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Tag Archives: movie review

Foxcatcher (2014)

15 Saturday Nov 2014

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Film Reviews

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America, bennett miller, biography, channing tatum, drama, film, film review, foxcatcher, mark ruffalo, movie, movie review, olympics, schultz, sports, steve carell, thriller, wrestling

Title: Foxcatcher
Director: Bennett Miller
Year: 2014
Genre: Drama/Psychological Thriller
Stars: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo
Rating: 4/5

Summary: This film follows the brief but tragic relationship between the Schultz brothers and John du Pont between 1987 and 1996.

Critique: I subtracted one star for the minimal dialogue and underwhelming score. With the intense, layered content of this movie, I feel that a strong score could have grossly improved the film. If you’ve read my other reviews, you know I’m a sucker for a dark color palette and this film was perfect in that department. An added bonus was the archival footage and photography used throughout. The four stars are first and foremost for the OUTSTANDING makeup, second for acting, third for directing, and fourth for cinematography. The production, direction, and acting in this film makeup for any weak spots in the writing and soundtrack.

Review: On the surface, this movie follows the decade-long story of a very rich man using his money to live vicariously through a naive, young, Olympic wrestler under the guise of sponsoring the U.S. Men’s Wrestling team in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

That very rich man is John “Eagle” du Pont, played by Steve Carell. Du Pont seemingly purchases Mark Schulzt, played by Channing Tatum, and his brother Dave, played by Mark Ruffalo.

In a perverse, intense, and haunting portrayal, Foxcatcher shows the tragic effects of mental illness, insecurity, naiveté, and the exploitation of amateur athletes. Under the charade of competing with the Soviet Union, du Pont uses money and unbridled power to become the despot in his own totalitarian state.

With hints of The Most Dangerous Game it becomes obvious very early on in the film that Mr. Du Pont’s innocent proposition to sponsor U.S. Olympic Wrestling and help cultivate Mark Schultz’s talents is less for love of country and more to assuage his own feelings of inadequacy stemming from severe mental instability.

The linchpin of this film is the acting.

Steve Carell definitely proves that he is far from just a comedian. From facial ticks to breathing patterns and blinking, he captures every facet of John du Pont’s psychologically and physically stunted character.

Reminiscent of my feelings about Matthew McConaughey after seeing Mud, I feel like this will be Channing Tatum’s gateway to a more serious career in acting. Tatum uses his trademark authenticity to emphasize Mark Schultz’s innocence, hope, and desperation which propels the darkness of Carell’s character to much deeper depths.

While I believe and hope this film will be a springboard for Carell and Tatum, it also confirmed what I’ve known for many years: Mark Ruffalo is one of the most talented actors of this generation. His versatility as an actor is astonishing and this is yet another example. Ruffalo does a phenomenal job of portraying the conflicted relationship between Mark and Dave Schultz and Mr. Du Pont. While this movie is based on Mark Schultz’s biography, I do wish the film had emphasized Dave’s relationship with du Pont, allowing Ruffalo a stronger role in the story.

While the main topic of this film is the du Pont-Schultz relationship, there are underlying themes throughout that make Foxcatcher something much bigger than a traditional sports or biographical film. Paternalism, repressed sexuality, the Military Industrial Complex, class, wealth, exploitation, the implications of not-for-profit athletics, power, childhood abandonment, familial obligation, masculinity, oedipus complex, and mental illness each play a vital part in making this movie.

With simple dialogue, understated sound, and an emphasis on cinematography and acting this movie isn’t for everyone but it is definitely a must-see for anyone interested in a much darker side of the American Dream.

*I do not own the cover-image. All rights are reserved by the rightful owners.

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A Movie A Day: December 31

31 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Uncategorized

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a movie a day, broken english, chick flick, cinema, film, Filmmaking, Independent film, Melvil Poupaud, movie, movie review, movies, netflix, Paris, Parker Posey, review

Title: Broken English

4 broken english

Review/Synopsis: 8/10 This was a major guilty pleasure film for me this year. I’ve seen it at least 10 times. A sexy (seriously, he is FINE) French guy falls in love with a lady with anxiety issues, that is over 30 and terminally single. He’s only in town for a few days and invites her to come back to Paris with him and then…you should watch it! This is a slightly fantastical, romantic, independent film, but I fell head-over-heels in love with it! Something about him accepting her, with all of her baggage, right from the start and not wimping out when she reveals her issues definitely captured me. Y’all are going to think I’m crazy, but one of my favorite moments in romance movies (going back to classic Bogart films) is when the male protagonist grabs his love interest’s forearm gently, but forcefully leads her somewhere or pulls her into him. I know the feminists and social justice warriors out there are going to say this is abusive and a dysfunctional representation of proper relationships, but I like what I like and this movie has several very solid scenes in which Poupaud takes charge romantically.  Once again, a great color palette, both protagonists did a great job with their characters (I related to the female protagonist an alarming amount), and the supporting actresses were great as well. This is a great movie to watch with girlfriends or for a Saturday afternoon with a glass of wine. It’s heart warming, hopeful, but with just enough darkness to bring it down to a realistic level. A great film to indulge the hopeless romantic in all of us!

