Review: JC Chandor's 'A Most Violent Year' starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain

There are many different ways a person can be tested, but not all of them make for good movies. With only three movies to his credit, J.C. Chandor has taken audiences through three very different fights for survival, each more gripping than the last. Margin Call, for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay, took us through an intense economic meltdown; All is Lost depicted a physical battle for survival against Mother Nature. Chandor's latest, the gripping crime-thriller A Most Violent Year is his most perceptive yet and looks at one man's quest to achieve the American Dream while enduring the moral pitfalls at every turn.

A Most Violent Year is something of a cross between The Godfather and Macbeth; it's about power, the corrupting influence of it and the constant need to attain more of it. But the film is also about the choices made along the way. Does having power matter if the road to getting it is littered with moral and ethical compromises? Oscar Isaac, looking more like a young Al Pacino than ever before, plays Abel Morales, a heating oil magnate in 1981 New York. It's the most violent year in the city's record and Abel is dealing with a dilemma. He's just put down a hefty deposit for a prime piece of land that will completely evolve his business, but the balance must be paid within 30 days or the deal is off and the down payment lost. However his trucks are being hijacked at an increasing clip and the drivers are looking to arm themselves, which would be illegal. Oh, and the District Attorney (David Oyelowo) is in the midst of dogged investigation into the business for possible violations.

Making for a fiery, well-dressed instigator is his wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain), the daughter of a mob boss who happens to be the business' original owner. She has her husband's back through thick and thin but she's got a dangerous edge that he simply doesn't. She's her father's daughter, that's for sure, and is willing to cross boundaries that Abel won't. As his pride clashes with her ambition the sparks ignite in unexpectedly gripping ways without fully crossing over into a murderous gangster movie. While there are brief bursts of violence you keep waiting for some kind of turf war to erupt but that never happens. Chandor instead thrills us with the choices his characters make and the implications of them. When Anna breaks out a gun for the first time we know it's going to be trouble. When hijackers seem to be targeting a weak-willed driver (Elyes Gamble) it turns into a situation that could destroy everything Abel has built. And through all of this Chandor keeps the tension on a slow boil, feeding us just enough action to keep us on the edge of our seats. A close-quarters shoot-out in the city streets followed by a dangerous foot race into the bowels of the city pay off in spades. Not every subplot pays off as satisfactorily as they could as Chandor tries to juggle a bit too much for everything to wrap up neatly.

After only dealing with Robert Redford in All is Lost, Chandor has gathered a superb and very large ensemble for A Most Violent Year. Isaac can add another must-see performance to his impressive resume as the calculating, simmering Abel. Chastain gets the flashiest role and the flashiest outfits as Anna, nailing a Brooklyn accent and Brooklyn swagger like a pro. Albert Brooks, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Oyelowo all bring their A-game to the table as Chandor proves again how good he is at pulling forth the best from his stars. Meanwhile cinematographer Bradford Young evokes the gritty street-level feel of early Martin Scorsese and Sydney Lumet, which when paired with Chandor's sharp screenplay makes A Most Violent Year one of the best crime movies in recent memory. Ultimately it's a film about doing whatever it takes to survive without losing one's sense of self in the process. They don't make movies like this much anymore when they used to be commonplace. A Most Violent Year is truly a rare breed.

 Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Jessica Chastain's Icy Stare in First Image from Guillermo Del Toro's 'Crimson Peak'

Forget about Paranormal Activity next Halloween, because a Guillermo Del Toro horror is set to take over the genre crown. Del Toro is following up Pacific Rim with his star-studded gothic ghost story, Crimson Peak, and now the first image from it has arrived featuring Jessica Chastain looking downright spooky.

Starring Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, and Charlie Hunnam, the film has been described as a haunted house story and a gothic romance, which could be amazing in the hands of someone like Del Toro. He hasn't been in territory this dark since Pan's Labyrinth, and just this image alone is worth getting excited about. Here's the official synopsis:

In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds…and remembers.

