REVIEW: War Horse



(out of 4 stars)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

2 hours 26 minutes

From Dreamworks

Starring

Jeremy Irvine

Emily Watson

Peter Mullan

David Thewlis

Tom Hiddleston

Niels Arestrup

In Character

The character actor is usually the person in the movie that is incredibly needed to pull the whole affair together; he or she is the one you just know you know but you don't know the name, you know?  You often wouldn't even recognize the name if you heard it.  But you do recognize the face or sometimes the voice or a mannerism.  If a long-faced character actor at the beginning of his career did the fussy butler with impeccable speech and manners, you can rest assured it would become de rigueur for the chap.

REVIEW: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo



(out of 4 stars)

Directed by David Fincher

2 hours 38 minutes

From Columbia Pictures & MGM

Starring

Daniel Craig

Rooney Mara

Christopher Plummer

Stellan Skarsgard

Steven Berkoff

Robin Wright

Yorick van Wageningen

Joely Richardson

Goran Visnjic

REVIEW: Young Adult

(out of 4)

Directed by Jason Reitman

1 hour 34 mins

From Paramount Pictures

Starring

Charlize Theron

Patton Oswalt

Patrick Wilson

Elizabeth Reaser

Collette Wolfe

Jill Eickenberry

Mary Beth Hurt

Richard Bekins

REVIEW: Shame

(out of 4)

Directed by Steve McQueen

1 hour 41 mins

Distributed by Fox Searchlight

Starring

Michael Fassbender

Carey Mulligan

James Badge Dale

Nicole Beharie

Beginnings

Beginning my new blog and very excited about it.  I talk about movies a lot with an assorted half dozen folks or so.  And I talk about movies at least a little with just about everyone I know.  Mercifully, I spare the checkout clerk and the dry cleaners.  And if I am not talking about movies, I seem to be thinking about them. 

Thinking what, you may ask?  Well, you name it, I think it. The most obvious may be that when I have just seen a film, it stays in my head at least the rest of the day and longer if I loved it. I often recast movies in my head.  Maybe it's something I just saw.  Maybe I reload an old chestnut of a film with my fancy idea of who could handle the lead.  Not that the actual star was less than stellar in the part, but this is just what I do.