Tag: Eddie Redmayne

Screening Room: ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’

On By chrisbarsantiIn Film - Awards, Film - NewLeave a comment

Getting a limited theatrical opening (whatever that means in pandemic times) before coming to Netflix in October, Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 dramatizes the story of the biggest, oddest political show trial of modern American history. Also: Sacha Baron Cohen plays Abbie Hoffman.

My review is at Slant:

Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 pulses with relevancy in a time when high-stakes debates over authoritarianism, protests, and the necessity of radicalism are convulsing America. Sorkin uses an ensemble approach to tell the story of the anti-war activists charged with conspiracy and incitement to riot after the street fighting that ripped through Chicago in August 1968 during the Democratic National Convention. While necessary, given the number of key characters involved, the approach also allows Sorkin to establish different factions among the defendants who are debating the merits of their wildly varying methods to the same cause even as they’re fighting to stay out of federal prison…

Here’s the trailer:

Screening Room: ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’

On By chrisbarsantiIn Adaptations, Film - NewLeave a comment

Eddie Redmayne in ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ (Warner Bros.)

The second entry in J.K. Rowling’s post-Harry Potter Wizarding World movies, the Newt Scamander series, is opening everywhere tomorrow.

My review is at Slant Magazine:

The fun but more predictable Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald moves the new series forward, but only incrementally—all the better to maximize the potential for six or seven more sequels to be strung out for Thanksgivings to come…

Here’s the trailer:

New in Theaters: ‘Jupiter Ascending’

On By chrisbarsantiIn Film - NewLeave a comment

'Jupiter Ascending': Check it out, hover boots! (Warner Bros.)
‘Jupiter Ascending’: Check it out, hover boots! (Warner Bros.)

A preposterously silly and overbudgeted space opera from the Wachowskis, whose Cloud Atlas was one of the more exciting sci-fi/fantasies of recent memory, Jupiter Ascending would seem to have it all: Laser battles, baroque outer-space architeture, Eddie Redmayne in full camp mode, Channing Tatum with wolf ears. Disappointingly, such is not the case.

After a poorly-considered surprise screening at Sundance (wrong crowd), Jupiter Ascending opened wide on Friday, for a likely very brief run; my review is at PopMatters:

There was a time when beautifully begrimed working-class movie heroines would be delighted to discover they had royal blood coursing through their veins. While those Cinderella stories focused on the romance between girl and prince,Jupiter Ascending changes the stakes. Here, the princess must save the world and the prince has had his DNA spliced with that of a wolf.

Ah, love, Wachowski-style…

Here’s the trailer:

New in Theaters: ‘The Theory of Everything’

On By chrisbarsantiIn Film - NewLeave a comment

Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne in 'The Theory of Everything' (Focus Features)
Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne in ‘The Theory of Everything’ (Focus Features)

theoryofeverything1The first of the year’s two fall films about brilliant British scientists (The Imitation Game, with Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turning, comes later this month), James Marsh’s The Theory of Everything is a romantic drama about Stephen Hawking’s early career and first marriage.

The Theory of Everything opened today around the country. My review is at Film Racket:

The Theory of Everything is a story about Stephen Hawking, arguably one of the most brilliant human beings ever to balance an equation. The screenplay is adapted from a book by his first wife, Jane Hawking, about the 30 challenging years they spent together. It has the stuff of riveting drama, from science-redefining theoretical discoveries to agonizing personal struggles. But the film, directed by James Marsh as though from the Twee Biopic Handbook, could not be more ordinary…

You can see the trailer here: