"Brooklyn" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new movie "Brooklyn" and the DVDs "Southpaw" and "The Stanford Prison Experiment." The Book of the Week is "Becoming Beyoncé: The Untold Story" by J. Randy Taraborrelli.  I also bring you up-to-date on "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" with Werner Herzog's "Cave of Forgotten Dreams."]



Brooklyn 

Saoirse Ronan stars as Eilis Lacey, a young Irish immigrant who finds love in 1950's Brooklyn.  However, when tragedy strikes her family back in Ireland, Eilis must choose between two countries and two loves.

Eilis is a shy, sweet Irish girl who makes her way to New York to try to make a new life for herself.  There was nothing for her in Ireland, so her sister Rose arranged with a priest in Brooklyn, Father Flood, for Eilis to have a job and a place to live in Brooklyn so she would have a better life.  Eilis has a rough crossing on the boat to New York and is befriended by an experienced traveler who gives her tips on how to look presentable when entering the country and advice on making a go of it. 

Eilis moves into an Irish boarding house for young women run by Mrs. Kehoe (Julie Walters, who also was stunning in the recent first series of "Indian Summers" on "Masterpiece Theatre" ) and works in a high end department store.  However, Eilis is not comfortable interacting with customers and has a difficult time adjusting to her new life.  She becomes very homesick and depressed. She meets with Father Flood (Jim Broadbent), who counsels her and gets her into a bookkeeping class because Eilis wants to be an accountant like her sister Rose. Then she meets Tony (Emory Cohen), a charming Italian "fella" at a dance and they fall in love.  What better antidote to homesickness than to fall in love?

But all is not peachy keen for our lovers. A tragedy back in Ireland forces Eilis to return and the pull to stay in Ireland threatens their future.

Ronan first made an impression in a small part as the young girl who set off a series of tragic events in "Atonement (1997).  Now Ronan is all grown up and this film is all about her.  She beautifully captures what it would be like to be a young girl in the pre-Internet age of the 1950's struggling to make a life for herself all alone in a new country far from everything she had known. Ronan's performance is lovely and spectacular in its sublety.  She starts out shy and uncertain and slowly Eilis grows into a strong woman.  She carries this film in an Academy Award-worthy performance. 

All of the other actors are also first rate. Julie Walters as Mrs. Kehoe, the landlady of a boarding house for young ladies who runs a tight ship, brings humor and a bit of edge in a lovely nuanced performance to this otherwise romantic film. Emory Cohen, who you might remember from the TV show "Smash" is adorable as Tony. Who wouldn't want to be his girlfriend?  But there is another suitor in the picture back in Ireland played by Domhnall Gleeson, who we were first introduced to in the Harry Potter films and who was able to show his romantic side in "About Time."  I even liked the kid actor, James DiGiacomo, who plays Tony's wise-cracking kid brother.  And you know how I feel about kid actors.

This is a lovely romantic film. And who doesn't love a good romance?  This film beautifully directed by John Crowley with a script by Nick Hornby (based on the novel of the same name by Colm Toibin) has all of the bells and whistles that makes for a dreamy love story. The cinematography by Yves Belanger creates that dreamy feel and you will be transported to another time and place as you take this journey to Brooklyn with Eilis.  Bring your hankies.

Early Oscar prediction:  Ronan will get a Best Actress Oscar nomination for this (she just won the New York Film Critics Circle Best Actress Award).

Rosy the Reviewer says...This movie is a must see!  One of the best performances of the year.  You will thank me!

Some Movies You Might Have Missed

(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)!

***Now Out on DVD***

Southpaw (2015)

Things don't look good for boxer Billy Hope after a tragic accident.

The ironically named boxer Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a tough guy who grew up in foster care in Hell's Kitchen.  It doesn't get much tougher than that.  His wife, Maureen (Rachel McAdams), had a similar background and is also a tough cookie.  The two were childhood sweethearts and are clearly in love and in an "us against the world" relationship. Billy fights and Maureen keeps Billy together. 

When the film begins, Billy and Maureen are doing well.  Billy is an undefeated light heavy weight championship boxer and they live in a nice home with their daughter Leila (Oona Laurence).  But unfortunately, tragedy strikes early on at a charity event when Billy gets into a brawl with a rival boxer's entourage, Maureen gets shot and then things all fall apart for Billy.

