Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty

               Zero Dark Thirty is a fascinating film which challenges my beliefs without preaching ideology or shoving politics in my face.  Jessica Chastain is killer as Mia the CIA agent doggedly pursuing Bin Laden despite countless barriers.  In fact, several of the actors create a credible, terse reality in the intelligence agency.  Zero Dark Thirty reminds us of several tragic events that happened in the years after September 11th and provides a poignant  quiet moment in the last seconds of the film that left me declaring that Chastain should win Oscar gold.  For a thought-provoking, morality-questioning film, look no further than Zero Dark Thirty.
             

Downton Abbey Season 3: A Picture Response to a Devastating Episode

Get ready for Oprah's Ugly Cry, but first:

Sybil, Tom, and their sweet family

               If you haven't watched the last of Downton Abbey season three, stop reading now.  I mean it. As for me, I had this episode spoiled months ago when I accidentally read a comment on a youtube trailer.  Here, in picture form, I can finally fully respond to the revelations of last Sunday's episode.


1.  This is how devastated/angry I was when I stumbled on the spoiler that told me the tragic new of the episode months earlier.

Just let me be angry.

2.  This was how I felt when they were not taking Sybil to the hospital.

Okay fine, come back, but LEAVE NOW

3.  I felt for poor Daisy and the poor kitchen maid who faced the wrath of a woman scorned.

Daisy has enter the friend zone.

4.  And now, for the devastating finale, when Sybil, the sweetest spirit at Downton, tragically died, forever changing Downton and sending even Carson and the Dowager into deep depression...

Ugly Crying

Ugly Crying and Eating

      

J.J. Meet Jar Jar: Star Wars Has New Hope with Director J.J. Abrams

George Lucas and J.J Abrams: Directors of Star Wars

               J.J. Abrams is one of my generation's film and television gurus.  When his name is attached to something, I typically trust that the storytelling, characters, and adventure will be above par.  Look at his track record.  He's generated shows like Alias and Lost and movies like Super 8 and Star Trek.  The man knows his way around a franchise with a huge wealth of mythology and mystery and is notorious for holding his cards close and not revealing spoilers.  While I wasn't clamoring for a new Star Wars film, hearing that Abrams is officially set to helm the next Star Wars is intriguing.  Knowing that the screenwriter of Star Wars VII also wrote Toy Story 3 (aka the movie that sent a world of grownups back to their childhood) doesn't hurt my interest in the next chapter in the Star Wars Universe.  If Abrams can create such fresh life and vigor in Star Trek, why not take over Lucas's Wars as well?  I doubt we have to worry about any Jar Jar-Gate controversies.

Austenland gets Stellar Review at Sundance

Austenland

          Fan, coming from fanatic describes how many people are when it comes to Jane Austen's works.  When I heard that Keri Russell was to take the main role in Austenland, based on a story of a girl swept up in a pretend Austen-like world, I was rather fanatic myself.
          The reviews are coming out from Sundance, where Austenland was screened, and they have been raving for both the supporting cast and Ms. Russell herself.  Described as a broad, original comedy, the film celebrates and kindly juxtaposes the world of Austen and the modern world.  I for one, want a ticket when Austenland hits the theaters of the common people.

Downton Abbey Season 3 Episode 2: Picture Response

Downton Abbey Season 3, Episode 2

              Downton Abbey was recently knocked down and called the Ford Fiesta to the Aston Martin of Shakespeare by Brit actor Jeremy Irons.  Well, man who voiced the lion Scar in the Shakespearean Lion King, be prepared for backlash...

Be Prepared Jeremy Irons

                    If Downton Abbey is like a Ford Fiesta, it only means it's a fun, quirky spin on tradition.  It doesn't aspire to be Shakespeare, so it doesn't really deserve to be compared to it.  Being a beloved, of the people show isn't a bad thing.

Ford Fiesta (aka Downton Abbey)

              Now, moving on, last Sunday's S1E2 of Downton brought with it a Ford Fiesta sized load of trouble.  Here, in picture form, is my response to various moments of the show.

1.  Ms. Hughes telling the beloved butler Carson her tumor was benign equaled one of the cutest musical reactions to good news ever.  Carson had a Disney princess moment while he cleaned.

Happy Working Song, Enchanted

2.  Matthew receives a rather too perfect letter releasing him from any guilt over taking money from the relation of his jilted, dead fiance.  It was a little too easy of a fix.

3.  Lady Edith, that obnoxious old man with the lopsided mouth does not deserve you, and you didn't deserve to be humiliated at the alter.  I wish for a time machine so that I could bring you some Nutella from the future.

Can we note how great it is that the spoon in the Nutella is labeled "spoon," as if we needed the clarification?

       

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

                  While I am the first to admit that I didn't know any high school students as self-aware and self-assured as the teenage "misfit toys" in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I still hold that Perks is an emotionally poignant tale of the difficult lives of people in touch with their delicate and complicated selves. These people are so aware of themselves, so aware of life, that it is difficult to live happily in the fold.  Instead, they are relegated to the edges.  On those edges, they will live their lives "infinitely."
            Logan Lerman (Jack and Bobby, Percy Jackson) plays the broken but not ruined Charlie with such heartbreaking fragility.  I constantly fought the urge to weep for him and for his group of lovable and breakable friends.  While much praise as been heaped on Emma Watson and Ezra Miller for their memorable and often vulnerable roles as Charlie's ringleaders, but it is Lerman who really holds the power of the film.
          As a side note, I loved that Joan Cusack appeared as a voice of reason doctor near the end of the film.  She has been the source of wisdom in more movies than I can think of (Raising Helen, My Sister's Keeper, Runaway Bride....)  I am going to start using her name as a verb when someone offers wisdom.  "You've been Joan Cusackced, You're welcome."

Star Trek Into Darkness: Another Reason to love J.J. Abrams

J.J. Abrams

           I stumbled across this story yesterday, and had to share.  A New Yorker recently diagnosed with terminal cancer really wanted to see the new, shrouded in secret Star Trek Into Darkness 9 minute trailer.  He wasn't able to, but director J.J. Abrams did him one better.  Make that one hundred times better.  The rough cut copy of the film arrived at Dan Craft's home. (The film doesn't hit theaters until May.)  Craft and his wife were able to watch the film that no one knows anything about because of the J.J. Abrams no spoilers policy.  I appreciate not knowing everything about Star Trek, but I really appreciate Abrams sharing his story with a passionate film lover before he died.  When film nerds unite, it is sometimes a beautiful story.