MICHAEL FASSBENDER AS STEVE JOBS

<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/AVvXsEj8GgWrl8XUK0RBLf5-TNWTdvzwoEe6f22SayHVCyo5_l0W7nrHuKApX1R7DiaDlHWeIRXARxzGWq3OE-_s-evdabKqRoIMJ4Vdj_SI8XCKYqCvY_7QxE8BtANh2AtBGEuQnxiCvxMN5Xk/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-10-17+at+4.23.35+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GgWrl8XUK0RBLf5-TNWTdvzwoEe6f22SayHVCyo5_l0W7nrHuKApX1R7DiaDlHWeIRXARxzGWq3OE-_s-evdabKqRoIMJ4Vdj_SI8XCKYqCvY_7QxE8BtANh2AtBGEuQnxiCvxMN5Xk/s320/Screen+shot+2015-10-17+at+4.23.35+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 director: Danny Boyle</td></tr> </tbody></table> What could have been titled, YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO TALK RIGHT NOW? or CAN'T WE DISCUSS THIS LATER ON? is an art-house jigsaw representation of the STEVE JOBS legacy, covering all the sketchy mere-moments before three various Product Launches: the first post-Apple II Macintosh Computer; the failed yet subliminally strategic NeXT system; and the iMAC that brought both Jobs and Apple back to life: Right before Steve hits each stage we get frantic discussions from various people including Seth Rogen's sarcastic yet bluntly serious and logically effective Steve 'Woz' Wozniak, who was Job's partner in the beginning garage days, and simply wants his groundbreaking technological importance revealed and complimented, aloud; Jeff Daniels, as former Pepsi turned Apple CEO John Scully, loathes his own stiff suit reputation; and most important of all, Jobs' unwanted daughter, Lisa, hanging around backstage, is what everything is really about. But not entirely...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEjAs9DIJB37ri8Fy5n_L3oXaKRt_WMhqsR58YjjTw08MxxaMjbyjsYOPQ8k_UNiQ_E26BSqO7CIKwbPlFcYU1FV8hu7_88z-Otwz9dmauha1xxqKNw4wfVxEuOmSGECxgQaNScHBELhRfU/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-10-17+at+11.51.47+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/AVvXsEjAs9DIJB37ri8Fy5n_L3oXaKRt_WMhqsR58YjjTw08MxxaMjbyjsYOPQ8k_UNiQ_E26BSqO7CIKwbPlFcYU1FV8hu7_88z-Otwz9dmauha1xxqKNw4wfVxEuOmSGECxgQaNScHBELhRfU/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-10-17+at+11.51.47+AM.png" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael & Kate</td></tr> </tbody></table> Kate Winslet more than deserves second tier credit as marketing executive/faithful assistant Joanna Hoffman, speaking with a partial, never-distracting accent in a thankless yet equally significant role as she gathers all Steve's concerns, sets him up with each guest/visitor, stubbornly remains an ignored moral compass and makes sure he's able to rule each show without a single hitch. The biggest catch is we never see any actual speech or demonstration that's been fervently planned: Cutting to the next level before each vignette concludes, STEVE JOBS is a hybrid of RESERVOIR DOGS (hectically discussing what's never witnessed within confined, often claustrophobic boundaries) and A CHRISTMAS CAROL, the man himself a sort of mechanical Scrooge not quite owning-up to each "ghost" – haunting him like (what often seems like) guilt-driven hallucinations. <br /> <br /> <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/AVvXsEj2jPJpaIuZ9YALZidKIKk44UgdIVDGOCW16xhGnM1zO4u8NcgO9UG0vQsSURCsEQHkAil2rpcV8nu6uWUNXi0inymU2i9ykUvPfs_sM9quZwYetShNIPHfv-mWJkJAUwe-vAQ_HYMuy9I/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jPJpaIuZ9YALZidKIKk44UgdIVDGOCW16xhGnM1zO4u8NcgO9UG0vQsSURCsEQHkAil2rpcV8nu6uWUNXi0inymU2i9ykUvPfs_sM9quZwYetShNIPHfv-mWJkJAUwe-vAQ_HYMuy9I/s320/2.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cult Film Freak's retro work station</td></tr> </tbody></table> Already controversial for making Steve look like a complete scoundrel, Michael Fassbender actually plays the role with such subtle and natural finesse that might have been more dramatic, dynamic and edgy had the original choice, Christian Bale, remained on board... For in this case, the energy just sort of happens <i>around </i>Fassbender as we learn... also through creatively edited flashbacks... how Apple came about; then broke off into Mac; Jobs being fired and all that modern history jazz you can simply read about online or view in other projects <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2013/08/jobs-vs-pirates.html">(PIRATES OF SILICON VALLEY with Noah Wyle recommended over Ashton Kutcher as JOBS)</a>...<br /> <br /> It's during the literally last-minute problems that the man, the myth, the legend, and most of all, the resilient entrepreneur surprisingly never gets too frantic or frazzled while being perpetually cornered, and whose headstrong denial drives him, and the movie itself, past any flaws... And there <i>are </i>a few: Things get a bit stagey as we occasionally detour into Soap Opera territory. But like this old Macbook computer being used right now, it's the stuff inside the machine that causes things to flow so nicely, making one unaware what can possibly go wrong, because during each moment it all just seems... pretty alright while it's... you know... all going on.<br /> <br /> RATING: ****

2015, biopic, danny boyle, jeff daniels, kate winslet, michael fassbender, seth rogen

MICHAEL FASSBENDER AS STEVE JOBS

year: 2015 director: Danny Boyle What could have been titled, YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO TALK RIGHT NOW? or CAN'T WE DISCUSS THIS LATER ON...

