THE REVIEW CORNER

Starring:  Gael García Bernal, Kim Bodina, and Dimitri Leonidas Directed by: Jon Stewart Screenplay by: Jon Stewart Based on the book " Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival" by Maziar Bahari      Remember last summer when Jon Stewart took three months off from hosting The Daily Show  leaving it to John Oliver?  This film is the reason.      Maziar Bahari is a journalist for Newsweek who is on assignment in Tehran, Iran for the 2009 election.  The election is between the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Mir-Hossein Mousavi.  When Bahari first arrives in Iran, the polls show that it is likely Mousavi will win as he is gaining a rather large lead against Ahmadinejad.  Ahmadinejad is backed by the Supreme Leader and there are fears that the election will be rigged in favor of Ahmedinejad.  Well, that's exactly what happens.  There are protests in the streets, and B...

Starring: Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones Directed by: James Marsh Screenplay by: Anthony McCarten Based on the book, Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen , by Jane Hawking     It seems that all people are talking about with this movie is the fact that Eddie Redmayne is incredible in it.  And he is, but don't forget about Felicity Jones, people!     This is the story of one of the biggest names in the scientific community today, Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne), and his relationship with his wife, Jane (Felicity Jones).  The story begins at Cambridge University in England in 1963.  Stephen Hawking is only a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in physics.  That's where he meets Jane, the woman he ultimately marries.  It takes us through the stages of Stephen's life from then until after his divorce from Jane (not seen in the movie, so it's not a spoiler, but it is still true).  Not too long after the movie begins, we see t...

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Mackenzie Foy, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, and John Lithgow Directed by: Christopher Nolan Screenplay by: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan     Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to have your minds blown, again?  Christopher Nolan is here to do it again!     It's sometime in the future, later in the 21st century.  Blight has destroyed earth's food supply and therefore decimated the population.  Humanity is dying on earth.  It looks like there is not going to be a way to save the earth and the apocalypse is slowly setting in.  As Professor Brand (Michael Caine) puts it, "we must confront the reality that nothing in our solar system can help us".  The agency Professor Brand is working for, an agency thought to be extinct called NASA, is preparing for a mission to save the people of earth; to find a new world for people to settle on and colonize.     C...

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, and Bill Paxton Directed by: Dan Gilroy Screenplay by: Dan Gilroy      Something tells me that the main guy in this film is a little desperate for a job.      Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is looking for work.  He's kind of socially awkward and can be creepy at times.  Why?  He's a little obsessed with what he finds that he is going to do.  One night, he stumbles upon a fiery car crash on an LA highway and watches as a freelance news film crew, headed by a guy we later meet named Joe Loder (Bill Paxton), arrives to film officers pull a woman from the burning wreckage.      This event makes Lou decide to be a freelance crime scene videographer so he can sell footage to local news stations for profit, becoming Joe Loder's competition.  Within a few days, Lou has a basic video camera, police radio, and a partner, Rick (Riz Ahmed), and is out filming crime scenes at ...

Starring: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough, and Edward Norton Directed by:  Alejandro González Iñárritu Screenplay by:  Alejandro González Iñárritu and  Nicolás Giacobone       Yes.  That is the official name for this movie.  But let's just stick with  Birdman  for now.       Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) used to be a big Hollywood actor whose name everyone knows.  Fortunately, everyone still knows him from his hugely successful Birdman films.  But it's been a while since he's made a movie and he needs to reinvent himself.  So, he's off to Broadway to put on a show; an adaptation of a short story by Raymond Carver called What we Talk About when we Talk About Love.   Riggan hates one of the actors and thinks he's not doing a very good job, so he wants to get a replacement.  Enter Mike (Edward Norton).  Mike is a much better actor, than eve...

Starring: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman,  Michael Peña, and Jon Bernthal Directed by: David Ayer Screenplay by: David Ayer "Ideals are peaceful.  History is violent."       It's April, 1945 and WWII is almost over.  The Americans are campaigning through Europe trying to defeat the Nazis.  German tanks both out man and outnumber American tanks.  American casualties are incredibly high because of this, but they are still pushing through.  This story follows one group of men who drive one of the American tanks, a tank they call "Fury".  Led by Sergeant Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Brad Pitt), these men are at the forefront of a great deal of violence and are witnesses to many atrocities.  The tank's main gunner, a character we do not see in the film, has been killed in battle, and upon their return to base, they need a new gunner.  That's where Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman) comes in.  A fresh recruit, he's not trained...

Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, and Tyler Perry Directed by: David Fincher Screenplay by: Gillian Flynn Based on the novel by Gillian Flynn      For those of you who are married, don't let your relationship get to this point.  It's just not healthy for anybody.      Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) is an unemployed journalist.  He is in a difficult marriage with Amy Elliot Dunne (Rosamund Pike), a trust fund woman upon who's life the best-selling book series written by her parents, Amazing Amy is based.  Together, they lived in New York, where they first met.  But now, they have relocated to Nick's home town of North Carthage, Missouri, mostly to take care of Nick's sick mother.  While there, Nick and his sister, Margo (Carrie Coon) open a bar, appropriately named The Bar, using Amy's trust fund money.      It is the morning of their fifth wedding anni...