Prometheus Preview

Director Ridley Scott returns to his Science Fiction roots with the alien thriller Prometheus. Prometheus is an exploratory vessel that is used to accept the "invitation" of an alien race documented by several civilizations on earth throughout history.  Only now do we have the technology to do so.  The plan was simple: go to their world, explore, report back, and leave.  While the crew of Prometheus hoped to discover clues or maybe even the answer to the oldest question ever "Where did we come from?"; instead they find they were lured into a trap.  This alien race isn't the answer to our origins, but the very real threat to our existence and it's up to them to stop the aliens.

I'll admit, the trailer looks a bit cheesy.  Like George Lucas with Star Wars, perhaps modern movie technology wasn't the best thing for Ridley Scott who had to resort to much more creative and innovative ways of creating his science fiction worlds when he directed Alien, Blade Runner, and Legend some thirty years ago.  Digital effects can often destroy that tangible reality that can't be created on a computer, no matter how good the program is.  It's still digital and still takes something away from a live action movie. And it looks from the preview that there's going to be plenty of computer created special effects in Prometheus. While Scott has directed some amazing movies like Robin Hood, American Gangster, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and G.I. Jane, his most recent producing endeavor was The Grey with Liam Neeson which was a pretty big disappointment for both Neeson and Scott.

I'm also a bit hesitant as I look over the cast and see that other than Charlize Theron, it's mostly a long list of not-so-well-known actors.  Topping the list are Noomi Rapace (who bears a striking resemblance to a younger Sigourney Weaver which may just be coincidence) who made an appearance in the Sherlock Holmes sequel and in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; and Michael Fassbender who's work includes X Men: First Class, Jonah Hex, and Inglourious Basterds. But it's mostly Ridley Scott's directing and return to Science Fiction that I am looking forward to.  I honestly don't have high hopes for a great story or Oscar-worthy acting.  I do hope to be entertained. I do want to see how a thirty year hiatus from science fiction and modern digital technology will manifest themselves in Prometheus.  I'm predicting a generous 3 star rating.  We shall see.

Arbitrage Review

Director Nicholas Jarcki storms onto the scene with Arbitrage, his first major motion picture project.  Arbitrage is the story of Robert Miller (Richard Gere) who is a multi-billion dollar hedge fund manager, a husband to a devoted wife (Susan Sarandon) and father to his daughter and co-worker (Brit Marling).  Miller is about to close a deal for a handsome price, but has doctored the books to cover up a large financial loss, unbeknownst to his wife, his daughter and his employees.  Miller's problems at work are just the beginning.  He is also having an affair.  One night, while driving with his mistress (Laetitia Casta), Miller dozes off at the wheel, flips his car and ends up killing her in the process.  He flees the scene and makes his way home.  Investigating the accident, Detective Bryer (Tim Roth) soon finds the trail leads to Miller.  Meanwhile, his daughter is discovering the discrepancy in the financial records and fears she might be implicated in the cover up.

Arbitrage was not your typical roller-coaster of a movie.  A roller-coaster has ups and downs and twists and turns.  This wasn't even a train wreck because a train can really only derail once and fall off its tracks.  This was one spiraling disaster after another that starts right from the beginning and keeps going down and down getting worse and worse for Robert Miller (Gere).  It was like a plane that crashed into a train that derailed and crashed into a roller coaster that derailed and crashed into a balloon cart sending the balloons into the sky hitting another plane's engine causing it to crash into another train and just kept going on and on.  True, Miller brings all of it on himself, but Gere is so good at playing roles like this that you actually feel for him and want things to work out alright for him.

It really only takes about fifteen minutes before you are made aware that Miller's company is in trouble and a $400 million discrepancy is being covered up to secure the sale of his hedge fund.  You are also made aware that Miller is being unfaithful to his wife (Sarandon).  Though her role is a smaller one, Sarandon plays the part perfectly as the dutiful (though not ignorant) wife, stockpiling her knowledge until it serves her purposes. And Tim Roth, as expected, is delicious as almost a Platoistic Detective doing what it takes to solve this case.  I enjoyed Arbitrage and felt I really wasn't allowed to take a breath until the very end.  I give it 4 stars.  I thought it was worth the money, Gere should get an Oscar nod (maybe not a win, but a nomination) for his role and would recommend this to others, though it might not make my home collection.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Arbitrage Preview