Billy is not an easy guy to relate to.  He's not very smart and makes a lot of his own problems.  He goes on a binge, making one bad decision after another until he loses everything, including his manager (50 Cent) and custody of his daughter. Nobody wants anything to do with him. But he finally pulls himself together and approaches Tick Willis (Forrest Whitaker), a local gym owner and trainer and begs him to let him train.  With Tick, Billy learns that he needs to train his mind as well as his body if he is going to win in the ring and in life.

In Rocky-like fashion, Billy starts over and trains to seek his redemption.  We've seen this film before many times but Gyllenhaal's, Whitaker's and McAdams' performances, and the relationship between Billy and his daughter, make for an emotionally satisfying film.  And Director Antoine Fuqua shows us the gritty world of professional boxing with impressive "you are there" fight scenes.

Gyllenhaal lost weight, learned to box and trained for this role and once again shows his versatility as an actor.  He seems to like the loner roles, like his nutty rogue photographer in "Nightcrawler" and characters on the edge.  McAdams is always lovely to watch and here plays an edgier character than we are used to.  Whitaker and 50 Cent also put in impressive performances.

I almost didn't review this one because I had decided I was only going to review films I really liked and wanted to recommend (with the occasional review to warn you off something). The film itself has issues and I am not a big fan of boxing films, but Gyllenhaal's performance is noteworthy.  He plays a character you don't like, a not very smart punch drunk guy, but when you think of all of the various characters Gyllenhaal has played: the sensitive Jack Twist in "Brokeback Mountain," the creepy Louis Bloom in "Nightcrawler," to name just a couple, it is worth seeing how he transforms himself here. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...See it for the performances and if you like boxing films, you will like this one.






The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)

 



In the summer of 1971, 24 male students took part in a proposed two-week mock prison experiment in the basement of a building at Stanford University.  Each was randomly assigned to be prisoners and guards and let's just say, the "guards" took their roles very seriously.

This is a dramatic reenactment of what took place during that real life experiment.

Dr. Philip Zimbardo (Billy Crudup), a psychology professor and researcher at Stanford University, placed an ad in the newspaper to recruit 24 male students to participate in an experiment to study the psychological effects of being a prisoner or a prison guard and "the effects prisons can have on human behavior." Since it was summer, the school would be deserted so classrooms and hallways of one of the buildings on campus became the prison. The students were offered $15 per hour to participate and as the film unfolds, we see that each student had his reasons to participate and many of them needed the money.

At first, each student thought he wanted to be a prisoner. No one wanted to be "the man," a guard. The prisoners and guards were chosen randomly and the guards wore uniforms and sunglasses to establish their authority.  All were told that once the experiment started, they were not to refer to it as a study or experiment and no one was allowed to get physical.

At first the guards used a script and got a kick out of play acting as they picked up each prisoner from their home, blindfolded him and made him strip so they could "delouse" him.  Each prisoner was given a number and addressed as such and had to wear a uniform that was more like a dress, also part of the dehumanizing process meant to strip away their individuality as part of the experiment.

It only took one day for everything to get very out of hand and for the experiment to become a harrowing exercise of the haves and the have nots.  As things would unfold, the guards would step up their punishments and the prisoners would start to rebel.

The prisoners created their own hierarchy:  those who wanted to do what they were told and just get through this thing and those who rebelled. Likewise, some of the guards took their guarding more seriously than others.  When the guards realized that the prisoners would do whatever they told them to, including participating in humiliating acts, the guards continued to step it up.  They would wake them up in the middle of the night to do jumping jacks and push-ups and it quickly became clear that you don't have to use physical violence to terrorize people.  One of the most vicious of the guards (Michael Angarano) loved the film "Cool Hand Luke" and adopted a southern accent to mimic one of the nasty characters in that film.

What do you do when you sign on for some role playing but no one stops playing and you begin to question your own sanity? Why didn't the students playing the prisoners quit?  Why did all of the guards go along with the torture when they didn't really want to?  And, you keep asking yourself, why doesn't Zimbardo step in and stop it?

