MATT DAMON IN THE MARTIAN

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4DoO-uMmhPARygh-uk8IVsD2karU8Ezp6x6WQcd7l8eMIzK47vFHNQ0lP6O5IL-m7uz_wZz8VKQlgHNW8nP_Yqc1WWYW4LsfKsb6Sz2aLoxS3pYzjmwvfRB0q5Vvj3WFOKJOrZXkL0Y/s1600/The-Martian_poster_goldposter_com_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4DoO-uMmhPARygh-uk8IVsD2karU8Ezp6x6WQcd7l8eMIzK47vFHNQ0lP6O5IL-m7uz_wZz8VKQlgHNW8nP_Yqc1WWYW4LsfKsb6Sz2aLoxS3pYzjmwvfRB0q5Vvj3WFOKJOrZXkL0Y/s640/The-Martian_poster_goldposter_com_4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Year: 2015 Cast: Matt Damon, Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain Director: Ridley Scott</td></tr> </tbody></table> This CASTAWAY meets SILENT RUNNING with more than a touch of GRAVITY is set far, far away with Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded on Mars. His character, Mark Watney, is the team's botanist and must survive after being left for dead following a raging storm, until he's possibly... hopefully... but not very likely... rescued. Well that's the plot in a nutshell, and this tale of desperation and survival seemed the right fit for Damon, whose likable personality alone could have made the interstellar Robinson Crusoe completely entertaining: Too bad so much time is spent on Earth where NASA bigwig Jeff Daniels and company are forced to politically decide whether to send the returning ship back to Mars; but only after telling them their missing man is still breathing.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaqKD5H1plRzshb_LVi6RYRHyzm20HMO-aPzMwmmCo0qSpP5w5ixQaSNWtFrofc3-h1CfvPyvIkImXmLDjWaXPKfIFok6tiWhlUv3Y13Lcdp-UKZ8VSprnKMVUJaFRasUG81FN7SDdhg/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-10-03+at+12.59.03+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaqKD5H1plRzshb_LVi6RYRHyzm20HMO-aPzMwmmCo0qSpP5w5ixQaSNWtFrofc3-h1CfvPyvIkImXmLDjWaXPKfIFok6tiWhlUv3Y13Lcdp-UKZ8VSprnKMVUJaFRasUG81FN7SDdhg/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-10-03+at+12.59.03+AM.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt Damon</td></tr> </tbody></table> Right when the stranded-alone element gets intense and suspenseful, we cut back and forth to characters with reputations, not their lives, on the line, where scenes on Earth merely fill time with scientific exposition while the rescue ship's crew (including Jessica Chastain and Michael Peña) act too breezy and loose, making Damon's potentially enthralling solo plight a lazy afterthought. In fact at one point he actually points out (aloud to himself) how amazing it is to have survived that long on Mars, and it's true. Yet we never quite experience his genuine struggle and suffering from all the distractions. So basically, in the case of THE MARTIAN, Houston <i>is</i> the problem.<br /> <br /> RATING: **<br /> REFERENCES & TRIVIA: The movie CASTAWAY starred Tom Hanks as a man stranded on an island, and was not science-fiction unlike GRAVITY, which we all know about, and the claustrophobic 1970's cult flick SILENT RUNNING where hippie botanist Bruce Dern survives alone in outer space. And as for the literary Crusoe mention, there is an old movie called ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS, which has nothing to do with this motion picture nor the reference therein.

2015, jeff daniels, jessica chastain, matt damon, michael peña, ridley scott, science-fiction, sean bean

MATT DAMON IN THE MARTIAN

Year: 2015 Cast: Matt Damon, Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain Director: Ridley Scott This CASTAWAY meets SILENT RUNNING with more than a t...

