Cold Souls

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Actor, Paul Giamatti (Paul Giamatti), finds out that there is a technology by which you can extract your soul from your body, and decides that he should try that so that he can play the role of Uncle Vanya without having to feel any of that heavy pain.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Paul Giamatti, Dina Korzun, David Strathairn, Emily Watson, Katheryn Winnick, Lauren Ambrose, Armand Schultz, Boris Kievsky

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! First of all, the premise is illogical. If you don't want to feel the pain of another person, you shouldn't extract your soul, you should quit acting . But more importantly, I don't think the filmmaker understands the soul's role in vitality; i.e, that without one, you're a motionless vegetable, who's usually considered to be dead.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Maybe if you're not sleeping AND you have a very esoteric sense of humor.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No. But if you had any understanding of what a soul's purpose was before you saw that movie, that will be completely erased. Just in case you still see it, I've taken the liberty of printing Merriam-Webster's definition here for your future reference. "Soul: The immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life."

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Of course it will. Don't you know that when a movie is boring and pretentious and has an out-there concept it means it must be brilliant? This is the kind of movie that award givers don't want to admit they don't get, for fear that it will make them look stupid. But pretending to get it is a lot more stupid to me.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I was expecting Being John Malkovich, in which an actor playing himself takes on the role of John Cusack, and that of Cameron Diaz, and that of Catherine Keener, and he's so good, that you completely forget that you're actually watching John Malkovich. In this film, Paul Giamatti acts more and less animated, but regardless of whose soul he's wearing, he still always acts like Paul Giamatti.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: I blame the director for the lack of versatility in Giamatti's performance, mostly because we know he's top notch and could've done anything she asked him to do.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The script is disappointing, mostly because the rules of what a soul can and can't do to your personality are never established, so the fun in the concept is completely missed. Also, the characters regularly make choices that go against who they are, and what they know to be true. For example, Paul Giamatti tells the soul extractor that what he's proposing is crazy. And not five minutes later, he's letting him extract his soul. Then, the soul extractor (David Strathairn) confesses that the Russians he works with are dangerous, and not 5 minutes later he gives Paul vital (traceable) information about who they are and how to find them. Even the soul mule (Dina Korzun), who knows first hand how dangerous her bosses are, betrays them without thinking twice, which leads me to believe that maybe they're not that dangerous after all.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/cold-souls/36222/trailers

Back To Top

Sleep Dealer

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Set in the near future, a young man (Luis Fernando Pena) moves to the booming city of Tijuana, Mexico to become a “node worker,” which is the Mexican migrant worker of the future. In this version of the future, migrant workers perform their hard labor tasks in virtual reality, and therefore never have to physically cross the border in order to send money home to their families.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Luis Fernando Pena, Leonor Verala, Jacob Vargas

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! It’s been a long time since there was an organic sci-fi film, not based on a comic book or a video game. In the vein of Blade Runner, this highly inventive and intellectual film takes the genre back to its roots to explore what becomes of humanity and society in the near future if we continue on the path that we’re on. And as sci-fi purists will tell you, it works because it’s all very plausible.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The visual effects might. But if you remember that this is a small independent film out of Mexico, the visual effects will actually blow your mind. And then you’ll laugh at yourself for laughing in the first place.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It’s more of a thinking man’s movie. But if you are that sci-fi geek, or that deep college student, or that bio-engineer, you will find a story rich with ideas.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It was up for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, and as someone who watched most of the nominated films, I can tell you that this was one of only very few that weren’t too long, incredibly boring, completely pointless, or topped off with an ending that makes you want to kill yourself. Honestly, I’m surprised this little gem got nominated at all. It’s far too interesting to fit in with the rest.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: There weren’t any challenging acting moments in the script, but the main characters are attractive and the chemistry in the love story is strong, especially in the scene where they make love in a futuristic way you’ve never seen before.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: This Alex Rivera guy is going places. He tells a visual story that manages to be showy without showing off. The stylization is as organic to the story as the ideas about globalization and human disconnection through technology. I rarely understand why big studios pluck little indy and documentary directors out of oblivion and entrust them with multi-million dollar effects films, but in this case I really would get it.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The story is easy to follow, and the timely themes, including lacking water supply, technology going too far, and immigration, will stimulate your mind.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/sleep%20dealer/trailers

Back To Top