This week at the movies: Ben Affleck plays a creep; Reese Witherspoon is a do-gooder; and another doll is possessed by a demon.
Gone Girl
The long-awaited David Fincher version of the bestselling book by Gillian Flynn is finally here. Starring Ben Affleck (perfectly cast, if you ask me) as the shady, Scott Peterson-esque husband whose picture-perfect wife disappeared. Did he kill her? Did she kill herself? Was she kidnapped? Apparently the ending has been changed so the readers of the book won’t be spoiled either. As we say in my house, “Very innnnnnntereesting.” Also starring: Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, and Rosamund Pike as “Amazing Amy.”
Perfect For: You like murder-mysteries, David Fincher movies; film noir, and you want another reason to hate poor, misunderstood Ben Affleck.
What the Critics Say: Above average and Pike is getting raves. Writes Rolling Stone: “David Fincher's shockingly good film version of Gone Girl is the date-night movie of the decade for couples who dream of destroying one another. Expect a stampede at the box office.” And says New York magazine: “The movie is phenomenally gripping-although it does leave you queasy, uncertain what to take away on the subject of men, women, marriage, and the possibility of intimacy from the example of such prodigiously messed-up people.”
Our Take: Can’t wait to see it.
Watch the Trailer:
The Good Lie
Reese Witherspoon stars in this drama about Sudanese war refugees who come to America to start a new life. An employment agent, she helps them find jobs in Kansas City and acclimate to America. The actors are from Sudan (and some are also actually Sudanese refugees).
Perfect For: You like uplifting dramas and Reese Witherspoon.
What the Critics Say: A bit sappy, if well-meaning. Writes Entertainment Weekly: “It's a deeply touching story about survival, perseverance, and hope.” And says the AP: “A compelling film - occasionally a bit too earnest, perhaps, or overly broad in its humor, but often deeply moving.”
Our Take: It feels like something I’d rather wait to see at home, but still worthy of seeing.
Watch the Trailer:
Annabelle
A horror story in which a couple is haunted by a demon-possessed doll (no, really, who has dolls anymore?) that takes over their cute new apartment and terrorizes them in the process. Annabelle is the demon, obviously. It is supposed to be a spin off of another creepy demon story, the Conjuring.
Perfect For: Fans of the Exorcist, the Conjuring, Paranormal Activity etc., etc.
What the Critics Say: Most of the time horror movies don’t screen for critics who will pan them, anyway. But one, the A.V. Club, has weighed in: “Billed as a spin-off of The Conjuring, the film operates more like a shoddy brand extension; it cost five times less than its predecessor, and the slashed budget shows-both in the economy casting and in the over-lit, sometimes hideous digital imagery.”
Our Take: Nope.
Watch the Trailer:
