This afternoon I saw Molly's Game, starring Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba.
Molly Bloom (Chastain) was an unhappy L.A. cocktail waitress when one of her restaurant bosses invited her to organize a poker game for his high-profile friends. This film tells the story of how she orchestrated a good game, then took it over and made millions on both coasts.
It would be hard to argue that anyone does crackling dialog better than Aaron Sorkin and this film is no exception. It's so quick and fast you don't have much time to breathe, but that's okay—the lengthy running time is forgivable because not a second is wasted. Sorkin also directed the film, and did a damn fine job.
Aside from drowning in Chastain's gratuitous cleavage, there's really not much wrong with the movie. They make Tobey Maguire's character (referred to as "Player X") almost likable, with Michael Cera playing him, though what he did to Ms. Bloom in real life is far worse than what's shown in the movie. They emphasize how hard Bloom's father (played here by the always-reliable Kevin Costner) was on her, and that provides the perfect excuse for why she's so strong and somewhat unlikable herself.
Idris Elba saves the day as the earnest lawyer, determined to keep is client out of jail, though she's guilty of everything of which she is accused.
If it sounds as if I'm just delivering critiques in pieces, it's because I am. That's how I digest Sorkin films digested because there's so much to absorb. To say that Chastain is "good" wouldn't do her justice. She's phenomenal and the camera is barely off of her for the duration. Every supporting character is strong, every note hit just right to strike the needed balance.
This is one of those rare occasions where I saw the film before I read the book, and the book will have to be stellar to beat it.
~~~
Showing posts with label Jessica Chastain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jessica Chastain. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 03, 2018
Sunday, November 22, 2015
The Martian
This morning I saw The Martian, starring Matt Damon and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
There is a NASA mission to Mars that gets interrupted by a terrible sandstorm. Because of the severity of the weather, the commander of the ship, Melissa (Jessica Chastain), chooses to have the team abort the mission. As the evacuation begins, the botanist on board, Mark (Damon), gets hit with debris and is presumed dead. The other astronauts safely continue their mission, mourning his loss.
But he didn't die. He was injured and knocked out, but very much alive.
And there we begin ... the nerve-wracking 2+ hours of seeing if he can successfully grow food, navigate unpreventable disasters, make contact with NASA and keep his sanity. It's a tough ride, but one we've been on before.
Reminiscent of films like Gravity and Moon, the film centers around the solitude of the main character, but at least here we have a balance of scenes with the folks back home. Chiwetel Ejiofor delivers a fantastic performance as the Mars head-honcho, though Kristen Wiig, as an essential NASA employee seems displaced. Damon is predictably solid, as is the always-badass Chastain.
Sure, it's interesting to watch the scientific process for how to make food if you're ever stranded on a deserted planet. It's undoubtedly enjoyable to see the kinship amongst astronauts rivaling that of soldiers at war. But what keeps it from being a "great" American film is the crime of formula.
We know what's going to happen every step of the way, even if we're not sure how they're going to get there.
The characters were likeable, the situation of the initial accident very believable, but the outcome was terribly predictable.
Go see it if you want a fun ride, but not if you're seeking something new.
~~~
There is a NASA mission to Mars that gets interrupted by a terrible sandstorm. Because of the severity of the weather, the commander of the ship, Melissa (Jessica Chastain), chooses to have the team abort the mission. As the evacuation begins, the botanist on board, Mark (Damon), gets hit with debris and is presumed dead. The other astronauts safely continue their mission, mourning his loss.
But he didn't die. He was injured and knocked out, but very much alive.
And there we begin ... the nerve-wracking 2+ hours of seeing if he can successfully grow food, navigate unpreventable disasters, make contact with NASA and keep his sanity. It's a tough ride, but one we've been on before.
Reminiscent of films like Gravity and Moon, the film centers around the solitude of the main character, but at least here we have a balance of scenes with the folks back home. Chiwetel Ejiofor delivers a fantastic performance as the Mars head-honcho, though Kristen Wiig, as an essential NASA employee seems displaced. Damon is predictably solid, as is the always-badass Chastain.
Sure, it's interesting to watch the scientific process for how to make food if you're ever stranded on a deserted planet. It's undoubtedly enjoyable to see the kinship amongst astronauts rivaling that of soldiers at war. But what keeps it from being a "great" American film is the crime of formula.
