Joseph Foster

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. While they manage to avoid making any outrightly disparaging remarks about sex and the clergy, by keeping the battle between two of its committed members (a priest and a nun), the ultimate conclusion that the story comes to feels more intellectual than emotional, and for that, the movie ends up feeling less important than it should.  On the other hand, for those interested in an exercise in thinking, rather than feeling, you may have fodder, as many of the sermons are interesting, and the clergy makes for a perfect setting within which to explore themes of faith versus doubt.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: This movie is so totally devoid of humor that it's hard to believe it comes from the writer of Moonstruck and the producer of Clueless.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It's too heady to incite those emotions, but when Viola Davis cries her nose runs and she licks it up. Eiw. Was there no one on set to give this woman a tissue?!

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: All Meryl Streep has to do to get an Academy Award nomination is be in a movie. But if she has to get one this year, it would be more original to see her get it for Mamma Mia!

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Watching such pros as Streep and Hoffman battle it out in scene after scene is a true pleasure to anyone who appreciates fine acting. Their performances, as well as Amy Adams'-- who's always delightful--, are the number one reason to see this film.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Shanley opens it up a little from the staged version, but it still feels like a play. That said, if you like theater, you will probably like this play. On the other hand, any good theater aficionado should have already seen it.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: When I was an acting student at UCLA, I remember always wanting to do scenes from such John Patrick Shanley plays as Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and Women of Manhattan. I also remember then sitting down to read the entirety of his plays and never finding them to be as  moving as the individual scenes within them. That is also true of this movie, where there is a plethora of highly intense, dramatic, and well thought-out scenes interwoven into a story that amounts to not very much.  

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

A: Before seeing this movie, I had never stopped to think about how severely sexism is woven into the church. In the hierarchy, Mother Superior is the highest ranking for a woman, which is below Priest-- the lowest ranking for a man. How can women ever gain equality in a world where the primary religion suppresses their rights to it completely? I'm just saying.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/doubt/29875/trailers

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Hamlet 2

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A down on his luck drama teacher (Steve Coogan) tries to put on the play of his life, with a bunch of apathetic students, to try to save the drama program from being phased out.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, David Arquette, Amy Poehler, Melonie Diaz, Elisabeth Shue, Marshall Bell, Joseph Julian Soria, Skylar Astin, Phoebe Strole, Michael Esparza, Arnie Pantoja, Natalie Amenula, Shea Pepe

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! This quirky little film is full of unexpected dialogue and unconventional (read: inappropriate) teaching methods. Like when a teacher asks a student to punch him in the gut, what lesson would you guess he's trying to teach that student? Because I have no clue, and I can't guarantee that seeing the movie will answer that question for you either.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Everyone may not laugh at the same time, but you'll all find something to laugh at.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Not likely, but you will find yourself tapping your feet and singing along to the catchy musical theater number, "Rock me, sexy Jesus."

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won the honor of being the highest priced sale at Sundance this year, so that's pretty big.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Steve Coogan is so Steve Coogan in this one. If you like Steve Coogan's schtick, you'll know exactly what I mean. If you don't know Steve Coogan's schtick, this would be a good introduction to it. And Catherine Keener, who's naturally more suited to play edgier roles than fluffy love-interests, has an opportunity to show us what she does best-- which is be unhappy and in your face about it.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Although I have no idea what the final stage play was about or how it had anything to do with Hamlet 1 (as they hilariously call William Shakespeare's little dramatic frivolity), I was drawn in by the staging and design of the piece.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I'm not sure at all about the logic behind pretty much everything in the third act, but if I don't scratch my head too hard, I realize that I still had fun. Just don't think about it.

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Mamma Mia!

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A young bride-to-be (Amanda Seyfried) hatches a plan behind her mother’s back (Meryl Streep) to find her real father before she walks down the aisle... And of course she does it all using the hit songs of ABBA.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Christine Baranski, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! ! If you loved the Broadway show this movie is based on, you’ll love this movie. If you didn’t love the Broadway show, you’ll love this movie. If you didn't see the Broadway show, you’ll love this movie. Basically, if your heart is beating and you can sit upright in a movie theater for 100 minutes, you’ll love this movie. Just to be clear, there’s no one who won’t love this movie.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: You will laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, but you're supposed to.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Yes, when Meryl sings, “The Winner Takes It All.” Don’t feel bad, just let it out. There, now, don’t you feel better?

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Thanks to the Academy’s arcane rules, Abba’s pristine pop gems will not be eligible for Oscar nominations. But you can pretty much bank on Streep being nominated for an astounding 15th time. And newcomer Amanda Seyfried might get some serious attention, too.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: It's the reason the movie works better than the play. The cast wrings true emotion out of each scenes. Streep brings a weirdly poignant manic energy to her part that is at first disconcerting, but quickly settles into brilliance. She elevates a movie based on Abba songs like only Meryl Streep can. And newcomer Amanda Seyfried is so perfectly cast as her daughter, it’s eerie.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: A bit haphazard and manic, yet it doesn’t undercut the pure joy derived from the songs, the comedy, and the beautiful Greek setting. Phyllida Lloyd is a British theater and opera director, but she opens up the play effectively and nails all the big moments. It doesn’t feel like a play turned into a movie. It just feels like a movie.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Like a patchwork of thin plot points strung together to make the songs make sense... But credit is due for accomplishing that so well! Also, since the film is set in Greece, it's an especially nice touch to add a ‘Greek Chorus’ to the proceedings. Hey, it’s a musical! It’s in Greece! Let’s add a chorus!... So obvious, but sometimes the most brilliant ideas are.

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

A: Even after all these years, there’s no denying how brilliant and fun Abba’s songs are. You may also acquire a new appreciation for how deceptively smart and effective the lyrics are.

Hot tip: Be sure to stick around for the end credits. You will not be disappointed.

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