Showing Tag: ""jessica chastain"" (Show all posts)

REVIEW: Stand or Fall Together Against Ravenna & Freya, The Love of Eric & Sara in The Huntsman: Winter's War Doesn't Conquer All

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, April 24, 2016, In : 0.09% Cocktails 
The Huntsman: Winter's War





Directed By: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, Nick Frost, Sam Claflin, Rob Brydon, and Jessica Chastain

I don't exactly frequent Rotten Tomatoes, but there seems to be no middle ground these days.  Movies are either universally acclaimed or universally loathed.  Hardly any movies are landing anywhere between 30% and 79% these days.  Movies like The Jungle Book and Zootopia comfortably fall in the former category while Batma...

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REVIEW: For A Monstrous Love, Many Women Have Sipped the Poisonous Tea at Allerdale Hall in Crimson Peak

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, October 25, 2015, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Crimson Peak





Directed By: Guillermo del Toro

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, and Jim Beaver

I've been highly critical of the horror genre since I began STMR (and long before that as well).  There are few films I've given high marks in recent years including slasher flick You're Next and supernatural horror flick It Follows.  Still, the genre's been languishing in my eyes for quite some time.  The proof is in the mockumentary-flavored pudding Hollywood ...

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REVIEW: In The Martian, Ares Space Pirate Mark Watney Doubles As Iron Man to Pull Off Project Elrond & Survive More Than 500 Sols With Potatoes

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, October 3, 2015, In : 0.00% Water 
The Martian





Directed By: Ridley Scott

Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Donald Glover, and Mackenzie Davis

Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity may have hit a nerve in the human psyche and started a trend at the box office.  Every year since Gravity's debut on the big screen back in 2013, we've had a space epic arrive.  With each, we have interesting collective dialogue about the authentici...

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REVIEW: To Fuel His American Dream, Abel Morales Endures A Most Violent Year On the Most Right Path

Posted by James Brown on Tuesday, January 20, 2015, In : 0.00% Water 
A Most Violent Year





Directed By: J. C. Chandor

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola, and Albert Brooks

Margin Call, All Is Lost, and A Most Violent Year all have something in common, and it's not just that they're the first three feature films by prolific director J. C. Chandor.  These terrific movies have not gotten the recognition they deserve at the culmination of awards season.  The corporate thriller Margin Call about the 2008 financial crisis notched ju...
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REVIEW: When the Last Shall Be the First On a Midsummer's Night, Miss Julie Obeys Jean Like a Dog & Kisses His Shoes

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, December 7, 2014, In : 0.09% Cocktails 
Miss Julie





Directed By: Liv Ullmann

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, and Samantha Morton

I mentioned this earlier this year in my review of Under the Skin, but we haven't had a lot of weird ones at the indie box office this year.  Few filmmakers are taking risks with the strange and bizarre, particularly in this later half of the year (with the obvious exception of Birdman).  I understand their reasons, but I don't agree with them.  Risks are the reasons for which many duds crash and b...
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REVIEW: Interstellar Travel & Newton's Third Law Help Cooper, Brand, & TARS Find the 5th Dimension & Murphy's Ghost in a Gargantuan Wormhole

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, November 8, 2014, In : 0.00% Water 
Interstellar





Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, Casey Affleck, John Lithgow, Topher Grace, David Gyasi, Josh Stewart, and Matt Damon

"Do not go gentle into that good night; Old age should burn and rave at close of day.  Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
-Dylan Thomas

Ambition is the cornerstone of truly great filmmaking.  If a filmmaker is not taking creative risks and is being overly ca...
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REVIEW: If Tragedy Is A Foreign Country, Then The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby Walks Away From Learning Its Native Tongue

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, September 21, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them





Directed By: Ned Benson

Starring: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Viola Davis, William Hurt, Isabelle Huppert, Jess Weixler, Bill Hader, Ciarán Hinds, Archie Panjabi, Katherine Waterston, and Nina Arianda

Companion films are in this year, at least for indie cinema.  Veteran filmmaker Lars von Trier was bent on releasing his steamy Nymphomaniac: Parts 1 and 2 to the world this spring.  Similarly, first-time director Ned Benson was bent on releasing twin f...
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REVIEW: Lily, Mama, Victoria. The Helvecia Cabin is a Full House of Horror

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, January 19, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 

Mama





Directed By: Andres Muschietti

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse, and Daniel Kash

"A ghost is an emotion, bent out of shape, condemned to repeat itself, time and time again, until it rights the wrong it was done."
-A Local Record-keeper

We don't get too many ghost stories at the box office.  I'm talking about real ghost stories, not Paranormal Activity.  I'm talking about films like last year's The Woman in Black.  I'm talking about ...


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REVIEW: In Zero Dark Thirty, Maya's Canaries Follow Courier Abu Ahmed to Deliver Justice Upon Osama bin Laden

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, January 12, 2013, In : 0.00% Water 

Zero Dark Thirty





Directed By: Kathryn Bigelow

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Kyle Chandler, Edgar Ramirez, Mark Strong, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Duplass, Scott Adkins, and Taylor Kinney

History seems to be the predominant story of this awards season.  It's the history of our sixteenth president and his fight to pass the Thirteenth Amendment in Lincoln.  It's the history of six American diplomats making a fake movie to escape Iran in Argo.  It's the history o...
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REVIEW: The Moonshine Bootlegging Bondurant Brothers May Think They're Invincible, But Lawless Shows All Their Flaws

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, August 30, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Lawless





Directed By: John Hillcoat

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, and Dane DeHaan

On paper, Lawless may be the perfect movie for me.  I've been in need of a good crime movie as of late.  They're so rare these days.  On top of that, it's about moonshine bootlegging during Prohibition.  That's just about as good as it gets for the SoberFilmCritic.  That being said, Lawless doesn't fully realize its potential as director J...
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REVIEW: Helen Mirren is No Kick-Ass Granny in The Debt

Posted by James Brown on Monday, September 5, 2011, In : 0.09% Cocktails 
The Debt





Directed By: John Madden

Starring: Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain, and Tom Wilkinson

A good spy thriller always has twists and turns in the plot.  It keeps you guessing for a while.  A great spy thriller always has a badass lead.  Steven Spielberg's Munich is a strong example of a great spy thriller.  All the drama, thrills, and plot twists were there, but those boys were kicking some ass in the process.  With Helen Mirren starring in John Madden's The Debt, I was hopin...
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REVIEW: The Tree of Life Is a Motion Picture That Says a Thousand Words

Posted by James Brown on Tuesday, August 16, 2011, In : 0.00% Water 
The Tree of Life






Directed By: Terrence Malick

Starring: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessica Chastain

Never before have I seen a film that captures life.  That's a huge concept with a range of implications.  It's a nearly impossible endeavor for any filmmaker.  However, Terrence Malick has proven me wrong.  Malick's The Tree of Life does the impossible in a grand way.  From grappling with the meaning and scope of life to questioning the purpose of faith, Malick covers a broad array of topics.  The ...
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