REVIEW OF A MOST VIOLENT YEAR

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRe-H3aXKmBeDhRQe69OCur2FFZ5ZkK6cJVVxSsYHXPP9tqDVNcPmfbxv_bSUujE5m6rXihJfnCiu_KSG7R4yYOr5BghJqXYCsx7Acxct0zk1bmWr_8lSDwk1qEcPOMTKF5JvG-FIYtxg/s1600/most_violent_year.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRe-H3aXKmBeDhRQe69OCur2FFZ5ZkK6cJVVxSsYHXPP9tqDVNcPmfbxv_bSUujE5m6rXihJfnCiu_KSG7R4yYOr5BghJqXYCsx7Acxct0zk1bmWr_8lSDwk1qEcPOMTKF5JvG-FIYtxg/s200/most_violent_year.jpg" width="125" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> A famous line in the infamously dull GODFATHER PART III had Al Pacino shouting that no matter how he tries to get out, they keep pulling him back in… The opposite occurs in A MOST VIOLENT YEAR where real criminals are shoving a relatively honest bootlegger, with one week to purchase an important piece of land, out of business… <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> From his trucks being robbed to armed goons breaking into his mansion, Oscar Isaac’s Abel Morales is a man with a master plan who won’t let anything get in his way...<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Ocz5uoMUpjG7n2M3pPlnMww0Eh1Bh8Y9U7osZbuFeZnybR4v_AFRlutN0YFvYHzq7pABeJfKh-j1DQrQWKOMbeBfZEI2H4SSjEhzCTciOrYZ_tkd8PXCtsEawD8CVAgdR27L26f1zN0/s1600/photo7_10388.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Ocz5uoMUpjG7n2M3pPlnMww0Eh1Bh8Y9U7osZbuFeZnybR4v_AFRlutN0YFvYHzq7pABeJfKh-j1DQrQWKOMbeBfZEI2H4SSjEhzCTciOrYZ_tkd8PXCtsEawD8CVAgdR27L26f1zN0/s200/photo7_10388.jpeg" width="135" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;">Oscar Isaac</td></tr> </tbody></table> With a solid helmet of dark slightly-graying hair, piercing eyes and an overall steely countenance, Issac has all the makings of an old school gangster the likes of Pacino, Robert DeNiro and the guy he somewhat resembles a leading man version of, Chazz Palminteri. Unfortunately the film, a two-hour collection of backroom meetings, conversations and confrontations, makes this potentially solid character less relevant and meaningful to the mob genre than even Andy Garcia in… the aforementioned disappointment.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> Like any subtle crime melodrama that spends more time ticking than exploding, providing businesslike realism over pulpy gun play, the suspense is based on each word spoken: And Abel stands behind everything he says – in an otherwise good performance despite the limitations. Meanwhile his wife Anna, played by Jessica Chastain, remains on the sidelines despite having her own form of wily strength and edgy wisdom. What a team they <i>could have</i> made… But nothing really comes of their actions except random reactions, and with two truck robberies, a road chase and an ass-kicking aside, if this were A MOST VIOLENT YEAR, we missed most<i> </i>of it. <b>OVERALL RANK: Jedi, Rebel, <u>Droid</u>, Sith.</b>

2015, albert brooks, jessica chastain, mob, oscar issac

REVIEW OF A MOST VIOLENT YEAR

2015 rating: **1/2 A famous line in the infamously dull GODFATHER PART III had Al Pacino shouting that no matter how he tries to get out...

REVIEW OF CHRISTOPHER NOLAN'S INTERSTELLAR

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKG8HR4mdGYaXUY0gaww8mRq5vY4n4_ZDDMofA8yAipPp2uNJyeykCsXCOtxhw47sgzR91bP76zhLfuyOS2Prqwo09ARgIZUcxNN-gddbZWvEL5VaPaQCp3pigrfzV7Hrw7CkyGR6PCk/s1600/7Du30vM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKG8HR4mdGYaXUY0gaww8mRq5vY4n4_ZDDMofA8yAipPp2uNJyeykCsXCOtxhw47sgzR91bP76zhLfuyOS2Prqwo09ARgIZUcxNN-gddbZWvEL5VaPaQCp3pigrfzV7Hrw7CkyGR6PCk/s400/7Du30vM.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> At one point during INTERSTELLAR, Matthew McConaughey’s Cooper is being told that a fifth-dimensional being is trying to logically communicate something to three-dimensional humans, and a mindblown Cooper says aloud that he still doesn’t get it: So this time around, writer/director Christopher Nolan outsmarts and outfoxes both his audience<i> and</i> main character... Although there is a fair share of down-home simplicity... <br /> <br /> A tale about a rural farmer, longing for a purpose in life and who ends up in the far reaches of space, might seem a tad familiar... And just as we get to know Cooper and his children – living on an Earth devastated by ferocious dust storms – he alone winds up soaring to the mysterious heavens.<br /> <br /> For a three-hour film, it’s a surprise that any aspect could be “too rushed.” Yet the amount of time our potential hero goes from the ground to the sky is as quick as a few instructive paragraphs spouted by the chief NASA scientist (Michael Caine). <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> While super-intelligence is essential in any genuine sci-fi flick, and wormholes and black holes are always an intriguing premise, there's so much explaining and anticipating what needs to be done that surprisingly, very little actually happens: These intrepid voyagers, including Anne Hathaway’s straight-laced Amelia and a sarcastic robot, experience some extremely close calls and a tremendous amount of docking and spinning, but no real adventure. And whether in space or back on a future Earth… two stories fusing into a M. Night Shyamalan style twist… there’s no one to completely root for except McConaughey, who can make any character likable.<br /> <br /> Christopher Nolan's power can't be denied: His DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY created an immense fan base nearly equaling the nostalgic likes of Spielberg, Lucas, Kubrick or any iconic director you choose… But his ambitiously epic INTERSTELLAR both overreaches and overwhelms… Not just the audience and characters, but the genre itself: With so many complicated instructions we hardly see the damn thing work!

