[6] Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt) directs from a script by Bob Nelson this father/son road trip story about a senile old man who mistakenly thinks he’s won a Publisher’s Sweepstakes and insists on getting to Lincoln, Nebraska, to pick up his winnings — at any cost. Bruce Dern plays the old man and Will Forte plays his son. This is one of those movies …
[8] I haven’t particularly liked any Rob Zombie movies until this one, which is strange because his devoted fans — by and large — detest this movie. The Lords of Salem features masterful style and cinematic execution, often reminding me more of a Stanley Kubrick or David Lynch film. Sheri Moon Zombie stars as a young woman who unwittingly opens the door for a coven …
[7] Michael Douglas plays Liberace for director Steven Soderbergh in this fast-paced tragi-romantic-dark comedy about the famed pianist’s five-year relationship with a man forty years his senior. Matt Damon plays young Scott Thorson, the naive pretty boy who falls under Liberace’s spell. Their relationship is highly odd, sometimes disturbing, but often tender — definitely compelling enough to hang a movie on, especially when it’s so …
[7] Martin Scorsese remakes Casino, only instead of the Las Vegas gambling backdrop, we now have the shady thievery of Wall Street. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jordan Belfort in this true story of Belfort’s rise to highly successful stock-broker and his fall into federal crimes and drug use. The Wolf of Wall Street is three hours long, but it moves briskly and is never boring. …
[5] Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl star as real-life race car drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, who became world-famous adversaries in the 1970s. Ron Howard (Apollo 13, Backdraft) directs from a script by Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon), so I was expecting more of a character drama, but the characters and their interesting relationship are relegated to broad strokes. Most of the film flits …
[3] I enjoyed the blend of dark humor and horror that Eli Roth brought to his first film, Cabin Fever. And even though it was pretty much torture porn, I thought Hostel had merit, too. But The Green Inferno is a mess to me. I instantly hated the characters. Granted, I think we’re supposed to hate them, but since the whole cannibal thing doesn’t really …
[7] Four magicians team up with a wealthy benefactor to basically rob from the rich and give to the poor in enormous productions that garner them more and more celebrity. Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Woody Harrelson, and Isla Fisher play the magicians, while Michael Caine plays their sugar-daddy — but it’s Mark Ruffalo who actually stars in Now You See Me, as we experience the …
[8] Director Steve McQueen (Hunger, Shame) brings to life the true-life story of Solomon Northup, a free black man from New York who is kidnapped and sold into Southern slavery. Northup endures two different owners and many harrowing experiences before attempting to reach out for help from his friends in the North. McQueen succeeds in making very palpable the fear and danger that comes in …
[5] Bobcat Goldthwait takes us to Bigfoot country in this found-footage film about a Sasquatch enthusiast who drags his girlfriend into the woods to help him shoot a documentary at the site where the famed Roger Patterson footage of the creature was recorded back in 1967. On one hand, this is easily one of the best Bigfoot movies ever made, but that really isn’t saying …
[6] Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this ambiguous mystery about a man who becomes obsessed with tracking down his perfect doppelganger. Upon meeting, the two men (both played by Gyllenhaal) are confused, jealous, and fearful of each other. Things come to a head when they agree to switch places in their romantic relationships, a move seemingly prompted by perceived jealousy and a desire for sexual infidelity. …
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