Hopefully this means a trailer is right around the corner, preferably the one shown at Comic-Con last summer which was fantastic. Surprisingly it hasn't made a way to the Internet yet.

Crimson Peak opens October 16th 2015.  [TheFilmStage]

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The Hottest Leading Ladies of 2014

James Brown told us "It's a man's world", but the ladies own us guys heart and soul. Every year I like to take a look back at some of the leading ladies who really got my engine going over the last twelve months, both with their stunning beauty and incredible performances. While I could easily just chart them based on who was sexy, that wold lead to Kate Upton being on here for The Other Woman, and that simply can not be allowed to happen. Are there some personal favorites on here who probably wouldn't turn up on other lists? Absolutely. You all know my thing for Zoe Bell. But can I also say that every woman on this list did tremendous work this year? Damn right...even if some of the movies they were in weren't so great. Frankly, I like the idea of any list that allows me to put Zoey Deutch alongside Jessica Chastain. Plus it's not completely lost on me that Rosario Dawson has now made the list two years in a row. Rosario Dawson is everything. Nor can I escape the fact that most of the roles these women played were either psychotic or incredibly violent.

So without further ado, here are my picks for the hottest leading ladies of 2014, and be sure to check out our other "End of the Year" lists!

Zoe Bell- Raze

Tessa Thompson- Dear White People

Stacy Martin- Nymphomaniac

Zoey Deutch- Vampire Academy

Eva Green- 300: Rise of an Empire and White Bird in a Blizzard

 

Shailene Woodley- White Bird in a Blizzard

Emily Blunt- Edge of Tomorrow

Emily Browning- God Help the Girl

Rosamund Pike- Gone Girl

Hana Selimović- The Disobedient

Gugu Mbatha-Raw- Beyond the Lights

Katherine Waterston- Inherent Vice

Evangeline Lilly- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Jessica Chastain- A Most Violent Year

Rosario Dawson- Top Five

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Review: 'The Color of Time' starring James Franco, Jessica Chastain, Mila Kunis, and More

Imagine you're an NYU film student and, amazingly, you're going to be working on a feature film with Jessica Chastain, James Franco, and Mila Kunis. Pretty awesome, right? Now imagine their disappointment to learn the film would be another of Franco's "passion projects" nobody will ever want to watch. That's the case with The Color of Time, a biographical impression of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, CK Williams, directed by twelve of Franco's students as a narrative recreation of his work. It makes sense that fledgling talents would be a little unsure stylistically, much like their teacher, but the result is disjointed and trivial, and probably should have stayed in the classroom.

Hopping around in time to follow Williams at various life stages, he's played by a handful of actors including Franco and Henry Hopper. Taking the counter-intuitive route, a straight narrative is opted for rather than some kind of anthology with Williams' poems serving as the throughline. None of it amounts to much other than a series of bland flashbacks with sparse dialogue, and apparently Franco must have taught an extensive course on Terrence Malick. Right down to Chastain prancing in the grass under sun-drenched skies as Williams' angelic mother, her scenes are basically a shot-for-shot homage to The Tree of Life. Unfortunately, the other periods in Williams' life turn out much the same with each director aping the style of a different filmmaker they've probably long admired. It's distracting, especially if the ultimate goal is to put us closer in touch with Williams' elegant words. The Color of Time  is essentially a series of cinematic postcards; beautiful but meaningless.

Also starring Zach Braff as Williams' best friend, Mila Kunis as his bubbly wife, plus an appearance by Bruce Campbell, there's certainly a wealth of talent here and they all bring a soulfulness to their performances. Best of all may be Kunis, who brings a levity and lightness that cuts through the droll mood. Fans of Williams who have found his poetry inspiring and profound will wish for more experienced directors who could bring that into being on screen. It's possible that in this group is the next Quentin Tarantino or Terrence Malick, but they aren't ready for the big leagues yet and The Color of Time is proof of that.

