The Debt

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Three Mossad agents (Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, & Marton Csokas) go on an assassination mission against a German, Nazi, Doctor (Jesper Christensen), but when they get older (Helen Mirren, Ciaran Hinds, & Tom Wilkinson) they realize they have a debt to pay.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, Maron Csokas, Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Jesper Christensen, Ciaran Hinds, Romi Aboulafia

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Going in it seems like it will be an original and special film, but underneath all the intrigue, there's not that much there.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The bad guy has most of the funny lines, so that's sick and twisted.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Mossad agents do actually have something in common with the Germans. They're cold. Not that there aren't any emotions in the film, but the characters are all so reserved that you can hardly play along.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It certainly hopes to be, but I can't think of any it could get besides maybe a Supporting Actress award for Jessica Chastain. But if the Academy is gonna give her that one, I'd rather see her get it for The Help.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Helen Mirren may have top billing, but this movie belongs to Jessica Chastain. Who is she? Where did she come from? I don't know, but she just came out in The Tree of Life, The Help, The Debt, and she still has Sundance winner Take Shelter and William Shakespeare's Gerard Butler and Ralph Fiennes vehicle, Coriolanus, coming out later this year. Which is why my bet on Academy recognition isn't such a long shot.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The interweaving of the past and the present is artful and appropriate, but I'd like to give most of the credit for that to the script.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Structurally it's a very interesting storyline, but the moral may be a little too subtle and unrelatable for me.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: The Debt Trailer

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X-Men: First Class

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Before they were X-Men, they were X-boys and girls. This is the story of how they found each other, developed their powers, and chose sides.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, January Jones, Oliver Platt, Zoe Kravitz, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Till, Edi Gathegi, Alex Gonzalez, Jason Flemyng, Matt Craven, Laurence Belcher, Bill Milner, Demitri Goritsas, Glenn Morshower

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! In the world of superheroes, the story of how they became who they are is always going to be the most interesting part. And that goes for stories about regular people, too.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There's a lot that's light-hearted and fun, but none of it will really make you laugh.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: The ending is really sad, because it has to leave us off where the original films begin. But it's also kind of exciting because we knew they had to get there. Kind of like the end of Revenge of the Sith.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I give it the Award for not using 3D! I guess when you have a good story, you don't have to rely on gimmicks to get the audiences interested.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The most emotional performance is Mystique's morphing. Can we give acting accolades to the special effects department?

Q: How is the Directing?

A: With Stardust, Kick-Ass and this, Matthew Vaughn can add another to his quickly growing list of films that I've given green lights. Except that I only gave Stardust a green light in my mind, because it came out a few months before I developed my mutant super power of giving out lights.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I enjoyed how they incorporated the story of mutant superheroes into the actually history of WWII and the Cuban Missile Crisis. It's especially great because now, when we want to confuse our children about where the line is between history and fiction, we no longer have to rely solely on the 24 hour news networks.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: X-Men: First Class Trailer

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Inglourious Basterds

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) leads a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as the ‘Basterds’ in killing Nazis during World War II and taking a central part in a plot to end the war in writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s re-imagining of history.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent, Diane Kruger, Til Schweiger, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Daniel Bruhl, B.J. Novak, Martin Wuttke, Sylvester Groth, Mike Meyers, Julie Dreyfus

