Jane Eyre

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Based on the famous novel by Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska) is a governess who falls for her master (Michael Fassbender), despite their difference in social classes.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench, Jamie Bell, Imogen Poots, Sally Hawkins, Amelia Clarkson, Romy Settbon Moore, Holliday Grainger, Tamzin Merchant, Simon McBurney

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! I would say you should go because seeing the movie is way easier than reading the Cliff's Notes, but the people who will be tempted to see this in the first place, are the same morons who probably read the whole book.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: I had a funny thought when Jane was punished as a little girl, and made to stand on a chair without food. You see, her best friend sneaks her a piece of bread, and I, forgetting that there once existed a time without audio/video recording devices, couldn't stop thinking, "You idiot! There are cameras everywhere!" Which is not so much funny as it is sad, both in that we live in a time where you can no longer get away with sneaking your friend a piece of bread, and in that the 21st Century surveillance level is so ingrained in my way of thinking, that I can no longer relate to period pieces.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Yes, and surprisingly at romance. There is a scene so romantic, and overflowing with words so visual and expressions of love so passionate that you will cry like you're at your best friend's wedding, and are suddenly struck with the realization that (while you're very happy for her) you are never going to hear from her again.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Do a period piece, get nominated for a Costume Design Award... Them's the rules.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Mia Wasikowska's performance is as understated as Michael Fassbender's is in your face.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The beginning is very slow and uninteresting all the way up until the point when Michael Fassbender arrives on the scene. Cary Joji Fukunaga would have done well to tell the story in a linear fashion, getting to the point fassbenderer, rather than introducing us to the drama with unnecessary bookends. The non-linear editing somewhat confuses the time-line and makes this story more difficult to follow than it has to be.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I have never read the book. Not because I'm not well-read, but rather because none of my teachers ever forced me to read it for school. Come on, how many classics have you read just for fun? I'm guessing for most of you the answer is none.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Jane Eyre Trailer

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Happythankyoumoreplease

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A twenty-something slacker (Josh Radnor) finds a lost kid (Michael Algieri) on the subway, takes him home, and separately, all his friends fall in love.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Josh Radnor, Malin Akerman, Michael Algieri, Zoe Kazan, Kate Mara, Pablo Schreiber, Tony Hale, Peter Scanavino, Richard Jenkins

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It's one of those sweet and slightly quirky indy darlings that's easy to love because it pretends to be edgy, without actually being deep or angry enough to turn any viewers off.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There are some legitimately quirky moments of dialogue.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you believe in love it might, because men will say absolutely anything to get laid, and they won't mean any of it in the morning.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won the Audience Award at Sundance, so obviously it's better than I think it is. Or maybe, when people are at Sundance, they get caught in a storm of pretentious movie mediocrity, and in order to survive, grow a pair of "Sundance Goggles," where they become so intoxicated by the energy of being in the same room as bigwigs and pretending they can afford to be there, that suddenly, really average movies starts to look like models.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Josh Radnor demonstrates why he is the star of a hit sitcom. Malin Akerman is one of my favorites in everything, and Zoe Kazan is as interesting an actress as Kate Mara is bland.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: If Josh Radnor did one thing right, it was to cast only men who are less attractive than he is, making himself look comparatively studly... Oh, and he also proves that Zack Braff isn't the only schlubby, neurotic sitcom lead who can direct a decent indy film about aimless twenty-somethings trying not to get their hearts broken.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The dialogue is cute enough to trick you into thinking Josh Radnor writes his own words on How I Met Your Mother, but the romantic storylines feel like they've been done in every indy rom-com ever made. The one saving grace is the story about taking home a stray kid, but that ends up feeling secondary to the romance, and ultimately, the kid doesn't really cause the guy who takes him in to change in a memorable way.

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

A: Many of you will love the indy soundtrack, easily sampled in the trailer.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Happythankyoumoreplease Trailer

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August Rush

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: An eleven-year-old orphan boy (Freddie Highmore) believes that if he learns to play the music in his head, his parents will hear it in the air and come find him.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, Robin Williams

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This movie didn’t make me angry enough to deserve a red light, but be warned, you will have to suspend disbelief for every plot twist, and even every plot point, in this corniest of movies ever made. Perhaps it thinks itself a musical fairy tale of sorts, but ultimately even a knight in shining armor showing up on a white horse is more believable than the idea that this orphan boy’s parents (who conceived him during a one-night stand, 12 years ago), would hear his music in the air, and go to him… Then again, maybe I’m just jaded.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: It won’t even try to.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It might, but if it does, you will deny it for the rest of your living days.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Now that would be silly.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Due to the fatal combination of corny dialogue and Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ natural levels of intensity, it actually feels quite creepy when he hits on Keri Russell, on the night of their fateful one-night stand. Once that’s over, all three of the separated family members (Highmore, Rhys Meyer, and Russell) spend a lot of screen time looking up at the sky meaningfully—which clearly the director has instructed them to do. On the flip side, there are break-out singing and acting performances by both Leon G. Thomas III, who plays a young street musician that August Rush (Highmore) befriends, and 11 year-old Jamia Simone Nash, as a singer in a church choir, who discovers that August is a musical prodigy.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Very average, and (as mentioned above) sometimes detrimental to the acting.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I’m willing to severely suspend disbelief about once a movie—twice if the writing is really clever—I shouldn’t have to do during all the pivotal moments, even in a supposed fairy-tale.

Q: Is there anything else I should know about the movie?

A: Since Music is a main character, I would be remiss not to mention it. Let me just say, this is no Once (I’m referring to the 2006 Irish musical movie). You probably won’t be humming any of the tunes as you leave the theater. The only really creative aspect of the music is that August figures out how to somehow play guitar chords simply by hitting the guitar with a flat hand. Maybe that’s possible, but in this case the visuals and sounds don’t always match up from what I could see.

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