Zimbardo was always torn between protecting the students and protecting his own research. Today watching this film, one can't help but be struck by its timeliness in light of recent reports of police brutality and what happened at Abu Ghraib. 

This dramatization, directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez with a script by Tim Talbott, is an excruciating exercise in the darkest side of human nature.  But the film showed that goodness still existed, too, even in the most torturous of situations.

Crudup is the only big name here and he is one of our most underrated actors. I have never forgotten him in "Waking the Dead." Not sure why he failed to make it to superstardom, but he certainly has been a working actor, which, I guess is what most actors wish for. He has been in at least one feature film every year since his first one in 1996. Here he puts in a wonderful performance as Zimbardo, a good man who made some bad decisions in the name of research.  All of the performances from the ensemble cast of young actors are also believable and memorable.

It's difficult to imagine that the real Zimbardo would be happy with this film as it does not paint him in a very good light.  However, when this film first came out, he appeared to be endorsing the film as he made the talk show rounds but when asked what he would have done differently, he replied that he would have stopped the experiment sooner. Duh.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a harrowing but incredibly compelling ensemble piece about the abuse of power.

***My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project***

 

270 to go!

Have YOU seen this classic film?




Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

Auteur Werner Herzog gained unprecedented access to film inside the Chauvet Cave which was discovered in 1994 and is considered one of the "greatest discoveries of the history of human culture."

German film director, producer, author, and actor Herzog is considered one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema with such classic films as "Aguirre, the Wrath of God," "Fitzcarraldo" and "Grizzly Man" under his belt.  He has directed as many documentaries as he has feature films.

Here he directs yet another documentary, this time turning his camera to the Chauvet Cave in southern France.  The cave contains immaculately preserved cave paintings dating back over 30,000 years, the oldest in existence. It was unprecedented that he was given access to film inside the cave as only a small group of scientists had ever been inside.  Because a rock face had fallen and sealed the cave, it provided a perfect time capsule and today it is still sealed off from the general public.

Written, directed and narrated by Herzog, he used a tiny, non-professional camera rig, minimal lighting and could only film four hours per day, but he was still able to add his artful direction to produce what appears to be a labor of love for him.  As he films, he asks the scientists questions and comments on the paintings, wondering who these people were, why they drew these pictures, what their hopes and dreams might have been and drawing a parallel between those ancient humans and ourselves.  We are all the same. The paintings are amazingly drawn, not what you would expect from ancient people who lived over 30,000 years ago.

Why it's a Must See:  "All of the hallmarks of Herzog's work are present, but 3-D technology allowed the filmmaker to explore motifs of landscape, mythology, and the eccentricities of his subjects with new guile... [This film] provides a critical milestone for those with reservations about 3-D technology and 'serious' cinema."
---"1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die"

Not sure how this film would appeal to the general public, but artists and history and archaeology buffs would be in heaven here as the cinematography is amazing, even though I didn't see it in 3-D.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a chance to see something that few have ever seen.

 

 

 

***Book of the Week***

Becoming Beyonce: The Untold Story by
J. RandyTaraborrelli (2015)

How Beyoncé became Beyoncé - in 400+ pages.

I was drawn to this book for two reasons:  One, I realized I knew nothing about Beyoncé other than her fame, and since she is one of our biggest superstars, that wasn't good for a pop culture queen like myself.  And two, I knew that J. Randy would tell me more than I ever wanted to know about her.  And he delivers.  He is, in fact, one of my favorite biographers.  You can count on him to do his research and find out every fact possible about the celebrity he is writing about.

It's all here from Beyoncé's early years as a child pageant winner growing up in a middle class community with her successful Dad, Mathew, glamorous mother Tina and her sister Solange (who has become a celebrity in her own right), to her first singing success at the age of eight followed by big success in Destiny's Child at the age of 16.  That was followed by her highly successful solo career, her marriage to rapper Jay Z and the birth of their little girl, Blue Ivy, to Beyoncé being named by Forbes Magazine as the #1 wealthiest celebrity in 2014.