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. If you like (or even love) Quentin Tarantino’s films, then just go ahead and pretend like the little traffic signal over there on the left is flashing green for you. Because Inglourious Basterds will be right up your alley; the movie is easily as good as some of his best. For everyone else not in the above category, I’m not really sure what to say to you, but my guess would be that you probably hate going on roller coasters. To which I say: life is short, so why not ride one once in a while.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Brad Pitt (+) absurd Tennessee accent (÷) by period mustache (x) eye-catching scar on neck (=) more laughs than you might expect. Other stuff will make you laugh too, if your sense of humor veers toward the dark side.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No. Unless you generally find yourself crying while watching Saturday morning cartoons.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: If this film is nominated for Best Picture, it will say a lot about how the academy is feeling towards Quentin Tarantino these days. Beyond that, the acting is spectacular and will most likely be noticed once award season hits.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Christoph Waltz as ‘Jew Hunter’ Col. Hans Landa is getting a lot of attention for his work in this movie and it’s all deserved. He takes every cliché ever put on screen of the “scary Nazi” and deconstructs it so thoroughly that the almost cuddly teddy bear he creates has the odd (and purposeful) result of becoming one of the most unique and scariest Nazis ever put on film. But he is just the start of a cast that makes an indelible mark, including the femme-fatales, Diane Kruger and Melanie Laurent, who can connive and consort with the best of spies; male or female. And as is usually the case, the further Brad Pitt disappears into a real character, the better he is, and that is no less true here as his Lt. Aldo Raine borders on comic genius.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: As great of a screenwriter Tarantino has proven to be over the years, at this point in his career he’s probably a better director. Inglourious Basterds is another testament to that; you can just feel the energy coming off the screen from someone who truly loves what he does for a living. But I do wish he displayed more discipline as an editor because more than a few scenes go on way too long (yes I’m looking at you Scene-in-Cellar that should be cut by half). But back to directing: Tarantino’s camera never makes a false move, and it’s always fun to see how he uses the tools of cinema like a master painter in complete control of his medium. Tarantino knows how to tell a story through pictures like few directors, and this one is no exception.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Once again Tarantino uses an unconventional structure to tell the story here, although not in a time-shifting jumble like Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs. Unfolding in ‘chapters’ the story leaves central characters for long stretches to set up new characters in subsequent sections, only to have all the central players come together for an explosive climax. Like many of his past screenplays, the dialogue is sharp and the conflict within any given scene is oftentimes surprising and jarring. And I can’t heap praise on the actors without acknowledging the characters Tarantino created and the dialogue and actions he wrote for them to say and do. But due to the subject matter, Inglourious Basterds plays more like a cartoon than any of his other films, yet in many ways it’s also impossible to view it simply as that. It rides an extremely fine line between reality and fantasy and as the story unfolds it delves further into wish fulfillment that is ultimately as cathartic as its author intended.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/inglourious-basterds/36184/trailers

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Defiance

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: : Based on a true story, four Jewish brother escape to the Belarusian forest during World War II, and go on to help 1200 people survive the war there, with them.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, George McKay, Mark Feuerstein, Mia Wasikoska, Mark Margolis, Alexa Davalos

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! Watching these people build a community in the forest, where they must hunt and gather to survive, as they themselves are hunted and gathered by the Nazis, seems like it should be more inspiring than this story’s telling turns out to be. And it clocks in at an audacious 2 hours and 20 minutes because the beginning and the middle have extraneous scenes. Maybe you’d do better to read the book it’s based on.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Intellectual Jews have been known for their senses of humor since long before Woody Allen came on the scene. Unfortunately, in this film, the intellects are the side characters. Meanwhile, the main brothers couldn’t possibly take themselves more seriously.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No. And a story like this one should. Had it been told properly, it even would.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: The Golden Globes threw it a bone for the score. But of the 4 World War II movies I’ve seen this month, this one is the least compelling.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: If is often hard to understand what these British and American actors are saying with their fake Polish accents, but thankfully, sometimes they speak in their character’s native tongue, forcing the use of subtitles, which are easier to follow than the supposed English they profess to speak. Their Polish sounds pretty good though. (Disclaimer: they could be speaking Russian for all I know.)

Q: How is the Directing?

A: I truly don’t understand why it has to be so incredibly long. And I’m not giving anything away by telling you that it’s one of those movies that ends with writing on the screen to tell you what happens to everyone after the movie ends… So if you’re going to do that anyway, why not end the movie sooner?

