Spotlight. I loved it. Great writing and acting. Teamwork, thinking, putting pieces together. There is some conflict here and there, and most of it doesn’t seem too drummed up for drama, but just real people navigating messy institutions and practical realities. Love the costume design, too. Doesn’t just capture the era but the personalities, too. One of my faves of last year.
Margin Call. “Be first, be smarter, or cheat.” Good ensemble corporate thriller. I don’t understand Kevin Spacey. Given the strength of this and All Is Lost, I guess I should get around to seeing A Most Violent Year. Other good movies about corporate crises: Arbitrage, Michael Clayton, The Insider, The Social Network, The Informant!.
The Devil Wears Prada. It does a good job of playing both sides. I wish it would move a little more quickly.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. It’s ~40 minutes of almost-revolution and ~80 minutes where we watch them shoot commercials. yawn I think there actually is an interesting movie to be made (already made?) about the internal/self-directed marketing for revolutionary movements, but it’s not this one. The first movie is the best. The second one has its moments. The trend is not good. Fingers crossed for a good finale.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I like the world they created, but felt like this one kind of ran out of steam. I take it as a good sign, though, that the games were the least interesting part.
Mark Larson 