A Dangerous Method

Q: What’s the movie about?

A:  Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) experiments with a lot of bad ideas as he (along with Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and Otto Gross (Vincent Cassel)) develop what has become modern-day psychoanalysis.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A:  Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Sarah Gadon, Vincent Cassel

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A:  Proceed with Caution.  The subject matter is interesting, although when you look at the questionable mental stability of the people who pioneered the modern psychology movement, you will also want to proceed with caution when it comes to getting professional help.  But the love story is disgusting and unromantic, partly due to its content, but even more-so due to a performance that makes you want to turn the movie off every time you are subjected to it.  Stay tuned to find out whose...

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A:  It's funny how men can find any ridiculous, convoluted reason to justify adultery... especially Austrian men played by French men, making no effort to hide their French accents.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Every time Kiera Knightley uttered a word in her terrible Russian accent I wanted to cry myself all the way out of the theater.  Stay tuned for a more in depth analysis of why and how she's awful...

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A:  Michael Fassbender won an acting award from the National Board of Review, but I didn't think this role involved all that much.  Meanwhile Viggo Mortensen got 3rd Place Best Supporting Actor from the New York Film Critics Circle, but I think anyone who gives Viggo Mortensen 3rd place in anything acting-related can't really be taken seriously.

Q: How is the Acting?

A:  If you've ever hated Keira Knightley because she's beautiful, now you can hate her because she's ugly, too.  Her performance as a mental patient is cringe-inducing.  It reminds me of an aspiring actress desperate to prove she can make it by taking on an character that's way out of her league, and then trying too hard to give it interesting quirks and mannerisms until you feel sorry for her, because you know her dreams of stardom will never see the light of day.  I have never personally had anything against Keira Knightley, but after watching the film, I happened upon a sexy perfume commercial she stars in, and I couldn't even watch that because I still felt so embarrassed for her.

Q: How is the Directing?

A:  David Cronenberg cast Kiera Knightley in this role, so that's a fail.

Q: How is the story/script?

A:  In a lot of ways it's hard to tell if the script was any good, as you watch Kiera Knightley butcher it.  The scenes she's not in are passable, and sometimes even intellectually stimulating.  But most of those are talking head conversations that make it all too clear that this movie was derived from a play.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: A Dangerous Method Trailer

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Pariah

Q: What’s the movie about?

A:  A semi-closeted teenage African-American lesbian comes of age.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Aasha Davis, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, Sahra Mellesse, Zabryna Guevara, Kim Sykes

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A:  Proceed with Caution.  You've seen one lesbian coming of age film, you've seen them all.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A:  I laughed in my head when I realized that I spent the first 10 minutes of the movie trying to decide whether the main characters were women or men.  It was a seriously heated debate in there!

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A:  Going in I thought this would be this year's Precious.  But it's like a Disney Channel movie in comparison, breaking almost no new ground... Except maybe uncovering how women make themselves look like men.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won Cinematography at Sundance, which is especially surprising when you consider that all the out of focus shots were the one thing in this film that kept me annoyed throughout... Then again, most of what Sundance likes tends to annoy me, so I don't really know why I'm surprised.

Q: How is the Acting?

A:  It is good to see Kim Wayans-- and in a dramatic role, no less!  I worked with her on a sit-com, back in the day, and I always thought she was one of the most under-rated talents I had ever come across.

Q: How is the Directing?

A:  The odd choices about where to center the focus in many shots is clearly deliberate and artistic, but it doesn't work.  It's distracting and looks like a mistake.

Q: How is the story/script?

A:  For a film getting so much attention, it's surprising how little feels original about it.  I mean, who hasn't already seen at least one movie where the Black husband is a cheater, the teenage girl hates her mother, and the mother is a homophobe?

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

A:  Warning: despite the scary title, this is NOT a horror film or a video game.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Pariah Trailer

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Little Fockers

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Part 3 of the Meet the Parents franchise introduces the idea of passing the head-of-family baton, as Jack Byrnes' (Robert De Niro) health is threatened, and he takes it upon himself to figure out if Greg/Gaylord Focker (Ben Stiller) has what it takes to be the new GodFocker.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Owen Wilson, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba, Blythe Danner, Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand, Daisy Tahan, Colin Baiocchi, Laura Dern, Kevin Hart, Tom McCarthy, Harvey Keitel

