Movie Week - Let The Right One In

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The final offering for Movie Week is Let The Right One In.  It’s sort of a departure for me because I’m not really the biggest fan of the horror genre.   I don’t care for monsters or demons and I’m not interested in slasher flicks. 

But this film had a few things going for it.  First off it was foreign.  Secondly, the word of mouth has been nothing but glowing.  And lastly, I was genuinely curious about it. 

So did Movie Week end on a high note or a low note?

Movie Week - Jack Reacher

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After the dismal movie that was Oblivion, I was reluctant to watch other Tom Cruise movie.  I really didn’t know if I could deal with being disappointed twice in a row.  But then I remember something Un Gajje said to me about Jack Reacher. 

Actually that’s not quite right, I remember that Un Gajje had said something to me about Jack Reacher, or rather the female lead, but I didn’t remember what he said.  “The female lead in that…” Tried as I did, I couldn’t remember what he said. 

Spoiler alert: I eventually did.

Movie Week - Oblivion

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Ok, so the actual final double feature for Movie Week is a Tom Cruise double feature.  As my fellow Bronx resident Un Gajje likes to point out to me every chance he gets, Tom Cruise is the greatest living movie star around.  So Oblivion should be a great, right? 

As an added bonus, the film also stars Morgan Freeman, which means if I’m lucky Morgan Freeman’s Dead Hand will be front and center during much of the action.  I think it’s fair to say that I’m the world’s biggest fan of Morgan Freeman’s Dead Hand. 

And so we have Oblivion.

Movie Week - Mud

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Everyone has their own theory about when exactly the McConaissance began.  Clearly we’re still experiencing it, though a loss at the Emmys could possibly signal its decline.  Still you can’t argue that Matthew McConaughey is in full swing. 

But did the McConaissance begin with McConaughey selecting different roles and turning in performances with nuance or did it begin when the critics noticed that he’d begun doing that?  If it’s the latter, then Mud is when it began. 

Movie Week - Big Fan

For the final double feature of Movie Week, I opted to pick two films that had perception shifting performances by the lead actors.  First up is Big Fan.

Patton Oswalt is a minor deity in geek culture.  He not only wears his geek flag proudly, but he’s also taken part in some of the most cult shows ever.  He’s incredibly funny and a talented comedian.  But can he act? 

Big Fan sets out to answer that. 

Movie Week - The Girlfriend Experience

The second half of our Soderbergh double feature is The Girlfriend Experience.  This is very much the other side of Soderbergh.  This is the Soderbergh of K Street.  This is a challenging Soderbergh. 

But on the plus side it stars Sasha Grey. 

Oh, have I got your attention now? 

Movie Week - Side Effects

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I couldn’t do a Movie Week without having a double feature of Steven Soderbergh.  This time around we start things off Side Effects.  Side Effects is billed as Soderbergh’s final theatrical release before he retired. 

Soderbergh is always a fun director, because you never really know what kind of film you’re going to get.  Sometimes you get Traffic Soderbergh and sometimes you get Full Frontal Soderbergh. 

So which one is Side Effects?