We know what's going to happen every step of the way, even if we're not sure how they're going to get there.
The characters were likeable, the situation of the initial accident very believable, but the outcome was terribly predictable.
Go see it if you want a fun ride, but not if you're seeking something new.
~~~
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Crimson Peak
This morning I saw Crimson Peak, starring Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain.
Edith (Wasikowska) is a girl of privilege, close to her wealthy father, hoping to be a published author someday. She's a feminist before her time (this being the year 1900), who ironically chooses to follow her heart instead of her head when a handsome suitor comes calling, despite the fact she resents having to include a love story in her manuscript because she's female.
That suitor is Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), a baronet from England who's struggling to find investors for his steam drill. He hopes Edith's father will come on board, but instead gets met with more rejection. In fact, Edith's father dislikes him so much, he pays him off—on the condition that he leave Edith alone.
Thomas complies, breaks Edith's heart, and sets back to England with his wicked sister Lucille (Chastain). But tragedy soon strikes and Edith no longer answers to the good judgment of her father. She's free to follow Thomas to England, and that she does, soon marrying him and moving into the creepy castle he and his sister have all to themselves.
Things are not as they seem, though, as Edith soon finds out. Her sister-in-law won't part with the keys to the home, and weird visions occur when she's alone. She also doesn't feel so well in her new surroundings, her body growing weaker each day.
This is where the movie starts revealing its secrets and feels like classic Guillermo del Toro.
The horrific images come wrapped in sadness; their visual components so stunning you can't look away. The characters aren't merely one-note horror devices, they're complex, tragic figures who demand you at least care about how they came to be the way they are. And care we do.
We want to believe in the love Thomas has for Edith. We want to believe all of the bad in the home stems from Lucille. We want to believe the doctor back home hasn't forgotten her.
The thrilling ending has a twist this reviewer didn't see coming, and though parts of it were very gory (especially the sound effects), it has a satisfying close.
Perfect subject matter for the Halloween season, delivered with beautiful art direction and a clever screenplay.
Grab a cup of British tea and have fun with it.
~~~
Edith (Wasikowska) is a girl of privilege, close to her wealthy father, hoping to be a published author someday. She's a feminist before her time (this being the year 1900), who ironically chooses to follow her heart instead of her head when a handsome suitor comes calling, despite the fact she resents having to include a love story in her manuscript because she's female.
That suitor is Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), a baronet from England who's struggling to find investors for his steam drill. He hopes Edith's father will come on board, but instead gets met with more rejection. In fact, Edith's father dislikes him so much, he pays him off—on the condition that he leave Edith alone.
Thomas complies, breaks Edith's heart, and sets back to England with his wicked sister Lucille (Chastain). But tragedy soon strikes and Edith no longer answers to the good judgment of her father. She's free to follow Thomas to England, and that she does, soon marrying him and moving into the creepy castle he and his sister have all to themselves.
Things are not as they seem, though, as Edith soon finds out. Her sister-in-law won't part with the keys to the home, and weird visions occur when she's alone. She also doesn't feel so well in her new surroundings, her body growing weaker each day.
This is where the movie starts revealing its secrets and feels like classic Guillermo del Toro.
The horrific images come wrapped in sadness; their visual components so stunning you can't look away. The characters aren't merely one-note horror devices, they're complex, tragic figures who demand you at least care about how they came to be the way they are. And care we do.
We want to believe in the love Thomas has for Edith. We want to believe all of the bad in the home stems from Lucille. We want to believe the doctor back home hasn't forgotten her.
The thrilling ending has a twist this reviewer didn't see coming, and though parts of it were very gory (especially the sound effects), it has a satisfying close.
Perfect subject matter for the Halloween season, delivered with beautiful art direction and a clever screenplay.
Grab a cup of British tea and have fun with it.
~~~
Saturday, November 08, 2014
Interstellar
Tonight I saw Interstellar, starring Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain.
Cooper (McConaughey) is a mid-western widower and father of two who is stuck farming corn after earth becomes nearly inhabitable. In a former life he was an engineer and astronaut, and he's never gotten over the fact that the technology died out before mankind could be saved.
Murphy (Chastain) is Cooper's daughter who is convinced that a ghost in her room is trying to communicate with her. He's certain she doesn't have a ghost, but can find no scientific explanation for the weird occurrences.
