This 'Gatsby' is Not 'Great'. It Is Not Even Good.

this gatsby is mediocre at best. more like 'the meh gatsby'. for once i should have listened to the great majority of critics. so i have to go along with the vast majority. it is a monumental bore and now qualifies as the worst film of 2012 thus far. it is even worse than 'oz the great and powerful. that's saying a lot. leo was wasted. in fact for the first time ever i will say that he, one of my favorites, was awful. carey mulligan? why? why do directors still want this woman in their films. she is a vacant actress. there is nothing there. she is basically expressionless throughout this film as usual.

3d? why? there was no need for this to be filmed in anything but 2d if it needed to be filmed at all. which it was not!

1/2* and i'm being kind.

 oy!

A Look Back At: 'Shame' ***stars

 so i just wrote about what seemed to be michael fassbender's valium induced role in 'a dangerous method'. but i want to give him his due and kudos for his amazing performance in 2011's psycho sexual drama 'shame'. he gives a truly daring performance in a daring film. mr fassbender plays brandon a successful new yorker in a moving intense film. he could be any new yorker you pass on the street. see on the subway. work with. you just don't know the secrets they have. the lonliness they live in. the sexual drama they deal with alone or with others. i saw a lot of myself in the character of brandon. he played me and all the other brandon's well. he gives a grand performance in a tricky art house film. he plays it unashamedly. i believed him. it's not for everyone but i can't rave enough about the film or michael's performance. and he does not mind being totally, yes totally, nude on screen which is just fine by me!

'Never Let Me Go' ***1/2stars

every year a few good films gets lost in the end of the year bombardment of oscar hopefuls. last year there were a few ('city lights', 'agora') including 'never let me go'. you have to accept the premise that cloning is infact a way of life. when you accept this then you can realize that children are cloned to be donors for humankind. if you do accept these facts then you can enter the debate of whether or not these cloned ones have a 'soul'. it's an amazing film with an amazing premise that takes place not in te future but in the immediate past.

the leads are the young new brits who have a future in film. keira knightley, andrew garfield and carey mulligan shine as 'donors'. these three live up to their past roles and even surpass all prior performances. 

this is the sort of film that does what a film should do. it takes us somewhere else and lets our minds explore a world beyond what we know. it may not be for everyone but for true lovers of film it is a must see.

 the wonderful keira knightley

trailer

available on blu ray and dvd