However, her success was not without hard work, sacrifice and single-minded focus.  And I'm talking about her Dad, Mathew.  He gave up a lucrative career as a tech salesman to spend all of his time promoting Beyoncé.  But that's not to diminish Beyoncé's own drive, which she had from a very early age.  Her talent at delivering a song was recognized early and belied her shyness in real life.

Taraborrelli's strength and the reason why I enjoy his books so much is his extensive research (24 pages of acknowledgements and notes) and attention to detail as well as his ability to tell a compelling true story and make it as exciting as the best fiction.

Want to know what really happened in that elevator when sister Solange went off on Jay Z or if Jay Z really had an affair with Rhianna? Then you will just have to read this book!

Rosy the Reviewer says...a fascinating look at just what it takes to make it BIG and stay there!

That's it for this week!

Thanks for reading!

See you Tuesday for

 

"Grounds for Divorce!"

 

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to click on the share buttons to share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, 
email it to your friends and
LIKE me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer.

Check your local library for DVDs and books mentioned.

 

Note:  Next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). 

Find the page for the movie, click on "Explore More" on the right side panel and then scroll down to "External Reviews."  Look for "Rosy the Reviewer" on the list. Or if you are using a mobile device, look for "Critics Reviews." Click on that and you will find me alphabetically under "Rosy the Reviewer."

 

15 Tips to Help Banish the Holiday Blues

We are empty-nesters with two successful children.  They are so successful that they are long gone and living rich, fabulous lives.  Well, not exactly, but they are married, have careers and live far away.

So we are often alone for the holidays as we share them with their spouses' families or we can't get together for whatever reason.

But even if we are not alone, the holidays still remind us of holidays past and those who are no longer with us which can bring on the holiday blues.

So the holiday blues can hit you at any time under any circumstances.

For the most part, we have accepted that our children have their own families, and we will not always be able to get together for the holidays so we make our own plans.

One Christmas Hubby and I were alone so off to Paris we went (with everyone else in the world, it seemed). It was the same year the "underwear bomber" decided to fly so on our way back home, it took hours to get through security at the Paris airport. They searched everyone again at the gate and when the Paris security person found a little box of sour candies in my bag, she asked me what they were.  I tried to explain but before I could finish, she shoved them at me and said, "Eat one!"  Geez, I guess she thought if they were little bombs it was best I blew up right there.  So much for Christmas in Paris.

So Hubby and I have accepted that some holiday seasons we will be alone and have had to make our own plans.

However, for some reason this year, when I discovered that both of my kids were going to be with their "other families" for Thanksgiving, I started feeling sad.  Even though this year for Thanksgiving, we delivered meals to elderly shut-ins and had a lovely meal in a restaurant, there was still that lingering loneliness that only a boisterous family gathering can banish. 

So I thought I had better start thinking of ways to get through the rest of the holiday season.




1.  Wine

 I can't say enough about the medicinal qualities of wine.

 

2. Don't let your husband choose the Christmas tree

That could ruin your holiday right there.  Hubby went to Costco and bought a tree that was all wrapped up with wire.  I asked him, "You bought a tree you didn't even see?"  The tree has so many holes in it I felt like I was decorating a big green slab of swiss cheese!



3.  Likewise, put the lights on the Christmas tree yourself.

Otherwise, a big fight will ensue over the placement of the lights (once again) and that would just add to your holiday blues.  Or better yet, do what we do. Make a big fight about the Christmas tree lights a holiday tradition.

4.  Shop for yourself too.

Buy yourself yet another fur jacket (faux, of course) to add to your collection or some other crap you really don't need.  It's the thought that counts.

5.  Do not under any circumstances watch Hallmark or Lifetime Christmas movies.

If you do, you are asking for it.  You will find yourself sobbing uncontrollably when the heroine reunites with her long lost mother or dog just in time for Christmas.  And watching Candace Cameron Bure find love while snowed in at the Buffalo airport in "A Christmas Detour" would depress anyone. I know it did me. Her voice alone will remind you of fingernails on a chalk board.

6.  Most experts would recommend exercise to ward off depression.

I say exercising will just depress you more.  Forget the gym.



7. Don't bake, especially if you will be alone.

I know you think you are going to give your goodies away as gifts but you know you will get depressed about being on your own and will just eat all of those sugar-coated candy cane cookies and rum balls yourself and then when you weigh yourself...I don't need to tell you.



