Irrelevant But Awesome

Alexa:  A little background for anyone not familiar with “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby” – the project originally screened as two separate movies, “Him” and “Her” versions told from the perspectives of Conor (James McAvoy) and Eleanor (Jessica Chastain) as their marriage falls apart after a tragedy. Director/writer Ned Benson subsequently stitched together scenes from both films into another version, “Them.” I remember being intrigued by the “Him” / “Her” approach when the films were first released, but sadly I only had time to watch one version this week, so I chose “Them” – and I was a bit underwhelmed. The movie is gorgeously shot and features remarkable performances from McAvoy and Chastain. Their haunting work alone is reason enough for anyone who appreciates nuanced acting to watch it. But at least in the “Them” cut, the story felt more familiar than I was expecting based on the buzz surrounding the film when it was on the festival circuit. Other than the acting, n...

One of my most anticipated movies of the fall is Ridley Scott’s adaptation of The Martian, and 20th Century Fox is moving full steam ahead with the film’s marketing campaign this week. Fox dropped an entertaining teaser and a full trailer this week, and today announced it’s moving The Martian up from a Thanksgiving release to Oct. 2, where it no longer has to compete with Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur or the final installment of The Hunger Games. Based on the best-selling novel by Andy Weir, The Martian follows astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) after he survives a freak accident during a dust storm on Mars. His crew presumes him dead and flees the storm, leaving him stranded on an unfamiliar and often hostile planet. Thankfully, Watney is extremely clever and resourceful, and as he says in the trailer, tries to “science the s*** out of this” and find a way to survive until help arrives. Some have drawn comparisons between The Martian and other recent space films Int...