2014, christopher nolan, jessica chastain, matthew mcconaughey, michael caine, science-fiction

REVIEW OF CHRISTOPHER NOLAN'S INTERSTELLAR

year: 2014 rating: ** At one point during INTERSTELLAR, Matthew McConaughey’s Cooper is being told that a fifth-dimensional being is try...

MAMA

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ft5ibMCcINgofJrE6RtVOX1zoldJjDTgpTGr0yy_Efu8GYX5X-MCZY9ADYIlsUkqTQgtKwVYVw2nrFR3WmnobFoIKNnOOsYC81aA5JTvM-eA9PTvLBvQbk1DBDAtClXfd5pZo0vBqlM/s1600/mama+james+m+tate+reviews.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ft5ibMCcINgofJrE6RtVOX1zoldJjDTgpTGr0yy_Efu8GYX5X-MCZY9ADYIlsUkqTQgtKwVYVw2nrFR3WmnobFoIKNnOOsYC81aA5JTvM-eA9PTvLBvQbk1DBDAtClXfd5pZo0vBqlM/w640-h346/mama+james+m+tate+reviews.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 2013<b> cast:</b> Jessica Chastain, Megan Carpenter, Daniel Kash<b> rating:</b> **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Over a decade ago, when they re-released THE EXORCIST in theaters, adding a deleted scene where Linda Blair’s possessed Regan walks upside down on all fours – referred to thereafter as the “Spider Crawl” – it was both chilling and nightmarish. So here’s to a new generation of Spider Babies, two of them reared in the woods by a mysterious wraith known as MAMA and then adopted by their city slicker uncle and aunt to be raised domestically… Good luck!<br /> <br /> Uncle doesn’t matter since he’s given a<i> break </i>halfway through – as he recovers in the local hospital, Jessica Chastain’s grungy rocker Annabel stays at a big house to watch over the two wild children; Victoria and her younger sister Lilly: both a cross between literary wolf-raised kids and the kind of possessed brats popular in horror films.   <br /> <br /> The stipulation from an investigative Doctor Dreyfuss (sort of a medical version of the Exorcist himself) is that the only way the couple could adopt the children would be to stay at this particular cursed dwelling. And like all “haunted house” movies, you have to stretch disbelief to the limit as to why anyone would stick around such a formidably spooky pad, especially when Mama, a stretched-out demonic witch seemingly born from gangely vegetation, keeps appearing with enough vengeful shrieks and moans to wake a thousand dead souls.<br /> <br /> The shock value works well on two important levels: The setting is ominous, giving the impression anything can happen at any time – and there’s an abundance of successfully spooky jolts that occur out of nowhere, several having the title character rushing toward the screen in an ominous whoosh!  <br /> <br /> The director (and producer) knows how to manipulate nightmare images, but towards the middle and end are too many computer effects. Plus, the suburban house location is much scarier than the woodsy cabin where the story begins and that several characters sporadically return to.  <br /> <br /> What’s better off implied becomes much too visible: That being Mama, who can be pretty darn scary, sure, but those two little girls crawling around during the first twenty minutes provide just as many, if not more, chills to the old spine. 

2013, horror, jessica chastain

MAMA

year: 2013 cast: Jessica Chastain, Megan Carpenter, Daniel Kash rating: **1/2 Over a decade ago, when they re-released THE EXORCIST...

