Review: "Richard Jewell" Finds Humanity in a Cynical World

Scene from Richard Jewell

In a career full of depicting everyday heroes, director Clint Eastwood has never found one as every day as Richard Jewell. In the past decade, his heroes have been F.B.I. agents (J. Edgar), airplane pilots (Sully), soldiers (American Sniper) and even elderly drug mules (The Mule). There's plenty that makes it an exciting cinema but by no means a perfect reflection of the type of people who come to Eastwood movies, looking for justice to prevail in an unjust society. In the case of Richard Jewell, a man obsessed with becoming a police officer and follows the code to an egregiously formal display, he has someone who isn't photogenic nor has a charisma to handle the press that is thrust his way following one incident of selfless heroism. For Eastwood's latest, he has gone beyond the extraordinary and is now captivated by the ordinary. What makes the world turn on Jewell? It's a heartbreaking story and one that finds the director creating a narrative against the media in an attempt to find where society's cynicism comes from. It's safe to say that even with Eastwood quickly approaching 90, he still has the chops to entertain with a sharp commentary that stings with relevance.

Review: "Rush" is Stuck in Second Gear

Left to right: Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl

It is an exciting time in movies, largely because we are officially in Oscar Buzz season. While we had some early trails in August, director Ron Howard's Rush kicks off endless weeks of new contenders and some that are still to surprise us. None would seem more surprising to be in the race than a Formula One Racing film that pits two rivals against each other and turns the tale of the need for speed into becoming competitive soul mates. While the automotives may make this seem like just an average racing movie, it has more going for it. 

Is "Rush" Capable of Putting Race Cars Into the Best Picture Category?

Daniel Bruhl

While I initially claimed that Oscar season began with The Butler back in August, it has seemed like a long, pointless gap between that film and the current stream of traffic. While I feel that Lee Daniel's look at American history will benefit from the earlier release, we are officially in the time when week-to-week, I will attempt to cover a lot more work than I normally do. As my predictions would imply the next few months starting this Friday will be a nonstop quest to catch them all and then speculate who will come out on top. It does seem poignant then that we begin season two of The Oscar Buzz properly with a Formula One racing movie: director Ron Howard's Rush.

The Trailer for Spike Jonze's "Her" Suggests the Year's Strangest Romantic Couple

Joaquin Phoenix

It will be tough for me to disassociate anything Joaquin Phoenix does from The Master, if only for the fact that it was the inspiration for launching The Oscar Buzz. With that established, I will admit that maybe my frenzy was a little too enthusiastic during the past season and while yes, Daniel Day Lewis didn't deserve it, I still stand by my belief that Phoenix is if not one of the best, one of the most ambitious performers currently working. Just check out how he sabotaged his career for satire in the discriminating underrated I'm Still Here. Even his poise at this year's Oscars ceremony suggests someone thinking outside the box. That is why, more than anything, it is exciting news to see that he has a new film, and it is with director Spike Jonze called Her.