August: Osage County
Release date: December 25, 2013
A good’ ol fashioned dysfunctional family film like that in
August: Osage County might be just what the therapist ordered while airing our own family demons this holiday. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Tracy Letts,
August stars reigning Queen thespian Meryl Streep. Streep plays a sharp tongued matriarch who doesn’t have a kind word for anyone– especially not her daughters, Barbara, Ivy and Karen (played by Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis, respectively).
The clan gathers to pay their respects to deceased father Beverly (Sam Shepard), who has taken his own life. Post-funeral, there’s a major spat at the dinner table, and even a mother-daughter tackle. Nothing is off limits, certainly not Barbara’s failing marriage to husband Bill (Ewan McGregor), Karen’s latest man Steve (Dermot Mulroney), who is yet another loser, and Ivy’s love for her cousin Charles (Benedict Cumberbatch). This is a character rich story with stellar casting all the way down. Guaranteed to give you a shot of drama, it might even make you grateful for the family you’ve got.
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Her
Release date: December 18, 2013
Love is a many splendid thing, even with a computerized voice. Or so
Her would seem to suggest. Written and directed by Spike Jonze, (
Adaptation,
Being John Malkovitch,
Where the Wild Things Are) this film was reportedly scripted pre-Siri, even though it features a computerized female voice who, like Siri, provides answers to the user.
Her stars a tender Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore Twombly, who just can’t seem to move on from a failed marriage. His attempts on the dating scene fail, and he flounders about until he finds himself falling for the voice of Samantha OS (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). Theodore takes Samantha everywhere with him, and she even seems to reciprocate his attachment. The timing for such a story has never been better. In an age awash with apps and smartphone devices, we are engaging in a sort of relationship with our technology. Can that type of interaction be a fulfilling substitute for a human world filled with love and pain?
Her has a Golden Globe nom for best picture, and Phoenix has one for best actor. Jonze has gotten the nod for best screenplay. You’ll love
Her.
