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Rachel McAdams

Disobedience – Community or Individual?

May 31, 2018 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Religious communities can be nurturing and fulfilling, providing people with spiritual meaning and a sense of belonging. But those same communities may also be stifling and destructive of individual freedom and self-esteem. Disobedience, set within an Orthodox Jewish community, is a tale of the search for love and freedom, but it carries the risk of losing one’s place in the world.

Ronit (Rachel Weisz) is a New York based photographer. When she gets word that her father has died, she returns to the London suburb where he was the prominent rabbi of the Jewish community. She is not warmly welcomed home. She fled the community and its strict lifestyle many years before. Even her family and closest friends keep her at arm’s length. She is now an outsider, even though this was home. Her father’s obituary says he had no children. Ronit has effectively been erased from the community. But she is determined to pay her respects to her father’s memory.

She is reunited with Dovid (Alessandro Nivola), her father’s younger protégé and heir apparent, with whom she spent time when they were young. She also reconnects with Esti (Rachel McAdams), who is now Dovid’s wife. The three were inseparable as young people but the years of separation make things a bit awkward—especially when her return kindles a romantic spark between Esti and Ronit. As the week of mourning progresses, the tensions of the community and within the three-person relationship grew to the point of breaking.

On one level, this film seems to speak to the repressive nature of religion. Certainly, that is what Ronit left behind her when she set out to live a different life and her return opens the possibility of another kind of life for Esti, who has suppressed her desires through the years. But the film also plays various tensions that exist in a more universal sense. Community and individual, desire and duty, morality and fulfillment, tradition and modernity. Many of these tensions are made evident in a pair of scenes: Esti and Dovid’s weekly time of having sex in contrast with the sensual explosion of Ronit and Esti’s encounter.

All three of these characters must struggle to come to grips with the changes represented by Ronit’s return to the community—even for a short time. Each must determine what there is of value that they can hold on to, and what they might have to give up to truly find happiness in which ever world they will live in.

 

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Alessandro Nivola, LGBT, Orthodox Judaism, Rachel McAdams, Rachel Weisz, Sebastian Lelio

Dr. Strange: Doctor Who? An Introduction to the MCU’s Newest Hero

April 13, 2016 by Arnaldo Reyes Leave a Comment

drstrangeAs the resident comic book aficionado, I will admit that my knowledge of Stephen Strange is limited to the basics. But for all of us, the basics are a great place to start as we will be introduced to this character over the next few months, courtesy of Marvel Studios.

During ‘Marvel Week’ on Jimmy Kimmel, Dr. Strange himself (Benedict Cumberbatch) debuted the first teaser trailer for the  newest member of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. We get a small glimpse of the feel that director Scott Derrickson will be bringing to the Sorcerer Supreme. One can’t help but see a little of The Matrix or Inception within the visuals of the trailer, though that fits the world of Dr. Strange perfectly. Just as Thor brought us into the world of Asgard, Dr. Strange will look to bring another dynamic of magic to the MCU.

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One of the most prominent surgeon’s in the world, Stephen Strange reached a point where saving lives depended on whether or not the patient could afford him.  Luxury surpassed compassion, until an accident takes everything away from him. As a result, Stephen Strange finds himself at rock bottom and, after using up all of his resources, he travels to the furthest and most remote place in the world in search for a cure. His journey brings him to the Ancient One, a mysterious sage who teaches him that all he has ever believed in is nothing more than a self-centered lie. Here, his life is changed forever as he learns of a faith in something beyond what we can see and the reality of the spiritual. He then trains in the ancient arts to understand it, but also to fight the dark forces within the spiritual realm.

“There are other ways to save lives” Ancient One (Tilda Swinton)

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From the looks of the trailer, Cumberbatch and Derrickson seek to bring this remarkable story of a man who had everything and then loses it all in a stunning and emotional way. The film should and will likely be the spiritual journey of a character that is not as well-known as Captain America, Spiderman, Iron Man or Thor, but he will bring a new and interesting element to the MCU. Marvel has tackled the “magic” aspect of Asgard, but Strange will touch a more spiritual route and it will be interesting to see how it comes about in the film. Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think!

Dr. Strange stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton , Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mads Mikkelsen and Rachel McAdams. Directed by Scott Derrickson it will hit theatres on November 4, 2016.

Dr. Strange Teaser Trailer

Filed Under: Film, News, Reviews Tagged With: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejofor, Dr. Strange, Marvel, Marvel Studios, Rachel McAdams, Scott Derrickson, Tilda Swinton

Spotlight: Setting the Truth Free (Oscar Spotlight: Best Picture)

February 23, 2016 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment

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When Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) becomes the new editor of The Boston Globe, he pushes investigative journalist Robby Robinson (Michael Keaton) to explore the accusations of lawyer Mitch Garabedian (Stanley Tucci). Garabedian has gone public, saying that the Catholic church and local authorities have covered up accusations of child abuse by a local priest. Robinson is initially reluctant to explore it. There’s a sense of duty as journalists and conflict over crossing the Catholic church (and expected levels of human decency) but as Robinson’s team investigates, the truth comes out.

