Nightcrawler - Movie Review

Nightcrawler (R) 117 mins B
The title no longer reminds me of a Pete Yorn album

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Rick Garcia

In one of the most underrated performances of the year, Jake Gyllenhaal is Louis Bloom, an overachieving sociopath. Lou canvasess the streets of LA under the cover of darkness. His mission is to be the first film crew at every grisly murder scene, deadly car crash, destructive house fire, etc... If it bleeds it leads and pays a lot of money. The film also stars a cougered up Rene Russo as Nina, a veteran television news director desperate for ratings. The pairing of Nina and Lou makes for one of the year's most unlikely on-screen couples.

Recommended for those who like their drama dark and gritty with a side of bloody.

Rosewater - Movie Review

Rosewater (NR) 103 mins B-
Oppression

Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Kim Bodnia, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Dimitri Leonidas, Haluk Bilginer; written by Jon Stewart from a book by Maziar Bahari and Aimee Molloy

Rosewater is sort of a quiet little film that is highly enjoyable but not particularly memorable... and I feel bad saying that because there really isn't much to criticize. Maybe it's because I knew how the story would end. Or, because the film is overshadowed by it being Jon Stewart's impressive theatrical writing and directing debut.  Whatever the case, this one quickly slips under the radar.

Starz Denver Film Festival Wrap-up - Movie Reviews

Uncertain Terms

Wild 

Uncertain Terms (NR) 75 mins  B+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wxUaWM1JV4
A provocative look at the unpredictability of love. 

Wild (R) 115 mins B+
http://howwilditwas.com/
Reese Witherspoon is great- believe the hype. 

Wild Canaries (NR) 96 mins A-
http://www.wildcanariesmovie.com/
Refreshing and original

Heaven Adores You (NR) 104 mins B+
http://heavenadoresyou.com/
Remembering Elliot, a gentle reminder

Hotline (NR) 82 mins C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvIAn0caANE
Interesting, but a little too dry. 

The Heart Wants What The Heart Wants (Book Review)

Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story - Isabel Gillies A-

Published: March 2009

Before her 2009 divorce memoir, Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story, became a New York Times bestseller, Isabel Gillies was a semi-famous film and television actress best known for her role on television’s Law and Order. Now, she is the author of three books (two memoirs, one novel) and on her way to becoming best known as a semi-famous bestselling author.
Despite her fame, fortune and beauty, Gillies was not immune to cold-hearted rejection. When her husband unequivocally announced he wanted out of their marriage, Gillies’ life became less “law and order” and more “woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.” However, all her self-pity, insecurity and stalker-like instincts read like fiction... It made for an honest and captivating memoir.

Check out NPR's Maureen Corrigean Review from 2009
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101968700

An Entertaining, Bittersweet, Hipster Chic Romance (Book Review)

Office Girl - Joe Meno B

Published: Summer 2012
 

Office Girl almost feels like a guilty pleasure. It's cutesy, clever and hipster chic- a bittersweet romantic comedy set against a cold, snowy Chicago backdrop. The story follows two twentysomethings as they try not to let their soul-crushing office job and the world around them diminish their artistic ambition. There's also a lot of tomfoolery and bicycling in the snow. Quirky and fun.

Additional reading: Here's The New York Times book review of Office Girl written Lucinda Rosenfeld http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/books/review/office-girl-by-joe-meno.html?_r=0

Gritty Japanese Lit (Book Review)

Snakes and Earrings - Hitomi Kanehara A-

Published: 2003 in Japan (2005 U.S.)

Japanese novelist Hitomi Kanehara wrote Snakes and Earrings when she was just twenty one years old. The novella sold over a million copies, won the Akutagawa Prize in 2003, and was adapted to film in 2008. Snakes and Earrings is gritty, unflinching and raw. The parts about body modification are cringeworthy, but affective. Kanehara does a masterful job capturing the essences of self-destructive, sadistic youths engulfed in a world of darkness. The protagonist, a nineteen year old named Lui, is especially convincing as a nihilistic young woman spiraling out of control. Snakes and Earrings is definitely not for everyone; however, it is an intriguing trip into another state of mind.

Snakes and Earrings Trailer --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9onKczFG5M

New Pornographers & The Pains of Being Pure At Heart (Concert Review)

Gothic Theatre, Saturday, October 11, 2014 - New Pornographers and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart B+

I'm not sure which set I enjoyed more, but It really doesn't matter.   This was a clean and crisp rock show with a lot of groovy noise and very few surprises.

  The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Set List

         Until The Sun Explodes

Heart In Your Heartbreak

Kelly

Simple and Sure

Come Saturday

Young Adult Fiction

Coral and Gold

Belong

Life After Life

Eurydice

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

New Pornographers Set List

Brill Bruisers

Myriad Harbour

Use It

War On The East Coast

Moves

All The Old Showstoppers

Fantasy Fools

Jackie, Dressed In Cobras

Another Drug Deal Of The Heart

The Laws Have Changed

Hi-Rise

Testament To Youth In Verse

Crash Years

Adventures in Solitude

Spidyr

Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk

Backstairs

Silver Jenny Dollar

Champions Of Red Wine

Born With A Sound

Mass Romantic

First Encore

Dancehall Domine

Sing Me Spanish Techno

The Bleeding Heart Show

Second Encore

Twin Cinema

The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism

Gone Girl - Movie Review

Gone Girl (R) 149 minutes B+
Marriage Gone Wild

Starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, David Clennon, Lisa Banes, Missi Pyle, Emily Ratajkowski, Casey Wilson, Lola Kirke, Boyd Holbrook and Sela A. Ward

Adapted from Gillian Flynn best selling novel of the same name, Gone Girl is not the best film of the year. But, it might be the most intriguing. When Nick Dunne's (Affleck) beautiful wife (Pike) goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary, it's not long before the façade of their happy marriage crumbles. Nick becomes public enemy number one, while it is also revealed that his wife, Amy, is bat sh*t crazy. This film is a glimpse (albeit, an exaggerated one) into the minds of a young couple who thought they were in love, before realizing they are in hell.

This is Where I Leave You - Movie Review

This Is Where I Leave You (R) 103 minutes B-
Dysfunction Junction

Starring:  Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Kathryn Hahn, Connie Britton, Corey Stoll, and Timothy Oliphant.

This Is Where I Leave You is an entertaining film adaptation of Jonathan Tropper's popular 2010 novel of the same name.  Directed by Shawn Levy (Date Night, The Internship, Night at the Museum), the film features a good cast, a few laughs and lots of dysfunctional family drama.  The problem is, the drama stuff quickly wears thin and the comedy goes bland.  Eventually the story grows trite and overblown.  But, luckily there is just enough star power (mostly Bateman) to keep the film afloat and enjoyable.    

Watch the trailer ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH0cEP0mvlU

Return to Sender (Album Review)

Released: May 2014

A Letter Home - Neil Young D+

I tend to think of Neil Young as a prolific musical genius.  He has a tendency to go a little rogue (artistically), but that's one of the things that intrigues me.  Before I listening to A Letter Home I was warned (by friends) that the album was a disappointment.  Yet, I was encouraged to check it out because of my affinity for Young and my leanings toward the stripped-down acoustic sound.  After a couple spins, the best way to describe A Letter Home is, "old-timey."  The album, which was recorded in a Voice-O-Graph recording booth, has its moments.  But, there's not enough of those moments to make the album worthwhile.  The snap, crackle and hiss of the recording hampers the music more than helps. The best tracks: My Hometown (Bruce Springsteen cover), Early Morning Rain (Gordon Lightfoot cover) and Girl From the North Country (Bob Dylan cover).