But that aside, the series in general and the last film in particular has many strong female roles and passes the Bechdel test repeatedly. The casting is great. Included are, Julianne Moore, Jena Malone, Natalie Dormer, and if they aren't strong enough, Michelle Forbes of Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica fame, is also there. Donald Sutherland is amazing, doing President Snow as a kind of evil Hawkeye Pierce. And, in his last role ever, augmented by some CGI, is Philip Seymour Hoffman. The three sides of the dystopian, high-school love triangle are all perfectly cast, with Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, and Josh Hutcherson. The best casting of all, if you've read the books, is Woody Harrelson as Haymitch.
I can't say much more without spoilers. There are lots of explosions. Some people die and some don't. And I always tear up when they kiss their three fingers and hold them up.
This film has a lot of buzz. It has won the Audience Award at six film festivals including Toronto. The title refers to the very small space in which a woman and her young son live. The woman, played by the amazing Brie Larson, was kidnapped 7 years previously and is being kept in a backyard shed by her captor. He is the father of her son. Jacob Tremblay, who plays the 5 year-old boy, pretty much steals the movie with his performance although Larson is great too. Her previous move, Short Term 12, is very good. Room is simply shot and is split into two parts, before and after life in the Room, and shows how the mother and son deal with the change. The son has never seen the outside world. The violence of the captor real and implied is almost completely off screen, but is seen in Larson's expressive face. This movie is definitely worth seeing.
The new movie may not be Skyfall but it's still lots of fun. The opening sequence in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead parade is amazing. The new M, Q, and Moneypenny are back. M has been demoted to work for C who is played by the guy who plays Moriarty in Sherlock so you know he's not a good guy. Christoph Waltz makes an excellent rebooted Blofeld and the white cat is back. And there's even an older woman as a Bond Girl, Monica Bellucci. She's 4 years older than Daniel Craig. They are both looking good.
Nobody is seeing this movie. Everyone needs to see this movie. It is my early pick (I've only seen 54 movies this year) for Best Movie of the Year. And Steve Jobs made me cry at the end. Ok, it was Aaron Sorkin and Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) that did that. This movie is all talk from beginning to end. Did I mention that it was written by Aaron Sorkin? It is divided into three parts, the Introductions of the Mac, NeXt, and iMac computers. The cast, Michael Fassbender (Jobs), Seth Rogen (The Woz), Jeff Daniels (John Scully), and Kate Winslet (Joanna Hoffman, Jobs' factotem) really kill. It doesn't matter if you liked Steve Jobs or believe that this film bears any resemblance to reality, you need to see it.
Spielberg plus Hanks. Ok, very good but very conservative choices to bring an iconic moment in American history to life when the U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was exchanged for the Russian spy Rudolph Abel. But a screenplay by Ethan and Joel Coen? And Mark Rylance playing Abel? Wow. Rylance is fantastic. We last saw him killing as Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall. The scenes, mostly early in the film, between Hanks and Rylance make this a very good movie. The rest of the characters are a bit one dimensional although Amy Ryan and Alan Alda try their best. This film also resonates strongly with politics today. James Donovan (Tom Hanks) gets a lot of flak in 1957 for trying to give Abel a good defense and by wanting to actually follow the US Constitution. Worth seeing.
This is an amazing film which no one is seeing. It is the first time I can say that 3D is necessary and integral to a film. And I could barely watch it. I have a fear of heights and the end of the film when he is walking between the towers is agonizing but really incredible. This is an emotional and poignant movie especially since it is centered on the Twin Towers. The movie is set in 1974 but the present is always present. Go see it.
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