Should be a good holiday Disney movie - about show business
The Counselor
Cormac McCarthy wrote this screenplay and it gives this Narco cautionary tale an Old West feel. The El Paso/ Juarez setting adds to the Tex/Mex mix. And the Ridley Scott direction makes it an interesting visual mix of the bleak and the bling.
Michael Fassbender is Counselor, which is what everyone calls him. He's a lawyer in El Paso and seems to have it all: pretty fiancee (Penelope Cruz), nice Bentley, everyone's buddy. But he's either already decided or decided a long time ago to go into the drug business himself. The other Narcos, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt try to generally talk him out of it but Counselor doesn't seem too worried. But when he as attorney gets mixed up with the Green Hornet, all hell breaks loose.
The movie starts a bit slow, but picks up a little speed once the plot gets figured out. Needless to say it is not about the mishaps but rather how the experience changes the Counselor. Lots of plot jumps and figuring out characters makes it similar to some very outstanding movies: Pulp Fiction, Drive, No Country for Old Men, Crash.
* * * 1/2 of 4
Michael Fassbender is Counselor, which is what everyone calls him. He's a lawyer in El Paso and seems to have it all: pretty fiancee (Penelope Cruz), nice Bentley, everyone's buddy. But he's either already decided or decided a long time ago to go into the drug business himself. The other Narcos, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt try to generally talk him out of it but Counselor doesn't seem too worried. But when he as attorney gets mixed up with the Green Hornet, all hell breaks loose.
The movie starts a bit slow, but picks up a little speed once the plot gets figured out. Needless to say it is not about the mishaps but rather how the experience changes the Counselor. Lots of plot jumps and figuring out characters makes it similar to some very outstanding movies: Pulp Fiction, Drive, No Country for Old Men, Crash.
* * * 1/2 of 4
Don Jon
A love story... about a man and himself. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has taken quite a twist on the romantic comedy by interjecting some unspoken social mores into the familiar story arc. Will the real life woman win out in the end, or will the imaginary lover never let him down?
My ride, my pad, my boys, my girls, my porn. That is Jon's mantra for his single life. He's the Don - Don Jon. He trolls the club with his buddies to find a suitable hookup, and he is usually successful. He loves them and leaves them because real women are just too messy for his tidy slice of life. He'd rather find a good video online and rub one out.
But when he meets Barbara (a dime, a 10, Scarlett Johannson of course) he falls for her and seeks to make her his own. But just when he seems to succeed, she catches him in flagrante with himself. As if on cue, she's out the slamming door. And Jon has a decision to make.
The filmmaking adds to the familiar story with the repeat visual shots: Jon walking into the gym, Jon lifting, Jon walking into church, his sister texting. She's a pretty cool character.
And there is a lot of familiar movie nods: The dad in the strap t-shirt (Tony Danza), the movie-within-a movie (just like in Friends with Benefits, another sexually charged Rom-Com), the comedic confessional, the browser history.
This was unexpected - I didn't expect the romantic move angle to be tracked/skewered with the porn affection to be the "other woman". It worked. An improvement could have been to move a bit further from the traditional Rom-Com but perhaps that is what makes it as good as it is.
* * * of 4
My ride, my pad, my boys, my girls, my porn. That is Jon's mantra for his single life. He's the Don - Don Jon. He trolls the club with his buddies to find a suitable hookup, and he is usually successful. He loves them and leaves them because real women are just too messy for his tidy slice of life. He'd rather find a good video online and rub one out.
But when he meets Barbara (a dime, a 10, Scarlett Johannson of course) he falls for her and seeks to make her his own. But just when he seems to succeed, she catches him in flagrante with himself. As if on cue, she's out the slamming door. And Jon has a decision to make.
The filmmaking adds to the familiar story with the repeat visual shots: Jon walking into the gym, Jon lifting, Jon walking into church, his sister texting. She's a pretty cool character.
And there is a lot of familiar movie nods: The dad in the strap t-shirt (Tony Danza), the movie-within-a movie (just like in Friends with Benefits, another sexually charged Rom-Com), the comedic confessional, the browser history.
This was unexpected - I didn't expect the romantic move angle to be tracked/skewered with the porn affection to be the "other woman". It worked. An improvement could have been to move a bit further from the traditional Rom-Com but perhaps that is what makes it as good as it is.
* * * of 4
Ender's Game - November 1
Harrison Ford knows a few things about being a space pilot who has trouble following orders:
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