A Single Man

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A man (Colin Firth) tries to cope with the sudden death of his lover, who-- it might interest some people to know-- was also a man (Matthew Goode).

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Colin Firth, Matthew Goode, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult, Ginnifer Goodwin, Ryan Simpkins, Paulette Lamori, Lee Pace

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This is what people call a "beautiful film", meaning that it has a dramatic score and meditatively seems to be addressing something grand and important. You know in your heart, simply from reading that last sentence, if that's the type of thing you respond to.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Apparently, some people in my theater think suicide is funny.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you have recently experienced a loss, you will find the emotions here unbearable, and shouldn't go. If you haven't recently experienced a loss, you probably won't cry. So, either way, it's a no.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It's got buzz. Having seen it, I'm not exactly sure around what...

Q: How is the Acting?

A: What I love about gay films by fashion designers is that the men are hot, tan, and dressed impeccably (when they're dressed). Over all, there's more eye candy than acting. And speaking of eyes, what exactly is the symbolism behind all those eye close-ups supposed to be?

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Tom Ford, Gucci's savior, debuts his visual style on the big screen, and while the lighting choices seemed a thoughtful way to differentiate the cold dead present from the warm lively past, I later read that this was supposed to all take place on the first day after Colin Firth finds out about the death of his lover (not counting the flashbacks to when his lover was alive). Well, it was specifically those lighting choices that confused me as to the time line, because they were not consistent, and sometimes the present shifted from a cold and grey, sepia color scheme to a happier looking warm yellow. Also, there are some scenes that drag on, while not advancing anything.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: To me this is one of those scripts that tries so hard to be subtle and meaningful without spoon feeding anything, that it ends up feeling self important. And in its efforts not to talk down to the audience, it ends up slapping them in the face with an uppity pretension.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eafJ4jvf-sY

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O'Horten

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A railroad conductor retires after a life of rigidity and schedule, to finally discover the lighter side of life.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Baard Owe, Espen Skjonberg, Ghita Norby, Henny Moan, Bjorn Floberg, Kai Remlov, Peder Anders Lohne Hamer, Kari Loland

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! The only reason to see this movie is if you want to look at a snowy Norwegian vista, but you can’t afford a ticket to visit it live.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Only if you have a lot of patience and a very peculiar sense of what’s funny.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Boy, will it not do that.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: If a movie could be a wallflower, this one would define that genre. But to get awards somebody has to notice you exist.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Most of the characters aren’t on screen long enough to do anything wrong. (You have to see the movie to know how incredibly true that is.)

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The lighting, framing and production design are what make this film a piece of art…

Q: How is the story/script?

A: …And the quiet story-less story is what makes this art film another boring piece of-- art film.

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

A: This movie doesn’t come out until May 15th in the US, but I’m posting it now because it’s already out in the rest of the world.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/o'horten/trailers

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Fired Up!

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Two high school football players (Nicholas D'Agasto and Eric Christian Olsen), decide that there will be more doable girls at cheer camp than at football camp, so they make up some lame excuses to cut out on one in favor of the other, and spend their summer spreading diseases. (Okay, so there's no mention of disease in the movie. I'm just prognosticating.)

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Nicholas D'Agasto, Eric Christian Olsen, Sarah Roemer, Molly Sims, David Walton, John Michael Higgins, Philip Baker Hall, Adhir Kalyan, Juliette Goglia, Jake Sandvig, Michael Blaiklock, Margo Harshman, Edie McClurg, AnnaLynne McCord, Danneel Harris

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. We spend long months and sometimes years waiting for a movie of this sort to come out, but ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, that rare commodity, that special gem... It's finally here: a movie so bad that it's good!

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Every term you can think of for breast, butt, and [insert any sexual organ here] (I know) is pulled out of the gutter in this all out effort to pretend that women's lib never happened.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Well I cried when more than one man turned me down to see this movie over the weekend, because it was too stupid, and clearly for girls. And I cried again (this time with joy), when I arrived at a Tuesday night screening filled with exclusively men, secretly watching this movie with glee.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Yeah-- right!

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Sarah Roemer is a beauty who may not have the chops to pull off comedy. Eric Christian Olsen is clearly 10 years too old to play high school. And Nicholas D'Agasto is just right.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: This movie reminded me of one of those cheesy low budget movies you used to be able to find at 3am on the USA Network. Some might take that as an insult, but seriously, when was the last time you managed to turn one of those off before the clock hit 5am and you realized that you just got caught up in a total schlock-fest and loved every minute of it!

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It starts out at the bottom of the barrel, and painstakingly climbs its way up that barrel wall, until it ends, and you find yourself saying silly things like, "That was sweet."

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/fired-up/33561/trailers

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Tell No One

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Eight years after his wife was brutally murdered, Dr. Alexandre Beck (Francois Cluzet) is still being accused of having killed and beaten her, but he has reason to believe that she is still alive.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Francois Cluzet, Marie-Josee Croze, Andre Dussollier, Kristin Scott Thomas, Marina Hands, Francois Berleand, Nathalie Baye, Jean Rochefort, Gilles Lellouche, Philippe Lefebvre, Florence Thomassin, Olivier Marchal, Guillaume Canet

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! This French thriller has enough intrigue, twists and turns to make American filmmakers jealous.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Only briefly, when Dr. Beck discovers thug life.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but it could force you to use your rusty old brain and have to think a little bit.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It was nominated for 9 Cesar Awards, which is the French equivalent of the Oscars. It won four.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The director, Guillaume Canet, started out as an actor, which is evidenced by the distinctively defined characters and the consistently convincing performances.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: At times the hand-held camera work in the chase scenes can be a little heavy handed, but those moments are balanced out by the simple beauty and raw emotion in the look of the rest of the film.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: You're gonna need to pay attention. There's a lot going on, and it's all interconnected. You can try to figure it out, but you won't.

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