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The best thing I can say about this movie is that it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. So, if you're into this series, definitely give it a whirl.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: I imagine that if you are into this series, you'll laugh at just about anything.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: I imagine that if you are into this series, you're looking for an easy laugh because your real life is making you cry just about as much as you can handle.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Ensemble cast most likely to get my mother to see a movie that she would never have any interest in seeing. Award goes to De Niro, Hoffman, and Streisand, for making up a cast list that might fool the undiscerning eye into thinking this will be a serious movie for grown ups.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The only thing Ben Stiller's character has in common with the guy he played in the first Meet the Parents is his face. The character, who used to be insecure and concerned about pleasing, is suddenly confident and in control. But I'm not sure you're allowed to change your characters in ways that real humans are incapable of changing, just because 10 years have gone by since the first movie. Do the filmmakers think we've forgotten what he's supposed to be like? If anything, it's they who have forgotten-- about the advent of DVD, and repeats of old movies on TV, which make it possible for us to have seen the original as recently as this morning. Owen Wilson's character, has also gone through a complete metamorphosis since the first movie. Which is mostly surprising because Owen Wilson really only has one character in his toolbox.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Considering Paul Weitz's amazing track record casting unknown, young actors in such movies as American Pie and About a Boy, I would've expected him to find more interesting kids to play the little Fockers.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The premise is thin, forced and played out, but within that, the writers manage keep it moving and even insert a few laughable jokes here and there... The funniest of which is the complete character shifts for Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Well, at least Robert De Niro is still the same one note guy!

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Little Fockers Trailer

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Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Did you know that Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky were friends with benefits? Well, now you do.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Anna Mouglalis, Mads Mikkelsen, Elena Morozova, Natacha Lindinger, Grigori Manoukov

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! Now that I've told you what it's about, there's really nothing more you're going to learn about it from sitting through the movie. And don't tell me that you want to see it for the Stravinsky music, because if you're that highbrow, then you've probably already got all his tunes on your iPod.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There is exactly one joke. I liked it.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It's much more likely to confuse you, as the dynamic between the two of them and his wife is confusing and never gets unconfused. Actually, their dynamic is confusing even before you add in the wife. But hey, that's friends with benefits for ya'. It's never as simple as the name makes it sound.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It is highly deserving of costume design, set design, and score... that is, if you're allowed to receive an award for copying Chanel's style and Stravinsky's sound.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Anna Mouglalis is good as Coco Chanel, but her character is a despicable selfish c-word. And Mads Mikkelsen is like the Tom Cruise of Denmark... Only Mads can pull off a mustache. (If you've read my Killers review, you may be noticing that it's mustache week here at Movie Reviews by FAQs.)

Q: How is the Directing?

A: It's so heavy handed, you can practically hear the director meekly squeaking, "Look at me! Look at me!"

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The beginning is slow, the middle is fun because there's a lot of sex, and the end leaves you wanting less. But I did learn one thing from watching this: It's not just men who use their money and power as a front for selfless generosity, when all they're really trying to get is sex.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/coco-chanel-and-igor-stravinsky/1435845/trailers

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Please Give

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: After a family of three buys the old lady next door's apartment, so they can tear down the walls and expand their own property, a relationship develops between the family and the old lady's granddaughters, as they all wait for the old lady to die.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Amanda Peet, Sarah Steele, Ann Guilbert, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Lois Smith

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Nicole Holofcener's films are growing on me with age. My age, not the films' ages. In other words, I'm recommending this to more mature audiences.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If you ever knew a bitter, old lady like my grandmother (God rest her soul), who loudly speaks the offensive truth, even when people are listening, you will know exactly what's so funny about this movie.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: As much as you want her to be put out of her misery, there's something very sad about that old curmudgeon's passing... but it's probably just the feeling you get when you're forced to look directly into your own cold, dark heart.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I'd like to give out my own Independent Film Award to one of the few independent filmmakers out there, who tells deep interesting stories, without being pretentious or forgetting to give the audience a reason to watch.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Amanda Peet stands out because in the role of the brutally honest, self-centered bitch, I'm finding that she's actually pretty entertaining. Oliver Platt blends into his character so seamlessly that I actually forgot he was in it. And where on Earth did they find that old lady? Priceless!

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Aside from the grotesque opening montage of old, saggy, mangled breasts getting compacted in a mammogram machine like cars being crushed for recycling, there are no shots that try to draw too much attention to themselves, and no inserts missed. If this were my film, I would have come out of the editing process knowing that the cut was perfect.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: In several films, now, Nicole Holofcener has shown us that she likes to examine the ins and outs of rich peoples' guilt. I also enjoy indulging in the fantasy that they have any.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/please-give/50647/trailers

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Mother and Child

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: 37 years after a teenage girl gives up her child for adoption, she (Annette Bening) is still haunted by the ways in which it ruined her life. Meanwhile, the daughter she doesn't know (Naomi Watts) has grown up to be cold and independent to a fault. And in a separate story, a woman who can't conceive (Kerry Washington), struggles to adopt a child of her own.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits, Samuel L. Jackson, Elpidia Carrillo, Shareeka Epps, S. Epatha Merkerson, Marc Blucas, Cherry Jones, Carla Gallo, Britt Robertson, David Morse, Amy Brenneman, Simone Lopez, Tatyana Ali, David Ramsey, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Eileen Ryan

