This week at the movies, Steve Jobs gets his due on the big screen; Peter Pan get a dark makeover; and the recession gets its own feature film.
Steve Jobs
There’s already been one stab at the story of Steve Jobs, the Apple cofounder and enigmatic leader who died just a few years ago. But this one is starring one of the greatest actors of our time, Michael Fassbender (instead of the other film’s lead, Ashton Kutcher) as Jobs. Directed by Oscar winner Danny Boyle (of Slumdog Millionaire fame), written by Aaron Sorkin (The Newsroom, the Social Network), and co-starring Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak and Kate Winslet as Joanna Hoffman, it’s an all-star cast relating the story of one of the most compelling figures of the century.
Perfect For: You’re an Apple Superfan, and love true stories. Also, Michael Fassbender is amazing.
What the Critics Say: As awesome as the Apple creator was. Says Rolling Stone: “Written, directed and acted to perfection, and so fresh and startling in conception and execution that it leaves you awed. Fassbender rips through the role of the volcanic Jobs. Is he really that good? Hell, yeah.” And, writes The New York Times: “It is a formally audacious, intellectually energized entertainment, a powerful challenge to the lazy conventions of Hollywood storytelling and a feast for connoisseurs of contemporary screen acting.”
Our Take: We’ll be first in line.
99 Homes
Apparently, we’ve recovered emotionally from the recession, because movies –“thrillers,” even— are being made about that awful time period just a few years ago. Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield star in this movie about the housing crisis. Dennis Nash (Garfield) is down and out, living in a trashy motel with his family after being evicted from his own home, and Rick Carver (Shannon) is the real estate shark who lets him in on his corrupt, predatory business. No one here escapes from greed’s ugly clutches.
Perfect For: Fans of suspense, great acting, and realistic drama.
What the Critics Say: High marks for the actors and the direction by Ramin Bahrani. Writes the AP: “Where many well-meaning social dramas inevitably turn soggy with moralizing, the visceral 99 Homes keeps its fire.” And, says the Los Angeles Times: “Bahrani's latest film, "99 Homes," an examination of the crisis in bank foreclosures and repossessed homes in the guise of a thriller, is his best yet, largely because of a dynamite performance by co-star Michael Shannon.”
Our Take: Not exactly heartwarming fun, but looks intriguing and smart, so we’ll see you at the movies.
Pan
A reinvented, darker, more surreal take on the classic, Peter Pan, directed by Joe Wright. Technically a “prequel” —with a nearly unrecognizable Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard, Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily (who seems to be a stand in for Tinkerbell) and Cara Delevingne (the It model of the moment as a mermaid), it’s an all-star cast that most kids won’t recognize or care about.
Perfect For: Older kids and younger tweens. Not really for the littlest.
What the Critics Say: An unnecessary reinvention of the wheel, which has a pretty look but not a very clever take on the story. Says Variety: “Stripping all whimsy and wonder from the Peter Pan story, Joe Wright's prequel is a busy, bungled bust.” The Wrap is more unkind: “Ugly to look at, shrill to listen to, and performed by actors who have been encouraged to camp it up madly in the style usually favored by aging British sitcom stars playing storybook characters in Christmas panto(mime) productions.”
Our Take: So many other movies made about Peter Pan you can watch that this one doesn’t need to be among them.