TOM HARDY SURVIVES LAWLESS

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-n-sWeUVIbnSMlMBTqnEZ15bsjIISG4042_pU29HsmqTaL8WLueVp4CL_ra3slGYEvjss4TsInBSjPy74ilUGjG9AvwaAil9R_LBjzF-PZ7QJWVu1mG2rFPWCQMvAaH_R4lxLy407B4m/s1600/Lawless_Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-n-sWeUVIbnSMlMBTqnEZ15bsjIISG4042_pU29HsmqTaL8WLueVp4CL_ra3slGYEvjss4TsInBSjPy74ilUGjG9AvwaAil9R_LBjzF-PZ7QJWVu1mG2rFPWCQMvAaH_R4lxLy407B4m/s640/Lawless_Poster.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2012 cast: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Fans of 1970’s cinema or television have seen this kinda story a thousand times over: backwoods siblings run moonshine and go up against the law. But this is a <i>true</i> story of the Bondurant brothers and how they beat the odds – and then some.<br /> <br /> The bros couldn’t be more different: there’s the tough as nails Tom Hardy's Forrest, who can’t die no matter what’s thrown at him; Howard, the rock steady oldest; and the youngest, Jack... Shia LaBeouf in a worthy performance despite not looking "redneck" enough... who lacks guts and backbone. This is the perfect character to follow through the first half as he learns from his experienced elders how the game is played. Threatened into partnering with a crooked deputy, played with snarky bravado by Guy Pearce, the brothers decide to keep running things their way – and wind up close to dead and penniless. That’s when Jack takes the smart move (ala Al Pacino in THE GODFATHER) and joins with mobster Gary Oldman... and the money flows.<br /> <br /> The women are gorgeous and talented but don’t do much for the story. Jessica Chastain’s subtle romance with Tom Hardy’s lethal quiet man seems more filler than Jack’s chaste courtship with the preacher’s mousy, soft-spoken daughter. But LAWLESS is all about the ultra-violence between the crooked lawmen and the “invincible” Bondurants, who hold their ground till the bloody end: although the first half, as the tension builds, packs more wallop than the somewhat gratuitous resolution. With so many antagonists, it’s tough to figure what the brother’s are fighting for, or what they’re up against, exactly. Yet Pearce makes a worthy maverick villain, and if anything else, you’ll root for his downfall alone.

2012, action, gary oldman, guy pearce, jessica chastain, shia labeouf, tom hardy

TOM HARDY SURVIVES LAWLESS

year: 2012 cast: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain rating: ***1/2 Fans of 1970’s cinema or television have seen this...

MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXM16jsMDlhVPp1h_mFytYnFhYJJcpMDmLPkNstHvG5oQTzz55v6zVG4yWVYZCh45lkwOHWrFinNmx-sswLbweXXsTIRwLHui99LAdTgSDPF7Mfo8JgCjEIxBU7dqbG5ho4eKwBKUASN9/s1600/Madagascar_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXM16jsMDlhVPp1h_mFytYnFhYJJcpMDmLPkNstHvG5oQTzz55v6zVG4yWVYZCh45lkwOHWrFinNmx-sswLbweXXsTIRwLHui99LAdTgSDPF7Mfo8JgCjEIxBU7dqbG5ho4eKwBKUASN9/s640/Madagascar_3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <b>year:</b> 2012 <b>voices:</b> Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jessica Chastain <b>rating:</b> **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> Starts with our beloved zoo animals stuck in the purgatory that is Madagascar – but the penguins aren’t having it. They take off to gamble in Monte Carlo, leaving behind the Lion, Zebra, Hippo, Giraffe: all bored silly.<br /> <br /> Not even a handmade rendition of their hometown New York City will quench the tedious doldrums. They’re even more homesick, prompting the idea to somehow get back home!<br /> <br /> So they decide to travel to find the penguins, providing the best scenes. The animals don’t exactly fit within the civilized world, and a chase from Monte Carlo through the streets of France, tailed by the evil cop Chantel DuBois (a modern Cruella De Vil), is fast paced and suspenseful.<br /> <br /> So when our heroes find safe harbor in a train full of circus performers, including a bitter has-been daredevil Tiger and a sexy jaguar (Jessica Chastain with a French accent), things come together and fall part at the same time. <br /> <br /> Although it’s fun seeing the non-professionals trying their best in the circus – and then retraining for a second attempt – there’s too much brooding downtime. A sporadic love story between the Lemur and a giant bear is not only gross but just isn’t funny. And everyman Ben Stiller, in providing the underdog Lion’s voice, sounds too much like himself – remember when professional voice-actors became the characters instead of the other way around?<br /> <br /> Despite the flaws it’s a wonderful looking journey, but that’s only when things are moving. Most important, with all the vibrant colors surrounding the herd of familiar faces, your kids will be satisfied.

2012, ben stiller, children, chris rock, computer animated, jessica chastain, sacha baron cohen

MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED

  year: 2012 voices: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jessica Chastain rating: **1/2 Starts with our beloved zoo animals stuck in the purga...