 Rating: 1.5 out of 5

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Kit Harington joins Jessica Chastain in Xavier Dolan's Next Film

There's a pretty good chance we'll be talking about Canadian director Xavier Dolan as an Oscar winner for his current film, Mommy, which has been earning incredible reviews (including mine) on its way to an Indie Spirit Award nomination. Dolan has been out there doing press for the film to drum up some awards buzz, and of course he was asked about his next film, a celebrity satire titled The Death and Life of John F. Donovan. While he has something provocative to say about star Jessica Chastain's role, Dolan has also given her a co-star in Game of Thrones' Kit Harington.

Deadline reported the news of Harington's addition to the cast, playing the titular American actor "whose correspondence with an 11-year-old actor living with his mother in England is exposed, prompting ill-founded assumptions that begin to destroy his life and career." Chastain plays the editor of a gossip magazine that targets Donovan when the accusations come to light. According to Dolan, it's going to be one showy role Chastain, one that will see her get pretty nasty. He tells Thompson on Hollywood...

Dolan: "We're going to have so much fun doing this. She's a mega tricky villain. Like full-on bitch. I'm a fan of what she does and I can see all that she can do, but she has not played this part. It's a very specific part. It's sheer evil." 

Sounds amazing, and another serious turn for Chastain who got pretty vicious in A Most Violent Year. As for the rest of the film, Dolan is looking to go much broader than the personal stories he's accustomed to...

Dolan: “What I’m interested in is how your career choices can affect your private life, romantically, or with your mom, your relatives, your friends, your hometown, and how media manipulates information – not newspapers or blogs, but the magazines that people impulse-buy that tell you what’s hot, and who’s not. I’m thinking of how this culture has transformed the movies that we make and stories we tell and how artists are free – or not – to be themselves.” 

Mommy is in theaters now and you should be seeking it out. The Death and Life of John F. Donovan should go into production soon, hopefully to be released next year.

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'Birdman' Tops Indie Spirit Awards Nominations with Six

Okay, so the term "independent feature" has lost a lot of its meaning lately as budgets for art house movies continue to expand, but the Independent Spirit Awards are still a big deal and the first major nominations of the season. Are you ready to open the flood gates? Here we go.

The Indie Spirit Awards announced their full list of contenders for their 2015 show, and leading the way with six nominations is Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's meta-comedy Birdman, including Best Feature, Best Actor for Michael Keaton, Best Supporting Male for Edward Norton, Best Cinematography, and Best Supporting Female for Emma Stone. In a major surprise considering nobody saw Kumiko the Treasure Hunter (I did, and loved it), Rinko Kikuchi earned a Best Female Lead nomination, along with Jenny Slate for Obvious Child, Marion Cotillard for The Immigrant, Tilda Swinton for Only Lovers Left Alive, and Julianne Moore for Still Alice. Picking up five nominations are Richard Linklater's Boyhood, Ava Duvernay's Selma, and Nightcrawler starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

In a move that has me utterly baffled and I suspect was done only so he might appear on stage, Andre Benjamin earned Best Male Lead nomination for his sleepy performance as Jimi Hendrix in Jimi: All is by My Side. He'll go up against David Oyelowo for Selma, Gyllenhaal for Nightcrawler, Keaton for Birdman, and John Lithgow for Love is Strange.

Today is a big day for debut writer/director Justin Simien whose race-based comedy Dear White People earned him a Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay nomination. Also performing well with four nods was Damien Chazelle's crowd-pleasing jazz drumming thriller Whiplash, including one for Best Director and another for J.K. Simmons as Best Supporting Male. Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice will be honored with the Robert Altman Award, while Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher will be presented with the Special Distinction Award.

Full list of nominees is below. The Indie Spirit Awards takes place on Saturday, February 21st.

