Last Night
Gaumont
Last Night follows one night in the lives of Michael (Sam Worthington) and Joanna Reed (Keira Knightley), a happily married couple of seven years when, inexplicably, both are tempted by that proverbial itch. One night at a party Joanna notices husband Michael’s lavishing co-worker Laura (Eva Mendes) with a conspicuous and inappropriate measure of attention. They argue; they make-up. Everything seems right with the world, until Michael heads off on a business trip for the weekend with seductive Laura, leaving Joanna home alone with old-flame Alex (Guillaume Canet).
The Review:
While first-time director Massy Tadjedin practices so much restraint in Last Night, she squeezes the thrill right out of it. The cocktail party, cheek-kissing snoots are so stiff I'm shocked adultery even crosses their minds, and surely, when it does it's only out of sheer boredom. Their reticence just seems English, cautious and prudent, rather than principled. So perhaps, what I view as tedious melodrama amounts to tantalizing foreplay to Ms. Tadjedin and her high-falutin' ilk.
Paul
Universal Pictures
Best friends, Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost), take an RV road trip to visit famous American locales of extraterrestrial sitings. But their trip is interrupted when they run into Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), a real-life alien who has recently escaped from a military base where he has been held captive for the past sixty years. Graeme’s and Clive's notions of alien-life are challenged as they become acquainted with this strange and irreverent being. Now, on the run from federal agents, the three must reach Paul's mother ship before time runs out, but not before developing a lasting bond that changes all their lives forever.
The Review:
Essentially, Paul is part satire and part loving tribute to great science fiction films like E.T., Close Encounters, and Star Wars. Paul is primarily an adult affair, one that revels in its own playful crudeness. Kirsten Wiig is hilarious as the one-eyed religious zealot finally set free from her simplistic ways via a mind-meld with Paul. Her sudden eagerness to explore the once taboo worlds of profanity and casual sex, combined with her inexperience at both, make for some good laughs.
The Beaver
Summit Entertainment
Walter Black's (Mel Gibson) life is falling apart. His wife Meredith (Jodie Foster, also director) has had it with his chronic self-loathing. His oldest son Porter (Anton Yelchin), facing the early signs of depression himself, avoids all contact with him, while his youngest son (Riley Thomas Stewart) suffers the brunt of both parent's inattention. Then, one night after an unsuccessful suicide attempt, Walter discovers a beaver puppet in the dumpster. When he places it on his hand, the Beaver comes to life, offering Walter no-nonsense advice and a new chance at life.
The Review:
In The Beaver, alcoholism and depression provoke bizarre and disturbing behavior in Mel Gibson. No, this is not a documentary, though it's likely Director Jodie Foster chose Gibson for the character of Walter Black, at least in part, due to his tabloid reputation. Gibson is perfect as the tortured Walter, evoking such quiet desperation in those troubled eyes; his pain is palpable. Unfortunately, the film suffers from such an uneven, confusing tone throughout, it fails to achieve the delicate balance between light and dark required of such films.
The Conspirator
American Film Company
Eight co-conspirators were captured in the days following Abraham Lincoln's assassination, Mary Surratt (Robin Wright) being the most controversial of the bunch. Surratt, a 42-year-old widow and mother of one of the accused, ran the boarding house where John Wilkes Booth (Toby Kebbell) and others met to plan the killings of the President, Vice-President and Secretary of State. Attorney Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) is charged with the undesirable task of defending the publicly vilified Surratt. Against the urgings of friends and loved ones and in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds, he mounts a viable defense and exposes a government conspiracy to cover up the truth.
The Review:
The story of Mary Surrat, mother of alleged co-conspirator John Surrat, has been obscured over the years by the more tantalizing drama of Lincoln's assassination by John Wilkes Booth, and for that matter, so have the details of the larger conspiracy to kill the Vice President and Secretary of State. With such a stirring premise and renowned Director Robert Redford at the helm, the quality of the storytelling is beyond question. However, the film falters in its second half by repeatedly driving home the same point: that the individual often suffers when national security is at stake. Regardless, The Conspirator is a worthwhile choice for history buffs, though it may simply bore the layperson.
