Jan 11 2013

Zero Dark Thirty

Picking up shortly after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, Zero Dark Thirty is the compressed history of the political relations between the United States and the Middle East. Detailing the work of the C.I.A., counterintelligence gathering, military strategists, White House operations, and ultimately the Navy S.E.A.L. team responsible for the elimination of Osama bin Laden. Told in riveting detail, albeit sometimes embellished for cinematic purposes, the film serves as an extended lesson on U.S. history, diplomacy, and what might be otherwise termed “black ops.”zerodarkthirty Directed by Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), we’re once again given plenty to sink our teeth into, with an ensemble that includes masterful performances from Jessica Chastain and Jason Clarke. Gritty, tense, and unrelenting to the final frame this is not a feel good film; however, the film does provide for important insight answering many of the who, where, what, why and hows of our current political situation. Worth your consideration, just remember it’s a lengthy beast clocking in at 2 hours and 37 minutes in length, lay off that beverage eh? Zero Dark Thirty is rated R.


Jan 11 2013

Gangster Squad

1949 Los Angeles, a Jewish mobster by the name of Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) was looking to stake his claim on the Wild West disregarding the pressures of the mafia in Chicago and New York. Wild eyed and raw with power Cohen seemed unstoppable, until what seemed like the last honest police chief, Chief Parker (Nick Nolte), put a plan into action– an assembly of elite but honest and tough cops to secretly take down Cohen’s operations piece by piece. Headed up by Sgt. O’Mara (Josh Brolin) and his friend Sgt. Wooters (Ryan Gosling), this gangster squad would have to work fast and dangerously to make their mark, not all would survive, and what about the dame in distress (Emma Stone)?gangster-squad-final-poster Crossed somewhere between Dick Tracy, Bugsy, and Tombstone, Gangster Squad serves as a mish mosh of untimely art deco, zuit suit riot-esque Hollywood confusion. With throwbacks to the gangster films of days gone by, it’s a little hard to take this “historically inspired” film terribly seriously. Cheese whiz good guy rhetoric rings throughout, and the overall story reads like a predictable comic book. Still, if you’re up for a mindless popcorn chomper, this may have some legs…maybe broken at the knees, but still legs. Gangster Squad is rated R.