Biutiful

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A black-market-goods ringleader (Javier Bardem), who also has the ability to talk to the dead, finds out that he's dying of cancer, and has to figure out what to do about his 2 kids, who he doesn't want to leave to his crazy, bipolar, slut of an ex-wife.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Javier Bardem, Maricel Alvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fernandez, Cheikh Ndiaye, Diaryatou Daff, Taisheng Cheng, Luo Jin

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. As I left the theater, I heard everyone saying the same thing, "That movie was very long!" And then there was that guy who said, "I feel like I just got punched in the gut."

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The main actress decided it would be an enjoyable character trait for us if she made herself a snorter when she laughs...

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: ...And when she cries. Which between her manic states and her depressive states, ends up being most of the time she talks. It gets pretty gross. Then again, it's one of the least gross things in the film.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It's up for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. And after all my bashing of it, you're probably starting to wonder why. Well, despite being incredibly long and bleak, it's actually a very beautiful film that examines sides of life, death, and the guys selling illegal merchandise in the streets, that you may not have given much deep thought to before.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Javier Bardem is also up for an Oscar for his performance. It's a good performance because he's Javier Bardem, but he wouldn't have gotten the nomination for this if he weren't Javier Bardem. Maricel Alvarez (the snorter), is also pretty amazing, especially when you consider that she has tears in her eyes for almost every scene. But her character is pretty despicable.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu chooses interesting and unpredictable views from where to depict the actors' emotions. But it's also his fault that the majority of the audience left complaining about the length of the film , instead of the emotional impact it had on them. (2 1/2 hours + previews = sitting on your ass for almost 3 hours-- this is why directors need to study math in school.)

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Right when things start to get really bad, everything gets worse.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Biutiful Trailer

Back To Top

Rabbit Hole

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A couple (Nicole Kidman & Aaron Eckhart) grieves the loss of their 4-year-old son.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest, Miles Teller, Tammy Blanchard, Sandra Oh, Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Tenney

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! It will put you in their place, and fill you with compassion. It's like my mother always says, "There's nothing worse than the loss of a child." I know, that's not the kind of thing most mothers always say, but that was just her way of trying to convince me not to take drugs.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If you read the movie's description and thought to yourself, "That sounds like a film I'd like to see to get a good laugh," then-- it might just take all of my inner strength not to insult your sanity.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: For me the tears weren't inspired by the main characters so much as the people around them. There are so many more parts to this problem than I would have imagined.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Nicole Kidman: believe the hype.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: In other Nicole Kidman news, she has finally got her forehead moving again, so that's a relief. Unfortunately, she's now shooting her lips up with so much collagen, that in some scenes, she almost sounds like she has a speech impediment. This has everything to do with the acting because it took me about half the movie to stop staring at her strange pout, before I was finally able to lose myself in the extraordinary performance she'd been giving all along. I really hate collagen lips. And hers are even making me start to miss the Botox a little bit.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: John Cameron Mitchell has made three films, and I have loved them all. The other two are filled with titillatingly disturbing sex scenes, while this one doesn't include so much as a kiss. It seems like a departure for him, but in fact, it's just more proof that he can tackle any difficult subject matter in a way that makes you want to accept and understand it.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Despite the fact that it's based on a play, and despite the fact that its locations and characters are extremely contained, as a play would be, it somehow doesn't feel like it's just a play on film.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Rabbit Hole Trailer

Back To Top

The Next Three Days

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When a man's (Russell Crowe) wife (Elizabeth Banks) is incarcerated for a crime he knows she didn't commit, he constructs a plan to break her out of jail himself.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Ty Simpkins, Olivia Wilde, Lennie James, Liam Neeson, Brian Dennehy, Helen Carey, Jason Beghe, Aisha Hinds, Allan Steele, Michael Buie, Moran Atias, RZA, Daniel Stern, Kevin Corrigan, Peyton Grace Allen

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Both the good guys and the bad guys are so many steps ahead of each other, that you get to a point where you're not sure if the good guys are bad or the bad guys are good.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There's not a lot of room for humor when you're trying to keep the tension high.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Not really, but things sure can get awkward when your mom is in prison. And sometimes, it's really hard not to take it out on her.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Paul Haggis, Russell Crowe, and a November 19th release date... probably.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I love Elizabeth Banks, especially in comedies, but as hard as she tries in some of her difficult dramatic moments, you never forget that she's acting opposite Russell Crowe, and she's just not on his level.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: It starts out dull and boring, much like the lives of the protagonists, and it ratchets up as the suspense builds.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Paul Haggis is an Academy Award winning screenwriter, and yet there's something about this French remake of Pour Elle that feels like it's simply a translation of the original screenplay. Though, to be clear, that's not an insult to the original film... Which, to be even more clear, I didn't see.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-next-three-days/1441492/trailers

Back To Top