Tom McCarthy takes a dialogue-driven story, located primarily in the offices of the Globe, lawyers, and coffee shops, and dials up the tension in a way that impressively shows the conflict within the souls of the reporters (including those played by Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo), the suffering of the victims, and the indignant reprisals of the guilty. The truth is that many people are guilty for their crimes against the children and their inaction in not stopping those who committed those crimes.

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While some films might have been bogged down in the details or the ensemble cast, Spotlight shines as a Best Picture nominee both for the story it tells and for McCarthy’s focus on what bits and pieces matter. We hear from a victim but we’re not completely dragged down in lurid details; we don’t see every conversation but we hear the necessary ones. And when push comes to shove, we are reminded that the story impacts us all.

One of the most troubling elements of the story is that various people had opportunities to stop the trajectory of the crimes. Whether it’s a parent of a victim, a local police officer, a lawyer, or a reporter, different people knew about the crimes but found various excuses not to get involved. This is like the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964 – or the words of Martin Niemoller about the importance of speaking up for the Jews and others in Nazi Germany. It’s the global connection that Spotlight is connecting to – we can all see moments where we failed to stand up for what we knew was true.

And yet Spotlight reminds us that we have a second chance. We can make it right. We can fight for the widow, the orphan, the immigrant, the marginalized. We can make social justice a reality, but we must not miss our chance…

What truth do you know that you should be shouting, even when you’re the minority? That’s the question Spotlight asks, and it’s up to you to answer.

 

Filed Under: Current Events, DVD, Editorial, Featured, Film, Oscar Spotlight, Reviews Tagged With: Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci

True Detective Season 2: Another Descent into the Darkness

January 12, 2016 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment


tdmainO, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!–Sir Walter Scott

In the second season of HBO’s hit television series, True Detective, the all-new cast tackles a case full of nooks and crannies wrapped around the morale that “we get the world that we deserve.” An Army veteran and current California patrolman, Paul Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch), finds the deceased city manager of Vinci, CA, on the highway. Soon, Vinci P.D. detective Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell) and Ventura County Sheriff Sergeant Ani Bezzerides (McAdams) are called in to investigate. But there are some dangerous ties to crime kingpin Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn), who wants to recover the financial investment he had made in the city manager. We know Nic Pizzolatto will explore the darkness, but where is he going to take us this time?

I’ll admit that I had a much harder time getting into this season than I did the first one. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson were supremely nuanced, bending the lines between good and evil, while chasing a serial killer over decades. It was intensely dark, and wildly entertaining, creating water cooler talk. The second season? Not so much. Maybe it was Vaughn’s misplacement as a less-than-funny baddie. It wasn’t Farrell — we know he has made a career of playing twisted antiheroes (Bullseye, anyone?) and it wasn’t McAdams, who delivers as she always does. [I’m no Kitsch fan, but even he played the wounded soldier part well.]

tdfarrellFor those who did dig it the first time through, there’s plenty of commentary in the Blu-ray release that provides the Digital HD as well. I think that the comparison from one to another (the way that FX has provided with a new-cast-each-season set up for American Horror Story and Fargo) allows for bolder storytelling. Pizzolatto is signed for several more years by HBO but we don’t know if we’re getting a third season yet. I’m pulling for Tom Hardy and Ryan Gosling, personally. But I’d be worried if they went with Amy Schumer and Whitney Cummings…

Back in the series, I’m troubled because the first season made both the detectives’ private lives and their investigation matter. I’m not sure that the second season is quite as effective in that. [For the record, it’s also a problem in Liev Schreiber’s Ray Donovan, which is also darkly entertaining.] But we are faced with several men who are put in positions where they doubt their own power, person, or masculinity, all tied up in one. Some of it has to do with secrets; some of it has to do with pain they have not dealt with. But it often points back to the violence they live by, which they are tied to, but which often works against them like a double-edged sword.

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Still, True Detective has me hooked because it wrestles with the nuances. We are made up of our past decisions, our hopes and dreams both realized and deferred. None of these characters is who they hoped they would be, but they are all forced to wrestle with their realities. In Pizzolatto’s world, some will rise and some will fall, but all will bear the scars for the rest of their lives.