BEST FEATURE
(Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole
Boyhood
Producers: Richard Linklater, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, Cathleen Sutherland
Love is Strange
Producers: Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, Jay Van Hoy
Selma
Producers: Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Oprah Winfrey
Whiplash
Producers: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, David Lancaster, Michael Litvak

BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle
Whiplash
Ava DuVernay
Selma
Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Richard Linklater
Boyhood
David Zellner
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter

BEST SCREENPLAY
Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski
Big Eyes
J.C. Chandor
A Most Violent Year
Dan Gilroy
Nightcrawler
Jim Jarmusch
Only Lovers Left Alive
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias
Love is Strange

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Producers: Justin Begnaud, Sina Sayyah
Dear White People
Director/Producer: Justin Simien
Producers: Effie T. Brown, Ann Le, Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Lena Waithe
Nightcrawler
Director: Dan Gilroy
Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak
Obvious Child
Director: Gillian Robespierre
Producer: Elisabeth Holm
She’s Lost Control
Director/Producer: Anja Marquardt
Producers: Mollye Asher, Kiara C. Jones

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Desiree Akhavan
Appropriate Behavior
Sara Colangelo
Little Accidents
Justin Lader
The One I Love
Anja Marquardt
She’s Lost Control
Justin Simien
Dear White People

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.
Blue Ruin
Writer/Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Producers: Richard Peete, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani
It Felt Like Love
Writer/Director/Producer: Eliza Hittman
Producers: Shrihari Sathe, Laura Wagner
Land Ho!
Writers/Directors: Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens
Producers: Christina Jennings, Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy
Man From Reno
Writer/Director: Dave Boyle
Writers: Joel Clark, Michael Lerman
Producer: Ko Mori
Test
Writer/Director/Producer: Chris Mason Johnson
Producer: Chris Martin

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Marion Cotillard
The Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
Julianne Moore
Still Alice
Jenny Slate
Obvious Child
Tilda Swinton
Only Lovers Left Alive

BEST MALE LEAD
André Benjamin
Jimi: All Is By My Side
Jake Gyllenhaal
Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)John Lithgow
Love is Strange
David Oyelowo
Selma

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Patricia Arquette
Boyhood
Jessica Chastain
A Most Violent Year
Carmen Ejogo
Selma
Andrea Suarez Paz
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Emma Stone
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Riz Ahmed
Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke
Boyhood
Alfred Molina
Love is Strange
Edward Norton
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
J.K. Simmons
Whiplash

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Darius Khondji
The Immigrant
Emmanuel Lubezki
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Sean Porter
It Felt Like Love
Lyle Vincent
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Bradford Young
Selma

BEST EDITING
Sandra Adair
Boyhood
Tom Cross
Whiplash
John Gilroy
Nightcrawler
Ron Patane
A Most Violent Year
Adam Wingard
The Guest

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
20,000 Days on Earth
Directors: Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard
Producers: Dan Bowen, James Wilson
CITIZENFOUR
Director/Producer: Laura Poitras
Producers: Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky
Stray Dog
Director: Debra Granik
Producer: Anne Rosellini
The Salt of the Earth
Directors: Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders
Producer: David Rosier
Virunga
Director/Producer: Orlando von Einsiedel
Producer: Joanna Natasegara

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
Force Majeure
(Sweden)
Director: Ruben Östlund
Ida
(Poland)
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Leviathan
(Russia)
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Mommy
(Canada)
Director: Xavier Dolan
Norte, the End of History
(Philippines)
Director: Lav Diaz
Under the Skin
(United Kingdom)
Director: Jonathan Glazer

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
Inherent Vice
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Casting Director: Cassandra Kulukundis
Ensemble Cast: Josh Brolin, Martin Donovan, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short Serena Scott Thomas, Benicio Del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Michael Kenneth Williams, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon

SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD
Foxcatcher
Director/Producer: Bennett Miller
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik
Writers: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman
Actors: Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum

18th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 18th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Chad Burris
Elisabeth Holm
Chris Ohlson

21st ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 21st annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
H.
Directors: Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia
The Retrieval
Director: Chris Eska

20th ANNUAL LENSCRAFTERS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 20th annual Truer Than Fiction Award, sponsored by LensCrafters is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by LensCrafters.
Approaching the Elephant
Director: Amanda Rose Wilder
Evolution of a Criminal
Director: Darius Clark Monroe
The Kill Team
Director: Dan Krauss
The Last Season
Director: Sara Dosa

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New Trailer for James Franco's 'The Color of Time' with Mila Kunis and Jessica Chastain

Formerly titled Tar, James Franco's The Color of Time is another experimental endeavor that may or may not pan out as he hoped. Franco enlisted twelve New York University film students to piece together a comprehensive look at the life and times Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, C.K. Williams, and the result is a melodic, star-studded affair that resembles the work of Terrence Malick.