8.  Dress your pets up in holiday costumes.

Dogs and cats in costumes will always give you a laugh.  There is nothing funnier than your dog going about his business, sniffing things and taking a wee in his Santa suit and party hat.

9.  Buy a new ornament for the tree every year and give them as gifts.

I look forward to this little ritual.  A new ornament for our trees and one each for the kids and grandkids to help them build their collections.  My Mom used to do that, and now thinking of her, I'm getting depressed.



10.  Throw a party to remind yourself how many friends you have.

But if you don't think you have any friends, forget it.



11.  Go on a Christmas home tour.

These tours are usually in high end neighborhoods you can't afford, of houses you could never afford, beautifully decorated with ornamentations you can't afford, with gorgeous views you could never afford...never mind.



12.  As I mentioned about our trip to Paris one Christmas, if you are going to be alone, taking a trip somewhere can perk up your spirits.

However, keep in mind that it's a big world out there.  If you have a great idea, a ton of other people will have that same idea.  When we went to Paris I thought that flying on Christmas day would mean the plane would be empty, because everyone would want to be home with their families and all of the flight attendants would be cheerful and it would be one big festive flight.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  What I learned is that school is out and people want to take trips with their entire families.  The plane was packed!  The flight attendants were crabby and there wasn't anything festive about it.  Likewise, Paris was also packed.  Everyone had the same idea that we did.

So if you want to go away for Christmas, I recommend going somewhere that is decidedly off season like the San Juan Islands.  One Christmas we went to Orcas Island and stayed at the Rosario Resort. 

We had a room with a view and practically had the place to ourselves. 

Heck, we practically had the island to ourselves because EVERYTHING WAS CLOSED.  Let's just say we spent a lot of time in the hotel bar and, I think, we had a sandwich for our Christmas Eve dinner. 

There was a piano player in the bar who was singing some Christmas songs and Hubby talked his way into performing.  You can see the startled expression on the piano player's face as Hubby wormed his way into his act to sing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!"

Going away for Christmas can be fun and lift your spirits but choose wisely.




13. Have an ugly Christmas sweater contest at work or with your significant other.

I already have mine.

(It has jingle bells on it too)!




14. Boycott the holidays completely.

There is always that.



Not sure if those tips helped. 


But then there is Tip #15.


15.  Remember the true meaning of the holiday season.

Whether you are celebrating with your whole family, part of your family or you are just on your own, it's all about love.

Being loving, doing something nice for others and lifting their spirits will automatically banish those holiday blues.

Now I'm off to dress up the dogs and have a glass of wine!

 

Happy Holidays everyone!

How will you get through the holidays?

 

 

Thanks for Reading!

 

See you Friday

 

for my review of the new movie 

 

"Brooklyn" 

 

and

 

The Week in Reviews

 

(What to See or Read and What to Avoid)

 

and the latest on

 

My 1001 Movies I Must See Before

 I Die Project."

 

  

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to click on the share buttons to share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, email it to your friends and LIKE me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer

"Suffragette" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new movie "Suffragette" and DVDs "The Gift" and "End of the Tour."  The Book of the Week is "The Happiness Project."  I also bring you up to date on "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" with Jackie Chan's "Project A 2" - Yes, Jackie Chan is a classic! ]

 

Suffragette

Women fight for the vote in turn-of-the century England.

Carey Mulligan stars as Maud Watts, a wife and mother who works in a laundry in 1912 London.  Her mother was a laundress and now Maud is following in her footsteps, Maud having started working their when she was only 7.  The boss is a bully and there are clear implications that Maud endured sexual abuse while working for him, but she has accepted her lot in life as most women in that era and station had. 

Enter the Suffragette Movement. 

 

Women are standing on street corners demanding the vote and participating in acts of civil disobedience that Maud cannot ignore.  She meets a fellow worker at the laundry, Violet (Anne-Marie Duff) and a pharmacist's wife, Edith Ellyn (Helena Bonham Carter) who treats her son, both members of Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst's movement and Maud is slowly drawn into the Suffragette Movement.

