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Gerwig’s ’LITTLE WOMEN’ Is Exquisitely Crafted, Beautifully Acted Holiday Delight

In 1868, Louisa May Alcott introduced the world to Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy in her semi-autobiographical novel “Little Women”. Alcott’s novel was almost immediately met with huge commercial success and has gone on to be retold generation after generation. First adapted for the screen in 1917 as a silent film, Little Women has gone on to become a cultural reflection of its times, a new version unspooling every twenty years or so to capture the attention of new young audiences. From 1933’s Katharine Hepburn cut to 1994’s Gillian Armstrong take (whose all-star cast included Winona Ryder, Christian Bale, Claire Danes, Susan Sarandon, and Kirsten Dunst), Little Women is a story destined to play on repeat. And, in this one such example, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.  Read More

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Out in Theaters: ‘DEMOLITION’

Life has a tendency to zip forward on a single, amusement ride track until something or someone comes barreling out of the shadows of entropy to buck your stated momentum and set you serendipitously down a new path. 17th century physicist Isaac Newton described the phenomenon in which colliding forces impress upon one another an equal and opposite reaction in his famous Third Law, which describes both why someone struck by a moving vehicle would find their chest caved in and someone catching a bad edge going a cool 30 mph on decade old skis would find their wrist contorted in all kinds of wrong directions. Read More

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SXSW ’16 Review: ‘DEMOLITION’

Life has a tendency to zip forward on a single, amusement ride track until something or someone comes barreling out of the shadows of entropy to buck your stated momentum and set you serendipitously down a new path. 17th century physicist Isaac Newton described the phenomenon in which colliding forces impress upon one another an equal and opposite reaction in his famous Third Law, which describes both why someone struck by a moving vehicle would find their chest caved in and someone catching a bad edge going a cool 30 mph on decade old skis would find their wrist contorted in all kinds of wrong directions. Read More

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Out in Theaters: AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

“August: Osage County”
Directed by John Wells
Starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Sam Shepard
Comedy, Drama
121 Mins
R 

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If you had told me going into August: Osage County that I was in store for two of the finest performances of the year I probably would have scoffed. But after having gone through the dirty laundry with the Weston family, I can assure you that it certainly does. The ever-dependable Meryl Streep is on top of her game here and, surprisingly enough, Julia Roberts does more than just hold her own against the queen of Hollywood. In fact, she’s nearly just as great.

As acidic matriarch Violet (ironically one letter away from violent) Weston, Streep puts in the kind of work that put her on the map. Although she’s as despicable as the worst of the year, there’s just as much going on behind Violet’s pill-faded facade that she doesn’t reveal. Too bad her automated knee-jerk reaction is to lash out at her family because, with a performance like Streep’s, you can see the suffering in this cantankerous crustacean. She just can’t help but fight.

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At times reminiscent of Ellen Burstyn‘s monumental performance in Requiem for a Dream, seeing Streep’s crumbling mental barricades is no fun task but it is still no less a marvel. Playing opposite her, Roberts is a wonder as well. It’s been a long time since Roberts has had anything legitimate to offer so it’s a welcome change that she taps us on the collective shoulder, reminding us that she can indeed act with the best of them.

Filling out the terrific supporting cast is a perpetually clueless and never amiss Juliette Lewis, a self-righteous and awkwardly tweened-out Abigail Breslin, a powerful beyond the pages performance via Chris Cooper, Margo Martindale doing Margo Martindale, Ewan McGregor in a complicated but not completely fulfilling role, the always delightful Sam Shepard in a small but important role, and a bumbling, insecure and totally unexpected Benedict Cumberbatch as none other than the aptly named Little Charles. Calling it a stacked cast is an understatement, especially with so much prominence placed on the performances. These people aren’t here to sell you on name recognition. They’re here to act.

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The events that gets the whole gang together begin when Violet’s husband (Shepard), and father to the three girls (Roberts, Lewis, and Julianne Nicholson) suddenly disappears. He’s a drinker, she’s a pill popper and their relationship is hovering somewhere in the red zone of the domestic-abuse-o-meter. So no one is surprised that he’s up and left without so much as a note. But as the events of his disappearance start to become clear, rather than coming together as a family as one might in the midst of loss, the emotional explosions just get more volatile.

Each time the family gets together, it’s like setting a ticking time bomb and waiting to watch it explode. Whenever they sit down at dinner, each comment is a turn in hot potato as we wait to see which of the family will explode in an emotional meltdown first. Their sanctimonious battles are at once hysterical and revolting, making you thankful that you’re not a part of the Weston clan but also reminding you of your own family battlegrounds.

Much like real life, throughout the film, the closer we are to the dinner table, the more tension seeps in. Accordingly, the more people at the table, the more riveting and on edge the film is. Without a place to run, you stew like a sack of potatoes, until blam! You never quite know who or what is going to pop out when they’re stacked around that unchivalrous table of food. Word for the wise: around the Weston household, tread lightly. But as we fade away from that central table – that catalyst of action – things do tend to get a little flabby.

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But aside from a few minor complaints revolving around a splattering of moments of unnecessary melodrama, August: Osage County is a surprisingly good film that I can find little to criticize. However, if you’re the sensitive type who like things wrapped up in a neat package or are uncomfortable with watching a family bicker for two hours and not really resolve anything, this probably isn’t the film for you. So I guess this really isn’t a film for most people.

Although the icky subject matter will be enough to turn general audiences away, those looking for a bonafide acting showcase need look no further than this Southern familial upset. Although director John Wells has done a great job of adapting the energy of Tracy Letts‘ source material, it still feels very much like a theater performance. Between the explosive and deeply personal acting, tightly confined spaces, and webs of dangling intermittent issues, in August, we feel like we’re in the midst of a really great play.

B+

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AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2 Trailer Features 3 Villians Because That Worked So Well Before

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In a move of unprecedented studio genius, The Amazing Spiderman 2 has decided to go big or go home, introducing a stable of villains for this second installment of a franchise that people could not be more excited about. While the film originally seemed like it would just be a Spidey vs. Electro showdown, the villians have been adding up piece-by-piece to make up the much-loved triple villain assault. As you’ll probably remember, fans and critics alike swooned over Spiderman 3, easily the favorite of Sam Raimi‘s trilogy, with many pointing to the inclusion of three separate villians, each with their own origin storyline, as the highlight of the film. Celebrated critic Roger Ebert said, “Spiderman 3 soars but I couldn’t help but wish that there were 4 villians.”

Joined by Rhino – Paul Giamatti in a big Rhino-shaped robot suit – and Green Goblin – Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) encouraged to be a dick to ol’ friend Peter Park by a bed-ridden Norman Osborn (Chris Cooper) – Electro aims to wipe out Spiderman because he’s a man dressed like a spider and that kind of nonsense just won’t fly. Because, honestly, what’s worse in life than a wackjob in a costume going around stopping petty crime? That’s right – nothing.

Even more exciting is the fact that you can clearly see hints for EVEN MORE VILLAINS TO COME in this trailer. The most obvious of which is Doc Octopus’s evil eight-armed-suit that is chilling in a tank. It likes like even though dear Robert won’t have lived to see the day when his dream came true, the rest of us living will finally be granted our ultimate wish of seeing four (no five, oh god let it be six) supervillains in one Spiderman movie.

Take a look at this trailer which looks nothing like a video game and makes complete sense. 

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