Tag: science

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:

New in Theaters: ‘I Origins’

On By chrisbarsantiIn Film - NewLeave a comment
Michael Pitt and Astrid Berges-Frisbey in 'I Origins' (Fox Searchlight)
Michael Pitt and Astrid Berges-Frisbey in ‘I Origins’ (Fox Searchlight)

I Origins-posterA few years back, Mike Cahill made one of the more ghostly sci-fi movies of recent years with Another Earth. Now he’s back with that film’s enigmatic Brit Marling and Boardwalk Empire‘s Michael Pitt for a globe-spanning story about, well, eyes.

I Origins opens this Friday in limited release. My review is at Film Journal International:

A haunted-looking Michael Pitt is the main attraction in Mike Cahill’s curious fandango of a science-fantasy story about fate, destiny, genetics and love, and that’s unfortunate. Pitt can usually excel when playing dreamers or tortured types befitting his sensuously languorous mien. But for I Origins, Pitt has to put on a sweater, adjust his glasses, and play a molecular biologist. For the many scenes that call for a sense of true obsession, he can’t quite summon the proper focus, deploying a Johnny Depp-like dourness. Without that, an already disjointed film drifts further apart…

You can see the trailer here: