Sure, we have all seen our share of an “Unstable Mabel” in cinema throughout the years. Some, more than others, do stand out in craziness, chaos and curiosity. These furious females in film–at least the ones that we will spotlight in this particular movie column–have something to their off-kilter filter that dares to dig deep …
Were Bill Cosby’s name not synonymous with mud right now, What We Did on Our Holiday could be easily titled Kids Say the Darndest Things. Big names like Rosamund Pike and David Tennant headline the film, but it’s the kids who steal the show.
Christoph Waltz is prepping his directorial debut, The Worst Marriage in Georgetown, for which he will also produce and star. In the film, Waltz will play Albrecht Muth, a man who sought to enter the social elite and the privileged political circles by marrying the wealthy, 71-year-old Viola Drath when he was just 26. The …
Gone Girl Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross Columbia Back in 2010, David Fincher reaching out to the frontman from Nine Inch Nails felt like a 90s reunion, a fan casting list straight out of BuzzFeed’s nostalgia machine. In hindsight, Trent Reznor and longtime collaborator Atticus Ross’s score for The Social Network was something far more dour than …
It is a crime against the film world to label David Fincher’s newest, ‘Gone Girl,’ with only one word or phrase. There are elements of “thriller” here, an essence of “police procedural.” There’s a teaspoon of “black comedy”, a dash of “recession-related social relevance” and a heaping helping of “media satire”
Based on Gillian Flynn’s novel of the same name, Gone Girl’s literal translation and loyal adaptation acts as the film’s best friend and worst enemy. Some of the best parts of the novel work great on screen, while others are hard to portray. Since the majority of the audience is fully aware of what’s going on, widespread alterations are inevitably taken with caution, no matter how big or small. If too much of the storyline is given away too hastily, the appeal is lost before its midpoint. Unfortunately for director David Fincher, what’s left is a campy shell of a plot extracted from any remnants of wit and mystery.
Fincher is an expert chemist when it comes to concocting the nastiest tales of cynicism and darkness. Gone Girl may not be the culmination of his efforts to date, but it’s undoubtedly a sinister piece of work. There’s an oppressive air within the film, from its meticulously created soundscape and score (from Fincher alums Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) to its plasticized aesthetic. The cynical attitude is evident from the first frame, as the camera looks at the top of Amy’s (Rosamund Pike) head and Nick (Ben Affleck) says he’d like to “crack [his] wife’s head” to reveal the secrets lying in her labyrinthine brain. From that kickoff, we understand this is not a happy marriage. Maybe Fincher feels no marriages are happy.
The New York Film Festival starts today, and with it critics and industry members will get their first look at Gone Girl and Inherent Vice, leaving only a few studio tent poles remaining throughout the fall. They’ll also get a renewed look at Mr. Turner, Foxcatcher, and Birdman, so expect those to be back in …
Comparing a film adaptation to its novel source material is like comparing apples and oranges; the two are so completely different in the way they tell stories and convey ideas, either through visuals or through text, that it’s pointless to say one is better. In the case of the upcoming Gone Girl however, the film …
Note. There are no specific spoilers for Gone Girl in this piece. Gone Girl is a powerful bullet-train of a novel that takes a little while to get you settled in to your seat, but once you’re in and buckled up, brace yourself, because it doesn’t let you go until the final gripping page, and you’ll …
Jack Reacher Written for the screen and directed by Christopher McQuarrie USA, 2012 Jack Reacher opens with a point-of-view sniper sequence in which a lone gunman causes panic, killing multiple citizens from afar. This impressive, tense scene, as well as a few immediately following it, adds up to a completely dialogue-free opening stretch of roughly …