127 Hours, director/co-writer Danny Boyle’s visually striking adaptation of Aron Ralston’s autobiography, tells the harrowing story of the amount of time Ralston spent trapped while hiking in a Utah canyon. James Franco (“The Spiderman Trilogy”), portrays Ralston with an intense array of emotions by examining his life and finding the courage to extricate himself by any means necessary. A true and poignant testament to the tenacity of human motivation. A
Black Swan, the astounding new psychological thriller from director Darren Aronofsky (“The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream”) follows the new lead in a New York ballet company (Natalie Portman) as she contends with a rival (Mila Kunis) as well as her own demons as she takes on the joint role of the White Swan/Black Swan. Aronofsky gets an award-worthy performance out of Portman whose inner turmoil is expressed through dazzling visual techniques. A
Conviction tells the remarkable true story of high school dropout Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swank) who risks her marriage and family in an over 20-year quest to prove her brother’s (Sam Rockwell) murder conviction. The story drags a bit in the middle, but this heartbreaking account of sibling bonds is a legitimate tearjerker. B
The fascinating “mystery” documentary Ghost Bird follows the alleged reappearance of the Ivory-billed woodpecker in Arkansas, a bird that hasn’t been spotted since the first half of the last century. Director Scott Crocker examines the woodpecker’s “return” from all angles: those who spotted it, the government officials who confirmed it and the academics who refute it. Thus far, there is no conclusive proof either way, but this homecoming has brought hope to a dying rural part of America. The DVD will be released on Dec. 14. A-
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, the final installment of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy, finds Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) fighting to prove her innocence and implicate corrupt government officials. Again, Rapace carves out a fiercely inventive portrayal in a cathartic conclusion to a great set of mysteries. B+
I Am Love, a sprawling glimpse into the lives of an extremely wealthy Milanese family, examines the effects of the family patriarch naming joint-successors to his industrial empire. Director/co-writer Luca Guadagnino ably uses zooms and extensive point-of-view shots to evoke the dramas of the 1970s. Unfortunately, the overpowering musical score by John Adams has a tendency to jar the viewer out of his/her suspension of disbelief. B+
The boys are back in Jackass 3D, and once again prove that disgusting and perverse acts can take on inventive transcendence…but now the projectiles are that much closer. Per their usual, the team behind the Jackass television show and films, deliver hilarious grotesquery that really only works during one viewing…in a packed theater…with friends…and inebriation. Hopefully this is their last outing and it appears the team is running out of gas…though definitely not the literal version. B-
Legendary documentarian filmmakers Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker’s (“Don’t Look Back, The War Room”) latest movie, the Kings of Pastryfollows three pastry chefs as they attempt to join the ranks of MOFs, the elite chefs who win the title of Meilleurs Ouvriers d France competition (Best Craftsmen in France). The “fly on the wall” style of filmmaking the director’s employ captures the high-stakes drama of the competition: the passion, sacrifice, disappointment and joy. B+
Life During Wartime, the latest from the king of uncomfortable cinema Todd Solondz, is a semi-sequel to his acclaimed film “Happiness”. Again, we follow the Jordan sisters (Allison Janney, Ally Sheedy and Shirley Henderson) and their relationships 10 years after we previously met them, with sometimes comic and desperate results. Solondz focuses on the themes behind forgiving and forgetting this time around. Though not as powerful as the first film, Solondz creates an emotionally resonant portrait of prisoners of love and life. B
Love Ranch is a fictionalized story about the husband (Joe Pesci) and wife (Helen Mirren) who run one of Nevada’s first legalized brothel ranches in the late seventies and how their lives are irrevocably altered when they take on an Argentinean boxer (newcomer Sergio Peris-Mencheta) to grow their empire. While director Taylor Hackford’s (“Ray, The Devil’s Advocate”) comes across at many points as a contrived biopic, Peris-Mencheta steals the show by infusing it with a layered performance of warmth and melancholy. C+
Director Mark Romanek’s (“One Hour Photo”) painterly adaptation of Kazno Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go is a haunting glimpse into how members of society choose to live their lives. The film begins at an English boarding school and as the three main cast members, played by Carey Mulligan (“An Education”), Keira Knightley (“Pirate of the Caribbean Trilogy”) and Andrew Garfield (“The Social Network”), grow older, they learn that they have been bread to be organ donors whose lives will never reach maturation. Instead of fighting their situations, they each come to terms with their predicaments. A-
Woody Allen’s latest, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, is another drama of his set in England depicting the vagaries and unfaithfulness of marriage. Unlike recent successes of his like “Match Point” and “Vicky Christina Barcelona”, his newest film fails to deliver anything other than morose, depressing and jaded musings on relationships. Not even the films’ stars, such as Naomi Watts, Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas can redeem it. C-
Ari Silber is a Loyola MBA student. Before graduate school, he worked for nine years in the Los Angeles film industry, focusing on marketing, publicity and distribution.
Ari Silber can be reached at
