Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Q: What’s the movie about?

A:  Based on a book by John Le Carre, this story chronicles the uncovering of whether or not there is a double agent at the highest levels of British Intelligence who is working for the Russians.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds, John Hurt, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Dencik, Stephen Graham, Kathy Burke, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Peter Kalloy Molnar, Konstantin Kahabenskiy

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A:  Proceed with Caution.  Bring your intellect, your patience, and try to have read the book 5 or 6 times already if you plan on understanding anything that goes on in this spy thriller.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Yes, but mostly at your own thoughts about how confused you are.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A:  Yes, because the above noted thoughts of confusion will probably lead you directly to thoughts about how dumb you must be.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A:  This definitely gets the award for Fastest Movie to Put Me Out.  I was snoozing before the opening credits came on, and leading up to this point, I had not had a very hard day.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: All of these top notch actors have very little to do that's challenging.  Sure one or two of them cries here and there, but mostly they all just stand around looking like tough-guys who can keep a secret or two.

Q: How is the Directing?

A:  It's a beautifully shot movie, but as it goes back and forth between the past (1950s) and the present (1970s), it's not always clear which one we're in.

Q: How is the story/script?

A:  Mostly incomprehensible.  Assuming that the book makes enough sense to have become a best-seller, which in turn would have attracted a film company who wants to capitalize on that by making it into a movie, I would venture to say that the screenwriter didn't dumb it down enough.

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

A:  I just realized that reading the Wikipedia page is a great help in understanding this story.  They explain all the "inside lingo" that you're supposed to understand without ever having it explained to you.  Perhaps  read that before you go see this. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Wikipedia Page

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Trailer

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The Last Station

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Based on a novel that's based on a the true story of Leo Tolstoy's (Christopher Plummer) tempestuous love-hate relationship with his wife (Helen Mirren), as their values and life philosophies changed with age.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, James McAvoy, Paul Giamatti, Kerry Condon, Anne-Marie Duff, John Sessions, Patrick Kennedy

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Mature audiences will feel very mature while watching this complex depiction of what happens to mature love as time matures.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Well it is funny that they want you to believe that James McAvoy is a virgin... or even that he ever has been one.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: I felt angry at the ways in which Tolstoy and his groupies were dismissing the perfectly logical complaints and concerns of his wife, to the point where she started to think that she was the crazy one... But I'll tell you something very personal, I have a sore spot for that sort of moronic group mentality, where everyone is too cowardly to speak up for the one outspoken person who's making sense.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Everything about this film reminds me of the movies that have recently been nominated for or swept the Academy Awards. Strangely, it's coming out now, in January, which makes it ineligible for 2009, and will make it forgotten by 2010. Somebody's gonna get fired for this one.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Helen Mirren tops herself once again, with a character that feels like nothing I've ever seen her do. Her chemistry with Christopher Plummer is magical. And James McAvoy... he seems like he's not even acting, and yet, in every scene he makes you feel like the movie is only about him.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: According to the Q & A, the director's biggest challenge was making the clean and orderly Germany look like a messy and chaotic Russia. I also learned that the most memorable directing moment I had noticed was James McAvoy's idea.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It is filled with dramatic, contradictory emotions, through which it manages to convey how love can hold you together and pull you apart at the same time.

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

A: Another interesting tid-bit from the Q & A, was that the Russian composer wrote the entire score based solely on reading the script. The director rejected it on principle, but after several months, several composers, and several other score attempts, he asked to hear the music that had been written before a single frame of the movie had been shot... And it was perfect.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-last-station/1392634/main?icid=movsmartsearch

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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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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Indiana Jones returns after 20 years to prove that at age 65, he's still the James Bond of archeology.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LeBeouf, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Go! Stop! Does it really matter what I say, since you're gonna go see it anyway? Still, here's a hint: the franchise has jumped the shark.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Only if you've ever brought a knife to a gun fight.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Sometimes when I try to understand why anyone would like this silly, inconsequential and ridiculously contrived movie, I feel so out of touch that I cry into my soup.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Can they give someone an Academy Award for a score that's already been nominated and lost? Because the Indiana Jones theme song is still good.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Same as it ever was. Only now with a cane and bifocals.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Signature Spielberg... in other words, kind of old fashioned.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Do you speak Mayan? Neither do I. Unfortunately, without an expert knowledge of the ancient (dead) language, it's nearly impossible to judge whether any of it makes sense. The writers obviously realized this, and used it as an excuse not to make sense.

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

A: If they redo the ride at Disneyland to match this film, it might finally be worth standing in line for.

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