My Cousin Rachel Director: Roger Michell Writers: Daphne Du Maurier (novel), Roger Michell (adaptation) Starring: Sam Claflin, Rachel Weisz, Iain Glen Official Socials: Facebook | Twitter | IMDb Hashtag: #MyCousinRachel
A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms.
Click the poster + enter below to win the book!
These tickets are on a first-come, first-served not guaranteed basis. Arrive early to secure your seats.
Hey Seattle residents, we are giving away a copy of My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier, thanks to Fox Searchlight! Enter below to win!
My Cousin Rachel Director: Roger Michell Writers: Daphne Du Maurier (novel), Roger Michell (adaptation) Starring: Sam Claflin, Rachel Weisz, Iain Glen Official Socials: Facebook | Twitter | IMDb Hashtag: #MyCousinRachel
A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms.
Click the poster + enter below to win a copy of the novel!
These tickets are on a first-come, first-served not guaranteed basis. Arrive early to secure your seats.
Hey Seattle residents, we are giving away a copy of My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier, thanks to Fox Searchlight! Enter below to win!
My Cousin Rachel Director: Roger Michell Writers: Daphne Du Maurier (novel), Roger Michell (adaptation) Starring: Sam Claflin, Rachel Weisz, Iain Glen Official Socials: Facebook | Twitter | IMDb Hashtag: #MyCousinRachel
A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms.
Click the poster!
These tickets are on a first-come, first-served not guaranteed basis. Arrive early to secure your seats.
My Cousin Rachel Director: Roger Michell Writers: Daphne Du Maurier (novel), Roger Michell (adaptation) Starring: Sam Claflin, Rachel Weisz, Iain Glen Official Socials: Facebook | Twitter | IMDb Hashtag: #MyCousinRachel
A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms.
Click the poster!
These tickets are on a first-come, first-served not guaranteed basis. Arrive early to secure your seats.
My Cousin Rachel Director: Roger Michell Writers: Daphne Du Maurier (novel), Roger Michell (adaptation) Starring: Sam Claflin, Rachel Weisz, Iain Glen Official Socials: Facebook | Twitter | IMDb Hashtag: #MyCousinRachel
A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms.
Click the poster!
These tickets are on a first-come, first-served not guaranteed basis. Arrive early to secure your seats.
DENIAL Director: Mick Jackson Writers: David Hare (screenplay), Deborah Lipstadt (book) Starring: Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for thematic material and brief strong language Official Socials: Twitter | IMDb Hashtag: #DENIAL
Acclaimed writer and historian Deborah E. Lipstadt must battle for historical truth to prove the Holocaust actually occurred when David Irving, a renowned denier, sues her for libel.
Click the movie poster to print out the screening passes!
These tickets are on a first-come, first-served not guaranteed basis. Arrive early to secure your seats.
Complete Unknown
Release Date: August 26, 2016 (select theaters)
Rated: Rated R for some language
Running Time: 90 minutes
Studio: IFC Films and Amazon Studios
Directed By: Joshua Marston
Starring: Rachel Weisz, Michael Shannon, Kathy Bates
Official Sites: Website | Facebook | Twitter
This shape-shifting tale of the perils and pleasures of self-reinvention begins at a dinner party, when Tom’s (Michael Shannon) co-worker arrives with an intriguing date named Alice (Rachel Weisz). Tom is convinced he knows her, but she refuses to acknowledge their history. And when Alice makes a hasty exit, Tom sets off after her. What follows is an all-night odyssey shared by two people, one needing to change his life, the other questioning how to stop changing.
Complete Unknown, what did I just see? Seriously. Thank goodness there is a film synopsis that accompanies my review, or I wouldn’t know how to categorize this film. I thought it was going to be a suspenseful drama, but it wasn’t. What Complete Unknown turned-out to be a was a total disappointment, a bait and switch almost.
I thought this movie was about mystery and suspense because the beginning of the movie led me to think it. There were several intriguing shots of a woman wearing different get-ups. The beginning of the film was full of interesting tidbits of a plot that appeared to be going somewhere. There was a definite “fatal attraction” feel to the first twenty minutes. I was on the edge of my seat.
The film boasts a too great a cast to not go anywhere. The movie stars Michael Shannon and Rachel Weisz. Kathy Bates and Danny Glover are also among the cast. These are all actors I have loved in other films. What could go wrong? A lot.
For a film dealing heavily with issues of identity, Complete Unknown seems to be lacking in an identity of its own. It started like a suspense film and, when the plot was revealed, it went nowhere. No suspense. No mystery. It was just a story about an estranged weirdo managing to creep back into the life of the object of their affection. Then, the audience watched a day in the life of a con.