The whole family (which also includes a son and a grandpa) is tested when Cooper discovers a way to possibly remedy the predicament humans have gotten themselves into. Of course, this means he has to travel through a 'wormhole' in space to explore other planets that may provide favorable living conditions, and take years off his life, but hey—he's up for the challenge.
He has a few comrades on his trip; Dr. Bryant (Anne Hathaway) the only female. When they set out on the trip, you wonder if they'll even come close to accomplishing their mission since their pleasantries are so icy, but of course they thaw out. How could they not? They have three hours to do so.
Therein lies the problem: a movie that's already been done—whether you call it Moon or Gravity or 2001: A Space Odyssey—is what you see, plus the family back home waiting for dad to come home, plus the folks at the command center, plus a few surprises in the next galaxy, plus a few cameos that you're sure were put there just because the actors wanted cameos. And a lot of spinning.
I've never been so alternately nauseous and exhausted.
Of course the acting is top notch, but with a script that struggles and sequences in space that carry on far too long, it almost feels as if you're hanging out atop a roller coaster right before it's about to go off the edge and then you drop and take that long way back to the top. Several times.
There were some jumpy moments, some tense-filled scenes, no doubt. But not enough when woven together to create a seamless film.
~~~
Cooper (McConaughey) is a mid-western widower and father of two who is stuck farming corn after earth becomes nearly inhabitable. In a former life he was an engineer and astronaut, and he's never gotten over the fact that the technology died out before mankind could be saved.
Murphy (Chastain) is Cooper's daughter who is convinced that a ghost in her room is trying to communicate with her. He's certain she doesn't have a ghost, but can find no scientific explanation for the weird occurrences.
The whole family (which also includes a son and a grandpa) is tested when Cooper discovers a way to possibly remedy the predicament humans have gotten themselves into. Of course, this means he has to travel through a 'wormhole' in space to explore other planets that may provide favorable living conditions, and take years off his life, but hey—he's up for the challenge.
He has a few comrades on his trip; Dr. Bryant (Anne Hathaway) the only female. When they set out on the trip, you wonder if they'll even come close to accomplishing their mission since their pleasantries are so icy, but of course they thaw out. How could they not? They have three hours to do so.
Therein lies the problem: a movie that's already been done—whether you call it Moon or Gravity or 2001: A Space Odyssey—is what you see, plus the family back home waiting for dad to come home, plus the folks at the command center, plus a few surprises in the next galaxy, plus a few cameos that you're sure were put there just because the actors wanted cameos. And a lot of spinning.
I've never been so alternately nauseous and exhausted.
Of course the acting is top notch, but with a script that struggles and sequences in space that carry on far too long, it almost feels as if you're hanging out atop a roller coaster right before it's about to go off the edge and then you drop and take that long way back to the top. Several times.
There were some jumpy moments, some tense-filled scenes, no doubt. But not enough when woven together to create a seamless film.
~~~
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Zero Dark Thirty
Today I saw Zero Dark Thirty, starring Jessica Chastain and Jason Clarke.
Most Americans remember the evening that President Obama announced we had killed Osama bin Laden, but few of us know how it happened.
This film aims to explain it.
Beginning with the attack on 9/11, we see a step-by-step progression of how 12-year CIA veteran "Maya" (Chastain) and a small team of her peers, learned where the terrorist was hiding and executed a ridiculously risky mission to find and kill him.
There's not a lot to spoil here, and if you're a fan of the NBC Nightly News, many of the clips will look familiar. In fact, the film—running time 2 hours, 37 min.—almost felt as if it was shot in real time because the pacing (until the big scene) was very slow.
Perhaps my expectations were too high because Director Kathryn Bigelow's last film, The Hurt Locker, had me riveted from start to finish, but this was far too long.
A few of the torture sequences could have been cut, as could the countless times we see Maya not getting the respect she deserves despite the fact we know she'll have the last word.
And it was fun to see cameos from folks like James Gandolfini and Mark Duplass, but if the movie was going to be that long, couldn't we have seen more of them?
The performances were all first rate, and Chastain will certainly be nominated for several awards; the writing is also strong with the dialog never veering away from realistic, even if many of the classified conversations had to be reinvented.