Year: 2007

Stars: Parker Posey, Melvil Poupaud

Country/Language: U.S.-English

Where to watch: Netflix

I plan on making this a biannual series! I will do another month-long installment in June, but I will also post a few reviews and blogs about films leading up to and during awards season, see you movie junkies then!

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A Movie A Day: December 30

30 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Film Reviews, Media

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a beautiful life, a movie a day, China, chinese, cinema, Cinema of China, film, film review, love, movie, movie review, movies, netflix, qi shu, review, romance, Romance film

Title: A Beautiful Life

MoviesLA_FILMBeautifulLife1px468

Review/Synopsis: 7/10 A rich girl falls in love with a poor cop who begins to suffer from memory loss. It’s a typical Asian drama story, but I LOVE it! I am addicted to Korean dramas (soap operas) and this plot is very typical in those shows, so I loved this movie. It’s really sad and tragic, but also very romantic. I’ve seen several older Chinese movies when I took a Chinese film class my junior year of college, but this is by far my favorite one I’ve seen. The leading lady, Qi Shu, is gorgeous and I loved the shots in this film (the scene in the above picture is one of my favorites). I can’t really summarize the film without ruining the story, but if you are looking for a dark, romantic film to watch, then you’ve found it. It’s interesting, beautiful, and especially tragic.

Year: 2011

Stars: Ye Liu, Qi Shu

Country/Language: China-Mandarin w/English subtitles

Where to watch: Netflix

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A Movie A Day: December 29

29 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Film Reviews, Media

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a movie a day, cinema, film, film review, gangster, italian, Italy, la siciliana ribelle, mob, movie, movie review, movies, netflix, organized crime, review, suicide, the sicilian girl

Title: The Sicilian Girl

sicilian_girl1

Review/Synopsis: 10/10 In the middle of the month I started to feel guilty for only reviewing films that I had awarded a high ranking, but all of these movies have been movies that I loved watching this year (with the exception of the couple I gave low rankings). I am fascinated by organized crime and am very intrigued by modern organized crime in Europe. While there are tons of movies that are about the mafia, this one is unique. I will confess I find the mafia romantic and I do understand its existence within the structures of the modern world-politically, legally, economically, morally-in America and in Europe, but despite my fascination, this film did a great job of debunking the romantic ideas. This movie is tense, sad, and tragic. A great drama that shows the true dangers faced by prosecutors and witnesses that challenge the mafia in Italy today and the reality of the romanticism and justification many people often use to help accept the brutality of organized crime. This isn’t a family film nor a happy film, but definitely worth watching.

Year: 2008

Stars: Veronica D’Agostino

Country/Language: Italy-Italian w/subtitles

Where to watch: Netflix

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A Movie A Day: December 28

28 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Film Reviews, Media

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a movie a day, cinema, diego peretti, elena roger, film, film review, movie, movie review, movies, netflix, review, spanish, un amor, un amor para toda la vida

Title: One Love/Un Amor

un_amor_xlg

Rating/Synopsis: 8/10 So, originally I was going to review another French movie with Romain Duris today, but I just switched to this film. Netflix has been suggesting this film to me for a few weeks, but I was weary and the description didn’t entice me…I was so wrong and I regret not watching this movie earlier. This struck a cord with me and I think most people can relate: it’s about a girl’s first love and her reunion with him years later. There is a third wheel guy, but you need to watch to learn about the whole plot. I love movies that have a definitive ending where you don’t have to guess what happens-good or bad-and this movie has one! The cinematography and color palette was beautiful. I’ve never seen an Argentine film, but I was pleasantly surprised. This movie is a touching film that everyone can relate to. One thing I love about films from other countries is that they cast stars that don’t adhere to normal Western standards of beauty or “handsomeness”. I feel like *most American films cast people that look like models, even child actors, but films from other countries cast realistic looking people and they are beautiful because of their talent…that was the case for this film. The young actors weren’t typically good looking, but I found them so endearing and attractive because of their portrayal of the chracters. This movie is so good and it definitely made me cry. It’s very romantic and also based on a book, so check it out!

Year: 2011

Stars:  Diego Peretti, Luis Ziembrowski, Elena Roger

Country/Language: Argentina-Spanish w/English subtitles

Where to watch: Netflix

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