I also didn’t understand some of the imagery. There is a shot of a cooked goat head in one scene. There is another scene that is devoted to frogs. It felt as if the film was trying too hard to reach some artsy plateau that it thought it had to reach for art house appeal. The effort fell short, as these scenes detracted from the experience.
It was uninteresting. I did a lot of yawning, and that is a big deal considering the movie was only ninety minutes long. The whole movie seemed outlandish. It asked me to care about these people at this one dinner party, but gave me no reason why they deserved my attention. If you wanted to see it, it might be better to wait for on demand video formats than at a movie theater. I can’t recommend Complete Unknown, but it opened on Friday, September 2.
The Lobster Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos Written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou Starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, Lea Seydoux and Ben Whishaw Rated R Runtime: 119 minutes
In this highly imaginative, delightfully absurdist comedy from visionary director Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth), Colin Farrell stars as David, a man who has just been dumped by his wife. To make matters worse, David lives in a society where single people have 45 days to find true love, or else they are turned into the animal of their choice and released into the woods. David is kept at the mysterious HOTEL while he searches for a new partner, and after several romantic misadventures decides to make a daring escape to abandon this world. He ultimately joins up with a rebel faction known as The Loners, a group founded on a complete rejection of romance. But once there David meets an enigmatic stranger (Rachel Weisz) who stirs up unexpected and strong feelings within him…
At once a full immersion into a strange and surreal world, and a witty and clever reflection of our own society, The Lobster is a thrillingly audacious vision fully brought to life by Lanthimos and his terrific cast. The filmmaker displays a completely singular style and mastery of tone, finding the perfect balance between sharp-edged satire and romantic fable that entertains its audience while also leaving them with lots to reflect on long after the credits have rolled.
This week, I took-in The Lobster on my regular quest to see as many new theatrical releases as possible. If you read the synopsis above, you know The Lobster sounds a little trippy. Well, it is a little trippy. And it is super judgmental. But it’s the kind of judgment that the audience is supposed to accept as constructive criticism and, really, who can’t stand a little constructive criticism? Here is mine, criticism of the movie, I mean.
This isn’t the type of film that is going to appeal to everyone. I know this because I couldn’t find anyone who would go with me to see it. You call a film The Lobster and you may as well call it This Film Isn’t For Everyone because the reaction is the same. It is really biting satire. Dark, dark comedy. It’s guilty funny. People should not laugh at someone the shocking scenes offered, those things aren’t funny, they’re horrible. I laughed out loud for much of the first half of the movie, and, immediately, felt guilty that I had done that. Typing this, I replayed one of the scenes in my head and laughed again. Terrible. Terribly funny. Twistedly funny.
However, it's only partially funny because of all of the judgment I mentioned earlier. The satire pokes fun at the emptiness of “romantic conventions.” It highlights the vanity and shallowness in achieving coupledom. Then, it pits those who would attempt to achieve coupledom at all costs with those who forsake all elements of love. Well, who hasn’t fallen into this spectrum at one point or another? Basically, I was laughing until some scene or another hit too close to home, and, then, I wasn’t laughing anymore. Of course, that is the point of The Lobster. The best movies are the ones which leave an impression, make the audience think. The Lobster accomplished that well.
I do think that some of the message was diluted in the second half of the movie. The laughs came farther between and the plot felt a little disjointed. The satire went from biting to outlandish. I felt like the movie had a point to make, it achieved that and, then, it had some filler. Don’t get me wrong, the second half of the film highlights the acting of the two stars, Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz, and it has some good bits, but I more enjoyed the first half of the film.
All things considered, I’m glad that I ventured into the art-house theater to watch The Lobster. Look for it. It is a worthy endeavor. The Lobster is playing in limited release now, and opens nationally on Friday.
The Light Between Oceans Director: Derek Cianfrance Writers: Derek Cianfrance (screenplay), M.L. Stedman (novel) Starring: Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement, Rebecca Hall, Rafe Spall, Bill Hader MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for thematic material and some sexual content Official Socials:Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | IMDb U.S. Release date: July 1st, 2016 Hashtag: #LightBetweenOceans
A lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Western Australia raise a baby they rescue from an adrift rowboat.
Have you watched the trailer for DreamWorks Pictures’ THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS, a heart-breaking drama about fate, love, moral dilemmas and the lengths to which one couple will go to see their dreams realized. The film, which is based on the best-selling novel by M.L. Stedman and stars Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz, Bryan Brown and Jack Thompson and is written for the screen and directed by Derek Cianfrance, opens in theatres everywhere on September 2nd!
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