Snap Judgment: Honestly? One of my favorite movies of 2014. Even having read the book, it was still tense and gripping. Reading the book first is highly recommended. Avoiding spoilers is even more highly recommended. So I'm going to go extra-light on the plot here.
To say I was skeptical of the casting of Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as the leads is an understatement. Past movies have proved that Affleck and Pike have a limited number of facial expressions, and a psychological movie such as this one demands some subtle acting. Amazingly, their limited ranges are just perfect. Affleck has a nice-guy face with the oily smile of a conman. Pike is a remote, Hitchcockian blonde. Neither may have the range to slip into a wide array of characters, but they do have what it takes to play Nick and Amy Dunne, a seemingly perfect couple with more cracks than a dropped egg.
Grade: A
Final Verdict: Surprisingly strong performances from the stars and expert directing, matched with an exciting story that was expertly translated from page to screen. I hope this gets noticed when it comes to awards time. I rarely see a film that is so well-executed that I enjoyed so much.
If You Like This, Watch: Rear Window, Basic Instinct, What Lies Beneath
November sweeps are now underway, with deaths and breakups and special guest stars and other twisty twists and turny turns to grab viewers. For some shows it's already too late: they lost the popularity contest and got the axe. The only show that I'm upset about is Selfie. It was not a good show, but it had the most potential of any of those cancelled so far. I was hoping the network would give it time to find itself, but alas.
This season has not been kind to comedies. So far the five cancelled network shows have all been comedies. For those of you who are looking for new comedies, two good ones that have so far survived are ratings smash Black-ish (I had my doubts, but it is funny) and underdog Marry Me (filling the quirky Happy Endings hole in my life).
Manhattan Love Story was the very first new fall show to get cancelled. Given the fact that the trailer was such a turn-off, I never even watched an episode. And now I never will. The show supposedly got you a look inside the minds of a couple who meet in the Big Apple. With annoying voice overs, not those cool '90s pop-ups from Blind Date. The guy's mind was an unappealing place to be. And the show was apparently an unappealing one to watch.
