The Ides of March

Q: What’s the movie about?

A:  As we go behind the scenes of the idealistic campaign of a hopey-changey Democratic Presidential candidate, we are exposed to just how dirty politicians have to get if they want to win elections.  It's disgusting and disheartening.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A:  Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Even Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella, Jennifer Ehle, Gregory Itzin, Michael Mantell

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A:  Go!  The hopeful politics preached at the beginning are depressing.  You listen to this driveling propaganda, wishing that it could be real, but knowing in your heart that politicians themselves will ruin anything positive before it gets a chance of happening. Then the intrigue begins, and the story goes from being a platform for George Clooney's personal politics to an exciting mind-twisting political thriller that you can't figure out how to solve. 

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A:  This film has the darkest, driest funny line I have heard in a movie all year.  I'm pretty sure I was the only one in my showing who even got that it was funny.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A:  Not out loud, but oh so much...  How soon 'til we get to throw out every single person in Washington and start over, please?

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A:  If Ryan Gosling gets an Acting nomination, I hope it's for this one and not for Drive.

Q: How is the Acting?

A:  Ryan Gosling is quickly becoming the Robert DeNiro of our time-- by which I mean that every actor in every acting class will start saying they aspire to be as good as him.  George Clooney is completely forgettable, as usual-- by which I mean, this is why he never made it as a "movie star." And Paul Giamatti, as much as I love him, has a scene where he totally overacts.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The directing in the opening scene had my mind buzzing with questions about why certain angles were being chosen, but before long, George Clooney reminds us that he's significantly more memorable behind the camera than in front of it.

Q: How is the story/script?

A:  Not only are the plot twists unexpected, but many moments of dialogue are mind-boggling, too.  Don't know how much of this was lifted directly from Beau Willimon's play, "Farragut North," but since he co-wrote the script, I'm just gonna be happy that Aaron Sorkin's not the only one who can write stuff this good.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: The Ides of March Trailer

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Revolutionary Road

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A couple (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) are smitten by each other in the first scene. Cut to the part where they're married and fighting and grasping at straws to keep the dream alive.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kathy Bates, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbour, Michael Shannon, Zoe Kazan, Dylan Baker, Jay O. Sanders, Richard Easton, Max Casella, Max Baker

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This movie makes the point that marriage is a hopeless, desperate prison, in which people get locked so securely by the traditional entrapments of life's occurrences, that-- much like the vows say-- the only way out may well be death.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Only if you're a confirmed bachelor or bachelorette. And even then, it's not the movie that will make you laugh, so much as all the idiots out there who were dumb enough to get married.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but it might make you wish you were watching Titanic... And if you do that you might cry.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: The hype is there, but the feeling that this film will become a classic is not. Still, I wouldn't count out the score, which is good despite the fact that it's reminiscent of the score this director and composer turned in for American Beauty.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I liked them better in Titanic, when they had the decency to die before getting a chance to get married and ruin all the romance.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Sam Mendes consistently makes movies with poetic visuals and well though out composition. This is no exception.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I haven't read the book it's based on, but I can tell from seeing the movie that the book is much more powerful. Maybe pick that up first, to get the full effect.

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

A: Since I wrote this last night, Leonardo, Kate, and the movie itself have been nominated for Golden Globes. If any of them beat out the much stronger performances in their respective categories it would be a travesty.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/revolutionary%20road/trailers

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4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A Romanian college co-ed helps her roommate get an illegal abortion, and it ruins her life in more ways than she could have imagined.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov, Alexandru Potocean

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The film brings up some interesting arenas and presents some interesting moral compromises, but the pay off leaves you hanging.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: One guy did. I wanted what he was having.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Maybe if you speak Romanian. I spent so much time reading subtitles, that I rarely got a chance to watch the drama being conveyed on the actresses' faces.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won the Palme d'Or in Cannes, so there was a big brouhaha when it didn't get nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Now that I've seen it, I can image that there were five other films in the world that deserved it more.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Very good. Very natural. And not knowing any of the actors helps it feel like it's really happening.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: A lot of long still shots of one character, with little or no coverage of the other characters in the room. That aspect of the directing was interesting, and mostly effective. The few moving shots, though, are hand held and dimly lit, so while the hand held camera is meant to create heightened action and suspense, the viewer's inability to see anything in those shots cancels out the effect.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: This is a classic case of a story starting before the beginning and ending before the end. In other words, in the opening sequences a lot of what happened is as extraneous as a third nipple. In contrast, when the movie ends you want to know more and see more, as there isn't much resolution. The middle of the film is quite good.

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