 

Filed Under: DVD, Reviews, Television Tagged With: Amy Schumer, Colin Farrell, HBO, Liev Schreiber, Nic Pizzolatto, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch, True Detective, Vince Vaughn, Whitney Cummings

Spotlight: In The Pursuit Of Truth

November 6, 2015 by Jacob Sahms 2 Comments

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“For a paper to best perform its function, it must stand alone.”–Marty Baron

In 2001, a new editor arrived at The Boston Globe, pushing the newspaper’s investigative team to look into the Catholic sex scandal in Massachusetts. Instead of assuming that the Catholic church’s hierarchy and the legal system are actually exposing the truth, editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) pushes Spotlight team leader Robby Robinson (Michael Keaton) to uncover what actually happened to hundreds of children at the mercy of dozens of priests. This is a film about truth, justice, faith, and community that will show the depths of human depravity and the heights of human courage.

When the team brings in Phil Saviano (Neal Huff), an adult alleging abuse by a Catholic priest when he was younger, they discover that the situation they have heard about may be more widespread than they ever imagined. With the help of attorney Mitchell Garabedian (Stanley Tucci), the team (Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Brian d’Arcy James) begins to interview various other individuals who claim abuse by Catholic priests throughout Massachusetts.

The Globe’s pursuit of truth leads them to uncover a list of potentially ninety dangerous priests with hundreds of possible victims. The investigation is helped on by a psychiatrist (Richard Jenkins) and their “gut.” In so many situations, we can recognize the truth, we can even know what the truth is, but we don’t know how to pursue it. In this case, the Spotlight team puts its extensive experience and intuition to the singleminded task of uncovering what several powerful institutions, including the Archdiocese of Boston and its powerful Cardinal Bernard Law (Len Cariou), have worked so hard to sweep under the carpet.

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While there will certainly be pushback about the release of this film, claiming that it’s “truth versus the church,” I found myself admiring the way that the filmmakers, namely writer/director Tom McCarthy artfully showed that the issue was actually a spiritual one- a powerful one- that needed to be brought to the light. These priests had power in their communities – especially over children who were abandoned, orphaned, or struggling to make ends meet. It’s an abuse of power that echoes a certain impeachment process, asking what power we attribute to others fairly and unfairly.

Mark my words, if it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one. –Mitchell Garabedian

What soon becomes apparent to the crack team of reporters is that it’s not just the priests abuse, but also the church/law working to cover it up. There must be hundreds, thousands even, of everyday citizens who know that something is not right with the local parish (like the cops depicted in the opening vignette) and who choose to do nothing. Is it ignorance? Is it laziness? Is it fear?

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Martin Niemoller said, about the rampaging Nazis in the 1940s,

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

In one powerful scene, one of the reporters realizes how close to home the danger is and sticks a sign to his own children on the refrigerator, warning them. Suddenly, it’s not just a story but the danger to one’s own family that makes this something that can’t be dismissed, ignored, or merely argued about. Suddenly, it’s crucial that the truth be spoken, as more than an acknowledgment but as a pursuit of justice. They recognize that it’s not just priests, lawyers, or cops who stayed silent but also neighbors, siblings, and extended families who stayed silent.

I don’t think I should talk about it. – unnamed police officer. 

I think you should. -Sacha Pfeiffer

Jesus said, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). It’s hard to know what lasting impact the truth had on those who were already victims, but the work of the Spotlight team – and the honesty of those who had been abused – surely set things in motion that allowed others to be freed from hiding ashamed. And who knows how many children were kept safe from being molested because these men and women took a stand?

Acted subtlety and intelligently by the ensemble cast, the pacing of the story stays on point without dragging. While some ‘investigative’ films prove to be mind-numbingly dry, the complexity of the issue and the depth of the actors assembled makes this a ‘must-see’ film – especially those tracking the Oscars. Having applauded the way that 12 Years a Slave showed historical racism and warned of the impacts of slavery today, Spotlight shows us a vision of the past that should inform our present. If we want to keep our children safe, if we want the truth to be available to all, we must be prepared to fight through the smokescreens to bring justice and peace out into the light.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Boston, Catholic Church, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, sex scandal

TIFF Hits: Shooting Stars

September 15, 2015 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

 

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At ScreenFish, we’re very conscious of those moments where faith and film collide… but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun as well!  Here are some exclusive shots of the celebs around the city as the Toronto International Film Festival enters it’s second half.  Pics will be updated as new sightings occur…

Black Mass premiere:

Johnny Depp

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Joel Edgerton

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Peter Sarsgaard

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Kevin Bacon

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John Morris                                           Dakota Johnson

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Freeheld Premiere:  Michael Shannon, Ellen Page, Julianne Moore, dir. Peter Sollett

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Sicario Premiere:  Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, dir. Denis Villeneuve

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Forsaken Premiere: Donald Sutherland, Keifer Sutherland, d. Jon Cassar (24)

