Showing posts with label Viola Davis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Viola Davis. Show all posts
A Delicious Film To Savor
Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) has reached a crossroads in her life. She has come to the realization that she just no longer wants to be married to Stephen (Billy Crudup). They have different visions, hopes, dreams, and have grown into different people.
So she has decided to change things in her life. While travelling towards her official divorce, she decides to take up with David (James Franco). He is an actor, much younger than herself, and the classic rebound guy. But David can’t fulfill that part of Liz that is restless. So she is about to set out on a yearlong journey in an attempt to find out more about herself.
The journey will visit Italy where Liz will eat like she never has eaten before. She will experience all that is put into some of the best food the world over. She will share it with friends that she meets along the way and experience all that Italy can offer her.
On from Italy she journeys to India, where she will meet up with The Guru that is at the center of her experience with prayer. Meditation and finding her spiritual awakening will be at the crux of this visit. While in Italy, she spends little time with the guru that leads the group, instead she meets a man who will fill her with more than she can ever imagine. Richard (Richard Jenkins) has a story, and knows what Liz is experiencing. His wisdom will show her more than she could ever hope for.
And finally, a return to visit a medicine man in Bali just may yield the keys to her rediscovering what love is.
Julia Roberts is solid as Liz, but some of the supporting characters tend to really carry the film. Richard Jenkins stands out as the man with a back story that drives him to get right in his spiritual life.
When critics talk about things being filmed beautifully, or great cinematography, Eat Pray Love is what we are talking about. As you journey through three far flung locales you can’t help but feel the location, almost acting as another character throughout.
Ryan Murphy directs this film that appeals to women in such a way that will enhance the viewing experience. He tightens up parts of the film to keep the running time under the 2 hour and 15 minute mark. Despite the running time, it seemed like there was a number of scenes left on the cutting room floor that would have enhanced the early scenes.
I liked the Italy experience best, but I think women will enjoy the final journey in Bali. This is an experience, and the journey is the film. Women will easily enjoy this film more than me; that said Eat Pray Love is a delicious experience meant to be savored.
B-
Eat Pray Love
Columbia Pictures
Director: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Julia Roberts, Richard Jenkins, Javier Bardem, Billy Crudup, James Franco, Viola Davis
Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexual references and male rear nudity.
Runtime: 133 minutes.
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Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) has reached a crossroads in her life. She has come to the realization that she just no longer wants to be married to Stephen (Billy Crudup). They have different visions, hopes, dreams, and have grown into different people.
So she has decided to change things in her life. While travelling towards her official divorce, she decides to take up with David (James Franco). He is an actor, much younger than herself, and the classic rebound guy. But David can’t fulfill that part of Liz that is restless. So she is about to set out on a yearlong journey in an attempt to find out more about herself.
The journey will visit Italy where Liz will eat like she never has eaten before. She will experience all that is put into some of the best food the world over. She will share it with friends that she meets along the way and experience all that Italy can offer her.
On from Italy she journeys to India, where she will meet up with The Guru that is at the center of her experience with prayer. Meditation and finding her spiritual awakening will be at the crux of this visit. While in Italy, she spends little time with the guru that leads the group, instead she meets a man who will fill her with more than she can ever imagine. Richard (Richard Jenkins) has a story, and knows what Liz is experiencing. His wisdom will show her more than she could ever hope for.
And finally, a return to visit a medicine man in Bali just may yield the keys to her rediscovering what love is.
Julia Roberts is solid as Liz, but some of the supporting characters tend to really carry the film. Richard Jenkins stands out as the man with a back story that drives him to get right in his spiritual life.
When critics talk about things being filmed beautifully, or great cinematography, Eat Pray Love is what we are talking about. As you journey through three far flung locales you can’t help but feel the location, almost acting as another character throughout.
Ryan Murphy directs this film that appeals to women in such a way that will enhance the viewing experience. He tightens up parts of the film to keep the running time under the 2 hour and 15 minute mark. Despite the running time, it seemed like there was a number of scenes left on the cutting room floor that would have enhanced the early scenes.
I liked the Italy experience best, but I think women will enjoy the final journey in Bali. This is an experience, and the journey is the film. Women will easily enjoy this film more than me; that said Eat Pray Love is a delicious experience meant to be savored.
