No secret: ‘Tinker Tailor’ thrills
The question at the heart of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” is simplicity itself: Is there a Soviet secret agent at the very highest echelons of British intelligence? Getting to the answer, however, couldn’t be more deliciously, thrillingly, brilliantly complex.
Starring a surprising Gary Oldman and masterfully directed by Tomas Alfredson, “Tinker Tailor” comes by that complexity honestly, courtesy of the subtle, allusive 1974 John le Carre novel set in a merciless espionage world where trust is an illusion and nothing is remotely what it seems. This is a film to which very close attention must be paid, but the rewards of doing so are considerable.
That’s because Swedish director Alfredson, who created a stir with his vampire-themed “Let the Right One In,” has come up with a film that is endlessly rich in incident, atmosphere and personality, a film that leaves us hanging on by the barest skin of our teeth as we try to figure out who is doing what to whom and why. The spy trade doesn’t get much more exciting than this.
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Source: www.kansas.com
Acer to offer free cloud service, shows super-slim ultrabook
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As a heart-tugger, ‘War Horse’ stumbles
Men on opposing sides of war find their shared humanity in their love of animals in “War Horse,” Steven Spielberg’s sentimental epic about a country thoroughbred who travels from the fields of Devonshire to the trenches of the Somme in World War I.
The film — based on a play that was based on Michael Morpurgo’s children’s book — is a tale told on a vast canvas, with a wide array of characters — each of whom develops a connection to “Joey,” one of the prettiest equines ever to grace the silver screen. But that crowded hodge-podge of characters fritters away the potential poignancy as we’re taken away from the story’s heart and soul — a boy and his horse.
Albert, played by newcomer Jeremy Irvine, has been in love with this horse since first he was a foal. The animal is of little use in farm country in pre-World War I Britain. He’s a racing stallion in a hardscrabble land where draft horses are all anyone wants. But his drunken, proud and war-hobbled dad (Peter Mullan) buys the colt at an auction and Albert gets to train him, to show the farm folk and snooty landlord (David Thewlis) what Joey can do with a plow.
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Source: www.kansas.com
‘Jack and Jill’ wastes actors’, audiences’ time
Among the famous people who make cameo appearances in the new Adam Sandler comedy “Jack and Jill”: Johnny Depp, John McEnroe, David Spade, Shaquille O’Neal, Drew Carey, Christie Brinkley, Michael Irvin, Regis Philbin, Dana Carvey and even Jared Fogle, the guy from the Subway sandwich commercials.
Total number of laughs all this amassed star power generates: One.
The bit with Depp, who has an amusing exchange with Al Pacino, made me chuckle. Yes, Pacino is also in “Jack and Jill” playing himself. This is not a cameo but a real supporting role. And unlike Robert DeNiro, who often sleepwalks through his for-the-paycheck jobs, Pacino gives the movie his all. Method is Method, whether you’re working with David Mamet or Dennis Dugan.
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Source: www.kansas.com
Bloated ‘New Year’s Eve’ drops the ball
The bland lead the bland through a sea of New Year’s revelers and Times Square product placement in “New Year’s Eve,” Garry Marshall’s bloated all-star follow-up to his “comeback,” “Valentine’s Day.”
It’s a cluttered, slow-footed romantic comedy in search of comedy, and in search of romance.
Characters scramble to make it to Times Square on time to see the ball drop, to make the ball drop, to get out of their deathbed to watch one last ball drop. They give birth, collect their first kiss, try to fall for a perfect stranger or dash through a lifetime of missed experiences in those last few hours of 2011.
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Source: www.kansas.com
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