Month: October 2014

Gone Girl Review

Gone Girl (2014)

Dir: David Fincher

Gone Girl combines many recurring themes in David Fincher’s work: it’s a process-oriented thriller (Zodiac, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), featuring possibly unreliable narration (Fight Club), with overtones of classism and how technology seeps into our lives (The Social Network), all scored to the now familiar strains of Trent Reznor’s atonal bleeps and painted with Fincher’s signature cool palette. It’s also an adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel of the same name (joining fellow story-to-screen Fincher adaptations Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Dragon Tattoo) that holds many surprises for those unfamiliar with the source and even (more…)

Tim’s Vermeer Review

Tim’s Vermeer (2014)

Dir: Teller

“I could paint that” is a common refrain heard when viewing art, especially when the art in question is abstract, simple or elliptical in a way that defies easy meaning. 17th-century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer painted intricate interiors that were so realistic he seemingly “painted the light”. Few would claim that they could replicate his work accurately, but that’s exactly what inventor Tim Jenison sets out to do in Tim’s Vermeer, an intimate documentary that examines process and art, and how science may have played a role in the creation of (more…)

Chef Review

Chef (2014)

Dir: Jon Favreau

Writer/director Jon Favreau trades superheroes for sweaty kitchens in the winning Chef, an ode to creativity and following your muse. Coming off the critical and commercial failure of 2011’s Cowboys & Aliens, it makes sense that Favreau would retreat to the smaller budget realm where he cut his teeth with his breakout hit Swingers. Imbued with a sunny disposition and a renewed sense of purpose, the unexpected part is (more…)