January 9, 2023
Director: Scott Cooper
Adapted from the 2003 novel by Louis Bayard
Retired detective Augustus Landor (Christian Bale) was asked by officers of the United States Military Academy at West Point to investigate the death of cadet Leroy Fry. Fry had been found hanged on a tree branch, but his body was further desecrated by the removal of his heart out of his chest cavity while he was already in the morgue. Landor requested another cadet, poet Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling), to help with his investigations.
With Christian Bale leading the cast of this 19th century whodunit, this was an absorbing watch, albeit with several red herrings. Providing support were reliable British character actors like Simon McBurney, Timothy Spall, Toby Jones, and the always brilliant Gillian Anderson as the eccentric Mrs. Julia Marquis. A main point of interest was the inclusion of real life writer Edgar Allan Poe into this fictional tale, and his poetic lines were sublimely delivered by Harry Melling (who started his career as Dudley Dursley in the "Harry Potter" films). 7/10.
Director: Noah Baumbach
Adapted from the 1985 novel by Don DeLillo
College professor in "Hitler Studies" Jack Gladney (Adam Driver) is married to Babette (Greta Gerwig), his fourth wife, and are raising a blended family with four kids. One day, Babette's daughter Denise saw Babette throw a container of an unknown pill called Dylar and was worried for her. One day, a major train accident with a delivery truck nearby caused chemical waste to be released into the air, resulting in mass panic and evacuations.
This was not a very cohesive movie, with the three acts in three different genres. I liked the satiric first part the best, with Adam Driver's Jack Gladney interacting with his pretentious co-faculty, particularly Don Cheadle's Prof. Murray Suskind, who wanted to create his own course about Elvis. The entire Act 2 felt like slapstick treatment of an environmental disaster. The third act was heavy but weird drama that felt out of sync with everything else. 6/10.
Director: Matthew Warchus
Adapted from the 2011 theater musical by Matthew Warchus, Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin, which was adapted from the 1988 novel by Roald Dahl
Genius smart bookworm Matilda (Alisha Weir) was an unwanted child of Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood (Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough). One day, the family received a visit from kind teacher Miss Jennifer Honey (Lashanna Lynch) inviting Matilda to come study at Crunchem Hall where she taught. Unfortunately, the headmistress Mrs. Trunchbull believed that kids are all maggots deserving to be thrown into the "chokey".
I have seen this musical performed live on stage locally by Atlantis, but I do not remember it being as dark as this film version. The songs even sounded different, maybe because of the much darker treatment by Warchus than he did for his original stage version.The highlight was definitely Emma Thompson and her amazing transformation into former hammer-throw champion-turned-school administrator Ms. Agatha Trunchbull, one scary, brutish ogre of a woman. 8/10.
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