It just could have used a bit more editing.
Most Americans remember the evening that President Obama announced we had killed Osama bin Laden, but few of us know how it happened.
This film aims to explain it.
Beginning with the attack on 9/11, we see a step-by-step progression of how 12-year CIA veteran "Maya" (Chastain) and a small team of her peers, learned where the terrorist was hiding and executed a ridiculously risky mission to find and kill him.
There's not a lot to spoil here, and if you're a fan of the NBC Nightly News, many of the clips will look familiar. In fact, the film—running time 2 hours, 37 min.—almost felt as if it was shot in real time because the pacing (until the big scene) was very slow.
Perhaps my expectations were too high because Director Kathryn Bigelow's last film, The Hurt Locker, had me riveted from start to finish, but this was far too long.
A few of the torture sequences could have been cut, as could the countless times we see Maya not getting the respect she deserves despite the fact we know she'll have the last word.
And it was fun to see cameos from folks like James Gandolfini and Mark Duplass, but if the movie was going to be that long, couldn't we have seen more of them?
The performances were all first rate, and Chastain will certainly be nominated for several awards; the writing is also strong with the dialog never veering away from realistic, even if many of the classified conversations had to be reinvented.
It just could have used a bit more editing.
Saturday, January 07, 2012
Take Shelter
Tonight I saw Take Shelter, starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain.
Curtis (Shannon) is a family man. He works hard at his construction job each day to provide for his sweet wife Samantha (Chastain) and their young daughter Hannah (Tova Stewart).
Hannah is deaf and needs surgery to try out a cochlear implant. Samantha is relieved when they finally receive word that the insurance will cover it.
But Curtis begins having terrible nightmares predicting an apocalyptic storm. This takes his attention away from his family and his work. He grows paranoid about the supposed impending doom and decides to renovate the storm shelter in their backyard.
At the same time, he's keeping his elaborate (expensive) plans for the shelter from Samantha and beginning to investigate mental illness (since it runs in his family).
As we watch his obsessive paranoia increase, we feel sorry for his patient wife, and even sorrier for him. After all, he may be bearing witness to his own descent into craziness. Or is he?
Michael Shannon plays this role so convincingly, he's more fragile than frightening. His fear is written on his face, but contained in the presence of those he holds dear. And although he is the least reasonable person on-screen at all times, he has the audience rooting for him in spite of it.
I'll be surprised if Shannon doesn't get an Oscar nomination for this role.
Chastain is also good, as are the rest of the supporting cast. Granted, they have a lot less to do, but they are all very believable as simple, Midwestern folks just trying to live their lives. Kudos to writer/director Jeff Nichols for creating 'real' characters.
And I may be in the minority, but I loved the ending. The fact that it wasn't predictable or wrapped up in a big red bow made me smile.
As did the possibility it implied.
~~~
Curtis (Shannon) is a family man. He works hard at his construction job each day to provide for his sweet wife Samantha (Chastain) and their young daughter Hannah (Tova Stewart).
Hannah is deaf and needs surgery to try out a cochlear implant. Samantha is relieved when they finally receive word that the insurance will cover it.
But Curtis begins having terrible nightmares predicting an apocalyptic storm. This takes his attention away from his family and his work. He grows paranoid about the supposed impending doom and decides to renovate the storm shelter in their backyard.
At the same time, he's keeping his elaborate (expensive) plans for the shelter from Samantha and beginning to investigate mental illness (since it runs in his family).
As we watch his obsessive paranoia increase, we feel sorry for his patient wife, and even sorrier for him. After all, he may be bearing witness to his own descent into craziness. Or is he?
Michael Shannon plays this role so convincingly, he's more fragile than frightening. His fear is written on his face, but contained in the presence of those he holds dear. And although he is the least reasonable person on-screen at all times, he has the audience rooting for him in spite of it.
I'll be surprised if Shannon doesn't get an Oscar nomination for this role.
Chastain is also good, as are the rest of the supporting cast. Granted, they have a lot less to do, but they are all very believable as simple, Midwestern folks just trying to live their lives. Kudos to writer/director Jeff Nichols for creating 'real' characters.
And I may be in the minority, but I loved the ending. The fact that it wasn't predictable or wrapped up in a big red bow made me smile.
As did the possibility it implied.
~~~
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