Crisp Criticism - "Night Crawler", "Exodus: Gods and Kings", "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"

by

Julien Faddoul

Nightcrawler *

An unemployment lunatic, who has been driven to thievery, finds a job in the world of LA crime journalism.

Unsettling thriller/black comedy that is far too satisfied with itself and its rather obvious delineations on the corruption of human decency to be at all illuminating, despite a committed central performance.

wd – Dan Gilroy

ph – Robert Elswit

pd – Kevin Kavanaugh

m – James Newton Howard

ed – John Gilroy

cos – Amy Westcott

p – Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal. Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, Bill Paxton

Crisp Criticism - "The Theory of Everything", "What If", "Men, Women & Children"

by

Julien Faddoul

The Theory of Everything *

A retelling of the relationship between famous physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife.

Flat and dull biopic with only the occasional insightful observation seeping through its tameness. It’s ironic that a film about a man who was so revolutionary can be so stodgy.

d – James Marsh

w – Anthony McCarten   (Based on the Book by Jane Hawking)

ph – Benoit Delhomme

pd – John Paul Kelly

m – Johann Johannsson

ed – Jinx Godfrey

cos – Steven Noble

p – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Maxine Peake, Charlie Cox, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney, David Thewlis, Abigail Cruttenden, Guy Oliver-Watts

Crisp Criticism - "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1", "Maps to the Stars", "The Homesman"

by

Julien Faddoul

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

Katniss Everdeen reluctantly becomes the symbol of a mass rebellion against the autocratic Capitol.

Under-lit, choppy and shapeless film that serves merely as set-up for the next installment.

d – Francis Lawrence  

w – Peter Craig, Danny Strong   (Based on the Novel by Suzanne Collins)

ph – Jo Willems  

pd – Philip Messina 

m – James Newton Howard  

ed – Alan Edward Bell, Mark Yoshikawa  

cos – Kurt and Bart

p – Nina Jacobson, Jon Kilik

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Natalie Dormer, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone

Interstellar (2014/US)

by

Julien Faddoul

* (1 star)

d – Christopher Nolan

w – Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan

ph – Hoyte Van Hoytema

pd – Nathan Crowley

m – Hans Zimmer

ed – Lee Smith

cos – Mary Zophres 

p – Christopher Nolan, Lynda Obst, Emma Thomas

Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Wes Bentley, Matt Damon, Mackenzie Foy, David Gyasi, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck, Topher Grace, Ellen Burstyn, John Lithgow, Timothée Chalamet, Bill Irwin, Josh Stewart

Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar is a bold film. It has an urgency and a sense of concord that is evident in all his films. Regrettably, as his career has progressed, that urgency has turned to bombast and that sense of concord has become more like pacification. Interstellar contains all these things, but unfortunately, the latter outweigh the former.

Crisp Criticism - "Fury", "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya", "Listen Up Philip"

by

Julien Faddoul

Fury

As WWII approaches its end, a tank of five men are ordered to go on a mission behind enemy lines.

Violent American WWII film that despite clear attempts to take the material seriously becomes marinated in its own heavy-handedness. It remains merely a wallow in machismo dramatics.

wd – David Ayer

ph – Roman Vasyanov

pd – Andrew Menzies

m – Steven Price

ed – Jay Cassidy, Dody Dorn

cos – Owen Thornton

p – David Ayer, Bill Block, John Lesher, Ethan Smith

Cast: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal, Jason Isaacs, Jim Parrack, Brad William Henke, Kevin Vance

Crisp Criticism - "Two Days, One Night", "Before I Go to Sleep", "This is Where I Leave You"

by

Julien Faddoul

Two Days, One Night ***

A solar-panel factory employee who has recently suffered a nervous breakdown has one weekend to convince her colleagues they must give up their bonuses in order for her to keep her job.

Totally absorbing Belgium film about retaining self-wroth through the dichotomy of work and grace, shot with the directors’ typical naturalistic eye. Though this plot is their most affected, their meticulousness and care remains unparalleled.

wd – Jean-Pierre Darenne, Luc Dardenne

ph – Alain Marcoen

pd – Marie-Hélène Dozo

ed – Igor Gabriel

cos – Maïra Ramedhan Levi

p – Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Denis Freyd

Cast: Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salée, Christelle Cornil, Olivier Gourmet, Pili Groyne, Simon Caudry, Batiste Sornin, Timur Magomedgadzhiev

Crisp Criticism - "Starred Up", "Force Majeure", "A Walk Among the Tombstones"

by

Julien Faddoul

Starred Up ***

A teenage offender's violent behavior gets him moved to an adult prison in Ireland that includes his long-incarcerated father.

Searing prison drama that ranks as one of the best of its kind: It impeccably weaves the grand illusion of virtue in an environment that deconstructs men to their core depravity. The acting is extraordinary.

d – David Mackenzie

w – Jonathan Asser

ph – Michael McDonough

pd – Tom McCullagh

ed – Jake Roberts, Nick Emerson

cos – Susan Scott

p – Gillian Berrie

Cast: Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend, Sam Spruell, Peter Ferdinando, Anthony Welsh, David Ajala, Raphael Sowole, Gershwyn Eustache

Whiplash (2014/US)

by

Julien Faddoul

* (1 star)

wd – Damien Chazelle

ph – Sharone Meir

pd – Melanie Jones

m – Justin Hurwitz

ed – Tom Cross

cos – Lisa Norcia

p – Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, David Lancaster, Michal Litvak

Cast: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, Melissa Benoist

Whiplash is the persistent, rabid story of a music student who studies jazz and wants to be a virtuoso, fastened to a film that doesn’t want to be about either.

I feel that the film could get away with misunderstanding the former, but the fact that it misunderstands the latter is what is so egregious. Speaking as someone who spent years studying under intense situations an aesthetic craft – in my case, the art of acting – I have seen the detrimental effects that blinding artists into athletes has, not only on the artist, but also on the culture.

Crisp Criticism - "The Judge", "Tusk", "God Help the Girl"

by

Julien Faddoul

The Judge

A successful lawyer returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder.

Desultory, wan family drama where characters treat each other with needlessly glib and complicated actions instead of using easily accessible common sense.

d – David Dobkin

w – David Dobkin, Nick Schenk, Bill Dubuque

ph – Janusz Kaminski

pd – Mark Ricker

m – Thomas Newman

ed – Mark Livolsi

cos – Marlene Stewrat

p – David Dobkin, Susan Downey, David Gambino

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard, Leighton Meester, Ken Howard

Crisp Criticism - "Gone Girl", "The Immigrant", "Obvious Child"

by

Julien Faddoul

Gone Girl ***

With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.

Staggeringly realized, preposterously plotted pulp-thriller that constantly remodels itself throughout its duration. What begins as a tawdry crime drama, becomes an electrifying depiction of the inherent aspects of reciprocity in human relationships. It signifies a director with a total command of his cinematic powers.

d – David Fincher

w – Gillian Flynn   (Based on the Novel by Gillian Flynn)

ph – Jeff Cronenweth

pd – Donald Graham Burt

m – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

ed – Kirk Baxter

cos – Trish Summerville

p – Cean Chaffin,. Joshua Donan, Arnon Milchan, Reese Witherspoon

Cast: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, David Clennon, Lisa Banes, Missi Pyle, Emily Ratajkowski, Sela Ward, Scoot McNairy, Casey Wilson, Lola Kirke, Boyd Holbrook