THE DEBT

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ffxpmGdGEG8cRlNivWd-4maOh5XS32KXLaO9WLVfGGM3LIToK8s3S_qjrfGY8CdZf9d4zCflNp8zmaGG6tGb7Rj_WMWdowBRR0tR2DTGaWhfNBhxOaRtkRW-i-8lwOvO91_KkYQ_0Rsg/s1600/2011_the_debt_022.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651346137925616898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ffxpmGdGEG8cRlNivWd-4maOh5XS32KXLaO9WLVfGGM3LIToK8s3S_qjrfGY8CdZf9d4zCflNp8zmaGG6tGb7Rj_WMWdowBRR0tR2DTGaWhfNBhxOaRtkRW-i-8lwOvO91_KkYQ_0Rsg/s200/2011_the_debt_022.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 173px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> THE DEBT<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 2011<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">cast:</span> Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> ***1/2<br /> <br /> An entertaining thriller dealing with the past and present (although the<span style="font-style: italic;"> present</span> is 1997, but you get the idea) delivers the goods, mostly when it centers in 1965: where three Mossad Secret Agents plan to kidnap a former Nazi doctor and bring him to Israel to stand trial.<br /> <br /> The chemistry between Jessica Chastain as Rachel, Sam Worthington as David, and Marton Csokas as Stephen... holing up for a<span style="font-style: italic;"> human heist... </span>are some of the best moments, really putting you inside the bleak, contained atmosphere of an East Germany tenement.<br /> <br /> The agent’s personalities: the gorgeous Rachel can kick ass, David is brooding and calculating, and Stephen's an artistic charmer, give each a color and style of their own. And although they fail at delivering the kidnapped Doctor to a departing train, they decide to keep him around till another possible chance.<br /> <br /> Here’s where things get personal, as the tied-up heavy, played with goading villainy by Jesper Christenson, gets into the agent’s heads: all having lost relatives in the War. This pivotal mainline is successful enough to make one forget it’s merely a flashback... returning to Helen Mirren as the older Rachel, whose daughter has written a book about their supposed slaying of the infamous Nazi.<br /> <br /> The second half fails to deliver like the back-story. The characters, being older, have lost their intensity and, in dealing with a burdensome guilt, do nothing but sulk towards a conclusion. But once our aged protagonist gets one last assignment, all envelopes into a worthy thriller far surpassing the dull title.

drama, espionage, helen mirren, jessica chastain, nazi, sam worthington, tens

THE DEBT

title: THE DEBT year: 2011 cast: Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain rating: ***1/2 An entertaining thriller dealing with the past and p...

THE HELP

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94sUAQOAd1wdvVA5Qq8t7eLAqylGsEkhivFu6Ai4vJohbyPQsgbpd8cOoe0l025MZifx4f2rsxVsBWfkWXY-BesU_QoARy197Qquy-hTN-cY9YKk1enBKUy0dGPibZBu7S4ymMRweqpAO/s1600/the-help-31.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644503107138847570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94sUAQOAd1wdvVA5Qq8t7eLAqylGsEkhivFu6Ai4vJohbyPQsgbpd8cOoe0l025MZifx4f2rsxVsBWfkWXY-BesU_QoARy197Qquy-hTN-cY9YKk1enBKUy0dGPibZBu7S4ymMRweqpAO/s200/the-help-31.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 166px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> THE HELP<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">year:</span> 2011<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> **<br /> <br /> <div> A lightweight take on an important subject – African American maids in the South during the turbulent early 1960s, with Emma Stone as Skeeter, a journalist who decides to write a book on the perspective of “the help,” beginning with an interview with central maid Abileen, played by Viola Davis, and the chemistry between these two… the core of the film… is practically non-existent.<br /> <br /> A lifeless Stone seems more fitting to a High School dramedy – and in one aspect she is: since Bryce Dallas Howard, as the ostensible Hilly – embodying every ounce of racism into a single character – acts more like a campus bully than a spoiled Belle. By the time Abileen agrees to tell her stories, something practically illegal in the town, there’s little to no drive for the audience to be part of, nor a feeling the controversial project has any sense of urgency or deep ramifications. And Viola Davis, an obviously capable actress, seems alone in a performance meant as a team effort.<br /> <br /> It’s the side-story involving the rambunctious overweight Minnie (a role created to steal the film), played by Octavia Spencer, and dimwitted white trash Jessica Chastain that… in a few scenes centering on Minnie’s advice on cooking and life… embodies more scope than the bland mainline. And Bryce Dallas Howard’s eventual “just dessert” is so unrealistic and juvenile, it’s begging for the audience to cheer, “YAY!” Director Tate Taylor’s agenda centers more on pleasing and/or manipulating the audience than to fulfill a significant story, shedding brighter light on the sway of the leaves than the storm that had caused it. </div>

drama, emma stone, jessica chastain, oscar nominated 2012, period piece, tens

THE HELP

title: THE HELP year: 2011 cast: Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis rating: ** A lightweight take on an important subject – ...