Jessica Chastain

 

ph: Max Vadukul

Jessica Chastain

ph: Jan Welters

Jessica Chastain

ph: Van Mossevelde + N

Miss Sloane (2016)

In the high-stakes world of political power-brokers, Elizabeth Sloane is the most sought after and formidable lobbyist in D.C. But when taking on the most powerful opponent of her career, she finds winning may come at too high a price.

It's mainly Jessia Chastain's outstanding performance that carries this well-made, tense political thriller with a much too implausible twist ending.

Jessica Chastain

The Movies I Watched in March

Brecht (2019)  6
Casualties of War (1989)  7

The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (2019)  7

The Exorcism of Molly Hartley (2015)  5
First Reformed (2017)   8

Frasier, Season 1 (1993)  8

Frasier, Season 2 (1994)  8

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)  5
Ghostbusters (2016)  6
Grace of Monaco (2014)  6
Hold the Dark (2018)  7

Horns (2013)  6
The Killing (1956) 7

Life (2017)  6
Loving (2016)  7

Man Without a Star (1955)  7

Marius et Jeannette (1997)  6
Mon pire cauchemar (2011)  6
The Mummy (2017)  5
Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (2018)  6
Skazka skazok (1979)  9

Triassic World (2018)  4
Two Rode Together (1961)  6
Ulisse (1954)  7

The Uninvited (1944)  6
The Zookeeper's Wife (2017)  7

The Zookeeper's Wife (2017)

The Zookeeper's Wife tells the account of keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, Antonina and Jan Zabinski, who helped save hundreds of people and animals during the German invasion.

Heartfelt, but a bit melodramatic depiction of a true story, the zoo and its animals merely the backdrop to a more existential fate; Chastain is good in the title role and Brühl is well cast as the sleazy SS director of the Berlin zoo.

A Most Violent Year (2014)

In New York City 1981, an ambitious immigrant fights to protect his business and family during the most dangerous year in the city's history.

Stylish and unhurried period businees drama is worth a look just for watching Oscar Issac emulating Al Pacino's Michael Corleone in dress and conduct.

Jessica Chastain

Jessica Chastain

Crimson Peak (2015)

In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider.

Sumptuously staged ghost story with a plot and atmosphere reminiscent of Rebecca with an accurate cast; watchable as a homage to the genre which offers nothing new.

Jessica Chastain

Lawless (2012)

In Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a trio of bootlegging brothers are threatened by a new special deputy and other authorities angling for a cut of their profits.

Intense, well-staged and well-cast crime drama, has atmosphere, but is somewhat slow-paced.

Maltin**: "Vividly atmospheric period piece, filmed in Georgia, has fine actors, flavor to spare, and spurts of extreme violence, but Nick Cave's screenplay leaves some characters undeveloped (like Oldman, who vanishes after two scenes) and others merely improbable (Chastain, as a wordly Chicago woman who seeks refuge - in rural Virginia). Watchable throughout, but bears no scrutiny whatsoever."

Texas Killing Fields (2011)

In the Texas bayous, a local homicide detective teams up with a cop from New York City to investigate a series of unsolved murders.

Intense and well-cast crime thriller with emphasis on atmosphere and character than on the (predictable) plot.

Maltin**1/2: "Slick psycological thriller, "inspired by true events", has atmosphere to spare but is hampered by one too many plot inconsistencies and often unintelligible dialogue." 

The Martian (2015)

During a manned mission to Mars, a astronaut is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew, but he has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet.

Highly entertaining sci-fi yarn which successfuly offers, suspenseful action, humour and some great  landscape photography of the planet.

Interstellar (2014)

A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in an attempt to ensure humanity's survival.

Credits go to the audacity of creating this space opera on such a grand scale and to the production design, but the ambitions overburden the plot, and the science accuracy (and its philosophical implications) are pitiable; the movie also showcases the most ridiculous robot design in sci-fi history.

Jessica Chastain

ph: Michael Rossato

The Tree of Life (2011)

The story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956, in which the eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.

Remarkable attempt to create an all-embracing vision of man's existence within the universe; if the result is successful is debatable, but it's no doubt an unforgettable cinematic experience.

Maltin**1/2: "A poetic meditation on the creation and continuum of life and man's place in it...Dotted with beautiful passages about childhood and a mother's unconditional love, but the fleeting shots of a meditative Penn, as the boy grown up, are elliptical and disconnected...and the shots of Earth's creation and evolution don't seem to jell with the rest of the picture. Deeply felt by writer-director Malick, but he withholds more than he shares with us in the audience."

Take Shelter (2011)

Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.

The movie has atmosphere and a good cast, but the whole story is based on the question "Is this only in his imagination?" so that the last scene is predictably the answer to that question, and there are only 2 options: yes or no.

Maltin**1/2: "Writer-director Nichols' original story is nuanced and never less than interesting, but the combination of slow pacing and a palpable feeling of dread makes it a tough sit. Shannon, who often plays creepy characters, is terrific here as an ordinary guy going through an extraordinary experience."

The Movies I Watched in January

Contact 1997  7

Frozen 2010  5
Goya's Ghosts 2006  6
Ice 2011  (TV) 4
King Ralph 1991  5
The Adventures of Tintin 2011  6
The River King 2005  6
Zero Dark Thirty 2012  7