Denzel Washington's character in "Flight" drinks a lot throughout the film, but his portrayal of a highly functioning alcoholic pilot isn't going down well with brewing company Anheuser-Busch or the distributor of Stolichnaya vodka.
Denzel Washington's character in "Flight" drinks a lot throughout the film, but his portrayal of a highly functioning alcoholic pilot isn't going down well with brewing company Anheuser-Busch or the distributor of Stolichnaya vodka.
Disney's animated video-game adventure "Wreck-It Ralph" has rolled up big box-office points with a No. 1 opening weekend of $49 million.
The weekend box office was not only undeterred by the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, it was buoyed by it.
If the filmmakers behind "Flight" were really interested in an accurate one-word title, they might have called their movie "Booze." The movie's true subject isn't flying but drinking, and the personal will it requires to stop — or not.
"The Details" _ Dr. Jeff Lang (Tobey Maguire) lives in a charming suburban home with his beautiful wife, Nealy (Elizabeth Banks), and their adorable, 2-year-old son. When we first see him, he's driving home in his Toyota Prius _ which has a campaign sticker for President Obama on it, naturally _ with a large, lovely plant from Trader Joe's in the backseat. Jeff has just resodded the backyard and the place looks terrific _ until one morning when he wakes up and finds that raccoons have gutted the grass overnight. Yes, these are literal raccoons but they're also metaphorical raccoons and sometimes, when things get especially weird, they're imaginary raccoons. They dig up transgressions in Jeff's life and weaknesses in his character that he'd rather suppress. Such is the obviousness of the symbolism in this black comedy that explores the ugly underbelly of seemingly idyllic domestic life. Perhaps this story from writer-director Jacob Aaron Estes sounds familiar to you with its drugs, adultery and murder. A lot of movies have upended the mythology of suburbia over the past decade or so, especially following the success of "American Beauty." "The Details" doesn't do much that's new or particularly inspired to add insight to this collection, but it has some surprising moments and nuggets of clarity. Laura Linney is a hoot as the nutty next-door neighbor who threatens to blackmail Jeff over an affair he's having ... by trying to launch an affair of her own with him. And Ray Liotta has one standout scene as the cuckolded husband who explains to Jeff in an extended monologue what it means to be a man. R for language, sexual content, some drug use and brief violence. 101 minutes. Two stars out of four.
If "Flight" weren't so exceptionally crafted and acted, this tale of self-destruction and eventual redemption might feel like the sort of feel-good fare you'd see on the Lifetime Movie Network, or even a 12-step-program promotion.
You might think that Robert Zemeckis, having devoted himself to motion-capture animation for the last 12 years, would be thrilled to return to the unpredictability of live-action filmmaking — those moments of serendipity when the elements align for something surprising. You would be wrong.
You might think that Robert Zemeckis, having devoted himself to motion-capture animation for the last 12 years, would be thrilled to return to the unpredictability of live-action filmmaking _ those moments of serendipity when the elements align for something surprising.