 

As Maud becomes more and more embroiled in the movement, she befriends Emily Wilding Davison (Natalie Press), a true life suffragette who martyrs herself for the cause and provides an event for women to rally around.  That should have been a big crescendo in the film, but it's too little too late and does not elicit the emotion it should have. 

 

I really wanted to love this film as I consider myself a feminist.  It's totally in my wheelhouse and I recently wrote about and lamented the fact that these days feminism doesn't seem to be important to the younger generation of women ("Why is Feminist Such a Dirty Word?").  But despite the film's important message and the wonderful acting we have come to expect from Mulligan, Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep in a very small role as Mrs, Pankhurst, the film lacked heart. It didn't move me the way I thought it should. It played like a very serious and important history lesson, not an engrossing theatrical piece.

 

I don't mean to in any way diminish the sacrifices women had to make to secure the vote for themselves and the indignities they had to endure as men fought to secure their places as their masters.  Today women are still fighting.  I just wish this film had more soul and wasn't such a slog. The film is very Dickensian, dark and grim.  I am not a fan of a film being a grim experience to tell a grim story.  It should still be a good film experience even if the story is grim.
 

Brendan Gleeson plays Chief Inspector Arthur Steed who is painted as being so steadfastly against the women, especially Maud, that it's almost a stereotype.  But he voices an important line when the women are arrested  for protesting. 

 

"Don't bother arresting them. Let their husbands deal with them."

 

And when Maud is sent home to her husband (Ben Winshaw, who now is a regular in the James Bond films as "Q") after a night in jail, he deals with her alright.  He throws her out in the street and forbids her to see her son. Things continue to get worse for Maud as she becomes more and more radicalized.

 

Directed by Sarah Gavron with a screenplay by Abi Morgan, this is a film telling an important story that has rarely been told: women fighting for the vote.  The younger generation of women not only might not appreciate what happened in the 70's but they are even farther removed from what their female ancestors had to go through to get to vote, and as this film points out at the end of the film, several countries were even slower to give women the right to vote and Saudi Arabia has yet to do it. However, for such a passionate subject, the film was surprisingly passionless.

Rosy the Reviewer says...for something I feel so strongly about, I expected to leap from my seat in solidarity...but I didn't.  Disappointing.

 

 

 

Some Movies You Might Have Missed

 

(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)

 

***Now Out on DVD***

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The Gift (2015)
 

 

 

 

A troubled married couple meet an old friend from the husband's past - but is he really a friend?

Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) move to a new house.  Simon has been transferred by his computer security company back to LA from Chicago (he grew up in LA). She is an interior designer and they are trying to start a family.  But there is an unease between them.  Things didn't go that well in Chicago, so they are looking forward to a new beginning.

While shopping in their new neighborhood, Simon is approached by Gordo (Joel Edgerton), an old high school classmate who Simon doesn't seem to remember. Gordo is kind of timid and creepy. Later, Robyn finds a bottle of wine on their doorstep.  It's from Gordo.  Then he starts appearing at their house unannounced.  Robyn invites him in and after a chat, she invites him to return for dinner.  It's an amiable but awkward dinner.

Then another gift appears on the doorstep, this time as a thank you for dinner.  It's fish food. Gordo has put koi in their pond.  They can't get rid of this guy.

Again he shows up unannounced and this time sees that Simon has written Gordo the Weirdo next to his phone number on the fridge.

But Gordo invites Simon and Robyn to dinner and they are impressed with his home.  When Gordo leaves them alone, Simon continues to make fun of Gordo, but Robyn doesn't approve of Simon making fun of Gordo.  In fact, she kind of feels sorry for him. When Gordo returns, the conversation turns to Gordo.  He admits that his wife has just left him and taken his children.  Simon and Robyn are getting increasingly creeped out by Gordo and Simon finally tells him to stop coming around.

And then Robyn and Simon's lives start to take a nasty turn.  The fish in the pond die and their dog goes missing.  When Simon returns to Gordo's house where they had dinner, the woman who answers the door doesn't know any Gordo.  They receive a letter from Gordo saying goodbye but the letter implies there are some amends that need to be made.

