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A very engaging romantic comedy with serious things on its mind, “Susana” is set in both Mexico City and the American Midwest, and presents a charming scoundrel who takes everything in his life, especially his beautiful wife, Susana, for granted. Someone who thinks rules of any kind don’t apply to him. But when Susana leaves him without a word, he falls apart while pursuing and wooing her back. While much of Susana is successfully played for humor, the arguments that husband and wife have over their changed situation and the reasons for it are quite serious and true to life. In limited release in NYC and LA now—wider release in 2 weeks according to director who held Q&A post viewing in LA this past weekend. Very charming, dignified and intelligent man. Great date movie.

I don't know how much my experience & age (63) has to do with my score ( probably a lot) but this is a pretty crappy and boring movie--that my 25 year old very intelligent daughter loved. Quoting another reviewer " If you think that even a summer tentpole movie should aspire to be engaging, memorable, distinctive, and well-crafted, then you will be massively disappointed, because this is just another bland, workmanlike scrap of entertainment product dumped off the Disney/Marvel assembly line, designed to be forgotten in a few months once the next one comes along....these movies are fun only as long as you completely turn off your brain and ignore plot, ignore characterization, ignore cinematic craftsmanship, ignore thematic depth, ignore pretty much everything that actually gives a movie substance and lasting appeal." Other than that, it's great.

One of the best romantic movies I have seen in my lifetime. Here's to the Irish, here's to Brooklyn, NYC, NY and here's to love! Saoirse and Emory are enthralling and the others are cast perfectly. It's essentially every Irish immigrant's story-or a version they wish were true!.

I write this mostly in response to lightsabre’s review below. Every person in America should see this movie, as a historical reference picture, or as piece of art, or because most Americans are poorly educated and have little understanding of America’s “ system of capitalism”. But I agree with him that this “all-star cast” is mostly comprised of poor performances. Steve Carrell and Christian Bale's performances are bland and uninspiring. As noted, Brad Pitt is good. So if you are looking for excitement go see a Sylvester Stallone movie. But this is a historical drama that makes a complex story interesting, fun and hugely important for everyone to understand and appreciate

Actual Rating: 8.5 Intense, powerful movie about the drug trade as played out along the US-Mexican border. del Toro is great as is Brolin. From my perspective, Blunt and her partner, were badly miscast, because in this film none of the macho male characters (CIA, DEA, Special Forces) would have allowed her to even be on the team. As one of them said to her at the end of the movie, "get at the end of the line, keep your finger off the trigger, and don't shoot any of my men [in the back]." If the role had been played by Jessica Chastain or A. Jolie, this film would have been a 10! See it anyway!

As usual Spielberg’s films are visually extraordinary. This film capturing the weight and gloom of the 1950’s cold war era with the USSR, and almost succeeds in weaving 2 stories together into a prisoner exchange along a bridge in Berlin. Tom Hanks portrays an insurance lawyer (Donovan) assigned to defend a Russian spy (Abel) played superbly by Mark Rylance. Donovan finds out too late his client does not have a chance, and his client is convicted. There is no courtroom drama because Donovan’s best legal work was on appeal and that’s hard to make exciting. Ultimately, Able is traded in Berlin for Francis Gary Powers, the CIA U-2 pilot that was shot down and captured by Russia. It’s a film: there is neither action nor real suspense, but the story is told carefully and with grace such that it is captivating. Bridge of Spies gives the younger generation a window into the Cold War and honors a man who most Americans never knew and who performed several valuable roles on behalf of his country quietly, with integrity and great dignity. Like this film.

Really enjoyed this black comedy about siblings. if you have a brother or sister, and even a slightly unconventional life or relationship with your sibling (and I have 4 sisters!) you will see part of your life and relationship reflected here, and it's not often that any movie attempts to explore the bother-sister relationship in an open and honest way. The 4 main actors are excellent (esp. bill hader)and if you see the movie with reduced or realistic expectations, you will walk away with a smile. ( my 24 year old daughter took me to see it and she liked it quite a bit too).

Went to see American Hustle which was sold out and saw this instead. Most of our opinions about films are measured by our expectations, and since i had none entering this film, i was very pleasantly surprised by the richness of the writing and character development and the depth of the story. if you are Irish, or Roman catholic, or both, this film will resonate with you. The male v female roles are well worn but well played here, and the Judy Dench character stays true to form, and the male character, so initially smug and self-assured, comes to learn something from the "less intelligent, religious, faith-based" character that reminded me of the great comedies of the 40's and 50's (e.g., Hepburn & Tracey; Grant & Hepburn, etc) except here there is no romance, just life and character. This is a very good couples film for mature audiences.

