The Square

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A man's (David Roberts) elicit lover (Claire van der Boom) finds out that her husband (Anthony Hayes) has secretly stashed away a whole bunch of money, which he probably acquired illegally. When the lovers plan to steal the money and run away together, the steps they take to cover their tracks make things worse and worse and worse and worse for them.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: David Roberts, Claire van der Boom, Joel Edgerton, Anthony Hayes, Peter Phelps, Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Brendan Donoghue, Lucy Bell, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Damon Herriman, Bill Hunter

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It's never quite clear what the couple's plan is from the start, and there are several moments when you wonder what they are thinking with their actions and reactions. But there's a short film by the director that plays before the feature, and that's pretty good.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The short film ends on one of the darkest, sickest belly laughs you've ever had.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: There is no one to root for, because everyone in this is at a complete lack for morals. You won't cry for the characters, but it is sad when a baby almost dies.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: This was a very important film in Australia, if you judge by the 13 nominations it accumulated on that continent. But if this film had been made independently in America, it probably wouldn't have gotten picked up for distribution, except maybe on Netflix.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Nobody is bad, but despite the cute accents and home-grown expressions, I didn't see any star making performances either.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Nash Edgerton's style truly stands out. Most of the scares and shocks come from the way in which he shoots one angle, and then surprises you with something you had no way to see coming-- because it comes from off camera. Abruptly. His technique is interesting and original, but he uses it in the short film, so by the time you get to the feature, he starts to look like a one trick pony.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The story beats also quickly begin to feel like cheap tricks, as people get accidentally killed and injured out of nowhere on a regular basis, almost as a convenience to jolt you back into the story every time your interest starts to wane. If nothing else, the movie helps you realize how fragile human life is, and how quickly it can come to an end over nothing. So, Watch Out!

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-square/38042/trailers

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Waltz with Bashir

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary with subtitles about trying to remember being a soldier in the first Israeli-Lebanon war of the early 80s... Have I sold you on it yet?

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: The writer-director, Ari Folman, and a bunch of his friends, therapists, and battle-mates.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. If you weren't scared off by the parts of the description that mention animation, documentary, subtitles, war, Israel, or Lebanon, then you are probably into highbrow, art movies about serious matters that make you think about what they're trying to say instead of just telling you, and you should absolutely see this movie because you will think it's a masterpiece.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Has Beirut ever been funny?

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Only if you cry at trivial little things like genocide.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won almost all of the Israeli Academy Awards, so it follows that it is Israel's official submission for the foreign language category at the Oscars.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I was given a program at my screening, which included a director's bio that describes how he went off to travel the world for a year, and after two weeks, he realized he hated traveling, so he settled down in Southeast Asia and spent the rest of the year writing letters to his friends pretending to be in all the different places he was supposed to have gone. His point was that his ability to use his imagination to fabricate these letters was what lead him to decide to become a filmmaker. My point is that I don't buy that this is a documentary. I think the use of animation is the perfect cover-up for the fact that this story and these characters are in part or in whole totally made up. Now that that's been cleared up, I can tell you that the acting is fine.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The animation is captivating from the first frame to the last.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Another way in which the writer covers up the fact that this story is (allegedly-- according to me) invented and fabricated, is by starting the movie out with a fascinating tid-bit about how the human memory works. One of the characters explains how when the mind can't remember something, it fills in the rest with whatever fits into the parts it remembers. This is then used to justify the fact that all the first person accounts of what supposedly happened in the various battles, 20 years ago, could also be in part or in whole totally made up. That said, the way in which this film examines the faultiness of memory is what I found most intriguing about it.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/waltz%20with%20bashir/trailers

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