Cosmopolis
A super-rich CEO spends the day driving around in his limousine. I wasn’t sure how to take this when I read the book, and I’m still a little unsure what DeLillo is doing. Cronenberg adds his usual graphic elements to the mix, but that sheds no light on anything, not really. Liked the language and dialogue. Everybody does a very good job. **
A Late Quartet
Everything in this film about the tribulations of a string quartet is extremely refined. Unfortunately, all the food value has been refined right out of it. All the characters, and their interactions, are clichés. Terrible waste of incredible acting ability. Not horrible, just really pale. **
Open City
Interesting Korean film about a sinister pick-pocket manipulating a policeman and his pick-pocket mother. Emotionally brutal, well acted, and a cohesive and believable narrative. It isn’t great, but I enjoyed watching it. **
Zero Dark Thirty
Interesting, well-acted movie about the hunt and assassination of Osama bin Laden. There is an emotional distance created, perhaps, by the ambivalent main character. Really well directed. Really glad I saw it. **
Total Recall
Remake of the film of the Philip K. Dick story about a future where you can be given any memories you want. The question becomes, how do you tell them from reality. Stylish, adequately acted, and ultimately empty because, like the Schwarzenegger version, it never deals with the real issue. Another useless remake. *
End of Watch
Movie about two L. A. cops working the mean streets. While the narrative unfolded I was really invested, and worried about them. But, there are narrative, especially POV, inconsistencies, and as soon as it ended, I felt like I had been artificially manipulated. Really disliked the very end. But Gyllenhaal and Peña were good, and I’m glad I saw it. **