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The characters are boring and two-dimensional, and somehow manage to avoid winning you over, even as they are saving their people from annihilation. And an emotional spine needs to rely on more than just our preexisting knowledge of the horrors of the Holocaust.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/defiance/30166/trailers

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Valkyrie

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: The true story of a group of high level German politicians and military men who attempt a coup on Hitler's life and regime during World War II.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Sizemore, Eddie Izzard, Terence Stamp, Carice van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann, Christian Berkel, Kevin McNally, Tom Hollander, David Bamber, Halina Reijn

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! It's Tom Cruise presents: History for Dummies! And let's face it, there's no better way to learn history than in a dark theater with a bucket of popcorn and a dramatic score pounding through your bones and pushing you to the edge of your seat.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Unfortunately, he doesn't talk about Scientology or how much he loves Katie Holmes at any point, so the movie is basically humorless. Thankfully, if you need a good laugh at Tom Cruise's expense that stuff is all up on YouTube.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Not really, but it's always inspiring to see resistance forces rising up and committing high treason in order to do the right thing, in a society filled with sheep following orders. There was a time when people were willing to die for what they believed in. So maybe you'd die a little bit sooner? But at least you'd go down knowing that your life had purpose and meaning.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: As entertaining as it is, it's got one major thing going against it, when it comes to award recognition... It's entertaining.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Take Tom Cruise's performance from any other action thriller where he plays a ballsy hero who will stop at nothing to see that justice is served, and cut and paste it here. He never seems to get tired of that same old performance, and apparently neither do we.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The pace and the music keep the story suspenseful, making it not just a war movie, but also a political thriller that actually is thrilling.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: For such a complicated political plot, the writers manage to keep it as clear and simple as they can. You still need a military school degree to catch all the nuances of this intricate plan to make the army eat its own tail, but it's a good introduction to how clever they had to be to get as far as they did.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: [http://www.moviefone.com/search/valkyrie/trailers

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Miracle at St. Anna

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When a bank teller in New York mysteriously shoots a customer, a priceless Italian statue head is found in his apartment. Then, when a newspaper man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) goes to interview him about it, we flashback to World War II to learn about what it was like to be a Black soldier fighting the Germans in Italy on behalf of the United States.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Valentina Cervi, Matteo Sciabordi, Pierfrancesco Favino, John Turturro, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Leguizamo, Kerry Washington, D.B. Sweeney, Omero Antonutti, Sergio Albelli

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! Spike Lee seems to use every film as a platform to rant on about racism. To which I say, either think of something new to say on the matter or become a preacher! When you constantly accuse White people of being born and bred to be racists against Blacks, all you do is unite Black people in a common (unfounded) hatred of all Whites across the world. Which, first of all, makes you, Spike Lee, look ignorant. And second of all, it doesn't acknowledge the great strides that have been made toward progress-- like, for example, I don't know, that a Black person is probably going to be our next president! Oh, and I almost forgot to mention: your film meanders without focus, or a plot, and it's 2 1/2 boring hours long. Get off your pedestal and learn to tell interesting stories-- it is what they pay you (a lot more than 40 Acres and a Mule) to do.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: One of the characters is given a funny nickname by a young Italian boy with a vivid imagination. I would tell you what it is (since you're not going to see this movie anyway), but without the visual of how massive this actor is, "My Chocolate Giant" doesn't sound all that clever.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: The ending is moving. Unfortunately, you'd have to sit through the rest of the film to find that out. And since you know better than to do that, I don't see how it can make you cry.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It pains me to even consider the question.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The acting is fine. But ask me to tell you who the main character is supposed to be, or whose point of view the story is told from, and my answer would look something like: ???!#@??

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Since the movie takes place mostly in Italy, it can't help but be beautiful. But if Spike Lee had done his job, and cut out the parts that don't advance the story, the film would only be long enough to distribute on Youtube.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It starts out with an interesting mystery, and then we flashback 40 years and watch soldiers doing God knows what, because God knows why, for about two hours. And even though the ending is sweet, if you think about it for more than a few seconds you start to realize how many of its elements could never happen without massive amounts of coincidence and unlikely happenstance.

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

A: The score seemed to be pulled from a 1940 film, which is an interesting choice. But maybe I wouldn't have been listening to it so much, if I had felt like paying attention to the movie.

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