The movie is well-filmed, well-acted, well-directed and well-written. I connected with it emotionally. Yet, as soon as I left the theater, I felt a little empty. The perception that it is an Oscar contender may have set the bar too high. Its been out for several weeks. So 24 hours later, three factors account for my ambivalent attitude. First, I felt a lack of connection with the hostages whose lives are at stake. (remember those Die Hard movies?) The file does attempt to connect with them and give us insight into their captivity so "A" for effort. Yet, the story is centered on Ben Affleck who seems to be adopting the Clint Eastwood 'less-is more' acting persona. Second, the movie lacks true suspense because we all know the hostages successfully escape. So in order to compensate for the lack of suspense, the director alters the timeline to create fear and apprehension. It feels contrived. The film has to make it seem as if they won't escape and but the we-are -running-out-of-time- device wears thin. Iin the beginning of the film director Affleck quite successfully uses John Goodman and Alan Arkin's characters to co-create a cover story for CIA agent Affleck's film venture to Iran. But when these characters no longer serve the story, the director nevertheless keeps them involved to generate suspense, humor and emotion. Then, at the climatic ending of the film, Affleck's character who we were told was separated from his wife and family, and whom we never met, goes home to his wife and family. Obviously, this movies heart is in the right place but its apparent who is pulling the strings. [At the movie rating : 7-8; DVD rental: 8-9]

I was going to review this movie in detail-but then I read "lasttimeisaw" thorough review herein and thought: why stay up for the next hour over-analyzing when its done done so well already? Read that review. I will add this: this is a film well worth seeing for its brutal honesty and belief in redemption. I give it a solid 8 for Cotillard's great performance alone.I agree that there is a significant schism in Ali's character-usually men that tough are either very tender with women and children-or they are nuts with everyone-and the director perhaps too cleverly tries to portray Ali as tender with her and too harsh with his son-but its not a fatal flaw. Anyone who watches a Hollywood movie and enjoys them waives the right to even mention the issue in this film.Meanwhile, this is a "romantic" film a guy can take his girl to see and love.

Cooper plays a nut just out of the asylum who returns home to live with mom and dad and get his life together and win back his wife (who had an affair that caused him to have a psychotic **** first half of the movie plays like a modern version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. And while that's for me the more unusual and the better half of the

A grand sweeping historical epic that illuminates the passing of the 13 th amendment. The story is, of course, political but like Lincoln, Stephen Spielberg tells stories of deep human significance laced with humor. I wondered if the smallish Daniel Day Lewis could fully inhabit the great man the way that Raymond Massey did. He mostly succeeded but perhaps more importantly Day-Lewis gives Lincoln the soul that Massey attempted. This is due in significant part to the words-the great script- by Tony Kushner who brings the book by Doris Kearns Goodwin upon which the movie is based-to full life-and empathetic and plausible psychological insight into Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field) and her troubled marriage to the President. Hal Holbrook, James Spader, David Strathairn and Tommy Lee Jones are excellent in support-as are the many, many unknown character actors in this film. Finally, as in all (?) Spielberg films the score is by John Williams and is excellent. The only reason I did not give this movie a 10 was the calculated attempt at a tear-jerking ending needlessly followed by an extraneous 2 minute speech. A mere quibble.

This movie should be called The Bottle Jockey or something that more accurately denotes its central theme i.e, an alcoholic airline captain having is coming to Jesus moment. The movie is 140 minutes long: 10 minutes of setup; 15 minutes or so of pretty good flying scenes-followed by 110 minutes of watching Denzel Washington

"Arbitrage" stars Richard Gere as Miller an immoral business tycoon (is there any other kind?) and Susan Sarrandon as is dutiful wife (is there any other kind?) and how theirs lives seemingly come apart after an accident that could lead to a homicide charge against Miller. Much like we watch people's lives unravel on Oprah or Springer, we are mesmerized as we watch Miller betray anyone

Norway's top corporate headhunter, Roger Brown, is an insecure, slightly built man married to a tall beautiful woman who he looks up to. When she opens an art gallery , he seizes on an opportunity to rise from a small part-time art thief to the big leagues. His plan runs a cropper when he tries to steal a Rubens painting from would-be CEO, Clas Greven, who unfortunately for Brown, is also an ex- navy seal type. Claus has a plan too. This is an action packed thriller, with social commentary and significant psychological insights. In other words, not for most American audiences (Yes, that means it has subtitles, and you have to be able to read and watch simultaneously). This film has elements of the best of suspense/action directors like **** Coppola and Greenglass, and if you love action films with gorgeous complex women, great story and plot, and credible leading men who are not caricatures, then you should see (or rent ) this film.

A promising new actor (Jeremy Remer) takes over as Arron Cross for Matt Damon's Jason Bourne character in the latest Bourne film but even with the talented and beautiful rachel Weisz in support they are not enough to save this turkey from thanksgiving day dinner. The opening chapter in Alaska with the drone attack shows promise of building suspense and action but everything ultimatley crashes due to a poor plot and a lousy closing chase scene. In a spy file, if the plot is improbable, you are in big trouble (unless its a Bond film-then no one apparently cares). Writer/director Tony Gilroy who wrote the scripts for the first three Bourne films, and takes over as director has lost the magic. The Bourne Legacy attempts to connect the dots from The Bourne Ultimatum before heading into new territory but instead the US government (again) tries to wipe out not only all the agents but even all the scientists behind the "new " program. Why? who knows? We know in reality our goverment wont care, but this leads to alot of silly murders to unsuccessfully build suspense. Because all suspense and credibility is lost, all the old Jason Bourne characters who are in this film (Ed Norton; albert Finney; davis strathern; joan allen etc) appear like retreaded **** the end, everything about the file seems like an old worn out tire.

