Foxcatcher
Starring Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, and Steve Carrell, Foxcatcher tells the story of Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz (Tatum) and his brother Dave (Ruffalo.) A mysterious multimillionaire, John du pont (Carrell), invites Mark to form a wrestling team and train at his sprawling Foxcatcher estate. While there, Mark attempts to prove himself, but is lead down a dark path with du Pont’s influences. du Pont is obsessed with bringing Dave to the estate too, which eventually leads to a very dark ending.
Foxcatcher held my attention for the entire time, but left me with such an odd range of feelings. Overall, the film has a very creepy, ominous vibe as du Pont leers about, but many moments and scenes made me want to laugh out loud with unease. I also felt saddened at times as the viewer is shown du Pont’s mother and her disapproval of his interest in wrestling. With such a wide range of emotions, I was not quite sure if I liked the film. I don’t think I would ever want to see it again, but I’m glad I did. The movie made me interested in learning more about the actual story, so I did a little research to help fill in a few unanswered questions I had. While I found all the performances quite strong, this film makes me excited to see what other roles Steve Carrell will tackle in the future, and hope the Academy Award nomination he received will make him confident to continue taking on new challenges (prosthetic nose included or not.)
Much was made after Jennifer Aniston was “snubbed” for an Academy Award, but even without it, I think Cake will help prove that she is capable of more than people think. Aniston gives a strong performance in this little movie, and I enjoyed seeing her in a new light. Cake centers around Claire, a woman who was in a tragic accident that has left her in chronic pain and addicted to pain medicine. The film never shows you exactly what happened in the accident or what Claire was like before the accident, but as the pieces come together, I understood her harshness and anger. I wasn’t too keen on Anna Kendrick’s role as a young woman who was in Claire’s support group and committed suicide. A large portion of the film focuses on Claire’s fascination with her death and follows her as she seeks out the young woman’s husband. I never really felt closure on that side of the story, but the scenes that shine the most are when Claire is with her hired help, Silvana, who brings kindness and humor to Claire’s struggles.
Paddington, based on the popular British books about a young bear who immigrates to London and loves orange marmalade, is a perfect little movie. I smiled the entire time I watched it because it gave me the warm feelings of childhood. If you are a major Harry Potter fan like me, you will also be delighted to see quite a few actors from the films show up in various way (the film is produced by Harry Potter producer David Heyman.) The film feels very British, and the performances from Sally Hawkins and Hugh Bonneville (who play Paddington’s adopted parents) are very charming. It’s also fun to see Nicole Kidman letting lose and playing a villain.
If you are a Spongebob fan, I think you’ll get a kick out of this movie. It’s certainly silly, and there are many random moments (think time travel and magical dolphins in space), but I found myself chuckling throughout. If you are going to the movie because you saw the 3D characters in the previews though, then you will be disappointed. I expected the majority of the movie to be the 3D versions advertised, but those scenes only ended up being the last 20 minutes or so of the movie. This didn’t bother me since I like the traditional 2D of the television show, but found it surprising. Another thing I was surprised about was how much screen time the character Plankton received. This movie focuses on the Krabby Patty secret formula, and if you’re a Plankton fan like me you will enjoy seeing the little green guy’s sarcastic attitude shine. This means that some of the other favorites like Squidward, Patrick, Sandy and Mr. Krabs don’t get much time to shine in the film, but the oddball song “Squeeze Me” will definitely be stuck in your head as the movie ends.
Still Alice: Still Alice, Starring (now Oscar winner) Julianne Moore, tells the story of a woman who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Alice is a wife, mother, and professor whose life is completely flipped upside down after she visits a doctor to share her concerns that she is forgetting things. The film shows how this disease can affect anyone from any social class, and Moore does an effortless job showing how the disease progresses, changing her life and family’s life forever. Kristen Stewart also shines as one of Alice’s daughters, who ultimately makes many sacrifices to care for her mother. A lump in my throat formed pretty early in the movie, and stayed there until the credits rolled (especially during a scene when Alice forgets where the bathroom is in her home, and when she gives a moving speech at an Alzheimer’s event.) Hopefully the film will shine a little more light on this currently untreatable disease.
Leading up to the Oscars this past weekend, I also watched The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman. Both weren’t necessarily my cup of tea, but I appreciated many aspects of each film. What I loved about Birdman were the long, continuous shots and having a look at the backstage of a Broadway show. The Grand Budapest Hotel had fantastically whimsical sets and costumes. Personally, I just like films with a more straightforward story that aren’t left to the viewers interpretation. I tend to enjoy the more simple, honest stories, so my votes would have been for Boyhood, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash, and The Imitation Game this award season, so I’m happy they got represented through their actor wins. Overall, I thought it was a unique mix of great films, but I still need to see American Sniper and Selma to complete my list!
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