Limitless

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A loser writer (Bradley Cooper) discovers a drug that gives him heightened brain activity as well as the ability to recall any and all information he has ever been exposed to from his entire life. Unfortunately, once you take the drug, you can't stop taking it or your body will deteriorate and you will die. Oh, and there's an extremely limited amount of it going around.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Andrew Howard, Anna Friel, Johnny Whitworth, Tomas Arana, Darren Goldstein, Ned Eisenberg

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Talk about life or death stakes...

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Cocky people are funny... so long as they aren't the star of your hit sitcom.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Cocky people are also sad, because what goes up must come down. But I don't like to think about that, because it defies my medication-induced optimism. And medications are too expensive to defy.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: This deserves an Academy Award for Directing, but will most certainly be overlooked. Why it will be overlooked? Because it's early in the year and at first glance it seems like standard Hollywood fare. Why it deserves it? Because a director's job is to get you inside the mind of the story, and by the time I walked out of the theater, I felt like I had taken NZT.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Like the directing, Bradley Cooper's performance seems straight forward enough, but in fact demonstrates incredible nuance, as he seamlessly switches between a dangerous, know-it-all, drug-induced pit bull and a weak, insecure, natural lamb. And it's not just the intensified lighting of his frighteningly blue eyes.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: At first all the special effects felt a little gimmicky, to me. But once I realized that I was completely riveted by a scene where Bradley Cooper cleans up his apartment, I knew that I had been a fool to mistrust this director's instincts. Team Neil Burger, all the way to the Oscars!

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Leslie Dixon presents interesting twists in such a way that you get to feel smart, because you know what's going on without being told. I love feeling smart. Which is why I've gotta get my hands on some of that NZT... And if that's not available, maybe I could get me a dose of that Charlie Sheen. From what I can tell, the effect of either drug is about the same.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Limitless Trailer

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The Yes Men Fix the World

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Two concerned pranksters go around posing as high powered executive spokespeople from large multinational firms, and staging elaborate presentations to convince conference-goers that the corporations they represent are going to do something for the good of the people... Of course, that's not true.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: The Yes Men: Andy Bichlbaum & Mike Bonanno.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Any ideas you might get about changing the way we do things in our country for the better are alright with me.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The merry prankster style of our two heroes is not dissimilar to Michael Moore's, if he were two people, and those two people were a Vaudeville team.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No. But thankfully, it will make you angry.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: As a direct competitor to Capitalism: A Love Story, giving these guys an award would be a great slap in the face to Michael Moore-- for anyone out there who's interested in slapping Moore in the face.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: These guys have giantes cajones... Or maybe they have a secret fantasy to spend some time in jail.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The producing is really what's impressive here.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It can start to feel a bit repetitive, because while they vary the pranks at each conference and for each company they're pretending to represent, the ultimate outcome is usually the same each time. Someone figures out it's a hoax, and they're still proud that they got people talking about an important issue.

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

A: The fact that in the last month I've seen three movies (this one, Capitalism: A Love Story, and Crude) about the pitfalls and deaths caused by Capitalism and American corporate greed is a sign that this tragedy is in the zeitgeist. And the fact that it's in the zeitgeist, is a sign that it's time to take action and change our system.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-yes-men-fix-the-world/36262/trailers

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An Education

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A English school girl (Carey Mulligan), studying to go to Oxford, gets swept off her feet by an older man (Peter Sarsgaard), and starts to question which education is more valuable, the scholarly one or the one she's getting from her new boyfriend about living life.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Olivia Williams, Emma Thompson, Sally Hawkins

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! If for nothing else, to feel the energy of newcomer, Carey Mulligan's captivating performance.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: More so if you're highly educated and speak British.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but you do end up feeling sorry for just about everybody in it.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It will certainly spend money on a campaign. I've already seen the propaganda machine start to spin... Oh, and it won the Dramatic Audience Award for World Cinema at Sundance.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Carey Mulligan embodies the character completely, laughing nervously when she's happy, excited, and nervous.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The Cinematography, which also won an award at Sundance, is beautiful. And that always makes a director look good.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It's a somewhat original story, but still, there are several moments that may have you scratching your head. Like, first of all, why is everyone in the film so laissez-faire about that fact that a 16-year-old girl is dating a guy in his 30s? Her parents, her teachers, her friends, not one of them points out that it's a little weird. In fact, her parents, who don't seem to like anyone, love this guy, and I suppose I could have used a by numbers explanation of why.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/an-education/33272/trailers

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Amreeka

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A Palestinian woman (Nisreen Faour) and her son (Melkar Muallem) move to America to escape the oppression of being held prisoners in their own land, only to encounter a new level of racism in their new country, which has just overthrown Saddam Hussein and declared war on Iraq.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Jenna Kawar, Selena Haddad, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Joseph Ziegler, Andrew Sannie, Daniel Boiteau, Brodie Sanderson

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It's a decent depiction of anti-Arab sentiment in America, and it almost manages to draw you in.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Culture Clash is always a little bit funny... Especially when it involves White Castle Burgers.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: What these people are going through, just based on the color of their skin, is heartbreaking and it should make you cry. But the film never goes for any real tear-jerking moments, and so, it doesn't.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, which had a lot to do with why I wanted to see it. Now that I have, I understand why it didn't win.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Oh, those people were actors? If it hadn't been for the presence of Maeby from Arrested Development, I never would have known.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Very simple and very fine.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It's an interesting story, and it's done very well, but I've seen it done in more gut-wrenching ways.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/amreeka/

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Confessions of a Shopaholic

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A young woman obsessed with shopping (Isla Fisher), finds herself unemployed and in credit card debt up to her ears, so she gets a new job working for a magazine that gives advice on saving, and we all hope she will learn something from her own writings.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Krysten Ritter, Leslie Bibb, Kristen Scott Thomas, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, John Lithgow, Wendie Malick, Fred Armisen, Julie Hagerty, Robert Stanton

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. More romantic than you'd expect a movie about credit card debt to be, but unless you can relate to spending more than twice what you make every month on designer labels that would make you a good candidate for a New York City mugging, before they work their way to the back of your closet, only to be forgotten forever (or at least until you get the credit card bill), I'm not sure what's so fun about this story.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Not enough to attract any male viewers, or any women over seventeen.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It's sad what happens to her, but it's sadder that we live in a society where anyone thinks that a $4000 purse is going to make them a happier or even more popular person. Frugal tip from me to you: Once you take the item out of the beautiful store in which it poses so luxuriously, wearing only an exorbitant price tag, no one is going to know where you bought it, or how much you paid... So you may as well be wearing a hand-me-down.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Not even the most childish and immature of awards organizations is going to remember this story long enough to think of giving it a nomination.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I'm glad that all the more famous actresses turned this role down, so that we could get a chance to see how spunky Isla Fisher (of Wedding Crashers) can be in a starring role. She is sweet and delightful... but unfortunately for her, a poor man's Amy Adams. Which is kind of ironic considering the character's ring tone is "If I were a rich girl," by Gwen Stefani.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: P.J. Hogan is an expert at keeping things upbeat and fun, even when the plot is thin and predictable. He creates a bouncy and colorful vibe with the soundtrack, the cuts, and of course, the colors.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I didn't read the book, but I can't help but wonder if there was something more suspenseful in the writing of it than what was translated to film. Aside from a clever moment (that I won't spoil), where the main character does something smart that comes back to haunt her later, there's not a lot here that doesn't feel like it could only happen in a movie.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/confessions-of-a-shopaholic/33070/trailers

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