JOSH BROLIN IN LABOR DAY

<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/AVvXsEjgrvRiO2Atn5NsGW_GDHHIapjaq1elMej4Cern5DBg5RpTE9yqu-yAs8g6ast1kXTOYrrdFrmFNy_nEXUv4xK1h-457ALK1aj94R37FYVnSaenrN0WcKeEx5mLCR2SizJyqEeBzJYEIPk/s1600/laborday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrvRiO2Atn5NsGW_GDHHIapjaq1elMej4Cern5DBg5RpTE9yqu-yAs8g6ast1kXTOYrrdFrmFNy_nEXUv4xK1h-457ALK1aj94R37FYVnSaenrN0WcKeEx5mLCR2SizJyqEeBzJYEIPk/s1600/laborday.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">year: 2014 rating: **1/2</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;">In any romance there needs a tinge of excitement and danger to make it all worthwhile, and LABOR DAY has a premise that true love is not only blind, it can also be illegal… </span><br /> <br /> But the “chick flick” aspect is merely a cover. LABOR is more of a melancholy <i>coming of age</i> story, centering on our narrator voiced by Tobey Maguire, the grownup version of Gattlin Griffith’s Henry, the 7th grade son son of depressed single mother Adele played by Kate Winslet. Taking place in a small town circa 1987, the first act centers on mom and son meeting Frank, a wounded man that happens to be an escaped convict: Herein, Josh Brolin has the slowburn intensity perfect for the role but director Jason Reitman tones down the suspense… as Frank talks Kate and Henry into taking him home… so there’s very little tension, making the eventual thug-to-lug transition not matter like it should.<br /> <br /> Brolin and Winslet have a steamy Noir sizzle but their lusty relationship, through the son's eyes, is more perceived than experienced. As the story progresses we’re given sporadic reminders that the law is (literally) just outside the door, and that Frank is a wanted man. Take away the criminal aspect and this is a pretty normal family baking pies, playing catch, and fixing cars. If he's a good husband at night he’s an even better father during the daytime.  <br /> <br /> Glimpses into Frank’s past… how he wound up in jail in the first place… are inserted mysteriously, without being intrusive, but the real stuff occurs when young Henry attends school, hangs with a blunt young girl (Maika Monroe), and figures out life on his own: The suspense relies on how much accidental information he’ll disclose about mom – to the local cop or his real dad – who’s no longer so miserable and/or alone. <br /> <br /> Perhaps LABOR DAY is too cozy when it should have been more ominous and unpredictable… Feeling like a last ditch effort, the final act provides a mad dash of suspense while the long-winded epilogue, summing up the future of the main characters, desperately crams all the syrupy romance the rest of the movie surprisingly (and for men forced to see this, thankfully) left out.

2014, josh brolin, kate winslet, maika monroe, romance, tobey maguire

JOSH BROLIN IN LABOR DAY

year: 2014 rating: **1/2 In any romance there needs a tinge of excitement and danger to make it all worthwhile, and LABOR DAY has a prem...

CARNAGE

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKsyR9gtTt0uN9Y8Am_HuVxaVdgo4NwHDEHwV9XpT5t4waahiLal6USsIKUtw7tgjROFV8-pPqyFeztkPMhtK4HnkHRjg2AsubOFrYurGYirtTmemVgDI8UvT-CzLGonVK9Z3zlPfG02d/s1600/Carnage-2011-Kate-Winslet_Jodie-Foster_John-C.-Reilly_Christoph-Waltz-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKsyR9gtTt0uN9Y8Am_HuVxaVdgo4NwHDEHwV9XpT5t4waahiLal6USsIKUtw7tgjROFV8-pPqyFeztkPMhtK4HnkHRjg2AsubOFrYurGYirtTmemVgDI8UvT-CzLGonVK9Z3zlPfG02d/s320/Carnage-2011-Kate-Winslet_Jodie-Foster_John-C.-Reilly_Christoph-Waltz-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b>title:</b> CARNAGE<br /> <b>year: </b>2011<br /> <b>cast:</b> Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly, Christoph Waltz<br /> <b>rating:</b> ***1/2<br /> <br /> In Roman Polanski’s first feature film, KNIFE IN THE WATER, he kept us interested in three people on a small boat. Cut to many years later: four people are bickering inside a tiny apartment consisting of two couples in a particularly uncomfortable situation: Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly’s son was beat up by the son of Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz, and they plan to work it out. The first half… what should be called a “round”… sticks close to the issue at hand – after which, when the characters get unraveled and eventually drunk, the conversation embodies a broader scope: each neurotic personality shown in the light. Jodie Foster, as the most uptight and opinionated member of the group, fares well as the story's instigator but eventually goes overboard as the stress mounts; while Kate Winslet provides a few good moments but is otherwise limited by the results of a reoccurring stomach flu. Christoph Waltz, as a blunt, metronomic lawyer, is glued to his cell phone, which becomes an important character in itself. But it’s John C. Reilly, as Foster’s working class husband spouting the funniest and most unpredictable lines, who really steals the show. The first round works best – the dialog's lively and fresh with the actors in peak form. But after a while, and a few shots of bourbon, the atmosphere gets a bit too stagey and we forget, like the characters, about the purpose of the meeting. And beware of an extremely… abrupt… ending.

christoph waltz, jodie foster, john c. reilly, kate winslet, roman polanski, tens

CARNAGE

title: CARNAGE year: 2011 cast: Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly, Christoph Waltz rating: ***1/2 In Roman Polanski’s first...