B-
Eat Pray Love
Columbia Pictures
Director: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Julia Roberts, Richard Jenkins, Javier Bardem, Billy Crudup, James Franco, Viola Davis
Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexual references and male rear nudity.
Runtime: 133 minutes.
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| Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman |
PRISONERS (2013). Director: Dennis Villeneuve.
The young daughter of Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman of The Wolverine) and her friend disappear, and the main suspect is a geeky guy, Alex (Paul Dano), with a van and the mind of a ten-year-old. The police haven't found enough evidence to arrest Alex, so Keller and his friend, Franklin (Terrence Howard of Iron Man), whose daughter also disappeared, kidnap him in an attempt to get him to talk, a situation that leads to horrible torture that appalls Franklin and his wife (Viola Davis of Doubt) even as Keller reminds them of how their children are also suffering. There's also a priest (Len Cariou) who has a corpse in his basement, which may or may not figure in with the main case. Jake Gyllenhaal [Source Code] is the detective trying to figure out what Keller is up to, and Melissa Leo is Alex' horrified mother; both are quite good. Jackman offers an outstanding performance as the tormented, enraged and desperate father; he has a particularly good scene in tears in the police station. Prisoners is absorbing and thought-provoking, but the mentally deficient suspect is a cliche, and there are improbable moments, such as when cops don't call for back-up or ambulances. Still, it certainly holds the attention and has some powerful sequences.
Verdict: This probably won't work for everyone. ***.
The young daughter of Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman of The Wolverine) and her friend disappear, and the main suspect is a geeky guy, Alex (Paul Dano), with a van and the mind of a ten-year-old. The police haven't found enough evidence to arrest Alex, so Keller and his friend, Franklin (Terrence Howard of Iron Man), whose daughter also disappeared, kidnap him in an attempt to get him to talk, a situation that leads to horrible torture that appalls Franklin and his wife (Viola Davis of Doubt) even as Keller reminds them of how their children are also suffering. There's also a priest (Len Cariou) who has a corpse in his basement, which may or may not figure in with the main case. Jake Gyllenhaal [Source Code] is the detective trying to figure out what Keller is up to, and Melissa Leo is Alex' horrified mother; both are quite good. Jackman offers an outstanding performance as the tormented, enraged and desperate father; he has a particularly good scene in tears in the police station. Prisoners is absorbing and thought-provoking, but the mentally deficient suspect is a cliche, and there are improbable moments, such as when cops don't call for back-up or ambulances. Still, it certainly holds the attention and has some powerful sequences.
Verdict: This probably won't work for everyone. ***.
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| Andromeda: Like Benjamin Bratt, everything's too casual |
When an entire town is suddenly wiped out by a plague, scientists are called in to identify the organism, possibly extra-terrestrial in origin, that killed everyone, and find out why two people -- an old man and a baby -- survived. They take them to a hidden base to try and find the answers. One scene in particular illustrates the problem with this three hour remake of 1971's far superior The Andromeda Strain. Project leader Jeremy Stone (Benjamin Bratt of Catwoman) confers with a colleague while sitting in a very casual position that belies the urgency of what's going on, a problem with the telefilm in general. [I'm not saying people might not relax even during a crisis, but this is supposed to be a thriller, right?] The movie is padded with unnecessary scenes, such as entire tiresome sequences built around a reporter played bv Eric McCormack, who is good but at times seems to be reverting to Will of Will and Grace,and much more is made of the political/paranoia angle than before. The performances are okay but Kate Reid of the original film is sorely missed, although Daniel Dae Kim, Viola Davis, and Andre Braugher make more of an impression than the others. In this the old man survivor, Tobler (Tom McBeath, who is good), is more dimensional, and one character, Major Keane (Ricky Schroder), is openly gay [yet conservative], but the script doesn't allow him to be a hero. It's interesting that one of the producers of this ultimately tedious TV production is Ridley Scott, whose Alien sort of borrowed the climax of the original (a character desperately racing to countermand an order to self-destruct), a scene repeated in this with some variations but which still manages to lack tension and excitement. To be fair there are a couple of creepy moments, and the early sections may be compelling to people who are unfamiliar with the story.
Verdict: Stick with the original. **.