Franco emptied out the Rolodex and called up Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Bruce Campbell, Henry Hopper, and Zach Braff to appear in the film about Williams (played by Franco) as he prepares for a reading in New York City while haunted by memories of the past. It may have been a better idea to craft an anthology rather than a single narrative because even in this brief footage it seems a little disjointed. However there's a lot of talent in front of the camera, and who knows, maybe a new superstar filmmaker will emerge out of it.

The Color of Time hits VOD on December 2nd, followed by a brief theatrical run on December 19th.


The Color of Time by Teaser-Trailer.com

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Watch Colin Farrell and Jessica Chastain in the New Trailer for 'Miss Julie'

Let's talk about Jessica Chastain for a moment because she's having arguably her best year yet; even better than when Zero Dark Thirty and The Help earned her Oscar nominations. This year we've already had a chance to see her in the grounded drama The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (which is technically three separate movies!), Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, and soon she'll star in JC Chandor's anticipated crime drama A Most Violent Year. And yet that's not all, and those who really dig Chastain will also want to seek out her performance in Miss Julie.

Directed by Liv Ullmann and co-starring Colin Farrell, the film has Chastain as an aristocrat's daughter who enters a torrid, if mutually loathsome affair with her valet. The power struggle, one fueled by equal parts hatred and lust, threatens to consume them both. A new U.S. trailer for the film has arrived and the passion between Chastain and Farrell is palpable, and it looks like commanding performances from both.

Miss Julie opens December 5th.

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Jessica Chastain Demands Respect from David Oyelowo in Clip from 'A Most Violent Year'

If there's one film that has all of the ingredients to be a powerhouse this season it's A Most Violent Year. Directed by JC Chandor (All is Lost, Margin Call), with a cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Oscar Isaac, and David Oyelowo, no film comes with quite the same level of pedigree behind it. The trailers we've seen so far have been blazing hot fire, and now the first clip has arrived that turns the heat it up even more.

Set in 1981 New York, the most violent year in the city's record, the story follows immigrant businessman Abel (Isaac) and his wife Anna (Chastain), as they try to expand their business while surrounded by corruption. In this scene we see Anna, who happens to be the daughter of a mob boss, making a not-so-subtle demand of respect from Oyelowo's character. In less than a minute we've got the lay of the land completely, and it's clear Anna is not someone to be trifled with.

A Most Violent Year gets an Oscar qualifying run on December 31 before expanding in January.

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Review: Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar' starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and More

Heavy is the weight of expectation on everything Christopher Nolan does at this point. Eight incredibly successful, thought-provoking films, including three of the greatest superhero movies ever and one of the best pieces of sci-fi in Inception, will cause most to believe Nolan will always perform on that high level. And that has certainly been the case with his ninth film, Interstellar, which has been shrouded in secrecy; promising high-concept science of the quantum physics variety, the kind us laymen get cloudy-eyed over. There's no denying Nolan's sheer ambition and glorious intellectual curiosity, it's in Interstellar's DNA, but what good is that adventurous spirit if Nolan doesn't trust the audience enough to see it through to the end?

At the head of a glowing cast is Matthew McConaughey as Cooper, a former NASA pilot now forced to become a farmer due to the severe lack of food. The near-future has seen the planet infected with an intentionally vague "blight" that has wiped out most of the crops and left the world covered in a thick dust. There's no place for men like Coop anymore; space flights have not only been ceased due to the costs (hey, that sounds familiar) but are also the subject of conspiracy theories used to paint space exploration in a negative light. Coop's daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy, played later by Jessica Chastain) takes after her old man, while his son wants to plow the fields and be useful. But it's becoming obvious that Earth doesn't have long left, and that all the farming in the world won't save it.

