Tag Archives: Stanley Tucci

REVIEW: Margin Call

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Margin Call
Directed by: J.C. Chandor
Written by: J.C. Chandor (screenplay)
Starring: Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons and Paul Bettany

Margin Call, along with Melancholia, are two movies that are helping reshape the distribution model of otherwise-limited release films.  With the help of outlets like Amazon, iTunes and other VOD (Video On Demand, get used to it) services, they are reaching audiences that arguably would never have seen them otherwise.

Of course, it helps that both of these films are exceptionally well done.  Margin Call is about the beginning of the financial crisis, examining the movers and shakers responsible for kick-starting it.  Its keen examination of this world driven purely by gambling is shot in smooth, sophisticated darkness.  Every board room is glossed over, though every frame conveys a sense of dread and impending doom (The same can be said of Melancholia).

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REVIEW: Easy A

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Easy A
Directed by: Will Gluck
Written by: Bert V. Royal
Starring: Emma Stone, Amanda Bynes, Thomas Hayden Church, and Patricia Clarkson

There’s a moment in this John Hughes-wannabe that actually lives up to its intentions.  Daughter (Emma Stone) and mother (Patricia Clarkson) sit on a car overlooking their valley,  comparing high school reputations and laughing while the world around them sleeps.  It’s an evolution of the Hughes parent-child relationship.  For a moment, they understand each other. The rest, unfortunately, is far behind.

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