Director Nicholas Jarcki storms onto the scene with Arbitrage, his first major motion picture project.  Arbitrage is the story of Robert Miller (Richard Gere) who is a multi-billion dollar hedge fund manager, a husband to a devoted wife (Susan Sarandon) and father to his daughter and co-worker (Brit Marling).  Miller is about to close a deal for a handsome price, but has doctored the books to cover up a large financial loss, unbeknownst to his wife, his daughter and his employees.  Miller's problems at work are just the beginning.  He is also having an affair.  One night, while driving with his mistress (Laetitia Casta), Miller dozes off at the wheel, flips his car and ends up killing her in the process.  He flees the scene and makes his way home.  Investigating the accident, Detective Bryer (Tim Roth) soon finds the trail leads to Miller.  Meanwhile, his daughter is discovering the discrepancy in the financial records and fears she might be implicated in the cover up.

Arbitrage is billed as a thriller, though it wouldn't be your typical "who done it" movie as we know right from the beginning it was Miller.  The thriller part would be how his professional and personal lies begin spiraling out of control and affecting those he loves. This intense drama is where Richard Gere does some of his best work.  I thought he was great in Primal Fear, Unfaithful and Red Corner.  It's been a while since Susan Sarandon has tackled a project like this, but I have no doubt she will be right at home with such movies as Cradle Will Rock, Twilight, Dead Man Walking and The Client under her belt.  And Tim Roth, well, what can I say?  I love everything this man has been a part of.  From his earlier work in Reservoir Dogs and Four Rooms to his roles in Planet of the Apes and The Incredible Hulk, I love watching this British native perform.

Arbitrage was recommended to me by a friend a trust and with this cast, I have a good feeling that I'm about to enjoy a great film. 

Les Miserables Review

Set in 1815 France, Les Miserables is the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who is released on parole after serving a nineteen year prison sentence.  As time passes, Valjean is determined to do good with his life and eventually becomes a factory owner and serves as mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer. One of his factory workers, Fatine (Anne Hathaway) is discovered to be sending money to her illegitimate daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Allen) and is dismissed by the foreman. Left with no option, Fantine turns to prostitution. During an argument with an abusive customer, Javert (Russell Crowe), the police inspector who has vowed to find and arrest Valjean, arrests Fatine, but Valjean intercedes and takes her to a hospital. Later, Valjean learns that an innocent man mistaken for Valjean is arrested. Valjean nobly reveals their mistake and his true identity to the court. After escaping Javert, Valjean finds Cosette and promises to be like a father to her, fulfilling his promise to Fatine.

It took me a while and a lot of thought before deciding on my final review of this film presentation of the Broadway Musical.  I've decided to give this movie 3.5 stars and I'm sure this will not be popular with everyone, but most everyone I've talked to agrees that the debate over the movie is regarding the performances of Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe.  Ultimately, I was a bit disappointed in both their performances.  But before I get into that, I'd like to point out the many things I thought were absolutely brilliant about this movie.

There are several advantages to a major motion picture with a $61 million budget that a stage production just doesn't have.  The sets, the props, the scenes were absolutely breathtaking.  I was so pleased that there appeared to be very little digital interference.  This was one of the biggest downfalls of the most recently released Star Wars trilogy: everything was digital.  And, as good as the digital creations were, they were still obviously digital and took you out of fully investing yourself into the movie.  There was only one scene that took me out of the movie just a bit and it was how the movie chose to handle the final scene with Javert.  It was almost too graphic for me and I somewhat missed how much of it was left to your imagination with the stage version.  But, it was effective nonetheless.

The costumes and makeup were superb and with several camera close-ups, you really got to see the scars, the tears, the dirt, the desolation they endured.  The camera got right up in the actor's faces allowing you to feel their pain, their angst, their suffering that you just can't get in a large Broadway Theatre.  The camera also allowed us to witness the slight-of-hand pick-pocketing during the "Master of the House" routine which again you miss on stage.

The acting was phenomenal by every member of the cast.  I thought Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were brilliant.  Newcomer Samantha Barks who played the role of Eponine was magnificent and definitely look for more from her in the near future.  I thought Amanda Seyfried was good as Cosette, but the vibrato in her singing was a little much at times.  Hugh Jackman's acting was Oscar worthy for sure.  But Anne Hathaway stole the show.  Though her role only calls for her to be in the movie in more of a supporting role, she gave the performance of a lifetime both theatrically and vocally with her singing.

 The only criticisms I really have with the movie was with the singing performances of Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. Definitely more so with Crowe who sounded very David Bowie-esque in his singing.  It was distracting enough that I half expected Muppet-like creatures to join him for a song and dance.  I've wrestled with wondering if one walks away thinking this was so perfect because one wouldn't expect Wolverine and Gladiator to pull off those performances, or if it was so perfect because their singing really was that good.  Some have tried to tell me that the singing may not have been pitch perfect at times because it was recorded live during filming.  That may be true, however, one of the luxuries you have in film over live theatre is that you can call "cut" and run another take if it isn't absolutely perfect.  If you miss a note or a line or a move on stage, you can't take it back.  I understand that to make their $61 million back, they had to get people to see the movie and a good way to do that is with marquee actors like Jackman and Crowe.  Though the singing may have been better with some lesser known actors, it might not be the phenomenon it has become.  But I also wonder this: if I was in New York and just paid $150 a ticket to see this on Broadway and these two actors (not Jackman and Crowe) gave this exact performance, would I feel I got my money's worth.  And honestly, the answer is no.  So even though that is my only criticism of a movie I felt was otherwise amazing, I have to weigh that criticism heavier because this is, after all, a MUSICAL. I highly recommend it and thought it was well worth the price of admission in the movie theatres and I'd very much like to see it again, but Les Miserables will most likely not be finding a place in my home collection.

Les Miserables Preview

Set in 1815 France, Les Miserables is the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who is released on parole after serving a nineteen year prison sentence.  As time passes, Valjean is determined to do good with his life and eventually becomes a factory owner and serves as mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer. One of his factory workers, Fatine (Anne Hathaway) is discovered to be sending money to her illegitimate daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Allen) and is dismissed by the foreman. Left with no option, Fantine turns to prostitution. During an argument with an abusive customer, Javert (Russell Crowe), the police inspector who has vowed to find and arrest Valjean, arrests Fatine, but Valjean intercedes and takes her to a hospital. Later, Valjean learns that an innocent man mistaken for Valjean is arrested. Valjean nobly reveals their mistake and his true identity to the court. After escaping Javert, Valjean finds Cosette and promises to be like a father to her, fulfilling his promise to Fatine.

Most of the previews feature Fatine (Hathaway) singing the anthemic "I dreamed a dream" number from the musical with gorgeous snapshots of incredible costumes, makeup and scenery flashing across the screen.  This has all the makings of an Oscar-worthy movie: $61 million dollar budget, highly successful musical, all-star cast, and what appear to be epic sets that a live stage production could never even hope to achieve.  The concern is how heavily the focus is on Hathaway's performance.  Now we know that Hugh Jackman can sing.  He is a classically trained theatre professional and began his career in Australia and England performing in musicals like Beauty and the Beast and Oklahoma!  We know that Amanda Seyfried can sing as her chops rang out in the film version of Mamma Mia! Honestly, I think she was the only redeeming quality of the film version of that show, so I'm excited to see her in this role.  The concern for me is Russell Crowe.  Although upon investigation, I found that Crowe, like Jackman, began his career in theatre in Australia and some of that included musical theatre.  But Crowe himself wasn't even convinced he was right for the role.  It was only after a conversation with director Tom Hooper (most notably credited with The King's Speech) that Crowe got on board with the project.  I just hope he can keep up with the rest of the cast who seem like they will be quite at home tackling this epic undertaking.

A $61 million dollar budget and almost no limits of time and space that even the largest theatre stage must contend with.  The advantage is the ability to create scenes, costumes and makeup that completely draw you into the story.  The burden of drawing you in during a live stage performance is so heavy on the actors.  At any time, you can tilt your head slightly in any direction and are reminded that you are in a theatre watching a show.  For some reason, though you are still in a theatre, watching it on a big screen almost helps to create the illusion that it's really happening.  The danger, however, especially in this modern time of technology, is to go too far with digital enhancements.  The most recent trilogy additions of Star Wars are a great example of this.  Though the digital additions to the movie were quite realistic, it was obvious they were digital and constantly kept you from fully investing yourself into the movie.

Finally, the film boasts a new and groundbreaking filming technique of live recorded singing.  Piano accompaniment is played to the actors through an ear piece and they are actually singing on the set and being recorded.  No studio is used to create pitch-perfect flawless performances that would later be used for the actors to lip-sync on camera.  Although this practice is very uncommon and very impressive, it's not the first film to incorporate this technique.

Overall, I'm expecting a brilliant and epic movie that should be moving, inspiring, and emotional resulting in a phenomenon that I cannot wait to add to my home collection.  But, we shall see . . .