Fortunately, there's a glimmer of hope that emerges in Murph's room of all places, in the form of a "ghost" that knocks things off the wall and causes the dust to fall in what looks like binary code patterns. Using their wits, Murph and Coop follow the code's coordinates to a secret locale where they uncover his old mentor, Professor Brand (Michael Caine), who is leading a team of astronauts whose sole mission is to find humanity a new home planet. We've been aided in our journey by a mysterious wormhole that emerged out of nowhere, with the decidedly un-scientific theory that all-powerful beings left it there for us to find. These beings that are strong enough to leave wormholes lying around but not to just drop by and say "Hey, you could move humanity to this planet over here. We've decorated it nicely for ya." Others have gone ahead, scouting multiple new worlds but never returning, sending out beacons to the most promising prospects. It's then that Coop makes the gut-wrenching decision to leave his family behind and join in the next mission into deep space along with Brand's stiff and impersonal daughter Amelia (Anne Hathaway) and a pair of others. There's even a jokey little robot (voiced by Bill Irwin) tagging along for a dose of humor, although its presence doesn't quite work with the film's serious tone.

While often considered too precise, too clinical of a filmmaker, the genuine heart and wonder he injects into Interstellar is considerable. Especially during the first half of the film, during the earthbound portions as Coop searches for meaning in a world that no longer seems to need him. At the same time he must help his children find their own reason for existence and to nurture whatever that cause may be. In a way, he's carrying over themes of paternal legacy explored in all three of his Batman movies.

It's as Nolan and screenwriter brother Jonathan delve into the technical aspects that things begin to unravel. There are some huge ideas here, with Nolan again interested in the flexibility of time, much like with Inception. Only now one must factor in space and relativity, and the result are a bit jumbled. Certainly, the average moviegoer isn't going to understand a word of the technical gobbledygook, but that shouldn't really matter if the story is engrossing enough. And for a vast chunk of time it most definitely is. Shot mostly in 70mm IMAX, every single frame is an absolute stunner and demands to be seen in the larger format. Whether we're floating through the dark, silent void of space or hurtling impossibly through a black hole, the beauty Nolan is able to craft is impressive, right up there with what we saw in Gravity just last year. If only the same precision could be found in Hans Zimmer's overbearing score, which of course is meant to be epic but sounds like someone dropped a boulder on a giant organ and left it. The herky-jerky final act offers up a series of miscues as the film begins to resemble Event Horizonmore than 2001: A Space Odyssey. While it brings with it certain manufactured thrills that some audiences will love, it comes at the expense of what had been the film's calling card up to that point: science. Even more confusing is Nolan's decision to ditch the cerebral and rely more on the emotional; to show that love is a powerful enough force to overcome time and space. Nolan's point is clear, and maybe in a different film that message would resonate deeper, but in the deeply analytical and flawed Interstellar it's just lost in space.

 Rating: 3 out of 5

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New Trailer and Poster for 'A Most Violent Year' starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain

There are only a handful of directors that we look upon their every release as an event. J.C. Chandor has quickly achieved that status after only three movies: Margin Call, All is Lost, and his latest, A Most Violent Year, a 1980s-set drama starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. A new full-length trailer for the film has been released, backed by the smooth sounds of Marvin Gaye, and it looks like another beautiful, bold effort from Chandor. Isaac and Chastain star as an immigrant couple trying to run an honest business while surrounded by corrupt forces during the most violent year in New York City history.

Also starring Albert Brooks, David Oyelowo, and Alessandro Nivola, A Most Violent Year opens December 31st.


A Most Violent Year TRAILER 1 (2014) - Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain Crime Drama HD by MovieTrailerz

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Two New 'Interstellar' Clips Featuring Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain

It's time to go on Interstellar lockdown. With early reviews of Christopher Nolan's science-heavy film already out and screenings taking place tonight ahead of Wednesday's IMAX release, you won't find me looking at these two newly-released clips. But maybe you're still interested in finding out as much as possible, so check 'em out below.

