It is truly a mixed bag this week.
A film about a man turned into a walrus. It’s so bizarre you won’t believe it.
A solid drama starring Robert Downey Jr., wearing a different kind of suit, and
an indie film that I didn’t love, but many of my fellow reviewers did. Read on,
friends, for your dose of weekly film reviews.
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THIS WEEK'S PREVIEWS
(My movie Pick of the week)
The Judge ✪✪✪½
Opens in Australia: 9th
October 2014
USA:
10th October 2014 UK: 17th
October 2014
Other Countries: Release Information
Perth: Luna Palace Cinemas
Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall
are magnificent as the two leads in what is really a film about small town life
and family, and what binds it all together and what spins it apart. Even though the
film is about a legal drama, don’t go expecting a Law and Order courtroom spectacle. The court case is only
the background to the family story and it’s history, and it doesn’t have much screen time.
This film reminds me of last year’s August:
Osage County. This time it’s from the male point of view with the
cantankerous and seemingly harsh patriarch (Duvall) on emotional trial by his estranged
son (Downey Jr.).
While I found it a compelling
story, brilliantly filmed and acted, I can’t say I loved it. HOWEVER, my
husband commented that it was more a man’s movie and that he felt very
connected and emotion about the themes. I can see that absolutely now as I write this.
This will be one of the films
mentioned in the awards season—mark my words, bar one, I predicted every win correctly for the Oscars this year.
I don’t think it will win, but there will be some nominations from it. Girls, take your husband or partner along to The Judge. The more I think about it, the more I
believe it is a film your man would enjoy seeing, and for us girls, well, Robert Downey Jr. is always great to watch.
STUDIO
BLURB
In "The Judge," Robert Downey Jr. stars as big city
lawyer Hank Palmer, who returns to his childhood home where his estranged
father, the town's judge (Robert Duvall), is suspected of murder. He sets out
to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked
away from years before. -- (C) Warner Bros.
Tusk ✪✪✪½
Opens in Australia: 19th
October 2014
USA:
19th September 2014 UK: No
release as yet
Other Countries: Release Information
Perth: Luna Palace Cinemas
Seriously sicko film that was made
from a crazy idea hatched on a podcast. Really, truly, yes! Poor Justin Long
gets turned into a Walrus. Yep, that’s not a misprint. He gets transformed via
surgery into a Walrus.
Johnny Depp is in this, too, as a
very odd detective. Haley Joel Osment (remember the kid from Sixth Sense—you wouldn’t even recognize
him in this) is Justin Long’s character’s podcast partner. It’s a bit like the
Spanish film starring Antonio Banderas released last year, The Skin I Live In.
All I will say is that I’ve seen
it, and I can’t unsee it, so you have been warned. It’s one of those films
people will be talking about. You will hear them in the halls, saying “It was
so disgusting. He chopped off....” “And then he attached it to…”
Unlike most films, I probably will
never forget this film (not sure if that is a good thing). If it appeals to you
and you like your humor black with no sugar, then off you go and watch a man
become a walrus. Sadly, I’ve seen worse.
STUDIO
BLURB
Red State director Kevin Smith
takes the helm for this horror film starring Justin Long as a podcaster who is
targeted by a sadistic killer while attempting to land an interview with a
misanthropic adventurer (Michael Parks). Genesis Rodriguez and Haley Joel
Osment co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Obvious
Child ✪✪
Opens in Australia: 9th
October 2014
USA:
20th June 2014 UK:
29th August 2014
Other Countries: Release Information
Perth: Luna Palace Cinemas
Everyone I spoke to after this film
preview loved this. Me? Nope. I didn’t find the character engaging or funny. It
was mostly unoriginal in its humor. Although the film’s makers did seem to
think they were breaking down some kind of barrier in taste and decorum. But
that little bird truly flew out the window with Bridesmaids and it ain’t never coming back.
However it could be that being a
mom with two teenagers means that this kind of film just doesn’t float my boat anymore.
Maybe I’ve been there, done that twenty-five years ago, so now it’s boring. Also,
I don’t really find the topic of abortion hilarious or worthy of jokes. If the
synopsis appeals, then feel free to ignore my rating.
STUDIO
BLURB
Jenny Slate, Saturday Night Live royalty, plays Donna Stern, a
27-year-old Brooklyn comedian whose unapologetically lewd, warmhearted wit is
pretty irresistible with audiences. When she gets heartlessly “dumped up with”
by her two-timing boyfriend, Donna plunges into some light stalking and heavy
moping. Hitting a serious low point, she performs a dreary set of break-up
vengeance and Holocaust jokes and drunkenly falls into bed with a nice young
professional named Max (Jake Lacy) - not remotely her type. A few weeks later, condoms
be damned, she’s pregnant. Now Donna, incapable of telling anything but the
naked truth when she’s on stage, will resort to any means to avoid telling Max
the score. As her date with Planned Parenthood draws near, she must confront
her doubts and fears like never before.
If you’ve enjoyed these reviews, please
share with your friends and followers on social media and I will be very
grateful. I love new readers who love film.