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Team from Beast:  Chad McKinney, dir. Tom and Sam McKeith, Garret Dillahunt

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The Man Who Knew Infinity:  Jeremy Irons; Dev Patel; Devika Bhise

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Other Celebs:

Penelope Cruz

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Sarah Silverman

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Susan Sarandon                                  Rachel McAdams

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Nick Robinson

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Rob Reiner                                           Carey Elwes                                         Michael Moore

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Filed Under: Current Events, Film, News, TIFF Tagged With: 24, Benicio Del Toro, Black Mass, Carey Elwes, Chad McKinney, Dakota Johnson, Denis Villeneuve, Donald Sutherland, Ellen Page, Emily Blunt, Forsaken, Freeheld, Garret Dillahunt, Joel Edgerton, John Morris, Johnny Depp, Jon Cassar, Josh Brolin, Julianne Moore, Keifer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Michael Moore, Michael Shannon, Nick Robinson, Penelope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard, Peter Sollett, Rachel McAdams, Rob Reiner, Sam McKeith, Sarah Silverman, Susan Sarandon, Tom McKeith, Toronto International Film Festival

Aloha: Are We Doomed To Repeat Our Mistakes?

May 29, 2015 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment

Bradley Cooper, left, and Alec Baldwin star in Columbia Pictures' "Aloha," also starring Emma Stone.
Bradley Cooper, left, and Alec Baldwin star in Columbia Pictures’ “Aloha,” also starring Emma Stone.

I knew going in that Aloha was… not good, as recognized by the 14% rating it has on RottenTomatoes.com and this lovely exploration of Sony’s thoughts (some ‘less perfect’ language there). This is Cameron Crowe we’re talking about, who has delivered hits like Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, and Almost Famous (although he was also responsible for the Kirsten Dunst/Orlando Bloom debacle, Elizabethtown)! But in Aloha, failed government contractor Brian Gilchrest (Bradley Cooper) returns to Hawaii, finds his long-lost love, Tracy (Rachel McAdams), wrestles with his military watchdog, Captain Allison Ng (Emma Stone), and frustrates a host of powerful leaders. All in all, it’s a socio-political commentary dressed up as a romantic comedrama, and it is a mess.

Problematically, Tracy is married to the monosyllabic Woody (John Krasinski), who cares for their children, Mitchell (Jaeden Lieberher, St Vincent) and Grace (Danielle Rose Russell), but is mostly emotionally absent. Brian obviously wants to reconnect with her, but what would that mean for Woody’s family? [The audience is made to believe Tracy is unhappy, so a little drama isn’t bad, right?] Equally troubling is the all-out come-on produced by Captain Ng, whose behavior swings between insanely interested, deeply insightful, and full metal jacket. This is the meet cute of the film, and what the wrapper on the label looks like, but it’s no more the main part of the movie than a good lei.

Instead, Crowe (who also wrote this) has a socio-political agenda that involves the military, outside contractor (Bill Murray), and the privatization of the satellite system in space. I’m not terribly political myself, but it’s easy to read the warning on Crowe’s agenda: we can’t do everything in the name of capitalism and call it good. It’s unfortunate though, because while the satellite provides Brian a chance to choose a different path for his life, it’s largely uninteresting. If Aloha is the missile sending the film into space, the actual payload is this political agenda, not a rom-com aimed to entertain us.

aloha2For that reason, I’d fail the film if I was grading it. I felt a little duped, like someone was trying to turn the lights off without me knowing it. It’s not (I don’t think) that the film is bad but that is intentionally aimed at something other than what it proposes. That doesn’t, however, mean that we can’t learn from it.

Brian finds himself in a situation, the result of several situations, where he can continue his downward spiral or he can choose a new path. He can fulfill all of the past patterns of broken behavior he has followed before, he can be the failure that he has proven to be in the past – or, he can make a change. Brian is potentially someone like a lot of us, who have a past habit of giving into an addiction, or running from commitment, or failing to show up in the big moments of our lives. And there are people who tell us that either we can change, or that we might as well give in and be the failure they expect of us.

Honestly, Brian’s situation is a lot like the case of Bre’r Rabbit to me: he’s stuck with Tar Baby, and he can’t leave or forgive himself so he’s doomed. He’ll never change because he doesn’t believe he can. He’s broken, sinful, doomed, whatever you will: he doesn’t believe in grace for himself or for others. Grace? Ah, now, the clues appear. Now, it seems when Crowe sticks to what he does best, weaving broken people together in a tapestry of relationships and choices, he can tell a story.

It’s just a shame Crowe couldn’t stick to the story he knew.

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: Bill Murray, Bradley Cooper, Cameron Crowe, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams

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