Unlike the Great Gatsby, here is an example of a great book turning into... a terrible movie.
Believe me, I was as surprised as anyone.
I can't blame it on Ashton Kutcher. He's got the voice, the barefoot look, even affects an unusual walk on the many walking scenes (that couldn't have come accidentally, slight hunched, leaning forward). He does the monologues well.
But the hagiographic Citizen Kane approach does not work with this LBJ-esque character of good and bad personality strands working together. You just can't appreciate the backlit, worshipful approach in a business setting. It doesn't help that there are no other strong characters - they're all just fodder for Jobs to run over.
Now, this is a strong comparison to make to the Social Network (another unlikeable successful tech mogul running over the competition). But there was interesting dialogue, strong competing characters and, in its best line "The people at Facebook are back in the offices doing things that no one in this room is capable of. Does that answer your condescending question?"
* 1/2 of 4 (Lowest rating of 2013 so far)
Elysium
In the year 2154, there exists two "worlds", our Earth (still hot, flat and crowded) and Elysium which is the ultimate bedroom community, just a 20 minute shuttle ride from Earth. On Elysium, it is like Stepford, with golf courses, nice houses, no crime and these neat Med Pods, which you put yourself into and get healed of whatever ails you.
Needless to say there is some dissension between the inhabitants of these two worlds and Elysium does a good job of keeping out the undesirables. Jodie Foster plays the Dick Cheney of Elysium, the Vice President who tells the President what to do. Matt Damon is a loveable loser on Earth, working a factory job. When he suffers a "health mishap", he become desperate to get to Elysium for healing. To patch himself up, he gets outfitted with an exoskeleton courtesy of his Q, Spider. Did I say Spider Man?
Directed by Neill Blomkquist of South Africa, we have graphic reminders of not only apartheid South Africa but also the gaps between the haves and have-nots in our world. The military shuttles of Elysium are painted with Springboks and what appear to be Republic of South Africa flags.
The real star of the show is Sharlto Copley who plays Kruger, the enforcer against the Earthlings. Looks bad, acts bad and sounds... great! What an accent! He's a bad dude and is a good villain against Matt Damon.
The dystopian future takes a new twist with the version of Elysium. It certainly sounds plausible which makes this a cross between futurism and science fiction. Lots of nods to Total Recall as well as Iron Man. In the end, the movie can't decide if it is a dark future movie or new action hero. It works best as the dark future movie.
* * * of 4
Needless to say there is some dissension between the inhabitants of these two worlds and Elysium does a good job of keeping out the undesirables. Jodie Foster plays the Dick Cheney of Elysium, the Vice President who tells the President what to do. Matt Damon is a loveable loser on Earth, working a factory job. When he suffers a "health mishap", he become desperate to get to Elysium for healing. To patch himself up, he gets outfitted with an exoskeleton courtesy of his Q, Spider. Did I say Spider Man?
Directed by Neill Blomkquist of South Africa, we have graphic reminders of not only apartheid South Africa but also the gaps between the haves and have-nots in our world. The military shuttles of Elysium are painted with Springboks and what appear to be Republic of South Africa flags.
The real star of the show is Sharlto Copley who plays Kruger, the enforcer against the Earthlings. Looks bad, acts bad and sounds... great! What an accent! He's a bad dude and is a good villain against Matt Damon.
The dystopian future takes a new twist with the version of Elysium. It certainly sounds plausible which makes this a cross between futurism and science fiction. Lots of nods to Total Recall as well as Iron Man. In the end, the movie can't decide if it is a dark future movie or new action hero. It works best as the dark future movie.
* * * of 4
American Hustle - opens Dec. 25
Starts December 25 - starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Directed by David O. Russell.
Sounds like a good follow-up to Silver Linings Playbook
http://gma.yahoo.com/video/exclusive-look-american-hustle-011836837.html?vp=1
Sounds like a good follow-up to Silver Linings Playbook
http://gma.yahoo.com/video/exclusive-look-american-hustle-011836837.html?vp=1
The Conjuring
I had heard this was a "true story" along the lines of the Amityville Horror. When I was in the 8th grade, I recall reading the book and it was one you couldn't put down. At one point I was pretty scared and noticed that it was 2 a.m. and I was the only one up in the house. Good thing there were no ghosts in that house.
In The Conjuring, the house (set) just looks like it was custom-made for ghosts. Why anyone would live there is beyond me. I kept hoping for an interesting plot twist like in Cabin in the Woods but alas none was coming.
I read recently that humans are instinctively scared of loud noises and that is used to good effect in this movie. The clapping is used with good effect. I was glad that I was in a theater of other people rather than poking around a dark cellar. Why do people do that?
The Amityville angle is kind of like in the book - there's a place in the house where bad things happened. And they throw in a rip-off of the Exorcist. I'd hoped they would add a religious angle to it but... this is Hollywood. That would have helped a lot.
* * of 4
In The Conjuring, the house (set) just looks like it was custom-made for ghosts. Why anyone would live there is beyond me. I kept hoping for an interesting plot twist like in Cabin in the Woods but alas none was coming.
I read recently that humans are instinctively scared of loud noises and that is used to good effect in this movie. The clapping is used with good effect. I was glad that I was in a theater of other people rather than poking around a dark cellar. Why do people do that?
The Amityville angle is kind of like in the book - there's a place in the house where bad things happened. And they throw in a rip-off of the Exorcist. I'd hoped they would add a religious angle to it but... this is Hollywood. That would have helped a lot.
* * of 4
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