Robyn, unnerved by what has happened, starts doing some sleuthing and uncovers a disturbing incident involving Simon and Gordo. She also discovers what her husband is capable of. The past has caught up with Simon.

Let the revenge begin, and what starts out to be a standard stalker film turns into something quite different as Simon's true nature is revealed.

Jason Bateman has created a niche for himself as kind of a charming jerk.  He did it comedically in "Bad Words" and he does it dramatically here in this unusual thriller.

Joel Edgerton who stars as Gordo, also directs in his feature debut and, though this film initially screamed of Lifetime Movie (and if you are not sure what I mean by that, check out my blog post "Lifetime Movies: A Baby Boomer's Appreciation"), it morphs into something quite different that will surprise you.

Rebecca Hall is a British actress that I highlighted back in March 2014 - "15 Really, Really Good Actors You Have Never Heard of..."  I have been expecting her to break out into super stardom, but despite roles (many of them as Americans) in "The Town" and "Iron Man 3," she has yet to carry a film on her own.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a little bit of Lifetime Movie but a compelling story with a lot of good acting and twists and turns that will satisfy you on a rainy Saturday night at home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The End of the Tour (2015)

 

 

 

 

  

 

A dramatization of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace (Jason Segal), which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's groundbreaking 1996 epic novel, "Infinite Jest."

Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segal star in this true-to-life depiction of a five-day promotional tour where Rolling Stone Reporter David Lipsky (Eisenberg) traveled with Wallace (Segal) and they formed a bond.

The film begins with Wallace's suicide and Lipsky remembering those five days 12 years earlier (this is not a spoiler. Wallace was a real person who killed himself.  See my link above).

In 1996 Lipsky is a Rolling Stone reporter but he also a writer.  At a book reading for one of his books, though, no one shows up.  That is in complete contrast to Wallace's book reading where he is practically a rock star.

This is not lost on Lipsky, but he is also a big Wallace fan and proposes that Rolling Stone send him to interview Wallace as he promotes his acclaimed third book "Infinite Jest."  Lipsky sets off to the small college where Wallace teaches and the two of them travel from Bloomington, Illinois to St. Paul, Minnesota together - the last leg of Wallace's book tour.

Wallace is at first reclusive and difficult - a modern day Salinger who is uncomfortable with his fame.  He's also a hippie with long hair and an ever present bandanna, awkward, unsocialized but with a droll self-deprecating sense of humor.  He is not comfortable with the celebrity he has achieved. He tells Lipsky that his book is about loneliness and "if someone is interested in reading a 1000 page book [they]must have loneliness issues." 

They share candy, Diet Rite soda and they talk about movies ("Die Hard" being a favorite).  Wallace makes long discourses on writing, marriage, women and Alanis Morissette

But over time, Wallace opens up.  He worries about being a fame whore and says things like "writing books is like having children.  You are proud of them but don't want them to reflect on you." 

He also shares that he doesn't drink because he is a recovering alcoholic who was depressed in his 20's and worried that he would kill himself so he went into treatment.  Likewise, he doesn't have a TV, because he would "watch it too much." In other words, he has an addictive personality.

Their conversations are fraught with word play and one-upmanship as they seek to know each other but not give away too much. Over the course of these discourses, their relationship changes from reporter and subject to friend and mentor, though there are undercurrents of jealousy as Lipsky admires Wallace and wants to be him. 

But over time, Lipsky becomes disillusioned somewhat by his hero as Wallace reveals more and more about his demons.  We want our heroes to be better than us and when Wallace says he just wants to be a regular guy, that disappoints Lipsky. We look up to our heroes, never realizing they are real people with their own insecurities and fears.

Based on Lipsky's book published in 2010 (ironically "Rolling Stone" never published the proposed article), titled "Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself," and adapted by Donald Margulies, director James Ponsoldt has put together an engaging two man tour de force punctuated by cool 90's music.

Whenever I see these movies that are mostly two-handers, I think of "My Dinner With Andre," which to me was one of the firsts of this kind of film - just two people talking but what they are talking about is so interesting, they are so interesting, that it is not the least bit boring.  That's what this movie is like.

