Streaming Review: "I Care A Lot" (Netflix)

by Christopher James

Rosamund Pike cares a lot, not about her elderly wards, but about winning.Music and The Mauritanian weren’t the only movies that showed up at the Golden Globes without people having seen the film. Rosamund Pike nabbed a nomination in the Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy for the Netflix film I Care A Lot, which some critics saw during the Toronto International Film Festival. The Globes have long loved Rosamund Pike, even nominating her for A Private War in 2018. Is this latest nomination a case of the Globes being goofy, or is Pike awards worthy in this new black comedy?

The answer is yes and no on both fronts. Pike uses “Amazing Amy” ability to establish a horrifying, gleefully bloodthirsty businesswoman who fleeces the elderly. Unfortunately, she does so in a vehicle that points that talent in the exact wrong directions...

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Would you rather?

We haven't looked at Instagram in ages so let's share some fun celebrity photos with our fantasy game. Would you rather...

• try on hats with Kaitlyn Dever?
• kiss alpacas with Nicole Kidman?
• burn palo santo with Madonna?
• workout at home with Cheyenne Jackson?
• visit Sydney Opera House with Rossy de Palma?
• hit the recording studio with Rosamund Pike?
• wash a car with comic JT Firstman?
• get drunk (for charity) with Annaleigh Ashford?
• visit the Redwoods with Laura Dern?
• dance with Taron Egerton?
• have a beer with Cary Elwes?
• mudbath it with Hailee Steinfeld?
• sing to goats with Kevin Bacon?

Pictures are after the jump to help you decide... 

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Review: Rosamund Pike in "Radioactive"

Please welcome new contributor Juan Carlos Ojano, who you may know from the podcast "One Inch Barrier" - Editor

by Juan Carlos Ojano

Biopics are tricky.  Inasmuch as making them are good bets for filmmakers to get awards consideration, they are also prone to falling to overused clichés. One overworn formula persistently plagues this genre: the all-encompassing chronicle of the major events in a real person’s life. Such is the case with Marjane Satrapi’s Radioactive, an unabashed ode to the legacy of Marie Curie and her contributions to science, that's now streaming on Amazon Prime.

While this biopic harbors a lot of distinct aesthetic choices, they are but distracting compensation for formulaic storytelling...

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"Die Another Day," Or, How the Mighty Have Fallen

We're celebrating 2002 this week. Here's Deborah Lipp...

When Die Another Day was released in November of 2002, it was greeted with tempered enthusiasm. Spending time, as I do, among movie fans, and within the narrower Bond fan community, there were certain very clear reactions: Invisible car: Dumb; Madonna song: Bad; Movie overall: Pretty damn great.

How the mighty have fallen. I should explain...

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10th Anniversary: “An Education”

By Cláudio Alves

An Education tells the story of Jenny Mellor, an English schoolgirl who, in 1961, falls into the trap of an older man’s affections. In the process, she almost squanders away her dreams of Oxford, thinking she’s trading a hopelessly boring life for one of excitement. After all, if the years slaving over books are the best of one’s life, why bother? 

One of the loveliest aspects of the film is how it refuses to offer easy answers to its dilemmas. Throughout, we see many women who chose different paths and, thanks to director Lone Scherfig and screenwriter Nick Hornby, all of them are humanized and sympathetic. There are no villains in An Education, no one is wrong or completely right. These are people and not mere plot points or narrative mechanisms. We can imagine all of them living their lives, being the protagonists of their stories.

It’s not surprising that An Education has lived on as an actors’ showcase above all else. Many of its performers would go on to greater fame, though the star has arguably not yet reached these heights again...

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