Crisp Criticism - "Trumbo", "45 Years", "Experimenter", "Buzzard"

by

Julien Faddoul

Trumbo *

The career of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo is halted by a witch-hunt in the late 1940s when he defies the anti-communist HUAC committee and is blacklisted.

Fairly flat and rudimentary retelling of Trumbo’s tribulations, which mostly finds fun in mocking the Hollywood system of the time.

d – Jay Roach

w – John McNamara   (Based on the book by Bruce Cook)

ph – Jim Denault

pd – Mark Ricker

m – Theodore Shapiro

ed – Alan Baumgarten

cos – Daniel Orlandi

p – Kevin Kelly Brown, Monica Levinson, Michael London, Nimitt Mankad, John McNamara, Shivani Rawat, Janice Williams

Cast: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Elle Fanning, Louis C.K., John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, David James Elliott, Roger Bart, Mark Harelik, John Getz, Alan Tudyk, James DuMont, Richard Portnow

45 Years **

A married couple preparing to celebrate their wedding anniversary receive news that promises to forever change the course of their lives.

Prosaic, Bergmanesque portrayal of things said and unsaid between a husband and wife that alternates between rapt and woe. The acting is exceptional.

wd – Andrew Haigh   (Based on the Short Story by David Constantine)

ph – Lol Crawley

pd – Sarah Finlay

ed – Jonathan Alberts

cos – Suzie Harman

p – Tristan Goligher

Cast: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James, Dolly Wells, Max Rudd, David Sibley

Experimenter **

In 1961, famed social psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted a series of radical behavior experiments that tested ordinary humans willingness to obey authority.

Witty, fascinating account on one of the greatest philosophical experimenters that turns the biopic feature into an operation of its own, using superimpositions, bad makeup and breaking the fourth wall to throw off its audience.

wd – Michael Almereyda

ph – Ryan Samul

pd – Deana Sidney

m – Bryan Senti

ed – Kathryn J. Schubert

cos – Kama K. Royz

p – Danny A. Abeckaser, Michael Almereyda, Fabio Golombek, Per Melita, Isen Robbins, Aimee Schoof, Uri Singer

Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, Winona Ryder, Jim Gaffigan, Taryn Manning, Kellan Lutz, John Leguizamo, Anton Yelchin, Lori Singer, Dennis Haysbert, Emily Tremaine

Buzzard ***

Paranoia forces a bank temp to flee his hometown and hide out in Detroit. With nothing but a pocket full of bogus checks, his Power Glove, and a bad temper, the horror metal slacker lashes out.

Acidic, at times shocking comedy on millennial frustrations with commercial and governmental systems; filled with brilliant cinematic rhythms and commentary, and skillfully honed despite its low budget.

wd – Joel Potrykus

ph – Adam J. Minnick

ed – Joel Potrykus

p – Michael Saunders, Ashley Young

Cast: Joshua Burge, Joel Potrykus, Teri Ann Nelson, Joe Anderson, Alan Longstreet, Rico Bruce Wade, Katie Call, Chris Kotcher