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This is a gut-wrenching, powerful drama that all women will be able to relate to, as well as those few men who are in touch with their feminine sides. In other words, while this is a great movie, it may appeal to men about as much as No Country for Old Men appeals to women.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: For a movie that is in no way billed as a comedy, you will be surprised at how many laughs fill each scene. But be warned, they are sophisticated laughs, about the real problems people sometimes have being nice to each other when the world around them seems to have nothing good to offer.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Yes, and you won't even have to feel ashamed about it.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I foresee some acting awards, as well as a screenplay nomination from the Independent Spirit Awards.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Annette Bening is so good that she manages to make herself look ugly using nothing but her personality. And by the way, Naomi Watts goes full frontal.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Rodrigo Garcia openly admits to not knowing how to direct actors. Instead of directing them, he is picky and painstakingly meticulous about casting the right person in each role, after which his technique is (and I quote): "When you have an actor who knows what he's doing, you as the director would do best to become the follower, not the leader. After all, you still get to take credit for their amazing work."

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Garcia enjoys leaving key details out of the dialogue, but most of them are well explained without words. He magically captures the unpredictable responses of that woman we've all encountered, whose life is going horribly. You know, the one who's always right in front of you in line at the post office or the grocery, yelling at the clerk for seemingly no reason besides that she really needs a punching bag today.

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

A: I learned in the Q & A that Samuel L. Jackson can be lured to most movies by that little brown envelope they call per diem and a guarantee of 2 days a week to play golf at the production company's expense.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/mother-and-child/10011344/trailers

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Chloe

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When a woman (Julianne Moore) finds out her husband (Liam Neeson) is cheating, she hires an escort (Amanda Seyfried) to hit on him and see how he responds.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Max Thieriot, Nina Dobrev, R.H. Thompson

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! It's in the same genre as Fatal Attraction, but with a twist... and some hot girl on girl action.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: I'm not sure if that was on the top of its list of things to do.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Not cry, but definitely squirm.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Men like to say that women are crazy, but I find that when women act crazy in relationships, a lot of the time it is their men's behavior that is driving them to it. This movie has my vote for the Best Depiction of How Men Make Women Lose their Minds Award.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Amanda Seyfried has the most incredible eyes. All she has to do is tilt her head down and look up, and you will believe anything she says.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Most of the time you don't notice it, and then there's the part where Atom Egoyan slowly pans Julianne Moore's naked body while she's in the shower, and then, in case you missed it on the first pass, comes back to a shot of her breasts and her long pointy nipples, and just rests his camera there for a good 10 seconds for absolutely no reason... like a baby grabbing for his mother's teat when he's no longer in the mood for milk.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Erotically thrilling.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/chloe/1430056/trailers

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My One and Only

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When a high-class woman (Renee Zellweger) walks in on her husband (Kevin Bacon) cheating, she takes her two sons (Logan Lerman & Mark Rendall), and goes on a road trip across America to find a new husband who can support her.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Renee Zellweger, Logan Lerman, Mark Rendall, Kevin Bacon, Chris Noth, Nick Stahl, Troy Garity, J.C. MacKenzie, Eric McCormack, Molly C. Quinn, Steven Weber, Robin Weigert, David Koechner, Phoebe Strole

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This is one of those movies that carries you along at a lukewarm clip, without too much suspense, but pays off in the last two minutes, when you find out who it is about. The ending is satisfying, but more so if you don't already know whose true story it is, and you're old enough to put that person's name to their face. So my advice, if you want the best possible experience, is don't read anything about this movie before you see it.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There is one big belly laugh, and it's about a car, and where you take it when it breaks down. Why are you still reading?

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: You're still reading?! That means that either you've already decided not to see this movie, or you've figured out that I'm not going to give anything away. In either case, you're much too intellectual to be moved by the slight emotional moment at the end of the movie.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Since you're still reading, I'm gonna give you the award for biggest knucklehead. Unless you've already seen the film, in which case, I invite you to put all the spoilers you want in the comments section.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Logan Lerman is the hearthrob of the future, so you may as well get used to him. I guarantee this kid will soon be starring on the cover of magazines, as well as the majority of movies you try to see in the next decade. (He hasn't been cast in them yet, I'm just warning you, it's his destiny.)

Q: How is the Directing?

A: It's fun to see the styles and sets of the 1950s, and they are well highlighted in this film, but the passage of time, especially how much of it has gone by from one scene to the next is very hard to follow.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: If you can get past Renee Zellweger's giant face, and the bizarre fact that everyone continually tells her how beautiful she is, here are three things that might stand out about the script. 1. She has the cutest little sayings about stuff, and you'll wonder where they come from. 2. It feels like it would make a better book than a movie. 3. The main character has an uncanny knack for running into rich ex-boyfriends the moment she sets foot in any big city in America. I mean, sure, that happens to me all the time, but-- who are we kidding, that doesn't happen to anyone!

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

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

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