Jesse does a good job of being Jason's straight man and letting him carry the film, though he certainly holds his own.  He keeps his usual twitchy mannerisms to a minimum.  Segal, who we have come to know mostly through comedies, is a revelation here and shows his acting depth.

The end of an author's book tour can be a let-down as the writer returns to the solitary life of a writer.  I was sorry to see it end too.

Rosy the Reviewer says.. This is an acting tour de force and a treatise on the loneliness of a writing life and you don't need to know anything about Wallace to appreciate it.

 

 

***My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project***

 

 

 

 

271 to go!

 

Have YOU seen this classic film?

 

 

Project A 2 (1987)

Sergeant Dragon Ma Yue Lung (Jackie Chan) is part of the Royal Hong Kong Navy at the turn of the last century and is transferred to the Sai Wan district to keep an eye on Superintendant Chun (David Lam) who is suspected of corruption in this sequel to Chan's "Project A."

Dragon also has to contend with pirates, gangsters and anti-Manchu revolutionaries.

The film begins with some pirates remembering what Dragon did to them in Part 1 so they vow revenge.  Meanwhile, Dragon is sent to fix the corruption waged by Superintendant Chun.

Chun is a bad dude.  He stages arrests and has no qualms about shooting people to make it look like he is keeping the peace.

The dubbing is terrible (I can't understand why so many of the Chinese police officers have cockney accents either) and the actors are overacting all over the place, but that's part of the fun.  You don't go to a Jackie Chan film for the acting.  You go to see some fantastically choreographed martial arts fights.  And he includes feisty women in it too.

Despite a somewhat cartoonish feel, there is something about this film that is charming, compelling and fun, harking back to old fashioned film-making with an easy to follow, though far-fetched plot, some very good guys and some very bad buys and some incredible kick-ass fight scenes.

Jackie is an unlikely hero but so likable you can't help but get caught up in this tale.

Why it's a Must See: "The plot is only a framework, an excuse for Chan to present us with one mind-blowing set piece after another...Watching him evade, jump, spin, and improvise his way out of a savage beating is to experience the joy and exhilaration of meticulous comic timing and old-fashioned slapstick.  He makes it look easy, but the outtakes that run under the end credits (a tradition in Jackie Chan movies) reveal the set pieces to be painstaking dangerous work.  But why [is] the sequel [the best]?...it is here that one finds Chan at the peak of his powers...when he was still young, fast, and agile, before age and broken bones inevitabley slowed him down."
---"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die"

Rosy the Reviewer says...Great fun!

 

 

 

***Book of the Week***

 

 

The Happiness Project: or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin (2011)

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon.  She realized that "The days are long, but the years are short. Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to happiness.

Oprah has given Rubin her highest endorsement.  She has had her on her Super Soul Sunday program and that's where I first heard about this book.  If Oprah says she is worthy, that's good enough for me.

And who doesn't want to be happier?

So I checked out the book from the library, and you know what, she has some great ideas to make your life a lot happier.

Rubin didn't have the resources to move to Paris (which is what I wish I could do) or do the "Eat, Pray, Love" thing, nor did she want to.  She wanted to improve the life she already had.  She chronicles her year of living her life differently, in a way that made her happier, each month setting a new resolution, such as: remembering to be loving, to make time for friends and to pay attention.  She immersed herself in reading all sorts of inspirational books from Thoreau to the Dalai Lama to find out what worked for her.

And you know what she discovered?

That the smallest of changes can make the biggest differences: from singing in the shower in the morning to always kissing her husband good morning and good night, to the "one minute rule:" she didn't postpone any task that could be done in one minute.  She put away her umbrella; she recycled.  And she added the "evening tidying up rule" which took 10 minutes but made the morning routine much easier.

Those are just some of the things she discovered. See what works for you.

Rosy the Reviewer says...don't we all want to be happier?  Here is some inspiration.  

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for Reading! 

That's it for this week.

 

See you Tuesday for

"15 Ways to Help Abolish

the Holiday Blues" 

 

 

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Find the page for the movie, click on "Explore More" on the right side panel and then scroll down to "External Reviews."  Look for "Rosy the Reviewer" on the list. Or if you are using a mobile device, look for "Critics Reviews." Click on that and you will find me alphabetically under "Rosy the Reviewer."