Trouble With The Curve Review

Trouble With The Curve is the story of an aging baseball scout (Clint Eastwood) and his estranged daughter (Amy Adams).  Eastwood plays Gus Lobel who has been a successful baseball scout for decades, but his age and lack of embracing new technology, his employers are starting to question if he's still got the gift.  Gus is threatened by rival scout played by Justin Timberlake, both on and off the field, especially when Gus' daughter Mickey arrives on the scene.  A promising lawyer, Mickey puts her career in jeopardy to reunite with her father as Gus now finds himself looking after his daughter, his career, and keeping Timberlake away from both.

Trouble With The Curve was a cute movie.  Here are the problems: it will never make it as a classic sports or baseball film like Bull Durham, Major League, The Natural, or even Moneyball; nor is it the best relationship building movie that Eastwood has achieved.  There was more of a smooth transition and steady development of a relationship between Eastwood and Hillary Swank in Million Dollar Baby than there was between he and Amy Adams in The Curve. In fact, I more enjoyed watching Justin Timberlake's character of the "rival" scout breaking down the emotional walls that Mickey (Amy Adams) had build up over the years than I did watching Gus (Eastwood) and Mickey work through their problems.

There were a couple other issues I had with the movie.  Just twenty minutes into the movie, it felt like eighteen of those minutes were spent going out of their way to make sure we understood that Gus Lobel was old, losing his sight, and losing the faith of most of his colleagues.  It got a little tiresome to have the point driven home so much.  Also, the preview leads one to believe that Johnny "The Flame" (Timberlake) is Gus' competition both on and off the field as they are scouting the same big league hitting prospect in up-and-comer Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill) and Johnny immediately starts scouting Mickey when they first meet.  As it turns out, they are anything but rivals; which is fine, but this movie could have used a little more tension and drama and that might have been a nice twist to throw in the mix.

Finally, the protagonist and actual rival scout within the organization Phillip Sanderson (Matthew Lillard) is your stereotypical sleazy jerk that is played so over the top right along side Bo Gentry's ultra macho jerkiness that you are left with absolutely no choice but to hate both of them the minute you meet them.  The film went a bit over the top again in portraying these two in such an unfavorable light.  Sanderson relied completely on computer stats and analysis to make his decisions to climb his way up the ladder to GM of the baseball team though he knows nothing about people or baseball for that matter.  And Gentry, the next big meat-head slugger is only concerned with his image, his endorsements and chicks and has no love or respect for the game.  Not only are you forced to route against them, within moments of being introduced to either character, you know for certain that they both will fail in the end.

Again, Trouble With The Curve is a cute movie.  A little predictable.  Not the best character movie, and certainly not the best baseball movie.  Eastwood brings his A game as the crotchety old scout who is emotionally closed off to those he cares for most.  Adams is the over-achieving daughter pursuing a career she hates to impress her father and comes to terms with her own emotional baggage.  That done mostly through the aide of the smooth, sweet, and much-needed and appreciated comic relief that Timberlake brought to the film.  I enjoyed it, I'm glad I rented it, but this one will not be making it to my esteemed home collection.  What movie will be on my mind next?  We'll have to see.

Trouble With The Curve Preview

Trouble With The Curve is the story of an aging baseball scout (Clint Eastwood) and his estranged daughter (Amy Adams).  Eastwood plays Gus Lobel who has been a successful baseball scout for decades, but his age and lack of embracing new technology, his employers are starting to question if he's still got the gift.  Gus is threatened by rival scout played by Justin Timberlake, both on and off the field, especially when Gus' daughter Mickey arrives on the scene.  A promising lawyer, Mickey puts her career in jeopardy to reunite with her father as Gus now finds himself looking after his daughter, his career, and keeping Timberlake away from both.

Trouble With The Curve looks like a warm, funny, heart-felt movie that will keep audiences laughing and wiping away tears throughout.  I'd say Eastwood looks like he is back and better than ever; however, other than a slight slip-up at the Republican National Convention, no one's ever accused the actor of being anything other than one of the best.  Amy Adams (three time Academy Award nominated) looks triumphant in yet another role proving her versatility as a promising actress who fortunately was quickly able to lose her Disney Princess persona with roles in movies like Sunshine Cleaning Company, Doubt and The Fighter in which she more than held her own with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale.

Justin Timberlake, John Goodman and Robert Patrick lend their talents to what looks like a successful movie delighting audiences of all ages, both genders and sports fans (or not) alike.  I anticipate being thoroughly entertained and tearing up at points, ultimately wanting to add this movie to my collection.  Am I right?  Stay tuned and find out.