Here's the official synopsis: With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes the most important mission in human history; traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Michael Caine, David Oyelowo, Wes Bently, John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn, Topher Grace, David Gyasi, Mackenzie Foy, Bill Irwin, Timothee Chalamet, and Matt Damon, Interstellar opens in IMAX on November 5th before going wide two days later.




Interstellar - Lungs by Teaser-Trailer.com

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Seth Rogen to Play Steve Wozniak in Steve Jobs Biopic; Jessica Chastain Sought for Role

While Steve Jobs is the first person who comes to mind when thinking of Apple, there were others who had a hand in the tech giant's formation. With Christian Bale set to play Jobs in Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin's upcoming biopic, Seth Rogen is now on board to play his friend and Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak.

Variety reports Rogen has signed on to play Wozniak, who has become something of a geek hero over the years. Josh Gad portrayed him in the Jobs film that released last year.  Also being eyed for an unspecified role is Jessica Chastain, although there are no details on how far into the process negotiations with her are.

No word on when filming begins but Bale, Rogen, possibly Chastain with a Sorkin script? Wow.

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Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar' Reveals Final Trailer; Confirms IMAX Release Date

Now that the final trailer for Christopher Nolan's secretive Interstellar is here, those eagerly awaiting the film's release in a few weeks are faced with a dilemma. It's a quandary that seems to follow all of Nolan's work, and it is whether or not to watch the footage and possibly have something spoiled; or wait the few weeks and see the whole thing.

For what it's worth, the latest trailer keeps the epic feel of the others while doing a pretty good job of maintaining the mystery. We know the particulars of the story without the finer details. Matthew McConaughey leads a team of astronauts into deep space when Earth becomes inhabitable. There's a lot more to it than that, and part of the fun is going to be watching how Nolan peels back those layers.

Starring Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck, and more, Interstellar has been confirmed for an early IMAX release on November 5th, opening nationwide two days later.

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New Photos from 'Interstellar'; Matthew McConaughey calls it 'Biggest Film" he's Ever Done

After keeping Interstellar under lock and key for so long, Christopher Nolan will be unveiling the film to anxious viewers before too long. Never one to reveal too much too soon, Nolan is now beginning to talk about it in measured doses while maintaining a sense of mystery. Recently it was Empire who caught up with him and stars Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, who spoke about the sci-fi epic's ambitious scope.

McConaughey:  "This is the grandest adventure I think any of us will ever see on film... This is the biggest film I've ever been a part of. This is one of the biggest films anyone's ever been a part of."

Those are pretty big words coming from McConaughey, who co-starred with Jodie Foster in the equally grand sci-fi film, Contact, early in his career.  Hathaway agrees, and believes Interstellar will have a reach that goes far beyond that of typical films, entering the national discussion in way few movies do...

Hathaway: "I am so excited for the world to receive this film, because there's going to be a new conversation I believe will happen because of it. It's not a dry, science-based film. It has a pulse. It's got blood in its veins."

As for Nolan, he doesn't go too far into details but does compare the film's structure to that of Inception...

Nolan: "It’s a very classically constructed movie, but the freshness of the narrative elements really enhance it. I liken it to the blockbusters I grew up with as a kid, family films in the best sense: edgy, incisive, challenging... "It’s almost a mirror image of 'Inception.' It expands out in the way 'Inception' contracts inwards."

Meanwhile, a handful of new images have been released that give us a look McConaughey, Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, and a bearded Casey Affleck, along with some behind-the-scenes shots of Nolan at work. Interstellar opens November 7th.

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Interview: Ned Benson Talks 'The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby'

Talk about a stroke of luck. It was more than a decade ago that writer/director Ned Benson met Jessica Chastain after one of his short films premiered at a barely-attended film festival. After the movie showed, a girl ran up to him and declared that she really wanted to work with him. That girl was Chastain, who at the time was just another struggling, unknown actress. The rest is pretty much history, with Benson and Chastain collaborating over the years on The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, an ambitious, emotionally tough story of a crumbling marriage.