If you like Wes Anderson films you will love this quirkly coming of age story of Suzy and Sam who think they are alone as oddballs in their world till they find each other and run away together. I am not a big Wes Anderson fan but I really enjoyed this movie quite a bit as it crosses back and forth between innocence and ignorance and fantasy and reality. Where do these thoughts/feelings intersect Anderson seems to ask and when did we as adults last care or take notice? The kids run away and explore freedom and their feelings but the director wisely chooses to avoid showing intercourse (god forbid-what could be worse in America?) but they kiss and touching in an innocent way that makes us long for those days when we first loved that way. The acting overall is great- I enjoyed Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel and Ed Norton but was quite disappointed with Bill Murray. Excellent feeling of the sixties era on Long Island or New England, good music added drama and rhythm, and the reading of the letters by Sam (Jared Gilman) and Susy (Kara Hayward) to start their friendship as pen pals and Susy's binoculars are just 2 details thst show Anderson's devotion to his craft. Good film for couples, families, and the young at heart.

This movie is directed at 16 year old boys and folks with an IQ below 90. While I enjoyed the previous Dark Knight movies (Nolan has produced and directed well-written stories) the TDKR plot is absurd even for a comic book action movie. The villain (Bane) is mostly masked and his voice was mostly unrecognizable: half-the time it was garbled; the other half is was drown out by the blood oozing from my ears for the sound shaking the theatre. The movie is a chaotic mess from poor character development, to poor writing, to sub-plots that should have been left on the cutting room floor (the prison scene-WTF?) to an ending that is farcical. In this movie I never really cared what happened to Batman (and some very bad things do happen to him) much less connect or identify in any way with any of the characters. Shockingly, the movie makes a half-assed attempt at a political statement when Bane parrots phrases most recently heard from the Occupy movement thereby intentionally or not associating evil with the forces that believe the wealthy and the corporations have screwed the middle and lower classes. Thank god the Police are there to save the day! This movie-and its entire team-is out of ideas and gas. Just like most athletes after signing their big contract, give a director too big a budget and too much praise and you can count on his next work being a POS.

How you are likely to feel about this film depends on your past experience with its director, and your need for resolution. In this film, Werner Herzog, who

I feel that this is a near great film. It tells the story **** of men and women who work in a police unit specializing in protecting children from sex crimes (arresting and prosecuting pedophiles). As it starkly demonstrates the nature of the predators and the damage to the victims, it never oversimplifies, condescends or preaches. At the same time that it is an action good guy versus bad guy film, it draws us in to the romantic life of several of the cops, and their lives are complicated too. I was struck by the contrast between the cops in France and American cops, and the non-authoritarian more diffuse police heirarchy. The director (unintentionally?) draws a sharp contrast between USA and France, and for that sociological perspective alone, the film would be significant. But it's rare when the film draws you in and allows you to feel the full gamut of human emotions without attempting to manipulate the viewer-but just lets you see society's reflection in the mirror of the camera lens. See it!

Saw Prometheus at Cinerama dome in LA in 3d. It is the story of a trillion-dollar mission to discover the origins of human life on a distant planet. Basically, this is supposed to be the greatest exploration undertaken in the history of mankind. So who do they send? A gaggle of fractious goons who last had acting jobs roles in Deliverance. Within minutes of touching down (conveniently beside the only 'man-made' structures on the planet ) the 'scientists' are dipping their fingers into strange primordial goo, lugging a severed alien head back the size of 2 watermelons back to an unquarantined spaceship in a glad bag. Two female

This is a film of an intimate story of a family torn by love, duty, innocence, religion and law. It deservedly won an Academy award as best foreign film. If you are reading this review, or considering this film, you understand the difference between a great movie and a great film. If you're looking for the former, then youâ

A great movie for all **** I was lucky to see it at a movie company's private theatre on a very wide screen and in 3D with great **** yourself a favor, and see it at the best theatre you can find, and you must see it in 3D....I promise you if you love movies, you will be blown away. its like a charles **** classic in 3D.

Bullhead is a very unique Belgian gangster film involving the hormone mafia- a Flemish criminal consortium that supplies big commercial cattle ranchers with injections (some of which are very dangerous to health) that bring cows to full maturity (fat) in eight weeks instead of 10. The anti-hero of the film is a real bastard and completely unsympathetic-until we learn in a flashback a horrific event that has left him physically **** and emotionally crippled. There is plenty of suspense and some action but terrible beauty of the film is coming to grips with the psychological aspects of the antihero-especially in two key relationships-one with a friend who he was with he was injured-and one with a woman who he wants to be his â