INHERENT VICE, is the seventh feature from Paul Thomas Anderson and the first ever film adaption of a Thomas Pynchon novel.
When private eye Doc Sportello’s ex-old lady suddenly out of nowhere shows up with a story about her current billionaire land developer boyfriend whom she just happens to be in love with, and a plot by his wife and her boyfriend to kidnap that billionaire and throw him in a loony bin…well, easy for her to say.
It’s the tail end of the psychedelic `60s and paranoia is running the day and Doc knows that “love” is another of those words going around at the moment, like “trip” or “groovy,” that’s being way too overused—except this one usually leads to trouble.
With a cast of characters that includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, LAPD Detectives, a tenor sax player working undercover, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentists... Part surf noir, part psychedelic romp—all Thomas Pynchon.
The film stars Oscar nominees Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, and Owen Wilson; Katherine Waterston, Oscar Winners Reese Witherspoon and Benicio Del Toro; Martin Short, Jena Malone, and musician Joanna Newsom.
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| Done, and done! |
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| No. Seriously. That’s exactly what happened. |
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| Interview Conducted by Todd Sokolove |
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| Warner Bros / Released 12/16/14 |
When their father passes away, four grown siblings (Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver and Corey Stoll), bruised and banged up by their respective adult lives, are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother (Jane Fonda) and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. Confronting their history and the frayed states of their relationships among the people who know and love them best, they ultimately reconnect in hysterical and emotionally affecting ways amid the chaos, humor, heartache and redemption that only families can provide—driving us insane even as they remind us of our truest, and often best, selves. Extras include commentary, featurettes, deleted and extended scenes.
Last Word: Ensemble films are tricky business, and those set around a family are particularly delicate when it comes to casting. We as an audience need to believe that not only are these actors related, but also believe in the verisimilitude of their dynamics. This is Where I Leave You might not have an ensemble that looks like they shared the same womb, but they certainly make themselves believable. Unfortunately, the movie itself never lets these characters do much else, which is a shame since the ensemble (which also includes Kathryn Hahn, Rose Byrne, Timothy Olyphant, Connie Britton, Ben Schwartz and Debra Monk) is wasted with an underwritten emotional base. This is Where I Leave You is light and enjoyable, which in some ways belittles the actual plot of a dysfunctional family being forced to sit Shiva together. Recommended, but ultimately forgettable.
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| Sony / Released 12/16/14 |
Acclaimed magician Stanley Crawford (Academy Award Winner Colin Firth) dazzles his audiences with feats of supernatural amazement. But when it comes to the inexplicable, Stanley is a dedicated skeptic. Enter Sophie Baker (Emma Stone), psychic, soothsayer, and stunning seductress. As Stanley and Sophie embark on misadventures up and down the French Riviera, will they discover proof of a world beyond the laws of physics or have they fallen under the sway of a more earthly chemistry? Woody Allen pulls the strings with precision in this enchanting romantic comedy that explores the realm between what's understood in our minds and what's known in our hearts. Extras include featurettes.
Last Word:Magic in the Moonlight is a romantic comedy with Woody Allen’s telltale wit that harkens back to his The Purple Rose of Cairo. Allen seems to have a love and affinity for Old Hollywood and it shows.Magic in the Moonlight takes place during the roaring 20’s on the stylish French Riviera. Colin Firth plays Stanley Crawford, an arrogant, aristocratic Englishman who who is secretly Wei Ling Soo, a famous, Chinese magician.
As a master of illusion, Stanley sees no real magic in the world. He believes in only cold, pure logic. To him, magic is all tricks and slight of hand. And he revels in exposes psychic and mediums as being fakes. So when his long-time friend and fellow magician, Howard Burkan (Simon McBurney), ask for his help in exposing Sophie Baker (Emma Stone), an American psychic that is plaguing a wealth family, Stanley jumps at the chance to expose her.At first Stanley is completely dismissive of Sophie.
He finds her beneath him. Being neither well-educated nor having any breeding, he sees no way she could compete with him. He declares that he will be able to debunk her in no time. However, as time goes Stanley comes no closer to exposing Sophie as a fake. On the contrary, she is able to delve into Stanley’s past through her “mental images”, tuning into personal information she could have not possible way of knowing.
Against his better judgement, Stanley begins to believe that Sophie may be the genuine article, causing him to reevaluate the way he looks at life and the world around him. His new view shines a different light on Sophie herself. Stanley begins to see a magic there between them as well.
Firth is perfectly cast as the stiff Englishman. He blusters through each scene, always confident that he knows more than anyone else in the room. Emma Stone does her best to act as a quick-witted, American foil to Firth’s stuffy, proper aristocrat but mostly seems out of her depth. She’s not bad, she’s just not as good as the rest of the cast around her. She is surrounded by actors and actress that have won Oscars and or have been appointed CBE by the Queen. In this company, one can’t fault her for looking a little out of place as the girl hired to be the pretty face. Dame Eileen Atkins plays the wonderfully spirited, wealthy Aunt that we all wish we had. Oscar winner, Marcia Gay Harden takes a turn as Sophie’s eye-on-the-prize mother, and Jacki Weaver is lovable as the widow who just wants the comfort of hearing again from her deceased husband. Their delivery of Allen’s dialogue is vintage Woody Allen.
Woody Allen loves this time era. His attention to detail goes beyond costumes and sets. His collaboration with cinematographer Darius Khondji gets the film of the time right. From the framing of the shots to the lighting of the characters to the coloring of the film, Magic in the Moonlight feels like a film of Old Hollywood. (– Elizabeth Robbins)
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| Lionsgate / Released 12/16/14 |
When estranged twins Maggie (Kristen Wiig) and Milo (Bill Hader) feel they're at the end of their ropes, an unexpected reunion forces them to confront why their lives went so wrong. With an irresistible mix of humor and heart and a stellar supporting cast including Luke Wilson and Ty Burrell, The Skeleton Twins follows Maggie and Milo's unforgettable journey to reconnect, as they realize that the key to fixing their lives may just lie in repairing their relationship. Extras include commentary, featurettes, gag reel, outtakes and deleted scenes.
Last Word: The Skeleton Twins quietly became one of my favorite films of the year. Years of working together on Saturday Night Live certainly informed the chemistry of Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader as two suicidal, estranged twins who reconnect unexpectedly. Both of the characters are survivors; neither coming to terms with their father's suicide, their poor relationship with their emotionally distant mother and their own damaged histories. And despite their relationships with other people (Luke Wilson plays Maggie's husband, Lance and Ty Burrell plays Milo's former English teacher, Rich), the film does an excellent job conveying their own complicated histories both as individuals and as family. Both characters are tremendously flawed people, but by the end of the film, it's pretty had to be rooting for them. Highly recommended.
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| Review by Clay N Ferno |
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| Review by Atlee Greene |
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| Review by Benn Robbins |
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| Review by Clay N Ferno |
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| Review by Caitlyn Thompson |
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| Review by Clay N Ferno |
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| Review by Caitlyn Thompson |