Originally designed as a two-part romantic piece told from his and her perspectives, Benson pieced together a third arc titled "Them" that expands into more theaters this week. Along with Keeping it Reel's Tim Gordon, I had a chance to talk with Benson about The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, working with Chastain and James McAvoy on the film, and the decision to construct a third version of the story.

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Review: 'The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them', starring Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy

Ned Benson's The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is a unique thing, especially for a debut feature director. Originally designed as two movies, titled "Him" and "Her", both telling the same narrative from differing perspectives, the decision was made to appease audiences with a more neutral version titled "Them". The other two will be in theaters next month but "Them" is out now, and Benson's inexperience shows in tackling such a complicated narrative, but a pair of truly great performances save the day.

Similar in corrosive tone to Blue Valentine, the film chronicles the crumbling of the marriage between New York couple Eleanor Rigby (Jessica Chastain) and Connor (James McAvoy), when once it had been gloriously happy. When we first meet them it's at one of those high points, the two showing their playful side during a mischievous dinner date. "There's only one heart in this chest. Please be gentle with me.", he says to her early one. Nothing remotely gentle awaits him or the audience, however. The very next scene is a dazed and distraught Eleanor attempting to end her life on the Brooklyn Bridge. How such a loving couple could reach such a horrible low is a mystery that Benson keeps at arm's length and tucked inside solemn conversations. There's been a tragedy; one that left her depressed and him unable to cope with the hopelessness. When two people grieve differently it can drive a wedge between them worse than the tragedy itself.

Recovering after the suicide attempt, Eleanor shacks up with her family, leaving Connor without a clue as to what happened. Her father (William Hurt) is a college professor and psychologist, always speaking in well-meaning if clunky platitudes like "Tragedy is a foreign country. We don't know how to speak to the natives." Yeah, okay. Her mother (the great Isabelle Huppert) always has a glass of wine at the ready, and Eleanor's sister (Jess Weixler) needs a date. Poor Connor is left to manage his failing restaurant with chef pal Stuart (Bill Hader), while trying not to ask his successful father (Ciaran Hinds) for help. Eleanor and Connor move on without the other but find it hard to redefine themselves as single people. She heads back to school and strikes up a friendship with her abrasive professor (Viola Davis) who, in stark contrast to Eleanor, has abandoned all maternal instincts. Connor is stuck in emotional limbo; wanting to reconnect with Eleanor but finding it impossible to do so. He goes to some pretty extreme lengths to get her attention but it works, for better or worse.

Benson has a lot to say, and in melancholic fashion he explores the different ways people communicate with one another after a personal loss. Eleanor feels she has lost herself and struggles for reinvention, and she's surrounded by a family who are perhaps too eager to help. Connor is basically running in place, but the fact is he and Eleanor are weighed down by the burdens of the past and may always be. It's tough material, and Benson approaches it honestly. He's got a great visual eye, and his version of Brooklyn has a real majesty to it. Less effective is his screenplay which has characters making the kinds of awkward-sounding statements you'd never hear in life but always hear in badly written Hollywood movies. They probably read as very clever on the word processor but are less so in execution.

Fortunately, it helps when you have a cast as great as this one reciting the dialogue. Chastain and McAvoy are the stars here and they are simply incredible as two pained people trying to put on a brave front. McAvoy gives us flashes of the playful guy we've seen him play so often, but there's something darker lurking underneath it all. Chastain is, as always, beyond reproach, but it's fair to say that Eleanor remains a bit formless as a character. She remains a wisp of a figure through to the end; an idea of a character rather than a fully realized one. Despite this being a his and her story, Eleanor really is the focus and not being able to connect with her is an issue that perhaps only the "Her" version of the film can fix, and that should not be the case.The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby doesn't quite live up to the talent it's been gifted with, but Benson's bold first effort is worthy of attention.

 Rating: 3 out of 5

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